I have been into this amazing hobby for about 4 years now. I have bought all of my own equipment and my reviews and impressions are my honest opinion. I am a amp collector, and feel a person can not have enough amps, especially good mid level headphone amps. I have been watching a lot of Netflix and wanted to use my headphones, without using my TOTL amps. I am a fan of Schiit Audio and own a lot of hot Schiit. And when I heard about Schiit Audio’s balanced Jotunheim, I snagged one in a New York minute. I chose to get my Jotunheim in black. I chose only to get the amp only.
I really like the heavy metal/. Industrial design of the Jotunheim. This amp is nice and heavy and will stay on the desk and not readily slide about. This plucky black amp even seems impervious to the antics of my fat cat Kali. On the back side of this amp, is the Power button, single end RCA/ unbalanced inputs and XLR balanced inputs as well as RCA pre outs. On the front there are two switches and a volume knob. One switch allows for the selection between the phono, dac and amp functions. The other switch is for Low or high gain.
The Jotunheim balanced amps sounds very, very nice indeed. If this amp had been out, when I started this wonderful hobby, I would not had gotten the Schiit Audio Asgard 2, Lyr 2 or my Cavalli Audio Liquid Carbon. This sweet little amp has almost every connection that a fellow audiophile could need.. It has SE and balanced inputs and SE and XLR headphone out jacks. And more importantly the Jotunheim has plenty of power to drive any headphone. Furthermore the Single end audio architecture is the best found in any Schiit Audio Amp. The previous Sumpter circuit was alright but the new design just sounds much better to my humble ears.
And to my humble ears the Jotunheim sounds quite good. The bass is nice and impactful, The mids are sweet with just a touch of edginess. The treble is good and was not sybylant. The sound stage is nice and the imaging is fairly detailed. Furthermore this amps has plenty of power and could drive all of my headphones. I really like how my Audeze iSine 20 and Mr Speakers Aeon Closedback sounds out of this amp.
I am very impressed with Schiit Audio’s Jotunheim. This black beast of a amp sounds great and can drive any IEM or headphone one should have, This solid stage amp is versatile and has plenty of inputs and outputs. I think the Jotunheim is a great sounding mid level amp, especially for the money.
I used the following equipment for this review.
DAP: Questyle QP1R
DAC: Schiit Audio Yggdrasil and Gungnir

The Meze 99 Neo is a great headphone, especially for the money. The Neo has the same sexy steam punk sorta look / design, and ruggedly build, however the cups are made of this jet black plastic composite, and all the fixtures and connectors are a nice nickel color. The Neo like the Classic has has a slight steam punk look.These amazing headphones are lighter than their slightly more expensive big brother the 99 Clasics. The Meze 99 Neo is extremely comfortable to wear, especially if your taking a stroll in a store or some other air conditioned area, otherwise the earcups can make your ears sweat (I live in Florida). These rugged cans fit nicely into my leather audio bag. The case that comes with the Neo is nice like the Classic, but the outer shell seems easier to grip. I just wish the headphones fit into the case with cables attached.
The Neo like the Classic 's scales well with the audio equipment used. I primarily drove the Neo using my Questyle QP1R Dap. The Neo sounds amazing out of the QP1R, much better than using my tablet or IPad. But the Neo sounded really good out of my Schiit Audio Gungnir multibit and Mjolnir 2. I also was quite pleased when I used the Yggdrasil and Cavalli Liquid Gold. This combo allowed the Neo to sound so detailed and resolute. However I feel the Neo sounds best out of a tube amp.
The Meze 99 Neo sounds Great. It has a good , fun musical signature with more stress on the bass and lower mids than say my Oppo or PM-3. The Neo has more bass ( quantitative ) than the Classics or the PM-3's. I felt the bass in "Uncle Remus" ( Frank Zappa Apostrophe) was deeper hitting than when using the Classic 's or the PM-3's. The bass is deeper but not as nuanced ( qualitative) than found in the Classics, or especially in the PM-3. Depending upon audio equipment used, the bass could be a tad boomy.
Likewise I found the Midds in the Neo to be lush with a touch more emphasis on the lower end. However the midds on the Classic are more airy than the Neo. I loved the groups They Might Be Giants and Green Jello more on the Neo than the Classics. For instance "Intanbul" in They Might Be Giants album Flood is so much fun to jam out too, especially when I am walking through the park looking for the preverbial "bird house in my soul". And the Neo makes " Three Little Pigs" on Green Jello's Cereal Killer album sound bloody great. The treble on the Neo is rock solid and is not strident. I listened to Mozart and Tomita stuff and was impressed how good the Neo handled such music.
In conclusion I think the Meze 99 Neo is a great headphone especially for the money. It sounds great and has a sweet steam punk look. The Neo is easy to drive, and sounds great out of the QP1R dap. The Neo scales up well with the equipment used. The bass at times could be a tad boomy depending upon the equipment used. And the ear cups can be a bit hot, especially used in hot Florida weather.
My name is Andrew W Jones, I have been into this amazing hobby for about 3 years now. I did not receive and compensation for my review. I am just happy I was asked to participate in the Meze 99 tour. I hope sometime to be able to upload my pictures.

I am a 52 year old audophile,  from Bradenton Florida.  I have been in this hobby, for about two years.   The sound from headphone blew me away, and I dived down the proverbial rabbit hole and have not come back up.   I use headphones to cope with pain from a back injury.  Furthermore  headphones allow me to hear the sound, without out side distractions. I suffer from a cognitive hearing disorder and headphones have allowed me to over come this problem and to enjoy music for the first time, in a very long time.   I am a temporarily  unemployed vcr repairman and improv pirate actor
I participated in the Meze 99 Classics Tour and here is the review.  When I signed for these headphones, I was really impressed with the box they came in.  The box is very sturdy,  and has a has a clever magnet  that keeps the box closed.  Within the box, one will find the headphones in  a  nice clam carrying case, and inside the case,  a small leather bag, that has the 1/4th adapter and  a cell phone lightning adapter. Also in the box are two headphone cables.  One cable is long and nice to use on desktop amps. The second cable, is  shorter and is meant to be used with a cell phone.  I thought the cables are well made, although they can be a bit microphonic, at times.   If I buy myself these headphones, I will see about getting  a custom balanced cable from Norne Audio.  
These headphones look very nice and are well made.  The   walnut headphone cups are very nice, although they might be a tad small for some people.  The headband is covered in leather  and I found it was very comfortable, no over clamping, like a medieval torture device.  The twin manganese spring steal headband supports are tough and add to the natural beauty of these sexy headphones.  While out and about the town,  I found these cans to be quite light and comfortable to wear.  Furthermore my the foam on the ears cups breathe quite well and my ears rarely got overly warm.   These amazing portable closed cans do not leak out sound to much and isolate me from outside disturbances like the phone, the nagging  cat,  alarm clocks, or pesky storm warning alarms lol.
The Meze 99 Classics is a great sounding portable headphone.  I found the sound to be fun, with nice emphasis on the bass, slight recessed mids,  great vocals and alright  non fatiguing treble.  I was surprised how much I enjoyed the fun sound signature.  Normally I want my headphones to sound balanced, and natural sounding.  But  I really enjoyed the emphasis on the bass. The bass on these cans satisfies the bass monkey, that sleeps on my back.  The bass emphasis  really made the guitars in  Frank Zappa's San Ber'dino fun to listen too.   Likewise the bass in Led Zeppelin" Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, sounded  so deep and satisfying.  Finally the bass made Frank Zappa's Republicans sound ominous, almost scary.
Because of the emphasized bass, the mids seemed just a tad reccesed  but  the vocals have a texture to them and  are out of this world good.  The   vocals by Zappa, Kate Bush and Green Jelley sounded very pallable and real  through the Meze.   The mids on the Meze are still smooth sounding with a slight edginess, that really made jazz sound sweet.  Dave Brubeck and Charles Mingus sound just right, coming through these amazing cans. The treble is non fatiguing and sounded alright to my ears.
The soundstage is wide, but not to deep.  Still pretty good for a closed back can. Most of the music I listened too, the soundstage was quite nice, with a nice three-dimensional quality.  Tomita's The Planest sounded quite nice out of these sexy wooden headphones.  The soundstage was able to handle the different sounds and place them adequately around my ears.   Only when I was listening to Mozart did I think the soundstage was a bit congested sounding.
These headphones are quite easy to drive.  I used a great many amps with them, but it was overkill.  Even on low gain, I did not have to crank up the volume at all, to get these cans to sing.  I hooked them up to the Liquid Crimson and the Ragnarok and the cans sounded great, but I could barely turn up the volume. I was afraid these big powerful amps might damage  these exquiste headphones   The best device I used to make these cans sing was the QP1R, on medium gain.  The QP1R made these headphones sound great,  a very good synergy between these two.  
I think the Meze 99 classics headphone is a great headphone.  it has a fun, slightly v shaped sound signature, with nice emphasis on the bass  The cans are quite well made and 
sound great.  These headphones are quite portable and were a pleasure to take out and about.  These cans were the only ones I have worn, where two pretty ladies
, thought I looked good wearing these sexy cans.  I even had a dishwasher come out and ask about the headphones.  I highly recomend these headphones to anyone who wants to just enjoy listening to music.  I love my other cans but these cans fun music signature are perfect for walking around, doing stuff. When at home I use my other cans, for critical listening.
here are  some pictures of these amazingly fun and sexy headphones.





 

 
 

The Schiit Audio Lyr 2 was my first desktop amp and its a fantastic sounding amp. This amp comes in a neo industrial brushed aluminum chassis. This design chooses function over flash. The front of this fantastic amp, has a large volume knob and a SE headphone jack. The volume knob works great, although, at night, in low light conditions, I have a hard time noticing the volume indicator, on the face plate. On the back of this amp you have two sets of RCA jacks, a gain switch and a off and on toggle switch.

This amp sounds great, its a hybrid amp, so the sound does not get too overly lush sounding, like a straight up tube amp. The bass is powerful, with lots of impact, yet it does not bleed into the mids. The bass on Frank Zappa's San Ber'dino sounds superb, on this amp. The mids are sweet and lush, yet very natural sounding. The highs are good, with no annoying sybilance, that can fatigue ones hearing. The soundstage is fairly large, detailed and holographic. I spent, many a night listening to old Pink Floyd, The Wall, or Dark Side of the Moon, enjoying the holographic soundstage of the Lyr 2, as it drove my Alpha Primes and the other cans in my collection.
The Lyr 2 is a fantastic headhone amp , that offers lots of value, for the money. The amp is built rock solid and is a good introduction to tube rolling. I will not delve into the best tube to use. I could write, forever describing the rabbit hole, called tube rolling. My only advice, go for NOS tubes, if you can . One more thing put the amp in a good ventilated area, for this amp can run hot.

I am a 51 Audiophile, from Sarasota, Florida.   I have been in this hobby for almost a year and a half.   during that time,  I have collected lots of amps, Dacs and headphones,  all to find that perfect sound, that I use to calm my bad back.  I listen to most musical genres, my favorite being rock, jazz and blues. I prefer my music to be natural and transparent. 
I used a Mac Book Pro, hooked up to a Gungnir Multibit dac, which was hooked up the Burson Audio Lycan amp. I used this rig, to see if the amp could drive my headphones.  The following headphones were used for this review: 1) HE1000, 2) MrSpeakers Ether, 3) Ether C, 4) Alpha Primes, and 5) Akg k7xx 
The Lycan is made with a high quality transparent plexiglass  top and bottom.  This open design keeps the amp light and portable, as well as allow one to switch out opamps.  this ease of switching out pre-amps is what makes this amp so special.  With this functional design, one can  easily switch out the opamps, like one does   tubes, to alter the overall sound signature of the ampThis amp is ideal for a office or dorm room because it takes up little space and can power almost any headphone.
The Lycan  sounds very good after a 100 hour burn in.  The bass is powerful, with good impact that does not bleed into the mids. The mids are smooth, with a slight  edginess,  thats works well for rock and the blues.  the highs seem alright to my ears, not to detailed but not sybilant  either.   however one can alter the overall sound signature by rolling out the pre-amp.
  

the Lycan is a powerful plucky amp, that has plenty of headroom to drive the HE1000.   The HE1000  driven by the Lycan , sounds very nice, the bass has good impact, the mids are sweet and smooth.  The highs are alright and no sign of fatiguing sybilance .
 
Overall the Lycan can easily drive the HE1000.  Frank Zappa's "Sheik Yerbouti Tango" sounded pretty darn good.  the vocals, the bass and mids sounded good.  I was thumping my foot, getting into the track.  Next the Lycan easily made the Dave Brubeck's Time Out  sound very nice through the HE1K.  Finally the Lycan was to make Mozart sound just fine out of the HE1K.    
The Ether is  driven by the Lycan.    The Lycan has more than enough power and headroom  to drive the Ether to ear shattering levels.   Frank Zappa sounded just fine coming out of the Lycan. Furthermore Dave Brubeck and Thelonious Monk sounded very nice, out of he Ether.         
The Lycan can easily drive the Ether C.    The bass, mids and highs sound  quite good out of the Ether C,   I never had to push the volume past the 10 a clock position, to make the Ether C  perform well.   The  Ether C sounded very nice playing rock, jazz and classical.  the bass is powerful but never muddies up the mids.  The midds are sweet and smooth as well as detailed.  The highs are rock solid, never fatiguing. 
 
The Alpha Primes are power pigs and the more power you give them the better they sound.  And the Alpha Primes sounded just fine being driven by this pluck little amp.  I was very happy with the bass.  The bass has plenty of impact and slam.   Frank Zappa's "SanBer'dino" sounded fantastic, with the bass deep impact making this song fun to listen to.  Likewise the mids were sweet sounding, yet detailed, without sounding analytical. The highs are are good, with no annoying sybilance.
The AKG K7XX sounded quite good being driven by the Lycan, which surprised me.   Normally the K7XX sounds best through a tube amp, however the these cans sound very good, being driven by this amp from Burson Audio.   This amp has plenty of power and headroom to drive these headphones.  The bass is nice and tight, with satisfying impact.  the mids are sweet but revealing without loosing its musical nature.  Likewise the highs sound just fine, with no fatiguing sybilance.

Burson Audio's Lycan is a plucky, versatile amp, that has plenty of power to most headphones.  Furthermore one can roll out OP-AMP, to alter the sound signature of the amp.  This versatility really makes this amp a fantastic buy.   This extremely portable amp offers great value for the money.  I was surprised how well it was able to drive all of my headphones to ear shattering levels. I feel this plucky little amp is ideal for the office or a college dorm room.
 
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Hi my name is Andrew Reddog Jones, I have been into this fantastic hobby for almost two years.  I mostly take care of my mother and sometimes fix vcrs. Today I plan on doing a review oh HIFIMAN's HE400s.  I used the following gear :   Media gear: MacBook Pro: Tidal
                                                             DAC's used:  Schiit Audio's Gungnir Multibit, and the Yggdrasil
                                                              Amps used:  Ragnarok,  Mjolnir 2,  lyr 2, Asgard 2.
I first used the HE400s with my GMB and MJ2, in SE, with both the Se cable that came with the unit and the long SE cable that came with the HE1000.   The SE out of the MJ2 (Ediswan tubes)  sounds very nice indeed.  The bass is impactful, without impacting upon the mids.  The mids are sweet, and balanced to my ears.  The mids were really engaging, especially with rock and jazz.  the highs sounded just right, never sibilant or fatiguing. Frank Zappa and Dave Bruebeck sound very nice through the HE400s.  the vocals, both male and female were engaging and had me thumping my foot to the music.
     The he400s seem to like tubular sound out of the MJ2, especially with my ediswan tubes.  Moreover, when i switched out my SE cable for my XLR,  the HE400s just sounded sublime. The bass and mids open upped, and the sound became more detailed and transparent.  I was very impressed by the sound  and these cans are a great introduction for those starting out in this hobby.
     I next switched the He400s to my main Rig, the Ragnarock and the Yggdrasil, using the XLR cable and the 400s just sang like a muse of old.  The bass was spot on without mudding up the mids. The mids sound so sweet and detailed.  And the highs were never fatiguing or  sibilant but just added to the overall texture of the sound.   The HE400s never sounded better out of this combo.  The Yggy made the HE400s sound detailed and musical and the Rag controlled these cans with total control and made sure the HE400s remained transparent and natural sounding.
     I also connected the HE400s to my Asgard 2 and the Lyr 2 and these cans were easily driven by these two amps.   The lyr 2 with the LISST really make he HE400s sing like amuse of fire.  I was surprised how well the LISST sounded through the lyr 2  The bass has good impact, wthout impacting upon the mids.  The mids are sweet without becoming to lush.  And thus the HE400s, through the LISST tubes sound very transparent and not to warm.   The highs, through the LISST tubes sounds just right, not to bright or analytical.   I feel the LISST tubes , through the Lyr 2 sound better than through the MJ2.
     The Asgard 2 easily drives the HE400s and these cans  sounds very nice, especially when connected to GMB or the Yggy.  Both of these dacs  ad texture, detail and transparency to the overall sound signature of the HE400s.   I highly recommend the HE400s for those who are a budget and want to hear a Orthodynamic headphone. I have listened both the HE-400i and the HE400s, and I feel the HE-400i has a nice v shape sound to it that can be very enjoyable.  I really liked the chromed He-400i but I feel the HE400s is better, because the sound signature is far more balanced and transparent to my humble ears.

The Schist Audio Ragnarok is a powerful, versatile amp.   When I recieved  the Rag, in late November of 2014, I was impressed by its large neo-spartan industrial design.   it seems every aspect of the Rag is functional, not much fluff about it.  On the Rag's brushed aluminum front plate are two buttons, one volume knob, eight small indicator lights; as well as a XLR balanced and 1/4 single ended headphone outputs  One button controls the five inputs: two balanced, three single. The second button controls the gain setting.  The back of the Rag is the same type of design.   I appreciate the large beefy design of  this amp, although I feel it runs warm and I made small table for it, so its heat would not bake any gadget.    
 
  
Now that I have briefly described  the physical attributes of the rag, I can get on to what really matters, how does this large beast of a solid state amp sound?    The Ragnarok is very powerful, yet the sound signature  is very natural, revealing and transparent.   For instance, when jamming out to Frank Zappa's  " Make Jazz Noise Here", the instruments sound natural, and transparent, no hint of colorization, a guitar sounds like a guitar, a bassoon sounds like a bassoon.   On my Pioneer receiver, the instruments would sound artificial or analytical; the Rag never sounds artificial, just revealingly neutral/ natural sound.   
The bass on the Rag is powerful,  yet tight and controlled, it does not bleed into the mids.   I have listened to rock, Jazz, blues, classical and rap and the bass has always been spot on perfect.  For example, Led Zeppelin's "Bron-Y-Aur-Stomp' the bass is so good, but does not leak into rest of the sound.  
The mids on the Rag are smooth and lush, yet ever so detailed.    Vocals and instruments sound  ever so smooth but the subtle details in the music is not lost. Yet to my ears the mids  are ever so musical,  and  even with the revealing detail, the mids never sound dry or analytical.   Likewise the treble on the Rag is  natural and revealing , no sign of undo brightness or sibilance.  Kate Bush sounds perfect, nothing fatiguing abut her voice.  Likewise the treble in certain instruments sounds perfect to my ears, no indication of undo brightness. The soundstage is large and holographic, and this is do, the Rags great, powerful bass, lush, detailed mids, and non fatiguing highs.
the Ragnarok sounded  best using the XLR balanced output.   Headphones, that use a balanced connection benefit from the total power of the Rag.   I have driven the following headphones, through the Rag: Audio-Technica ATH-m50x,   Beyerdynamic  DT 880 600 OHM, OPPO PM-3, MrSpeaker's Alpha Primes, MrSpeaker's Ether,  HIfiman HE1000 , and AKG K7XX.
The ATH-m50x sounded very nice, through the Rag, on gain setting one or two.   The m50x were my first headphones and seemed to like the power and control of the rag.   The DT 880 sounded alright,  but to my ears the DT 880 sounded better on my Lyr 2.   The AKG K7XX sounded very nice through the Rag, especially on power gain setting 3.    The OPPO PM-3's sounded incredible through the rag on gain setting 1 or 2.   The Alpha Primes are greedy for power, and sound great through the rag on gain setting 3.   Likewise my Ethers like the power of the Rag, mostly on gain setting 2, though, I do use gain setting 3.   Finally the HE1K's love the power and control of the Rag.  I mostly listened to the HE1K on gain setting 3.  
I did try out a pair of cheap IEM's and background was nice and black.   But I admit I disliked the ear buds/ IEm's so much, I turned the Rag to power gain setting 3 and turned up the volume and fried the suckers lol. I have never used the rag, to listen to speakers.  
 I feel the Ragnarok is a very versatile amp that can run most types of headphones.  The rag is a powerful extremely transparent amp,  allows the music to sound so great without any colorization of the sound.  The Rag does run a bit warm and is best put in a good ventilated place.   In winter, beware ones cats might like to sleep onto of the warm Rag.   I highly recommend the Ragnarok to anyone who is looking for a top tier product, that gives you lots of bang for your money.

MrSpeakers new open back headphones, the ETHER is fantastic headphone. Dan has created a work of art, that combines artistic beauty, with a superb sounding set of cans. I love wearing these sexy cans everywhere and have worn them to the grocery and the mall, and I did not feel like a escaped nerd, from a sci-fi convention. Plus these cans are so comfortable to wear, yea forget you are wearing them, and get lost in the music. The comfort comes from the the headband, created by Dan. The headband works so well, no hot spot upon my head, and no uncomfortable clamping at all, just pure comfort. Furthermore the headphone is solidly built, nothing flimsy about them. The space age plastic i used on the ETHER is top quality. Furthermore the ear pads are so soft and comfortable, yet they are very breathable. I wear them next to my main rig ( a Yggdrasil/ Ragnarock) and my ears rarely sweat like they do with my other headphones, such as the HE1K and MrSpeakers Alpha Primes.

Once you have put these puppies on, the listener will be floored by the vividly detailed and textured sound signature that is ever so musical to hear. The bass, the mids and treble are spot on perfect.
The bass has that planar impact, yet the bass is tight and controlled, no bloat. The bass in Frank Zappa's album " One Size Fits All" is deep, and detailed, especially in the song San'Ber'dino. I have never heard the bass sound so good on San'Ber'dino. Likewise the ETHER's tight detailed bass made Led Zepplin's Bron Y Aur Stomp come alive, never heard it sound so well.

The mids on the ETHER are just brilliant, so smooth, so textured and deataied, yes so musical, not dry or analytical sounding. The mids on such albums Flood by They Might be Giants; Nights in White Satin by The Moody Blues and Time Out by Dave Brubeck sound so detailed and smooth as well as very musical. To my ears the treble is perfect, its detailed and revealing, yet its not bright or sybilant. Such albums as Nightmare Before Christmas and Henry V just sound great no sybilance or undo brightness.

The soundstage on the Ether is nice and large as well as very holographic. The detailed bass, mids and treble created a very holographic soundstage, that has very detailed imagery. The imagery of the holographic soundstage allows one to precisely place instruments or vocals with the soundstage. Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon sounds so three-dimensional, I was floored by this effect. The three-dimensional, holographic sound stage allowed Classical albums by Mozart, Beetoven, Holst and Wagner to sound great.

The great sounding bass, mids, treble and soundstage allow for the overall sound signature, on the Ether to be so musical and intoxicating. Vocals by Kate Bush, Zappa, David Bowie, and Sting sound so natural and musical, that I am slowly relistening to my audio library. I get into the music so much I forget about the time. The Ether sounds great with all types of music from rock to the blues to jazz and classical, as well as edm.

The Ether headphone scales nicely with other amps. I have used the ETHER my yggy and rag and its sounds devine. However I have used the ETHER's with my Lyr2, Asgard 2 and my e12. The ETHER'S sound bloody great through the lyr2 and my Telefunken E88CC platinum tubes. This combo is just great, very intoxicating. The Asgard 2 drives the ETHER'S pretty well, not as detailed as the lyr2. And finally I was surprised how well the Fiio e12 drove the ETHER, when I was at the mall. The sound signature was very musical through the e12, though not as textured or detailed. When compared to my desktops amps.

The ETHER comes with a great traveling case, that fits nicely in my leather travel bag. I feel the ETHER can be used for semi portable use. They are not bulky and they do not get sweaty like other headphones The Dum Cable is a bit stiff, but that is no big problem. I feel the DUM cable sounds much better than the stock cable.

I used the following equipment for this review
OPPO BDP-103,
Schiit Audio's Yggdrasil
Ragnarock
Lyr 2 with Telefunken E88CC platinum tubes.
Asgard 2
Fiio E 12.
P.s. The Ether might be expensive but its well worth it, these cans are rock solid, sound great and are very comfortable. I have never had headphones as musical sounding as these cans.
Andrew Reddog Jones.

PACKAGING and Build:
The HE-400I shipped in a very nice box, with black foam insert, that holds these amazing cans in place. Also in the box was the cord and 1/4th adaptor. The did not like the cord it was stiff, a tad short, and the adaptors were a bit awkward, for my numb hands, to attach to the headphones. Once I got the cans out of the foam insert I was amazed at elegant they look and feel. 880 found these headphones to be neo-spartan, exquisitely functional, yet elegantly beautiful. The crew at HIFIMAN, using high qualities plastic resin, leather, metal and chrome have created a headphone that is light and very comfortable to wear. Although I did find the stock pads to be a touch warm, to my ears. I would sometimes puts these cans on and forget I was wearing g them, just getting lost in the the music.
SOUND:
BASS:
The bass on these headphones, was the best I have heard so far. I found the bass to be full and textured, the sub bass seemed deep and impactful. I really like the way the bass sounded playing rock like Led Zepplin or Frank Zappa. On a ranking of 1 to 10, I would give these cans a 8.
TREBLE:
The treble on the HE-400i's is very nice, after listening to these cans, I now found my Alpha dogs a touch sibilant.
SOUNDSTAGE:
I found the soundstage to be intimate. The vocals seem to right in front of you, and the instrument seemed closet together than I though a open backed set of cans. Most musical genres sounded fantastic with this sound intimate, slightly forward soundstage. However I found the instruments in classical music seemed a tad congested at times.
SUMMARY:
The folk at HIFIMAN have rally created a great headphone for the money. These cans look great, are so light and comfortable wear. And most importantly these headphones sound great. They play most musical genres well,. Vocals, either female or male, sound great, very crisp and clear.
EQUIPMENT USED:
Kenwood Multiple compact player into a pioneer Reciever, from the Reciever to my Schiit Audio Lyr 2 powered with Gold Lions.
Music used for the review:
Frank Zappa's one size fit all.
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.
Chesky's Ultimate Demonstration Disc.
Tomita Planets.
Mozart's Oboe Concerto.
Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas.
Led Zepplin's Bron-Y-Aur Stomp and Kashmir.
Henry the V.
Green Jelly Cereal Killer.
Negativeland Pepsi.
Talking Heads Stop Making Sence.
Eric Clapton Crossroads.
Dave Bruebeck.
Charles Mingus.
Thelonious Monk
The Residents The Tunes of Two Cities.