HiFiMan HE-R9 Review - A unique closed-back wireless headphone 

I agree. At the current price and with the BT dongle, they're lots of fun as a warmer headphone.

Glad you like them so much!

Seeing them now for $110 & it's not like it's black Friday that's why they are so cheap. People bought these for 110 even 4 months back. Just goes to show you how these companies price their products. Especially in the highend market they price them 10x of what they should be priced. Because let's 6

It could be that they haven't sold well and HiFiMan are cutting their losses and/or consolidating their range. I'm not sure.

@@datdudeinred Exactly this, people are brainwashed - these are worth £90.

Any product is only worth what people will pay for it. It's important not to conflate this with the idea that this is what they cost to make. When companies produce duds that don't sell, they often sell them at a loss to prevent paying ongoing holding costs with storage, interest payments on business loans funding inventory, etc.

That's very cool. Thanks for letting me know and please do return with some impressions 🙂

Ok. Please keep in mind I have never heard the unmodded version of the R9. First impressions: Man, folks were not lying. This thing has some BASS. I mean, like 2 subwoofers attached to your ears and thumping your whole head, monstrous BASS. It is thumpy and relatively tight. My LCD-XC has more texture and speed, but less slam and rumble. Probably, the most enjoyable bass I have experienced in a headphone. The upper mids and treble are smoothed and [the treble at least] probably slightly rolled off. This makes for an enjoyable listen. They are warm, smooth and impactful. I dislike terms like this, but would say they are very "engaging" and "musical." I also agree with the other reviewers that say this mod greatly reduces [nearly eliminates] all undesirable internal resonances, which [my assumption is] helps to add a bit more clarity over the unmodded version. Overall, I am really digging them so far. Far from neutral, the R9 JM OCD Extreme Stealth is for when you want to kick back and have a fun and engaging experience. Highly rec'd for $639 [in the US at least]. Lastly, I paid extra for the "Superband" mod which adds a much more comfortable suspension strap type of headband. IMO, worth it. EDIT: A few more words, better said than myself from a review of these on Reddit: "In a nutshell, there is almost no perceived internal reflection and everything has been tightened up. What this results in is lots and lots of clear detail and microdetail. There is a sense of "punch" and crispness in the sounds you hear, bass is very impactful but at the same time very accurate, no bleeding into the mids, they will rattle your head like a subwoofer though when the music calls for it. Timbre is spot on. All of these characteristics were not present in the original. If I could put them on tiers, the original R9 is somewhat along the lines of th-x00 / Denons etc, these modded R9s are on ZMF Eikon tier, and this isn't an exaggeration, I have owned Eikons in the past."

Very cool! Thanks for sharing 🙂🙂

So glad I could help and that you're enjoying the headphones!

How did you EQ them? I have a Chord Mojo 2, how do you suggest I EQ the HER9?

@@stephenmacks23 Hello Steven, you see, I don't have the headphones due to a condition I have, and I no longer tolerate closed headphones. However, I used the EQ settings from the 6:48 minute mark as a reference, and I used APO Equalizer for Windows, if I'm not mistaken. Of course, what I did was invert the graph to counterbalance the frequencies. The main goal was to reduce those low frequencies enough so that they wouldn't saturate, especially if they are exaggerated. After that, it's up to you to decide if the 9K peak bothers you. With proper equalization, I believe you will enjoy those headphones a lot. I'm not sure if the Mojo is a warm, cold, or perhaps neutral DAC/amp, so I hope this has helped, and please let me know how it worked out for you. Regards.

My pleasure, JJ. I agree that it's important to understand the whole picture and not just the sound. With the R9, the sound is also very variable depending on whether you use the dongle or a wired connection.

did you get your conductor 3gt yet? if so how do you like it and how do you feel about the dac implementation?

@@aceofspades6667 I've had it a few days and I'm listening to it right now running it through the paces with all music genres, Gaming, RU-vid and Movies. So far it is passing with flying colors. Easily the best All in One I've ever heard. The DAC is excellent actually. Whatever Burson has done here with the Conductor 3X GT has definitely hit a home run. It is driving the Susvara and HE6se V2 very nicely to the point only a speaker amp might take them another level. But I'm not looking to go deaf going that route in this hobby. So this is end game for sure for me with Susvara and HE6. I had the Chord Hugo TT2 and M-Scaler and sold them because I preferred the Burson Soloist house sound more. The TT2 was very good... but just too analytical and transparent for me. I'd recommend the Conductor 3X GT over the TT2 at half the price every time. Burson has a winner with this one. Glad I took the leap of faith

So glad you're loving the Conductor GT! I also completely understand your thoughts on the R9 about the headband, wonky looks and slightly cheap feel. They seem to suit the dongle really well so the wireless is a better option IMO

@@JTB-- thx JTB... quite the praise for the conductor 3GT for sure!

@@aceofspades6667 Anytime. Having owned the Soloist 3XP and seeing the rave reviews for the Soloist 3X GT... it wasn't that big of a leap of faith actually. I had a gut feeling it would be good and I really like the Burson House sound.

I agree. I think it's a deliberate weight saving choice, but they do feel almost a bit too light

I like the closed Sundara better than the HE-R9. The R9s are nice, but never would be must buy for me.

I'm glad you're enjoying them.

Hi Adriano! Unfortunately I have never spent significant time with the DT770, but from what I remember, the 770 still has some excess treble so I would decide based on that. If you like your treble bright, sparkly and sometimes a bit sibilant then the DT770 is probably better, but if you prefer a smoother, warmer sound that's sometimes a bit too warm (for me at least) then the HE-R9 would be better. Hope that helps!

@@PassionforSound Thank you very much!

Great deal! Enjoy.

Sorry to hear about your R10 experience. I do agree that the R9 also feels a bit cheap. I like its sound as a wireless headphone, but agree that there are likely better options for closed backs at the price.

@@PassionforSound yes for sure , as a wireless headphone ,they're awesome !

No, I haven't gotten my hands on those yet. They're one model that HiFiMan haven't been able to get out to me.

@@PassionforSound You're so great at responding! I appreciate you man!

Thank you. My pleasure 🙂

I know. Too many technical issues, I think.

They must have dropped the price (drastically). If it's called the HE-R9 and comes with the wireless dongle then it's the same headphone.

@@PassionforSound do you think at their current price they are better than anything under 200$? Or I should consider other options

At $200, I think they're worth a go if you like the sound of what I've described here.

The HE-R9 could be good if you're looking for a warm sound. It's not overly punchy so much as full and rich sounding. Not sure what else I'd recommend though - perhaps the Meze 99 Classic or Neo? But they're closed back. If you're in North America, the Apos Caspian would be an excellent choice.

@@PassionforSound Nope, I'm in Europe :( I heard that meze 99 classic is a bit worse on technical level than HE-R9, so I'm not sure about them honestly. What about hifiman edition xs?

The Edition XS isn't really warm so I wouldn't go for that. I do think the R9 is a bit more technically capable than the Meze 99s so it might be your best option after all

@@PassionforSound alright, thanks for the help!

I'd say the 99 Classics are more balanced/neutral/natural sounding.

It's the same headphone. It just doesn't come with the dongle

I think I read that it has to be TRRS, but I'm not sure why if you only need a positive and negative to each cup

@@PassionforSound hey just letting you know that you can run these balanced with trs dual entry. I got trs cable and it works perfectly, an agent from hifiman whom I spoke to also confirmed that. It's just weird that they do not mention this on their official site or in manual. And running them balanced actually makes them sound better. You can try it it's a pretty clear difference.

Thanks for confirming! The benefits of running balanced vs SE will actually come from the amp, not the headphone, but I'm glad you're enjoying them more!

Glad you liked the video! I haven't had the chance to try the Elegia so I can't answer that one - sorry!

@@PassionforSound Thanks for your reply

Yes, it has a decent sense of depth too

Нет. Абсолютно нет 3D. К сожалению( Или мой слух отличается от многих ушей аудиофилов

It could be your source potentially because I definitely felt that they delivered some good depth and imaging for the price.

No, not more dynamics. Just a richer, bassier sound.

Maybe a driver update along the way? Not sure

@@PassionforSound could they be using the HE-R10 driver as that is 60ohms but 103db and not 100db? I've emailed Hifiman and all they have said is that they haven't updated their website.

I really don't know - sorry

considering the rapid reduce in price, it might be a cheaper and less efficient driver?

No, just a headphone that wasn't selling so well so they cut the price (drastically)

I'm running basically the same settings as I always have so I'm not sure about that. In fact, I recently changed my volume normalisation to be louder so unless RU-vid's processing is squashing the volume as a result, the videos should be the same or louder. I'll try some other channels and then mine and see how we compare...

@@PassionforSound keep the mic closer maybe

My mic is exactly as close as it can be without blocking the screen. I checked vs other channels I watch and the difference is just a matter of 1-2 clicks of volume on this video so I'm not sure why you're having trouble

Pretty much everything and I'm not saying that to be cheeky. I can't think of two more different headphones. R9 vs XS is closed vs open, thick and rich vs neutral and a little treble-emphasised, quite spacious vs very left/right in the soundstage, easy to drive, harder to drive.

@@PassionforSound thanks

I do really like the Meze 99s. The HE-R9 is probably on a similar level to the 99 Neo, but the boost is higher in the bass so it's less sub-bass and more mid-bass.

​@@PassionforSound Wow, more bass than the Meze, that's quite a lot then 😂Would you rather use the Mezes due to the better isolation then or do you see them being used for different scenarios? Looking for a closed-back daily driver, it's most likely going to be either the NTH-100 or Meze 99 since the R9 seems to have only little isolation (or so I've heard). The DT 700 is too bright for me.

I haven't tried the XM4, but owned the XM3 and have the XM5 here now for review. The HE-R9 is a much more open and true hifi sound compared to the XM3. The XM5 comes closer as it's less bassy, etc. but there's still a quality to the XM5 sound that is slightly processed. I really enjoy them so it's not bad, but there's a sense that the music isn't coming through without alteration so the ultimate transparency is better from the R9. Which one sounds better is a tougher call. I'd probably take the R9 over the XM3 (I think XM4 was pretty similar), but the XM5 is a tougher one to call.

@@PassionforSound Thank you for the reply, looking forward to your XM5 review.

Me too. I'm really enjoying them as an ANC wireless, but have no sense of them as a music lover's headphone yet...

How is the comfort compared to the xm5? When using them as a portable bt headphone, does one stay on the head significantly better or worse? Is one heavier? Thanks

I find the XM5 significantly better in almost every way, particularly for stability on the head

Headphones and IEMs are always difficult to compare. IEMs can provide greater fine details because they're right in your ear, but headphones will be more tactile because they move more air and will produce a larger sense of space

Glad you liked the review. It does make me wonder how the volume level on the BlueMini could pass an actual use test! I'm hoping to collect a loan pair of the 5909s this week...

I didn't notice any significant change over time so I wouldn't worry too much about burn-in on these. There might be some, but not enough to worry about

It's worth a lot more than that

lol

(it is now on sale for around $100)

To a degree, but they're very differently priced (until ZMF do a sub $1,000 closed back!)