NEW 2015 - HIFIMAN HE400S

[avitron142]

Wow. Just.... wow.

 

[bixby]

money:
 
Fantastic writeup.  I hear very similar traits to what you described for all but the last headphone entry.  Very well done!

 

[Draulius]

Has anyone here used the AD900x, and how would you compare it to the HE400S?

 

[nwavesailor]

Money4me247's review had to be a ton of work.............THANKS for posting this awesome review w/ comparisons!
 
11 of 19 of his head to head face-offs gave the nod to the HE400S with a couple of tossups in there as well.
 
Seems like a no-brainer to snag these HP!!!
 
Thanks again, Money4me247  

 

[peteham]

I just picked up these today, on a whim.  Lovely headphones.  So smooth, but great soundstage, wonderful separation, comfortable, and different enough from my HD 600s and Denon D2000s.  Plus, they sounded superb right out of the box.  I may end up selling my LCD-2s now.  Three hours in.  Definitely pleased.

 

[grizzlybeast]

I am not getting all of this great soundstage stuff. 

 
Im getting confused. 

 

[canthearyou]

I am not getting all of this great soundstage stuff. 



Im getting confused. 

Just enjoy the damn headphones!!!

 

[sheldaze]

  I am not getting all of this great soundstage stuff. 
 
I'm getting confused. 

I agree. In stock form it is a nice headphone, but soundstage is not comparable to either the Sennheiser HD6xx or Denon AH-D2000. In fact, I was able to use the Denon, in an older single-ended setup I had, to hear the space and depth from my DAC upgrade, Bifrost to Gungnir. I could not hear it on the HE-400S.
 
See my signature if you have concerns, but these are my opinions. And I agree.

 

[money4me247]

  I am not getting all of this great soundstage stuff. Im getting confused. 

 
@grizzlybeast, my thoughts are a bit more complex. Will clarify below if there is any confusion.
 
The soundstage of AKGs and Beyerdynamics noticeably larger. AKG's offerings typically has the largest sound stage of any mid-tier headphones from my testing. L-R separation often extremely wide with select headphones from those two brands. The HE-400S against the HD600/HD650, I felt like it was much closer in soundstage. Can see it going either way and I do feel like the Sennheisers have the slightest edge, but I do think that if paired with a really nice amplifier, the soundstage of the HD600/HD650 will scale up noticeably. Only was able to do direct comparison tests for those on portable amplifier gear. Likely with a very nice desktop amplifier, the differences will be much easier to appreciate, but still will not reach the level of difference of the AKG and Beyers imo. Regarding imaging though, I do think the HE-400S beats out the HD600/HD650 with a better sense of height definition.
 
For Audeze and Oppo headphones, I do feel like there are many select nice mid-tier offerings can often match or beat their soundstage performance as those headphones are not the best sound stage performers for their price categories. HE-400S will be quite competitive here from my direct comparisons.
 
I do think that the other offerings from Hifiman such as HE-400i and HE-560 has better soundstage and imaging than the HE-400S.
 
Another thing to note is that the HE-400S does not dramatically change with amplification. Jumping up to the Gungnir MB and M2 really didn't make too much of a difference in my HE-400S impressions. I felt I could detect a subtle hint more bass extension and slightly improved upper treble detail, but relatively small changes even when pairing with really high-end external components. I do not think you will get too much performance gains investing in higher end external components with the HE-400S whereas for certain other mid-tier headphones, it can be worthwhile. With certain extremely spacious sounding external components, I can see the mid-tier headphones that have better scaling capabilities changing enough to make relative weighing a bit different. I do think that scaling potential often sounds much more exaggerated in writing than in real-life, so do note I personally find these differences to be relatively small compared to the initial differences in presentation and sound signature based on picking different headphones.
 
Overall, the soundstage of the HE-400S is very competitive for its price point, but it is definitely possible to able to find other open offerings with superior sound stage if that technical attribute is very important to you. The HE-400S does have the faintest feeling of intimacy compared to some of the other options along with its smooth presentation, but not going to be many closed headphones that offer better sound stage. I would estimate only the Ether and TH900 would be the only closed headphones that can provide a larger soundstage than the average open headphone. (don't know about the AH-D2000, I believe I've heard that pair of headphones before, but never compared against the HE-400S). I do personally value imaging over soundstage as many times differences in perceived soundstage relates with frequency response tunings emphasises that bring forth different instruments. The imaging of the HE-400S is very precise and can stand with all other highly regarded mid-tier headphones without any issue.
 
These are just my personal findings. Please feel free to share if thoughts if you have a different perspective! cheers

 

[money4me247]

  Money4me247's review had to be a ton of work.............THANKS for posting this awesome review w/ comparisons! 11 of 19 of his head to head face-offs gave the nod to the HE400S with a couple of tossups in there as well. Seems like a no-brainer to snag these HP!!!
 
Thanks again, Money4me247  

 
@nwavesailor, I appreciate your kind words. Yes, it was quite an exhausting endeavour to write this review. Took much longer than I was originally planning.
 
You know I actually would recommend not looking at my comparative thoughts in that perspective of which headphone won out more being the better headphone. A lot of it has to do with personal subjective tastes and personal criteria in technical attributes. I suspect many other forum members may have differing views with some of these head-to-head comparisons. Really mostly reflective of my own goals and preferences than any sort of universal objective ranking. I think the relative descriptions of the sound signature differences is more useful for figuring out which headphone is most suitable for you if you have experience with a few of these models and thoughts on what relative different direction you like to proceed in. That is the reason I wrote how my comparison work the way I did, so it would be useful even if someone's thoughts or preferences didn't necessarily matched my own.
 
That being said, I do think the HE-400S is a very competitive entry into the market and worthwhile auditioning. Whether it ends up being an individual's final choice of headphones, it is really hard to say.
 
Hope you have a great day & I am really happy you enjoyed reading my work!!

 

[sheldaze]

  Another thing to note is that the HE-400S does not dramatically change with amplification. Jumping up to the Gungnir MB and M2 really didn't make too much of a difference in my HE-400S impressions. I felt I could detect a subtle hint more bass extension and slightly improved upper treble detail, but relatively small changes even when pairing with really high-end external components. I do not think you will get too much performance gains investing in higher end external components with the HE-400S whereas for certain other mid-tier headphones, it can be worthwhile. With certain extremely spacious sounding external components, I can see the mid-tier headphones that have better scaling capabilities changing enough to make relative weighing a bit different. I do think that scaling potential often sounds much more exaggerated in writing than in real-life, so do note I personally find these differences to be relatively small compared to the initial differences in presentation and sound signature based on picking different headphones.
 
Overall, the soundstage of the HE-400S is very competitive for its price point, but it is definitely possible to able to find other open offerings with superior sound stage if that technical attribute is very important to you. The HE-400S does have the faintest feeling of intimacy compared to some of the other options along with its smooth presentation, but not going to be many closed headphones that offer better sound stage. I would estimate only the Ether and TH900 would be the only closed headphones that can provide a larger soundstage than the average open headphone. (don't know about the AH-D2000, I believe I've heard that pair of headphones before, but never compared against the HE-400S). I do personally value imaging over soundstage as many times differences in perceived soundstage relates with frequency response tunings emphasises that bring forth different instruments. The imaging of the HE-400S is very precise and can stand with all other highly regarded mid-tier headphones without any issue.
 
These are just my personal findings. Please feel free to share if thoughts if you have a different perspective! cheers

This was the exact jump I made, from Bifrost with Uber to Gungnir with Multibit. And I was glad I listened for the change on a different pair (the Denons) of headphones first. There is a change with the HE-400S, but it was more subtle.
 
Definitely not knocking the quality and value of the HE-400S. They're a great value headphone! However the stage, to my ears, was simply larger on my Denon. I had no clue it was larger though until I upgraded my DAC. With the original DAC, the difference was much more subtle between my HD650, Denon AH-D2000, and HE-400S.

 

[grizzlybeast]

Of just about every open back headphone I have tried besides the hd650 these have the smallest soundstage. I don't feel this headphone is in the same league as the hd650 otherwise. Through a bottlehead crack or something like that forget about it. Actually I can't think of an open back I have tried that doesn't perform with more technical prowess. However a lot of them can be grainy, oddly balanced, peaky or in someway offensive. The he400s does have a buttery smooth sound that can be a technical merit all in itself. There is a refinement there a little unusual for its price. It has great midrange balance and smooth highs but otherwise its a just a good headphone at an affordable price that offers a decent amount of fidelity. I don't even think it has above average imaging or instrument separation for its price. In example by 199 pioneer hrm-7 kills in every technical aspect except for that refined smoothness it but its too bright to earn a recommendation over the he-400s. Im not totally knocking the headphone and think its a good buy but since we are on a forum where we nerd out on expressing our opinions, I personally IMO think this headphone doesn't earn its place with higher tier offerings at allll. 249 - 299 is its value nothing more nothing less. A good well spent 249 IMO. 

 

[nwavesailor]

Just placed my order!

 

[paradoxology]

After reading several mostly positive reviews on HeadFi and elsewhere, I have come to wonder if it is worth it to shell out three hundred bucks for a set of cans that, as compared to the X2, appear to possess poorer build quality, poorer fit and finish, and absolutely require modding in the form of after-market earpads to wring out the best sound from them. And following the installation of the new pads the new-and-improved sound quality of the 400S is perhaps only slightly better than the X2 and does not represent a major improvement, overall. Ultimately, I have to say I'm not very impressed. Honestly, I would like a set of good planars...and certainly, the price is right with the 400S...but perhaps I will wait a while and see how things shake out before I jump in and buy a pair.

 

[Mr Rick]

  After reading several mostly positive reviews on HeadFi and elsewhere, I have come to wonder if it is worth it to shell out three hundred bucks for a set of cans that, as compared to the X2, appear to possess poorer build quality, poorer fit and finish, and absolutely require modding in the form of after-market earpads to wring out the best sound from them. And following the installation of the new pads the new-and-improved sound quality of the 400S is perhaps only slightly better than the X2 and does not represent a major improvement, overall. Ultimately, I have to say I'm not very impressed. Honestly, I would like a set of good planars...and certainly, the price is right with the 400S...but perhaps I will wait a while and see how things shake out before I jump in and buy a pair.

 
I know I am in the minority, but I respectfully suggest you try to judge the HE400S on what you hear, and not solely on what you read. I own the HE400S, as well as the HD650s, X2s, HD800s and others. I find the HE400S to possess a smoothness the others do not have. I tend not to categorize HPs as better or worse, but rather, as having different attributes.  I'm not searching for the holy grail of HPs but rather I try to find HPs that are well suited to the types of music I enjoy. 
 
Don't write them off before listening to them. Just sayin'