[tinyman392]

  Interesting, from the photos it looks like production 400is will ship with cable that has an angled 3.5mm termination, and a 1/4'' adapter to it.

 
The 400is are designed in a way that they should be able to be driven from a mobile device alone  But as always, they should scale at least somewhat  

 

[MattTCG]

The 400i is sounding great from just about anything that I plug it into...including the Valhalla 2 and Oppo HA-1. 

 

[nicdub]

The 400i is sounding great from just about anything that I plug it into...including the Valhalla 2 and Oppo HA-1. 

I'd be interested to know your thoughts on the 400i vs the Oppo PM-2, if possible. The 400i looks pretty awesome, and at $200 less, would be hard to pass up, especially if the SQ is similar or better.

 

[smellyfungus]

just chiming in to say i got mine for the demo also.
 
i must say i love the packaging, much better than what the 560 came in. the leather box beats the wooden one in my eyes.
 
as many have said pictures dont do the cups justice. it is such unique look and makes you want to look at them in different lighting. only concern is if they scratch easily.
 
mine came with the same pad as my production 560, focus pads as noted by the perforated pleather on the inner lining. i really wish there was consistency on what they're supposed come with but im happy that they're symmetrical and nice looking (compared to the focus-a pads i had).
 
unlike my 560, i seem to have issues getting it to lock nicely into the top hole for the adjustments (i have a big head). comfort is good, less clamp than my 560 (prior to me stretching it out manually) slightly more clamp than my preproduction 560 but overall about right.
 
listened it to it for curiousity but no comments until i give em a little time.
 
overall quality feels a little better than the 560 and overall nicer package. going to be using my q-audio cable balanced thru my ha-1 for most testing. some wa7 to come after some burn in.

 

[MattTCG]

Overall I find that the 400i is better balanced than the pm-2 (stock pads). The new pads on the pm-2 give it a different tuning and signature than what I heard with the pm-1. The 400i has a slightly darker treble but good detail with a modest tilt to the sub bass (about +3 to my ears). Actually I think that hifiman achieved the goal that they set with the 400i, which was to make it sound very similar to the he500. 
 
For me, the pm-1 matches the 400i on bass quantity but not quality. Also, the treble is just a little too hot to get comfortable with on the pm-2. There are a lot of things to like about the pm-2. I do wish that Oppo would tweak the signature a little with some alternate pads. 
 
The 400i at $500 is a wonderful buy....

 

[new reformation]

From my research (No Hifi shops local...) the HE500's seemed almost perfect in their frequency response in that they had a powerful bass, warm mids and a treble that while not hot, elevated at just the right spot to give some extra sparkle.  With the HE400 heritage, I am afraid that the treble will be greater in quantity that the HE500.  Do we get eased off treble with a rising sparkle like the HE500 on these cans?  These are looking like my next headphones...  
 
 
PS- Wish Hifiman would offer us at head-fi an amazon promo-code for being early adopters. .  It would likely get them quick favorable reviews in time for the holiday rush and make them even more money in the log run...

 

[tinyman392]

  Overall I find that the 400i is better balanced than the pm-2 (stock pads). The new pads on the pm-2 give it a different tuning and signature than what I heard with the pm-1. The 400i has a slightly darker treble but good detail with a modest tilt to the sub bass (about +3 to my ears). Actually I think that hifiman achieved the goal that they set with the 400i, which was to make it sound very similar to the he500. 
 
For me, the pm-1 matches the 400i on bass quantity but not quality. Also, the treble is just a little too hot to get comfortable with on the pm-2. There are a lot of things to like about the pm-2. I do wish that Oppo would tweak the signature a little with some alternate pads. 
 
The 400i at $500 is a wonderful buy....

 
First bold, to confirm, you're comparing the 400i bass to the PM-1 bass right (not PM-2 stock)?  
 
For the second bolded statement, I definitely agree that tuning with the pads is a solid idea to do a quick tweak here and there, and as Jerg has shown time and time again, it definitely makes a difference.  I feel that damping and pads will only bring the PM-1/PM-2 so far.  That's just me though.  

 

[MattTCG]

^^ Sorry, my error. I was comparing pm-2 and he400i bass. 

 

[TMRaven]

With the focus pads-a atleast, the 400i's upper treble was a little above neutral for me.  I'm thinking with the Focus-pads its lower treble will be more neutral, but upper treble still slightly peaked.  So yes the 400i still has a little bit of a peak in the upper treble.

 

[Lohb]

Are the cups deep burgundy now or is it just photo lighting ?

 

[MattTCG]

Cups are black chrome. Really nice paint. 

 

[money4me247]

  Cups are black chrome. Really nice paint. 

dudee I think that these cans look better than the he-560. anyone get a chance to do a direct comparison in terms of SQ??

 

[new reformation]

  With the focus pads-a atleast, the 400i's upper treble was a little above neutral for me.  I'm thinking with the Focus-pads its lower treble will be more neutral, but upper treble still slightly peaked.  So yes the 400i still has a little bit of a peak in the upper treble.

Thanks for the feedback.  Until we have a graph from someone like headroom or innerfidelity first hand impressions are incredibly valuable.  I am happy to hear that these have not been rolled off in the treble.  With largely flat response curve, and gently raised bass and treble, I wonder how these headphones line up with the Harman target curve.  Lookin' mighty good! 

 

[tinyman392]

  dudee I think that these cans look better than the he-560. anyone get a chance to do a direct comparison in terms of SQ??

 
I am planning on getting these on hand at some point (after release).  I definitely will be able to make comparisons then.  Otherwise, I do know there are people with both right now.  

 

[MattTCG]

  dudee I think that these cans look better than the he-560. anyone get a chance to do a direct comparison in terms of SQ??

 
I think that jerg is doing one now or maybe has already finished it.