HIFIMAN HE400se - A non-audiophile's perspective

[Mateyyy]

Note: It's important to note that I wouldn't really consider this as being a review, per se. I'm not well enough versed when it comes to the world of audio to be able to provide a detailed analysis of things like frequency response, imaging, etc. and to directly compare them to other products on the market. This is more about my impressions and what I think of these headphones just as a regular user, so if you're okay with that, let's proceed.

 

The HE400se is HIFIMAN's latest addition to their planar magnetic headphone lineup, and also their most affordable, coming in at $149. I managed to get them for around €170 here in Europe.

They're not cheap by any means, but that doesn't mean that they can't be a great value, depending on how many of HIFIMAN's more expensive yet very well regarded products' qualities have been brought down over to them.

 

 

 

HIFIMAN seems to put a lot of care into the packaging for their products, though obviously some things had to be cut down a little with the HE400se to meet the targeted price point. Things are very simple here, with the headphones only being accompanied by a cable, a 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter and some paperwork.

 

 

Speaking of cutting down… that cable. It’s just plain horrible. It’s microphonic, looks cheap and is an absolute nightmare when it comes to tangling.

 

 

I would really just consider getting a custom cable to go with these headphones from the get-go. Granted this does kind of go against the “value” aspect of the HE400se, but I feel it’s worth spending the extra bit of money for a much better overall experience. I went with a 2.5mm balanced cable from Meze Audio, which I then paired with a 2.5mm to 4.4mm adapter to plug into my iFi ZEN DAC.

 

 

The headphones feel good in terms of their build quality, with good quality plastics, a metal frame and very soft faux leather and fabric. They're quite comfortable over long listening sessions. I'd say they're pretty similar to my old Beyerdynamic Custom One Pros in that aspect.

 

 

Obviously the most important thing when it comes to headphones is the sound, and I’ve got to say that I’m impressed. Whatever I throw at them, they deliver a very punchy yet detailed sound, without ever going overboard on anything. The bass is satisfying but controlled, mids are very clear giving a great reproduction of vocals, and highs sound smooth and bright enough without ever being jarring/piercing to my ears. They also have a great soundstage, though the downside of this is that the sound leakage and isolation performance is very poor, because of the planar drivers and open design.

 

 

To end this off, I feel like I really got my money’s worth with the HE400se, offering me an excellent listening experience through and through.

I just have to say though that if you’re looking to buy these, I wouldn’t just look at the price of the headphones themselves. Sure, they might be a great value on paper, but you’ll ideally want to add a replacement cable and an amplifier to the cost to get the most out of them, since as I’ve said previously the stock cable is trash and they’re also not exactly the easiest things to power (I definitely wouldn’t recommend them if all you’re looking for is a pair of headphones to plug into your phone).

[rice guru]

Will say no matter which hifiman headphone I have ever tried the stock cable has been shit. This is not a hifiman exclusive problem sennheiser sucks at this, audioquest a literal cable company sucks at this, focal is notorious for shit cables as well. Here is the stock cable that came with my nighthawk carbons. And msrp of $800 headphone

[Tan3l6]

On 6/7/2021 at 9:49 PM, Mateyyy said:

I managed to get them for around €170 here in Europe.

I managed to get them from Aliexpress for 133€ - not a huge difference but still.

Also like the sound. Before I had iSK HF2010 headphones that are perhaps as comfortable, but the sound is "muddy" if I understand the term correctly, but weigh a bit less. 

Anyway HE400se has better sound overall, which seems obvious comparing the prices.