For such a low price this headphone deserves 5 stars for sheer bargain prowess! So long as this is plugged into a decent amplifier the sound opens up and is terrific! By contrast, anyone expecting to plug this into their cell phone or laptop computer is missing the point, without decent amplification this headphone will not sound as great as it can(more likely dull, actually!). I am driving this through an IBasso Bushmaster D14, which in turn is amped via an RSA Mustang P51 on high gain. I find this combination with the HE4XX heavenly, also because the P51 almost completely eliminates the Sabre DAC's glare. So my recommendation is to buy the HE-4XX, but only if you drive this through a decent DAC/AMP combo!
I enjoyed these headphones a lot, my first set of nice headphones that I bought for my amp. Great listening experience for all my metal music and very immersive for gaming as well. The positioning and soundstage is leaps and bounds better than any gaming headset I've ever used, which I guess doesn't say much as once you try real headphones you can't go back to those.
However there are some serious design flaws with these headphones that don't need to be there. The small screws that hold the driver's to the headband WILL fall out. The headband is sealed around these screws so you can't even just screw them back in without butchering your headband.
Simply leaving an opening for these screws and maybe going with some bigger ones would have prevented almost ever RMA or warranty claim with them. Sadly, the cost savings were concentrated on making these unrepairable without destroying them. Two small screws and a light dab of adhesive isn't enough to keep them together.
search
search
search
search
Really sad because they otherwise are a great headphone, that with a small modification would last.
Like them very much !
At a certain low frequency, the right earphone made something like a squeak sound.
Support have responded fast and sent me another pair.
Enjoying !
Music Genres:Classical, Electronic, Jazz, Metal, Pop, Rock
checkVerified Buyer
star_borderstar
star_borderstar
star_borderstar
star_borderstar
star_borderstar
Great Sound, Bad Comfort
Headband gets really uncomfortable after about an hour at the top of the head. Needs more padding. Or better yet, segment it into two sections left and right like on the Sennheiser 58X, which are 5/5 for comfort.
As far as sound quality goes HE4XX has way bigger sound stage and clearer sound (more resolution). I would prefer HE4XX if they would be as comfortable as the 58X.
Activities:Casual Listening, Critical Listening, Gaming, Movies & TV
Music Genres:Electronic, Hip-hop, R&B
checkVerified Buyer
star_borderstar
star_borderstar
star_borderstar
star_borderstar
star_borderstar
Most comfy and best i own
I'm new to the audio file world but so far these are the best headphones I've ever had but clearest with the most crisp sound and I don't hear that much noise.
Music Genres:Electronic, Hip-hop, Jazz, Metal, Rock, World
checkVerified Buyer
star_borderstar
star_borderstar
star_borderstar
star_borderstar
star_borderstar
My Favorite
I'm wearing these right now. I bought them when the first drop+version came out, and one of the cups broke off of the band after a short time -- but Drop was happy to replace them -- and I think the v2 had come out already? So they gave me the upgrade. These have lasted just fine -- and I haven't been more careful with them.
They have a great sound, and I'm hooked on open back; I have 3 small kids, so I like to be able to hear the outside world while listening to music. (I still pretend I can't hear them. I like to have the advantage.)
I'm not a big spender, so I don't know how these stack up against the expensive ones. Zeos did a review of them in which he had good things to say, so that was good enough for me.
I loved the sound these provided while they were able to stay together. Unfortunately even after being careful with the second pair (Thanks Drop for replacing the first pair) They broke in 18 months at the same place on the headband. If you have a slightly larger than normal head you may want to look at a different brand altogether as Hifiman has build quality issues across it's entire product line.
good enough to enjoy music, but a little shy to fully enjoy
considering the sale price, it's a good product, but the power is not enough and the clarity is short for me. overall it's fine to listen and enjoy music.
Pros: These sound bright and airy out of the box, and great with minimal equalizing.
Cons: Very common manufacturing defect where sound cuts off on one side.
Unfortunately mine started exhibiting this problem a few weeks after warranty expired.