[Alius123]

So I’m looking at buying my first set of planar headphones. I currently have the Sennheiser 598cs and sound magic hp200. I really enjoy both but I do prefer the sound magic. I find it has more energy and detail. The sennheiser is nice too for its own warmth and focus to the vocals. I have a portable uShar amp and the bravo ocean blue tube amp on the way.

I was looking at either the hifiman 400S, the he400i 2020 or the odeze lcd-1. Being new to planar phones the reviews get somewhat much with soo many options all around similar price ranges. What are your thoughts? You think with my current setups and preference either would be what I’m looking for or is there another option that I might not be considering? I don’t want to go over 300 for the headphones. I’m a little worried by the known QC issues of Hifiman so hopefully the newer 400i has fixed most of it. I’m also a little worried by the mention that the 400i/4XX has the harshness with the ‘sss’ and ‘shh’ sounds.

 

[fronl]

Some people do tend to be sensitive to sibilence, but I found in my limited experience that the 4XX was quite agreeable in the treble region. The LCD-1 sound good, but personally fit and finish weren't quite there for me. The 4XX is excellent for the price if you're willing to wait out the preorder; they're also listed to have free returns. I had to return a different set of cans to Drop previously and had a very smooth experience with it.

 

[silent-circuit]

Save up another ~$100 and buy a used pair of. Acoustic Research AR-H1, or if you can't find them, Sendy Audio AIVA.

Also, speaking as someone who owns two pairs of HE-4XX, they're mediocre at best, but sibilence isn't the issue.

 

[sideways]

Sorry but I'm going to piggy back on your question Alius123... I am on the same path and was going to ask the same question!! And sibilence is very much an issue for me as well... hopefully more with chime in

 

[bagwell359]

I have a set too. Sound nice w/o comparison but put them up against HE-500 or EQ them and there are problems all over and yes the highs can be edgy. Save up and look around.

 

[Alius123]

Appreciate the feedback! I’ll take a look at the Acoustic Research AR-H1.

 

[Alius123]

So the AR-H1 is pretty hard to find...seems the Sundara are a safe bet. I’m looking at the el-8 and M570’s as well. There are some good deals on eBay for both.

 

[descloud]

I was looking at either the hifiman 400S, the he400i 2020 or the odeze lcd-1

I don’t want to go over 300 for the headphones

Those three have decent reputation. The LCD-1 from what I've gathered, seems to be similar in tuning to Hifiman's 4XX series offerings - which is neutral leaning bright. You would need to look up the thread for this to gather some impressions prior to auditioning them. I personally started with the HE-400i a few years ago and came away impressed with Hifiman's house sound, so I can give them a good recommendation for the price despite the looming notion of their poor QC issues. I haven't tried the HE-400S, but it seems to be decently reputable as lachlanlikesathing and Tyll liked them.

Best if you can demo all three of them to gather more information to your ears.

I’m a little worried by the known QC issues of Hifiman so hopefully the newer 400i has fixed most of it. I’m also a little worried by the mention that the 400i/4XX has the harshness with the ‘sss’ and ‘shh’ sounds.

For the QC issue, I would say it's in a way overblown, but is in no way a false notion. On a personal note, the Hifimans I've had (400i sold, HE-500 still own) have not broken on me for the duration I had them. So best to purchase from an authorized dealer for any warranty issues. With their under $500 offerings, I think they're still a good recommendation despite their QC reputation. If you go for their higher-end models in the kilobuck range, that's where I wouldn't give a full recommendation despite them sounding really good for a lot of owners.

Regarding the harshness that some people mentioned, I don't think you would have a clear idea yet on whether you'd find them annoying or not. People have varying treble sensitivities so those vocal about "harshness" in the treble are more sensitive for the HE-400i/4XX peaks than others. Plus, it depends on the type of recordings they listen to as there are a lot of modern songs that are mastered pretty hot in the treble, and the HE-400i peaks in my experience, will show them. That doesn't mean you'll find the treble peaks annoying until you actually try them. Worst case, you can use EQ to tame those peaks to your liking.

Hope this helps!

 

[InvisibleInk]

I have both the 2017 and 2020 HE-400i’s and both are superb. Easy to drive, as entry-level units should be. You’ll like it.

 

[bagwell359]

I have a set of used 4XX's that have two sets of pads and an added XLR cable. It's never broken down, or had channel imbalances etc.. The only deviation is that it has a HE-500 headband which is comfortable on the 4XX, not so much on the 500 which is a lot heavier. If interested contact me so we can make an above board deal, otherwise its going on ebay tomorrow.

If you are true timbre/midrange guy the Senn HD-600 crushes all the HFM models under the Sundara. If you are a rock, EDM, and other amplified music fan the HFM's are a better choice.

 

[ozz]

I would try to audition some Sundara's before you make a purchase.

 

[Alius123]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and advice. So I ended up getting the audeze lcd-1. Got a used pair for 240. Love them, sound signature and details are all there for me. Of course this just made me more curious now on how other planar headphones fare haha.