Right now they are on sale for 179.00 on amazon which seems like a steal for a set of planars. But are they worth that cost what with all the horror stories I have heard in terms of poor durability and QC that Hifiman seems to have?
They have fixed the headband crack issues, and tbh it’s not that bad anymore. I would go for it if you wanted them. If you still have concerns with the headband, the massdrop he4xx has the older hifiman headband
In your opinion at what point does the price of the He400i go from a good deal to an amazing deal? And is there another set of can in that range That i might be missing?
For planar without tapping into the used market, not really. The 400i and 4xx are great, and honestly a great entry into planar. I would say that they have pretty much met their lowest price, and going lower then that is a steal (if you can find any lower).
I just worry as i am allergic to money, as I have dropped quite a lot on up grating most of my electronic set up last month.
What amp would you use these with again?
right now I have the SD 793 II but later in the year I am going to pick up a JDS atom.
You should be fine then if you plan on getting an atom later on. But yeah, regarding the price, I don’t think you are going to get much lower for a new 400i with warranty and fixed headband design
A bit off topic, but u have to know. where did you get that image for your icon?
A screenshot… Why do you ask?
I’m sure I recognize it from somewhere but its hard to tell what with how small the image is and I just can’t put my finger on it.
Koneko from High School DXD
You should be able to click on someones name to pull up their profile card and it will enlarge the image
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true, but even still the image only has like a one inch diameter and its a tad fuzzy.
how do the 400i’s differ from the 400s? from what I could find, the s are warmer while the i’s are cooler and more neutral?
I also think the i has better timbre and a more enjoyable sound signature
if you’ve listened to the 4xx, any thoughts between those two?
also, by timbre…does that translate as warmth?
Timbre is tone, and in my mind a good timbre is something that actually sounds correct to real sounds. It like how if you listen to an electrostatic most of the time it sounds artificial and not true to how that instrument would sound
Wikipedia defines it as “the character or quality of a musical sound or voice as distinct from its pitch and intensity” and it’s pretty much like tone/tonality
Between the 400i and the 4xx or the 400s?
well, you just said the i has better timbre than the s…and by non-comment on warmth and coolness, you agree with that as well.
so now I’m curious about the i vs the xx.
The i and the xx are virtually identical sound wise to my ears, with the 400i perhaps having slightly more bass, but that could just be seal. Just go with the headband design you think will be more comfortable. The 4xx also uses 3.5mm connectors where the 400i uses 2.5mm if that makes a difference