Tonality:
Tonally, the HE-400's character can be described as balanced, but "unique". Although it may sound contradictory at first, it is a headphone that sounds bright and dark at the same time.
However, before analysing this matter more closely, it is more helpful to describe the tonal tuning of the headphones, from which this impression can be easily derived.
The bass of the HE-400 is just great - only very mildly, broadly raised and therefore flat and still mostly neutral, it stays perfectly away from the midrange and doesn't thicken it. The special feature of the HE-400 is, however, that its bass can be constantly maintained right down into the sub bass and, unlike almost any open headphones with dynamic drivers at a comparable price, there is no roll-off even in the lowest sub bass. That's why the HiFiman can build up quite a bit of pressure even in the lowest registers, even though its bass is only mildly accentuated (almost every dynamic headphone is more strongly accentuated in the bass - only the AKG K701 passes through as comparably neutral and flat in the bass, but has a moderate, typical sub-bass roll-off).
The HE-400's upper treble and starting super treble is more strongly emphasised and can definitely be described as quite bright and apparent, and for some listeners it can even be sharp and a bit too present. Cymbals thus receive energy, clarity and crunch in the reproduction of the recording.
However, I would definitely not call the HE-400 sibilant since its treble accentuation is a bit too high for that, but the upper treble/starting super treble is nevertheless unmistakably bright - so puzzle piece number one has been found and we know what makes the HiFiman sound bright.
The central midrange of the HE-400 has a small boost, so voices never lose their presence in the mix or appear recessed.
Puzzle piece number two, which also represents the last piece of the puzzle (yes, the mysterious puzzle of the HE-400 headphones, which sound both bright and dark, is actually a very simple children's puzzle) and explains what gives the headphones their dark sound at the same time as being bright, can be found in the upper midrange, lower trbele and middle treble. These three sections are somewhat set back, which is why especially higher voices, mainly female voices, appear relaxed and dark due to the defused overtones.
Puzzles solved.
- - -
The HE-400 is definitely not an artificially tuned headphone, but it doesn't have a 100% natural tonality with its slightly raised central midrange, the lower and middle treble recession, and the bright upper treble. Instruments don't sound estranged but rather natural and harmonious in their timbre, but the midrange doesn't seem completely coherent to my ears.
To be honest, the spark in my case never wanted to jump over completely, at least not in the sense of considering the HE-400 as an all-rounder and everyday headphone. Instead, it is a specialist for electronic music and in between for less serious music consumption, at least for me.
Resolution:
The detail resolution, especially the bass range, is perhaps its most outstanding positive feature. The HE-400's bass is very fast, tight, clean and precise, which is quite typical of orthodynamic headphones - the dynamic driver competition can't really keep up and lose in terms of bass quality.
If I compare my HE-400 with my LCD-X, both are practically identically fast and controlled in bass. The HE-400, however, sounds tighter, more refined compared to the softer, but more textured and visceral Audeze bass.
The HiFiman also has no resolution weakness in the mid and high frequencies, but is a bit too "hard" and, even if it may be the wrong expression, plays rough. Even if dynamic driver headphones at comparable prices can't keep the overall control of the HiFiman with fast and complex music material, they still sound somewhat more realistic in the high and mid frequencies, even if they have some colouration. And if it comes to small, subtle details, the LCD-X takes it to a different, higher level as well.
All this is not meant to be a devaluation of the HE-400, quite the opposite is the case. Technically, it is an excellent headphone, especially due to its very fast, tight and immensely controlled low frequencies. "More" (resolution) is still possible, but you have to spend quite a lot more money to obtain that.
Tonally, the HE-400's character can be described as balanced, but "unique". Although it may sound contradictory at first, it is a headphone that sounds bright and dark at the same time.
However, before analysing this matter more closely, it is more helpful to describe the tonal tuning of the headphones, from which this impression can be easily derived.
The bass of the HE-400 is just great - only very mildly, broadly raised and therefore flat and still mostly neutral, it stays perfectly away from the midrange and doesn't thicken it. The special feature of the HE-400 is, however, that its bass can be constantly maintained right down into the sub bass and, unlike almost any open headphones with dynamic drivers at a comparable price, there is no roll-off even in the lowest sub bass. That's why the HiFiman can build up quite a bit of pressure even in the lowest registers, even though its bass is only mildly accentuated (almost every dynamic headphone is more strongly accentuated in the bass - only the AKG K701 passes through as comparably neutral and flat in the bass, but has a moderate, typical sub-bass roll-off).
The HE-400's upper treble and starting super treble is more strongly emphasised and can definitely be described as quite bright and apparent, and for some listeners it can even be sharp and a bit too present. Cymbals thus receive energy, clarity and crunch in the reproduction of the recording.
However, I would definitely not call the HE-400 sibilant since its treble accentuation is a bit too high for that, but the upper treble/starting super treble is nevertheless unmistakably bright - so puzzle piece number one has been found and we know what makes the HiFiman sound bright.
The central midrange of the HE-400 has a small boost, so voices never lose their presence in the mix or appear recessed.
Puzzle piece number two, which also represents the last piece of the puzzle (yes, the mysterious puzzle of the HE-400 headphones, which sound both bright and dark, is actually a very simple children's puzzle) and explains what gives the headphones their dark sound at the same time as being bright, can be found in the upper midrange, lower trbele and middle treble. These three sections are somewhat set back, which is why especially higher voices, mainly female voices, appear relaxed and dark due to the defused overtones.
Puzzles solved.
- - -
The HE-400 is definitely not an artificially tuned headphone, but it doesn't have a 100% natural tonality with its slightly raised central midrange, the lower and middle treble recession, and the bright upper treble. Instruments don't sound estranged but rather natural and harmonious in their timbre, but the midrange doesn't seem completely coherent to my ears.
To be honest, the spark in my case never wanted to jump over completely, at least not in the sense of considering the HE-400 as an all-rounder and everyday headphone. Instead, it is a specialist for electronic music and in between for less serious music consumption, at least for me.
Resolution:
The detail resolution, especially the bass range, is perhaps its most outstanding positive feature. The HE-400's bass is very fast, tight, clean and precise, which is quite typical of orthodynamic headphones - the dynamic driver competition can't really keep up and lose in terms of bass quality.
If I compare my HE-400 with my LCD-X, both are practically identically fast and controlled in bass. The HE-400, however, sounds tighter, more refined compared to the softer, but more textured and visceral Audeze bass.
The HiFiman also has no resolution weakness in the mid and high frequencies, but is a bit too "hard" and, even if it may be the wrong expression, plays rough. Even if dynamic driver headphones at comparable prices can't keep the overall control of the HiFiman with fast and complex music material, they still sound somewhat more realistic in the high and mid frequencies, even if they have some colouration. And if it comes to small, subtle details, the LCD-X takes it to a different, higher level as well.
All this is not meant to be a devaluation of the HE-400, quite the opposite is the case. Technically, it is an excellent headphone, especially due to its very fast, tight and immensely controlled low frequencies. "More" (resolution) is still possible, but you have to spend quite a lot more money to obtain that.
Nevertheless, I wouldn't necessarily recommend the HiFiman as the only headphone - from my point of view, it has one or two peculiarities that make it fail to pass as a true "all-rounder" (, even though it does indeed come (rather really) close).
Spatial Presentation:
Spatially really bad open headphones are not really existent - the HE-400 is no exception either and delivers a convincing presentation. Nevertheless, the planar magnetic headphones that I know and own do not necessarily have the largest or most open spatial image presentation in comparison to some dynamic headphones. The HiFiman can also be classified in this category.
Its stage appears detached and also plays outside the head, but it is not able to exceed the width of my shoulders. If I close my eyes, I can sense that some dynamic headphones have a stage that is perceived as larger.
The HE-400 also offers spatial depth, but a little less in relation to the width. Thus its stage appears to be wider than deep in my ears.
The stage of the ADVANCED Alpha seems a bit narrower to me than that of the HiFiman, while the Audeze LCD-X has a more pronounced and better layered spatial depth than both, but also sounds the most restricted in relation to the sides.
The HE-400 also continues its precise and high resolution of detail in the spatial representation and presents a cleanly defined space whose individual tonal elements are precisely separated from each other and do not appear muddy, even with fast and complex music material.
Conclusion:
Summarised in a short sentence, the planar magnetic HiFiman HE-400 presents itself as a technically very strong and competent headphone, especially in the low frequencies, however it has one or two peculiarities to pass as a true all-round everyday headphone, at least for me.
