I did find a bit more comfort last night by dropping the cups lower on my head. I thought the opposite would be true, with hiking the cups up my head providing less pressure on the headband because the cups would grip my ears better. But these still are far from plush.
As for the headband density, I hope it softens over time. Itās quite firm out of the box. And if this hotspot continues, Iām not going to keep these long enough to see if the fire atop my skull is extinguished.
A shame, as I liked the sound of these out of the box, and its sonic qualities grow even more on me by the day.
Maybe Iāll return these and get the old-school HE-400i with the suspension headband. I know the seās use double-sided magnets, while the iās only use single-sided. But from my research, the only difference between the lauded 2020 iās and the previous iās is the new, Deva-style headband, which clearly doesnāt agree with my dome! Otherwise, the drivers and magnets are the same in the two versions of the i. My Meze 99 Classics have a suspension headband, and itās as comfortable as a cloud filled with singing angels.
I hope the seās fit and sound great to you. They are a fantastic piece of kit for $150.
i have the 400i 2020 and i can totally confirm your handband issues eventhough iām not bald (yet). they sound so nice to me that itās not a deal breaker though. what helped me was to press down the headband onto my head to force it to adapt more to my headshape. the foam just seems to be a bit stiff to do it on its own.
Thanks for the tip. I also may try the Dekoni Nugget route. That seems to be a good possible solution for $25.
It would really bother me if I had to return these cans due to a concrete headband. The sound is sublime, borderline unreal for $150. I would get pissed every time I saw a pic of the 400se or a thread about it on a headphone forum if I had to return them.
As an aside, the HiFiMan HE-400se and Sennheiser HD 560s both have unique strengths and weaknesses. But the biggest deciding factor for me right now between the two is control.
The Senns can collapse into a little bit of a wall of sound with some complex or aggressive sequences of music, while everything stays in its right place with whatever you throw at the HE-400se. This isnāt a revelation, as I think someone in here posted that as the difference (Sorry ā I visit and post in so many headphone forums I canāt keep track :)).
Maybe thatās the difference between planar and dynamic, as this is my first planar. But Iāve never heard headphones with control like this. The sound never turns to mush or gargle.
yea. if theyād just leave out a space on the headband padding like the HD 560s i think it would be perfect.
i had the same issue with the HD 560s. iām new to this and i found that itās pretty hard to find a good tuning that doesnāt omit anything drastically but also doesnāt fatigue you. like finding just the right amount of intensity and smoothness combined.
did anybody have a chance to compare the HE400i 2020 and the HE400 SE side by side?
i really love the HE400i but reading up on the HE400 SE they might have ābetterā mids. the mids on HE400i are nice and smooth but i wonder, if the SE will have more detail there.
my music taste is very varied so i need something that works with metal, jazz, classic, pop and pretty much everything else. i found the 400i do this perfectly. only thing is that with metal and other intense guitar music i need to turn up a little to get the guitars to have enough impact. same with vocals on more mellow music sometimes. this is a non issue since they are smooth as hell and not fatiguing. i just wonder, if the SE might do this slightly better at all volumes due to being flatter.
what i read was on the 400s compared to 400i though. does this apply to the SE or is the S something totally different? i also read that these are closer to the DEVA.
i can get the 400SE for 30 Euros less. which adds to the temptation. i just want an opinion before i audition yet another pairā¦this literally never ends lol
I havenāt heard the 2020 400i but if itās even close to the 400i before that, the difference is massive. The se is so much better in literally every way. If you didnāt tell me how much the se cost, I would believe you if you told me it cost $500.
well only one way to find out. i ordered it too so i can go A/B . at least i know that, if i donāt like it, i found what i want with the 400i. this will be mind blowing, if itās even better than the 400i 2020 and even cheaper. hearing them will be the only way to really find out.
wondering though. do you have the āinternationalā or the āchineseā version?
thatās great to hear because otherwise iād probably dream about that amazing HP from china that i never tested lol
i went through 7 pairs already. almost thereā¦
For reference this guy had the only comparison I could find at the time between these and the 400is,
found another on some german forum I had to google translate, said the same thing basicallyā¦
Iām still the most curious about what Josh Valour says cause he liked the 400i and hated the 5xxā¦
Same as my reaction after hearing HE4XX and HE400i 2020 for the first time after many years of dynamic headphones. I just ordered my Sundara. Thereās no way back now haha.
HiFiMAN are the future of open-back headphones. Itās pretty much inevitable at this point. The way they layer sounds is rather phenomenal and unseen in this price range.
Itās nuts. I enjoy the 400se so much that Iām thinking of selling my Meze 99 Classics and Sennheiser HD 560s and using the money to buy a JDS Labs Atom stack.
If I do that, then every piece of audio equipment I own will be āChi-fiā ā HiFiMan HE-400se, Moondrop Starfield, TempoTec Sonata HD Pro and Micca PB42 powered desktop speakers.
Itās really incredible what the Chinese factories are churning out for such low prices. Yeah, thereās some real crap coming from there, too, but the gems are growing in quantity and provide unreal value.
Hate to be that guy but the he400se kinda stomps the sundaras at less than half the price. In the hifiman line Iād put the he400se slightly above the anandas. Sundaras are probably a little more comfortable but thatās about it. Iāve never been so pleased by a sub $200 headphone in my life.
@Pokrog Why do you think the HE400se are better than the Sundara? If you mean that theyāre a better deal then I know, I can assume they are lol. I got my HE400i 2020 new for 150 usd and it was such a fking badass headphone! Shame the left driver failed so I had to return them.
I have a 30 days return window for the Sundaras so if they disappoint me itās fine. If they prove to be 10% better than the HE4-- series to me then Iāll be satisficed, even by paying double price.
@pk500 haha sell the Meze 99 and get another HiFiMAN! I personally sold mine after 2 weeks, they were so bad for the price.
Well, I donāt think the 99 Classics are bad. But theyāre not everyoneās cup of beer. I enjoy them when I just want a bassy, fun, rich headphone thatās nowhere near clinical.
Problem is, I see my desire for that sound signature dwindling since Iām enjoying the 400se so much.
If the difference in comfort is enough that Iāve been able to wear my Sundaras all day five days a week for the past month or two Iāll take the difference between the two (got them for $280), though Iām still probably going to pick up a set of these to try because why not for $150ā¦
. at least i know that, if i donāt like it, i found what i want with the 400i. this will be mind blowing, if itās even better than the 400i 2020 and even cheaper. hearing them will be the only way to really find out.