[takato14]

  350 grams!? That seems so heavy

uhh
 
600 grams is heavy
 
420 grams is heavy
 
350 is like HD800 territory, which is extremely comfortable (and not particularly heavy either)

 

[Netforce]

Took a listen to the he-400s today at T.H.E. Show Newport today. Never owned the he-400i but the original he-400 is still a headphone with a special place in my heart. The he-400s is still being worked on so I listened to a prototype so take things with the mindset they can change.
 
 


 
Headband is very nice and comfy, weight is a lot less than the he-400 and with the headband it is a whole lot more comfy. Cable as others have mentioned has been changed to the he-1000 connectors and the cable this time is pretty nice. Pads are also not the old he-400 velour or the focuspads but an entirely new earpad. Overall comfort and weight is very much improved but that has kinda been the case since the 560 and 400i.
 
The sound is a lot closer to the 400 than the 400i. Strong bass presence, more so midbass but did extend pretty well into the subbass. Wasn't hearing upper recession but environment was tad loud to completely accurately tell. The treble wasn't as forward as the original 400 and wasn't hearing sibilance on tracks I playing around with. Very nice headphone and those I talked to liked it also and some weren't a fan of the original 400 or the 400i. Prefer the 400s over the el8 from what I heard of that phone.

 

[bavinck]

  Took a listen to the he-400s today at T.H.E. Show Newport today. Never owned the he-400i but the original he-400 is still a headphone with a special place in my heart. The he-400s is still being worked on so I listened to a prototype so take things with the mindset they can change.
 
 


 
Headband is very nice and comfy, weight is a lot less than the he-400 and with the headband it is a whole lot more comfy. Cable as others have mentioned has been changed to the he-1000 connectors and the cable this time is pretty nice. Pads are also not the old he-400 velour or the focuspads but an entirely new earpad. Overall comfort and weight is very much improved but that has kinda been the case since the 560 and 400i.
 
The sound is a lot closer to the 400 than the 400i. Strong bass presence, more so midbass but did extend pretty well into the subbass. Wasn't hearing upper recession but environment was tad loud to completely accurately tell. The treble wasn't as forward as the original 400 and wasn't hearing sibilance on tracks I playing around with. Very nice headphone and those I talked to liked it also and some weren't a fan of the original 400 or the 400i. Prefer the 400s over the el8 from what I heard of that phone.

Oh boy, this is sounding better and better!

 

[rovopio]

  Took a listen to the he-400s today at T.H.E. Show Newport today.
Very nice headphone and those I talked to liked it also and some weren't a fan of the original 400 or the 400i. Prefer the 400s over the el8 from what I heard of that phone.

 
Crap. I should've waited instead of getting 400i then. lol... It's cheaper, better connector, lighter, and using the color scheme I actually liked. what the heck..

 

[KewlMunky]

  Took a listen to the he-400s today at T.H.E. Show Newport today. Never owned the he-400i but the original he-400 is still a headphone with a special place in my heart. The he-400s is still being worked on so I listened to a prototype so take things with the mindset they can change.
 
 


 
Headband is very nice and comfy, weight is a lot less than the he-400 and with the headband it is a whole lot more comfy. Cable as others have mentioned has been changed to the he-1000 connectors and the cable this time is pretty nice. Pads are also not the old he-400 velour or the focuspads but an entirely new earpad. Overall comfort and weight is very much improved but that has kinda been the case since the 560 and 400i.
 
The sound is a lot closer to the 400 than the 400i. Strong bass presence, more so midbass but did extend pretty well into the subbass. Wasn't hearing upper recession but environment was tad loud to completely accurately tell. The treble wasn't as forward as the original 400 and wasn't hearing sibilance on tracks I playing around with. Very nice headphone and those I talked to liked it also and some weren't a fan of the original 400 or the 400i. Prefer the 400s over the el8 from what I heard of that phone.

 
Sounds interesting. I have the 300, 500 and previously owned the 400. I ended up getting rid of the 400 after realizing how much was missing in the midrange and how bright they were. One thing I really miss from them, that I like about the 300, is the bass presence. The 500 extends deeper than both, but doesn't have the slam. The 500 sounds league's better than the 300, but I prefer the darker sound signature of the 300 a lot of times. This is why I feel like I'd like the Fidelio X2 and LCD2. However, maybe this could be a consideration for me. If it has good bass extension and presence, while not having recessed mids I'll definitely be interested. 

 

[grizzlybeast]

Took a listen to the he-400s today at T.H.E. Show Newport today. Never owned the he-400i but the original he-400 is still a headphone with a special place in my heart. The he-400s is still being worked on so I listened to a prototype so take things with the mindset they can change.







Headband is very nice and comfy, weight is a lot less than the he-400 and with the headband it is a whole lot more comfy. Cable as others have mentioned has been changed to the he-1000 connectors and the cable this time is pretty nice. Pads are also not the old he-400 velour or the focuspads but an entirely new earpad. Overall comfort and weight is very much improved but that has kinda been the case since the 560 and 400i.

The sound is a lot closer to the 400 than the 400i. Strong bass presence, more so midbass but did extend pretty well into the subbass. Wasn't hearing upper recession but environment was tad loud to completely accurately tell. The treble wasn't as forward as the original 400 and wasn't hearing sibilance on tracks I playing around with. Very nice headphone and those I talked to liked it also and some weren't a fan of the original 400 or the 400i. Prefer the 400s over the el8 from what I heard of that phone.

Have you had experience with the other hifiman pads? If so are these closer to the older pads or the ones on the 400i and 560?

 

[Netforce]

  Oh boy, this is sounding better and better!

Yup, I am pretty glad Fang listened to the fans of the 400 and made very much what I consider the spiritual successor to the 400. 
 

   
Crap. I should've waited instead of getting 400i then. lol... It's cheaper, better connector, lighter, and using the color scheme I actually liked. what the heck..

Last year at T.H.E. Show Fang told me some pretty sound advice, "Sell your pair and get these new ones" with some heavy paraphrasing on my part 

 

   
Sounds interesting. I have the 300, 500 and previously owned the 400. I ended up getting rid of the 400 after realizing how much was missing in the midrange and how bright they were. One thing I really miss from them, that I like about the 300, is the bass presence. The 500 extends deeper than both, but doesn't have the slam. The 500 sounds league's better than the 300, but I prefer the darker sound signature of the 300 a lot of times. This is why I feel like I'd like the Fidelio X2 and LCD2. However, maybe this could be a consideration for me. If it has good bass extension and presence, while not having recessed mids I'll definitely be interested. 

The 400s were a real winner in my book. I thought about the 400i last year but besides a flatter sound and comfort couldn't really justify getting them. The 400s if they really are sticking to the original 400 price than I may actually snag a pair.
 

Have you had experience with the other hifiman pads? If so are these closer to the older pads or the ones on the 400i and 560?

I have the original older velour and pleather hifiman pads that I modded on my 400. The newer focus pads I have listened to but never had a true hands experience like I did with my original pads. In general the pads had the shape of the newer focus pads with an all velour covering on the pads. I can take another look today if hifiman is not busy with them and maybe ask to take them off and snap a picture.

 

[ohotonge]

HMM... interesting

 

[rovopio]

  Yup, I am pretty glad Fang listened to the fans of the 400 and made very much what I consider the spiritual successor to the 400. 
 
Last year at T.H.E. Show Fang told me some pretty sound advice, "Sell your pair and get these new ones" with some heavy paraphrasing on my part 

haha, yeah that sounds believable. I am selling my pair on head-fi... Not sure I will get the 400s after my experience with the 400i but that is one cool-looking color-scheme...

 

[bavinck]

Do we have any idea when these will be available?

 

[grizzlybeast]

^^^Im sure that's the consensus: a more comfortable he400 without treble issues. That would be a fav for me easily. Maybe a little more mids as well. Stoked!

 

[Netforce]

So spoke with Hifiman again about possible release date and they still are a tad iffy not no definite answer. But I did snap a picture of the new pads on the 400s. Asked if I could take off the pads to take a look but they said to please leave them on, understandable.
 

 

[flowza]

Any news on the release date? 
Edit: Nvm, just read the post above haha.

 

[Vartan]

http://theaudiotraveler.com/2015/06/01/newport-2015-hifiman/

 

[ashutoshp]

And 400i is barely a month old. They look good.