[coletrain104]

   
That's good to hear, the 880s are called more neutral for god knows what reason, but they have a very similar treble spike as the 990s (http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=2241&graphID[]=2751&scale=30) - just want to put that out there. The X2s have a small 10kHz spike as well and I've had to dial in down for certain songs, so I'm extra cautious for any future HP I'm considering. The 400i's are on the top of my list, so that's good to hear about the highs. I have to get a planar

The 880s treble spike exists, but is much more subdued and balanced than the 990s, as I have listened to both and for me, the 990s were unbearable. Unfortunately I have not heard the X2 to compare. I would say that the 400i is slightly less offensive than HD600 IMO. They have similar character, but the 400i is slightly smoother and warmer.

 

[maul]

  The 880s treble spike exists, but is much more subdued and balanced than the 880s, as I have listened to both and for me, the 990s were unbearable. Unfortunately I have not heard the X2 to compare. I would say that the 400i is slightly less offensive than HD600 IMO. They have similar character, but the 400i is slightly smoother and warmer.

I just know the 880s would kill me as well. And that's excellent, the 400i is probably my next HP. Also, just to make it clear to anyone else reading this, I would not consider the X2s harsh at all. They just have a small spike that barely makes itself present in certain songs - most of the time it adds a nice sparkle. I'm pretty sure it'll tame a bit over time as well

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Are the highs sibilant/piercing at all with the 400i? I've heard about treble issues with Hifimans and I'm a little treble-sensitive. Based on the graphs there does seem to be a slight peak at 10kHz, but nothing significant. 

I had a DT 880 for more than a year and I would say going from memory that the 400i is certainly less aggressive in the treble. It is well extended, but also well behaved. Now you have to take that with a grain of salt as I am 47 and likely I have some diminished high frequency sensitivity, although if I do it is modest. It also depends on how sensitive you are, but as I'm sure you are noticing from the comments and reviews most find the 400i quite well behaved in the upper frequencies.

 

[beaver316]

  I have been using my PM 3s mostly lately (newest toy syndrome) but last night I played the 400i through my main system and there is just something really right about that punchy, speedy and non-glaring signature that really works for me. I was playing some new Phuturprimitive and damn was it engaging. All kinds of micro detail, plump articulate bass, all kinds of speed. What I really appreciate quite a bit is the well extended treble that stops shy of being peaky. The 560 has more nuanced treble, but it can get on the edge at times so ultimately I would give the listenability factor to the 400i. Now when the 560 are humming along in their sweet spot you can tell what the more accomplished headphone of the two is, but seriously, I am really impressed with the 400i.
 
I was comparing it on a few occasions with the TH 900 expecting to always be really let down when I went from the TH 900 to the 400i, but that just wasn't the case. Certainly the TH 900 like the 560 is the more accomplished signature, but as I said, the 400i is so easy to listen to, very energetic and in all reality very technically competent. I'm glad I took the chance on it.

 
Thanks for the heads up on the new Phutureprimitve stuff. I loved some of their older tracks.

 

[marhol]

 
I had a DT 880 for more than a year and I would say going from memory that the 400i is certainly less aggressive in the treble. It is well extended, but also well behaved. Now you have to take that with a grain of salt as I am 47 and likely I have some diminished high frequency sensitivity, although if I do it is modest. It also depends on how sensitive you are, but as I'm sure you are noticing from the comments and reviews most find the 400i quite well behaved in the upper frequencies.

 
 

  the 400i and 500 are the least offensive of all the hifiman's I've heard in the highs (only haven't heard 5-LE), and I don't find any issues with too much brightness, but it may depend on how sensitive to it you are. I find the HE-400 and DT880 too bright.

I agree with above posted replies. HE-400i is natural and smooth sounding in treble. It is considerably warmer sounding headphone than DT 990 and a also a bit warmer than HE-560 or HE-6. I would rate DT 990 as a bright headphone with significantly elevated treble. HE-560 and HE-6 are more or less neutral. HE-400i is warm/neutral and as such is more forgiving of poorer recordings than HE-560 or HE-6. For me HE-400i hardly ever sounds aggressive or harsh in treble. You would need bright sounding DAC and very bright recordings to make it sound bright, aggressive or peaky imo. 

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
Thanks for the heads up on the new Phutureprimitve stuff. I loved some of their older tracks.

Love most Phutureprimitive, and the recordings are excellent. I highly recommend Kinetic if you haven't heard that album and his most recent release Searching for Beauty in the Darkest Places Part 2. The new release is mellower chillstep, but very nice and well worth grabbing.

 

[ChesterYonany]

  Are the highs sibilant/piercing at all with the 400i? I've heard about treble issues with Hifimans and I'm a little treble-sensitive. Based on the graphs there does seem to be a slight peak at 10kHz, but nothing significant. 

 
Not at all.
im treble sensitive too and the 400i (even with the modi\magni combo) are pretty neutral.
for comparrison, the DT 770 where like knives in my ears, i shoved my finger into my ear to make sure im not bleeding.

 

[maul]

 
Love most Phutureprimitive, and the recordings are excellent. I highly recommend Kinetic if you haven't heard that album and his most recent release Searching for Beauty in the Darkest Places Part 2. The new release is mellower chillstep, but very nice and well worth grabbing.

 
Hell yeah, Phutureprimitive is wicked, been listening since the beginning and been a to a few live shows - I see their audience is growing.
 
And thanks for the responses about the 400i, has helped greatly -

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
Hell yeah, Phutureprimitive is wicked, been listening since the beginning and been a to a few live shows. I see their audience is growing

S​weet, you are lucky as I think he rarely tours outside of the US. I've not noticed any Canadian dates, or maybe just one out on the West coast. Are there any other artists you think I might like? Feel free to recommend. I like Pitch Black and Bluetech as well to name a few others.

 

[maul]

 
S​weet, you are lucky as I think he rarely tours outside of the US. I've not noticed any Canadian dates, or maybe just one out on the West coast. Are there any other artists you think I might like? Feel free to recommend. I like Pitch Black and Bluetech as well to name a few others.

 
Well I've been a huge Infected Mushroom fan for ages, if you haven't heard them you should get on that - nothing like them. Shpongle, Shulman, Future Sound of London, the standards like Prodigy/Crystal Method, Aphex Twin, Jean-Michel Jarre, Ott, Vibrasphere, Zircon, list goes on and there's plenty of smaller artists that I haven't exactly determined if they're worth recommending. You may have heard all these for all I know and some of them are more out there than others. But anyway I'd say Infected Mushroom is at the pinnacle of creativity as well as production, so if had to recommend one artist it'd be them. 

 

[ForgottenSpy]

Sonic Defender
 
You can also check artists from Altar Rec, Elektrolux (with Mikrolux) rec, Ultima rec, Celestial Dragon. Most of them would be good for you.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Thanks too both of you for the recommendations, I will be checking these out on Tidal and Bandcamp if Tidal doesn't have these. Cheers.

 

[HirschiAUT]

Yeah a big thanks from me too @maul and @ForgottenSpy for all the recommendations.

I would like to add two more suggestions that might be to the taste of you guys

http://adnoiseam.bandcamp.com/album/futurphobia
https://adnoiseam.bandcamp.com/album/zemdega

Ad Noiseam in general has lots of great stuff to discover, but those two are real gems imo.
Just listened to Oyaarss again and it heavily ****s up mah brainz :-D

Have fun with this and the 400i

 

[doughead]

Thought I'd post an update here since I started my new-found headfi hobby in this thread first. To cut a long story short, I began my search for a planar-magnetic starting with the HE-400i (didn't end up with them due to a bad audition, or lack of), got an Audeze EL-8 instead but eventually ended up with the LCD-XC as "the one". I sold the EL-8 although I like the slamming/impactful bass due to its brightness and too in-your-face forward mids. I did burn-them in for almost 2 weeks but unfortunately they didn't smoothen out as I'd expected. Well, I think the search has ended and I've finally found a planar-magnetic which finally ticks all the right boxes for me. Just to share in what ways did they float my boat and brought me to headfi cloud nine...
 
*  This are the BASSIEST planar-magnetic cans I've heard to date. They have tons of sub-bass, hefty/weighty pounding bass impact and authority! I preferred such a sound signature compared to a absolutely neutral one because of the type of music I listen to. 
 
*  The have very decent spaciousness despite being closed-backs. I was surprised they have quite a decent soundstage (I was expecting much less)
 
*  This one stunned me - they have the lowest impendence of all the cans I've tried - an astonishing 20 ohms! This translates to an extremely easy to drive set of cans which my entry-level Cayin C5 headphone amp had absolutely no problem driving them optimally.. and I'm listening at 2-3 volume (max is 9) with plenty of headroom to spare! I paid more for the cans but I need not fork out more for a more powerful amp to drive them.
 
*  They're closed-backs - Finally!! What I really wanted as this means I no longer have to restrict myself to listening to personal audio in my bedroom with door closed to avoid annoying my wife. It also means I can use them outdoors without annoying others.
 
My headfi setup is finally complete!! I tried to post a pic of my headfi setup but seems I'm still unable to do so...

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
My headfi setup is finally complete!! I tried to post a pic of my headfi setup but seems I'm still unable to do so...

Awesome news, thanks for the update. Th Oppo PM3 might be a great portable compliment as it sounds like it might be tonally similar to the XC. I keep wanting to try the Audeze gear, but reliability concerns bother me. I wonder if the XC is more reliable than the 3f?