[gazzington]

Thanks. It's good to get opinions form someone who has a lot of equipment

I love my Spirit Labs Twin Pulse Ragnar Edition when I want energy, Denon D7200 when in a bass loving mood but my favourite is the Sennheiser HD700 it is light, comfy and has a sound I love. I really like the Audeze LCD-X but it is heavy

 

[DavidA]

What's the difference between 400i and 400s? I'm looking for a planar for hip hop, metal and jazz as well as some of all genres. Trying to decide on a hifiman or the monolith head phones people mention. Is there a hifiman I should consider?

While I haven't heard the 400S in a long time I'd agreed with the other person that its more laid back than the 400i. M1060 was a bit boring / lifeless to me compared to 400i.

 

[gazzington]

I'm really interested in these headphones but worried about headphones build quality. Do people still get problems with these braking quickly?

 

[HungryPanda]

My HE-560 yokes broke within 5 months but HiFiMan sent me a metal headband to replace, I just had to email them a copy of my invoice. I think it was a bad batch that was sold by Adorama. I've had my 400i for a lot longer and they are still fine

 

[DavidA]

I'm really interested in these headphones but worried about headphones build quality. Do people still get problems with these braking quickly?

Try to get them from a shop that has a great return policy if possible but I think the issue of broken yokes is starting to get less since most of the one that have broken seem to have come from a batch that was released around Dec last year to around Apr this year but Hifiman seems to be pretty good about sending a replacement and it seems that some are also given the choice of the Sundara metal headband to that is something to also consider.

 

[Tsukuyomi]

BuyDig 400i on ebay to Canada with shipping and import fees and warranty is 250 bones/// Canadian bones that is.

i'll have to check this out

 

[Sonic Defender]

While I haven't heard the 400S in a long time I'd agreed with the other person that its more laid back than the 400i. M1060 was a bit boring / lifeless to me compared to 400i.

I agree, the M1060 was not at all engaging when I had it here. For the difference in price I felt that the 400i was significantly better sounding.

 

[CoFire]

Has anyone tried it the ZMF Universe Sheepskin Non-Perforated pads with their 400i? I got then in a couple weeks ago and I really enjoy how they sound on my 400i. I keep intending to compare to the stock pads but just don't want to remove them. On most other leather pads, they are typically deeper than stock accentuating the bass and treble with some mid suck out giving them more of a V shape. That's not entirely bad but I mids the details of the mids. The universe pads are about the same depth so you get the bass bump and keep the mids. They are very well made pads and very comfortable.

I haven't tried the Ori pads which is what I was looking for when I stumbled on these but if anyone has both our heard both and can provide a comparison, that would be great!

For now, these pads have breathed new life into my 400i, even with the Elex arriving recently. Don't get me wrong, the Elex is superior but I really like the 400i signature. I don't find mine harsh or grainy in the treble as many people claim but I also don't listen at high levels. I think for high volume listening, I could see that being a problem.

What can I say? I value my hearing.

 

[rfan8312]

Just recieved the 400i. Amazing. My first planar cans.

Decent planar bass, quick and controlled with no bloat at all, yet, he400i, fortunately for me, also remind me slightly of a planar version of the Grado sound.
These do have sparkle, which I hoped for. Distorted guitars have some texture to them that I've not heard on my other cans, aside from the Grados. This is what I hoped for. I find brighter cans with a refined and balanced sound much more engaging and interesting, usually, than bass heavy cans.

Also, this is my first time experiencing that often mentioned notion of cans good enough to reveal bad recordings. Wow I never some of my favorite tracks are slightly below par in recording quality.

I've considered for 2018 to get he400i, hd660s and LCD2C. And Schiit Jotunheim.

Now I'm considering getting Jotunheim first, and then begin renting headphones from thecablecompany.com.


I say this because:

1. I am a Grado fan. That kind of treble/mid-centric tuning is what I like, I'm on the lookout for cans that are not dark (unless it's Audeze) but cans that have some sparkle and bite and crispness to their sound.

2. The he400i is wonderful, beautiful and I even love how they feel, but the jump in sound quality, imo, from my little SHP9500s ($80) isn't that great. The bass is faster on he400i and soundstage has opened up a bit. But I'd rather now get a great amp/DAC and audition headphones through renting and see what really sounds like a massive step up in sound and then save up for that.


Anyway, the he400i sound great to me and I'm glad I chose them simply because with these I did not experience any kind overly bass-centric sound or any kind of bloat or bleed from the bass.

Build quality is good, a lot of plastic but that's good because they are light, no creakiness at all in the moving parts. For $190 new (Amazon) these were a great deal.

Very comfortable too, but my PSB's are more comfortable, the SHP9500's very comfortable gigantic over ear pads, and my Grados are weightless and disappear(only with the soft S-pads though).

Lol right now I'm still too geeked out about receiving the he400i, but in a few months when I'm used to having them around it will be a treat to reach for these and know I'll be hearing very good sound from my LG v30+ and he400i combined.

 

[misteral201103]

Just recieved the 400i. Amazing. My first planar cans.

Decent planar bass, quick and controlled with no bloat at all, yet, he400i, fortunately for me, also remind me slightly of a planar version of the Grado sound.
These do have sparkle, which I hoped for. Distorted guitars have some texture to them that I've not heard on my other cans, aside from the Grados. This is what I hoped for. I find brighter cans with a refined and balanced sound much more engaging and interesting, usually, than bass heavy cans.

Also, this is my first time experiencing that often mentioned notion of cans good enough to reveal bad recordings. Wow I never some of my favorite tracks are slightly below par in recording quality.

I've considered for 2018 to get he400i, hd660s and LCD2C. And Schiit Jotunheim.

Now I'm considering getting Jotunheim first, and then begin renting headphones from thecablecompany.com.


I say this because:

1. I am a Grado fan. That kind of treble/mid-centric tuning is what I like, I'm on the lookout for cans that are not dark (unless it's Audeze) but cans that have some sparkle and bite and crispness to their sound.

2. The he400i is wonderful, beautiful and I even love how they feel, but the jump in sound quality, imo, from my little SHP9500s ($80) isn't that great. The bass is faster on he400i and soundstage has opened up a bit. But I'd rather now get a great amp/DAC and audition headphones through renting and see what really sounds like a massive step up in sound and then save up for that.


Anyway, the he400i sound great to me and I'm glad I chose them simply because with these I did not experience any kind overly bass-centric sound or any kind of bloat or bleed from the bass.

Build quality is good, a lot of plastic but that's good because they are light, no creakiness at all in the moving parts. For $190 new (Amazon) these were a great deal.

Very comfortable too, but my PSB's are more comfortable, the SHP9500's very comfortable gigantic over ear pads, and my Grados are weightless and disappear(only with the soft S-pads though).

Lol right now I'm still too geeked out about receiving the he400i, but in a few months when I'm used to having them around it will be a treat to reach for these and know I'll be hearing very good sound from my LG v30+ and he400i combined.

Couple of things, in case you didn't know and they help you enjoy your cans even more!

1) Running from a V30? Unplug the cables from the 400i, plug into the V30, then replyr into the headphones. Full amplification, considerably better than just plugging them in normally.

2) My best pairing for the 400i so far (by a long way) is with the xduoo XD 05 with Burson v5i. Plenty of info on that in its own thread on here. Lovely lovely sound. I was already happy with the cans but this little amp really elevates then.

Happy listening!

 

[DavidA]

@rfan8312, since you like the Grado sound but also the bass of the HE400i I'd suggest looking into one of the alternative drivers used in custom builds of Grado clones. Granted these build will not be cheap ($250-400, depending on drivers/cups/headband/cables) but I think you may fine a sound that is the best of both Grado and planar headphones.

 

[rfan8312]

Couple of things, in case you didn't know and they help you enjoy your cans even more!

1) Running from a V30? Unplug the cables from the 400i, plug into the V30, then replyr into the headphones. Full amplification, considerably better than just plugging them in normally.

2) My best pairing for the 400i so far (by a long way) is with the xduoo XD 05 with Burson v5i. Plenty of info on that in its own thread on here. Lovely lovely sound. I was already happy with the cans but this little amp really elevates then.

Happy listening!

Thanks very much.

Yes, I read about the v30 trick to get full amplification in the LG V30 thread in Head-Fi, and did try what you instructed but somehow was unable to get the result...I think.

I'm not sure if maybe I'm misunderstanding, or in fact did get a result. I noticed that on the he400i it's the first time I've not seen the phones volume not be able to go up to 100 points, with the he400i it stops at 75.

Although the he400i sound wonderful plugged into the v30, streaming Amazon Music, which I'm hearing considerably better audio quality on than both Tidal mobile and Spotify (extreme quality settings on both).

I'll read up more on tricking the v30 to get full amplification, thanks. And, I look forward to looking up that amp that you mentioned sounds great with he400i. Wow am I hearing things I've never heard on tracks that I thought I new quite well, thanks to he400i. What a steal this headphone is.


@DavidA
Thanks man, kinda like the ones you and I discussed last year that you build? Haha

Believe me would love to get a custom Grado eventually. Metal parts on Grado, so nice.

Just googling custom Grados shown some stunners.

 

[misteral201103]

@rfan8312 I'm so glad to hear you're loving these cans. I'm with you 100%, these are a steal at their current price. Enjoy enjoy enjoy

 

[Centropolis]

I am considering buying a pair of used 400i and wondering if the sound signature will be much different than my current HP lineup. My main pairs now are HD600 and DT880.

 

[gazzington]

how do these compare to hifiman sundara? My sandara's arrived but I had to send them back as one headphone did not work.