Hifiman HE400i Ver.2020 Review – Entry Level Planar Headphones

My Video Review:

When Hifiman lowered Sundara’s price to $350, a lot of people that never tried planar magnetic headphones, were now ready to give them a spin. To this day, Sundara is the still the best-selling headphone of Hifiman, only because it was able to strike a nice balance between sound quality, looks, comfort and price. Hifiman Deva was another eye opener of mine and while I wasn’t that impressed by its wireless capabilities and features, when being driven by a well-made amplifier like Flux Lab Acoustic FA-10 in wired mode, Deva literally transformed from a larva into a beautiful butterfly. Everything improved to unrecognizable, as they sounded as a serious pair of desktop planars. My measurements and subjective opinions proved that they can compete even with pricier offerings, if you are willing to feed them some sweet Class-A power. With all that said, I never thought a day would come in my life when I would be listening to a pair of desktop planar-magnetic headphones that cost only $169.

The most peculiar thing to know is that HE400i 2020 version that I will be testing today – is an updated version of the HE400i that was released in 2015, but instead of their initial price point of $500, Hifiman went downhill to just $169!

If you wondering why that happened, it is quite simple. Drop.com sold 4.300 units of Meze 99 Noir that cost $200, some 53.500 units of Sennheiser HD58X at $170, 40.000 units of Hifiman HE4XX that go for $160 and a whole lot of Sennheiser HD6XX priced at $220, more exactly 112.400 units to this day. However, if you look at headphones past $500 price category, they are barely moving 1.000 units or much less than that. It is obvious that most people are willing to buy a pair of headphones somewhere between $150 and $250 and they are not that happy to pay more than that. Hifiman needed such a headphone to complete as a business model and that is pretty much why HE400i 2020 was created. As a headphone enthusiast, I can only be happy as more people can check what’s the fuss about planar magnetic headphones. As usual, I will be conducting a comprehensive review, including detailed measurements and comparisons.

Unboxing Experience

HE400i came double boxed for a good protection during shipping. The smaller product box is actually the same that is coming with their Arya and Deva headphones, which is a good sign already. After opening it up, HE400i were sitting comfortably in a silky fabric surrounded again by lots of foam underneath and on top of it. You’ll find an owner’s guide, a limited warranty and a nice detachable cable, that is exactly the same coming with their Arya and Deva headphones. I like that it is a shorter 1.5m cable, it’s wrapped in a nylon textile material, it’s super flexible, completely free of any microphonics and feels more than decent in the hand. It is terminated with a 3.5mm jack (1/8”) plus an adapter to 6.35mm (1/4”) is attached to it, so you can use them with portable and desktop devices. I would personally like to have a functional hard carry-case, instead of that silky display case, but I will leave it as a hint for their future models.

Looks & Build Quality

This is their second headphone model that uses a new headband design, reminding of their older headphones as HE-500 and HE-6. Especially the cup design is reminiscent of Old School Hifiman, which defines and differentiates them from all other headphone manufacturers. The newer grille is nice looking too, I like their open look as you can clearly see their planar drivers if light shines through it. I like their bigger cups compared to Sundara and I absolutely adore their newest ear-pads which are softer, plushier and more comfortable long term. As a matter of fact, HE400i has deeper ear-pads with more cushioning compared even to Arya or Susvara, which is quite amazing to have at such an affordable price.

The yokes that are holding their cups, its grilles and the rods that are adjusting the height position are all made out of metal. There is quite a lot of metal in here and little to no plastic if being completely honest with you, only its cups are made out of hard plastics and everything else is eco-leather and metal. The build quality is good and construction is sturdy, they will surely resist a lot of abuse. The earpads are user replaceable, its cable is user replaceable too. Considering that all the newest Sennheiser headphones including HE6XX line are made out of plastic and that Audeze LCD-1 is also made out of hard plastics, I am actually surprised by the build quality and attention to details at such a low price point.

The only thing I dislike is that they don’t swivel that much, I’d say about 15 degrees to left and right. I have a medium sized head and that is a non-issue for me, but it could be a small issue for bigger heads.

The most amazing part it’s their comfort level which is very high. At only 370 grams (0.8 lbs) that is very lightweight by planar standards, there is little to no pressure on top of my head or around my ears, the eco-leather ear-pads have a soft textile material that touches my cheeks, so I can wear them even in sunny days without sweating at all. All in all, HE400i 2020 edition have a nice build-quality and are very comfortable to use even for few hours straight, which is a huge compliment.

Cable Quality

This is pretty much the same stock headphone cable that is coming with Arya and Deva. Headphone jack housing is made out of metal, both jacks are gold platted and the cable itself is wrapped in a nylon outer jacket. I can’t hear microphonics when it’s rubbing against my clothing, which is always nice to experience. The cable is moderately thick, but quite flexible, so it should resist twists and stretches. In about one year and a half, the nylon jacket around the headphone connectors will start to peel-off, but you can always buy a secondary cable from Hifiman if that is bothering or you can try nicer ones from 3-rd party cable makers.

Tech Inside them

Hifiman is describing them as easy to drive Full-Sized Planar Magnetic headphones. Seeing that cable terminated with a 3.5mm jack, it is clear that they want you to drive them with pretty much anything that has a headphone jack. They do have a pretty high sensitivity of 93 dB per 1mW and a low impedance of just 35 Ohms. Nonetheless, they still need quite some power compared to a portable over ear headphone like Sennheiser Momentum line or Meze 99 line. HE400i will work out of portable sources, but make sure to use a nicer one with a dedicated headphone amp section, like the newest dedicated DAPs are having. The best part is that the same original drivers of HE400i that were released in 2015 were used in here too. Their lower price point was achieved by using a single array of magnets instead of a push-pull configuration of their pricier models. A smaller number of magnets will directly impact the weight of the headphone and its sensitivity, so HE400i are both lightweight and easy to drive by planar standards. It is actually by about 30% lighter compared to its predecessor, since it uses a lighter frame and headband.

Sound Performance

I. Preliminary Impressions

Even from first minutes I could swear that I’m having a pair of Hifiman planars on my head. It’s quite difficult putting a finger on what exactly makes them so different, but it is there. HE400i are technical sounding headphones above anything else, they sound almost robotic to some degree. Everything is perfectly aligned and sitting exactly where it should be. You hear its clean bass performance, then its technical midrange, treble notes are playing in a completely different spot, separated from the rest. There is a lot of air between all these notes, soundstaging capabilities are quite impressive, their layering is special too, pin point imaging is precise and accurate. There is plenty of information and micro-details for the listener, that it could put to shame even kilo-buck headphones. On the flip-side there isn’t that warmth, that creamy midrange you can find in Meze, Kennerton or Audeze planars. Tonal balance is holding nicely with lots of details in the treble, but sometimes it can sound harsh and brittle, especially in very linear and honest sounding setups like mine. Feed them sweeter Class-A power and that harshness can be completely forgotten, exactly as it happened with the Flux Lab Acoustics FCN-10.

Out of a balanced headphone amplifier, they are hitting pretty impressive, there is a decent bass thump, HE400i will impress a little bit more with their speed, than with their slam and impact. No matter the music, I wanted just by a hair a better midrange presence and a deeper sub-bass performance, but everything else was in its right spot.

Sincerely, there is very little to complain about it, detail retrieval will put to shame headphones costing a lot more and same can be said about its soundstage and imaging. The only thing that will not outperform said headphones is the midrange section that is less impressive, voices are not sounding as deep and guttural, there is less meat to the bone and instead of a heavier tonality, HE400i wants to impress you more with its technicalities than anything else.

II. Power Requirements

I want to briefly touch the subject of its sensitivity and how much power is actually needed to fully drive them at maximum potential. I don’t know how Hifiman is doing it, but all their planar headphones are slightly harder to drive compared to the rest of planar mafia and I’ve felt the same with these. I will say right away that HE400i can be hardly driven by portable sources as smartphones or laptops. Their Ananda headphones could be driven by pretty much anything, but HE400i, together with Sundara and Arya are something else. You will need at least a portable DAP that can provide a few hundred milli-watts of power if you want to hear some better dynamics, control and a wider soundstage. I’ve tried them out of a Xiaomi Mi9T Pro and out of a Microsoft Surface Pro 7 and there wasn’t enough volume, even at maximum I still wanted more.

Portable DAPs of Shanling and FiiO worked much better with these and finally they were able to awake better dynamics, volume was higher and distortion lower, all in all I was experiencing a much better performance out of them.

They worked the best out of a Flux labs Acoustics FA-10, followed by a Benchmark HPA4 – both in balanced configuration. Only with these two, I was able to awake them from their deep sleep, bass felt improved to unrecognizable, speed and slam as well. Now we are talking about, they started sounding like proper hard-hitting planar headphones. If you are on a quest to find the most affordable setup to work with these, I wholeheartedly recommend the Topping L30 + A30 stack that will cost you around ~$270 if you buy them together.

Considering their tonality and the thinking that went behind these, I would pair them with warmer sounding sources and amplifiers, anything with AKM, Cirrus Logic or Wolfson digital to analog converters and some class-A power will make them a much better pair of headphones.

III. Transient Response

As I have explained in multiple reviews of mine, transient response can be defined as an arithmetic mean between speed of sound and amount of air that is being delivered in an instant – also known as slam or kick into eardrums. For example, Audeze headphones are more about the later part, they will kick hard but will not move as swiftly as Hifiman headphones are doing. Hifiman are more about the speed, about fast decays of the notes and less so about huge body hits and deep reaching bass notes. Even so, HE400i can easily outperform the transient response of much pricier headphones (cough Empyrean cough). I’m very much into fast energetic music, it is part of me and can’t deny that I really enjoy when speed and slam are rendered perfectly. It’s important to know that a decent digital source will offer a nice speed of delivery, but for a better slam – a desktop headphone amplifier will be needed. The biggest difference of using them with or without an amp actually lies exactly in here. HE400i will be considerably livelier sounding and way more engaging out of one.

If you are a lot into fast music, be it rock, metal or electronica, they will be to your liking with an instant decay of the cymbals, with clean, fast sounding drums, articulate and clean bass performance that is carrying a decent amount of slam too.

IV. Detail Retrieval

This is another interesting chapter where I think that HE400i can easily outplay pricier headphones like Sennheiser HD6xx line of headphones, Meze 99 line and others. Their transparency is about on the same level with Ollo’s S4X Reference and just a hair below Kennerton Magni and Gjallarhorn headphones. Transparency and detail retrieval are actually not that far off from Arya, which comes as a huge compliment for them. HE400i are having a clean nature and there is no doubt about that. The gaps in the frequency response are very little, there are actually more rises than gaps in the treble area and all this leads to a feeling of more air, of more transparency and details. I don’t think I ever heard a headphone that cost less than $200 with so much air around those notes and plenty of details even past 15 kHz. Sennheiser HD6xx line of headphones will sound quite impressive in the midrange with their smooth and natural approach, but they will be hiding plenty of information at the frequency extremes. HE400i are almost complementary headphones as they will impress you more with their bass and treble performance and less so with their midrange.

Its distortion stays always in check, even at 85dB of volume it never reaches 1% of THD (total harmonic distortion), pretty impressive considering that headphones like Erzetich Phobos ($2000) will sometimes reach higher distortion as 2%.

V. Soundstage & Depth

HE400i presents a natural and well spread soundstage, it isn’t a super tall one how Hifiman Arya is offering, nor a super extended one to a point of being fake sounding how Sennheiser HD800 are doing, but somewhere in the middle of these two. HE400i don’t have any layers of felt or foam between their drivers and the outer grille, so these are as open as you could possibly have. They don’t sound very different in here even compared to Hifiman Susvara, which are by about 35 times more expensive than these. There is plenty of air between the notes and no matter the song that is being played, these will never sound closed-in or upfront, on the contrary they will push more void space between each and every note. These are even more open sounding compared for Fostex TH909 ($1800) and to Erzetich Mania (€1200), which should tell you a lot how I feel about these headphones.

I went thought a series of albums ranging from classical, jazz, blues and lots of rock and HE400i were able to increase or decrease the stage size depending on the recording and a lot on the gear being used. Another interesting part is that few micro-details were coming very naturally one after another, layer after layer, its clean and transparent nature was increasing the feeling that more air is lingering around every track. These sounded the widest out of a balanced headphone amplifier, well spread out of a portable DAP and decent but unimpressive out of a laptop, so take that into consideration.

VI. Frequency Response

A. Base

I am still describing a planar headphone, right? You can be certain that planar bass is in here too, its precise, its clean, it goes pretty low but not too low, it is layered and extremely fast sounding. You will not find that woolly, slow or muddy type of bass, it is more on the opposite camp by being textured, clean and outlined. I went through multiple electronica tracks and I’ve felt that bass notes are reaching sub-bass levels even with the most demanding tracks, but its intensity is lowered a bit. Hifiman Arya and to a lesser degree Deva – have it by a hair deeper and more extended top do bottom. I want to be clear that is has sub-bass information, but it’s not a linear type of bass. Luckily, EQ works as a charm with these and by adding about 6dB between 20 and 60 Hz will make them much closer to higher tiered Hifiman headphones. The good part is that with EQ or not, bass is undistorted, it is clean, it can be sustained with longer bass notes or it can decay instantly with fast electronica, which is always nice to experience, but shouldn’t be a surprise since this is a planar headphone.

Mid-bass is considerably better and doesn’t need any EQ at all. It is very much a linear type of bass, as you can easily hear it defined, impactful and very engaging. Quite possibly mid-bass is its best part in the frequency response, it is simply perfect in here.

B. Midrange

Midrange is fine by my standards, the curious thing is that it’s neither warm and full-bodied, nor dry and uninvolving. This is very much a Hifiman headphone, as all their headphones are quite linear in here, very technical and precise, but not too warm and smooth sounding. You will not find in here Sennheiser HD6xx like voices, nor Audeze lushness. Hifiman is quite possible the only headphone brand that is not adding too much weight and naturalness to its midrange section. Don’t panic yet, as most of my listening and measurements were done via a very linear and colorless setup. Matrix Audio Element X paired with Benchmark HPA4 are completely disappearing from the acoustic chain, they help me immensely in uncovering the true identity of every headphone. Once I connect them to a warmer sounding unit as Flux Labs Acoustics FCN-10, the combination of a AKM chipset + an all discrete output stage and class-A headphone amplifier are making them much more natural sounding, especially the midrange is transforming quite a lot. It’s important to know that HE400i will be changing their tonality in different setups and you can easily make them warm, neutral or bright sounding if you want.

C. Treble

All Hifiman headphones are very strong in in treble and HE400i is no exception in here. If you love hearing detailed, defined and clean treble performance, then I’m happy to inform that you will find more information in here compared to most planars. There is a gentle drop somewhere between 3 and 6 kHz area and then a rise between 7 and 10 kHz. Treble is uneven, but it is absolutely the same with any other headphone. With some particular tracks I felt it calm and rolled-off and with others I felt it leaning towards brightness just by a little. Our most sensitive part is somewhere between 6 and 9 kHz, where treble starts rising offering a very defined texture of every sound in this region. Bells and cymbal crashes have a somewhat crispy and metallic nature and that is exactly how they should sound. Since, these are quite fast sounding, double drums will not pose a problem even with the fastest and most demanding music. I personally like this kind of treble reproduction and thanks to its gentle roll-off past upper treble, I can listen to my tunes without any awareness from my part.

VII. Measurements

After giving my full subjective opinion, I think it’s time putting them under a magnifying glass. I am curious mostly about their FR, THD, but also about its decay and waterfall. When it comes to measurements, I trust a single headphone amp to do this job: the ultra-linear Benchmark HPA4. The source was my trusty Matrix Audio Element X and the measurement rig was the MiniDSP E.A.R.S. system.

I only used Original Headphone Compensation (HPN) files for this particular EARS serial number, because I feel that Compensation for Flat EQ (HEQ) files are not very representative. EARS system has some huge silicon ears but that wasn’t a problem for big earpads of HE400i. Since it’s a fully open-back headphone, I tested them in a sealed room and I redid all my tests more than 10 times.

Checking their RAW measurements without applying a smoothing filter shows a good driver matching between the right and left driver, but it is not perfect as it can deviate as much as 2 dB in some particular areas – pretty normal behavior and nothing to be worried about. As I expected, the base and midrange area are really good. As you can see sub-bass is good but there is a gentle roll-off that can be corrected with a nice EQ curve, increase the 20 Hz region by about 7 dB and gradually lower it until you hit 60 Hz form where it starts looking straight and perfect . HE400i is an engaging sounding headphone and that can be seen from the graphs. You can spot a roll-off between 1 kHz and 6 kHz area that is smoothing quite a lot the treble presence in this region.

Applying a gentle ¹⁄₁₂ smoothing resulted in a graph that didn’t change a lot, now you can better see the driver matching between L and R and the slight roll-off in the treble region. All in all, HE400i has a linear frequency response and little to nothing to complain about, especially when you consider the price of this one.

If you are curious how HE400i stacks up against Hifiman Deva and Arya headphones, here is a graph that will help you out. HE400i – Blue, Deva – Red, Arya – Orange.

THD (total harmonic distortion) is much better compared to dynamic headphones and it seems to have a very respectable distortion even down to the lowest octaves. Most of it stays somewhere around 0.5% of distortion which is insignificant.

Its spectral decay is showing that the diaphragm is moving at the right speed and nothing remains behind. In all fairness its decay is spectacular looking and it is considerably better compared to some pricier planars I have tested around here.

Spectrogram and waterfall readings will show all the hot zones and as I expected the mid-bass, lower midrange and upper treble is where all the magic is happening. Treble is particularly impressive as a lot of small details are lingering exactly in there and you can hear them loud and clear.

Overall, HE400i has a low THD, an extended frequency response and a super-fast driver movement thanks to its instant decay.

VIII. A Comparison

Hifiman HE400i 2020 Edition ($169 EUR) VS Hifiman Deva ($219)

Both headphones are looking more or less the same, with the exception that Deva has an elongated earcup around those headphone jacks so it could accommodate a BlueMini wireless companion. Personally, I like the looks of HE400i a lot more, its mate black everything looks simply amazing, this is how a headphone should look. Deva is looking more like a fashion accessory, at least to me.

Their weight is pretty much the same, so it is their build quality, both use deep and soft ear-pads that are comfortable long term, their metal parts are identical, their shade system, yokes and headbands are exactly the same. Deva has a lower impedance of just 18 Ohms compared to 35 Ohms on HE400i, but that didn’t impact their sensitivity as both have it at around 93 dB per 1mW. I presume that Hifiman used a slightly different planar driver, since both measure a bit different and they both have a different driver impedance.

When it comes to sound performance, they are sounding pretty close to each other, still there is a clear difference which I’d like to discuss. I don’t know what is causing this, but Deva has a higher driver ringing and distortion in the treble area. HE400i on the other hand does not distort as much and has it actually more defined and clearer sounding. Its weird to say it, but HE400i sounds clearer and more detailed, there is simply more happening from mid to upper treble. Deva feels less crispy and not as engaging in that region. While listening to modern rock, it was a complete experience via HE400i and a less engaging one via Deva. On the other hand, some brighter recording worked better on Deva than on HE400i.

On the flip-side, Deva has a better sub-bass performance that is almost linear, it needs much less EQ adjustments to be perfect. It starts showing bass information starting with 20 Hz, by comparison HE400i will lower its sound pressure level by about 7dB in that region.

A slightly stronger bass and leaner treble of Deva, makes it by a little warmer and calmer sounding headphone, HE400i on other had is more visceral sounding, it is faster sounding since its bass decays faster with little to no distortion. Waterfall and Spectrogram plots of Deva shows some uneven driver movement in the sub-bass and upper treble, a thing that HE400i does not have at all. As a direct result HE400i sound slightly better to me, more coherent, more high-end so to speak, with less ringing at frequency extremes. Deva might appeal a lot more to “Beats” generation as it sounds warmer, boomier and more mainstream, HE400i will impress an audiophile a lot more as it has better technicalities and measurements.

I don’t consider that one is better and the other is worse, they have different purposes and targets so pick the one that suits you better.

Conclusion

I didn’t have a lot of faith and hope when I’ve received them, but after putting them on, all my fears seemed like forgotten nightmares. I’ve spotted macro and micro-details in my music, that I am normally experiencing with expensive desktop planars. They were moving huge quantities of air, creating a well spread soundstage with huge air gaps between every note. Everything sounded separated, well defined and completely out of my head. HE400i does not sound like entry-level headphones, they don’t sound as Mid-Fi headphones either. They can be easily compared with much pricier offerings of any other manufacturer, their detail retrieval, transparency and soundstage are on a very high level and I really didn’t expect that.

A day came when good sounding full-sized desktop planar-magnetic headphones can be had as little as $169 in the USA and somewhere around €200 here in Europe. At this price point, HE400i are outperforming everything when it comes to things like details, layering and stage size and it is my pleasure to recommend them as a very good starting point.

You can purchase them directly from Hifiman Store or you can try your local distributor for a better product support. I’m not affiliated with either of them, so purchase them from your favorite store.

PROS:

• Good packaging, good cable quality
• Looks gorgeous, I’m loving its matte black paint
• You are getting planar-magnetic drivers in a such affordable package
• Detailed and airy sounding, amazing layering and soundstaging capabilities
• Quite linear sounding, with only few dips and rises in the FR
• Fast decays, extremely fast sounding with the right gear
• Good punch while driver by desktop power
• Easy to drive – just make sure to use a dedicated DAP instead of a smartphone and you are ready to rock
• The absolute Best Value of the headphone kingdom

CONS:

• No carry-case in the package
• Weaker sub-bass with portable sources
• Upper midrange needs more presence

ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT:

• Sources: Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro, Corsair One i160
• DACs: Soncoz SGD1, Aune Audio S8, Burson Conductor 3X Performance, Audiobyte HydraVox + HydraZap, Matrix Audio Element X, Flux Lab Acoustics FCN-10
• DAPs: Shanling M6, FiiO M15
• Headphone Amps: Benchmark HPA4, SparkoS Labs Aries, Flux Lab Acoustics FCN-10, LittleDot MKIII SE
• Integrated Amps: KECES E40
• Power Amps: KECES S300, S125, Kinki Studio EX-M7
• IEMs: FiiO FA9, FH7, Meze Rai Penta, Rai Solo & lots of other lower tiered ones
• Portable headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 2, Meze 99 Classics
• Wireless headphones: Sony WF-1000XM3, Sennheiser Momentum 3, Master&Dynamic MW65
• Full-sized headphones: Hifiman HE400i, Deva, Arya, Susvara, Audeze LCD-4, Erzetich Phobos, Erzetich Mania, Quad ERA-1, Ollo S4X Reference, Kennerton Wodan, Magni & Gjallarhorn, Fostex TH909
• Loudspeakers: Buchardt S400
• Interconnects: QED Reference (x2), Aune AL3
• Speaker cables: Kimber PR8, Audioquest Type4
• Power Cables: Isotek EVO3 Premier (x3)
• Balanced Isolation Power Conditioner: PLiXiR Elite BAC400

Overall score 82/100

HIFIMAN HE-400i 2020 Review – Headfonia Reviews

In this article we review the Hifiman HE-400i 2020 headphone, selling for $169 USD.

 

Disclaimer: Hifiman sent us the HE-400i 2020 free of charge in exchange for this review. The unit doesn’t have to be returned as far as I know.

Hifiman

It is simply impossible that you have not heard of Hifiman. They are China-based personal audio company led by Dr. Fang Bian and they have been around for like 10 to 15 years.

We have reviewed many units from Hifiman here on Headfonia, and my absolute favorite ones are the HE-6(SE), the HE-560, the Susvara and the HE-1000-series. What I like about Hifiman is that they are an innovative company and they continue to R&D new goodies for us Audiophiles. More important, they let trickle down high end technologies to their lower range units and the headphone we’re reviewing today is a perfect example of that. Another thing I really appreciate is the fact that they have great gear in all segments of the market. No matter how big or small your pockets are, Hifiman has you covered with great gear.

This year we saw some great new products from Hifiman such as the DEVA headphone – which is available in a wireless and cabled version – and the HE-5XX headphone the created together with Drop.

The Hifiman headphone we’re looking at today is the HE-400i 2020. It’s an update of their HE-400 series headphone, but we’ll go into that in the next chapter.

For those of you who’d like to know more about Hifiman and their founder, there’s always this interview we did with him: https://www.headfonia.com/q-n-a-saturday-hifiman/

HE-400(i) History

The original Hifiman HE-400 was released back in 2012 but I remember it very well. It was a darker sounding headphone but back in the days, it was quite the eye-opener. The HE-400 was dark and together with the HE-560 which was released in 2014, Hifiman had headphones for different tastes.

The first HE-400i version saw the light in early 2015 at is was a huge hit. It was selling for $499 USD and we called it a Mid-Fi at its best. It’s one of Hifiman’s best selling headphones, ever. From the review:

The HE-400i sells for $499. The sound quality you get in return is impressive and Hifiman has really let the HE-400 evolve in an i(mproved) version that makes you forget about the HE-400. 

You get all the benefits of the orthodynamic drivers: clarity, detail, speed and a black background. You’ll love every single bit of it.

Now, 5 years later, Hifiman is back with the HE-400i 2020 version. I’m not surprised about this as the HE-400i was a really good headphone with excellent drivers. Let’s have a closer look!

HE-400i 2020

The 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.

You can find out all about the new HE-400i on its dedicated web page here: https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/he400i-2020-version. html

What is new in the 2020 version is the headband and earpad design, which we will get into in a bit. The original HE-400i’s weight was 360g and the 2020 version weighs 370g. That’s light for a planar magnetic headphone.

Also new in this version are the connectors. Where the original HE-400i used the screw-on SMC connectors, the new version sports simple 3.5mm terminations and they are just so much easier to use. Especially if you like playing with aftermarket cables.

In theory the HE-400i is an easy to drive headphone, but it’s not that black and white as we found out.

Comfort, Design & Build Quality

With the new headband, the HE-400i 2020 looks more like a normal and modern headphone. I’m actually a big fan of the “old” headband design of the HE-400i, HE-560 and the HE-1K series, but I have to admit that this new one looks good and feels comfortable. I’s also very easy to adjust.

The headband is soft and perfectly spreads the weight over the top of your head. Of course at only 370g, there isn’t much to distribute. The bevelled pleather and velour ear pads have a new pressure pattern according to Hifiman. They feel soft and perfectly fit around your ears. My ears don’t touch the pad or driver. The headphone pressure on the side of your head is just right. It’s not the lightest pressure but it will keep the headphone in place at all times when moving around.

I really like the design of the HE-400i 2020. It’s simple but the headphone looks cool. The ABS polymer ear cups have a gloss charcoal-ish finish and the fully dark look just works for the HE-400i 2020.

Build quality wise these also score well. They feel sturdy, especially because of the headband, and they do look like they can take a beating. The cups swivel a lot however, so if anything does break or come loose, I expect it to be there where the yokes go in to the headband.

Specs

Frequency Response: 20Hz – 35kHz

Impedance: 35 Ω

Efficiency: 93dB

Weight : 370g (13. 05oz)

Headphone Cable (1.5 meter or 4.9 Feet; 3.5mm plug)

Earpads：1 pair (on the headphone)

¼”(6.35mm) headphone adapter

Price & Accessories

As the original HE-400i was quite a bit more expensive, I expected this new version to cost about the same. But no, Hifiman is selling these now for only $169 USD and that’s simply incredible.

For this price the HE-400i 2020 comes in a nice but simple box. The HE-400i is presented in a cut-out foam base, covered with silkish-velvet. It’s simple but nice. The 1.5m (4.9ft) 3.5mm terminated headphone cable can be stored in the middle of the box.

Accessory-wise you only get a 6.35mm adapter, but at this price who is complaining?

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HiFiMAN HE400 headphones OVERVIEW – an inexpensive ticket to the audiophile club

Orthodynamic or planar magnetic headphones are no longer a novelty. Already in the 70-80s, this technology was already used in one TDS-5 model (I still have several different models of TDS 7 and TDS 5), but we must reach the last decade of this century in order to find designers capable of give prestige and international success to the planar magnetic system.

Contents:

Levchuk Alexander Nikolaevich ©

Among them is Mr. Fang Bian, who in 2007 founded HiFiMAN in New York, one of the main and modern manufacturers of orthodynamic headphones. This short review is about the HiFiMAN HE400 headphones, although the 400s are quite an old model, but I came across these by chance.

HiFiMAN HE400 Headphones OVERVIEW – an inexpensive ticket to the audiophile club

Packaging / appearance / convenience

HiFiMAN HE400 are packaged in an elegant cardboard box + profiled foam. There is also a black box with a connecting cable, a headphone adapter (6.35 mm) and a user manual.

HiFiMAN HE400 review

I can assure you that HiFiMAN HE400 Headphones were not sent to me for review, test by any company or firm as an advertisement, etc. I have no affiliation with HiFiMAN or their stores and this review is based on my personal opinion and experience.

I heard somewhere that orthodynamic headphones are “ electrostatic for poor audiophiles “. Perhaps this misunderstanding is due to the fact that orthodynamic headphones, like electrostatic ones, are equipped with a planar transducer. Hence the definition of planar magnetic: a thin conductive diaphragm that vibrates within a magnetic field, like the drivers of traditional dynamic headphones. From my point of view, the quality of headphones depends on tastes and personal requirements. The physical principle does not determine the quality and success of a sound product. The superiority of electrostatic headphones “a priori” is no longer the rule.

HiFiMan HE400

I say this to everyone all the time: before a decent break-in / warm-up, you can’t judge the quality of the headphones! Indeed, at first they could be judged very poorly. However, the HiFiMAN HE400 needs at least 100 hours or more to reveal its timbre and dynamic potential. Otherwise, you will have worse results with modest sources such as portable players, smartphones, DACs, and audio cards.

400 cups made of plastic. There are several settings for the adjustable range and I had no trouble finding a setting that worked for me. One very interesting aspect of the design is that the drivers are clearly visible when viewed from the side of the cup body. This is good to see, given how different it is from a dynamic driver.

buy Singxer SDA-2

Although they are not very light at 350g, they are quite comfortable to wear. So you can use them for long hours of relaxing listening. The headband is easy to calibrate, designed for the new HiFiMAN range and provides a proper and balanced fit to the listener’s head. All materials are of good quality.

Some complain about the connection cable on the HiFiMAN HE400. Its lid makes it a little stiff, twists easily and folds undesirably. If it rubs against other surfaces, it transmits noise to the ear pads. Finally, connecting the ear pads via mini-jacks, while convenient, is not well suited to the stability of the electrical connection. Slight rotation can cause unwanted crackling and hissing.

hifiman-he400 case

HiFiMAN HE400 specifications:

• Driver type: planar magnetic
• Frequency response: 20-35000 Hz
• Impedance : 22 ohm
• Weight: 350 g
• Cable length: 1.5 m
• Type : Open.

Listening/impressions

General sound impressions. Headphones HE-400 – have an attractive and attractive sound, as if drawing you into themselves in a musical performance. They grab you and you soon find yourself listening for an hour or more. These are the Hifiman headphones. It makes me switch song after song.

hifiman-he400

e.g. “Al Di Meola – Elegant Gypsy” sounds great, but what about “Aaron Neville – Warm Your Heart (K2HD)” or “Gregory Porter -2012- Be Good”? It goes on and on. These are at least music headphones. They make me want to listen to all my music on them.

“Quantic & Alice Russell – Look Around The Corner”

The second word I would use to describe the HE-400 is ease of operation (is that a word? Now). I had absolutely no problem driving the HE-400 to high audio levels with a DAC + in-ear amplifier or phone. These headphones are easy to operate.

“Melody Gardot – (2012) – The Absence [24_96]”

Once again, they are very easy to control. This is something unknown to the likes of the HiFiMAN HE-6, which are amazing in performance but require very powerful amplifiers capable of delivering 5 watts into 50 ohms to give their best. Then timbre, soft, with an average frequency a little back and a smooth and pleasant high range. The “dynamic push” of other models of headphones of this brand is less noticeable here. However, listening fatigue is very low, even considering the weight and velvet ear pads, mainly during the hot summer months.

HiFiMAN HE400 test

Unamplified HiFiMan HE-400 sounds like cheap headphones from China (ironic isn’t it), not like the well-tuned replicas that many in the headphone audiophile world talk about. When I use a powerful desktop or portable headphone amp to drive the HE-400, my digital albums in flac, dsd, etc. come to life with a natural sound allowing me to immerse myself in the sonic world that the performer has recorded in his/her mind. Titanic soundtrack orchestrations are played with powerful dynamic passages and high frequencies are very lively, with little to no hiss . The mid-range becomes warm and moves forward a little. These simple upgrades are what makes this world of headphone sound quite amazing and amazing.

“Pure Desmond – When Lights Are Low”

Like the other HiFiMAN HE400 planar magnetic headphones, they have a good stereo soundstage and a well-articulated bass range. I believe that the purchase of HE400S should be focused on their characteristics, regardless of the price and possible offers. On the one hand, these headphones can be controlled with little power from multiple devices thanks to their good sensitivity, 98 dB at 22 ohms. The best result is cool inexpensive DAC + headphone amplifier combos without any power problems.

HiFiMAN HE400 review

Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances conducted by Eiji Oue and the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra. The FLAC format is 24 bits with a sampling rate of 192 kHz.

Good test tracks are quite common in the world of classics, as well as among audiophiles. The air carried by the HiFiMan HE-400 on this album is quite spacious as the instruments resonate throughout the Minnesota Philharmonic and the Hall.

With each movement of the bow, the listener can hear the individual notes being taut and a hint of rosin in the horsehair gliding over the strings, providing that sweet cello melody. Hearing these notes from a flat tape driver is quite pleasant, as many of the loudspeakers I’ve heard using this type of driver technology don’t produce such pleasant melodies. HiFiMan headphones create sound without sacrificing resolution and presence in the soundstage, while delivering the energy that is considered to be the enjoyment of listening to music.

Furutech GT2 USB + DAC R2R11

With great satisfaction I tried them with such inexpensive DAC + ear amplifiers:

• Singxer sda-2 – reveals them well, I would recommend this DAC to the 400s,
• 11. 38 RE ,
• 11.28 RE,
• P2P11.

It makes no sense to buy a more expensive DAC / combine or DAC + ear amplifier for these headphones.

Singxer SDA_2

Music genres HiFiMAN HE400 “take” almost any, but except for the heaviest, yes, yes, heavy is not at all for them. Listen to any music you like, they are versatile enough to disregard musical genres other than heavy rock and metal of course. Obviously, a good DAC/combiner will emphasize the overall quality of the music.

Overall, the sound balance has been very successful in my opinion and has given the Highfimen HE-400 headphones a unique sound characterized by great openness, liveliness and unobtrusiveness. However, the sound is a little wayward.

sundara_hifiman REVIEW

Summary

The HiFiMAN HE-400 headphones are great. They are lightweight and comfortable for long listening sessions. The Hifiman 400 headphones sound at a high level, which in some respects far exceeds their price. The 400s effectively compete with headphones that are much more expensive. The sound is detailed, thought out to the smallest detail and has a spacious stereo sound stage. The mids are great, and the highs are good. Only prolonged wearing comfort and a somewhat rugged look with few accessories can put you off a bit. But if you’re looking for open headphones with moderate lows and highs, you should try the HiFiMAN 400.

hifiman_he400

Instruments and voices remain separate and stand out from the head on a large virtual stereo stage without losing the context of the music. Everything else, of course, is permission.

You will listen to a lot of music, I promise you. An open design that allows for this wide, deep and airy soundstage, while allowing sound to pass through like a screen. But if you don’t have a lot of money and really want to join a big audiophile club, the price of a ticket to enter this club is quite low. You won’t get bored with all the headphones on the market. I think that the average quality + price is getting higher for budget headphones such as the HiFiMAN HE400. In short, it means having a great audio product at an affordable price.

test Singxer SDA-2

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