[GirgleMirt]

I have had the HE-400i for well over a year, and I still hear some distortion in the midrange of acoustic piano. I hear zero distortion in piano tones on my other headphone (Focal Clear, HD-600, AKG K702).

Pretty sure you're hearing the 8.5 khz spike. It's also apparent in vocals & others, and can sound as some harshness/distortion. I think the same spike is what often makes strings and acoustic/classical guitar seem a bit more lively/detailed.

You can try to reduce the frequency via digital EQ and see if that fixes the issue to you. To me, that's the single most annoying aspect/flaw of the 400i; can sound somewhat harsh sometimes. Btw has anyone ever found a mod/fix for this other than EQ?

 

[CADCAM]

All the well-recorded acoustic piano had a fuzzy distortion in the middle of the keyboard and higher. I used the best solo/concerto recordings I have: Nojima Plays Liszt, Sudbin plays Scarlatti (first disc), Mozart concerto recordings with Uchida/Cleveland Orchestra.

Interesting, I tried listening to Girl from Barcelona ~ Piano Solo by Kostia from the Narada Decade Anniversary Collection cd and I'm not sure if it was a distortion but something just wasn't right. I've never heard the 400i sound so...not sure of the right word but it wasn't good. I immediately played a different track with acoustic guitar and wind instruments and it sounded wonderful. I don't listen to a lot of piano but something was amiss...further investigation will follow.

 

[Loneract]

Interesting, I tried listening to Girl from Barcelona ~ Piano Solo by Kostia from the Narada Decade Anniversary Collection cd and I'm not sure if it was a distortion but something just wasn't right. I've never heard the 400i sound so...not sure of the right word but it wasn't good. I immediately played a different track with acoustic guitar and wind instruments and it sounded wonderful. I don't listen to a lot of piano but something was amiss...further investigation will follow.

I've found these reveal recording flaws that other headphones smooth over. Vocals in the Fleetwood Mac song "Dreams" have tiny bit of distortion that is not hard to hear on the 400i but I have to strain to hear on my other headphones.

I agree that the distortion might be more apparent because of certain spikes in frequency response.

Distortion-wise, iirc, the 400i measured better the other headphones OP mentioned, at least in upper mids.

 

[GirgleMirt]

Oh and it might also be a defect, either that was always there or just happened over time. Try to play some tones at a decent volume and see if you can hear any type of distortion at a certain frequency. My 1st pair had an issue (think I posted a vid in this thread) and I had to return them, 2nd pair was fine. I guess it's a bit hard to tell the amount of distortion you're referring to... Might be normal, maybe not. If you invert the cables, does the distortion switch side? Is it on both headphones at the same time? Anything you can link us, youtube or whatever, song which can reproduce your issue, so we're certain that we're talking about the same thing?

 

[Loneract]

Oh and it might also be a defect, either that was always there or just happened over time. Try to play some tones at a decent volume and see if you can hear any type of distortion at a certain frequency. My 1st pair had an issue (think I posted a vid in this thread) and I had to return them, 2nd pair was fine. I guess it's a bit hard to tell the amount of distortion you're referring to... Might be normal, maybe not. If you invert the cables, does the distortion switch side? Is it on both headphones at the same time? Anything you can link us, youtube or whatever, song which can reproduce your issue, so we're certain that we're talking about the same thing?

Good point. I had to return two pairs before I got one with no issues. One was badly mismatched and the other had a buzz in one channel.

 

[E1DA]

HE400 should have more 2nd(pleasant one) harmonic between distortion products because of magnets applied only one side of the membrane. BTW, this is probably the main reason for quite poor sensitivity.

 

[Loneract]

HE400 should have more 2nd(pleasant one) harmonic between distortion products because of magnets applied only one side of the membrane. BTW, this is probably the main reason for quite poor sensitivity.

IDK, still pretty low distortion. Better than Senn HD600 for example.

 

[E1DA]

Yes, thank planar topology but even 1% of 2nd harmonic doesn't sound as harsh distortion. The 2nd harmonic is the same as octave tones just make a sound bit more rich and complex, usually, listeners don't associate 2nd harmonic with distortions at all.
PS: I've published the App officially https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hptoy

 

[CoFire]

PS: I've published the App officially https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hptoy

I've installed your app. Looking forward to checking it out. Does it work with streaming apps like Spotify?

 

[E1DA]

CoFire, it is DSP control app, nothing more. BT Low-Energy(BLE) interface is using as a physical link to PoverDAC V2. If your smartphone(I'm sure it does) supports simultaneous work of BT streaming and BLE, then DSP control and BT stream the same time is possible. The PowerDAC V2 has BLE only without BT streaming ability because it is cheaper and any BT stream is compressed audio so isn't high-res at all. PowerDAC V2 is the USB audio 24/192 interface for 4-wire balanced interface headphones with built-in DSP and ability to control that by IOS/Android smartphone(because one of them is always in our pocket today).

Typical tech specs:

Dimensions: 75x46x19mm
Weight: 70g
Materials: Fine sandblasted 6063 aluminum + black anodize, polished stainless steel + laser print.

Output power: measured at THD+N<=1% and 1kHz level +.5dbfs

16ohm typical PC USB2 port powered 580mW per channel
16ohm powered with USB Y-power splitter and dedicated 5.5V power 680mW per channel
32ohm typical PC USB2 port powered 320mW per channel
32ohm powered with USB Y-power splitter and dedicated 5.5V power 370mW per channel

Output impedance 1.5ohm, 2.5mm balanced jack A&K pinout

Frequency response @32ohm 10-20000Hz +/-.2db 5-45000Hz +/-3db

SNR -108dbA required AUX-0025 to cut off 384kHz residual sine wave
Crosstalk -90db

1kHz THD+N@32ohm at half of rated power .03%
1kHz THD+N@32ohm at -10dbfs .01%
1kHz THD+N@32ohm at -20dbfs .007%
6.63kHz THD+N@32ohm at -10dbfs .01%
100Hz THD+N@32ohm at -10dbfs .02%
IMD 19+20kHz -80db i.e. the same as THD level

DSP&App: 7 parametric EQs, Compressor/Limiter cell, Treble/Bass sliders, Volume slider with Fletcher Munson Curves Loudness, import/export presets, clipping indication. BLE interface could work always either the first minute only to reduce 2.4GHz disturbance to the audio performance.

Mission: to make audio great again, or ok, at least not so boring as nowadays

 

[CoFire]

CoFire, it is DSP control app, nothing more. BT Low-Energy(BLE) interface is using as a physical link to PoverDAC V2. If your smartphone(I'm sure it does) supports simultaneous work of BT streaming and BLE, then DSP control and BT stream the same time is possible. The PowerDAC V2 has BLE only without BT streaming ability because it is cheaper and any BT stream is compressed audio so isn't high-res at all. PowerDAC V2 is the USB audio 24/192 interface for 4-wire balanced interface headphones with built-in DSP and ability to control that by IOS/Android smartphone(because one of them is always in our pocket today).

Typical tech specs:

Dimensions: 75x46x19mm
Weight: 70g
Materials: Fine sandblasted 6063 aluminum + black anodize, polished stainless steel + laser print.

Output power: measured at THD+N<=1% and 1kHz level +.5dbfs

16ohm typical PC USB2 port powered 580mW per channel
16ohm powered with USB Y-power splitter and dedicated 5.5V power 680mW per channel
32ohm typical PC USB2 port powered 320mW per channel
32ohm powered with USB Y-power splitter and dedicated 5.5V power 370mW per channel

Output impedance 1.5ohm, 2.5mm balanced jack A&K pinout

Frequency response @32ohm 10-20000Hz +/-.2db 5-45000Hz +/-3db

SNR -108dbA required AUX-0025 to cut off 384kHz residual sine wave
Crosstalk -90db

1kHz THD+N@32ohm at half of rated power .03%
1kHz THD+N@32ohm at -10dbfs .01%
1kHz THD+N@32ohm at -20dbfs .007%
6.63kHz THD+N@32ohm at -10dbfs .01%
100Hz THD+N@32ohm at -10dbfs .02%
IMD 19+20kHz -80db i.e. the same as THD level

DSP&App: 7 parametric EQs, Compressor/Limiter cell, Treble/Bass sliders, Volume slider with Fletcher Munson Curves Loudness, import/export presets, clipping indication. BLE interface could work always either the first minute only to reduce 2.4GHz disturbance to the audio performance.

Mission: to make audio great again, or ok, at least not so boring as nowadays

So can i use this with my LG V30+ or so i need additional hardware? I guess I was hoping it would globally allow DSP of audio whether music stored on device or steamed via a player using wired connections.

 

[E1DA]

Ohh, It is a hardware DSP control app, without HW connected it works in Demo-mode just for illustration. The HW is "PowerDAC V2" the true digital USB audio interface Dimensions: 75x46x19mm
Weight: 70g Materials: Fine sandblasted 6063 aluminum + black anodize, polished stainless steel + laser print, can work with no extra drivers: Windows, Mac, IOS, Android (OTG required), Linux.

 

[AJCxZ0]

I've published the App officially https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hptoy

This continues to look like an attractive product, with similarities to the EarStudio ES100, but one detail of concern about the app's permissions include

This app has access to:

Location

• approximate location (network-based)
• precise location (GPS and network-based)

 

[Feilong4]

Don't want to accidentally break something but I wanted to replace the headstrap. Not sure if anyone has done this, but do I just push it out with a flat head screwdriver?

 

[windows95]

I'm new to HIFIMAN headphones and the 400i in particular. I know it's been out for a while.
I'm used to IEM's and generally listen to music with a iBasso it03 iem which is pretty great.

The he400i seems OK with an iphone, and slightly better with a DAP like the Shanlin m2s.
I even tried with a DAC Xonar STU which sounds awesome with the it03 IEM but only okay with the HE400i.

Then I plugged them into my computer which has an older sound card, Xonar D2X and WOW! The Bass is suddenly very present, with excellent sub bass and punch. The sound separation/soundstage is just f-ing amazing.
The HE400i seems to just need the right source, even if it comes from older hardware.