Hi Team,
Just received an email from Drop about the new Hifiman HE-X4. Looks to be a new model with the dual magnet system from the 5xx, better sensitivity and a warmer tone than the 4xx. Sounds interesting. Has anyone heard about these??
Drop + HIFIMAN HE-X4 Planar Magnetic Headphones US$129 + US$15 Shipping (~A$183.72) @ Drop
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Not much info out on these yet, but here is a review: https://www.mmorpg.com/hardware-reviews/drop-hifiman-he-x4-r…
FYI, the reviews you're linking are in the 'Reviews' tab of the product page.
Wow, that must have just come out as I couldn't find any review from my usual "go-to" reviews
Yes, it seems the reviews are being added right now.
For any first time buyers from Drop: even though it says "Ready to ship" be prepared to wait 1-3 weeks for it to actually ship and then another 2-5 weeks for it to arrive. Drop is great and the value is without question on some of their products (eg, Sennheiser HD6XX). But don't expect to get your product quickly.
Shipping in our current climate will be unpredictable. I ordered some Hifiman 4xx's last month from Drop & they took just over 3 weeks to arrive. Not the worst all things considered. But agree, prepare to wait..
They are back to their old monthly cycles for a lot of products, so yes you will need to factor that in, and the shipping time from where these are assembled, which if in the US will likely involve USPS ground service until it hits an airport that does international freight.
I ordered these last year. Each time it came to shipping it was 'delayed' another 30 days. 70 days after ordering it did not ship. After contacting drop they said 'you are free to cancel the order'.
After cancelling the order rather than reverse the original transaction, they went with a refund resulting in the transaction fees not being refunded and the exchange rate had changed so I received less money (in aud) than I paid.
Never again.
The X4 is a new product, it's not the 4XX.
Ah my mistake. My experience with drop is the main point of my comment.
Yup totally agree to keep an eye out for that, and that HIFIMAN can have some minor QA issues. That said, I own a pair of the updated Sundaras and they are fantastic.
I do want a pair of planars, but also I have enough headphones and IEMs.
Decisions.
I would suggest these are a derivative related to the 2020 HE400i, the 2020 HE400SE (Chinese model), and the 2021 HE400SE Stealth Magnet Edition (global model).
The 2020 HE400i and the 2021 HE400SE are essentially iterations on the same design, with the latter being discontinued for the former to replace it at the same price point. These two have been described as high value and mini-Sundaras at the price point, while obviously having a lot more drawbacks than that $500 headphone.
The Chinese model was an equivalent USD $90 or less, and is far less well regarded. I suspect Drop is trying to refine this model into something that can sell. I'd back them to do better than the Chinese version, but I doubt it reaches the quality of the global version.
Low-end planar headphones suffer from timbral issues anyway, so I would instead be looking at the HD 6XX, or if you can cope with the 600-1000Hz mid-range issues that appear to be in the X4, maybe look at the HE5XX in an effort to try and get better timbre.
It's an interesting option - so wait for more thorough reviews and impressions - but it would appear to have too many caveats in the chase for planar bass and detail retrieval for the price.