[DavidA]

  How are the "H" headband adjustment locks for everyone? One of mind has a bit of give if I touch it, but it still takes a good amount of force to move it up or down a notch. I am thinking about unscrewing the 2 screws on it and having a look if it can be tightened inside. Has anyone opened it up before?

Don't know if you want to do that, the locking part maybe spring loaded so it might be hard to put it back together.  Might want to contact Hifiman and ask before doing anything.

 

[fjrabon]

I just don't get why hifiman reinvented the wheel there. The notched ball bearing system works. Just use it.

 

[AdrianL]

The difference between the old and new is the new version does not have a back plate on the driver housing which makes it like the old version after you do the grill mod. 

Below is the new version:



This is the old version with the back plate

Thx bro...
So means d old one will sound better? Since after d mod,it will be like d old one...
As i am torn between the old & new one,plan to get a used unit...

These may be too bass light if you are coming from the Beyer COP. Just a heads up.

Ic,but i feel like my COP bass is so so onli,quite loose & laid back...
Not sure i am getting a lemon or defect unit or what...
Jz feel like d bass is not as goos as many ppl r saying...

 

[Change is Good]

Thx bro...
So means d old one will sound better? Since after d mod,it will be like d old one...
As i am torn between the old & new one,plan to get a used unit...
Ic,but i feel like my COP bass is so so onli,quite loose & laid back...
Not sure i am getting a lemon or defect unit or what...
Jz feel like d bass is not as goos as many ppl r saying...

The 400i's bass is present but quick, not decay-ish like.

 

[DavidA]

Thx bro...
So means d old one will sound better? Since after d mod,it will be like d old one...
As i am torn between the old & new one,plan to get a used unit...
Ic,but i feel like my COP bass is so so onli,quite loose & laid back...
Not sure i am getting a lemon or defect unit or what...
Jz feel like d bass is not as goos as many ppl r saying...

I think the new one will sound a bit clearer, have slightly better sound stage and weight a grams lighter.  Someone who heard them both might have a better feel of the differences as I only have the old one with the grill mod.

 

[Change is Good]

  I think the new one will sound a bit clearer, have slightly better sound stage and weight a grams lighter.  Someone who heard them both might have a better feel of the differences as I only have the old one with the grill mod.

 
I heard both, albeit one year apart. All I know is that the new version do, indeed, sound clearer and more open... hence why I kept them this time around. I remember the rev1 sounding more like a closed (semi-open) headphone when I had it.

 

[DavidA]

   
I heard both, albeit one year apart. All I know is that the new version do, indeed, sound clearer and more open... hence why I kept them this time around. I remember the rev1 sounding more like a closed (semi-open) headphone when I had it.

Makes a lot of sense.  I don't think the back plates affect the clarity much but the sound stage I think is affected enough that the grill mod on the newer version does not seem to do much while on the old version the sound stage is expanded a little.

 

[oakbloke]

  Don't know if you want to do that, the locking part maybe spring loaded so it might be hard to put it back together.  Might want to contact Hifiman and ask before doing anything.

Good advice. It works fine, just a small detail that bothered me. I agree that Hifiman shouldn't have strayed so far from the adjustment mechanisms used in Beyers and Senns.

 

[Haribober]

Hello all,
 
I just received the He400i today and I am loving it so far. Im wondering if the Fiio x1 is a good pair with this can? Using Macbook pro retina as a source right now and I heard the dac is pretty good. Also using Fiio q1 with it. WOuld the x1 sound better with the x1 than the rMBP?
 
thanks,

 

[Change is Good]

Makes a lot of sense.  I don't think the back plates affect the clarity much but the sound stage I think is affected enough that the grill mod on the newer version does not seem to do much while on the old version the sound stage is expanded a little.

It does give the new version a little more air, though not as drastic as before. I'm actually liking the slightly extra seperation I'm hearing. I tried going back to the stock grills but found myself missing the small difference the grill mod does provide.

 

[coletrain104]

  Hello all,
 
I just received the He400i today and I am loving it so far. Im wondering if the Fiio x1 is a good pair with this can? Using Macbook pro retina as a source right now and I heard the dac is pretty good. Also using Fiio q1 with it. WOuld the x1 sound better with the x1 than the rMBP?
 
thanks,

I would guess that it is not going to improve in any drastic way. I have a Fiio X3, but the amp probably doesn't do the HE-400i justice even if the DAC does. the X1 has even less power, and is overall not as audiophile-targeted. I would say that there won't be much if any noticeably positive difference

 

[Haribober]

What about pairing the x1 or x3 with an amp? would that also be sufficient? 

 

[DavidA]

  What about pairing the x1 or x3 with an amp? would that also be sufficient? 

using the line out from either the X1 or X3 with a decent amp will work quite well, I've tried this with my X1 and Project Ember, really good pairing to me.

 

[luckyeights]

Just got my new HE400i headphones today in the mail.  These headphones are very neutral lots of good detail.  I would say these are the most unoffensive headphones iv ever owned and by that i mean nothing across the spectrum is annoying or trying to over power the other frequencies.  I dont want to say these are boring headphones but they dont have anything that stand out more or less.  But the good thing about having a nice balanced set like this is you can play with the eq to give them the sound you want without having to worry about other odd affects that might happen with a headphone that is not balanced to begin with.  
 
Overall they are very nice and very comfortable headphones.  They dont cause any listening fatigue i think this is in part of being planar.  With standard cone drivers i sometimes feel my ears are being assaulted by percussion waves these dont seem to cause this maybe because the sound is evenly distributed across the entire surface of the driver ?  
 
I have a set of AKG7xxs i got from massdrop and although they sound some what neutral they have slight v shaped tuning.  I find them very fatiguing to listen to for extended periods. 
 
 
*EDIT*  I think i made them sound bad when I say nothing stands out.  But the quality of the sound from these is just very good. Yes they are neutral maybe ever so slightly mid centric but dont take that as a bad thing.   They just have this way of making everything sound good.  EQ them the way you like I dont think you will be able to get better sound than these until you start getting up near the $1000 dollar range. I picked mine up for $300 an absolute STEAL!

 

[the boltman]

  Those of you looking to equalize the HE400i to neutral frequency response, try my EQ setting! It's based on the inverse of InnerFidelity's raw frequency response measurement that I compensated with diffuse field HRTF.
I've got a bunch of files for you to use with the equalizer software of your choice:

1. EQI file for EQuilibrium. I most recommend EQuilbrium because it supports the most bands, has a great interface, is VST-enabled, and supports IIR, FIR, linear and minimum phase.
2. WAV file for convolvers.

1. TXT config file for Equalizer APO.

1. MDAT file for Room EQ Wizard, containing the HRTF compensated frequency response and my parametric settings for you to further tweak.
2. Parametric EQ settings for any other parametric equalizer (Q or bandwidth, I got you both!)

Spoiler: For equalizers with adjustable Q values

Preamp: -7.7 dB
Filter  1: ON  PK       Fc     102 Hz  Gain  -2.5 dB  Q  2.00
Filter  2: ON  PK       Fc     142 Hz  Gain  -2.3 dB  Q  2.00
Filter  3: ON  PK       Fc     252 Hz  Gain  -4.1 dB  Q  1.00
Filter  4: ON  PK       Fc     505 Hz  Gain  -2.9 dB  Q  1.36
Filter  5: ON  PK       Fc     963 Hz  Gain  -5.1 dB  Q  1.00
Filter  6: ON  PK       Fc   2,107 Hz  Gain -11.8 dB  Q  1.54
Filter  7: ON  PK       Fc   2,135 Hz  Gain  18.1 dB  Q  1.00
Filter  8: ON  PK       Fc   3,350 Hz  Gain  -6.3 dB  Q  2.29
Filter  9: ON  PK       Fc   4,315 Hz  Gain  -2.5 dB  Q  9.77
Filter 10: ON  PK       Fc   5,100 Hz  Gain  -2.2 dB  Q  7.00
Filter 11: ON  PK       Fc   5,773 Hz  Gain   1.7 dB  Q  5.00
Filter 12: ON  PK       Fc   6,657 Hz  Gain  -4.5 dB  Q  2.80
Filter 13: ON  PK       Fc   9,372 Hz  Gain  -6.6 dB  Q  4.07
Filter 14: ON  PK       Fc  11,420 Hz  Gain   4.3 dB  Q  4.09
Filter 15: ON  PK       Fc  13,000 Hz  Gain   7.2 dB  Q  1.58
Filter 16: ON  PK       Fc  19,500 Hz  Gain  -4.6 dB  Q  1.20
Filter 17: ON  PK       Fc  19,988 Hz  Gain  -0.9 dB  Q  6.00

Spoiler: For equalizers with adjustable bandwidth octaves

Preamp: -7.7 dB
Filter: ON PK Fc 102 Hz Gain -2.5 dB BW Oct 0.714
Filter: ON PK Fc 142 Hz Gain -2.3 dB BW Oct 0.714
Filter: ON PK Fc 252 Hz Gain -4.1 dB BW Oct 1.3885
Filter: ON PK Fc 505 Hz Gain -2.9 dB BW Oct 1.0383
Filter: ON PK Fc 963 Hz Gain -5.1 dB BW Oct 1.3885
Filter: ON PK Fc 2107 Hz Gain -11.8 dB BW Oct 0.9211
Filter: ON PK Fc 2135 Hz Gain 18.1 dB BW Oct 1.3885
Filter: ON PK Fc 3350 Hz Gain -6.3 dB BW Oct 0.6251
Filter: ON PK Fc 4315 Hz Gain -2.5 dB BW Oct 0.1476
Filter: ON PK Fc 5100 Hz Gain -2.2 dB BW Oct 0.2059
Filter: ON PK Fc 5773 Hz Gain 1.7 dB BW Oct 0.2881
Filter: ON PK Fc 6657 Hz Gain -4.5 dB BW Oct 0.5125
Filter: ON PK Fc 9372 Hz Gain -6.6 dB BW Oct 0.3536
Filter: ON PK Fc 11420 Hz Gain 4.3 dB BW Oct 0.3519
Filter: ON PK Fc 13000 Hz Gain 7.2 dB BW Oct 0.8985
Filter: ON PK Fc 19500 Hz Gain -4.6 dB BW Oct 1.1699
Filter: ON PK Fc 19988 Hz Gain -0.9 dB BW Oct 0.2402

1. Excel spreadsheet which I used to calculate the compensated frequency response and the quasi-parametric EQ values. I used the compensated FR in Room EQ Wizard to figure out the parametric version of my EQ setting.

These settings adjust the HE400i to theoretically ±1dB around an average of 47 subjects' diffuse field HRTF by Dorte Hammershøi and Henrik Møller (recommended as most accurate on Rin Choi's blog), with a 4dB <100Hz bass compensation as suggested by the target FR by Sean Olive, Harman. Of course, on top of that there's going to be variations with headphone placement, HRTF differences of the individual listener (you and me), but to me it sounds really really neutral compared to my flat speakers. Try it out and let me know what you think!
 
Download

I adaped the EQ for the foobar graphic equalizer; sounds great!
You can download it here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hif3e1rt58tjwy6/AAAWVspOL4wuj76pkbO2uU6za?dl=0