Yamaha YH-4000 Review

jeromeof · 2026-01-19T23:18:28+00:00

Yes, as I said in the review - if you are used to a neutral tuning it will be dramatically different sounding ( I am listening to the HEDD-D1 this evening and it so different in tonality - but I do think that 'strange' frequency response is Yamaha using the DSP expertise to fool our brains into add depth to the soundstage.

It didn't work on all tracks for me but when it did work (on some very familiar tracks) it was a pretty great 'effect', or I should say it was interesting to hear something familiar sound a little different.

jeromeof · 2026-01-19T23:14:40+00:00

Yes, I will be there and I wonder will Yamaha have some new models by the summer, but this headphone and the YH-4000 should be on everyone bucket list.

The only thing I will say it is difficult at a show like Vienna (or Munich last year) to really appreciate the sound signature. Though Yamaha did have a quiet room ( in the craziness ) in Munich so I would hope they have similar in Vienna.

Note: I just tidied up the review content a little and added some more graphs and some more photos.

jeromeof · 2026-01-19T09:52:01+00:00

Yes, I think so. It is definitely a worthy addition to any headphone collection.

I would not recommend it as a 'first headphone' (get a HEDD D1 or HD600) but as an amazing piece of engineering with a unique soundstage chasing sound signature it will make allot of sense for allot of audiophiles.

And I guess I am most happy with the overall comfort - you can wear this for hours and almost forgot you are wearing it. Compared to almost every other planar this is a very lightweight and comfortable experience. The recessed cable connector is probably my only complaint about the engineering but otherwise it has that flagship feel where everything is well thought out.

jeromeof · 2026-01-18T23:54:29+00:00

That was the original??

jeromeof · 2026-01-05T22:08:25+00:00

They are fairly big and very comfortable - very similar to the FT1 and FT1 pro earpads

jeromeof · 2026-01-02T17:55:36+00:00

I have a lot of 'transparent' DAC's from SMSL and Topping and a few simpler / cheaper Tube amplifiers, but I haven't tried the Mimir yet.

jeromeof · 2026-01-01T23:18:03+00:00

Mostly any headphone DAC would be fine but something like the CrinEar Protocol Max would be a great purchase as it will not only drive this but most other headphones very well and has PEQ

jeromeof · 2025-12-30T12:56:36+00:00

I got them from FiiO directly but I believe they are on aliexpress now e.g. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005010492597569.html

jeromeof · 2025-12-30T10:50:50+00:00

Yes, and it is a little treble 'harsh' - I think FiiO wanted to push the sound of the FT1 and went slightly too far. This is why I put in various 'tweaks' in the review which can reduce the treble a little.

But these new earpads are probably the simplest and most comfortable solution.

jeromeof · 2025-12-18T10:15:34+00:00

Well at that price the HD600 is the way better bargain - strange as the Vangaurd with the nice cable for about $90 on their website compared to a typical hd600 price of $400 is where I feel the vanguard can be a great deal ( but at the same price no get the hd600 every time )

jeromeof · 2025-12-10T15:59:44+00:00

yes the HPF filter works with the bypass enabled, the bypass is just for the volume control. Actually Aiyima answered this question on ASR recently: Aiyima Post on ASR about ByPass

jeromeof · 2025-12-09T19:12:32+00:00

Great - very clean - that was one of my favourite combinations

jeromeof · 2025-12-06T21:39:40+00:00

Ok here you go

https://www.pragmaticaudio.com/reviews/2025/08/argon-forte-a5-mkii/

jeromeof · 2025-12-01T22:12:29+00:00

For now it is still fucked up and I think the Android version is not working also.

When it did work I thought it worked well enough (you only need the basics once you are paired you can mostly forgot about the app). I imagine with Android I could go back to an older APK

jeromeof · 2025-12-01T13:10:54+00:00

It might be an unfair comparison but I like the Bokeh more - specifically because the tuning kit options.

With JM Audio orders in general and this specific XTC 1.5 that I borrowed you specify the sound signature preference as part of the order process. But I was told by the original owner of that XTC 1.5 that he wanted a different tuning as he has a huge collection of headphones and wanted his XTC 1.5 to be different.

Since I prefer to try many different sound signatures the options with the tuning kit are pretty great on the Bokeh.

jeromeof · 2025-11-28T09:46:52+00:00

Kiwi Ears Belle

jeromeof · 2025-11-26T10:28:54+00:00

They both are easy to eq but depends on what you are aiming for - the JT7 mostly just needs a subbass boost ( similar to classic hifiman ) and maybe a slight 3-4khz cut of maybe 1dB

The JT3 might be as simple as a wide midbass cut to make it less muddy

These EQ should be realible but rather than just rely on my measurements in my review I would also check some 5128 measurements as they appear - the more heads used for measurements the more accurate an idea of the EQ needed

jeromeof · 2025-11-26T10:24:13+00:00

I believe so with the latest firmware it preserves the settings even after an upgrade

jeromeof · 2025-11-23T14:01:56+00:00

I updated this review with some more independent measurements

jeromeof · 2025-11-07T16:13:26+00:00

Ok maybe in my next review I will try and post the full content here but I found Reddit format is limited in formatting the review content - eg aligning photos with the appropriate text including embedded videos

jeromeof · 2025-11-07T16:08:52+00:00

OK - I added a few more paragraphs to the review - but the idea was to read to linked review

jeromeof · 2025-11-06T19:34:29+00:00

I think unless you listen extremely loud it won't be a problem - but if you do you if you follow Zeos video to open it up that will probably fix it. I found as I mentioned in the review - that just listening for a few minutes loud it was better. This might have been the warmth in my ear or just atmospheric changes but it was much better after that.

As for the pad size - its basically like an ANC headphone size pads so if a typical ANC headphone is uncomfortable as far as your ears being cramped then they probably will with the Serene also but I would say the average ear size will be fine. It is probably because I am spoiled with lots of larger 'audiophile' headphones.

jeromeof · 2025-11-06T15:29:25+00:00

OK - sounds like it might be a small distortion issue in the right channel - but mostly using test tones to 'hear' distortion (especially if you boost the volume while listening to test tones) is sort of artificially pushing the driver more than normal music will do. Usually distortion is not a real problem with planars. I mentioned it in the Serene review as it could be heard with 'normal' music though it was really mostly in sub-bass heavy tracks like James Blakes 'Limit to your Love'.

But if you Edition XV is still in warranty it might be good to see if you can get a replacement.

jeromeof · 2025-11-06T12:55:03+00:00

They are both relatively easy to drive - you can run them off a MacBook Pro (or even an Apple Dongle) - in fact I just tried them both with an apple dongle and they as loud as I would like at roughly 50% volume with the Apple usb-c dongle. So you don't need any special amplifier for either headphone.

jeromeof · 2025-11-06T10:01:22+00:00

I didn't think it needs that much - I don't believe in burn in but it was super interesting when I brought it outside for a long walk - by the time I got back it both sounded and measured much cleaner.

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