Disclaimer: The HE-X4 was sent to me by DROP, they did not do anything to influence my opinion. This is a Pre-release unit not in final packaging but the headphone itself is supposed to represent the final HE-X4 headphone.
Introduction
Rather than the normal intro I like to do I thought it would make more sense to introduce myself a little better as this is being posted directly on DROP.com and most of you reading this there won't really know who I am too well.
So I have been testing audio products along with any PC peripherals for almost a decade now. What started as just a simple PC building hobby turned into so much more. I only started doing formal reviews like this in the last few years as most of my content was short form stuff and just private testing where I wouldn't fully publish my findings.
Most of my content has been posted to reddit until recently, very recent in fact where I started my own Blogger powered site. I will have this review posted on my site at the same time as on Drop. So once this goes live I will add a link here for it. The link on my site will have some updated info over time including comparisons and other Bonus content.
One other thing id like to mention. The window I was in to release this review was a tad shorter than normal. If I notice anything in my opinion change I will update it. But don't expect my opinion to have a drastic change.
Now that that's done lets get to the HE-X4. The HE-X4 is the newest drop headphone being made in collaboration with hifiman. I think if I'm not mistaken this is the 6th full size headphone collab between them. The HE-X4 is made to be a budget introduction to planars but honestly I think it's so much more than that. The magnetic structure is similar to the stealth magnets used in the Deva and HE-5XX, and yes these are double-sided. The housing is from the more traditional hifiman housing used on dozens of Hifiman headphones like the HE-4XX, HE-400i, HE-400i 2020 and the newest HE-400SE(keep this headphone in mind) and so many more. It's pretty much the housing that is used on almost all round hifimans (Sans Sundara). So it's pretty much a HE-5XX like driver in an HE-4XX housing. IT keeps the polarizing old school headband design that all Drop + Hifiman collabs use but drop claims it has been reinforced even more than before.
Headphone Specs:
- Drop + Hifiman
- Open Back Principle
- Planar Magnetic Drivers
- Colour: Dark Grey
- Soft-Touch Matte Finish
- Spring Steel and Hand-Stitched Protein Leather Headband
- Focus-A Hybrid Ear Pads
- Adjustable Sliders
- Steel Gimbals Withe Black Oxide Finish
- Black Printing
- Laser-Etched Serialization
- Frequency Response: 20 Hz-20 kHz
- Sensitivity: 91 dB
- Impedance: 25 ohms
- Cable: 4.9 ft (1.5 m), Removable
- Plug: ¼ in (6.35 mm)
- Weight: (420g)
- Shipping Date: TBA
- Price: $129USD
Build/Looks
Aesthetically they look like your standard entry level Hifiman headphone. I personally still to this day overall like the looks of them. This overall design has been used by Hifiman for a long time now from headphones like the original HE400 and HE500 all the way to the HE6 and HE5 and so many more. It's using an updated version of what I call there "Old Style" Headband. They also used their tried and true Focus-A pads.
The plastic used on the headband extension mechanism and the ear cups do feel on the cheaper side, but they should be just as durable as the other 400 series headphones. And supposedly the headband overall has been strengthened.
It's using the HE-4XX style yolk but it feels smoother and more refined.
Overall I don't have a lot to say it's an all black round headphone, If you have seen any of the HE-400 headphones before then you know what you think of their looks. Like I said I enjoy how they look overall and build wise I don't really have any concerns. Their overall very well build and if the headband issues from the very old gens are now worked out then build is now great.
Build feel is on the slightly cheap and plasticy side because the plastic really has no coating (thankfully it's not glossy). The HE-4XX feels a bit more "durable" and the HE-X4 has a similar lower end feel like the HE-5XX does. Overall this is just perceived durability so I wouldn't worry.
Cable: Just wanted to quickly mention the cable, it's the same one that comes with the HE-4XX and HE-5XX so its a decent enough cable. I only bring this up because of how similar this is to the HE-400se, which I will talk about later. An I have seen nothing but overwhelming negativity towards the HE-400se cable. So this one is seemingly a step up.
Comfort
Comfort wise this is now the heaviest of the 400 series if I'm not mistaken. It uses the polarizing old style headband which I never found comfortable until I used the HE-5XX. The HE-5XX was the first time I really liked the headband. This time around is no different, I still don't think this head band has adequate padding for heavier headphones like this. Thankfully it's not as uncomfortable as the HE-4XX Gen 1 because of the better pads the HE-X4 uses. As a note the newer batches of HE-4XX use the same pads as the HE-X4.
Those pads are the wonderful Focus-A pads and they're fantastic. I do prefer the shape of the HE-5XX pads as they're bigger and a tad oval. But these Focus-A pads are simply fantastic. They are extremely plush and soft. They use very nice memory foam inside. The foam is a bit too soft out the gate and from my experience the pads do flatten and need replacing a little fast.
Comfort for me on the HE-4XX Gen 1 was poor and I couldn't wear them for long. These I can wear for much longer sessions and the pads are so much nicer. But they are not as comfortable for me as the HE-5XX. With the HE-4XX Gen 1 I could wear them for an hour, but with these (and I assume the HE-4XX Gen 2) I can wear them for a few hours before I want to take them off. Comfort isn't pad it just doesn't work for me but i assumed that as the HE-400 series headphones never really worked for me comfort wise.
Sound
My measurement rig is an industry standard clone. So it's accurate up to 3k compared to most GRAS rigs. Over 3k it's fairly off. When I talk about tonality and tuning it's based mostly on what I hear. (Updated, new graph)
Frequency Response and Tonality:
Bass: These do roll off below 50hz, but not too sharply. After that you get the classic Hifiman man flat mid-bass all the way into the low-mids. For some the fact that there is no slight contour down in the high bass to the low mids will make this sound warm. But overall I consider the Bass to be Neutral but slightly rolled-off.
Mids: Like I mentioned previously, the low mids measure flat and up to the start of the mids at around 600hz everything is looking flat. But at 600hz you see a raise that does lead into a hump from 600hz to just after 1k. This hump does give a bit of honkyness in vocals, which is mostly made noticeable because of a recession from 1k to the middle of the upper mids at 3k. Overall the mids don’t sound as off as the HE-5XX. But this is still the weak point of the tuning. But i should say they do remain overall well balanced here.
Treble: This is the part that surprised me most. While yes it is a tad forward overall and is far from being called laid back. Surprisingly it doesn't have any nasty peaks and is overall well balanced. Over 10k in the Air reign it does have more presence and that could be a tad fatiguing for some but overall id call the treble Neutral and exceptionally well balanced.
Overall: I'm very impressed. I don't actually have a ton to say here. The bass response is slightly rolled off below 50hz. Mid range has some issues over 600hz but tell that point it's flat and slightly warm. The issues in the mid-range don’t make this headphone unlistenable or anything and are so easy to eq out. Treble is very balanced, a couple micro peaks around 5 and 8k, but it is not sharp or piercing and treble while not the most smooth it's very well balanced. The only brightness is above 10k where it has some nice presence. Air is surprisingly good. For people used to darker air regions like on the HD6XX this may have a bit too much sparkle.
It's pretty darn neutral. The only issues are the slight bass roll off and the issues in the mids. Even with no EQ this is a fantastic Tuning but with very small amounts of EQ it's amazing.
Tonality/FR Grade: A- (Maybe B+)
Technical Performance
Detail: Easily the highlight of this headphone and the reason it can punch above its price point. The HE-400 series in general always kind of did this and the HE-X4 is no different. Aside from maybe a small touch of haziness in the mids, grain is really not an issue on these for under $200. The heightened air region does give it some added perceived clarity.
Soundstage and imaging: While its not going to blow you away, the stage is very good for being sub $200. It is filled in very nicely, you get a nice sense of space, it's not ultra wide but it's noticeable wider than something like the HD6XX. Imaging within the stage is pretty good, it's not going to be amazing for positioning in games but very usable. The layering is very nice as expected from a planar. Lateral imaging is where you will notice the biggest issue but do note there isn't much under $300 that does lateral imaging all that well so this is to be expected.
Something else to note if you EQ and fill in between 1k and 3k you will get a slightly further out sound. If won't really sound much wider but it will pull some sounds a bit out of your head more. Some people will perceive this as a wider stage for me it's more so just pushing the sounds out of your head more but within the limits of the staging.
Dynamics and Speed: This is the reason I can't fully call it a Sundara Jr. One of the aspects that make the Sundara the Sundara for me is the fact that for a Planar it has exceptional dynamics. Its punch and slam isn't blunt at all and doesn't sound dull. But the HE-X4 does suffer from those Planar issues. I see many people call this planar bass compression and I tend to associate those two things together.
Speed is also something it just does ok, they don't sound sluggish or smeared but I do find the leading edge of tones and trailing ends to be just a tad slower than id like. But again for the price it's not an issue.
Timbre: Like most people already know lower end planars tend to have a sort of plasticy or artificial sounding timbre. Which was actually one of the few things I found the HE-5XX did better than average for a Planar. The Timbre here sounds closer to the HE-4XX sadly so it does sound a little off. For its price not a huge issue and unless you have a big timbre sensitivity don't worry about it.
Technical Grade: B-
Sound Conclusion
While tuning isn't perfect the areas that have issues are a lot easier to EQ than other entry level Hifimans, and from an overall resolution point of view this is just a plan step up over the HE-4XX and HE-5XX. The HE-5XX does do 3 things slightly better, its timbre is a bit more natural, the transients are slightly better, and staging is more spacious and more full. Compared to the HE-4XX the HE-X4 just plain sounds better.
As much as I want to call these a Sundara Jr. or a Baby Sundara, there is one important thing holding me back from doing that and that's the aforementioned weak Dynamics and Seed. That along with the timbre are really the only 2 sonic weak points of this headphone. Under $200 everything hits average or better, so the Fact that this thing is $129 it's such a good value.
Power Requirements: These have been tuned to be more efficient but because of this along with the low impedance powering it can be interesting. It's actually the hardest to drive entry level Hifiman Headphone and harder to drive than the HE-4XX and HE-5XX because it requires noticeably higher current than them. Similar voltage requirements to the HE-4XX but higher current. Meaning you won't struggle to get them loud but to really make them sing you do need some power behind them. An apple dongle will get them loud but you really should use them with something better. pretty much anything with at least 3x the power of an apple dongle will work (so any good desktop grade amp).
EQ Advice: So I normally don't do this with reviews but i may start. The HE-X4 doesn't need a lot of EQ depending on your taste. If you like the linear bass and mid range of most Hifimans then you don't really need to touch anything under 700hz. If you want you could raise below 50hz so it lines up with the rest of the flat response. But if you prefer the Harman Target then you'd want to lower 100hz to 400hz somewhere around there to remove some of the warmth than add the bass shelf you prefer (Harman 2013 or 2018 or whatever bass shelf you want).
The most important area to EQ imo is the little hump around 650hz to just over 1k. Lowering this will help remove some of the honkyness that the headphone has. Then filling in the mids over 1k will help pull some of the sound out of your head. Honestly unless you find some of the small treble peaks too much I'd leave the rest alone.
But in general if you're going for the Hifiman linear response id just fix the 2 issues in the mids.
Conclusion
Something I want to mention first is the sneaking suspicion that this is the same headphone as the HE-400SE but with the old style headband drop uses, a new colour scheme, and a better cable. Similar to how the Deva and HE-5XX are extremely similar. But this time around it is actually $30 cheaper. Which is something I feel I need to stress, this is very much an HE-400 tier headphone which some may not consider a good thing but this is $129, that's crazy. It is easily one of the new Value kings on the market.
It does remind me of Sundara but not enough for me to call it sundara Jr but don't let that distract you from the fact that these are a great value.
If you're looking for a Planar in the sub $250 range this (or the HE-400SE if it is the same) is what I would pick. Under $150 it's easily maybe my new number one open back pick period. The value proposition here is so good. Now Drop and Hifiman have a big issue on their hands though, what are they going to do with all the unsold HE-4XX, HE-5XX, Deva wired, HE-400I 2020s, because honestly just buy these over all of them. The Sundara is still the best sub $500 Hifiman, the Deva offers this type of sound in a BT package, the HE-5XX is still the most comfortable budget Hifiman (for me at least). But unless you wanted to step up to the Sundara which I think is going to be harder of a sell for many now, or unless you want it to be BT and go for the Deva, the HE-X4 is the new default budget Hifiman. I'm very interested to see how other companies react to this headphone. Maybe we will see some price drops or some new budget stuff. I'm not saying sell your budget Hifiman planar that you have for this, if you already have an HE-5XX, Deva, HE-400I 2014 or 2020, keep them and maybe add some EQ. But for someone who is looking to maybe buy their first open back, first planar or just wanting something different and they only own dynamics this is a steal. I can highly recommend it.
So should you buy this, well hopefully at this point I have rambled on enough for you to decide, but if I haven't, then I'd say buy this. If you own a 400 series Hifiman maybe just EQ that one and keep it, but if you're in the market for a sub $250 planar or honestly a sub $250 headphone in general I honestly would grab this.
I planned to do some comparisons to other headphones and I still will do some, but at the end of the day the value proposition here puts it in its own league.
Pros:
- Fantastic Overall Sound
- Balanced Tuning
- Fantastic Sub $200 Value
- Solid Build
- Good Staging
- Great Ear Pads
- Good Cable
Cons:
- Headband Comfort isn't the Best because of Weight
- Plasticy Timbre
- Weakish Dynamics and Speed
- A Peak and Dip in the mid range (easy to EQ out)
- The old style headband that is very polarizing
Bonus Content:
HE-400 Line compared
In general if you have any of the HE-400 series headphones there is really no reason to buy any other HE-400 model.
The HE-400i 2014 is the worst of the bunch, sound quality wise it's the worst but not really by enough to matter all that much. Tuning is why I call it the worst. The tuning is the worst of the bunch. But unless it's just ultra uncomfortable for you I still wouldn't recommend buying any other HE-400 series headphone. Save up for a Sundara instead.
For New Purchasers: So if you are in the market for a sub $200 Planar and you don't own any of these, it's actually pretty simple which you should get. Pretty much get what's cheapest for you.
To maybe help you understand which is best, I'll rank them all if they all cost $120USD. So if they were all the same price what would be their rankings.
- HE-400i 2020: Nothing really wrong with it.
- HE-400se: Needs a replacement Cable, if not for that it would be 1st.
- HE-X4: Comfort hurts it.
- HE-4XX: Some people may prefer the comfort of the 2014 model.
- HE-400i 2014: The reason its last is the tuning, the 4XX is just better tuned.
So keep that all in mind when buying one. But in general between the top 3 id just buy what's cheapest. The HE-400i 2020 is unlikely to be found for cheap enough to be worth buying over the other 2. The HE-400se needs a new cable. For many the HE-X4 may need dekoni nuggets or other headband padding improvements. The HE-4XX would need to be like $20 cheaper than the rest to be worth it. The HE-400i has the worst tuning and worst build and most divisive comfort, in general unless very cheap skip this.
All of these are great headphones and great values. With each new release the build gets better and the price gets lower. There is no wrwong headphone to buy here just make sure you dont over pay for one of the models.
Vs the Sennheiser Line Up
So this is very interesting to compare against.
- VS HD599: Honestly the HD599 may be a dead headphone now. The HE-X4 pretty much does everything better. The HD599 is a bit better at positioning in games and that's about it.
- VS HD560s: This is the most fair comparison and honestly which you want will come down to your preference of Planar vs Dynamic. Aside from the benefits of each driver, they perform extremely close. The HE-X4 follows its trend of being an amazing value.
- VS HD6XX/650: The HE-6xx has better overall resolution, better scaling, better timbre, but worse staging, imaging, and separation. So while I would overall say the HD6XX is the better overall headphone that is only if you're ok with the 3 blob intimate staging.
- VS HD58X: The HD58x has always been hard to recommend as it's kind of just a worse quality HD6xx for $50 less. The HE-X4 is overall the better headphone. The comparison is odd as it's similar to the HD6XX vs HE-X4 but with almost all the advantages the HD6XX had gone.