[heliosphann]

Got my pair today and I'm listening to them right now. First impressions are these sound really solid for $170. Love they way they look, the matte blue and black combo is really slick. Also the build quality seems improved compared to most previous HiFiman's I've used. Always been a fan of the original simplistic HiFiman design. They've fit my head perfectly and I have no issues wearing it for extended periods of time. Focus A pads are pretty comfy, but I'll no doubt be trying out some pads which will probably sound better. Cable included is pretty generic and fairly short, but it's better than those horrible silicon cables that came with the HEX v2.

Won't comment much on the sound yet until I've tried them on a few different setups, but I will say tonally they're pretty cohesive. I'll post more as I spend more time with them.

 

[Tman5293]

Got my pair today and I'm listening to them right now. First impressions are these sound really solid for $170. Love they way they look, the matte blue and black combo is really slick. Also the build quality seems improved compared to most previous HiFiman's I've used. Always been a fan of the original simplistic HiFiman design. They've fit my head perfectly and I have no issues wearing it for extended periods of time. Focus A pads are pretty comfy, but I'll no doubt be trying out some pads which will probably sound better. Cable included is pretty generic and fairly short, but it's better than those horrible silicon cables that came with the HEX v2.

Won't comment much on the sound yet until I've tried them on a few different setups, but I will say tonally they're pretty cohesive. I'll post more as I spend more time with them.

Mine were also delivered today but I won't get to try them out till tomorrow as they were delivered to my apartment complex office while I was at work and now the office is closed. They got delivered 10 minutes after I left for work which is mildly infuriating.

 

[slex]

Anyone have a modded HE400S compared to 4XX?

 

[redrich2000]

They're back on Massdrop in case anyone doesn't get the millions of emails they send. Short shipping time too.

 

[ra990]

Just got them in today, they sound fantastic! They sound like they have a bit of a V shaped characteristic, but everything I've thrown on has been sounding great. They sound spacious and airy to me. Drove them with a Woo Audio WA8 and a Apogee Groove. I tried my LG V30, which has no problems driving my HD650s, but it couldn't delivery sufficient volume surprisingly. I'm guessing the phone is not treating them like high impedance cans so not kicking in the quad dac. Overall, very impressed with the sound and I'm Definitely interested in going down the planar magnetic road in the future.

 

[ld100]

My order was cancelled for some bizarre reason back in August... Just ordered them and they are in stock supposedly

 

[heliosphann]

@ra990 I didn't really find them to be that V-shaped, especially compared to the HE-400.

Bass actually isn't boosted much and extends pretty nicely while being clear and detailed. It is lacking punch and doesn't have much slam, but plays nicely with the lower mids. Mids overall sound good, but are a little recessed and not quite as meaty as I'd like. Otherwise the issues are mostly minor. Treble is actually pleasant and has some decent sparkle with having a slight roll-off. Occasionally I picked up on a slight peakiness/sizzle on some tracks, but it was never that bad. Depending on your sensitivity, this could be a very minor issue or something to consider. It could also tame with further break-in or fixed with pad-swap, modding, etc... Detail retrieval is solid and good for the price. Soundstage actually has some decent width, but doesn't present much of a center image. It's a little odd sounding, but not too distracting.The 4XX isn't exceptionally hard to drive, but not the easiest either. Overall these are a great bargain at $170. I think these have even more potential with pad-swapping/modding.

So as I was writing this, I decided to swap some ZMF Eikon pads on. It was quite the chore as the 4XX has tabs that the mounting rings set into instead of one big lip (like the HE-6). Plus the Eikon pads are so big they tend to cover up the tabs. Anyway, the audible improvement is SUBSTANTIAL from the Focus A pads. Mids feel pushed closer, bass is boosted while feeling much fuller and the treble seems more even. Also the soundstage feels more natural and coherent. Overall the Eikon pads to me are a game-changer. Sometimes it's amazing just how a simple pad swap can improve a sound signature. I'm sure other similar pads like Ori's, Brainwavz sheepkins, Dekoni 900 sheepskins might yield similar results. I might attempt to do some more pad-rolling, but I need to get a hold of a few more mounting rings.

 

[litwick87]

Sounding killer with my jotunheim

 

[TBubba]

Running mine with a leckerton audio uha760 really amazing.

Update: I have this low cost bravo v3 tube amp and I threw it on these bad boys what a perfect match. So clear and smooth idk what to think.

 

[JoePR31]

Just got them in today, they sound fantastic! They sound like they have a bit of a V shaped characteristic, but everything I've thrown on has been sounding great. They sound spacious and airy to me. Drove them with a Woo Audio WA8 and a Apogee Groove. I tried my LG V30, which has no problems driving my HD650s, but it couldn't delivery sufficient volume surprisingly. I'm guessing the phone is not treating them like high impedance cans so not kicking in the quad dac. Overall, very impressed with the sound and I'm Definitely interested in going down the planar magnetic road in the future.

Disconnect the cable from the headphones, plug the cable into the V30, then reconnect the cable to the headphones. That should trick the V30 into going into the middle of it's 3 power modes (meant for external devices). It works with my V20 and it drives my HE400i's very nicely.

 

[Tralfaz]

Mine arrived yesterday. First impressions are positive, build quality seems pretty solid for the price point.

Source is a Schiit Modi 2 Uber into an Elemental Watson amp and after about an hour the headphones are sounding pretty good. I'll reserve judgement until they've had a chance to run it and settle down but at this stage they seem to be a terrific value. There might be some mods down the road but I think you might be doing the cans a disservice by modding them before knowing their true sound.

 

[MonoOno]

Comparisons to the 400i?

 

[bagwell359]

Usually I won't opine on HF's until they have over 100 hrs on them, but this time I'll make an exception.

1. low bass is there, it's occluded by the upper bass/mid bass a bit. A single instrument such as a cello or acoustic bass sounds good. Once you toss in rock drumming - not good. Both show signs of modulating each other.

2. low mids are good, not much coloration. the upper mids are maybe down a db or two, but wicked romantic and smooth on female voices. Margo TImmins, Armatrading, Kate Bush and others - all very good.

3. the low treble seems a bit like an extension of the upper mids, which is good. But another octave up and I'm asking where the heck the treble is?

4. very much row A presentation, cept the mid/upper treble which are row JJ at the moment.

5. very interesting on spatial/recording cues/artifacts, it's got them.

6. image:. I like my speakers closer together then most, so I like a good centerfill with hard left and right only being out there like an acoustic quintet sounds like. Lots of phones give you the hole in the midde/ping pong effect. Not these. I may come to like these a lot.

7. comfort, all good, but the felt... it's 66F here and after 20 minutes the heat build up gets bad. Maybe not good for hot/humid days - or make a change.
I knew in 3 seconds that I would like these a lot more than the Mass Drop Fostex's. Whoa - Margo Timmins "Musical Key".

I just tried the fenestrated fostex's I got from MassDrop. It's different, low bass gone, but treble up.

Just a first take. In about 10 days I'll have a firmer take.

I tried no pads - mids were overpowering, but the bass was in much better focus, treble still lost.

 

[buldogge]

Received mine yesterday.

Ran them briefly with my Schiit stack (Vali/Modi Toslink) at work, and they sounded pretty decent.

Ran them at home last night with my M9XX and they sounded even better.

They 100% do not work well with the LD MKII or MKII (no surprise there).

They have a nice balance to them...but...the soundstage just can't compare to the T90s or HD700s that I have.

Look forward to trying them on the CTH and LCX when they arrive.

-Mark in St. Louis

 

[JoePR31]

Comparisons to the 400i?

I second this. Would also love to read detailed comparisons with other headphones in this same mid-fi open class in general...HD600/650/700, HE400i/560, Fidelio X2, AKG K701/702/712, Monoprice M1060, AudioQuest Nighthawk, Beyerdynamic DT880/990. Headphones many of us will be familiar with.