HiFiMAN HE-400 Orthodynamic Headphone Unboxing

HiFiMAN HE-400 is the cheapest orthodynamic headphones out there, and it retails for around $399. The HE-400's are very efficient, and can be driven by a portable player, however, their open design offers no sound isolation and running them on a headphone amplifier is obviously better than if you use a portable device.

It has a pretty linear frequency response curve, and only starts dropping off at the 20 Hz mark, however, human hearing generally stops at 20 Hz, so the bass on these will be perceived as very deep.

Specs for HE-400 from HiFiMAN:
Headphone Type: Full Size
Weight: 440 grams
Impedance @ 1kHz: 35 Ohms
Detachable Cable: Yes
Cord Length: 9.5ft
Cord Type: Straight Y
Coupler Size: Large
Ear Coupler Type: Full-Size
Driver Type: Planar Magnetic
Acoustic Seal: Open
Manufacturer Warranty: 1 Year
Sensitivity: 92.4 dB

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[Headphoneaddict]

For air travel, I'd get something like Bose Quiet Comfort 15. They have active noise cancellation, and their technology is the best in this area. The sound quality of QC15 is not up to par with similar priced headphones, but when it comes to noise cancellation they are simply at the top.

[Headphoneaddict]

Yes, the cable itself is removable, but not the 1/4" plug. However, I bought the pair used and I think they are close to a year old, and so they might have changed it. Either way a simple 1/4"->1/8" jack adapter will do the trick. Grado has a good one with an extension cable between the two.

If they told you it comes with 1/8", it probably does now. :) You'll be doing the third unboxing of new HE-400's, while I did the first second hand unboxing :)

[Headphoneaddict]

Yes, that is correct. Sorry about that. I hear great things about a pair of modified T50rps too. I think Mr Speakers Mad Dog version, which for the uninformed is an improved and modified version of the T50rps is $300, whereas a new pair of HE-400 is around $400.

Would be cool if anyone had tried both and could say a few words about it.

[Headphoneaddict]

I might, but from what I have read about HE-500 I think LCD-2 and LCD-3 is better for me. When I read about HE-400 I thought it sounded like a lot of fun, and also I was curious to see how well the cheapest orthodynamic headphones performed compared to the Audezes'.

[gillesmignolet]

I got the velour pads, it opens the sound a bit more and give the He-400 a V-shaped sound signature, I like the pleather pads better.

[Headphoneaddict]

Yes, in the review I will probably talk about it relative to other planar magnetic headphones as well as Sennheiser HD 600 and HD 650 :)

[restart]

Yes. I agree with thebatman018, for me the changes were obvious as a day, dramatically better with velour pads, I just could not stand he400 with leather pads because of a tunnel-effect (or plastic tube effect) sound characteristic they had, what annoyed me very much, but it all vanished after just changing the pads.
I also find the new Beyerdynamic dt990 pads are much better choice for them in both sound and comfort aspects.

[Headphoneaddict]

They're worth it imo. Mines are old and also came with a long bonus hair. :) $260 was excluding shipping too, so you can add $30, and then it's just $85 less than you. But I did get the bonus hair though. :)

[clarknova]

They are 100 percent open ended, they leak huge amounts of sound. The bass is quite tight and detailed, not overly dumb like Beats and celeb branded cans.

I would not recommend these for travel at all, they are heavy, still require a pretty decent amp and will not provide privacy.

[FliskerX]

FiiO E11 is fine, I have HE-400 and E11 and they sound stunning. I think these are pretty good for the price. Like them much more than HD650.

[thebatman]

You should really get the velour pads for the He-400 :D

[livedeliciously]

When you get around to the review, I'd love to hear your thoughts vs the HD-650.

[Headphoneaddict]

Yes, but it is not suitable for portable use as they offer close to no isolation and everybody around you will be listening to what you're enjoying. No Bieber for you on the bus anymore, lol.

I have not tried them with fiio e11, so I don't know if that is a good match, but I used them out of my HTC Desire HD and that worked just fine. Amped it sounded better though, but with the pleather pads they were actually a bit harsh imo.

[ohsnapTIMOTHY]

The material is more open than p leather pads which will improve it's treble/mids and bass extensions. -cssarrow from HeadFI

[ibanezbuyer]

I am a massive jazz person, but more ECM and the like (ie not jazz with vocals, think tord gust, e.s.t, marcin w, etc )- would you recommend these or the hd650s?

[ohsnapTIMOTHY]

Very nice review HeadphoneAddict. i replaced my HDP with the Xonar Essence One because of your review and some research. Also bought 6x Muse01 ($300 worth). They sound excellent. SNR/Clarity is way better.

-CSSArrow

[AudiophileTubes]

Would these be a good pairing with the 'Little Dot MKIII' tubed headphone amplifer? I have a MKIII with CBS Hytron tubes from 1951.

[dho]

There's one more thing I want to know, can you replace the HE-400 head band with the LCD-2/3 band? They look similar but I'm not too sure about the exact dimensions, and I saw that you have both. I just want to know if the yoke of the LCD-2 headband is the same size as the HE-400.

[dho]

Darn it! I was supposed to be the 3rd one on YouTube to unbox this. Damn USPS shipping...so slow. @below I hear these are quite comparable to the LCD-2 with a Lyr, making up for shortcomings in SQ with comfort and weight.

[ohsnapTIMOTHY]

They sound better than the HD-650. I have both. HE-500 beats both though. HD-650 is good for the smoothness and recessed treble giving it a laid back approach. HE-400 is more forward and it's quickness from planars gives it a surprising punch sound signature.

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