[rovopio]

I suppose it's my fault for not asking around before placing my order.  It looks like I'm going to pay a lot more than $549+tax...

 


it's shipped?
if it isn't ship yet, just a shot in the dark, what about contacting them and trying to cancel?

 

[saguro]

The package is already at customs. It looks like I'm going to learn a valuable lesson -literally. I wouldn't send them back anyway, not after them making the effort to reduce the shipping to me.

 

[rovopio]

The package is already at customs. It looks like I'm going to learn a valuable lesson -literally. I wouldn't send them back anyway, not after them making the effort to reduce the shipping to me.

 


I thought in Canada you don't pay import tax if the item is under several hundred dollars or something?
i might be wrong but i've heard about the limit not being so low from friends...

 

[DaemonSire]

 

The package is already at customs. It looks like I'm going to learn a valuable lesson -literally. I wouldn't send them back anyway, not after them making the effort to reduce the shipping to me.

 


I thought in Canada you don't pay import tax if the item is under several hundred dollars or something?
i might be wrong but i've heard about the limit not being so low from friends...

 
If it is marked as a "gift", $60 is the limit.  Anything over $60, they can charge you.

 

[MickeyVee]

It's very hit and miss.  I order  lot of stuff from the US (photo, bike and HP accessories) and abroad and it's a 50/50 chance whether I get hit with duties and taxes. There's no rhyme or reason.
 
Quote:

I thought in Canada you don't pay import tax if the item is under several hundred dollars or something?
i might be wrong but i've heard about the limit not being so low from friends...

 

[saguro]

Well, here's hoping. I'll update with a post when they arrive and let you guys know if I ended up overpaying in the end.

 

[chowmein83]

  I'm just waiting on the Oppo PM1's - i should be next in line, would be nice to do a compare the 400i to a $1000 headphone.  Sigs are different for sure, but id like to compare it to the 400is soundstage (OK), bass impact (Good), bass quality (Great) and sibilance (Fair) 

 
Quote:

  I've never heard the PM1 and going by reviews it's my perfect sound sig. I look forward to your impressions.

 
I actually just had the PM-1's for demoing several weeks back, and I can do a more-detailed comparison if anybody wants me to. But basically, the 400i is very competitive to the PM-1. In fact, I don't even think I can say the PM-1 is any better than the 400i in any aspect of sound quality, especially in the treble (the PM-1's even with the alternate leather pads are a little too treble recessed for me).

 

[chowmein83]

  I put in an order for these and the EF2A (combo) last Thursday -I went from wanting the SRH1540 to the Mad Dog Pro's to the HE500 to the HE400i, and hopefully I made the right decision.
 
These will be my first set of headphones that aren't completely consumer grade and I'm excited to experience the 400i's based on the last 220 pages I've read (I've read every single post).  These will serve as my new office headphones and will be replacing unamped Shure 425's and Bose QC15's.
 
I haven't heard read any discussions on the 400i and EF2A pairing.  I'm interested to read other people's impressions as surely I can't be the first person to buy/try this combo?
 
Looking forward to receiving this combo and posting my impressions!

 
I don't want to disappoint you, but personally I found the 400i and EF2-A combo lacking. It sounded decent, but it wasn't anything special. I think maybe this is because to me the EF2-A didn't sound like it had quite enough power to very capably drive the 400i - it was lacking that bit of "effortlessness."
 
There are a couple of caveats to what I just said though. First, I listened to the 400i and EF2-A when the 400i was still a prototype (though a nearly-finished one) at an audio show (though in relatively good and quiet conditions). Secondly, at the same show I also listened to the 400i through the EF-6 amp, which may have skewed my impressions of the EF2-A.
 
As always, you should listen to the combo first and make your own judgment. But I would like to hear your impressions of the combo after you do receive the 400i and the EF2-A.

 

[Brault]

Headphone Bar in Vancouver sells the 400i for $549 and 560 for $949. Their service is great - they replaced my FiiO E17/E9K combination with no questions when it acted up after a year of use. The present exchange rate just makes US purchases hard to justify... I hope to get my 400i this spring, spouse approval pending...

 

[Ryanr1987]

   
I actually just had the PM-1's for demoing several weeks back, and I can do a more-detailed comparison if anybody wants me to. But basically, the 400i is very competitive to the PM-1. In fact, I don't even think I can say the PM-1 is any better than the 400i in any aspect of sound quality, especially in the treble (the PM-1's even with the alternate leather pads are a little too treble recessed for me).

How do the PM1' mids compare to the HD650? in terms of thicknes and lushness.

 

[marhol]

   
I actually just had the PM-1's for demoing several weeks back, and I can do a more-detailed comparison if anybody wants me to. But basically, the 400i is very competitive to the PM-1. In fact, I don't even think I can say the PM-1 is any better than the 400i in any aspect of sound quality, especially in the treble (the PM-1's even with the alternate leather pads are a little too treble recessed for me).

Of course I am interested in your comparison He-400i vs Oppo PM1 and your impressions !
Maybe I can contribute too with a little prologue

. As I recall,  I personally liked Oppo PM1, when I heard it via Oppo HA1 head amp in December 2014. It sounded very lush, especially midrange was very rich, incredibly musical, delicious sounding via Oppo HA-1 ( the combo Oppo HA-1 + Oppo PM1 had a fantastic harmony indeed) Bass was deep (more sub bass extension than HE-400i ) and punchy, but in comparison to HE-560, HE-6 and even HE-400i I found the texture of the bass slightly lacking. (It seemed to me all Hifimans had the upper hand as far as bass texture goes ) Treble was clear and smooth but maybe too smooth for someone. Hifiman HE-560 and HE-400i and of course HE-6 had more treble extension/presense and thus I would say the treble of HE-400i sounded maybe a bit more natural to me. The soundstage comparison of HE-400i and Oppo PM1 - here unfortunately I did not make any significant notes so I can not really comment on it. But as far as I remember, I would not certainly call the soundstage of Oppo PM1 small or claustrophobic (as some people refer to it ). In fact, I remotely remember the soundstage depth was quite immersive in Oppo PM1. 
Bottom line, to me Oppo PM1 sounded very sweet and if your preference is slightly recessed, smooth treble with  highly musical, warm sound signature it might be a way to go. But in terms of its technical abilities (bass texture, timbre naturalness, treble extension, maybe soundstage width) it seemed to me, that HE-560 wasnt worse- (to say at least ) and HE-400i was very very close to match overall technical abilities of Oppo PM1. 

 

[nicholars]

Would be interested to hear any comparisons of the SRH 1540 and HE400i....
 
I will probably get the HE400i and see which I prefer as I already have the SRH1540 and like them the best out of any headphone I have owned so far.... but need to scratch the itch that the HE400i might be better at a similar price... I will post a HE400i VS SRH 1540 review when I get the HE400i. If the bass quantity is less (with EQ) or the soundstage is significantly worse on the HE400i then I might not try them and just keep the 1540 as I would not want less bass or soundstage size compared to the 1540.

 

[q2klepto]

  Would be interested to hear any comparisons of the SRH 1540 and HE400i....
 
I will probably get the HE400i and see which I prefer as I already have the SRH1540 and like them the best out of any headphone I have owned so far.... but need to scratch the itch that the HE400i might be better at a similar price... I will post a HE400i VS SRH 1540 review when I get the HE400i. If the bass quantity is less (with EQ) or the soundstage is significantly worse on the HE400i then I might not try them and just keep the 1540 as I would not want less bass or soundstage size compared to the 1540.

 
The 1540 are closed arent they? The 400i should have a wider feeling soundstage, at least airier. I've had the PM1 on loan for a couple days now and i feel that the 400i feels more airier, probably because the pads have more room on the left and right side, and is are deeper than the PM1 velour pads (which are more oval, kind of shallow).  I grill modded my 400i so it could help in that, while the grill on the PM1 is noticably more restrictive. 

 

[nicholars]

   
The 1540 are closed arent they? The 400i should have a wider feeling soundstage, at least airier. I've had the PM1 on loan for a couple days now and i feel that the 400i feels more airier, probably because the pads have more room on the left and right side, and is are deeper than the PM1 velour pads (which are more oval, kind of shallow).  I grill modded my 400i so it could help in that, while the grill on the PM1 is noticably more restrictive. 

 
Yes the pads on the HE400i look a lot nicer than on the HE400/500, looks like HIFIMAN saw the "jergpads" and made something similar. For some reason I found the HE400 quite closed sounding compared to open backed dynamic headphones... probably the huge planar driver which makes them sound less "airy"... But the size of the soundstage was decent, the 1540 are closed but they sound quite open and have a big soundstage for closed headphones. Reading the HE400i reviews the main negatives were "mediocre soundstage" and "not as much bass as HE400"... But that depends if it is a small soundstage compared to an AKG for example or a small soundstage compared to Sennheiser momentum for example so it is hard to know without reading direct comparisons to other headphones or buying them and trying for myself...

 

[chowmein83]

   
Reading the HE400i reviews the main negatives were "mediocre soundstage" and "not as much bass as HE400"... But that depends if it is a small soundstage compared to an AKG for example or a small soundstage compared to Sennheiser momentum for example so it is hard to know without reading direct comparisons to other headphones or buying them and trying for myself...

 
Based on what I've heard for myself, the HE-400i definitely does not have a small soundstage compared to the Momentum, or compared to any other non-open headphones for that matter. For example, the 400i sounds bigger than my modded T50RP,  and bigger than the Sony MDR-z7 (which is said to have a big soundstage for a closed headphone). I think the Alpha Dogs are an exception though, but I'm not too sure about this as I haven't heard the AD in a long time.
 
I think people call the 400i's soundstage small only in comparison to stuff like from Sennheiser (but only their newer headphones, not stuff like the HD600 or HD650) or AKG or with any other open headphones that is particularly known for having a large soundstage. The 400i definitely has a smaller soundstage compared to the AKG Q701 and my Sennheiser HD598, and definitely much smaller than the HD800.
 
But the 400i's soundstage is definitely on the bigger side if we're just talking about planars. I personally think that my 400i has a bigger soundstage than my modded T50RP and the Mad Dog, bigger than anything from Audeze that I've ever heard, and bigger than the PM-1.