HiFiMan HE400se headphones review

06 March 2022
Planar magnetic quality at an affordable price.

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I have a HiFiMan HD400SE, which I run through a FiiO KS pro ESS Dac-Amp. I get as much bass as u can expect from open backs. It is certainly not bass deficient. U can also remove the outer grill for a deeper sound with less shouty treble.

    OogieBoogie3, 09 Mar 2022You're completely off with the sub-bass summery. I... moreWell, all other reviews says the same, there is a slight roll-off and no mid-bass bloat. ... maybe he is not "completely off" after all? - however, an EQ should do the trick, +6db at 32Hz, +3 at 64 and +4 at 2.000, so they say ...

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      • Amen Dunes
      • 3q@
      • 09 Mar 2022

      Hi Prasad, that was a nice read, would love more headphone reviews on the site.

      Speaking of headphones, would the HE400se then be better than DT 990 PRO for music like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJjI8IkMau0

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        • OogieBoogie3
        • IbI
        • 09 Mar 2022

        You're completely off with the sub-bass summery. I'm curious as to what you actually used as far as amplification is concerned. Planars want a lot of current - without ample amplification, they can sound thin in the lower range.

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          • Rkm
          • ypc
          • 08 Mar 2022

          Hello Life, 08 Mar 2022OIC.. its totally opposite for me.. But one thing is true..... moreDamn, m50x for 5000 is epic. But yeah, the first one stays in your heart.

            Rkm, 08 Mar 2022I don't like ruler flat stuff either. My favourite IEM... moreOIC.. its totally opposite for me.. But one thing is true.. when I first tried M50x.. I thought of returning it.. but I didnt because I got it at insanely cheap price in Big Billion Days sale.. 70$ (5000 INR) to be exact.. I gave it time.. Before that I had the Sennheiser PX 80, a legend and cheap at that.. whatever.. Switching to closed back meant very bad soundstage. .but after using for few months it grew on me.. The sharp treble, impactful Bass without mudding the mid range but the most important the forward pushed audio.. its in your face and dynamic.. and at first no one will like it.. It has been over 4 years now.. added many more headphones to my collection.. but M50x is special to my heart.. as it introduced me to a whole different world apart from budget headphones

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              • Rkm
              • ypc
              • 08 Mar 2022

              Hello Life, 08 Mar 2022ELNA audio caps with quadDAC is present in my motherboard w... moreI don't like ruler flat stuff either. My favourite IEM to watch movies and stuff is final e3000 which is a very well done V shaped IEM. My serious stuff (er2xr and dt770) is anything but flat. But when I wore m50x it sounded weird to me, so by transference your opinion also didn't sit well with me. But as I said in the beginning sound is subjective, so it's alright.

              It may also be a synergy thing. The 400se is a neutral bright headphone. From what I have heard and read, fiio a3 is also neutral bright. So it simply may not have matched well. Pairing is also very important in audio.

                Rkm, 08 Mar 2022Well, to be honest that doesn't tell the whole story. ... moreELNA audio caps with quadDAC is present in my motherboard with proper shielding.. but maybe its a subjective thing as told by OP. I don't really like completely FLAT profile, specially for music. However I tried many headphones which are really high end in headphone zone experience zones.. and many of them I really like. So flat doesn't necessarily mean a Headphone is superior. For work, yes.. for other intent and purposes NO!! If you game on these.. you will throw hate these.. the sound stage is better ofcourse..but the massive impacts, grenades, booms, sound so lackluster.. Just an example.. if you are thinking about using these for multipurpose

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                  • nxn
                  • 6rf
                  • 08 Mar 2022

                  You gotta give them a lot of juicy to get back the most you can hear from the babies here. Sure they are not as talented as Sundaras, but they are very good. I have these since May 2021 and use with pleasure.

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                    • Rkm
                    • ypc
                    • 08 Mar 2022

                    Hello Life, 08 Mar 2022seriously? Hifiman asks 25ohms of impedance.. and if we con... moreWell, to be honest that doesn't tell the whole story. Tin p1 is an iem, has lower impedance , has higher sensitivity than this hifiman but is still more difficult to drive.

                    Also since it is just an amp, if your input signal is bad/ weak, it'll be amplifying that bad signal. So there's something wrong with your chain somewhere since you found m50x to be better than this hifiman.

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                      • Anonymous
                      • 6wN
                      • 08 Mar 2022

                      Hello Life, 07 Mar 2022using fiio A3 hereI use Fiio FH3. It is great even without an amp. It is super loud and clear.

                        MasEnha, 08 Mar 2022Not to judge however Fiio A3 seems to not sufficient to han... moreseriously? Hifiman asks 25ohms of impedance.. and if we consider the planar drivers.. even if we multiply by 3, the rule.. it is accounting to 75ohms.. Fiio A3 can drive 150ohms. What are you smoking?

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                          • MasEnha
                          • y{0
                          • 08 Mar 2022

                          Hello Life, 07 Mar 2022using fiio A3 hereNot to judge however Fiio A3 seems to not sufficient to handle planar magnetic one.

                            AnonD-762416, 07 Mar 2022You are really buying in to the "audiophile" hype... moreThat's the artist /Musicians reasons for using balanced output, they use very long cables and balanced xrl (actually very few portable Audio player use it, only the very Large size astell and kern kann cube) use xrl.

                            No I don't use xrl cable at home or for music

                              Gerald, 07 Mar 2022U for sure need an amp to drive this, I have them, they sou... moreusing fiio A3 here

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                                • AnonD-762416
                                • Sec
                                • 07 Mar 2022

                                imparanoic, 07 Mar 2022The counter claim is that increasing voltage on single end ... moreYou are really buying in to the "audiophile" hype of XLR cables, aren't you? Z Reviews, is that you? 😊
                                You're fine with high impedance headphones on a regular 1.5m headphone cable. XLR is useful for loooooong cables in environments with a lot of electrical noise. For instance a music stage with a million PA speakers and instruments with cables crossing and laying on top of each other everywhere.
                                These are low impedance headphones, though. As most planar magnetic headphones are. Now, I would never buy a pair of open back headphones for mobile. It's a bad idea for the obvious reason.

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                                  • Rkm
                                  • DkZ
                                  • 07 Mar 2022

                                  MasEnha, 07 Mar 2022I agree that M50x is overhyped by many, but overbright to m... moreDitto. I was trying to be polite since audio is subjective. Bass were boomy, vocals recessed and treble was just weird. The soundstage was bad for a close back.
                                  I mean I had already heard good audio when I heard it, but it was such a massive let down considering the hype.

                                    prasad-gsma, 07 Mar 2022There is nothing that prevents single-ended outputs from dr... moreThe counter claim is that increasing voltage on single end unbalanced output is more likely to add significant levels of hiss especially on very sensitive and low Ohms iems such as campfire Andromeda.

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                                      • MasEnha
                                      • y{0
                                      • 07 Mar 2022

                                      Rkm, 07 Mar 2022All that dissing to praise the m50x? Those are one of the m... moreI agree that M50x is overhyped by many, but overbright to my taste. I was lasted less than one minute when using my friend's M50x.

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                                        • MasEnha
                                        • y{0
                                        • 07 Mar 2022

                                        imparanoic, 07 Mar 2022Do you understand the reason why balanced output (can be 4.... moreHD600s for example on paper have 300ohm, however during the run its may reach 600ohm which needs higher voltage to reach. Conversely, planar magnetic will needs higher current even if it has low impedance.