I forgot to mention signal chains! Outside of the BlueMini dongle I used combos of SMSL SU-9n and Berkeley Alpha S2 for DACs. Schiit Asgard 3, SMSL SH-9, Garage 1217 Project Ember, Lake People G111, Violectric HPA-V281 for amps. Also used Cayin N6ii with E02 module and Chord Hugo 2 for mobile and transportable use. Also, I did a comparison of R9 and the Focal Elegia (often for sale for $379 at Adorama) here: forum.hifiguides.com/t/hifiman-he-r9/34153/27
I’ve learned to add 3/4 inch speaker tabs on the bottom to reduce the vibration of the cups. It has reduced the vibration, tremendously. I used my fingertips to judge where I should place the four tabs/pads. If I didn’t think it didn’t work, I can easily remove them. I wish I got mine for $369. I used to own a Deva Pro, so I did no have to purchase the Himalaya R2R dongle Hifiman supplies. After listening to the R9’s, my niece received a nice set of Deva Pro headphones for her birthday. Plus, she received the cables that came with my R9’s. Stop it…lol! Yes, I kept the dongle. But, she has an open sounding set of headphones that will kick ass on the best sounding Sony Bluetooth model. I use an Xduoo TA-30 with black Chinese tubes to add deep beauty to my sound. R9’s are wired with Silver Dragon cables.
I heard these a year ago, they sounded horrible to me. For wireless I have a deva and a deva pro. Love hifiman. For wired non planar I use beyer 700 pro x. This headphone is (going to be) discontinued, last remaining items are now on sale. Deva pro is out too. Hoping for a new deva (all black ❤), did you hear any rumors?
How are they as 🎙️ monitors though? These are the specs and everything I'm looking for. I want something that sounds good back at me. I don't want monitors which are too harsh or sharp on the highs or are unpleasant to listen to or are too flat. I'm thinking these would be perfect for me on my mpc what do you think?
In the Philippines this is being sold, without Bluetooth, for around US$260. Given the money, I might get this and the Meze 99 Neo for a bass-heavy but sorta clear collection (I'll skip Skullcandies, etc.). I have Beyer Custom One Pros, though, I wonder how they compare.
The look decent though... edit: I GOT THEM!!!!! The bass in mine is not overpowering at all, and it sounds, well..normal!!! got it for 109.00. But yeah the only thing I dislike is the ear pad's (hard to swap, and EXPENSIVE), The isolation is on the bad side, with music playing it cuts out masic talking but yeah thats it, I have a review gonna come up too.
XS is probably technically better across the entirety of music genres...it's a generalist that sounds pretty good with everything. The R9 adds a fun factor for bassy, hard-hitting music.
I wish the wide part of the cup would be oriented at the top instead of the side rear. I think it would be less weird looking like that. I would definitely only wear them inside. They would kind of end up looking like the Sony Xm3-5 and the Sivga SV021 headphones which is a preferable look to me.
Nice review. I think I might take the dive at $369 for a solid Bass Head headphone which is something I've been looking for to add to my HP collection. So what if they make me look like a mouse or some kind of rodent with those weird cups right? I want to add I recently picked up the HE6se V2 on Adorama for $550 new (yeah I can't resist good deals) and it has the same type headband as this HE-R9 and I think the Edition XS which I'm not a fan of as it causes discomfort and a hot spot in the middle of your head rather quickly. But I found a solution that works well. Dekoni Nuggets. Got them on Amazon in a 4 pack. You only need 2. Just put a nugget on the left side at about 10 O'Clock and the right side at about 2 O'Clock on the headband and it should give relief of any pressure that was happening in the middle of your head. It works for the HE6se V2 at least... where many have complained about the headband causing a hotspot. Just use the suspension headband Hifiman
What was hifiman smoking when they made a closed back that doesn't even have good isolation, its the only reason I know to buy a closed back in the first place
@minnami778 sorry, I cancelled and got the r10d at 409 usd, and sent that to jm audio for extreme mod and paint job. All in all costing me 1000 usd... amazing headphone now though. I'm sure at 109 usd, if you don't mind color and shape it's a good buy👌
Hey, I want to make R9 balanced, can I use any dual 3.5mm balanced cable and get truly balanced? Same as other hifiman cables? Or does it only have to be TRRS?
No, you cannot use any cable. You need to match the wiring scheme of the stock cable...I'd have to look it up again but, if you go dual entry, I'm pretty sure the rings on the headphone end plugs are open.
@@wavetheorysound so that wouldn't be truly balanced right? I really want to make this headphone balanced but it's complicated and single sided trrs cable is very hard to find. It would have been cool if they managed dual entry balanced connection.
@@beyondtheuniverse999 "Truly balanced" means something different in headphones than in DACs and amps. The driver has two connections that each spend half the time being the + and half the time being the - regardless of whether they are plugged into a balanced or SE headphone output. For SE, the half labeled "-" is wired together for the 2 channels (that's why you only see 3 electrical contacts on the plug). For "balanced" they are wired separately, requiring 4 electrical contacts, 2 per side. The HiFiMan cabling scheme in the R9 (Deva Pro, and R10) allows it to be compatible with dual 3.5 - either balanced or SE - AND the 3.5mm TRRS from Bluemini or a balanced cable properly wired. If you wire up your homemade cable to operate correctly you will have a fully balanced connection to the amp.
@@wavetheorysoundwait I'm confused, it CAN be balanced with dual 3.5? I'm a noob , I am just figuring out which cable I should get to make it balanced, It won't be truly balanced but it'll give more power than single ended right?
@@beyondtheuniverse999 I wrote this awhile back to explain the basics: forum.hifiguides.com/t/is-balanced-better-pros-cons-of-balanced-vs-single-ended/21905 If you use a balanced cable to plug into a balanced amp (that is a truly balanced amp) you will usually get more power from the amp, yes. Check out a Hart HC-2 for a TRRS cable that works well.
@@wavetheorysound Even more crazy is no reviews talk about this. What if I'm using BT from a stationary source while doing stuff around the house... then I'm screwed. lol
@@gdemirjian fair enough. I'm planning to do a full video on the BlueMini on its own. I'm using one again to evaluate the Deva Pro. Hang in there. I will have more to say about it!
To me they looks sooooooo good!!!!
I forgot to mention signal chains! Outside of the BlueMini dongle I used combos of SMSL SU-9n and Berkeley Alpha S2 for DACs. Schiit Asgard 3, SMSL SH-9, Garage 1217 Project Ember, Lake People G111, Violectric HPA-V281 for amps. Also used Cayin N6ii with E02 module and Chord Hugo 2 for mobile and transportable use.
Also, I did a comparison of R9 and the Focal Elegia (often for sale for $379 at Adorama) here: forum.hifiguides.com/t/hifiman-he-r9/34153/27
Hi, do you think the Project Ember is relevant this days?
great review man
how does it compare to th900 and focal stuff for bass dynamics/impact?
It's in the same range. Hits pretty hard.
I’ve learned to add 3/4 inch speaker tabs on the bottom to reduce the vibration of the cups.
It has reduced the vibration, tremendously.
I used my fingertips to judge where I should place the four tabs/pads.
If I didn’t think it didn’t work, I can easily remove them.
I wish I got mine for $369.
I used to own a Deva Pro, so I did no have to purchase the Himalaya R2R dongle Hifiman supplies.
After listening to the R9’s, my niece received a nice set of Deva Pro headphones for her birthday. Plus, she received the cables that came with my R9’s.
Stop it…lol!
Yes, I kept the dongle. But, she has an open sounding set of headphones that will kick ass on the best sounding Sony Bluetooth model.
I use an Xduoo TA-30 with black Chinese tubes to add deep beauty to my sound. R9’s are wired with Silver Dragon cables.
Thank you for this review, im curious how they compare with R10D . 🙋🏻♂️
Great review dude. I dont think I'm going to get one but might check out the HE-R10 D.
These things are real cool.
Sounds like my type of headphone 🤘🤘🤘
Did you get it?
Yup, and I am happy with this purchase.
Hey, can the r9 do 3d soundstage? Like not just left right but top bottom and front back ?
No, not very well.
I heard these a year ago, they sounded horrible to me. For wireless I have a deva and a deva pro. Love hifiman. For wired non planar I use beyer 700 pro x.
This headphone is (going to be) discontinued, last remaining items are now on sale. Deva pro is out too. Hoping for a new deva (all black ❤), did you hear any rumors?
How are they as 🎙️ monitors though? These are the specs and everything I'm looking for. I want something that sounds good back at me. I don't want monitors which are too harsh or sharp on the highs or are unpleasant to listen to or are too flat. I'm thinking these would be perfect for me on my mpc what do you think?
In the Philippines this is being sold, without Bluetooth, for around US$260. Given the money, I might get this and the Meze 99 Neo for a bass-heavy but sorta clear collection (I'll skip Skullcandies, etc.). I have Beyer Custom One Pros, though, I wonder how they compare.
Thanks Wave!
The look decent though...
edit: I GOT THEM!!!!! The bass in mine is not overpowering at all, and it sounds, well..normal!!! got it for 109.00. But yeah the only thing I dislike is the ear pad's (hard to swap, and EXPENSIVE), The isolation is on the bad side, with music playing it cuts out masic talking but yeah thats it, I have a review gonna come up too.
Which have better sound more balanced this or meze 99 classics?
For sound quality only wired version vs edition xs??
Which one sounds better?
XS is probably technically better across the entirety of music genres...it's a generalist that sounds pretty good with everything. The R9 adds a fun factor for bassy, hard-hitting music.
@@wavetheorysound thanks for the reply
I wish the wide part of the cup would be oriented at the top instead of the side rear. I think it would be less weird looking like that. I would definitely only wear them inside. They would kind of end up looking like the Sony Xm3-5 and the Sivga SV021 headphones which is a preferable look to me.
Does the r9 scale with better amps?
I got these for 100 usd, crazy price drop
same. i'm always checking that hifiman open box page
@@ConsecDesign mine was new though. I didn't know they were going close to 500-600$ before. that is insane
Nice review. I think I might take the dive at $369 for a solid Bass Head headphone which is something I've been looking for to add to my HP collection. So what if they make me look like a mouse or some kind of rodent with those weird cups right? I want to add I recently picked up the HE6se V2 on Adorama for $550 new (yeah I can't resist good deals) and it has the same type headband as this HE-R9 and I think the Edition XS which I'm not a fan of as it causes discomfort and a hot spot in the middle of your head rather quickly. But I found a solution that works well. Dekoni Nuggets. Got them on Amazon in a 4 pack. You only need 2. Just put a nugget on the left side at about 10 O'Clock and the right side at about 2 O'Clock on the headband and it should give relief of any pressure that was happening in the middle of your head. It works for the HE6se V2 at least... where many have complained about the headband causing a hotspot. Just use the suspension headband Hifiman
Are they bassier than the 99 Classics?
Hi,comparsion whit audeze lcd 2 closed?Lcd2 closed Is some bright for me
Thanks
It has more dynamics than Clear OG or elegia?
How is the bass part compared to the victor dx 1000?
What was hifiman smoking when they made a closed back that doesn't even have good isolation, its the only reason I know to buy a closed back in the first place
I KNOW!!!!! its the ONLY bad thing about it for me.
The are 70 for a open box FYI currently
Just bought wired for 109 usd on amazon
Is it worth 100$ ?
@minnami778 sorry, I cancelled and got the r10d at 409 usd, and sent that to jm audio for extreme mod and paint job. All in all costing me 1000 usd... amazing headphone now though. I'm sure at 109 usd, if you don't mind color and shape it's a good buy👌
@@minnami778definitely
@@terjes64 Can I see a pic of the painted r10's?
Спасибо за обзор
Hey, I want to make R9 balanced, can I use any dual 3.5mm balanced cable and get truly balanced? Same as other hifiman cables? Or does it only have to be TRRS?
No, you cannot use any cable. You need to match the wiring scheme of the stock cable...I'd have to look it up again but, if you go dual entry, I'm pretty sure the rings on the headphone end plugs are open.
@@wavetheorysound so that wouldn't be truly balanced right? I really want to make this headphone balanced but it's complicated and single sided trrs cable is very hard to find. It would have been cool if they managed dual entry balanced connection.
@@beyondtheuniverse999 "Truly balanced" means something different in headphones than in DACs and amps. The driver has two connections that each spend half the time being the + and half the time being the - regardless of whether they are plugged into a balanced or SE headphone output. For SE, the half labeled "-" is wired together for the 2 channels (that's why you only see 3 electrical contacts on the plug). For "balanced" they are wired separately, requiring 4 electrical contacts, 2 per side. The HiFiMan cabling scheme in the R9 (Deva Pro, and R10) allows it to be compatible with dual 3.5 - either balanced or SE - AND the 3.5mm TRRS from Bluemini or a balanced cable properly wired. If you wire up your homemade cable to operate correctly you will have a fully balanced connection to the amp.
@@wavetheorysoundwait I'm confused, it CAN be balanced with dual 3.5? I'm a noob , I am just figuring out which cable I should get to make it balanced, It won't be truly balanced but it'll give more power than single ended right?
@@beyondtheuniverse999 I wrote this awhile back to explain the basics: forum.hifiguides.com/t/is-balanced-better-pros-cons-of-balanced-vs-single-ended/21905
If you use a balanced cable to plug into a balanced amp (that is a truly balanced amp) you will usually get more power from the amp, yes. Check out a Hart HC-2 for a TRRS cable that works well.
Why no volume/track control on the dongle drives me crazy.
I have same question, tbh
@@wavetheorysound Even more crazy is no reviews talk about this. What if I'm using BT from a stationary source while doing stuff around the house... then I'm screwed. lol
@@gdemirjian fair enough. I'm planning to do a full video on the BlueMini on its own. I'm using one again to evaluate the Deva Pro. Hang in there. I will have more to say about it!
Great headphone but bad and cheap headband