HiFiMAN HE-400i Planar Magnetic Headphones

Frederik S · Nov 10, 2014

HiFiMAN has always been known to produce some pretty interesting high-end headphones. Today, we take a look at the new HE-400i. It uses the same magnet array technology HiFiMAN introduced with the critically acclaimed HE-560.

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Rowsol · Mar 6, 2015

I wish I had these.

Lopez0101 · Mar 6, 2015

Are the pads on the HE-560's angled at all? I've thought about getting the 560's if they come down in price a bit to replace my 500's because they are not that comfortable. Dig into my head after an hour or so.

Kursah · Mar 6, 2015

Thanks for the review!

I have my trusty ol' HE-400's, I don't plan on upgrading any time soon..nor can I afford to. I wish my HE400's had a more comfy headband or a headband like the 400i's.

I really do love the bass response of my HE400's, and of course the overall sound and crispness is nothing short of amazing.

As always Frederik, nice work! :toast:

natr0n · Mar 6, 2015

I don't use headphones , but those look nice.

alwayssts · Mar 6, 2015

Nice review, even if not my preferred style.

I'm curious...Have you considered trying to get a Momentum Wireless (over-ear) for review?

I'm happy wireless is entering the age of actually day-long battery life thanks to BT4.1, and great 'phones are actually getting wireless versions with appropriate features (like aptx). I would really love to find a premium pair that are closed-back but actually retain the quality of high-end wired set. These (potentially) look like one of the first circumaural that could fit that criteria...even If I'm not thrilled by the notion of how overpriced they are going to be, at least initially. That said, Sennheiser models have a tendency to drop in price a great deal over time, often making them are somewhat-acceptable value for their quality if you scout around for a decent price. I'd look forward to a techie's viewpoint on how they turned out.

bogami · Mar 6, 2015

Very nice to use on my AUNE T1MK2 299$ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007ZG32I4/?tag=tec06d-20

Hayder_Master · Mar 6, 2015

awesome review mate, now i become think of HE-400i

Razorfang · Mar 6, 2015

I'll snag a pair when they eventually go on sale. I could use the upgrade, coming from a Sennheiser HD 598.

HisDivineOrder · Mar 9, 2015

Glad I got my HE-400's for half that price. They may be a bit better, but not better enough to have me forking over $500 for (admittedly great) cans.

Hayder_Master · Mar 30, 2015

can i connect the 2 on cable (sound + mic ) to this headset ?

1337 · Apr 29, 2015

Picked these up after reading this review. (I don't think I buy any hardware without carefully considering what's posted here.) Got them along with the EF-2A headphone amp. They are perfect for what I need, and I highly recommend them.

LightningJR · Nov 27, 2015

Black Friday sale, 40% off. Now $299.99.

http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/headphones/he-400i.html

Hayder_Master · Dec 28, 2015

it's $299 on amazon now
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MULH672/?tag=tec06d-20

LightningJR · Mar 28, 2018

The price dropped considerably on these cans coming in at $219.99 usd now which is insane. I just bought some for $284 in Canada can't wait for them to ship.

Frederik S · Mar 29, 2018

There are some insane HiFiMAN deals around right now. Also check their clearance sale just saw brand new 400S for $299 and HE560s for $499.

Processor	12100
Video Card(s)	1650 Super
Case	Coolermaster Ammo 533
Mouse	G403
Keyboard	Sidewinder x4

System Name	Kursah's Gaming Rig 2018 (2022 Upgrade) - Ryzen+ Edition \| Gaming Laptop (Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 2022)
Processor	R7 5800X @ Stock \| i7 12700H @ Stock
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X370-F Gaming BIOS 6203\| Legion 5i Pro NM-E231
Cooling	Noctua NH-U14S Push-Pull + NT-H1 \| Stock Cooling
Memory	TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32GB (2x16) DDR4 4000 @ 3600 18-20-20-42 1.35v \| 32GB DDR5 4800 (2x16)
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 4070 JetStream 12GB \| CPU-based Intel Iris XE + RTX 3070 8GB 150W
Storage	4TB SP UD90 NVME, 960GB SATA SSD, 2TB HDD \| 1TB Samsung OEM NVME SSD + 4TB Crucial P3 Plus NVME SSD
Display(s)	Acer 28" 4K VG280K x2 \| 16" 2560x1600 built-in
Case	Corsair 600C - Stock Fans on Low \| Stock Metal/Plastic
Audio Device(s)	Aune T1 mk1 > AKG K553 Pro + JVC HA-RX 700 (Equalizer APO + PeaceUI) \| Bluetooth Earbuds (BX29)
Power Supply	EVGA 750G2 Modular + APC Back-UPS Pro 1500 \| 300W OEM (heavy use) or Lenovo Legion C135W GAN (light)
Mouse	Logitech G502 \| Logitech M330
Keyboard	HyperX Alloy Core RGB \| Built in Keyboard (Lenovo laptop KB FTW)
Software	Windows 11 Pro x64 \| Windows 11 Home x64

System Name	natr0n-PC
Processor	Ryzen 5950x-5600x \| 9600k
Motherboard	B450 AORUS M \| Z390 UD
Cooling	EK AIO 360 - 6 fan action \| AIO
Memory	Patriot - Viper Steel DDR4 (B-Die)(4x8GB) \| Samsung DDR4 (4x8GB)
Video Card(s)	EVGA 3070ti FTW
Storage	Various
Display(s)	Pixio PX279 Prime
Case	Thermaltake Level 20 VT \| Black bench
Audio Device(s)	LOXJIE D10 + Kinter Amp + 6 Bookshelf Speakers Sony+JVC+Sony
Power Supply	Super Flower Leadex III ARGB 80+ Gold 650W \| EVGA 700 Gold
Software	XP/7/8.1/10
Benchmark Scores	http://valid.x86.fr/79kuh6

System Name	HTPC whhaaaat?
Processor	2600k @ 4500mhz
Motherboard	Asus Maximus IV gene-z gen3
Cooling	Noctua NH-C14
Memory	Gskill Ripjaw 2x4gb
Video Card(s)	EVGA 1080 FTW @ 2037/11016
Storage	2x512GB MX100/1x Agility 3 128gb ssds, Seagate 3TB HDD
Display(s)	Vizio P 65'' 4k tv
Case	Lian Li pc-c50b
Audio Device(s)	Denon 3311
Power Supply	Corsair 620HX

System Name	PC.
Processor	i7 2600K 5.0Gh,i7 3770K 5.00Gh. EK, Liqed Coooleng
Motherboard	P67A-UD7-B3 Gigabyte T.,ASUS,P8Z77-V PREMIUM,MAXIMUS V EXTRIME..
Cooling	Liqed Cooleng ,EK Suprime LTX Nickel,EK for Motherboard,Aqua computer (WGA), Thermaltake .... 0i,
Memory	G.SKILL F3-17600CL7-2GBPISG. 16GBSkill Sniper F3-17000CL94GBSR on 2400Hz 10-12-11-29 1
Video Card(s)	GTX590 ,SLI ,POV TGT best 691Hz ,LiqedCoold,GTX480.....GTX1080MSI SeaHawkEK SLI
Storage	OCZ-REVODRIVE 3-240GB,2xCrucialMX100.512.R-0,1x LMT-32L3m,3x 1TB-WD,1x;1x2TbSEAGATE1x2Tb Seagate
Display(s)	DELL-U2412Mb,Samsung Synkmaster245B,HP ENVY 34c
Case	Thermaltake, NZXT SWITCH 810SE
Audio Device(s)	CREATIVE BLASTER X-Fi Titanium HD , AUNE T1MK2 TUBE USB
Power Supply	ENERMAX Platimax 1500W,Thermaltake 1500W
Mouse	VIPER V560,FUNC MS-3, Prestigio, R.A.T.E.7 and 5,LogitechG502,RAZER,Inperator.,dead...a.s.o.
Keyboard	Trust ....LogotechG410
Software	Windows7 64....
Benchmark Scores	3DMark Fire Strike 21.385 (37.234,11.828,7.176)

System Name	MASTER
Processor	Core i7 3930k run at 4.4ghz
Motherboard	Asus Rampage IV extreme
Cooling	Corsair H100i
Memory	4x4G kingston hyperx beast 2400mhz
Video Card(s)	2X EVGA GTX680
Storage	2X Crusial M4 256g raid0, 1TbWD g, 2x500 WD B
Display(s)	Samsung 27' 1080P LED 3D monitior 2ms
Case	CoolerMaster Chosmos II
Audio Device(s)	Creative sound blaster X-FI Titanum champion,Creative speakers 7.1 T7900
Power Supply	Corsair 1200i, Logitch G500 Mouse, headset Corsair vengeance 1500
Software	Win7 64bit Ultimate
Benchmark Scores	3d mark 2011: testing

System Name	Home desktop
Processor	Intel Xeon E5-1650 v3 (4.6 GHz on 3 cores, 4.5 GHz on the other 3)
Motherboard	ASUS X99-E WS
Cooling	Switech H240-X (CPU); 8 NB eLoop 120mm B12-2 (intake case fans); 1 Swiftech Helix 140 (exhaust)
Memory	Kingston 64GB DDR4 ECC
Video Card(s)	ASUS Strix GTX1080 Ti OC Edition (for now)
Storage	Intel SSD 750 (400 GB); Samsung 850 Pro (256 GB); Samsung 850 Pro (1 TB)
Display(s)	Dell UltraSharp UP2715K (at 5120 x 2880)
Case	CaseLabs Mercury S8 (custom green exterior/white interior)
Audio Device(s)	Realtek® ALC1150 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC driving HiFiman EF-2A and HiFiman HE 400i
Power Supply	Corsair AX1500i
Mouse	Razer Mamba
Keyboard	Razer Black Widow Chroma Stealth
Software	Windows 10 x64

HiFiMAN HE-400i Planar Magnetic Headphones

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