[phthora]

Hello fellow Hifiman owners. I am not sure if this question has come up and I searched the thread and couldnt find anything about it. I have an HE400i that, I am sure a lot of you have experienced, has a broken headband. I know that I can go to hifimans website and pay $70 for a new one or $120 for a different one thats stronger and fits the 400i, but that just seems ridiculous to invest that much money into a headphone that you can buy for close to that amount at this point. This headphone was the headphone that began my hifi journey and therefore has nostalgic value. Do any of you know where to get a hifiman headband at a reasonable price? I would really appreciate the help. I have searched the for sale here as well and all of it is incredibly old.

I'm going to state the obvious here and say: contact HiFiMan. I know, I know. Not helpful. But, when this happened to me, they just wanted a pic of the cracks and an "order confirmation" as proof of purchase. This is such a wide-spread, well-known, and embarrassing problem for the company, it is possible that they will send the part free with little or no pressure from you. There are definitely cases of out-of-warranty HiFiMan cans getting a replacement headband. I was pretty sure mine was out of warranty at the time. It's a good place to start anyway, and it may save you some research and money.

As far as the cheapest route, this may be it:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hif...cussion-thread.711824/page-1282#post-14110992
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hif...cussion-thread.711824/page-1284#post-14114447

Couldn't tell you if he is still making them, but I had the links handy. Godspeed.

 

[Dan Lee]

thank you my friend I really appreciate the info that is very helpful.

 

[JKDJedi]

Chain 2 x 400i on Grace m9XX dac/amp, playing High Resolution Spotify, 400i #1 has Universe Pads, #2 has Eikon Pads

Universe Pads - more comfortable than Focus A pads (stock), gimbal still touches pad top for bigger heads but not to bad. I have the 400i just below the largest setting with these pads, seeing 1.5 if it existed. Bass has better impact than stock, great texture, good energy in the mids. A great pad, recommended.

Eikon Pads - more comfortable than Focus A pads (stock), gimbal interferes more with pads for bigger heads and may take a little extra manual adjustment squeezing them under the gimbal, but fits well. I have the 400i on the largest notched seeing with these pads. Bass in some songs feels like it has a tad more impact and in some songs, a tad more extension, but possible with a tad less texture. The mids and treble sound similar to Universe. The soundstage is a tad larger giving a subtle sense of more clarity but with a tad bass texture clarity.

I A/B'd these over many genres and is close. They both are better over stock and depending on the song, they edge each other out on preference but not a total easy decision to make. Sometimes you think you hear a clear distinction in the difference and after more A/Bing, you just get fatigued thinking you are hearing things. I could go with either happily.

I tried the HEX V2 right after on the same source and it beats the 400i on all fronts but for the price, the 400i is a hell of a headphone and VERY formidable.

I compared the 400i to the Ether 2 and it handles mids and treble better IMO, but I think the Ether 2 slays it on bass.

Songs used but all inclusive
Sleepyhead - Passion Pit
Mary Jane's Last Dance - Tom Petty
Dark Horse - Katy Perry
On My Level - Wiz Khalifa
Creep - Radiohead
Bullet Proof... I Wish I Was - Radiohead
Titanium - David Guetta
Crystallize - Lindsey Sterling
La Quiero A Morir - DLG

And a couple others.

Verdict - give up a little texture for a tad subbass, impact and soundstage OR give up a more intimate presentation and texture in bass for a tad subbass and impact. Though this isn't across the board, which leads me to believe, there might be something subtle going on.

The pic shows the Universe on top, Eikon on bottom. The Universe have slightly larger openings but are flatter and Eikon have smaller openings and are more angled. On the side by side pic, the Universe are on the left and Eikon on the right.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J53KM32/ref=ppx_od_b_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I found these Sheepskin Brainwavz on sale at Amazon.. 20% off so thinking I can get similar results to what you got, it's really weird when I have these on (Hifiman 400i) over my baseball cap the bass and mid tones elevate to a warm sound (which I like). So that added space does something.

 

[Dan Lee]

I'm going to state the obvious here and say: contact HiFiMan. I know, I know. Not helpful. But, when this happened to me, they just wanted a pic of the cracks and an "order confirmation" as proof of purchase. This is such a wide-spread, well-known, and embarrassing problem for the company, it is possible that they will send the part free with little or no pressure from you. There are definitely cases of out-of-warranty HiFiMan cans getting a replacement headband. I was pretty sure mine was out of warranty at the time. It's a good place to start anyway, and it may save you some research and money.

As far as the cheapest route, this may be it:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hif...cussion-thread.711824/page-1282#post-14110992
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hif...cussion-thread.711824/page-1284#post-14114447

Couldn't tell you if he is still making them, but I had the links handy. Godspeed.

so i emailed Hifiman customer service today about a new headband and they emailed me back like an hour later for my address to ship it out to me. Holy crap that was fantastic service. Thanks for the idea that I bloody well should have thought of myself. You saved me a good bit of money I was even considering just buying another set.

 

[dakanao]

What earpads let the HE400i sound the most like the HD 650?

 

[JKDJedi]

What earpads let the HE400i sound the most like the HD 650?

I have the HD6XX... and can only vouche for the earpads I just got for these Hifiman that I'm just getting warm with...its almost there, getting some nice airy space, bass is starting to catch up, mids just need some settling before being 100% burned in.. At the 50 hour burn in point....100 hours more to go! So the pads I'm trying now (mentioned a few posts back) are the Brainwavz Sheepskin. Tracks with inherited warm fuzzy bass... sound AWESOME here.. K. By Cigarettes After Sex, Sweetest Kill By Broken Social Scene. And for some weird reason..I feel that these sound better with a little extra juice (power) Just me?

 

[AJCxZ0]

I feel that these sound better with a little extra juice (power) Just me?

Not just you, but common with many good "easy to drive" (i.e. low impedance and not-too-low sensitivity) headphones. They can perform well with little power, but can perform better with more, especially in the more power demanding low end. That's why the answer to the eternal "Do I need an amp...?" questions is an irritating "No, but...".

Of course I may be biased after having recently ordered the xDuoo TA-01B hybrid DAC/Amp which can deliver 2.1W into 32Ω.

 

[JKDJedi]

Not just you, but common with many good "easy to drive" (i.e. low impedance and not-too-low sensitivity) headphones. They can perform well with little power, but can perform better with more, especially in the more power demanding low end. That's why the answer to the eternal "Do I need an amp...?" questions is an irritating "No, but...".

Of course I may be biased after having recently ordered the xDuoo TA-01B hybrid DAC/Amp which can deliver 2.1W into 32Ω.

That....is a lot of JUICE,., holy cow...

 

[CoFire]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J53KM32/ref=ppx_od_b_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I found these Sheepskin Brainwavz on sale at Amazon.. 20% off so thinking I can get similar results to what you got, it's really weird when I have these on (Hifiman 400i) over my baseball cap the bass and mid tones elevate to a warm sound (which I like). So that added space does something.

Here are some measurements I took of my ZMF Universe. They are the shallower and flatter of the 2, I think. Those Brainwavz look to be fairly close other than they are not angled. As a note, sometimes the acoustic properties of the foam play a big role in tuning of the pads. If you like them, can't do any better than that.

 

[JKDJedi]

I do! A Game changer... Got l o s t in them last night...just love the imaging on these and really don't understand the criticism on lack of soundstage.. I think there's plenty, comparable to my X2.

 

[nutsfortubes]

Got mine yesterday. Got to listen for about an hour. Sonny Rollings live at the Village Vangard and Wish You Where Here. Sound pretty dam good out of the box.

 

[JKDJedi]

Got mine yesterday. Got listen for about an hour. Sonny Rollings live at the Village Vangard and Wish You Where Here. Sound pretty dam good out of the box.

Whats your source and amp/dac?

 

[nutsfortubes]

My source is a Esoteric SA-10 SACD player,SOTA Star Sapphire vacuum TT, MAC book pro with Topping D30 through a Conrad Johnson PV8 preamp withTelefunken and Amprex tubes. The headphone amp is Colver Classic for now. But looking for at Quad or a Feliks amp.

 

[nutsfortubes]

Waiting on a Cary HH-1 I scored for less then $600.

 

[Wheel Hoss]

Hey, all. Recently upgraded my home studio from an original Mbox to a Clarett 2 Pre from Focusrite. Once I realized I could use the Pre as a pretty awesome headphone desktop headphone amp, I pulled the trigger on the 400-i's (after years of following Hifiman from afar and wondering about Planar sound). Obviously, I'm blown away. Although I love the sound of my Audio Technica M50x's for walking around the city and my M70xs for studio monitoring, for appreciating music, the 400s are like nothing I've heard before. There is just a natural, airy quality to the sound that as a musician I can really dive into--it sounds like I'm in the room with the musicians, which I love.

One small concern: a few times I've heard a slight rattle in the left driver. It only happened on certain tracks that had really strong, bass-heavy acoustic guitar (like Nick Drake). It never happened on hip-hop or classic rock, which has much more bass (but maybe not emphasizing the same frequencies?). Anyway, I went and listened to Nick again just now, and the rattle was gone. Is this normal and part of the burn-in/break-in process, or should I be concerned, as I obviously am well-aware of Hifiman's quality control issues, especially on older models (but I've also heard one of the advantages of the more expensive models like the 560 is less potential rattle from certain frequencies).

Super glad to be part of the Hifiman fam. Gonna purchase the 560s later this month and then start saving up for the Ananda's (waiting patiently for that first discount to $800 ...). Thanks for any feedback.