šŸ”¶ Hifiman HE4XX

Headphones [Official] Open Back
104

This is all good and fine for someone who has the budget and experience, but keep in mind that a decent amount of people joining this forum are budget oriented and really arenā€™t looking to spend around 500 or less on a headphone setup just yet.

I know some people who definitely prefer the 600 to the 4xx, and vice versa, its largely preference and use case. Comparing to the 4xx, the 600 is an upgrade in mid-range timbre, detail, and refinement/coherency, but a downgrade in soundstage, bass and treble extension, and speed. You have to figure out your preference before you choose. The 500 is a more direct upgrade to the 4xx

The 4xx is a great entry point and I think itā€™s pretty worthwhile buying to try things out and go from there as you say. I just really canā€™t nitpick at the 130 new or even lower you can find used tbh

105

Iā€™ve done real well with 2, good with 2.

Being a transducer makes it a bit chancier. Iā€™ve always had great luck with amps, step-ups, and other such things - and still havenā€™t got a box of bricks.

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106

Hold on. So some/most have confined budgets. I know I do.

We should sit still while people buy stuff and try it out - fine

But we shouldnā€™t criticize/review from a deeper point of experience? Well, how else to turn some of these folks into zombies that will hide purchases from spouses and get a new can rather than eat? Good god manā€¦

Seriously comparing the 4XX to the 600 is very instructional. If you like classical and well recorded music, then the 600 is the likely choice. If you like rock, then tthe 4XX is likely the choice. But it could be buy both. They certainly cover a vast amount of music together, more than either apart. If one really does get into the hobby, than buying a tube amp such as the BH Crack paired with the HD-600 produces bass that the 4XX paired with my Ragnarok 1 canā€™t touch in speed, timbre, density, impact. In fact if I had $700 only to spend on amp and cans, it would be used BH Crack and HD-600.

I think itā€™s important for folks that might go beyond one $130 headphone purchase to know there is more, and the broad and specific outlines of some of it.

I donā€™t know the full market at $130, but I know the planar market better, and yes with that limit I know of no other planar worth having over it. However I disagree with you on treble extension of 4XX vs 600. They both peter out about the same musically, but the 4XX rings a lot and gives the sense of more air. I donā€™t like either treble that much - but they both support the mids, and the transition is better than most cans.

107

Iā€™m not saying it doesnā€™t deserve to be reviewed and nitpicked, just that typically a decent amount people that would be buying this headphone would not be able to pick up on these aspects or perhaps may not even care lol. The best way to understand is to get experience and thatā€™s not something you can really deliver without hearing it for yourself.

Most people donā€™t pick up on this though, and still end up preferring the 4xx. Thatā€™s just what I see, not how I personally feel. I personally would take the 600 over the 4xx but it would really depend on the amp and what music. The 600 shines with acoustic but kinda falls off even with a great amp for modern music (being pop, rap r&b, etc) for a decent amount of people. Also the 4xx does have more treble extension if the music you actually listen to has that extension. I think the 600 does treble better, but the 4xx does have more extension

Also the amp is a big one, the 600 can be unpleasant for some on entry level solid states. You can get a decent tube amp for around like 200 and that will improve for sure, but it really depends on preference

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This is really what Iā€™m trying to doā€¦ I dont want to spend big money right away and potentially not understand how itā€™s better/different and whyā€¦ used items letting me down is a factor but so is exploring the hobby from the ground up

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109

HD-600 goes back about 15 years. The HE-4*/MD-4* go back about 11 years. Pretty sure MD-600 total sales dwarf 4** sales. If we want to add alt versions like the 650/6**, then itā€™s a landslide.

4XX sounds about 97% the same on a Fiio X-3 as on a Rag 1, is that a good thing?

HD-600 can make cheap SS sound like cheap SS. Early rev cheap Schiitā€™s are great examples. Is that bad?

HD-600 not great for EDA, death metal, etc. 4XX not great for acoustic anything, chamber music, chamber jazz, Chesky, Sheffield, heck even - Cherry Red and 4AD.

I like them for the purity, when I really want to hear what a piano sounds like, I plug them in. Give my massive collection of HFM cans its sad none can top the HD-600 for piano top to bottom - not even the HEK v2 can do that.

110

Would the 4XX be an overall superior headphone to the HD599 or simply a different experience? In other words, is it an upgrade or a ā€œsidegradeā€

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I think it would be an upgrade, but also not a direct one, itā€™s got a pretty different signature compared to the 599

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112

First off in terms of bass are you just trying to boost only bass or are you trying to just make overall sound more bassy and warm?

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It would be an upgrade in terms of technicalities for sure. Now, the sound signature is quite different, so are the power requirements and overall confort (I really like the 599 for confort, itā€™s second only to HD800s for me).
They take EQ really well, and I mean REALLY well. So they can get a deep bass rumble should you want them to, or get warmer tilt with some mid bass gain. But mainly, a direct upgrade would be the HD6XX (even though I personally prefer the 4XX over it).

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114

I think a more direct upgrade would be a sundara or a he500

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115

In my experience, the hifimanā€™s lack that warmth I associate with the 5** series from Sennheiser.

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IMO the HD600 is the best of all the Senn 5** and 6** cans. The 6XX and 660 make fairly decent claims otherwise.

vs the 4XX its sort of a good pinot noir vs a Ballantine Ale.

Iā€™d say that over the last 20 years, the type of listener that wants accuracy over anything was higher than it is now - which is why buyers are trending more towards ā€œfunā€ ā€œheavy bassā€, etcā€¦

As for comparisons (MY OPINION), the Sundara is better than any 4**, and its cheapish new, and cheaper used. The 500 with no mods is better, its different than the Sundara, and maybe arguable. Modified properly it crushes the 4** and Sundara, but its not a spring chicken anyone, last made in late '14 or very early '15, so used only. The 560 with no mods is better than both, and a v1 is arguably better than a stock 500, but not better than a modded 500.

The HD-600 is certainly more accurate from 100k - 3000k than any of them, its not as ā€œfunā€, The highs lack sparkly BUT support with nearly perfect overtones - the mids. The bass is superior on some tubes and reticent in impact, and reach on SS, but they are fast, nimble, and tonally true.

BTW, in terms of tonal accuracy, the 600 is better than the HD-700, HD-800, HD-800S - forget sound stage, imaging, detail retrieval - just the pure sound of something tough like piano.

So kegger vs pinot in crystalā€¦

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117

If only Sennheiser would capture the 600 sound in a flagship with the technicality of the 800s lol

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They have been working on it, 820, not quite, rumors of a 900 in the works. It took me a good 2 years before I really woke up to how great they are.

119

820 was kind of a let down to me, there were some issues in the bass and also that price, itā€™s definitely not worth it over the regular 800s

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120

Are these seriously wide or is it just me? (I donā€™t have much to compare it to)

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121

Yeah very wide, the 800s and 820 are known for their very impressive soundstage and imaging (although they do exaggerate it a bit and also are not the most natural at creating a space as other headphones imo)

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122

Oh my bad I meant the 4xx

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123

The 4xx is pretty dang wide an open, pretty nice for the price :+1:

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