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Hifiman HE400SE Review (Headphone)
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
After a one year usage of the he400se, i have zero problems with these. Dirt cheap but wonderfull performace both comfort and sound. Too many headphones tried after the he400se (including sundara & edition xs and more expensive planar & dynamic drives) but cost/peformance is absolute king. I advice some of my friends they bought and nobody has bad exprience with them. best coupled with xduoo xd-05 basic ( or plus )
solderdude
Grand Contributor
HE400SE and Sundara have a very similar treble peaking (not the same frequency).
Try to put a single ply or 2 plies of a single sheet of 3-ply toilet paper (so pull the sheet apart and peel off one or 2 plies) between the driver and foam.
Or use a filter or EQ. You can't rely on official industry standard measurements alas as the treble peaking is at the same frequency as the problem area of these fixtures.
I have not tried the DT900ProX or Amiron Wireless 'discs' though.
Try to put a single ply or 2 plies of a single sheet of 3-ply toilet paper (so pull the sheet apart and peel off one or 2 plies) between the driver and foam.
Or use a filter or EQ. You can't rely on official industry standard measurements alas as the treble peaking is at the same frequency as the problem area of these fixtures.
I have not tried the DT900ProX or Amiron Wireless 'discs' though.
solderdude
Grand Contributor
That depends on the compensation curve used.
The compensation curve from headphones.com is much better as in not as 'smoothed'
It says +5dB at 9.5kHz, I have +6dB so this measurement (once compensated acc to the target) will be much more accurate in response than the 'usual industry standard' fixtures.
In any case that measurement confirms the results I get above 6kHz. Of course from 100Hz to 8kHz the 5128 measurement is more accurate.
That's why I am glad those guys are working on a measurement standard on their own.
The compensation curve from headphones.com is much better as in not as 'smoothed'
It says +5dB at 9.5kHz, I have +6dB so this measurement (once compensated acc to the target) will be much more accurate in response than the 'usual industry standard' fixtures.
In any case that measurement confirms the results I get above 6kHz. Of course from 100Hz to 8kHz the 5128 measurement is more accurate.
That's why I am glad those guys are working on a measurement standard on their own.
I have tried on some of my treble happy headphones Coffee filter or toilet paper ( toilet paper works better ) , I have tried AKG foam discs, Beyer old 770 990 discs , new 900 ( i think it must be the shame like my Tigers ) disc foam is more intense i even thought that this disc makes the most difference between 770-700, dont know just sayingHE400SE and Sundara have a very similar treble peaking (not the same frequency).
Try to put a single ply or 2 plies of a single sheet of 3-ply toilet paper (so pull the sheet apart and peel off one or 2 plies) between the driver and foam.
Or use a filter or EQ. You can't rely on official industry standard measurements alas as the treble peaking is at the same frequency as the problem area of these fixtures.
I have not tried the DT900ProX or Amiron Wireless 'discs' though.
.What do you think about a foam Behind the driver ( like 58X foam) ? Asking because all my Hifiman Open back headphones do change the sound even if i gently closing my hands near to the driver while i am listening music ( that doesnt effect the HD6 line for example) .
PurpaSmart
Member
I just got my HE400Se today, they sound very similar to my 4XXs, The only difference I can pick out is the treble, which seems to be a bit "smoother" subjectively of course.
feidujiujia
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Ready to buy this to verify the EQ theories by myself, but I found the naming confusing.
I did some research to make sure which one is exactly the headphone you've measured, and now I've concluded that the information linsoul gives is wrong or misleading.
There's no v1 or v2 naming. It's highly likely that the one you measured is "he400se bilateral magnet edition", as opposed to "stealth magnet" given by linsoul.
@amrim
I did some research to make sure which one is exactly the headphone you've measured, and now I've concluded that the information linsoul gives is wrong or misleading.
There's no v1 or v2 naming. It's highly likely that the one you measured is "he400se bilateral magnet edition", as opposed to "stealth magnet" given by linsoul.
@amrim
feidujiujia
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Well, that rendered my conclusion wrong. However the information I found still contradicts with each other.
As far as I could tell, there's no v1 or v2 naming, at least officially.
The he400se comes with two editions, the "bilateral magnet edition" and the "stealth magnet edition". The later is slightly better and likely newer, so it's supposed to be referred to as v2 as someone calls it.
The official Chinese website gives specs of both: bilateral 25 ohms, 390g, stealth 32ohm 385 g
https://www.hifiman.cn/products/detail/283, in the bottom image, 隐形磁体版=stealth magnet edition, 双边磁体版=bilateral magnet edition
And it seems only one edition is available internationally, but the specs contradicting:
https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/he400se.html In one of the images there's a "stealth magnet" sticker, but it gives 25 ohms and 390g, which conforms to the bilateral magnet edition.
The one you measured has the stealth sticker and has impedance of 25ohms, which is what the international site gives. So, maybe the Chinese website gives wrong specs?
I had Sundara with old pads , i have Sundara with New Palit pads , and i bought also the new HE400se . My first Sundara had Pads unglued and they change it under warranty , also cable stop responding , The Second Newer Sundara with Palit pads also had cable problem from Day one didnt work and they change it under warranty , After time and no under warranty the left driver stopped working ( i send it to a guy that fix TV's and fixed it ) some kind of connection problem , they worked ok after that .
Now He400SE the ones with the black cable ( its not the shame like sundara cable) guess what ??? i have them for not even a month and YEAH lol Cable again brakes ... Thankfully i have cables from Meze 99 that i use for many years that work great with Hifiman Headphones .
Amazing Headphones , but Quality Control needs a lot of work .
Ps. after cables on both Sundara and He400se not working i open this tube kind of thing that they use to see whats going on, Sundara is a copper cable inside another tube
without any kind of magnetic field protection ( like others have HD6line) and He400se its that ... cable that is used on cheap 5-10 euro headphones.Attachments
Neutronman
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Quick update on my 400se's. I started to hear a buzz on the right side, so will be returning these to Hifiman for repair or replacement. Shame really as they have been a most excellent headphone. Bought the set in September 2022, stealth magnet version and swapped out the pads for Brainwave pads. Sound has been amazing for the $109 I paid for these. Just curious if any of you have experienced any issues with build quality with these cans?
Yes. I had the same issue. The buzz is mostly likely one of the many, many screws holding the drivers together that has backed off.
They are relatively easy to disassemble and tighten, but it's not completely an easy job. It's part of the reason I wouldn't recommend them to somebody that just wanted a headphone that "just works".
For me.. via RME ADI 2 DAC
Hifiman He400se > HD650 (too dark (haze effect) with lower quality bass) = HD560S (The most dynamic of the 3, but a bit sharp in the treble, with tight bass)
Hifiman He400 is => neutrality with faithful bass, wider soundstage, you can wear it all day, it's just perfect to my ears (no EQ needed)
PS: The 2 Sennheisers are tiring (a little) compared to the Hifiman
Only defect, it is more difficult to drive than the other 2 Sennheisers
Easy to feed:
HD560S > HD650 > Hifiman He400se
They are all 3 excellent headphones but if I had to keep one headphone for life, it's the Hifiman He400se by far.. be careful to go your way if you don't have a beefy headphone amp
Hifiman He400se > HD650 (too dark (haze effect) with lower quality bass) = HD560S (The most dynamic of the 3, but a bit sharp in the treble, with tight bass)
Hifiman He400 is => neutrality with faithful bass, wider soundstage, you can wear it all day, it's just perfect to my ears (no EQ needed)
PS: The 2 Sennheisers are tiring (a little) compared to the Hifiman
Only defect, it is more difficult to drive than the other 2 Sennheisers
Easy to feed:
HD560S > HD650 > Hifiman He400se
They are all 3 excellent headphones but if I had to keep one headphone for life, it's the Hifiman He400se by far.. be careful to go your way if you don't have a beefy headphone amp
_thelaughingman
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That wider soundstage and bass on the HE400se is the reason they're my fave headphones in my collection of Hifiman XS and Sean HD560s.
It is very balanced, bass, midrange and treble on the same line .. it's .. just the goat (not listen to the more expensive Hifiman)
For me that i have all Sennheiser HD6 line , some Hifimans and HE400se , i would say that i love 400se for the 100 euro are amazing. As u can see in the photo i use them lot.
But HD600 has better neutrality better clarity
HD650 has smoother warmer sound
HD660s have better imaging better texture and separation tighter bass and soundstage that is close to HE400se.
HE 400SE on the other hand have low end that goes deeper but metallic not organic sound is there compare to 6 line.
Honestly 560s is closer to technical level of 400se in my ears . And for me HE400se sound better than 560s.
About comfort HD6 line is way lighter on the head doesnt move on the head , the problem is clamping force that goes away like everyone knows, it doesnt have the Hot spot on center of the headband.
About power like you said these need a lot of power more than HD600 to sound amazing... And that makes them None adorable for people getting on the hobby, its mostly for people that already have good dac amp... So they lost value fore money aspect... And i am not even saying about cable replacement.
About if u have to keep one for life ... Trust me Hifiman and Keep for life doesnt go together . And thats not the case with HD6 line that those yeah u can keep them for life.
I understand the hype and how amazing these are for the price i know i use them every day , but in my opinion they cant touch HD6 line. On the other hand Sundara and XS yeah they have something special even if they also sound metalic.
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The HD600, HD560S are too aggressive (treble)
The HD560S has nothing to do with the Hifiman He400se.. the latter is more relaxed or more neutral.
Its major flaw is that it is difficult to feed. (Hifiman He400se)
That's it, and for its price it's a big headphone killer
The HD650 is the only one that comes close to the Hifiman between the other 2 Sennheisers, but its bass is worse than the Hifiman in comparison.
The Hifiman He400se is not aggressive and is more neutral compared to the Sennheisers, we forget the headphones on the head. That's the main thing (over the long term)
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I also didnt like the 560s sound compared to 400se , but compared to 600,650,660s to my ears hd6 line is better more natural organic , i dont find HD600 aggressive at all, have you use them recently? Its really strange because my 600 new clear rings doesnt sound aggressive at all. But i understand that everyone has different ears.
At the end HE400se are like u said value for money ( if u have the equipment already to run them) .
You should try HD660s or S2 these are clear upgrades in my opinion.
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