Hifiman Massdrop HE-4XX Review

[spwath]

No, these have not shipped yet, but I have ways of getting things. Sure, we will go with that.

I have used them for about a week.

 

Build Quality
Better than I thought. I have heard bad things about Hifiman's build quality. These however feel excellent to me. Solid feeling plastic cups, matte soft touch Massdrop blue. The yoke/hinges are all metal and feel solid. Headband seems good as well. No creaking or cheap feeling parts on this. Removable cable too. Build quality is more than up to par for its price.

Solid metal hinges and yokes feel quite sturdy and premium

Comfort

They have a standard headband, unlike all the newer Hifimans. I prefer this to the weird suspension design found on many headphones today, but it depends on the person. They come with hybrid pads, a mix of velour and pleather. Feel nice, don't feel like they will get to hot. I find the clamp a bit too much, but over time, it doesn't bother me, like top of the head headband pressure would, of which this has very little. Not as comfortable as my HD650, but still very solid.

 

Sound

These sound good. Better than I thought. I use Sennheiser HD650s mainly, sometimes Fostex TH-X00. They are in a different price class than these. However, the HE-4XX gets surprisingly close to their quality. There is an emphasis on bass, which one may like or not. I like it. Bass is really solid, not boomy, just seems very present, but tight. The midrange does seem a bit recessed, or something else seems a bit off, at least compared to my other headphones. Treble seems a bit rolled off, which I like, as I do not like a bright headphone. You may be different. Overall the sound is very good, with strong bass, but something in the mids just seems a bit wrong for me.

 

Conclusion

With solid build quality, solid comfort, and great sound, these are a no brainer at $169 for open headphones. You may need an amp though, despite their marketing. But you may not. But if you want an open headphone for under $200, these are for you.

 

Serial number to make you feel special. I have "acquired" #0004 here.

[FloRolf]

Haven't heard them personally but if they are anything like my HE400i's then they really are a no-brainer for just 169usd. I paid about 500€ for mine... 

[GamerDude]

Great mini review/impression, looks to be a good choice for anyone thinking of starting on an audio adventure. At 169usd, it's actually a pretty good price and while I'm tempted, I simply have too many cans to even consider getting any more. Among my various cans, I have three HFM cans: HE4, HE560 and the HE1000 v1....don't have an excuse to buy another HFM can.

[Dackzy]

these are the headphones people should buy instead of that MonoShit planar 

[3 Minute Reviewer]

1 hour ago, Dackzy said:

these are the headphones people should buy instead of that MonoShit planar 

Thoughts on these vs the HD6xx? Do these dethrone the 6xx as the "king of value"?

[spwath]

Just now, kmathieu2220 said:

Thoughts on these vs the HD6xx? Do these dethrone the 6xx as the "king of value"?

No. HD6XX are still better IMO.

[GamerDude]

4 hours ago, Dackzy said:

these are the headphones people should buy instead of that MonoShit planar 

I've seen posts in other forums where the Monoprice planar cans are elevated to something akin to the second coming (the M1060 especially). Though I believe that when it comes to sound, to each his own.....besides, I've not heard these cans (M1060 and M560) so I can't comment either way.

[Dackzy]

6 hours ago, GamerDude said:

I've seen posts in other forums where the Monoprice planar cans are elevated to something akin to the second coming (the M1060 especially). Though I believe that when it comes to sound, to each his own.....besides, I've not heard these cans (M1060 and M560) so I can't comment either way.

The M1060 ring a lot,  it really fucked with my ears actually enough for me to have a headache the rest of the day and to fix it you need to drop 100 USD on some vegan pads,  so suddenly you have spend 400 USD on them. The bass extends well,  but that is kinda a given, but it isn't really that tight compared to other planar and the mids and highs sounded a bit sloppy and not that detailed to me. If you look at the technical side then the HE 400i is a much better headphone and you can have that for 220-250 USD now and now you can get a HE 4xx which is probably also better than the m1060.

 

Also nice seeing you again

[Matthew M Hilty]

Got my HE-4XX from Massdrop about a week ago , These are my impressions. No I'm not an audiophile, I just like music and gaming

 

PROS - Linear not punchy bass

Soundstage for days (Open Back style)

Planar Drivers - no treble hitting your ears slightly ahead of the bass, linear timing seems excellent

Easy to drive ( Yep plug em into your phone no Amp required )

Looks impressive awesome color scheme with the matte black

Detachable Cable that doesn't suck

 

CONS - Treble is rolled off (not great for gaming, good for opera i guess,  I wouldn't know )

Everyone around you can hear everything you are listening to (no privacy)

I hate the headband (Yes i said hate i word i rarely use unless i mean it)

I temporarily wrap a fine cloth around the headband so they don't fall off

 

Overall -  5/10 , The headband and slightly muted treble destroy an incredible value potential, I will probably listen to them for another week after a full break in period and see if anything changes.  If they sound the same I will probably try to give them as a gift or sell them.