Hifiman he-400i Impressions and Discussion

[Clemmaster]

Subbed
I'm actually hoping the 400i is on the darker side of neutral to counter my he-6.

I had my he6 for sale but pulled it down because my amp is here and my interconnect is on the way. Does anyone know if having both the 560 and 400i makes sense to them. Do they sound different enough.

Is the 400i brighter than the 500?

HE-560 and HE-400i are probably the duo I will settle with.
 
The HE-6 still remain on top of the game, but I don't know if I can justify a $4k speaker amp for them alone. This amp has too much internal noise for anything but the 6s 

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[tinyman392]

Subbed
I'm actually hoping the 400i is on the darker side of neutral to counter my he-6.

I had my he6 for sale but pulled it down because my amp is here and my interconnect is on the way. Does anyone know if having both the 560 and 400i makes sense to them. Do they sound different enough.

Is the 400i brighter than the 500?

 
You should be happy with the 400i then   I haven't heard a stock 500 unfortuantely, the one I demoed at the meet was modded, but sounded great.  With that said, as someone stated before, the 400i is on the darker side of things. 

 

[grizzlybeast]

Woop woop. Well I know my peachtree speaker tapped can drive the he6. You don't need a 4k amp for them. But if I don't like what I hear soon then the 560 it is. I was going for the alpha dogs to counter my zmf vibro but I will get the 400i instead.

 

[ThePianoMan]

The ZMF and 400i were my favorite cans at the show and would make great compliments. Im currently aiming to own both a vibro and a 400i.

 

[Moosecraft]

I have not seen any impressions of the vibro nor been able to find any. A friendly soul care to direct me in the right direction?

 

[ThePianoMan]

I have not seen any impressions of the vibro nor been able to find any. A friendly soul care to direct me in the right direction?

http://www.head-fi.org/t/667870/review-zmf-modified-fostex-t50rp-superb/705#post_10652553

If you dig around on the ZMF thread there are some. I'll post some of my impressions if you like, but not here (don't want to derail this thread) PM me or look at the ZMF page. (I've spent extensive listening time with them, and I know Zach fairly well, so feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer them)

 

[HeretixAevum]

The 400i is definitely on the darker side of neutral. It's not brighter than the 500, in fact if anything it may be just a tad thicker in sound. But it's also a vastly more open and light sound. I'd say having both makes some sense, as the 400i takes only light amplification and could be portable, or for relaxing listening, while the 560 is great for critical listening. You get a LOT of the technical ability of the 560 in the 400i though, just a slightly different sound sig, so YMMV.

Can I just ask for some clarification about something? You describe the 400i as being both 'thicker' and 'more light' the the 500. I know that audio terminology is an imprecise and wildly varying 'language' but for me personally those two terms sound like somewhat of a contradiction. 
 
"Thicker" gives me the impression that it's a bit warmer tonally and a bit more saturated and lush sounding. "More light" gives me the impression that it's less thick. By lighter do you possibly mean that it's quicker and more agile, that it sounds more composed and collected? Normally I'd interpret "More light" as "brighter" but since you've specifically stated that's not the case I'm left a little confused 

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Can I just ask for some clarification about something? You describe the 400i as being both 'thicker' and 'more light' the the 500. I know that audio terminology is an imprecise and wildly varying 'language' but for me personally those two terms sound like somewhat of a contradiction. 

"Thicker" gives me the impression that it's a bit warmer tonally and a bit more saturated and lush sounding. "More light" gives me the impression that it's less thick. By lighter do you possibly mean that it's quicker and more agile, that it sounds more composed and collected? Normally I'd interpret "More light" as "brighter" but since you've specifically stated that's not the case I'm left a little confused 

+1

 

[ThePianoMan]

Ah sorry for the confusion. What I meant was that the sound of the headphone is fast, airy and precise as you said, yet it's also a rich sound with body.

Sorry for the confusion!

 

[96rubberduckys]

Ah sorry for the confusion. What I meant was that the sound of the headphone is fast, airy and precise as you said, yet it's also a rich sound with body.

Sorry for the confusion!

Your descriptions and earlier impressions sound like a super-HD600. I'm very excited.

 

[ThePianoMan]

Your descriptions and earlier impressions sound like a super-HD600. I'm very excited.

Now that you mention it, it is a bit like a super-600. It's got less of what some people call "veiled" (I don't find the senna veiled) certainly airier. The bass is cleaner too, and it has this kind of precise coherence to the sound that's unique to planars. I plan on selling my Grados and getting as soon as they come out. It's pretty much end-game for me, at least until cost becomes no object (the lottery just hasn't paid out yet!)

 

[Garraty]

Now that you mention it, it is a bit like a super-600. It's got less of what some people call "veiled" (I don't find the senna veiled) certainly airier. The bass is cleaner too, and it has this kind of precise coherence to the sound that's unique to planars. I plan on selling my Grados and getting as soon as they come out. It's pretty much end-game for me, at least until cost becomes no object (the lottery just hasn't paid out yet!)

Hey, so how would you describe the sound signature overall from your impressions of the HE400i? Slightly V-shaped or relatively neutral like the HD600 except with slightly more bass? I was just wondering since in the future, I'll be looking for an HD600-like headphone with some minor differences. Thanks!

 

[tinyman392]

  Hey, so how would you describe the sound signature overall from your impressions of the HE400i? Slightly V-shaped or relatively neutral like the HD600 except with slightly more bass? I was just wondering since in the future, I'll be looking for an HD600-like headphone with some minor differences. Thanks!

 
Definitely not V-shaped, I don't remember any HiFiMan that had a V-shape   I'd classify these as warm and sweet IMO...  Maybe slightly bassy. 

 

[grizzlybeast]

More or as much bass as the 400?

 

[ThePianoMan]

Is say that's accurate. They're fairly neutral with a tilt towards warm, but it's over the whole frequency. I heard the old 400 was V-shaped, but these feel balanced, though not necessarily ruler-flat.
I hadn't really thought about the HD600 comparison till it was brought up here but it's an interesting one. It's an airier can than the 600, and not as dark, but similar now that I think if it. Reminds me how good the 600 really is even though I prefer the 400i.