Categories: Blogs & Little Things

JJ’s Now-and-Then-Blog: What Speaker Reproduces 20 Hz Cleanly and Costs less than $300?

Well, technically, a pair of headphones could be considered speakers, as cones and planar technology occurs in regular speakers and headphones.

In this case, I decided to do a quick report on an amazing set of headphones, the HiFiMAN HE-400S, which are planar (like all their other headphones), but cost only $299.

The specs are an FR of 20 Hz to 35 kHz, sensitivity of 98 dB, nominal impedance of 22 ohms, and they weigh only 350 grams.

I compared them to the HiFiMAN HE-1000’s, and the only audible difference was slightly more detail, clarity, and “sheen” to the sound in the 1000’s. The deep bass was clean and undistorted. I could not hear any harmonics when playing a 20 Hz sine wave. That means low, low distortion.

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The HE-400S body is plastic instead of metal, wood, and leather in the HE-1000’s.

When I say, “Slightly”, I don’t mean that it is not worth the difference in price to get that last 1-3% of the sound, and pay ten times the price. That’s the way it is in the hi-fi world. It’s that last 1-3% that high-enders have been paying for the last 60 years or so, and the HE-1000’s are worth every penny.

But the HE-400S is REALLY worth every penny. I don’t know how they did this and come in at $299. The pennies are copper-plated gold I guess. The sound is spectacular for this price. It is practically a giveaway and a no-brainer for the cost-conscious audiophile.

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When I listened to them right after listening with the HE-1000’s, I noticed the differences immediately. However, after settling in to the HE-400S sound, and listening for a while, the differences seemed to melt away, and I felt I was not missing anything. The brain has a funny way of applying its own DSP to make you feel you are getting everything.

The HE-400S receives my most hearty recommendation. If you try ‘em, you will buy ‘em. End of story.

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Editor-in-Chief Emeritus. John E. Johnson, Jr. founded Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity in 1994, shortly after publishing a hardcopy book of the same title. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity until 2022. John has been involved in audio and video for more than 50 years, having built radio transmitters, amplifiers, turntables, and speakers from scratch. He was also one of the founders of the Northern California Audio Video Association, now The Bay Area Audio Society. John holds four university degrees, including a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, and has published numerous scientific books, along with dozens of scientific articles on biomedical research topics as well as imaging technology. He was the founder and Editor-in-Chief of two medical/scientific journals for 20 years. John holds several patents, including one on high resolution image analysis and one on a surgical instrument. He has been affiliated with NASA, The National Institutes of Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Stanford Research Institute, and The University of California at Berkeley. He is President of the consulting firm Scientific Design and Information, Inc., which is based in Redwood City, California. John resides in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife and multiple kitties! His daughter, Cynthia, who was an integral part of SECRETS for many years, resides in San Francisco.

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View Comments

Carlo Lo Raso says:

November 23, 2015 at 4:59 pm

I just finished an in-depth review of the HE-400S which should be up soon, and I completely agree with you JJ. These things are stupid-good for $299.00!
John M. Read says:

November 23, 2015 at 5:16 pm

How do these compare with the HE560's then audio and value please?
- John Johnson says:
  
  November 29, 2015 at 6:44 pm
  
  The 560's have a bit more detail than the 400's.
John M. Read says:

November 23, 2015 at 5:20 pm

Can these be configured for balanced wiring?
- Carlo Lo Raso says:
  
  November 23, 2015 at 7:48 pm
  
  Just confirmed with HiFiMAN. The HE400S are NOT able to be run balanced. Single ended only.
  - Thomas Fischer says:
    
    January 31, 2016 at 9:34 pm
    
    Hmmm... Hifiman is selling a balanced cable that they claim can be used on the HE400S:
    
    http://hifiman.com/products/detail/180
    
    From the cable's description:
    ________________________
    Crystalline balanced cable is a crystalline copper and crystalline silver composite cable with 3.5 mm TRRS plug and a fabric jacket.
    
    The cable was designed for HE series headphones including HE400S,upgraded HE400i and HE560, HE1000 and Edition X.
    ________________________
    - Carlo Lo Raso says:
      
      February 1, 2016 at 4:50 pm
      
      Well I'll be! Looks like they can be run balanced off one of their portable players with this cable.
Carlo Lo Raso says:

November 23, 2015 at 7:34 pm

Hey John, I actually had a pair of HE560 here when I was reviewing the HE400S. To my ears, the HE560 had a little more transparency in the mid and high frequencies but not so much that I would, personally, plop down the extra $600.00 difference in price. I do know some people that would however. The HE400S had harder hitting bass than the HE560 but it wasn't over exaggerated or bloated sounding at all. For $299.00 they really are an excellent value and you can run them decently off a phone or DAP to boot.
I don't think that they can be set up for balanced wiring but I will double check and get back to you.
John M. Read says:

November 30, 2015 at 7:45 am

HI Carlo...I am sure you are right about value but for me the Beyerdynamic 770 Pro's are USD$100 less....http://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic-770-PRO-250-ohms/dp/B0006NL5SM and are only USD$315 converted to Balanced by Custom Cans...

I only know about these great deals by looking and trying my mate's converted pair. Balanced is a night and day experience in quality and sound-staging...I will avoid unbalanced cans in future...;-)
- Carlo Lo Raso says:
  
  December 3, 2015 at 7:59 pm
  
  Hey John, It's all good. Whatever helps you enjoy your music more is what it's all about!