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First impressions I got my Tygr 300 R today and I was very excited to try them out. Packaging is as expected from Beyerdynamic at the price point. No fancy things just straight to the point, they're like, - Here is your headphones. The first thing I realized when picking them up was the weight because they are very light compared to my Hifiman He400se which I daily drive. I haven't really used any lighter headphones since I used my 990 Pros as my dailies. These went bad because I kind of "soldered" or heated up the driver a bit I think causing a quieter sound on the left side and now they're lying somewhere gathering dust. (I changed the cable from coiled to a straight one). I've paired the Tygrs with my Sound Blaster AE-9. One of the reasons I bought these these was because I have had a long lasting problem with my He400se since I got them. The only problem with them is that they have a channel imbalance. I've got a quieter driver on the right side which makes imaging horrid and I have to compensate with Windows settings to kind of balance it out. The problem with that is that the imbalance doesn't go along the whole frequency graph. I think planar magnetics are prone to this, or so I've read. It is not that bad but pretty noticeable. I should've gone for a replacement but I got these as a replacement from my old He400i 2020 that unfortunately broke loose in the 3.5mm port and had no connection. Comfort Anyways. In terms of comfort for the Tygrs, they are very light and clamp perfectly compared to my 990 pros I had. My He400se would be perfect if they were lighter. The headband is perfectly padded and conforms to my head, this is personal in terms of comfort I think. Compared to my He400se the headband is much more soft. Don't get me wrong. The He400se's are comfy in another way just too heavy and it has a hard and narrow headband. Talking about the comfort of the He400se, they have better earpads in terms of shape due to the angled pads, it makes the headphones sit more secure that way for me. The earpads on the Tygr's, stock, are mediocre because of the harder padding and narrow space between the ears and driver wall. I think I will eventually switch them out for Dekoni elite velour, please if anyone tried that let me know the differences. Build quality These are built well enough to handle most things. These are both plastic and metal. The headband is metal with fake leather around it, metal yokes and the grill is also metal. The rest is plastic. They do feel hefty and durable. The pads are mediocre and I feel like they will flatten like my old 990 pros did. Sound The frequency response of the Tygr's non-EQ'd is very good and is my preference in sound signature. I like to add around 3dBs to the sub-bass and flatten out the curve/dip in the bass in the 60hz region for some music because I mostly listen to hardstyle, happy hardcore, eurodance, and a whole lot more EDM and some rock. I also EQ'd around 1k and 4k to add more detail in the mids and lower treble which they responded well to. So actually talking about the sound. The Tygrs are a more smoothed-out pair of DT990 pros with a better soundstage with a little bit less detail. The way I could describe them is that they are a bit on the bloaty side in the mid-bass for people who love Sennheisers or very flat headphones. These are smooth and punchy, still maintain detail, and great at imaging with good layering. They don't have as an open/expansive soundstage as the 400se but sadly, the soundstage is more congested in a way on the 400se compared to a more deep/layered one on the Tygrs. The Tygrs have a different and lower tone in their openness compared to the 400se which makes them "immersive" when I play games or listen to euphoric tracks. The actual difference in bass mids and highs is big because of the difference in the nature of dynamic and planar drivers. The 400se are much more clear and transparent and have a better representation of clean and fast bass but the quantity is very low. The Tygrs have more bass that almost drowns out too much mids but still retains a decent amount. One of the biggest differences in bass comparing dynamic and planar is the speed. The bass is definitely more punchy on dynamics so far as I can hear and know. The treble on these are good and not at all sibilant anymore as the 990's. Treble is also comparable to the 400se in quantity. These have a small cushion on the driver wall to help drown out the highs that are piercing which is good. My pair of He400se's actually have a grainy treble for me which is kind of expected with the pricetag maybe? The way I look at both of these is that they are good for different things as all headphones are. But the Tygrs for me are better because of a more suitable signature and overall sound for me, and they are more comfortable. I just wish I didn't have that problem with my He400se. Any thoughts or questions?

As the title show, I am trying to decide between these three headphones to replace my old one, which was the Audeze Mobius. (my wife may or may not have taken them from me ). The main use will be a mixture of gaming, (No FPS or competitive games) watching videos & discord/team calls...but mainly gaming. I am aware that 2 of these would require a Modmic as well. The headphones will be used on PC, no console gaming, and also I should mention I do already have a GSX 1000 audio amp as well. Thanks for any assistance or advise.

Planning on buying new headphones, as i only have half broken HyperX's right now. The Drop Hifiman HE-4X have caught my eye. Good price, and good reviews. But how is the sound in your experience? Is it suitable for gaming AND music? What about the soundstage? Mainly... CAN I RUN THE HEADPHONES WITHOUT AN AMP/DAC? My Motherboard: Z390-A PRO Im seeing mixed opinions on the conversation of "to amp or not to amp" these headphones, and i dont want to waste the same amount if not more money on an amp if its not needed. Any reply will help! Thank you!

HE400i 2020 mediocre/noob review There are gonna be some comparisons to other headphones as well. The result and points given is my experience in stuff I've tested so far and not really meant to be taken seriously as I don't have very high end stuff to compare with. These are tested on my Sound Blaster AE-9 soundcard on high gain at around 25-30% on windows so these are harder to drive headphones than others I've tested. The reason I bought these is knowing that it will my first time ever trying out a planar headphone and that got me even more intruiged and interested in this tech. Lets start off the review talking about the unboxing and first impressions. Not that it really matters when using them The moment I got my hands on the package it immedietly felt more premium than other stuff I've seen and felt. When I was opening the box cover it slowly slid up, and a moment later revealing the headphones lying in a silk type of cloth. It really felt like Hifiman cares about the whole thing even at the lower end of their planar headphones. The headphones look very pleasing even with the thick headband. Solid 10/10 here Build quality After picking them up I feel the sturdiness of the whole headphone. They seem to have metal cups if I am correct or just very good plastic containing polymers with metal and metal yolks around the cups. The part where the yolks goes into the headband - I forgot the name of them - are made of strong plastic which feel like they won't break as I've seen other DT 990 pros doing. The headband feels very sturdy and the foam inside the pleather is very stiff and feels like it won't get flattened easily. My 990 pros did that for some reason. Might be that I stretched them out too much making the surface area smaller resulting in too much weight on the headband. The pads are made of good pleather and other cloth materials which are soft and strong. Nothing to complain about here. The cable is a bit stiff at first and is pretty tangled in a curved mess but easily fixable straightening it out overnight or a couple of days. One small note is that I can hear some crinkle in the left cup when pushing it gently, I think is planar crinkle. I am not sure if it is normal so anything on that please tell me. 9/10 for the build Comfort The comfort is the next thing I feel after putting them on, literally. They feel very light for their weight but are still kind of on the heavy side compared to other headphones, it doesn't really make sense but in some way they just feel lighter than expected... but I think these get a bit annoying to wear for many hours on end without any pauses. The headband is thick and has pleather around it. The headband does not slip easily or dig into the head as I thought they would coming from the X2HRs which has a huge headband. It does sit more around the head and a bit on the sides like the DT 990 pros do which contributes to the light pressure. Clamping force is really good. Not tight or too loose. The pads are very nicely designed with their angle of the pads and not like the X2HRs which have the drivers angled. The difference in use of materials makes them more comfortable and less scratchy. I am unsure if they are memory foam but I'd assume not due to the softness of the foam. This could be a good and bad thing, memory foam usually fits better for me and has better retention over time. Although they fit very snugly with their circumaural shape around my ears which I think are small-medium in size and if my ears touch the inside wall it doesn't feel like it. I am a glasses wearer but it doesn't bother me because the pads are so soft they just go around the frames. My frames are a bit slim but shouldn't really change anything having a thicker frame. Comfort 8,5/10 Ease of interchangeability/maintenance The pads are the focus pads which are removable with a system that have 4 teeth that has to go inside pockets in a plus pattern around the cup poining outwards. It is finicky to get them back in but pulling the pads off isn't that hard. A bit scary not knowing how hard to pull before ripping something. The headband seems unreplaceable. But I don't really know for sure. 8,5/10 Sound When first testing them out I had to try a variety of songs and songs which are very energetic and fast, including hardstyle, and some electronic music. I've always heard planar headphones are very fast and that is the way I'd describe them. They hit fast and hard but not in a muddy way. I feel like they have so much more energy and more time to recover in between frequencies. It is like all sounds speed up and are undisturbed with low distortion. Especially coming from my previous daily driver, the X2HRs which are dynamic and the drivers are a bit slower because of the way dynamics work and the size of the driver. They are not extremely hard to drive but requires more power than dynamic headphones. I do have one note. I think these have a slight difference in channel balance but I think it is just very slight. I am a bit sensitive to that tho so take that with a pinch of salt. Sound signature To me the sound signature is bright and has good clarity in the highs and still retains the clarity and the detail in the mids when the bass kicks in. They sound very transparent and open and has a big stage unlike the 990 pros which are more analytical and sometimes bloaty in the upper bass to mids and the X2HR's which are darker but wider than the 990's. Low-end The low-end is a bit recessed to me but is very textured and has slam to it. Punch is fixable with EQ with a few dB's to the liking making them a bit more fun depending on what I listen to or game. 9,5/10 Mids According to frequency graphs the mids are very flat but dips down slightly around the 2k area. They are not forward in the mids and are generally pretty neutral or a bit on the colder side. 9,5/10 Treble The lower treble is more recessed than the upper treble which to me makes them very good at not being sibilant but they still sparkle in the upper treble. They are a bit airy as well. 9/10 Soundstage The HE400i's are the most open headphones I've listened to. My other headphones, DT 990 pros and the X2HR's, in some way feel more enclosed and muffled probably due to the pad size of the X2HR's and the dark signature. The 990 pros are almost semi-open for what I've heard others say. The width isn't as big as my X2HR's but the HE400i's have so much better imaging. The width is natural to me and the height of the stage is much bigger than the X2HR's. The depth of the sound is very good and is very 3d like. The X2HR's feel a bit fake in this aspect making the HE400i's very good. 10/10 for me Imaging The imaging is much better than the X2HR's but still unsure if the DT 990 pros are worse, on par or better. I can pin point stuff easily in games. 9/10 In total for sound 9,4/10 To wrap it up, I think these are the best for their value and assuming a very good beginner planar headphone. I can strongly recommend this to anyone having interests about planar headphones and has never tried any. These get a solid *9,2/10* Thanks for reading my review and happy new year everyone! I'd love to see questions or something regarding my review, I'm happy to answer all comments.

Note: It's important to note that I wouldn't really consider this as being a review, per se. I'm not well enough versed when it comes to the world of audio to be able to provide a detailed analysis of things like frequency response, imaging, etc. and to directly compare them to other products on the market. This is more about my impressions and what I think of these headphones just as a regular user, so if you're okay with that, let's proceed. The HE400se is HIFIMAN's latest addition to their planar magnetic headphone lineup, and also their most affordable, coming in at $149. I managed to get them for around €170 here in Europe. They're not cheap by any means, but that doesn't mean that they can't be a great value, depending on how many of HIFIMAN's more expensive yet very well regarded products' qualities have been brought down over to them. HIFIMAN seems to put a lot of care into the packaging for their products, though obviously some things had to be cut down a little with the HE400se to meet the targeted price point. Things are very simple here, with the headphones only being accompanied by a cable, a 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter and some paperwork. Speaking of cutting down… that cable. It’s just plain horrible. It’s microphonic, looks cheap and is an absolute nightmare when it comes to tangling. I would really just consider getting a custom cable to go with these headphones from the get-go. Granted this does kind of go against the “value” aspect of the HE400se, but I feel it’s worth spending the extra bit of money for a much better overall experience. I went with a 2.5mm balanced cable from Meze Audio, which I then paired with a 2.5mm to 4.4mm adapter to plug into my iFi ZEN DAC. The headphones feel good in terms of their build quality, with good quality plastics, a metal frame and very soft faux leather and fabric. They're quite comfortable over long listening sessions. I'd say they're pretty similar to my old Beyerdynamic Custom One Pros in that aspect. Obviously the most important thing when it comes to headphones is the sound, and I’ve got to say that I’m impressed. Whatever I throw at them, they deliver a very punchy yet detailed sound, without ever going overboard on anything. The bass is satisfying but controlled, mids are very clear giving a great reproduction of vocals, and highs sound smooth and bright enough without ever being jarring/piercing to my ears. They also have a great soundstage, though the downside of this is that the sound leakage and isolation performance is very poor, because of the planar drivers and open design. To end this off, I feel like I really got my money’s worth with the HE400se, offering me an excellent listening experience through and through. I just have to say though that if you’re looking to buy these, I wouldn’t just look at the price of the headphones themselves. Sure, they might be a great value on paper, but you’ll ideally want to add a replacement cable and an amplifier to the cost to get the most out of them, since as I’ve said previously the stock cable is trash and they’re also not exactly the easiest things to power (I definitely wouldn’t recommend them if all you’re looking for is a pair of headphones to plug into your phone).

Intro These headphones arrived on my doorstep back on the third of December in 2021, and I've been daily driving them ever since. I meant to release an in-depth review shortly thereafter, but quickly got overwhelmed with other things. I must congratulate myself for coming back to finish the review though Setup & Justification The Ananda was released on June 4th back in 2018 (at least, according to amazon) for a listed MSRP of $999. This price was too arguably high then, and WAY too high now. HiFiMan took notice to that though and made price cuts, making it a more viable in-between for the Sundara and the Arya. Nearly 4 years have passed since then though, how is it holding up? Well let's take a look. For starters, they're commonly available open-box or second-hand on retailers like headphones.com for as little as $559. That price makes it a lot more attractive for the money, and in the $500 space there's objectively less to compete with in terms of competition of this stature. Sound Stock response EQ'd and corrected response [1:24] -Top & Low-end extension >Sub bass extends well, and remains present while not overwhelming the rest of the mix. Well separated, textured, near equilibrium with where the rest of the midbass and midrange frequencies reside (only a few dB of variation down to ~40Hz). >Upper treble extends exceptionally, but is not overly airy nor exaggerated. This same characteristic reigns true for most of the treble response. They exhibit very little in terms of peaks to the trained ear, but might sound a little hot at first pass to anyone stepping up from a darker tuning. Cymbal crashes depending on intensity can be a tad underwhelming with this set at times. For ex. from the point of 40 secs into the song ‘Now or Never’ by Godsmack, there’s not a lot of weight or body behind the Cymbals. This surprised me at first listen, because that’s not how I’m used to it playing back. Light use of this instrument can fare well, although heavier crashes tend to drag on an otherwise positive response. Treble is sharp, and precise but not too grainy or otherwise harsh. S’s and T’s aren’t overbearing, and not necessarily a concern here. Mostly good things. [2:18] -Tonality >Balanced response, benefitting from its extension. Mostly neutral from 60Hz onward to 1k, with a light roll-off below 60Hz. Leading into the lower treble above 1k, the Ananda inherits HiFiMan’s typical late rise into the eargain region. This is barely anything to raise pitchforks over as it doesn’t bring to light a particularly noteworthy detriment to the overall tonality. [2:39] -Separation >Distinction between instruments is solid, but the distance between them is still apparent and appears better isolated in higher quality recordings (not surprising). [2:48] -Detail >Tangible, focused, and satisfactory in supply. Won’t leave you asking for much more, and there are some subtle nuances that they are able to pick up on quite well. Definitely not in-your-face detail, but it is present and I do think you’re still getting what you pay for at this pricepoint despite there being a few sets that may otherwise stand in front a tad. Not a ‘detail whore’ per-se. [3:07] -Resolution/Resolving ability >Stepping up from a headphone like the HD58X from Sennheiser (like I did) there was instantly a grander sense of resolution. If that headphone was a (forgive my metaphor) 720p display, the Ananda is 1440p and what feels like at least 2 sizable leaps above. [3:24] -Imaging >Stands out wonderfully even across the center stage, with very good lateral definition. I certainly don’t think anyone will be disappointed with the imaging of this headphone, and it plays back remarkably well on tracks like ‘Letter’ by Yosi Horikawa. From the point of about 9 seconds onward when the pencil hits the paper, you get a very clear sense of the locational data being presented, and I’m sure it’d woefully surprise any houseguests you lend a chance to try the Ananda. [3:47] -Soundstage >Spacious when the music calls for it, but still within your grasp. Very honest representation of stage, and not unnatural. Presentation also appears large in scale due to the sheer mass of the drivers and their open design complementing each other. I’ve forgotten I was wearing these on a couple occasions and mistaken them for my studio monitors for a brief period (~about 30 seconds). [4:06] -Timbre >Not as natural sounding as a dynamic, but it is a definitive step forward from previous and earlier generation planar magnetics. Not aggressively dry, and not overly unnatural. [4:18] -Candor (weight of the driver and excursion relative to sounds) >Rather polite for what it is. An 80x50mm driver is a lot less intimidating in practice than the numbers would have you believe. We can thank the weight of the driver itself for that. Sounds come effortlessly, with minimal excursion, and it’s relatively easy to drive. At high gain on my SMSL SP200 I find myself barely pushing past 10 o’ clock for a reasonable listening level. For that added punch (if I’m feeling a bit crazy) 3 o’ clock seems to be its happy place. The Ananda stands very true in its candor for these reasons, only losing points in its dynamic ability. [4:50] -Dynamics Not the most dynamic headphone in this category, but that’s typical for a planar. Most dynamic drivers in the high-end will beat it out anyways. It still does an exceptional job, and I certainly won’t dock-it any points for not being the best, it has its place. There’s a strong punch in the low-end when driven with the proper power, but it misses out in the higher regions as stated. Although, the typical planar magnetic sense of speed is obviously apparent, and that does work in its favor. End In conclusion, the HiFiMan Ananda is still a great headphone in 2022. Maybe not at MSRP, but it's questionable at the sale price and a solid recommendation open-box or second-hand. I'd wholeheartedly recommend this headphone to anyone who likes what I described, it's not a bad can in current-time. Video review (if you're too lazy to read lol): Purchase here https://www.headphones.com/products/hifiman-ananda-open-box Measurements here: https://crinacle.com/graphs/headphones/hifiman-ananda/ EQ Settings: **side-note: this review was written before the release of the new Edition XS, a near competitor at a similar pricepoint. Build is slightly different, and has no comfort strap.

i bought a pair of moondrop blessing 2 a few months ago and i hate it. it made me look at my dt990 pro in absolute disgust. and i was forced to sell the beyerdynamic on ebay for 60% of the price i bought it for. now i have room for a new pair of over-ear. and i narrowed my target to the following three: sennheiser hd600, audio-technica ath-r70x and hifiman sundara. i live in a small city. i can only find hd600 in my local audio stores. i listened to it and i felt quite mixed. human voice has such a full and satisfying timbre on these headphones. however, there is a lot of bass roll off and the sound stage is almost as narrow as a close-back. i'd like to know (preferably from owners) how r70x and sundara sounds. i know some of these (r70x in particular) are not very easy to drive. i'll do my homework on amps afterwards but first i'd like to hear your opinions on those three headphones assuming they are properly driven. cheers.

Hey everybody, need some quick advice here before a sale runs out! There is currently a deal on the Hifiman HE-400i for $350 CAD ($260 USD). The only reason that I haven't gone out and bought it yet is because the Monoprice m1060s exist (around $430 CAD when they come back in stock), but I'm still waiting for some reviews to clear up the mixed feedback about QC and sound quality. Should I jump on this deal before it ends? Should I wait and see about the monoliths? I'd really appreciate any advice here, especially if you've tried them both. Thanks!

I just bought my DT990 (used) for $173 two weeks ago and it's been great. I do wish the mids were more pronounced and the highs were calmer. I found a listing for a used HE 400S going for $171. It has repaired and reinforced cables. The owner bought it used so I'll be the 3rd owner if I end up swapping to this (I'm fine with this TBH). I'll mainly use it for movies and games (FPS like Overwatch, Battlegrounds, Destiny 2). I listen to music from time to time (mostly Arctic Monkeys, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, etc) ps I'm confident I can sell my DT990 for $161 at the LEAST. pps Prices are converted from Philippine Peso. Hopefully that explains the absurd prices I have to deal with, lol

Hello all! After a year, my trusty Jlab Bass earbuds have finally kicked the bucket (Cable fell apart at the Y split) Anyway, I have two candidates in mind for replacement. The Zero Audio Carbo Basso and the HiFiMan RE-00. I was just curious which one of these you think I should go with and why. (I'm leaning towards the HiFiMan for durability reasons, but I'm swayable. Other suggestions are very much appreciated) Thanks!

Hi, I've never bought anything from the brand HiFiMAN but I've always heard good thing about it. Does anyone know anything about the RE-00? I've been looking for a pair of new earphones (IEMs) that are decent, are noise isolating and are durable. By durable I don't mean anything crazy but I'd like them to last longer than 2 years. I treat my earphones pretty well normally; I've used my previous pair for 7 years before they finally started falling apart. If these aren't that great, anything with the budget of approx $200 CAD would be good I normally use the Sennheiser HD598 at home so the closer to that the better (Yes i know it's openback and no I don't want any earphones that are openback if such exists). Thanks!

My HE-400i's aren’t what I expected, maybe they're not being used to their full potential? I don't know, I recently sold my Sennhesier 598's and got a pair of HE-400i's. I use my Onboard sound from my LGA 1150 Maximus VII motherboard and tuned it to my likings, sadly, it honestly sounded the same as my 598's. I was really disappointed, all this clambering about how amazing planar drivers were, the clarity, the bass, everything, but to me they sounded the same and didn't even get close to as loud as my old 598's. Until it hit me, I do need an amplifier for this to work well, maybe not, maybe yes. I'm really over how much I spent to get a glorified pair of 598's, and I want you guys to help me figure out how to unlock the full nut busting potential of these headphones, I've been wrestling with this issue for a while now. My biggest fear of using an amplifier though, is that my personal preference on voice clarity, mids, lows, highs etc. will not be able to be tweakable after I lose the functionality of being able to use an equalizer due to the use of my onboard audio, I love having an equalizer because I can fine tune it, and trust me, when I turn off all my functions for my equalizer, the headphones sound like 4$ CVS earbuds. Please help! I am willing to spend below 350$! The photos below are what I have my equalizer and sonic studio preferences set to, the first one being the sonic studio preferences and the second being the equalizer preferences.

Just as the title says. I'm willing to spend (well I have to save up first) to spend around $500 (that includes the price of tubes if tube/hybrid amp is recommended). The Lyr 2 is recommended for these, and I was planning to save up for them with a pair of Gold Lion tubes, but I want to know if there are any other alternatives around this price point (or less). Originally I was just going to get a Magni 2 but apparently it is brighter than other amps, and the HE560's are bright enough for me.

I dont really have a budget yet, just looking around on the market. What do u guys think would be a noticable upgrade from my 400is? I both listen to music (a fckin lot) and game every day. The most important parts are the midrange and the low, I love electronic music, and love all the vocals. What im currently looking at is the Hifiman Edition X V2.

I’m looking for an AMP or DAC for my headphones. I’m looking at the Schiit Magni 2 and Modi 2 setup. My budget is those two combined, ~$240. I’m asking because my motherboard is the ASUS Crosshairs VI Hero which has a binned ALC 1220 DAC on there. It sounds impressively good as an onboard DAC so I’m wondering if I can just forgo the Schiit DAC and just get the AMP. The headphones itself is 45ohms so it’s pretty easy to drive anyways. Should I just get the Schiit amp, amp+dac, or a more expensive amp alone? Don’t need anything crazy just something good for the HE560. Thanks

Like the title says, i'm wondering if the atom is good enough for the HE4xx. I've heard they are hard to drive, and using a power calculator i found out that they need at most around 500mW to work at the highest volume. Now i'm not sure about it, because there is no information if the sensitivity of the headphones is SPL/mW or SPL/V, and with SPL/V the power needed jumps up to 14.000 mW, which looks insane. The JDS labs atom is supposed to output 1 watt at 32 ohms, and the HE4xx have an impedence of 35ohms, so i suppose it's around the same, and the Atom has double the power needed to drive them. But i'm still not sure, i've read that a magni 3 is not enough to drive them, and i think it has even more power than an Atom, so i really don't know. Anyone knows something about this or has first hand experience?

Im planning on getting a massdrop he4xx but need to know whats a good amp, amp/dac, or amp + dac combo (i think i prefer the first 2 tho), so what do you guys think i should get?

Which has the better soundstage followed by bass, mid and finally high?

Hello everyone! I am trying to decide on which headphones are the best for gaming. I'm trying to decide between three different Hifiman models. I'm looking for great sound stage with excellent bass as well as mids and treble. I will be using a schiit lyr 2 headphone amplifier.

20 November 2015 FINAL UPDATE: Recieved my replacement HE-560 today. All is in working order. It has 2.5mm TRS connectors with metal shells. The box has been changed as well - instead of the wooden box, the HE-560 now ships with the same box as the HE-400i. This is an improvement in my opinion. Service was very prompt with just a day of turnaround time and 2-day shipping. Customer service was courteous and helpful. With these updates, I recommend the HE-560 at current prices. Still not quite worth the MSRP. 13 November 2015 UPDATE: HiFiMan has updated both the HE-400i and HE-560 with the 2.5mm TRS connectors found on the HE-400S and HE-1000. The updated versions are not yet available from all distributors, so if you want one, contact HiFiMan customer service directly. In addition, it appears that HiFiMan is offering to exchange/upgrade previously purchased HE-400i and HE-560 headphones for as little as $135 plus shipping and handling. Again, contact HiFiMan for confirmation and details. Given this development, I'm giving the HE-560 my tentative recommendation. While 2.5mm TRS is not ideal, it resolves a lot of my concerns about the durability and usability of the min-coaxial connectors. These are my brief impressions of the HiFiMan HE-560. Accessories The HE-560 comes in a wooden box with a sliding lid. There is ample foam padding inside, with dedicated cutouts for the headphone itself and the included detachable cable. A pretty sparse showing for the $900 MSRP. It should be noted that the cable is an expensive silver-plated pure copper affair. More than likely it is a $150-200 value. This is a pain in the ass, because it means a significant portion of the cost of this headphone goes into a useless piece of metal. Ergonomics Extremely comfortable. Along with improved ergonomics over the previous HiFiMan generation of headphones, the HE-560 is very light, thanks to single-sided planar magnetic drivers. It's more comfortable than the Beyerdynamic DT880 and at least as comfortable as the Beyerdynamic T1 gen 2 The cushion surfaces are covered in fuzzy velour, and the cushions themselves are wide, gusseted and filled with soft foam. They spread the clamping force of the headphone evenly across a large surface. The pads are slightly beveled, which causes the ear cups to sit at an angle, firing back into the ears. In addition to helping sound imaging, this also allows for a more ergonomic fit for the ear. These headphones are cool and comfortable. The headband is a hammock suspension affair. It is adequately padded and very wide, which spreads the weight of the headphone evenly. No issues with hotspots. The adjustment takes the form of two ratcheted blocks at either end of the suspension, which slot into place with a solid click. While there is no chance of them moving on their own, they are difficult to adjust while wearing the headphone. The ear cups rotate and swivel, allowing them to align perfectly to the head. Accommodation for glasses is better than average, though not as good as the T1 gen 2. The mini coaxial connectors are annoying, but not as difficult to put on as I expected - when they aren't defective. The right coaxial connection on my pair of the HE-560 was defective. Specifically, the threads were partially flattened, which made it impossible to attach the cable on that side. All my listening was done while holding the right connector on by hand. Fun! Build Cheap. HiFiMan is not known for sumptuous build quality. The wood veneer looks tacky and will probably crack over time, especially if the headphone is subjected to repeated changes in temperature and humidity. Aside from the harp and connectors, all hardware is plastic. Fit and finish is good, but underwhelming at the price point. The grills are held loosely in place by flimsy plastic rings. While they don't seem to rattle with music playing, they definitely are nowhere near as solid as the grills on Beyerdynamic headphones. Again, mediocre at best for the price. The cable is textile sleeved and terminated with an overly large Neutrik 6.35mm TRS plug. On the headphone side, the mini-coax connectors have inadequate strain relief and are unnecessarily long and bulky. Sensitivity and Amplification The HE-560 has an impedance of roughly 50 ohms and a sensitivity of 90dB/mW. This means that it is harder to drive than the majority of dynamic headphones, and only slightly easier to drive than other popular planars. Many reviews have noted that it actually requires more power to reach a similar listening volume compared to the HE-500. As such, most users will need a dedicated headphone amplifier for comfortable listening. Note that a 6.35mm jack or 6.35mm to 3.5mm adapter will be required. Sound The overall tonality of the HE-560 is balanced and un-colored. There is no boosted bass to be found; this is clearly a headphone tuned for "audiophile" listeners who favor accuracy over artificial euphony. The bass extends deep and has decent impact. Unsurprisingly, the HE-560 has significantly more bass body and weight than the DT880. Although the T1 gen 2 has a broadband boosted low end with more overall bass, the HE-560 has tighter and cleaner bass with more depth. Given that it has no mid-bass hump, the HE-560 has no hint of boom in the bass or mud in the low mid-range. On the flip side, some may find it a bit bass-light compared to other planars and the bassier dynamics. Low strings sound excellent - no unnatural coloration in the mid-range, and very good tonal balance. Piano also sounds fine, although I still feel that a slight, broad cut is needed in this area on any headphone, for the best tonality. Upper mid-range/presence is the most problematic. Upper strings sound a bit "surfacey" and lacking in bite, probably due to an excess around 5kHz and a cut around 1-3kHz (going by available frequency response graphs). This profile also makes vocals sound smooth, yet at times a little forward. This isn't a huge coloration issue. But, I wouldn't call it completely realistic or natural, either, as a number of other online reviewers have done. It is certainly better than the T1 gen 2, which made high strings sound wirey and etched by comparison. The treble seems fine. After going through two Beyerdynamic headphones, anything is probably going to sound like an improvement. Extension is good with no nasty peaks or grain. High frequency noise that is over-emphasized on the DT880 and T1 gen 2 is audible but not brought to the fore with the HE-560. Soundstage and imaging is good, better than average for a planar as I understand it. Center imaging is excellent, better than the DT880, combined with a deeper soundstage. Soundstage width is similar to the DT880; overall this is a more balanced presentation compared to the DT880, which suffers from more soundstage width than depth. The T1 gen 2 has a larger overall soundstage, and does a better job creating a "wall of sound" feeling with large orchestral music. The HE-560 does a similarly good job of creating a sense of space around instruments; what some might describe as a "holographic" soundstage. Resolution is at least as good as the DT880 without any hint of treble pain. The T1 gen 2 created the impression of more resolution, but this could have been the product of excessive treble (11kHz spike in particular). On the fast-paced, percussive tracks of Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service OST, the DT880 has sharper transients and faster decay. This can be a fatiguing presentation, however, which the HE-560 consistently avoids. Dynamics are no problem for the HE-560. It can play loud without sounding forced or distorted, yet retains low-level detail even at moderate listening levels or quiet portions of a track. Recommendation The HE-560 has a MSRP of $900, though currently it's possible to snag it for $750 or so on Amazon. It also has the build quality of a $100 headphone, and the sound, while very good, is far from perfect. HiFiMan backs the product with a warranty of only one year. And to top it off, the headphone I received was basically unusable due to a defective cable connection. Not only does this indicate poor quality assurance, it suggests that HiFiMan doesn't even test each headphone before it goes out the door. This is not acceptable in a TOTL headphone. Yes, I'm aware that the HE-1000 exists, but in a world of sane headphone pricing, the HE-560 would be TOTL. These are all things to consider before buying this headphone. So who would want to buy this headphone? For me, I wanted a balanced sound with excellent bass quality and extension, without sacrificing too much soundstage. That's about what I got. This headphone would be easy to recommend for these preferences, were it not for serious issues with quality and value. Thanks for reading.

Hi, I'm currently looking for a replacement cable for the Hifiman HE-500. This is mostly for aesthetic reasons. I'm looking for an all black cable with a 1/4" plug, that's not stiff and microphonic like the stock cable. I checked some of the cables on the Hifiman site and the only cable that they had with a 1/4" plug was $199 and I'm not looking to spend that kind of money on cables. Here are some of the replacements I've been looking at: http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-HiFiMAN-HE-5-HE-6-HE-300-HE-400-HE-500-HE-560-Headphone-Neutrik-Canare-Cable-/171734996362?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27fc34158a http://www.ebay.com/itm/HiFiMAN-Canare-Headphone-Cable-for-HE-400-and-HE-500-Headphones-8-0m-/291187689941?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item43cc2389d5 This is another one I looked at but does not have a 1/4" plug: http://www.head-direct.com/Products/?act=detail&id=163 Am I correct in assuming that an aftermarket cable is not going to modify the sound? Are there any other cables below $100 that I should consider? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Alright so i found these two amps but i don't know which has a better sound. I don't mind buying a cheap pair of tube to replace the stock ones one the hifiman as i have read that the stock ones arnt great. Also if i go the schiit route do i have to get the dac with it as well because that with the amp would set the price considerably higher than the hifiman even with $30 tubes. Thanks for the help!

Welcome to my Review of the Hifiman HE-400i As already stated in the title, i don't really have an "audiophile"-view on all the terms and whatnot but i'll do my best! And also the review will include A LOT of huge (i really should've scaled them down) pics so beware! So without further ado, let's get to it! The Packaging To start it off i will beginn with the packaging as i was positively impressed by it! The Headphones came in an original china import box which was not only wrapped in a layer of bubble wrap but also packed by the shop i bought it in millions of foam pieces and a box 4x the size of the HE-400i box.

Hey guys, I've had my eyes set on the Hifiman HE-500 for a while now and I've found a place where I can get a brand new Hifiman HE-500 for about 500 USD. However, it's the last one in stock, so I have to make my decision quickly. I'm currently using the Desktop Objective2 + ODAC combo from Mayflower Electronics and the Sennheiser HD 598 which I just recently picked up. I've been reading a lot of mixed opinions on the HE-500 and Objective2 combo. I've read in a few threads from Head-Fi that it takes a better amp than the Objective2 to get the best out of these pair of headphones and that it sounds better with a tube amp such as a Hifiman EF-5 or a speaker amp. I also read that the HE-500 benefits a lot from current from an amplifier and the Objective2 doesn't meet those requirements. There were many others who said the O2 has enough power and was "sufficient" for the HE-500 but didn't really elaborate on that. A brand new HE-500 for 500 USD seems like a good deal but it's still a lot of money to spend on headphones, so I wanna make sure that I'm making a good decision. If I do end up getting the HE-500, I'm hoping to be done with audio upgrades. What do you guys think? Is there anybody who've had experience with the HE-500 and the Objective2 amp? Is the Objective2 a good enough amp to pair the HE-500 with? Should I get the HE-500 or should I stick with what I have? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hey guys, I'm thinking of getting one of the the three headphones mentioned in the title. I currently own a Hifiman HE-500 paired up with an Objective2 and ODAC combo. While I love my HE-500, I'm still curious to know how these headphones sound, especially the LCD-2 in particular. I plan on selling off my HE-500 and buying one of these headphones. I listen to a wide range of music genres but the common ones are orchestral, slow-rock, rock and instrumental music. My two favorite bands are GN'R and Linkin Park so I do listen to a lot of music from them. I like a neutral or warm sound signature. My other concern is clarity and detail in the mids and the bass. How do these headphones compare in terms of clarity and detail, sound signature, sound stage and build quality? Comfort is not a major concern for me as I do not have any comfort issues with my HE-500 (or maybe my M50x made me immune to the HE-500's discomfort). I'm currently leaning toward the LCD-2 based on the reviews I've read but the HE-560 has a significantly lower price. I heard that the HD 800 is very detailed, which I like but is a little too bright for many people. Any help is appreciated. Thanks