[fjrabon]

   
Mine -- with the 2.5mm connectors bought on the Black Friday deal -- looks like yours. Not sure how you get the plate off to show it like you did though.

the plastic ring that holds the metal grill can fairly easily be taken off, it is held on by four insert tabs, so you just kind of gently pinch it in.  The screen isn't glued in whatsoever, so the screen just comes out when you take the ring off that holds it in.  So, yeah, it's seeming more and more like this is indeed an unannounced design revision.  LOL HiFiMan.  

 

[bavinck]

Mine is like fjrabon pic. I also have always found soundstage fine with these.

 

[canthearyou]

Here's mine. They have the old twist style connector.

 

[mysticstryk]

Here's mine.

 

[fjrabon]

well, looks like this is pretty clearly a design change, as it seems like this is how all of the new units are made.  I've been talking to a customer service rep at HiFiMan, who i think is about to forward me to engineers, so if I get anything back I'll post it here.  
 
Assuming at this point that this is a design change, what do we call this?  HE400i(b) for backplateless?  haha.

 

[wakka992]

Ouch! Quite the silent upgrade there 

I'll get my he-400i by next Thursday, I'll post a pic as soon as I get it.
Finger crossed for new 2.5mm connector... Neither the seller or hifiman knew which would I get...Lovely

 

[fjrabon]

  Ouch! Quite the silent upgrade there 

I'll get my he-400i by next Thursday, I'll post a pic as soon as I get it.
Finger crossed for new 2.5mm connector... Neither the seller or hifiman knew which would I get...Lovely

hmm, I'd be hesitant to call it an upgrade without being able to do some direct comparison.  Could have simply been to save weight for all we know.  For now we are just comparing our descriptions of sound, which has like 5 layers for potential error.  I think my HE400i sounds more open than people describe theirs as sounding, but that's worth next to nothing without somebody being able to A/B them.
 
edit: also check with HiFiMan, as they said at one point they would swap out any screw in connectors, if the customer requested.  Don't know if they're still doing that, or if it was only from headphones bought directly from HiFiMan.

 

[bavinck]

hmm, I'd be hesitant to call it an upgrade without being able to do some direct comparison.  Could have simply been to save weight for all we know.  For now we are just comparing our descriptions of sound, which has like 5 layers for potential error.  I think my HE400i sounds more open than people describe theirs as sounding, but that's worth next to nothing without somebody being able to A/B them.

edit: also check with HiFiMan, as they said at one point they would swap out any screw in connectors, if the customer requested.  Don't know if they're still doing that, or if it was only from headphones bought directly from HiFiMan.

Agreed. Though I will say the soundstage is similar to my r70x. Maybe not as deep, but just as wide. Seems like a fairly normal soundstage to me, nothing I would really complain about. Maybe the lack of backplate is having an affect. If so, it would be in hifimans interest to get a direct comparison between the two for advertising purposes.

 

[fjrabon]

Agreed. Though I will say the soundstage is similar to my r70x. Maybe not as deep, but just as wide. Seems like a fairly normal soundstage to me, nothing I would really complain about. Maybe the lack of backplate is having an affect. If so, it would be in hifimans interest to get a direct comparison between the two for advertising purposes.

yeah, the only soundstages that I've heard that I would say are definitively bigger that I've heard personally are: HD650 (and really, not by a whole lot), HD800 and AudioTechnica AD700.  People early on described it as having the soundstage of a closed headphone, which certainly sounds wrong to me.  TO me the soundstage is just right, as honestly, I think some of those others can, at times, be incoherently large.  
 
When I put crossfeed on the HE400i, it has the most accurate imaging I've ever heard.  It beats the HD650, easily, in that regard.

 

[fjrabon]

Just got word from HiFiMan that it is indeed a design revision. Wonder if anybody coming to the Atlanta mini meet will have an old version that we can A/B.

 

[mysticstryk]

Just got word from HiFiMan that it is indeed a design revision. Wonder if anybody coming to the Atlanta mini meet will have an old version that we can A/B.

 
+1
 
I'd be very interested in the difference (if there is a noticeable difference).

 

[fjrabon]

got another message from HiFiMan that I guess was from somebody in the engineering or design team or who has more product knowledge or something (had previously been speaking to customer service who was asking questions for me, but she didn't really know anything about the headphones herself):
 
Basically confirmed that the change was made to improve clarity and openness and reduce weight a bit.

 

[canthearyou]

got another message from HiFiMan that I guess was from somebody in the engineering or design team or who has more product knowledge or something (had previously been speaking to customer service who was asking questions for me, but she didn't really know anything about the headphones herself):

Basically confirmed that the change was made to improve clarity and openness and reduce weight a bit.

Well, damn! I should've picked up a second pair during the crazy price reductions!

 

[fjrabon]

Also, Peter from HiFiMan just confirmed the change on the 400i thread. Mirroring what I was told via email regarding improvement in soundstage, clarity and weight.

 

[cocolinho]

 
Basically confirmed that the change was made to improve clarity and openness and reduce weight a bit.

wow.
that's crazy... I was a very early adopter of these new 400i but was very disappointed with the soundstage: far too closed sounding for my taste so I sold them couple of days later.
but I might try them again since they made an updated version which improve openness!
 
Thank you for this thread.