Closer Examination

The new HIFIMAN headphone cable that ships with headphones in the $1000 or under category—as far as I know anyway, could be even higher than that—is arguably the best from the company to date. It's not the fanciest cable with the world, having a simple polymer sleeve over a copper conductor whose details HIFIMAN does not provide. I didn't even need that cable tie to have it to remain coiled, so that's saying something. It begins with a 90° angled 3.5 mm TRS connector headed to your portable source, with an optional 1/4" (6.35 mm) adapter for use with more prosumer equipment. The conductor is inside a single thick sleeve which feels like polyurethane, and heads to a simple splitter for thinner wires heading to the left and right channels. As with all planar headphones from HIFIMAN today, terminations are again 3.5 mm TRS with L/R markings to indicate the channels. No microphonics were felt in use either, and I dare say this cable is good enough for most end users.


When HIFIMAN first introduced its HE-R10 series of headphones in both dynamic driver and planar magnetic versions, there were immediate comparisons being made to Sony's older, discontinued MDR-R10 closed-back headphones. The name scheme is no coincidence and HIFIMAN itself talked about the HE-R10 as being not only a homage but an improvement over the MDR-R10. There have been other such "R10" headphones since and they are all identified by those deliberately shaped over-sized ear cups. The newer HE-R9 adopts a similar design for the ear cups, albeit in plastic instead of wood, and the overall design is one that makes me feel awkward about ever using them in public! The crimson color of the cups also contrasts strongly against the black used elsewhere, including the headband assembly which we see is the exact same as what was used on the likes of the HIFIMAN HE400se and Edition XS. This is a single, thick leather-covered headband with memory foam filler inside. While it works well enough in practice since it's comfortable and wide enough to minimize hot spots on the top of the head, it's still one of the cheapest—not just least expensive—implementations for headphones and relies a lot on the rest of the headphones to be more than simply functional. Stitching quality is adequate; however, a close-up shows this may not even be of genuine leather grade even assuming it is real leather. The headband terminates in plastic housings with "HIFIMAN" and "HE-R9" facing outward for branding, albeit subtly enough not to make you a walking advertisement.


There are L/R markings on the inside to help indicate the left and right channels, respectively. A steel band inside the headband helps with sizing and provides structural integrity and clamp force. Several notches are cut into the steel band, which is how you adjust where the headband will sit on your head vertically. The discrete notches help easily size both sides to the same extent too. Sizing options are plenty and the headband flexible enough to where these should fit head sizes small and large alike.


This headband design allows for a small amount of horizontal swivel courtesy the cutout in the plastic housing adding some wiggle room. This allows for plenty of vertical sizing in addition to some horizontal motion for more fit options compared to the likes of the HIFIMAN Ananda. There are additionally two pivot points courtesy the C-shaped yokes/frame for the ear cups themselves to have further cup rotation around the center, albeit the shape of the ear cups makes for lower rotation compared to the likes of the Edition XS with its near-360° movement. Regardless, there's enough flexibility here to make the HE-R9 a fairly amenable set of headphones to get comfortable on your head.


Seen above are the large plastic ear cups used on the HE-R9 which come in a glossy finish given a crimson color. They are not fingerprint/dust magnets thankfully and the plastic construction also helps reduce weight compared to the otherwise bulky design. The cups are deliberately shaped to allow for a higher volume inside and the "necessary breathing room" for the drivers to sound their best, as per HIFIMAN. Note also how the ear pads don't meet each other and have a relatively lower clamp force as a result. The pads are held in place via interlocking plastic tabs as seen above, and removing them helps provide a closer look at the dynamic drivers used on the HE-R9 complete with the protective metal grill on top.


HIFIMAN calls the ear pads used on the HE-R9 its Tranquility pads, and these are surprisingly absent on the HIFIMAN accessories store page. I originally thought these were the same Harmony pads as is found on the flagship Susvara owing to the use of that slightly teardrop shape but these do seem thicker and of a different composition despite both being hybrid pads in having a highly permeable and comfortable fabric lining contacting your head and then leather on the outside. HIFIMAN also mentions the use of a "ring-shaped inner surface to absorb sound and prevent sound leakage through the sides of the ear pad" which is equivalent to how some pads are partially or fully fenestrated. The pads are also slightly contoured to better fit around the ears and have a mesh screen to further prevent contaminants—or even your ears, however unlikely here—from hitting the drivers. The pads are large enough to where the HE-R9 is easily an over-ear set of headphones in my opinion.


After all testing was finished, I decided to disassemble the right side ear cup to get a better view of the assembly here. There are six Phillips-head screws holding the driver assembly on the ear cups via a plastic frame. Now we see the hollow plastic cups that also have a foam lining to help absorb unwanted resonances in the higher frequencies while also potentially giving you the intended effect of a wider soundstage that is otherwise hard to achieve from closed-back headphones. The cable connection receptacle also comes out here given it is placed on a daughter PCB and note the two wires used here. There is the expected one going to the driver itself but there is another leading to the headband assembly too! This is how HIFIMAN is able to give you the Bluemini R2R wireless connectivity since the two sides are also connected internally via the headband and this is also why a suspension-style headband is not possible if you wish to have the wireless adapter support.


On the bottom of the ear cups, towards the middle, is where we find small cutouts for the cable connectors marked by the truncated HIFIMAN logo. Notice how the right side has a typical female 3.5 mm TRS connector whereas the left side comes marked to clarify this one is a 3.5 mm TRRS connector. It means that you can use a dual 3.5 mm TRS cable, such as the one provided with the HE-R9, or even go with a single-sided aftermarket 3.5 mm TRRS cable that then feeds from the left to right channel via the internal cable we saw above. The headphones themselves are not the biggest on the market—especially compared to HIFIMAN's own teardrop/egg-shaped headphones—so they can be easily hosted on different headphone stands or simply with the provided foam stand as seen above. I would have liked to see the connectors be placed slightly forward to avoid the cable from draping down on my shoulders/chest directly but either way you can see how the provided cable allows you to use the HE-R9 with single-ended headphone amplifiers that offer either 3.5 or 6.35 mm outputs. The cable is ~1.6 m long, making the HE-R9 less conducive to portable use even with a powerful enough portable DAC/amp, but you can easily get replacement cables that are shorter (or longer) depending on your preference.


Alternatively, if you have the wireless version of the HE-R9 then you can skip cables altogether by using the Bluemini R2R adapter which simply clips into the left side and then allows for Bluetooth connectivity. The provided USB cable also allows you to both charge and also use the Bluemini R2R as a USB DAC/amp too! I do like how it was made to naturally fit around the ear cups and even has the HIFIMAN logo on the extension that snaps over the same on the left ear cup. Just be aware that it extends past the headphones to where the combination barely works on the foam stand and necessitates a taller headphones stand now.