[Nautrachkfriend]

So after a couple days of having the 400i's I decided to take off the stock pads and replace them with my spare leather angled Audeze pads. It was a bit of struggle to get the ring and pads to go on evenly but after a good 30 minutes of patience/trial and error I managed to get them to work, even though the fit isn't quite perfect. But nonetheless after changing the pads I immediately noticed that the treble seems to have a larger presence in the grand scheme of the sound, and the bass is a little bit more powerful, especially the sub bass. I am thinking about ordering the Brainwavz pads to see how they work out on the 400i's vs the Audeze pads, I'm quite excited!

 

[Aliceinbassland]

My impressions of the HE-400i:​

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These headphones sound clean!!! When comparing the 400i’s to the dynamic cans I own; I’ve heard similar sounding mids & lows from both the HD600 & DT770... And my HD560’s have had excellent separation & accurate vocals… But I’ve never heard all those good sound qualities at once. The 400i combines all the good qualities of my previous dynamics & makes them sound even better. The highs however are just on a different level then what I’m used to. They are detailed but not fatiguing… not bright, but not really veiled at all either. Just clean.​

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The 400i’s have good bass un EQ’d. But with my C5’s bass boost turned on… holy balls it’s perfect. Their not straight bass canons or anything but they are very well presented… ​

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These headphones are personally awesome for synthpop & post punk. New Order’s “substance” album has never sounded better. Depeche Mode sounds excellent throughout all era’s. ​

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The comfort is also great for me. They feel more comfortable then my DT770’s. They feel on par if not better than my 600’s & 560’s. ​

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The depth, imaging & separation are also very good. ​

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I could go on but I think you get the point. I like them. ​

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Razordog is an awesome seller as well. Highly recommend him!​

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[Aliceinbassland]

My only complaint is the driver housings are fingerprint magnets. Well that & the driver hinges are tight, making the driver housings slightly stiff when they swivel... which is way better than the driver housings being loose & flopping about like my 560’s do. ​

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Here is the new 2.5” connectors:​

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Interesting pads:
 

 
Right angle plug is kinda strange:
 

 

X5 + C5 + HE400i = Ear Heroin​

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[Headphone4Life]

I hope that I get the new 2.5mm connections. Mine are now coming from Hong Kong because the US ran out and I'm guessing they're the newer version.

 

[Aliceinbassland]

  I hope that I get the new 2.5mm connections. Mine are now coming from Hong Kong because the US ran out and I'm guessing they're the newer version.

Either way they should sound great!

 

[Headphone4Life]

  Either way they should sound great!

 
True, but the screw on connection really does suck. On my HE-400 the right side connection failed after a few months of very careful use. The after market cable hasn't but if you use them a lot you have to tighten them up every so often because they get loose after awhile.

 

[beaver316]

   
True, but the screw on connection really does suck. On my HE-400 the right side connection failed after a few months of very careful use. The after market cable hasn't but if you use them a lot you have to tighten them up every so often because they get loose after awhile.

 
I know the HE-400i, and all previous HiFiman cans get a bad rep for their screw on cables, but I have never had a problem not once with both the HE-400 and the HE-400i in the 3+ years of owning both of them. The key is to pre-twist the cable before screwing it, so when it is finally screwed on there is no tension at all. It's this tension which can cause them to loosen up over time, so try make sure there is no tension by using the pre-twist technique. And make sure to screw tightly as well.
 
I did this with both my cans on day one, and haven't even thought about it since.

 

[lowmagnet]

   
I know the HE-400i, and all previous HiFiman cans get a bad rep for their screw on cables, but I have never had a problem not once with both the HE-400 and the HE-400i in the 3+ years of owning both of them. The key is to pre-twist the cable before screwing it, so when it is finally screwed on there is no tension at all. It's this tension which can cause them to loosen up over time, so try make sure there is no tension by using the pre-twist technique. And make sure to screw tightly as well.
 
I did this with both my cans on day one, and haven't even thought about it since.

Since the newer HE-400i adopt the 2.5mm jack from the HE-400S and I was pleasantly surprised on receiving mine that I didn't have to go through the same troubles everyone else had.

 

[aami2techie]

so all in all, other than the build materials used different, the real difference between 400i and 400s is just marginal difference in the sound, which accourding to many, can be compensated with Brainwavz pads on 400s, am i right here? or are there more differences in sound quality?

 

[coletrain104]

  so all in all, other than the build materials used different, the real difference between 400i and 400s is just marginal difference in the sound, which accourding to many, can be compensated with Brainwavz pads on 400s, am i right here? or are there more differences in sound quality?

Haven't heard the 400S with the Brainwavz pads, but to my ears the 400i are pretty much the 400S with cleaner bass, better extension, less rough treble, and cleaner but maybe slightly less pronounced mids. Overall, it just seemed like the 400i is similar but better across the whole spectrum. I kinda doubt a pad change can compensate for that, but I'd love for anyone with experience with this to comment. I'm curious what the S sounds like with Focuspads.

 

[mysticstryk]

  so all in all, other than the build materials used different, the real difference between 400i and 400s is just marginal difference in the sound, which accourding to many, can be compensated with Brainwavz pads on 400s, am i right here? or are there more differences in sound quality?

 
 

  Haven't heard the 400S with the Brainwavz pads, but to my ears the 400i are pretty much the 400S with cleaner bass, better extension, less rough treble, and cleaner but maybe slightly less pronounced mids. Overall, it just seemed like the 400i is similar but better across the whole spectrum. I kinda doubt a pad change can compensate for that, but I'd love for anyone with experience with this to comment. I'm curious what the S sounds like with Focuspads.

 
Some people in the 400s thread put on Focuspads (not brainwavz).  According to some, it tightens up the bass and extends it a bit.

 

[aami2techie]

  Haven't heard the 400S with the Brainwavz pads, but to my ears the 400i are pretty much the 400S with cleaner bass, better extension, less rough treble, and cleaner but maybe slightly less pronounced mids. Overall, it just seemed like the 400i is similar but better across the whole spectrum. I kinda doubt a pad change can compensate for that, but I'd love for anyone with experience with this to comment. I'm curious what the S sounds like with Focuspads.

ok thanks for sharing. 
 
but im really curious as to how 2 cans with literally same specs and same drivers, and same size with one more sensitive and thats about it, can be different. its really weird.
 
i really thought that the difference in cost would be for the quality of material as one is all metal and one has lots of plastic.
also one more thing, NOBODY would sell at loss, the recent black friday sale for 300 was so great. but i think, this should be the real price of 400i from now onwards. 
 
audiophile segment is not so vast. the main reason for that is the prices of these products. like myself many many people would be interested in these great phones, but when it comes to price, its too damn high for most of these. the price premium is so high it just makes people just contend on lesser products 
 
i wish these companies start considering this price factor as well, which i highly doubt they would. 
 
im from Pakistan. u people might even have very negative ideas about my countries, but here im 100% interested in these products. im student, its hard to save cash for these products. 
 
hope someone from hifiman or some other big company person reads this and considers lowering their prices. im sure they could double or even triple their sale by decreasing prices.

 

[Aliceinbassland]

  hope someone from hifiman or some other big company person reads this and considers lowering their prices.

I doubt that's going to happen lol.

 

[Aliceinbassland]

  ok thanks for sharing. 
 
but im really curious as to how 2 cans with literally same specs and same drivers, and same size with one more sensitive and thats about it, can be different. its really weird.

Where did you hear that the drivers were the same?

 

[bavinck]

Where did you hear that the drivers were the same?

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the drivers are not the same.