This first impression will be slightly different from Mike's
The HE-400, as you all know by now, are delivered in a cardwood box with a plastic "container" and to me it was in some way "wrong" to see a planar technology headphone being delivered that way. It reminded me of the box of the M50 which is more or less identical. It's too bad not to get a fancy box but at $399, some savings had to be made and to me it was a bit disappointing as I've gotten used to the nice boxes from Sennheiser, Audeze and even Beyerdynamic. The stock canare cable (I love canare) is over 2 meters and is only fitted with a full size 1/4 plug... weren't these cans supposed to be driven by a phone or DAP?
When listening to this headphone you easily get the "fun" feeling. It's just nice to listen to when listening to the right music (see later). The sound is clear as you would expect from an orthodynamic headphone and what springs out most is the bass. As Fang announced before its release, this is definately tuned for the american market as in "popular Hitlist music", so this definately will be a headphone many will like, yet I have my own opinion about it. First of all its sounds very closed for an orthodynamic, especially when comparing to the LCD-2 and the HE-500. At the same time it gives you a nice level of detail from bass to highs but it is nowhere near what I am used to with the other orthodynamics. It's lacking the soundstage, layering and the detail retrieval. I'd place it more in the mid-market, where it of course belongs. The bass punch in the He-400 (I've only used it amped so far) is excellent, best of all the orthos I have heard so far!
When using this headphone, I get a more "headphone sound" kind of feeling. The music isn't around me it is inside my head and with the smaller soundstage (than the higher end orthos) I don't feel like I am there. Everything is clear, but there is no super detail, it's like it is trying to be the he-500's young brother but it's more like a far cousin. But a good cousin, one you could use each day for casual listening.
Amping the He-400 with the Violectric made it too bright/forward sounding for my taste. On tubes it is a lot smoother, lush sounding and laid back, but no way near the HD650 laid back. Tubes for me is the way to go with these headphones. I was absolutely surprised about the changing character of the HE-400 when using a different amplifier.
The HE-400 is absolutely awesome with electronic/dance music where (imo) detail retrieval, vocals and instrumental separation is less important. The bass really kicks in and highs are nicely clear (not too clear, no sibilence, but no detail either as with it's big brother) I can't say I like the way it portrays jazz and vocals and I have mixed feeling about rock music with these, but maybe I am just too spoiled by the HE-500 and the LCD-2...
So here's my idea so far: The HE-500 (and LCD-2) is still King. The HE-400 doesn't come anywhere near their level but of course it wasn't intented to do so. Lots of people are asking if it replaces the HD650 and in my opinion it doesn't at all. While you get the ortho sound with the He-400, the HD650 to my ears still stands out. They're also very different sounding and if I had to choose one for all styles, I would not hesitate choosing the Sennheiser HD650...
Most weird thing about the He-400 is that is doesn't sound relaxed to me, not like the Senns, or the other ortho's do. I couldn't listen for longer as an hour before needing a rest with these. They're just not as refined.
Looks like my ideal (Hifiman) headphone is the HE-500 with the He-400 bass punch (not detail or depth, and maybe some of the LCD-2 mids as well). Everything else in the HE-500 is just awesome to me. The He-400 is a nice mid-fi headphone giving you a taste of what top ortho sound can be like, but it is in no way an LCD-2/HE-500 replacement like some people are saying. I've made out my mind, the He-400 is no top audiophile headphone, it is a top headphone for the big market, for me it is my fav headphone for electronic music, the best I've had for that matter.
Build quality: Mike doesn't agree with me on this but I find the HE-400 under the HE-500 level. The cups and the connectors of the cups just don't feel as solid to me, more plastic like but the fit is the same, it's just lighter. The HE-400 comes standard with the pleather pads. I prefer velour but according to Mike they don't do the He-400 justice, and I trust his ears.
Maybe after some more listening and burn in the sound and my impressions will change, but for now this is how it is...
