The Hi-Fi Man HE400i Review

[@sherloidbai7064]

His review on this is ABSOLUTELY spot on. I was finally able to land these and decided to test my thoughts against several reviews and couldn't agree more. Like he says, mating these with warm equipment produces very desirable results. I have a vintage Realistic SA-102 that was too warm for my Sennheiser's and attempted to sell it but didn't go, and now I know why! Got the little amp out of storage and YES!

[@mwhtkr]

I am treble sensitive and I these are not bright at all. They are very neutral to me, which is why I own them, but sound is subjective. The midrange is amazing and the low end is tight and fast. Their just fantastic, I love them. If anyone is on the fence about getting these, Electronic Expo has them on sale for $249.00. A steal in my opinion.

[@ElChuy69]

175 on amazon

[@robertfan332]

I got these over the summer for $190 new on Amazon. Incredible. I am not a bass head I like a sound that just gives texture and detail to things. These have that, us fast concise planar bass. I thought my grado 325e were my kind of sound. The 400i sounds like a grown up version of my Grados, similar tuning but just more capable in every element of the sound. I listened the the 325e recently and realized it all just sounds mushed together. 400i has got to be one of the biggest steals in headphones, even though my cables starting ripping the fabric on the ends near where they plug into the ear cups, and have finally started cutting out the sound. I do not even care, hifiman said they would replace the cables, the sound is too good at that price to be mad.

[@stevengram9162]

These hifiman he400i headphones actually have a lot of bass they sound awesome with all my rap music all I listen to and these can handle it very good,and for the audeze el8 open back I had them but sent them back to the company because they had no bass at all But anyways these are just very awesome headphones I love them my favorite pair

[@thiscorrosion900]

really? Meanwhile the Audeze cost like $800. Absurd.

[@williamkleckner9844]

If anyone still reads these comments, these need a lot of break in. But be prepared for magic as they do! Still great phones for the money!

[@vanheim1089]

but planners ARE good for rap,hip-hop and edm. They have fuller and more detailed bass than any other headphones technically. I have to disagree with you on that one. I think the He-400i are still fantastic for electronic and hip-hop.

[@ZeroFidelity]

+Vanheim - Believe it or not, I agree with you in the sense that the 400i's deliver enough of the low end goods to compliment genres like hop hop, electronic, and other bass driven music. Or at least that's the case when they're given the right kind of fuel. However... as a reviewer, I have to bear in mind that there are a lot of people who want to hear *boom* when they listen to that kinda music. The sensation of powerful bass is what partially drives people to this kind of music to begin with. While the 400i's certainly don't suck in this regard, I think it's safe to say that there are other products that will deliver the kinda colored, low-end heft that some people want. Hmm. Perhaps I should have worded it like that.. :D Ah well. That's the compromise of doing everything without a script.

[@vanheim1089]

+Zero Fidelity oh I get what you mean. Thanks for the response!

[@alexanderjarvis9827]

Zero Fidelity For that boom, I think the Philips Fidelio X2s are a great choice. Same with the Fostex TH-600/TH-X00

[@TheBulletDamage]

Yeah totally agrred this was bad comment made by reviewer

[@ElChuy69]

@@ZeroFidelity In resume, the average person prefer to hear hip hop and EMD with some Beats by Dre :v

[@JTCPingas]

That stock cable though. WHY is it short, and why does it end in a right angled connector? Come the fuck on, HiFiMAN.

[@zotar9279]

It is of typical chinese quality, just buy another one, which you probably already have done by now.

[@run_taurus7635]

just bought these last week oct of 2017 from audio advisor for $250 9half off) and i absolutely love them right off the starting line. this is my first experience with headphones in this price range. i use the head phone outs of a peachtree integrated and i am very impressed.

[@willie9537]

I remember that song when you sang, " Something, Something, Something. 😊 have a great day.

[@sidvicious3129]

I agree with you, these must be broken in and it's recommended for 150 hours, which I almost have on them. They really need a headphone amp and without one they lose their magic. A small taste of the he1000 at a great price when you can get them on sale like I did for almost half off.

[@bigyeetus2866]

lol break in, more audiophool garbage

[@deltadragonoid54]

HifiMans have always been very picky with their power. From my personal experience these sound their best with Schiit Asgard 2, McIntosh MHA100, Aune B1 (if you want something portable, but it needs to be put in Class-A mode), and Audeze Deckard. Keep in mind this is only from the amps I've tried there are definitely many more these will sound amazing with!

[@ZeroFidelity]

+CS:N3XI5 - Agreed. Schiit makes some good shit. As for the McIntosh amp, I haven't spent any time with it yet. Assuming it sounds like a typical McIntosh component, I'd imagine that it would match a pretty wide variety of headphones - to include the 400i's. :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts/experiences!

[@zotar9279]

I ended up buying these headphones based on this and other reviews. The more I use them the more I like them. Next step to take the sound to the next level is a decent tube amp I think :)

[@余博元-z5l]

I with hd650 now but I purchase this with juicy price currently on Amazon for 165 bucks hopefully to have refresh feel bout this

[@davidwilliams2349]

Thanks for the honest thoughts, not a lot of fluff. I can see the efforts in video production as well. Keep up the good work.

[@ZeroFidelity]

+David Williams - Thanks man!

[@dackzy404]

The FocusPad-A will help smooth out the sound.

[@ZeroFidelity]

+Dackzy - Thanks. Yeah, I read about those. Will have to give em' a try at some point. :)

[@GeekologyChannel]

Thanks for your review . Really enjoyed it. The singing was even better. I think I might be able to pull off a review like that one day but the singing I'm not so sure....

[@ZeroFidelity]

Bhahaha. Thanks. Honestly? I'm just a jackass with a camera. Anybody can do what I do. Hopefully you'll start to post up some videos soon. :)

[@mattyl2413]

great review dude, I think im going to get these!

[@mmm0513]

What's that song at the intro?

[@Newrecordday2013]

I'm going to have you come up with a new record day theme song

[@ZeroFidelity]

+New Record Day - We should make this happen.

[@Commander_HW]

Yes yes!!!! They sounded too bright and thin and harsh to me too! That's why I bought them like 2 yrs ago and I've only used them less than 5 times. ( Of course I burned them in)

[@mikelshanani9304]

very nice review. although the sound signeture isnt my cup of tea I still really like there sound. its interesting the way you describe the sound, u use different words from what i know sometimes. Anyway i 100% agree with u on amping, and btw uncolored SS amp can work great with the HE400I as well. btw, i think u should try connecting the headphones directly to one of your speakers amp, you can have VERY good result from doing this.

[@ZeroFidelity]

+mikel shanani - I think this is the first time in my life that I ever used the word "wispy" to describe the sound of a product. There were many other words that I could have used, but none of them really painted an accurate enough picture in my opinion. Anyways man, thanks for weighing-in with your thoughts on these headphones. It's cool to see where other people land on stuff like this.

[@MMilewski78]

You shouldn't listen them straight out of the box. Even in the manual says you need to leave them for at least 150 hours of constant use for break-in.

[@Anh-Áo-Nâu]

Which amp to drive this headphone???

[@senseidekkers5618]

How does a song like "hard to concentrate" by rhcp sound with these? That song has a really present bass

[@sajahatra]

does it mean the higher the ohms the better the sound gets?

[@dangerous_lemon7466]

no

[@godzillahn]

The higher Ohms the better amp you need to drive the headphones

[@ledfed1912]

Well generally the higher impedance headphone has thinner wires/ traces in the coil witch generally means the diaphragm mass is less and therefore could result in better sound. That is not really the case if it has a higher impedance just because it has more windings in the coil (or traces on the planar driver), in that case mass is not less. Keep in mind dynamics and planars are different so it is not really comparable.

[@vseanw]

Fox leather? Are you saying the kill Foxes to make their boxes?

[@julianf2468]

Lol yeah sounds odd. He just cant pronounce "faux" properly. Its fake leather

[@ZeroFidelity]

You know what? Fox you two. :D

[@thesumitchakraborty]

can anybody tell me why out of the box it sounds too low directly from iphone 6s ?

[@michaelhayes5316]

I FEEL LIKE I'M FIXIN' TO DIE,THE MUSIC DUDE!

[@uItimatewarrior]

lol.. nice ending.

[@infinite_dynamics]

I was just about to subscribe but then you started singing Justin beiber so I gouged my ears out with my eyes which I gouged out with my elbows.

[@chanchaokiitos1184]

If headphones as expensive as these are not good enough without some kinda fucking box, forget about them...besides “Stadium Arcadium” on the table...I would ask for a second opinion...

[@BeardedAlbatross]

What's the intro track?

[@vistaaudio1528]

Dude... singing... not too horrible :)

[@ZeroFidelity]

+Boris Sasic - Oh it was kinda horrible, which is exactly why I posted it. Three (now four) consecutive days of nearly no sleep will make ya do crazy sh1t. :D

[@QbertTehKiller]

Wait a minute is this a fox review or a real review?

[@ledfed1912]

wow now they are like 200-260 usd what happened.

[@masonarnold3825]

Technological improvements...?

[@ledfed1912]

@@masonarnold3825 id say the market got older.

[@someday3873]

Spend the money on the Senns HD 650 instead.

[@ledfed1912]

they dont get close to the bass on the he400i.

[@zotar9279]

I've tried both and the 400i is better in my opinion. Sennheiser has no bass at all.

[@26dots45]

Same but the Sennheiser wld have better neutrality

[@26dots45]

I still prefer he400i bcuz got them for $100

[@antonybee8293]

Oi Justin... You do realise the headphones require 180-300 hours break in?

[@michaelhayes5316]

well then don't ok ! geeeez

[@iluvj00]

"im not into headphones"? Stopped watching