[Corbet]

As someone who loves my Denon D2000s, I'm really considering upgrading to the HE400s. What should I expect? A more "accurate" or "neutral" sound? I love the bass on my D2000s and I'm a bit worried the HE400s will be too sterile for me.
 
Thoughts?

 

[jronan2]

For those that own these already, what types music would you say they excel in and what types of music can you hear it's shortcomings and/or have heard better sound out of another headphone?

 

[latenlazy]

I wasn't talking about language. You said HE-400 sound signature was tuned for American music, and I was wondering if that meant Chinese music sounded better on the HE-500s (Assuming different recording styles, etc). 
Quote:

There is no relation between sound signature and language. 
 

 

 

[TMRaven]

I can't wait to hear how good Lady Gaga sounds in them.

 

[OPrwtos]

 
what i really want to know is....if you equalized the he-500 and he-400 to be exactly the same; lets say neutral. Which one would sound better and in what way?
 

 

[Digital-Pride]

Quote:

I can't wait to hear how good Lady Gaga sounds in them.

Forget the gaga lady, how does the Bieber kid sounds with these guys.

 

[Phos]

Quote:

I wasn't talking about language. You said HE-400 sound signature was tuned for American music, and I was wondering if that meant Chinese music sounded better on the HE-500s (Assuming different recording styles, etc). 


 

I think he means they were tuned for how Americans like their music to sound, not for how it was recorded.  

 

[jerg]

 
Quote:

Forget the gaga lady, how does the Bieber kid sounds with these guys.

My guess is they will almost sound good with these cans. Almost.

 

[MrChips]

 
These give me yet another reason to head back out to Vega$ to visit family... and try to obtain a day-pass for a listening session!  I've always wondered how headphones such as these would sound against my conventional closed-back dynamics and such, but never thought a quasi-affordable pair would come through the pipes.
 
Personally, my musical preferences vary, but I'm just wondering how the mobile fidelity "Dark Side of the Moon" will sound.  You KNOW I'll be listening for the background interview, alarm clocks, and heartbeats. 
 
My test library will probably also include some Telarc selections (California Project, S.o.B 2000, various Kunsel/Cincinatti Pops), Moog Cookbook's "Bartel", Klaus Nomi, Pat Metheny, Kitaro, Tomita, Kraftwerk, and Enoch Light.  Other than that, a bit of classic rock/pop from 50's-80's would round it out.  The trick will be to roll it all into a few minutes of listening in a noisy environment.  To be fair, some spoken word w/ and w/o ambient music would be included, too (Pehaps MoodFood and George Carlin or The Frantics?).  Being Vega$, you KNOW some Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine will be on-hand, too.
 
Us 'muricans don't all want to hear about being poked in the face by Lady Gaga, yelled at by some dork professing he has 99 problems, or be lectured on the nastiness of the IRA's actions and such...  Bieber may have some talent; he may not.  I wouldn't recognize him if we bumped in to each other at the store..
 

 

[john57]

MrChips
 
Sounds like you have a good chip on your shoulder regarding your music test library and just a few mins of listening can help to valuate headphones even at a noisy environment.

 

[latenlazy]

Ah, makes sense.
Quote:

I think he means they were tuned for how Americans like their music to sound, not for how it was recorded.  

 

 

[scrypt]

Pardon me while I recover from the fap of honesty.  I can't recall seeing anyone other than an adulation-weary rock star reference the fruits of their toil with such amusing brutality.  
 
My inner basset hound doesn't know which morsel to abscond with, the tantalizing reference to Thiel or the sweeping dismissal of American sound vs. British (a comparison people often make in recording studios, usually arguing in favor of the British sound while continuing to use American gear). It's a point I could adjust to without years of counseling if Fang didn't seem to be dismissing the sound of the newest model of headphones brought out by his own company.
 
Yes, there's a difference between personal preference and professional craftsmanship, and we know not to worry about the latter:  HiFiMan puts out some of the best kit available at hand-me-my-glass-eye prices, and if Fang decides to confect $400 magnetic planar headphones with an American sound, he's going to do it perfectly, for the love of raja-grade copper.  It's just funny to hear someone representing a niche audio company not claim to spoon, bathe and exchange personal fluids with the headphones he happens to be offering to the world at this moment. 
 
First-impression comparisons to other headphones might be incestuous and slightly vague so far, but those HE-400s are still sounding better by the paragraph.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Nankai /img/forum/go_quote.gif

To be honest, we did tune HE-400 more "American sound" than HE-500. Comparing typical America sound thiel or JBL speakers to UK speaker such as spendor sp100, ATC or harbeth, many people believe thiel or JBL have more detail or more neutrual than those UK speakers, but I personally perfer Spendor or harbeth a lot. I don't like America sound signature. But business is business, we have to make something can sell.

 

 

[Il Mostro]

Quote:

Pardon me while I recover from the fap of honesty.  I can't recall seeing anyone other than an adulation-weary rock star reference the fruits of their toil with such amusing brutality.  
 
My inner basset hound doesn't know which morsel to abscond with, the tantalizing reference to Thiel or the sweeping dismissal of American sound vs. British (a comparison people often make in recording studios, usually arguing in favor of the British sound while continuing to use American gear). It's a point I could adjust to without years of counseling if Fang didn't seem to be dismissing the sound of the newest model of headphones brought out by his own company.
 
Yes, there's a difference between personal preference and professional craftsmanship, and we know not to worry about the latter:  HiFiMan puts out some of the best kit available at hand-me-my-glass-eye prices, and if Fang decides to confect $400 magnetic planar headphones with an American sound, he's going to do it perfectly, for the love of raja-grade copper.  It's just funny to hear someone representing a niche audio company not claim to spoon, bathe and exchange personal fluids with the headphones he happens to be offering to the world at this moment. 
 
First-impression comparisons to other headphones might be incestuous and slightly vague so far, but those HE-400s are still sounding better by the paragraph.
 


 

Great Post.  Considering the $350 price tag and generous 30 day return policy, I think placing an order and hearing for oneself is a nothing short of a no brainer.  Far preferable to the mental masturbation that this thread has devolved to.

 

[shaneotool]

I dont think your average american who listens to beiber and gaga and likes an "american sound" is going to buy $400 headphones from hifiman.  If they are spending that much - they are getting beats.
 
IMO - most interested in these phones want a neutral sound - not exaggerated bass and treble...

 

[lentiman]

Well, I ordered myself a pair and will compare them with my much used Beyerdynamic DT880 and AKG K702's.  As was said, with the 30-day return policy it's a no brainer.  I use my phones at work, and I'm interested to see how much volume leak they have to the surrounding environment as well as how sturdy they are.  I've never had a pair of HiFiMan 'phones or even listened to them but at the $350 price it's worth checking them out.  I mostly listen to various forms of trance music and unlike some on the boards I'm not, uh, musically stuck up.  Hmm, how else to describe it?  Anyway, we'll all know soon how they stack up.  Cheers.