Hifiman HE400SE Review (Headphone)

[_thelaughingman]

Appreciate the crinacle, can you link me the Oratory, can't find it online . Thanks.

Oratory's is in PDF format on a Reddit thread which is linked below

Oratory EQ Presets

 

[Neutronman]

Oratory's is in PDF format on a Reddit thread which is linked below

Oratory EQ Presets

Thanks,

 

[Neutronman]

OK, so just received my stupidly cheap 400se, that I paid $109 for fro Amazon. I actually did not need an additional cable as myvversion came with stealth magnets and updated rubber cables that are pretty good. Spent the last few hours listening on my PC with Flac recordings via MusicBee and Spotify premium via desktop app. I've tried a number of Paramtetric EQ settings and to be honest I enjoyed the sound out of the box. However if I had to choose a Parametric EQ for my ears, my music and my Dac/amp (Fiio K5 Pro (AKM version) I went with Amir's tweaks, although I changed the preamp frpm -6.7 to -3.0db (no clipping).

I am blown away. This is my first set of open headphones and first set of planar headphones and I can state that for me, these are by far the best ever headphones I have used, at all price ranges below $500.

Curious to understand if a better Dac/Amp combo would get more out of them. Listening to Dire Straits Telegraph Road and Private Investigation as we speak and I am speechless. I thought my Momentums, Meze neo's and AKG's were pretty good, but these are next level and ONLY $109 WTF.....

Someone recommend next step up from Fiio K5 Pro..... Been thinking aboutToppingDX3 Pro+ or if I can stretch Topping EX5

If anyone is interested in my headphone testing music choice you can look here. It is eclectic to say the least but it runs the gamut.

Headphone Test Songs

Playlist · Neutronman · 12 items · 18 saves

open.spotify.com

@amirm nice tweaks to the default sound on these cans.

 

[Bleib]

OK, so just received my stupidly cheap 400se, that I paid $109 for fro Amazon. I actually did not need an additional cable as myvversion came with stealth magnets and updated rubber cables that are pretty good. Spent the last few hours listening on my PC with Flac recordings via MusicBee and Spotify premium via desktop app. I've tried a number of Paramtetric EQ settings and to be honest I enjoyed the sound out of the box. However if I had to choose a Parametric EQ for my ears, my music and my Dac/amp (Fiio K5 Pro (AKM version) I went with Amir's tweaks, although I changed the preamp frpm -6.7 to -3.0db (no clipping).

I am blown away. This is my first set of open headphones and first set of planar headphones and I can state that for me, these are by far the best ever headphones I have used, at all price ranges below $500.

Curious to understand if a better Dac/Amp combo would get more out of them. Listening to Dire Straits Telegraph Road and Private Investigation as we speak and I am speechless. I thought my Momentums, Meze neo's and AKG's were pretty good, but these are next level and ONLY $109 WTF.....

Someone recommend next step up from Fiio K5 Pro..... Been thinking aboutToppingDX3 Pro+ or if I can stretch Topping EX5

If anyone is interested in my headphone testing music choice you can look here. It is eclectic to say the least but it runs the gamut.

Headphone Test Songs

Playlist · Neutronman · 12 items · 18 saves

open.spotify.com

@amirm nice tweaks to the default sound on these cans.

L30 II. Sounds better than both

 

[Neutronman]

L30 II. Sounds better than bo

 

[Neutronman]

Maybe, but that's just a headphone amp. I need a dac and that puts if over my budget...

 

[staticV3]

Maybe, but that's just a headphone amp. I need a dac and that puts if over my budget...

Buy a Moondrop Dawn as DAC for the L30II and you're just $15 above the DX3Pro+ (and $135 below the EX5) with a lot more power than both.


Also, the EX5 has less power than the DX3Pro+

 

[delta76]

this or Sennheiser HD599 SE ?

 

[staticV3]

this or Sennheiser HD599 SE ?

Ideally, buy both from Amazon and send back the one you like less.
For sound quality, I'd choose the HE400se any day.

 

[delta76]

Ideally, buy both from Amazon and send back the one you like less.
For sound quality, I'd choose the HE400se any day.

I am not so sure that amazon return policy is not that generous ( or I am mixing up with in ear ones)
I probably step up and spend more and get 400se though. When the price is right

 

[abdo123]

I use oratory's personally and it is to me very well balanced.

For me it was too bright, you have to adjust some of Oratory's filters to preference.

 

[Keerati]

Interesting observation about burn in....

I don't think I notice any major change of my K371 after using it for a while. Since nothing strange really stands out, my first impresion of it brand new vs well-used do not really change.

Same for hd560s. My first impression of it, vs about a month later, did not change.

But this one, at least when listening for the first few songs from brand new, have something really strange that stood out.

This is either second or third song I listened from brand new:

When brand new, the cymbals sounded really strange, very artificial, like unnatural high pitch noises only.

After a few hours using it, today is the forth day, the cymbals sounded more like what I used to get from my k371. So, burn in appears to happen to mine.....

Anyway, mine only comes with the black cable. No other cable came with it.

I would like to confirm the burn in effect as well. My first impression of HE400se is very good, until it hit the treble peak. It's so sharp and, for me, irritating. I was wondering that if the treble is this sharp and unnatural how could Amir not notice it in his review? This review (I think by Solderdude) also mentions about this treble peak. https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/hifiman/he400se/.

I did not believe about burn in at first, but as I already bought it, I think I will give it a try. After about 8 hours, I started to notice the softness in treble peak. So, I burn in for another 8 hours (total 16 hours), and it works out really well. There is no sharpness in treble anymore, and I'm now happy with my HE400se.

So, I think that maybe there is a small change in manufacturing process that makes some lots of HE400se having this treble peak; or the HE400se that Amir got in this review is a demo unit which has been used for several hours already.

 

[solderdude]

The peak does not go away over time.
That treble peak is at the same spot where Amir's (and Ora's) test fixture 'dips' so (part of) the peak is not shown (masked) but is really there. Same goes for Sundara b.t.w.
I measured quite a few hifimanquite a few times over large time span and on a heavily used second hand one and it is always the same.
Consider you may have gotten used to the presentation.

 

[Χ Ξ Σ]

That's why hifiman never lasts in my collection. Sundara, Edition XS, HE400se, all the same. I l liked many aspects of these headphones but soon or later the treble peaks would bother me.

 

[Timbo2]

That's why hifiman never lasts in my collection. Sundara, Edition XS, HE400se, all the same. I l liked many aspects of these headphones but soon or later the treble peaks would bother me.

I'm not the best hand with a soldering iron, but the @solderdude filter made what I considered a very pleasing sounding headphone sound even better. It wasn't terribly hard to build. Removing the peak helped bring out the low end .

 

[Keerati]

The peak does not go away over time.
That treble peak is at the same spot where Amir's (and Ora's) test fixture 'dips' so (part of) the peak is not shown (masked) but is really there. Same goes for Sundara b.t.w.
I measured quite a few hifimanquite a few times over large time span and on a heavily used second hand one and it is always the same.
Consider you may have gotten used to the presentation.

I do test the treble peak using Ears chrome extension to boost 8k-10k range by 5 dB on Mac Air speaker. I immediately felt irritating by the peak treble, but I cannot remember exactly that it is the same kind of irritating sound that my HE400se previously produced or not. So, what I can confirm now is that my current HE400se sound does not irritating to my ear (not from gotten used to the presentation).

I would say I generally don't believe in burn-in, at least, from the manufacturing point of view. If an audio product depends on burn in to sound good, how could the company QC their own product? by burn-in their product 20 hours before doing QC? It'd be so impractical.

However, I generally don't think of my own believe as 100% truth, as once in a while, I usually have an experience that contradict my own believe. So, I would say I don't know what happens in this case, but I have an almost exact experience like Pdxwayne. The brand new HE400se sounds irritating to my ear, and after burn-in, its sound has changed and its new sound is not irritating to my ear anymore.

 

[Keerati]

Just want to state my intention that I did not post because I want to prove that burn-in works for speakers. I just want to share to others that if you happen to own HE400se and does not like its treble. Before thinking about selling or giving this headphone to others. You could try burn-in as it might work.

Before the post of Pdxwayne, burn-in is not in my thought at all as I told before that I do not believe in such thing previously. I thought about selling or giving this headphone to others. Then I found the post of Pdxwayne and think that I will give it a try as I have nothing to lose. The result surprise me as it works out really well.

For now, I still do not completely believe in burn-in, but I would not reject it outright as well (as I already have a direct experience with it). I think that burn-in probably works in some rare cases (more like a coincidence).

 

[Music1969]

The Hifiman HE400SE Non stealth.

How do you know oratory's measurement is non-stealth?

His PDF doesn't mention

 

[Music1969]

Hi @solderdude

Do we know if there is any measured difference (frequency response) between Stealth and non-Stealth? Or still a bit of a mystery ?

Also does V2 Stealth stock cable have 4 insulated cables along entire length from the 6.3mm plug ?

For someone that likes Harman (as a starting point only) can we use oratory's supposed non-Stealth EQ (not sure if correct?) to Stealth ?

 

[solderdude]

If there is it will be very small.
Only the shape and type of magnet changed AFAIK.
I haven't cut the cable open but as this is a dual entry headphone it would make sense there are 4 wires all the way to the connector.