HiFiMAN HE-350 Headphone Quick Review by mark2410

HiFiMAN HE-350 Headphone Quick Review by mark2410

Thanks to Massdrop for the loaner.

Brief:  HiFiMAN and Massdrop make uber cheap audiophile headphone.

Price:  US$100 or about £76

Specification:  Driver: 50 mm dynamic, Impedance: 50 ohm, Sensitivity: 93 dB at 1 mW, Frequency response: 15 Hz – 22 kHz, Velour ear pads, Detachable cable, Cable length: 53 in (135 cm), Cup connectors: 0.1 in (2.5 mm), Plug: ⅛ in (3.5 mm), Weight, with cable: 12.1 oz (343 g), Weight, without cable: 10.6 oz (301 g)

Accessories:  Errr, a cardboard box for the kids/pets to play with?

Build Quality:  Very nice.  Despite its dirt cheap prices its nicely made, looks good and feels good.

Isolation:  None.

Comfort/Fit:  On and seated instantly, comfort, mostly pretty great.  That upper acoustic spike though did get tiring.  They also just made contact with my ear so after a few hours got wearing.

Aesthetics:  Actually, you know they look really good.  You’d never guess their price form their looks.  Not that any one will ever see them as they are indoor only cans but, hey, you’ll look at them.

Sound:  Great.  Well mostly great, I mean these are audiophile tuned.  There is bass there but it is of a wonderfully high quality at the expense of its quantity.  That means there isn’t much of it.  It is tuned for acoustically perfect classical works.  There it shines, it does some glorious double bass bass, not Miss Minaj when she pulls up her Jag and goes “Dun-d-d-dun-dun-d-d-dun-dun” no sir, these won’t be having any of that.  Of course you can play chavy pop but you probably won’t.  The mids, almost as great as the bass but this time we’ve got a better quantity.  Once more it’s perfect for strings and naturally produced sounds.  Vocals can be a tiny bit dried but for all intents, these are tuned to be acoustically perfect.  Until you reach the upper vocal ranges, into the treble.  There is a great old spike and these have the most laser like focused like sibilant point.  It’s so fine, so lethally razor sharp its more like that of the world’s finest samurai sword.  So polite, so refined, then with you barely noticing the blade is unsheathed and cleft you in two.  Once more if you stick to acoustic, no artificial sounds and its superb.  For classical it is staggeringly good and it is something every potential audiophile ought to hear if not possess.  However be aware that its upper end while perhaps it’s Ety ER4-B like technically perfect, its ear ravaging.  You play loudness war produced stuff, cheap pop, hard abrasive stuff and it can be exhausting.  The HE-350 while a true marvel is not a can for all seasons nor all styles.  Yes it’s utterly magnificent but proceed with caution.

Value:  Just buy one.  Tbh I expect these will go second hand for more than their new price due to lack of availability.

Pro’s:  Acoustically near perfection.  Disturbingly cheap.

Con’s:  Too much upper end energy.  Can be fussy with its musical pairings.