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I last looked at HIFIMAN’s top-of-the-line new headphone model a few months ago. Let’s see what the company has in store for us at the other end of the spectrum.

HIFIMAN HE400se Planar Magnetic Headphone close-up

HIFIMAN has had a few different HE400 model headphones in their lineup for quite some time now. Each has been at a slightly different price point but not higher than $499.00 placing the 400 series at the more approachable end of the scale. The HE400se we have in for review retails for $149.00 which makes it HIFIMAN’s most affordable headphone to date. And for that very reasonable price, it seems to have a whole lot going for it.

Highlights

HIFIMAN HE400SE PLANAR MAGNETIC HEADPHONE

  • An open-backed Planar-Magnetic headphone for under $150 bucks!
  • A full and spacious sound that works well with most kinds of music.
  • Nice solid bass delivery that didn’t overwhelm the mids or highs.
  • Very light and comfortable for prolonged listening.
  • Lighter “Stealth Magnet” design in the drivers claims to improve sound quality.
  • Borrows the same comfortable headband from the Deva model.
Introduction

HIFIMAN HE400se Planar Magnetic Headphones on a stand

I know I’ve brought this up a few times in the past, but it still just amazes me how far planar magnetic headphone technology has come and how affordable it is to sample these days. Just a few short years ago $300.00 – $500.00 was considered the entry-level for a pair of planar magnetic cans and we all thought, at the time, that was a very affordable entry point. And yet here we are today, looking at a pair of planar magnetic headphones for $149.00! It’s really kind of astonishing when you think about it. The first question that someone will likely ask is “Well, are these $150-dollar HE400se any good? I mean what can you expect to get for that kind of price?” I’m here to tell you, quite a lot! Two things that HIFIMAN is known for are constantly updating their products with new features and design improvements and then eventually trickling down much of their higher-level tech to the more affordable models. If you are interested in a very affordable pair of audiophile headphones, then I suggest you pull up a chair and read on!

HIFIMAN HE400SE PLANAR MAGNETIC HEADPHONE SPECIFICATIONS
Headphones Design:

Circumaural, Open-back Headphones with Planar Magnetic drivers.

Manufacturer Freq. Response:

20 Hz – 20 kHz

Impedance:

25-Ohms

Sensitivity:

91 dB

Weight:

390 grams

Finish:

Black headband and earpads with silver and black earcups.

Accessories:

Single 1.5-meter-long cable with 3.5 mm termination. One ¼-inch phono plug adapter.

MSRP:

$149.00

Company:

HIFIMAN

SECRETS Tags:

HIFIMAN, planar, open-back, headphones, headphones review 2021

HIFIMAN HE400se Planar Magnetic Headphone held up to see front view

The new HIFIMAN HE400se shares a familial resemblance to the previous generations of this model, particularly in the shape of the earcups. Everything else though seems to have been passed down from more expensive headphones in the HIFIMAN portfolio.

Design

HIFIMAN HE400se Planar Magnetic Headphone close-up of the ear piece

The soft leatherette earpads are now angled, which is becoming increasingly popular, along with having velour contact faces and perforated interiors. The pads feel very nice against my face and the openings completely encircle my ears.

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HIFIMAN HE400se Planar Magnetic Headphone side profile

The headband and yolk are pretty much lifted from the Deva headphones, just presented in black and silver tones here, respectively.

HIFIMAN HE400se Planar Magnetic Headphone being worn by Carlo

At 390 grams the HE400se are exceedingly light and very comfortable to have on for extended periods. The clamping force is quite agreeable and yet is sufficient to keep the headphones and band from sliding around too much on my head.

HIFIMAN HE400se Planar Magnetic Headphone close up of honeycomb detail

HIFIMAN’s literature makes a big deal about this thinner magnet technology, coined “Stealth,” that is used in the HE400se drivers. The company states that “the advanced magnet design is acoustically transparent, dramatically reducing wave diffraction turbulence that degrades the integrity of the sound waves. The reduced distortion yields pure sonic output that is accurate and full-range.

HIFIMAN HE400se Planar Magnetic Headphone inside the ear piece

While I can’t exactly validate those claims, I can say that the drivers do let a surprising amount of light through the earcups when you look through them. The driver membrane itself must be incredibly thin and transparent, along with the magnet structure being open enough to allow that to happen. It barely looks as if there is a driver there at all.

HIFIMAN HE400se Planar Magnetic Headphonen connection cord

The supplied cable has a nice black rubberized sheathing and is resistant to tangling. It has two 3.5mm ends marked L and R that plug into the matching earcups while the source end is also terminated with a 3.5mm right-angled plug. A ¼” phono plug adaptor is also included in the package. No carry case is supplied.

Setup

I tested the HIFIMAN HE400se in a couple of scenarios. For listening in my studio, the headphones were driven by my Topping DX7PRO DAC/headphone amplifier. The source was my Surface 3 PRO tablet running ROON, which was connected to the Topping via USB. For mobile listening, HE400se was connected to my Topping NX4 DSD portable DAC/headphone amp that could use the output of either my Shanling M0 digital audio player or iPhone 12.

In Use

Listening to the HE400se was akin to putting on a comfortable sweatshirt or well-worn pair of jeans. I used to own a pair of the older HE400s which I greatly enjoyed, and these new headphones immediately felt and sounded very familiar. The fit and weight were extremely agreeable, and it made it easy to listen for long stretches of time. The new headphones also possessed that same spacious sound as their predecessor that flattered vocals so well, but now there was an even deeper and more potent bass presence than I remembered along with a bit more transparency in upper mids and high frequencies. That ended up making the HE400se sound pretty good with all varieties of music that I tried out with them, including classical.

Doing a quick comparison between the HIFIMAN HE400se and last year’s Secrets Best of Award-winning Monoprice Monolith M570 planar magnetic headphones proved to highlight a few interesting differences. The M570 overall sounded a bit darker than the HE400se mainly due to the HIFIMAN’s having noticeably more sparkle in the upper mids and highs than the Monoprice. Thankfully it wasn’t so much that the HE400se sounded thin, its overall sound struck a genuinely good balance. The Monoprice was a little polite in that regard. Both headphones’ bass reach and impact seemed about even which was as solid and impactful as I could want in this class. While both headphones were plenty comfortable, the Monoprice is certainly heavier, so if you are sensitive to excess weight on your head, this is something to keep in mind. Clamping force was more than acceptable for both. I honestly enjoy the sound of both headphones but the HE400se is probably the more well-rounded of the two sound-wise. The fact that HIFIMAN can get this level of sound quality to us at the price that it does has to qualify them as the best-bang-for-the-buck in headphones that I have come across so far. Like the Monoprice 570H, the HE400se does benefit from having additional amplifier power fed to it. My iPhone alone wasn’t enough to really get the kind of volume that I was after. Using my Topping NX4 DSD more than did the trick when I was on the go. That may be the only ding against the HE400se as I recall the older HE400s getting by just fine without a separate amp. Even so, the HE400se still qualifies as a tremendous value in my book.

Some of the music that I enjoyed with the HIFIMAN HE-400se was:

Grant Street album cover

Sonny Landreth, “Grant Street”, Sugar Hill Records, 2005, 16/44.1 FLAC.

This is a great live recording with a lot of spatial information captured from the venue. With the right speakers or headphones, the results can be holographic. The track “Broken Hearted Road” has an opening bass line that mimics a heartbeat tempo, and it had a deep and solid weight to it. While that is happening, you can also hear the room noise/reverb, bar chatter, tinkling glasses, etc. The HE400se is adept at throwing a large image which, in this case, made me feel like I was in the environment. All the while, those great little details that complete the sonic picture aren’t obscured by that concurrent thumping bass line. Sonny Landreth’s vocals don’t have much in the way of depth of tone, but they do have an unmistakable character to them. The HIFIMAN HE400se seems to handle the vocal range with a little extra warmth to just lightly embellish the good stuff that’s already there. Landreth’s vocals still sounded as clear and detailed as anything you could expect in this category but again just a little bit sweeter in this case. His slide guitar work is unmistakable and the HE400se do great work in getting the edge, aggression, and tone sounding very fine indeed with just enough detail to spare.

The Collected Works 1977-1993 album cover

David Wilcox, “The Collected Works 1977-1993,” EMI Records, 1993, 16/44.1 FLAC.

Recently while with a group of other reviewers, I expressed my general indifference to the music of Leonard Cohen. One of my Canadian colleagues looked at me incredulously and said, “Well what kind of Canadian are you then?” To which I replied, “I’m more of a David Wilcox kind of Canadian.” No, not the American folk singer by that same name but the Canadian guitar hero whose playing abilities are absurdly good and whose music is much less full of itself, let’s say than Mr. Cohen’s. Why (my) David Wilcox never got much traction south of the border I’ll never know but his classic songs like “Do The Bearcat” and “Riverboat Fantasy” were staples of my youth up in Toronto. Listening to his acoustic guitar intro to the intimate “Life is Funky,” the HE400se do an excellent job of not only getting the tone and ring of the guitar strings correct but also get across the amount of tension applied to each pick and pluck. You can just about feel it. The sheen on the high strings sounds especially good through the HIFIMAN cans. Then when the piercing electric guitar comes in at the end of the song, it sounds so cleanly reproduced and cuts the atmosphere like a knife. Listening to “Cheap Beer Joint” through the HE400se brings out some more of the fantastic acoustic string details that are in this track, along with hearing fingers slide up and down and the wood of the guitar body flexing as he plays.

Adagio d’Albinoni album cover

Gary Karr, “Adagio d’Albinoni”, Impex Records, 1982, DSD64 File.

Secrets writer Todd Cooperider turned me on to this recording of renowned double-bassist Gary Karr. He was recorded in a church with the accompaniment of the church organ and the results have a lovely depth of tone and dimension to them. Listening to “Adagio: In G Minor” over the HE400se I easily was able to get a good sense of the recording space and the rendered bubble of sound extended well beyond my ears. Open back cans, by the nature of their design, almost always have an advantage in delivering that open and more effortless sense of space. The HIFIMAN HE400se also delivered in the bass department and helped me feel the depth of both Karr’s lowest bass notes and the lower register organ notes. And yet the HE400se drivers were also quick and sounded detailed enough to get all the nuances of the strings and pipes when they weren’t busy mining the bottom octaves of the scales. Those expressive reverential tones from both double-bass and organ varied through the piece, ranging from subtle to piercing. The planar magnetic drivers had no issues keeping up and getting things to sound as they should without any distortion that I could detect. On this same track, the Monoprice M570 did well but came across as a little cooler sounding with a touch less sparkle than the HE400se. Kick drum and bass lines sounded full and had plenty of impact.

Currency of Man album cover

Melody Gardot, “Currency of Man”, Decca Records, 2015, 16/44.1 FLAC

Another great album from Melody Gardot, this time with some distinct Motown influences throughout the tracks. “Same to You” starts with a great groove from the kick drum, bass, and electric guitar. The sound is open and full, seemingly extending outside the boundary of the earcups. Melody Gardot’s voice is warm and rich sounding and placed perfectly centered in space. The horn section also sounded snappy and properly brassy but without being annoying or grating. “No Man’s Prize” gives off the vibe of a 1940s hard-boiled film noire special. Extremely intimate vocals with languid piano accompaniment and subtle horns and bass. The sound is full and enveloping but the subtlest of details from her breathy, close mic’d voice comes through clearly through the HE400se.

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I Want Candy album cover

Bow Wow Wow, “I Want Candy”, RCA, 1982, 16/44.1 FLAC.

Sometimes you just want to listen to something fun and cueing up this 1980s New Wave hit always does the trick for me. Many hit songs of the era were recorded in such a way that they sound flat and two-dimensional, this thankfully isn’t one of them and it can ultimately sound great on headphones. The opening sequence of big, punchy kick drum hits leading into that slightly nasty and distorted guitar riff that everyone knows sounds really, really good on the HE400se. That distorted guitar sound can get edgy and annoying if not rendered correctly and the HIFIMAN HE400se get it right. The lead singer’s Kewpie-doll pitched singing style has body and is sexy, it doesn’t come off sounding too thin which I’ve encountered in some cases. Overall, just a great party tune that totally grooves and sounds fantastic on these headphones. Switching to the Monoprice M570 headphones and the presentation becomes noticeably softer and a little less precise.

Conclusions

HIFIMAN HE400se Planar Magnetic Headphones on a skull

The HIFIMAN HE400SE provides some of the best sound quality for the price that I have encountered from headphones thus far. Highly recommended!

Likes
  • Classic open-back headphone soundstage.
  • Great bass response, appealing midrange, and sparkling highs.
  • Light and Comfortable.
  • A steal for the price.
Would Like To See
  • If they were just a little easier to drive for the smartphone crowd.

In the final analysis, I think the HIFIMAN HE400se brings a lot to the table when it comes to that increasingly scarce concept in headphones, value for the money. Open-backed headphones that have a great low-end response, balanced with an appealing sounding midrange and sparkling highs. I mean what’s not to like here for the (these days) paltry sum of $149.00? Add to that, they are light and comfortable for long listening sessions, and we have the makings of one of the best screaming bargains in headphones altogether. Yes, they do require a little more “go-juice” than your average smartphone provides to sound their best. But finding a good, affordable DAC/ Amp/dongle to use with your smartphone is not a big issue these days. And you’ll certainly elevate the sound of your phone to new heights to enjoy with these headphones in the bargain. If you already have a decent headphone amplifier or DAP, they should have no issues with driving the HIFIMAN HE400se headphones. I’ve very much enjoyed my time with these cans. Forgive me if I’m sounding like a broken record but, they are probably the best bang-for-the-buck headphones out there – at least that I am currently aware of.