YtseJamer
Headphoneus Supremus
Thanks pfillion, take your time, I´m looking forward. Heard a lot of good words about Grados for rock, so I am intrigued
No problem, the Grados are really special with rock and metal music.
Thanks pfillion, take your time, I´m looking forward. Heard a lot of good words about Grados for rock, so I am intrigued
nice I hope I agree soon.. as I dont want to return them. Im sure I just need some listening time.Going back and forth myself, the difference is huge to me. So much so that I feel like the HE-400 is unlistenable now.
No problem, the Grados are really special with rock and metal music.
I won't disagree with the general statement, but based on my recent one week trial with the Grado Rs1e, that model was poor with rock and metal and other genres too. I much preferred competing models from Senn and HiFiMan and NAD. Ymmv.
Just received my open box pair from RazorDog. Initial impressions are extremely, extremely positive ...soon as I pick my jaw up off the floor, I'll report with more. So far, these have far exceeded my expectations of them. Amazing job Hifiman!
Just received my open box pair from RazorDog. Initial impressions are extremely, extremely positive ...soon as I pick my jaw up off the floor, I'll report with more. So far, these have far exceeded my expectations of them. Amazing job Hifiman! I've never had this sense of awe from any headphone I've owned before - including HD800/LCD2/JH13pro and HE560 (don't own but have auditioned for several extended occasions). Very pleased!
Could you please compare Grado 225e and HE 400i (overall and also which one handles electric guitar better in your opinion) in few words ?
My review of the HE-400i —
Compared them primarily to the Sennheiser HD-600. (Compared them also to Grado Rs1e and HiFiMan HE-300, but those were minor league compared to 400i and 600 IMO.)
Comfort - Nice. The clamp is firm, but the pads are well cushioned. 400i is warmer (physical temperature) - in a warm room I prefer the Senn, whose pads seem to ventilate better, and clamp less tightly.
The 400i and the 600 ran neck and neck through most of my evaluations. The primary difference is the 400i’s more forward emphasis in high mids into the treble - I noticed this most on snare drums, and cymbals. Independently, the 600 and 400i each sounded “right”, but in direct comparisons, this was their most noticeable difference. On a few occasions, the 400i treble spike (if that’s what it is) made drums and cymbals a little too strident. On other tracks, that quality enhanced immediacy of sound. Sometimes the 400i was slightly preferable on electric guitars, though it could get edgy, depending on the recording, and the 600’s could then have a nicer crunch. On acoustic guitars, the 600 seemed just a bit more natural.
Voices and midrange instruments were excellent on both ‘phones, with that extra emphasis by the 400i giving a bit more prominence to some instruments and voices - The 400i gave the effect that the singer was standing closer to me than he/she did in the 600’s. The 400i gave trumpets and trombones a little extra “brass” and excitement.
Piano was a little more forward on the 400i. When playing vinyl, surface noise was a bit more evident on the 400i. Sometimes the 400i could be too hissy on cymbals, and give a little sibilance to female voices and S sounds.
The 600 had the advantage in “soundstage”, in the headphone sense of (IMHO) space and openness and depth. I consistently preferred the 600 in this area, although the 400i was not weak here. It just sounded slightly, relatively, more two-dimensional to me.
The bass. I spent a lot of time listening here, since I had some expectation that the 400i bass would be better or bigger or deeper. But I kept hearing the 600 match the 400i in bass, and occasionally better it. Most of my auditioning was via the Schitt Valhalla 2 amp. I believe that is particularly suited to the Senn, and perhaps the pairing is not as ideal with 400i. Certainly the Valhalla 2 drove it the 400i comfortably, using the suitable low impedance position, and volume was strong with plenty of headroom. But maybe other amps are more ideal with HiFiMan.
The exact character of the bass between these two phones were sometimes a little different, but blow me if I can describe these slightly different characters. They each had slam and tone and depth. Maybe the 400i had a bit more slam or impact, sometimes. To put it into perspective, I was also evaluating a tour pair of Grado Rs1e ($700) during some of this time - and its deficiencies in the bass were so evident, relative to the 400i and 600, that the latter two could have been identical twins. The bass is good on these two - not exaggerated or bumped up, but solid and strong.
I was so intrigued by the bass, and the unexpected non-boost of bass in the 400i, that I did something I hadn’t planned to do - I used bass warble tone tracks (stepping down to 20 Hz) from the Stereophile Test CD’s (vol. 1 and 2) to compare these ‘phones - and the 600 “won”, in going deeper and stronger than the 400i. (For these trials, I set initial levels by ear, and not by measurement, so you may discount my process and results here if you like.)
The test tracks were only a tiny part of my listening evaluations. I have a bunch of listening notes that I won’t transcribe here, due to length, but over a variety of musics - rock, folk, jazz, blues, r&b, classical, and sub genres thereof, I did not find that the 400i’s did bass better (louder, lower, or tighter) than the 600. How bout that!? There was that slightly different character in their bass response that I can’t articulate - but BASS BE GOOD in both.
In sum, I like the 400i very much; but slightly prefer my good ol’ Senn 600. It’s a close call, and I would recommend the 400i’s for anybody to consider. After boxing up my 30 day tour unit to ship back to HFM, I unboxed them again and decided to keep em after all!
My review of the HE-400i —
Compared them primarily to the Sennheiser HD-600. (Compared them also to Grado Rs1e and HiFiMan HE-300, but those were minor league compared to 400i and 600 IMO.)
Comfort - Nice. The clamp is firm, but the pads are well cushioned. 400i is warmer (physical temperature) - in a warm room I prefer the Senn, whose pads seem to ventilate better, and clamp less tightly.
The 400i and the 600 ran neck and neck through most of my evaluations. The primary difference is the 400i’s more forward emphasis in high mids into the treble - I noticed this most on snare drums, and cymbals. Independently, the 600 and 400i each sounded “right”, but in direct comparisons, this was their most noticeable difference. On a few occasions, the 400i treble spike (if that’s what it is) made drums and cymbals a little too strident. On other tracks, that quality enhanced immediacy of sound. Sometimes the 400i was slightly preferable on electric guitars, though it could get edgy, depending on the recording, and the 600’s could then have a nicer crunch. On acoustic guitars, the 600 seemed just a bit more natural.
Voices and midrange instruments were excellent on both ‘phones, with that extra emphasis by the 400i giving a bit more prominence to some instruments and voices - The 400i gave the effect that the singer was standing closer to me than he/she did in the 600’s. The 400i gave trumpets and trombones a little extra “brass” and excitement.
Piano was a little more forward on the 400i. When playing vinyl, surface noise was a bit more evident on the 400i. Sometimes the 400i could be too hissy on cymbals, and give a little sibilance to female voices and S sounds.
The 600 had the advantage in “soundstage”, in the headphone sense of (IMHO) space and openness and depth. I consistently preferred the 600 in this area, although the 400i was not weak here. It just sounded slightly, relatively, more two-dimensional to me.
The bass. I spent a lot of time listening here, since I had some expectation that the 400i bass would be better or bigger or deeper. But I kept hearing the 600 match the 400i in bass, and occasionally better it. Most of my auditioning was via the Schitt Valhalla 2 amp. I believe that is particularly suited to the Senn, and perhaps the pairing is not as ideal with 400i. Certainly the Valhalla 2 drove it the 400i comfortably, using the suitable low impedance position, and volume was strong with plenty of headroom. But maybe other amps are more ideal with HiFiMan.
The exact character of the bass between these two phones were sometimes a little different, but blow me if I can describe these slightly different characters. They each had slam and tone and depth. Maybe the 400i had a bit more slam or impact, sometimes. To put it into perspective, I was also evaluating a tour pair of Grado Rs1e ($700) during some of this time - and its deficiencies in the bass were so evident, relative to the 400i and 600, that the latter two could have been identical twins. The bass is good on these two - not exaggerated or bumped up, but solid and strong.
I was so intrigued by the bass, and the unexpected non-boost of bass in the 400i, that I did something I hadn’t planned to do - I used bass warble tone tracks (stepping down to 20 Hz) from the Stereophile Test CD’s (vol. 1 and 2) to compare these ‘phones - and the 600 “won”, in going deeper and stronger than the 400i. (For these trials, I set initial levels by ear, and not by measurement, so you may discount my process and results here if you like.)
The test tracks were only a tiny part of my listening evaluations. I have a bunch of listening notes that I won’t transcribe here, due to length, but over a variety of musics - rock, folk, jazz, blues, r&b, classical, and sub genres thereof, I did not find that the 400i’s did bass better (louder, lower, or tighter) than the 600. How bout that!? There was that slightly different character in their bass response that I can’t articulate - but BASS BE GOOD in both.
In sum, I like the 400i very much; but slightly prefer my good ol’ Senn 600. It’s a close call, and I would recommend the 400i’s for anybody to consider. After boxing up my 30 day tour unit to ship back to HFM, I unboxed them again and decided to keep em after all!
Ok I have compared the 400i's with the 225e's this evening and the Grados are still the king to reproduce the electric guitar sound.
Technically the 400i's are better than the 225e's but the guitars sounds slightly more real, lively and crunchy on the 225e's.
Both headphones are amazing!
My review of the HE-400i —
Compared them primarily to the Sennheiser HD-600. (Compared them also to Grado Rs1e and HiFiMan HE-300, but those were minor league compared to 400i and 600 IMO.)
Comfort - Nice. The clamp is firm, but the pads are well cushioned. 400i is warmer (physical temperature) - in a warm room I prefer the Senn, whose pads seem to ventilate better, and clamp less tightly.
The 400i and the 600 ran neck and neck through most of my evaluations. The primary difference is the 400i’s more forward emphasis in high mids into the treble - I noticed this most on snare drums, and cymbals. Independently, the 600 and 400i each sounded “right”, but in direct comparisons, this was their most noticeable difference. On a few occasions, the 400i treble spike (if that’s what it is) made drums and cymbals a little too strident. On other tracks, that quality enhanced immediacy of sound. Sometimes the 400i was slightly preferable on electric guitars, though it could get edgy, depending on the recording, and the 600’s could then have a nicer crunch. On acoustic guitars, the 600 seemed just a bit more natural.
Voices and midrange instruments were excellent on both ‘phones, with that extra emphasis by the 400i giving a bit more prominence to some instruments and voices - The 400i gave the effect that the singer was standing closer to me than he/she did in the 600’s. The 400i gave trumpets and trombones a little extra “brass” and excitement.
Piano was a little more forward on the 400i. When playing vinyl, surface noise was a bit more evident on the 400i. Sometimes the 400i could be too hissy on cymbals, and give a little sibilance to female voices and S sounds.
The 600 had the advantage in “soundstage”, in the headphone sense of (IMHO) space and openness and depth. I consistently preferred the 600 in this area, although the 400i was not weak here. It just sounded slightly, relatively, more two-dimensional to me.
The bass. I spent a lot of time listening here, since I had some expectation that the 400i bass would be better or bigger or deeper. But I kept hearing the 600 match the 400i in bass, and occasionally better it. Most of my auditioning was via the Schitt Valhalla 2 amp. I believe that is particularly suited to the Senn, and perhaps the pairing is not as ideal with 400i. Certainly the Valhalla 2 drove it the 400i comfortably, using the suitable low impedance position, and volume was strong with plenty of headroom. But maybe other amps are more ideal with HiFiMan.
The exact character of the bass between these two phones were sometimes a little different, but blow me if I can describe these slightly different characters. They each had slam and tone and depth. Maybe the 400i had a bit more slam or impact, sometimes. To put it into perspective, I was also evaluating a tour pair of Grado Rs1e ($700) during some of this time - and its deficiencies in the bass were so evident, relative to the 400i and 600, that the latter two could have been identical twins. The bass is good on these two - not exaggerated or bumped up, but solid and strong.
I was so intrigued by the bass, and the unexpected non-boost of bass in the 400i, that I did something I hadn’t planned to do - I used bass warble tone tracks (stepping down to 20 Hz) from the Stereophile Test CD’s (vol. 1 and 2) to compare these ‘phones - and the 600 “won”, in going deeper and stronger than the 400i. (For these trials, I set initial levels by ear, and not by measurement, so you may discount my process and results here if you like.)
The test tracks were only a tiny part of my listening evaluations. I have a bunch of listening notes that I won’t transcribe here, due to length, but over a variety of musics - rock, folk, jazz, blues, r&b, classical, and sub genres thereof, I did not find that the 400i’s did bass better (louder, lower, or tighter) than the 600. How bout that!? There was that slightly different character in their bass response that I can’t articulate - but BASS BE GOOD in both.
In sum, I like the 400i very much; but slightly prefer my good ol’ Senn 600. It’s a close call, and I would recommend the 400i’s for anybody to consider. After boxing up my 30 day tour unit to ship back to HFM, I unboxed them again and decided to keep em after all!