Equipment:
Ipod 160gb lossless files
Ray Samuals Audo "The Hornet" amp
Cans uses to compare signatures:
Denon AH-D2000 - stock
Sennheiser HD-650 - stock
Let me start off with a special thanks to Fang from HifiMAN for letting me audition the HE-300's at home. Fang sent these cans to our latest chicago headphone meet "Chiunifi 5" for everyone to check out. He offered up the opportunity to take the 300's home for an extended audition if the person would write up a review. I took him up on that offer. Fang has always been a strong supporter of Head-Fi, as well as a constant figure at many local and national meets.
There must me something I like about how HifiMAN voices their gear. I am a big fan of their IEMs, a lover of the Jade, and a HUGE fan of the cans in the orthodynamic collection, although I'll probably never afford them.
With that... The review.
There are already a few reviews of these cans with some beautiful pictures and descriptions of build quality. I dont feel a huge need to repeat that. I will just echo and agree that they look just like the cans in the orthodynamic collection, but are Much lighter. They do clamp fairly tightly to your head out of the box, but this can be easily fixed by bending the headband open (ala grado). Personally, I find these cans very comfortable and have worn them for hours with no ill effect. One last comment on the way the cord attaches to the body of the cans. Its a pain. BUT, once its on, its on. So unless your switching cords often, it is pretty much a non issue.
Most importantly, the sound. Before I go into a lot of detail, let me just say that I really love these cans. They may even replace one of my others at some point, if I can bring myself to sell my own things first that is! They definitely fit into the "fun" category.
Bass:
The bass response on these cans is where they are strongest. The bass is big and full, probably what really brings out the "fun" factor. I find that there is a bit of a hump in the low mid bass. This brings in a lot of bloom in the low end. It doesnt have as much "punch" as some would like, but it isnt flabby either. Its very enjoyable; a ported speaker, not a sealed one. On orchestral works, the double bass blossoms nicely. Peter Gabriels "washing of the water" on his book of love ep was stunning. On a more dance like track, you wont be disappointed. I'm a big fan of Chromeo, and that whole album sounds fantastic on these cans. I'm a sucker for 80's pop synth sounds, and this can delivers that nicely!!
Another thing worth mentioning is soundstaging. It may be because the drivers sit about an inch from your ears, but the bass has more "space" to it. When I compared this aspect to my Denons, the denons sounded a bit more closed in. Yes, they are closed back cans, and that may have been it, but I would say on many tunes, the bass on the denons and the 300's was very similar. While I would give the 300's the nod because the bass just sounds like it has more space to evolve. Who knows though. When I do the partial markl mod on the denons, getting the driver further away from the head, things might equal out.
Midrange:
I have read many of the reviews on these cans, and I have found that a lot of people feel that the midrange is more forward. I must say I disagree with this. My HD 650's have (to my ears) a more accurate midrange then the 300's. What I can say is that while I would not call the midrange recessed, I would most definitely call it mellow, or warm. Some might say "covered", but I'm not sure if that's the best term either, as it is too negative. I feel this warmth may be in part because of the bump in the bass. If you have ever had your subwoofer turned up too much on your stereo, you hear that besides overwhelming bass, it robs the midrange of some clarity. Now, I'm over exaggerating here in this comparison, but I think this may play a part to the warmth of sound. on most music I listened to, I found the midrange to be fairly Even, but slightly pulled back. Voices are where I really test midrange. both male and female. The 300's add a mellowness to the voice that is pretty pleasing, especially for listening for long periods of time. If you have albums where you feel like the singer is just too forward or in your face, these cans would work well there. another way of saying this would be that these cans are pretty forgiving. your worst recordings might be nice on these cans. But, if you have a muddy recording, it would not fair well here.
quick aside: I was reading a review about the more recent HE 400's, and Fang was speaking about voicing for the american market and our listening preferences. What this included was a more forward midrange, and tighter bass. He commented about how he tries to voice his product to his preference, a more "English" or European sound signature. Being a fan of vintage speakers and gear, I understand what he is talking about. The 300's are akin to something like the Dynaco A25 speaker. It has no specific character that sticks out, but it is one of the most musical and easy to listen to speakers around. Most audiophiles who have speaker systems own, have owned, or want to hear the Dynaco's. There musicality is that popular. I own them myself, and I would say that the 300's are part of that family, to a point.
Treble:
The treble on the 300's was a new experience for me. It is one of the first cans I've heard that gives you upper details, that have little or no harshness at all. Even on the best cans I've heard, there are recording that have moments that are a little "hot", and super accurate detailed cans deliver that "heat" in all its glory, like it or not.. I found the 300's deliver the detail of those recordings with the same warmth that exists in the midrange. I'm not going to kid you here. These cans are not the last word in detail. you will not get the "air", or the expansive sense of upper space that you would get on something like a Grado. But the treble is there, you hear details, and it sounds good. In my listening, I found that classical instrumental recordings sound simply lush. strings, harp, guitars, etc.. sound wonderful here.
General Comparisons:
I have read that some people compare the 300's to the Sennheiser HD600 and HD650. I believe that this is an unfair comparison. I am not a fanboy of the Sennheiser family, but I do believe these two Senns to be overall superior when compared directly to the 300's. Having said that, I will add that the Sennheiser family is A LOT harder to drive than the 300's, and requires a much greater investment from the start. The 300's can indeed be driven respectfully from something as simple as an ipod. In a price(investment)/performance contest, the 300's would put up a fight, and win. You can do a lot worse
I feel a much more fair comparison would be to something like the Denon AHD2000. Yes, one can is open, and the other is closed. But, the given price point vs performance puts these two cans in the same game to me. In direct comparison, the Denon will give you a bit more treble extension, but takes away the openness and width of sound you get in the 300's. But, when I would listen to some songs back to back, the sound ended up seeming much more similar then different. it really depends on your ears. The denons are a lot less "warm", and can be fatiguing over time to some. I am speaking to the stock version of the D2000. What you find most pleasing is up to you. I can say that I can wear the 300's for hours while working on the computer. no sweat, no reaching to turn down the volume, no shock when a song comes on that is mixed a bit louder. everything is delivered sweetly.
I will make a quick comment about where these cans sit in the hifiman family. They are not orthos. They dont sound like orthos. They just live in the same house.
Conclusion:
With the recent price drop, these cans are an amazing value. The performance you get is really really good. The fact that they can give you very respectable results from the HP jack on an ipod is just stunning. If you are a person looking for a laid back listening experience, but still want to hear that hi-hat cymbal, these may be for you.
again, special thanks to Fang and HifiMan for their continued support.
Ipod 160gb lossless files
Ray Samuals Audo "The Hornet" amp
Cans uses to compare signatures:
Denon AH-D2000 - stock
Sennheiser HD-650 - stock
Let me start off with a special thanks to Fang from HifiMAN for letting me audition the HE-300's at home. Fang sent these cans to our latest chicago headphone meet "Chiunifi 5" for everyone to check out. He offered up the opportunity to take the 300's home for an extended audition if the person would write up a review. I took him up on that offer. Fang has always been a strong supporter of Head-Fi, as well as a constant figure at many local and national meets.
There must me something I like about how HifiMAN voices their gear. I am a big fan of their IEMs, a lover of the Jade, and a HUGE fan of the cans in the orthodynamic collection, although I'll probably never afford them.
With that... The review.
There are already a few reviews of these cans with some beautiful pictures and descriptions of build quality. I dont feel a huge need to repeat that. I will just echo and agree that they look just like the cans in the orthodynamic collection, but are Much lighter. They do clamp fairly tightly to your head out of the box, but this can be easily fixed by bending the headband open (ala grado). Personally, I find these cans very comfortable and have worn them for hours with no ill effect. One last comment on the way the cord attaches to the body of the cans. Its a pain. BUT, once its on, its on. So unless your switching cords often, it is pretty much a non issue.
Most importantly, the sound. Before I go into a lot of detail, let me just say that I really love these cans. They may even replace one of my others at some point, if I can bring myself to sell my own things first that is! They definitely fit into the "fun" category.
Bass:
The bass response on these cans is where they are strongest. The bass is big and full, probably what really brings out the "fun" factor. I find that there is a bit of a hump in the low mid bass. This brings in a lot of bloom in the low end. It doesnt have as much "punch" as some would like, but it isnt flabby either. Its very enjoyable; a ported speaker, not a sealed one. On orchestral works, the double bass blossoms nicely. Peter Gabriels "washing of the water" on his book of love ep was stunning. On a more dance like track, you wont be disappointed. I'm a big fan of Chromeo, and that whole album sounds fantastic on these cans. I'm a sucker for 80's pop synth sounds, and this can delivers that nicely!!
Another thing worth mentioning is soundstaging. It may be because the drivers sit about an inch from your ears, but the bass has more "space" to it. When I compared this aspect to my Denons, the denons sounded a bit more closed in. Yes, they are closed back cans, and that may have been it, but I would say on many tunes, the bass on the denons and the 300's was very similar. While I would give the 300's the nod because the bass just sounds like it has more space to evolve. Who knows though. When I do the partial markl mod on the denons, getting the driver further away from the head, things might equal out.
Midrange:
I have read many of the reviews on these cans, and I have found that a lot of people feel that the midrange is more forward. I must say I disagree with this. My HD 650's have (to my ears) a more accurate midrange then the 300's. What I can say is that while I would not call the midrange recessed, I would most definitely call it mellow, or warm. Some might say "covered", but I'm not sure if that's the best term either, as it is too negative. I feel this warmth may be in part because of the bump in the bass. If you have ever had your subwoofer turned up too much on your stereo, you hear that besides overwhelming bass, it robs the midrange of some clarity. Now, I'm over exaggerating here in this comparison, but I think this may play a part to the warmth of sound. on most music I listened to, I found the midrange to be fairly Even, but slightly pulled back. Voices are where I really test midrange. both male and female. The 300's add a mellowness to the voice that is pretty pleasing, especially for listening for long periods of time. If you have albums where you feel like the singer is just too forward or in your face, these cans would work well there. another way of saying this would be that these cans are pretty forgiving. your worst recordings might be nice on these cans. But, if you have a muddy recording, it would not fair well here.
quick aside: I was reading a review about the more recent HE 400's, and Fang was speaking about voicing for the american market and our listening preferences. What this included was a more forward midrange, and tighter bass. He commented about how he tries to voice his product to his preference, a more "English" or European sound signature. Being a fan of vintage speakers and gear, I understand what he is talking about. The 300's are akin to something like the Dynaco A25 speaker. It has no specific character that sticks out, but it is one of the most musical and easy to listen to speakers around. Most audiophiles who have speaker systems own, have owned, or want to hear the Dynaco's. There musicality is that popular. I own them myself, and I would say that the 300's are part of that family, to a point.
Treble:
The treble on the 300's was a new experience for me. It is one of the first cans I've heard that gives you upper details, that have little or no harshness at all. Even on the best cans I've heard, there are recording that have moments that are a little "hot", and super accurate detailed cans deliver that "heat" in all its glory, like it or not.. I found the 300's deliver the detail of those recordings with the same warmth that exists in the midrange. I'm not going to kid you here. These cans are not the last word in detail. you will not get the "air", or the expansive sense of upper space that you would get on something like a Grado. But the treble is there, you hear details, and it sounds good. In my listening, I found that classical instrumental recordings sound simply lush. strings, harp, guitars, etc.. sound wonderful here.
General Comparisons:
I have read that some people compare the 300's to the Sennheiser HD600 and HD650. I believe that this is an unfair comparison. I am not a fanboy of the Sennheiser family, but I do believe these two Senns to be overall superior when compared directly to the 300's. Having said that, I will add that the Sennheiser family is A LOT harder to drive than the 300's, and requires a much greater investment from the start. The 300's can indeed be driven respectfully from something as simple as an ipod. In a price(investment)/performance contest, the 300's would put up a fight, and win. You can do a lot worse
I feel a much more fair comparison would be to something like the Denon AHD2000. Yes, one can is open, and the other is closed. But, the given price point vs performance puts these two cans in the same game to me. In direct comparison, the Denon will give you a bit more treble extension, but takes away the openness and width of sound you get in the 300's. But, when I would listen to some songs back to back, the sound ended up seeming much more similar then different. it really depends on your ears. The denons are a lot less "warm", and can be fatiguing over time to some. I am speaking to the stock version of the D2000. What you find most pleasing is up to you. I can say that I can wear the 300's for hours while working on the computer. no sweat, no reaching to turn down the volume, no shock when a song comes on that is mixed a bit louder. everything is delivered sweetly.
I will make a quick comment about where these cans sit in the hifiman family. They are not orthos. They dont sound like orthos. They just live in the same house.
Conclusion:
With the recent price drop, these cans are an amazing value. The performance you get is really really good. The fact that they can give you very respectable results from the HP jack on an ipod is just stunning. If you are a person looking for a laid back listening experience, but still want to hear that hi-hat cymbal, these may be for you.
again, special thanks to Fang and HifiMan for their continued support.
How does it sound with the HE-300s?
Your opinions of the HE-300s mirror mine a lot. I like how detailed they are, but never sibilant.