[TMRaven]

Bass is just as deep.

 

[Mike In Bama]

After months of debating between the 400i and the 560, I went with the 560 and couldn't be happier.

Finding a reasonably priced, protective case proved more difficult for these large cans. I wanted something big enough to leave the cables attached and believe me, the options are few.

I stumbled across this on Amazon and wanted to share my discovery. This is the Geekria EJB-0035-02. It measures out at 11 x 9.4 x 4.7. It is only available in blue at the moment, but for about $32, this is a nice, safe place for your 400i.

[/IMG]


You can spend a whole lot more (easily) for a bigger, better case but I'm happy with this one.

 

[marhol]

Finally had a chance to listen HE-400i (along with HE-560 and HE-6) via Oppo HA-1 head amp/DAC/preamp and a reference SACD/CD player - the mighty MacIntosh MCD 1100 as a source. The reseller in my country was very kind (God bless him !)  and I had an unique OPPOrtunity to listen and compare five high end headphones for nearly 2 hours in acoustically perfect silent room. Taking into account that my listening session lasted only for about two hours and my hearing is certainly not amongst the best in the world, please take my impressions with a grain of salt.
 
First of all, these headphones look very nice and are indeed very comfortable. Build quality seemed solid as well. Actually looks wasn´t my main concern because in fact I´ve seen plenty of photos. So let´s talk about the SOUND straight away.
And here...to say that HE-400i did not disappoint... is an understatement, actually I must stress these headphones sound fabulously for their price (in comparison to HE-560, HE-6, Sennheiser HD 800, Oppo PM1 - which I listened too and compared at the same time) They did not embarrass themselves against aforementioned flaghips at all, but held their own very respectfully (despite a very low burn-in). I was listening to rock music and HE-400i provided a very pleasant warmth which I personally found very appealing especially in rock and pop. Bass had a lot of authority, slam, control and texture.  I simply did not find bass lacking at all.  HE-400i had this wonderful planar bass magic too and I found it even more engaging than the bass on HD 800 (which I liked too btw, but could not consider  as special as planar bass) Mids were clear and transparent and were warmer and more forward than mids on HE-560. Transition to treble was  smooth enough to my ears, without wonkiness or sibilance. Electric guitars sounded very lifelike, very naturally. Treble sounded neither bright nor harsh and was very well implemented into the frequency spectrum. Treble on my Beyerdynamic DT 990 in comparison sounded much brighter and not as natural. Regarding soundstage I was pleasantly surprised. After reading some complains about  HE-400i being closed in nature and lacking air I was a bit worried. OK, HE-400i soundstage can not compete with something like HD 800 or Audeze LCD-X, but in my opinion it has comparable width to HE-560 and loses only slightly in depth and height to HE-560.(stock model of course, I didn´t hear modded version of HE-560)  Instrument separation was easy to hear and imaging was very very good, although not as excellent as on Hifiman HE-6 or HD 800. I did not feel He-400i lacked aireness, although naturally, there are even more spacious sounding (and more expensive) headphones (e.g HE-560 sounded  more spacious too- although it was not a night and day difference, but Beyerdynamic DT 990 did not)
I felt Oppo HA-1 and HE-400i had a very good synergy, HE-400i was much easier to drive than HE-560/HE-6, although Oppo PM1 was even more efficient. Pity I had not enough time to try HE-400i with my iBasso DX90, but i suppose this portable player should drive them reasonably well.
Bottom line : I do not dare to post these impressions in a review (due to the reduced time with HE-400i and limited music I threw on them), but I can honestly say these cans represent great value for a music lover. They strenght lies in musicality, versatility (all roundness), and a very respectable technical abilities even against the top dogs ( Besides of mentioned flagships I heard that very day also other premier cans such as  LCD-2 and LCD-X ) My subjective score would be around  80-85 points /100 for the sound alone, 85 /100 for the comfort and  around 95% for the overall value. It is quite possible I will buy them next year.

 

[Solarium]

Bit and ordered the 400i from amazon (thank you holiday return policy!). Really excited for it given that I absolutely LOVED the original 400's, except for the weight and comfort. I'm hoping for that the bass and soundstage didn't decrease THAT much.

 

[q2klepto]

  Bit and ordered the 400i from amazon (thank you holiday return policy!). Really excited for it given that I absolutely LOVED the original 400's, except for the weight and comfort. I'm hoping for that the bass and soundstage didn't decrease THAT much.

 
 
They really dont - unless you AB them, and even then it was a bit hard to tell the difference in bass/soundstage.  Comfort, weight, smoothness/sibilance and mids are a clear step up. 

 

[stuartmc]

  Finally had a chance to listen HE-400i (along with HE-560 and HE-6) via Oppo HA-1 head amp/DAC/preamp and a reference SACD/CD player - the mighty MacIntosh MCD 1100 as a source. The reseller in my country was very kind (God bless him !)  and I had an unique OPPOrtunity to listen and compare five high end headphones for nearly 2 hours in acoustically perfect silent room. Taking into account that my listening session lasted only for about two hours and my hearing is certainly not amongst the best in the world, please take my impressions with a grain of salt.
 

 Grain of salt taken, but you did a very nice synopsis of your impressions here.....well done sir!

 

[swspiers]

   I heard that very day also other premier cans such as  LCD-2 and LCD-X ) My subjective score would be around  80-85 points /100 for the sound alone, 85 /100 for the comfort and  around 95% for the overall value. It is quite possible I will buy them next year.

Hmmm.  I think the new Hifiman cans, along with the Alpha Dogs/Primes, are kinda changing the formula of diminishing returns.  I agree- the 400i's are totally amazing, especially when compared to higher $$$ models.

 

[genclaymore]

Any one compared the Hifiman HE-400i to the beyerdynamic T90's, I very curious how they fair against each other.

 

[VintageSTX]

Sooo tempted to sell my DT880's for a a pair of these!

 

[bassboysam]

  Sooo tempted to sell my DT880's for a a pair of these!

 
 
completely different headphones.  The DT880s are more open with a wider soundstage.  I would say they are also more detailed but the HE400i has a lot more bass.

 

[skyline315]

   
 
completely different headphones.  The DT880s are more open with a wider soundstage.  I would say they are also more detailed but the HE400i has a lot more bass.

 
After a lengthy direct comparison, I sold my 880s for the 400i.  I felt the 400i was clearly superior, which is saying something since I LOVE the 880.  They were my go-to headphones for several years.
 
The soundstage of the 880 is not spectacular.  You may be right about width, but I think there is more depth to the soundstage on the 400i.  Instrument separation on the 400i is better which makes it feel less congested to me.
 
880 - grainy.  400i - smooth.  
 
400is are a little darker...a little meatier.  This is only relaitve, though...I don't think the 400i is a dark headphone.
 
Basically, if I had to summarize:  The 400i sounds 3-dimensional, while the 880 sounds flat in comparison.  

 

[swspiers]

I just spent some time with the 400i's for the first time in about 2 weeks.  I got these other cans, the Alpha Primes...ever hear of them?  They're pretty good.  Good enough that I have used them exclusively aside from some quick comparisons.  I also fell into a steal of a deal on a Benchmark DAC-1.  For the first time ever, I admit it, there are (or can be) differences between DAC's.  Not HUGE, but certainly in the fine details.
 
Resolution wise, the Primes are honestly in a completely different class than the 400i's. However, the warmth and pleasing sound more than makes up for the loss in absolute definition, and in a pretty big way.  Giving the self-titled Shrinebuilder a listen  both took me right back to the 400i's, and I'm glad to write that I'm quite comfortable having two different 'tools' for different things.  Unless my finances take an unexpected turn, or someone wants to trade my 400i's for a SR-009 or Abyss rig, I'm holding on to both.
 
Just waiting for Schiit to release the Fulla.  I expect great things with a Fulla/400i combo out of my laptop.

 

[swspiers]

It's like I'm psychic!  Fulla is officially released!
 
Originally Posted by Jason Stoddard /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
And, Fulla is up!
 
http://www.schiit.com/products/fulla

 

[drbluenewmexico]

  Finally had a chance to listen HE-400i (along with HE-560 and HE-6) via Oppo HA-1 head amp/DAC/preamp and a reference SACD/CD player - the mighty MacIntosh MCD 1100 as a source. The reseller in my country was very kind (God bless him !)  and I had an unique OPPOrtunity to listen and compare five high end headphones for nearly 2 hours in acoustically perfect silent room. Taking into account that my listening session lasted only for about two hours and my hearing is certainly not amongst the best in the world, please take my impressions with a grain of salt.
 
First of all, these headphones look very nice and are indeed very comfortable. Build quality seemed solid as well. Actually looks wasn´t my main concern because in fact I´ve seen plenty of photos. So let´s talk about the SOUND straight away.
And here...to say that HE-400i did not disappoint... is an understatement, actually I must stress these headphones sound fabulously for their price (in comparison with HE-560, HE-6, Sennheiser HD 800, Oppo PM1 - which I listened too and compared at the same time) They did not embarrass themselves against aforementioned flaghips at all, but hold their own very respectfully (despite a very low burn-in). I was listening to rock music and HE-400i provided a very pleasant warmth which I personally find very appealing especially in rock and pop. Bass had a lot of authority, slam, control and texture.  I simply did not find bass lacking at all.  HE-400i had this wonderful planar bass magic too and I found it even more engaging than the bass on HD 800 (which I liked too btw, but could not consider  as special as planar bass) Mids were clear and transparent and were warmer and more forward than mids on HE-560. Transition to treble was  smooth enough to my ears, without wonkiness or sibilance. Electric guitars sounded very lifelike, very naturally. Treble sounded neither bright nor harsh and was very well implemented into the frequency spectrum. Treble on my Beyerdynamic DT 990 in comparison sounded much brighter and not as natural. Regarding soundstage I was pleasantly surprised. After reading some complains about  HE-400i being closed in nature and lacking air I was a bit worried. OK, HE-400i soundstage can not compete with something like HD 800 or Audeze LCD-X, but in my opinion it has comparable width to HE-560 and loses only slightly in depth and height to HE-560.(stock model of course, I didn´t hear modded version of HE-560)  Instrument separation was easy to hear and imaging was very very good, although not as excellent as on Hifiman HE-6 or HD 800. I did not feel He-400 lacked aireness, although naturally, there are even more spacious sounding (and more expensive) headphones (e.g HE-560 sounded  more spacious too- although it was not a night and day difference, but Beyerdynamic DT 990 did not)
I felt Oppo HA-1 and HE-400i had a very good synergy, HE-400i was much easier to drive than HE-560/HE-6, although Oppo PM1 was even more efficient. Pity I had not enough time to try HE-400i with my iBasso DX90, but i suppose this portable player should drive them reasonably well.
Bottom line : I do not dare to post these impressions in a review (due to the reduced time with HE-400i and limited music I threw on them), but I can honestly say these cans represent great value for a music lover. They strenght lies in musicality, versatility (all roundness), and a very respectable technical abilities even against the top dogs ( Besides of mentioned flagships I heard that very day also other premier cans such as  LCD-2 and LCD-X ) My subjective score would be around  80-85 points /100 for the sound alone, 85 /100 for the comfort and  around 95% for the overall value. It is quite possible I will buy them next year.

GOTTA share this immediately:  after about 200 hours of burn in my 400is completely dazzled me out of a MOJO AUDIO NOS DAC into a David Berning MicroZotl tube headphone amp. the synchrony of the above chain is unreal, a completely different beast with the tube power and the state of the art NOS (non oversampling dac) I had played with the 4000is only DX90s with a Cayin C5 powering it, with an Audioquest Dragonfly with stabilized iFi power supply, etc.  but nothing prepared me for how good these cans are with tubes and NOS dac.  sound like my old Magnaplanar2.0 speakers on steroids.  bass is great, mids are liquid and treble sparkly.  i am so satisfied i can hardly speak. hi rez files sound the best of all, they are ALIVE on good recordings (like Linnrecords xmas gift files) and voices silky and seductive...but EDMs sound like being in a live club thats inside your head
not as much detail or soundstage as the 560s i heard on tour, but i like this sound way better, much more musically involving and emotionally stimulating.  back to listening...

 

[swspiers]

  GOTTA share this immediately:  after about 200 hours of burn in my 400is completely dazzled me out of a MOJO AUDIO NOS DAC into a David Berning MicroZotl tube headphone amp. the synchrony of the above chain is unreal, a completely different beast with the tube power and the state of the art NOS (non oversampling dac) I had played with the 4000is only DX90s with a Cayin C5 powering it, with an Audioquest Dragonfly with stabilized iFi power supply, etc.  but nothing prepared me for how good these cans are with tubes and NOS dac.  sound like my old Magnaplanar2.0 speakers on steroids.  bass is great, mids are liquid and treble sparkly.  i am so satisfied i can hardly speak. hi rez files sound the best of all, they are ALIVE on good recordings (like Linnrecords xmas gift files) and voices silky and seductive...but EDMs sound like being in a live club thats inside your head
not as much detail or soundstage as the 560s i heard on tour, but i like this sound way better, much more musically involving and emotionally stimulating.  back to listening...

That's the kind of "I gotta share this right now" reaction I love to read!