HiFiMAN HE400i Over Ear Full-Size Plannar Magnetic Headphone

Product Information

Bass doesn't have impact until you use an EQ or other sort of sound processor, along with a good amp. I drive mine through an old school NAD 2140 amplifier. I drive these hard enough for the grills to rattle. Some of the stuff I listen too just isn't produced right and the Hifiman will reveal it to you and shove in it your face. Hence why I use an EQ and such. Because without them, the 400i will make you start to hate some of your music selection. Headstage is one of the best we have heard in this price category and it leaves most of the competition just lagging behind. While these headphones both use the same headband system, the HE-400i clamps fairly tight on the side of your head but it still is very comfortable and you can wear it for hours without any issues. These headphones will let you know if your source is good or not. I won't repeat much of the pros and cons of this headphone that hasn't already been said. Comfort wise, the HE-400i is miles ahead of the not so comfy HE-400. Sound wise, a huge improvement was done resulting in a less aggressive sound than before with more detail, a bigger sound stage and an overall more refined and higher level sound.

HiFiMAN HE-400i - Reviews - Head-Fi.org HiFiMAN HE-400i - Reviews - Head-Fi.org

Bass quality on the HE-400i is better. The 400’s bass was more basic and had more body while the 400i’s bass is more detailed and layered: a better quality bass. Treble wise the 400 might be a little further extended but the 400i’s treble is more textured and detailed than before. The sharp side has been filed of. The Hifiman HE-400i uses the exact same headband system as its big brother, the HE-560, does. In my HE-560 review from August I said: “The detachable pads, in combination with the extremely good suspended head band design and the light drivers, make the Hifiman HE-560 one of the lightest and most comfortable Orthodynamic Headphones on the planet. You hardly notice it on your head, no painful feeling on top, no death grip and perfect sealing pads. It can’t get much better really. What a design!” And that goes for the HE-400I as well: light (12.7 ounces) and very comfortable. I never really loved the old HE-400 as much as I loved the HE-500 and on both of the old units, the comfort is only so so. They don’t really fit small heads and they don’t have the most comfortable fit. After a few hours the HE-400 starts to hurt on top of your head from the headband and the cups are big and they don’t seal well on everyone’s head. (velour pads do help for comfort). Compared to the old HE-400, the 400i now is heaven to have on your head. These headphones are a bargain to say the least, and won’t leave you disappointed or underwhelmed with just about any song you can throw at them. If you think that the HE400i 2020 sounds like a budget pair of over-ear planar magnetic headphones, then think again. I have calibrated my headphone fixture with 94 dBSPL test tones and decided that I use the same for headphone measurements. However, instead of using 1 kHz tone I have opted for 425 Hz. This seems to better match research data.You don’t have to know a lot about personal audio and technology to love these headphones. And for the very accessible price the Hifiman HE400se is going for, they’re the ideal recommendation to a whole lot of people. As a result I am adding the HE-400se to our list of best headphones to buy. The HE400i 2020 was already on the list, and as the se-version plays at the same level but sounds differently, it also deserves its spot their as an excellent entry level headphone. These cans are probably the best headphones you can get in this price range, hands down. For at home listening, they give a great relaxed and defined sound to almost every genre. The pronounced high end can be annoying at times, but is easy enough to remedy. I would recommend these to anyone looking to get into higher end headphones, or for more experienced listeners to have a little fun with some well made and relatively cheap cans. Happy listening everyone. Regarding the soundstage of HE-400i, there has been written certain criticism here and there on the internet. This criticism I can understand but can not fully agree with. I will admit that the soundstage is not the strongest point of HE-400i sound presentation but I can´t agree that it is any small, average or even claustrophobic. If that would be the case, then you simply could not have such an amazing instrument separation, which is somehow presented in HE-400i sound. Maybe part of this criticism came from comparing HE-400i with HE-400, in which HE-400i, perhaps, came up short. I haven´t heard HE-400 so I could not compare both headphones but I could compare HE-400i thoroughly with DT 990 and at least briefly with other premier cans. And I came to a conclusion that the soundstage on HE-400i is, as a whole, realistic and reasonably big. From my point of view, the soundstage width really is not exceptional, it is about on par with DT 990, but in height and especially depth HE-400i has significant edge over DT 990. This results into more 3D sound in relation to DT 990. From the brief comparison with HE-560 I did not feel that the more expensive headphone had here such a big upper hand. I might be wrong though, because as mentioned, my time with (A-B ing) both headphones was limited. From my memory Oppo PM1 also did not seem to have much advantage here over HE-400i (and if at all, then probably in depth). Only when I heard cans like HD 800 or LCD-X it became obvious that there was substantial difference in soundstage expansiveness. However, what I like on HE-400i soundstage is that it comes natural and realistic: compressed mp3s with low dynamic range will truly sound narrower in width and generally flatter, high quality recordings (e.g. 24 bit/192 kHz FLACs or SACD files) with a decent dynamic range will sound a lot more 3D. Or, to put it in a different way, when the song is recorded with an expansive soundstage, HE-400i will clearly show it, without breaking a sweat. Bottom line: HD 800 is getting 10/10 here, HE-400i is getting 8/10 here, DT 990 is getting 7/10 here. These are among the most comfortable headphones I’ve worn. I’d say even slightly more comfortable than the HD800s. They are extraordinarily light for a planar and the focus pads really just seal the deal.

HiFiMAN HE-400i planar magnetic headphones - The Absolute Sound

He400i + Oppo ha 2 se: This was by favorite combo. Sounded phenomenal, even took it out for a drive in my car and although it may not have been the best idea, I have no regrets. The bass boost in the Oppo ha 2 se with the He400i is just mouthwatering. The mids became more emphasized with the highs retaining that clarity and detail. The HD600's are indeed good but the Hifiman's present the music with much more finesse and realism. So much that I opened my wallet and matched them with a brand new Burson Audio Soloist SL, which they prefered in detriment to my old Musical Fidelity X-Can V3. Frequency response for both headphones is almost identical up to the mid range but then the Sundara rises up a little with a more emphasis at the higher registers. Soundstage: the soundstage is most intimate than the HD600 or the HD6xx/HD650, but this makes the bass much more apparent. This would be a preference thing but I enjoy soundstage and this was a downside for meThe most important thing to know id that the 2020 version of the HE-400i, is still using the same drivers as the one that saw the light in 2015. But these drivers are/were great, so we’re not complaining about this. I will give the HE400i a pass without equalization. With EQ, I am happy to give the Hifiman HE400i a recommendation.