Consensus on the best mid-fi Hifiman to get these days?

[Phorize]

It's a thought, but I am honestly scared to sell more expensive items online. The buyer can do anything to scam you, like claim the headphones are defective and return an actually defective pair, damage them someway and return, etc. I also actually think mine were defective from Hifiman.

You can see them sold as seen, if you sell them here you’ll likely be ok. You might want to start saying how great they are from this point onwards though

 

[Phorize]

And if they are genuinely defective and in warranty you can return them to the seller usually.

Edit: just seen the age of the ‘phones.

 

[Jimbob54]

I have HE400i (2016) now. I think they are defective as well. The mids sound terrible

You're kind of snookering yourself here. The Sundara seem to be the obvious choice but if that's above your budget it's back to one of the myriad of 400 variants. I have no idea which is meant to be the best.

 

[Phorize]

Of course this could be an option:

Drop + HIFIMAN HE5XX Planar Magnetic Headphones | Audiophile | Headphones | Open Back Headphones

Drop exclusive product, price and reviews: Drop + HIFIMAN HE5XX Planar Magnetic Headphones | 3.8K+ Sold | In our sixth collaboration with famed audio brand...

drop.com

 

[Jimbob54]

Of course this could be an option:

Drop + HIFIMAN HE5XX Planar Magnetic Headphones | Audiophile | Headphones | Open Back Headphones

Drop exclusive product, price and reviews: Drop + HIFIMAN HE5XX Planar Magnetic Headphones | 3.8K+ Sold | In our sixth collaboration with famed audio brand...

drop.com

Except I think they need to exchange direct from hifiman who I guess can't "sell" the Drop exclusive. Was it the 400se people talk about with these apparently stealth magnets, whatever that means?

 

[Phorize]

Except I think they need to exchange direct from hifiman who I guess can't "sell" the Drop exclusive. Was it the 400se people talk about with these apparently stealth magnets, whatever that means?

Yes, but I can’t see any objective testing anywhere that shows what this results in.

 

[Eldgrim]

Yes, but I can’t see any objective testing anywhere that shows what this results in.

From what I remember reading, they are supposed to be more efficient than the previous drivers. So they should require less power to drive compared to the previous version.

 

[MrBrainwash]

I have HE-4XX eq'ed and I think about them as planar equivalent of HD600. I think 400se or 400i 2020 will have the same or better quality but a different timbre. I don't think you can go wrong with them. But Sundara can be worth the money as a step up from HD650.

 

[shaney777]

And if they are genuinely defective and in warranty you can return them to the seller usually.

Edit: just seen the age of the ‘phones.

They are still in warranty, so I think this would be the easiest route. I bought them from Hifiman. I probably should have went with the HD6xx to begin with, but now I'm too far in with Hifiman. I've also lost about $130 on shipping, insurance, and restocking fees due to returning two amps that did not meet my expectations. The reality is that maybe the headphones themselves were at fault instead of these two amps, so now I am going to start fresh with new headphones.

 

[shaney777]

You're kind of snookering yourself here. The Sundara seem to be the obvious choice but if that's above your budget it's back to one of the myriad of 400 variants. I have no idea which is meant to be the best.

I would love to get the Sundara, but at $300 OB, it's quite a lot more than the $130 I paid.

 

[shaney777]

Of course this could be an option:

Drop + HIFIMAN HE5XX Planar Magnetic Headphones | Audiophile | Headphones | Open Back Headphones

Drop exclusive product, price and reviews: Drop + HIFIMAN HE5XX Planar Magnetic Headphones | 3.8K+ Sold | In our sixth collaboration with famed audio brand...

drop.com

YES, this is another on my radar, along with HE400i (2020). I have no idea if the HE5xx is superior to HE400 series or anything about it really.

 

[shaney777]

I have HE-4XX eq'ed and I think about them as planar equivalent of HD600. I think 400se or 400i 2020 will have the same or better quality but a different timbre. I don't think you can go wrong with them. But Sundara can be worth the money as a step up from HD650.

Great info, thank you. Unfortunately I don't believe the HE4xx is available on the Hifiman Store for exchanging. Sundara sure is tempting!

 

[Jimbob54]

YES, this is another on my radar, along with HE400i (2020). I have no idea if the HE5xx is superior to HE400 series or anything about it really.

Doubt its available on the Hifiman store. I'll be honest, if you have to use their store and have a limited budget, why not give us a list of HP that, after exchange credit, you can afford that they do sell. That might get you a more definitive set of recommendations

 

[shaney777]

Doubt its available on the Hifiman store. I'll be honest, if you have to use their store and have a limited budget, why not give us a list of HP that, after exchange credit, you can afford that they do sell. That might get you a more definitive set of recommendations

Yes, it'd be HE400i (2020), HE400se, and HE5xx.
UGH, I just read yet again by an elite reviewer how freakin' wonderful HD600 are. Maybe life is too short and I should just drop the money. LOL

 

[Jimbob54]

Yes, it'd be HE400i (2020), HE400se, and HE5xx.
UGH, I just read yet again by an elite reviewer how freakin' wonderful HD600 are. Maybe life is too short and I should just drop the money. LOL

Well, the 2020 has been reviewed here https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...iew-2020-revision-headphone.25845/post-882079

You'd have to look elsewhere for 5xx and 400 SE measurements to compare to.

 

[Phorize]

It’s possible to over complicate these things, and most reviewers are an obstacle to simplifying things. My advice is write down a very short list of things that you want/don’t want in a headphone. Sounds like ‘neutral’ is the main thing. Think about your use case when you do this e.g how noisy is your listening situation-would closed or open be better. Once you have a short list meaningful criteria, which can include cost, judge against that and that only. Forget subjective reviews not correlated to measurements-they don’t mean anything.

My feeling is that what you are looking for is obtainable for $200 or less. Only when you have chosen a headphone do you think about your amp. You can’t really beat the atom at its price.

Bear in mind that no matter how good your set up, a legion of subjective reviews are conspiring with your cognitive biases to make you think that the thing you decided on rational grounds was good 5 minutes ago isn’t. Don’t listen to them, they will stop you from enjoying a perfectly good setup.

 

[Phorize]

All I’m saying is I wanted an open back that was neutral, comfortable and affordable, bought the hd6xx and haven’t thought about it since. It’s also so ubiquitous that good measurements and eq recommendations/settings are plentiful.

 

[Phorize]

You can also check out the measurements here:

DIY-Audio-Heaven

Enjoy music through headphones on a low budget

diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com

@solderdude contributes to this site, which I found very helpful as someone who was new to this headphone thing until recently.

 

[Skinner001]

So, if I've understood your situation, you can exchange your pair of phones for simething else at Hifiman and 130$ will be knocked off the price of that something new?

And the 200$ limit you have is the total, which would mean the most you would do is another 70-ish$ above the 130$?

If that is the case, and looking at what measurements are available, the 400SE seems fine.

That being said, if your pair are not defective, you may not be getting an upgrade.

If you're willing to add more money nothing under the Sundara makes sense.

You could always sell what you have (I've read your concerns, it really is not a lot of money, I've sold much more expensive stuff over ebay). If it sells for, say 100$ then you can add another 100$ and have more flexibility.

As people have mentioned, the 6xx becomes an option but personally I'd recommend the HD560S. I have them and the Sundaras, they have better bass extension and measure really neutral, compete very well with the Sundara at 200$.

Someone already mentioned, don't fall into the rabbit hole. You've used some of the language: "elite reviewer" for example, which hails the start of audiophoolishness - but hopefully coming to this forum will nip that in the bud. Atom stack + the 560S is affordable neutral clean sound and you can always EQ to change the sound if you prefer something different since the foundation is clean.

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

This should be a no-brainer :

• Hifiman Sundara (2020 revision) : $350 (since you need to stay within Hifiman, there's their best headphone in your price range)
• Topping E30 DAC : $120 (E50 if you want to go balanced)
• Toppinc L30 amp : $130 (L50 if you want to go balanced)

Total : only $500, and you don't get any better than that, objectively. Measurements prove it.
Last but not least, EQ the headphones and see the difference. It's much more important than 'tubes' or anything supposedly 'magical'.

There's no point in buying an overpriced Bottlehead Crack, whatever "people" may say. It's nonsense. For the record I have a $2000 tube speaker amp with an expensive Siltech power cable. Because I too was fooled once.