[vadim fedenko]

Amazing measurements, thanks. Applied this as EQ and the sound is much much better now. Other measurements I used were quite off (including the official hifiman measurements)

Also what's interesting, I'm EQ'ing chinese version of HE400SE, and this measurement is from international version, as far as I can see. so there's not that big deal of a difference. which is especially interesting, given that in the domestic chinese market, chinese HE400SE is sold super cheaply for 499 yuan and competes with the Philips sph9600

 

[JaVerde]

Will any dual 3.5m cable work with this headphone?

 

[Ichos]

Will any dual 3.5m cable work with this headphone?

Yes , like the Focal ones etc.

 

[ultraman31]

I can no longer find HE400i 2020 version on Amazon anymore, so I'm guessing this has replaced the 400i v.2020?

 

[10000days]

I can no longer find HE400i 2020 version on Amazon anymore, so I'm guessing this has replaced the 400i v.2020?

Yes. I bought what was apparently the last HE400i 2020 that was in stock in my country and the firm who delivers them here updated the status of the product with an announcement saying it is an older model that has been replaced by the HE400se.

Too bad, because the black cans looked so badass!

 

[Ichos]

But the new ones are tuned differently and to some (including me) might sound better!

 

[pk4425]

I can no longer find HE400i 2020 version on Amazon anymore, so I'm guessing this has replaced the 400i v.2020?

Maybe. The 400i 2020 disappeared from Amazon about three weeks ago, and I presumed the same. Then it reappeared about a week later. Amazon stock from the Chinese factories always is wonky.

Edit: Oops -- didn't see the follow-up post to the OP. It's crazy that HiFiMan released the 2020 version of the 400i just last year, and it's already obsolete.

 

[sulfuriq]

Maybe. The 400i 2020 disappeared from Amazon about three weeks ago, and I presumed the same. Then it reappeared about a week later. Amazon stock from the Chinese factories always is wonky.

Edit: Oops -- didn't see the follow-up post to the OP. It's crazy that HiFiMan released the 2020 version of the 400i just last year, and it's already obsolete.

One of the supplier/seller said that 400i v2020 already been stopped production and replaced with HE400SE International Version. HE400SE can be portable if you match it with DAC/AMP like Lotoo PAW S1 and use 4.4m to dual 3.5mm Balanced Cable like Earmax.

 

[SilverEars]

Sundara is a step up from 400SE. Superior imaging, and better refinement in the way the sounds are presented. There's a bit of crude way 400SE presents the treble compared to Sundara. Sundara has more of a smoothness in how it presents the imaging. The detailing seems more refined, and bass is better presented with the Sundara. I think microdynamics is better with Sundara, and Sundara's timbre seems more natural.

Just like 400SE is a great value at the price-point, I think Sundara is at it's price-point as well. Hifiman hitting all the price-points lower than counterparts for performance. Well, except his ultra high-end, which seems a bit excessive IMO.

I think as you go to higher-end model Hifimans, the imaging and refinements of the presentations gets improved along with the dynamics.

Sundara is technically superior than 5XX as well. Improvements in everyway. Personally, I would just go with Sundara over the 5XX. Hifiman seems to have laid it out at every price-point. I think it's the timbre that does it with Sundara. It's like a transition point for timbre (at the point that timbre gets more natural in realism).

 

[Ichos]

Timbre on the HE400SE seems more natural to me than the Sundara - regarding the treble.
Technicalities are as SiverEars is describing them.

 

[FastAndClean]

why they stopped he400i 2020?!! are they crazy, that was their best seller

 

[pk4425]

One of the supplier/seller said that 400i v2020 already been stopped production and replaced with HE400SE International Version. HE400SE can be portable if you match it with DAC/AMP like Lotoo PAW S1 and use 4.4m to dual 3.5mm Balanced Cable like Earmax.

Definitely on portability with a portable amp. I'm using my 400se with a TempoTec Sonata HD Pro, which drives it just fine from my iPhone 12 when the Sonata is in high-gain mode.

But HiFiMan's marketing suggests the 400se can be driven directly from a phone. That's absolute BS, unless you listen at whisper-quiet volume and don't care about peak fidelity or you have a phone with a two-volt DAC/amp like certain LG models.

 

[pk4425]

why they stopped he400i 2020?!! are they crazy, that was their best seller

Probably because once the word gets out about how good the 400se are for $150, HiFiMan will sell even more of them than the 400i 2020 at $175-200.

I've never owned or heard the 400i 2020, but I'm stoked at how much I enjoy the 400se. I like them better than my Sennheiser HD 560s, a highly praised, neutral, flat-ish headphone. I know the HD 560s are dynamic, while the 400se are planar magnetic.

 

[sulfuriq]

Sundara is a step up from 400SE. Superior imaging, and better refinement in the way the sounds are presented. There's a bit of crude way 400SE presents the treble compared to Sundara. Sundara has more of a smoothness in how it presents the imaging. The detailing seems more refined, and bass is better presented with the Sundara. I think microdynamics is better with Sundara, and Sundara's timbre seems more natural.

Just like 400SE is a great value at the price-point, I think Sundara is at it's price-point as well. Hifiman hitting all the price-points lower than counterparts for performance. Well, except his ultra high-end, which seems a bit excessive IMO.

I think as you go to higher-end model Hifimans, the imaging and refinements of the presentations gets improved along with the dynamics.

Sundara is technically superior than 5XX as well. Improvements in everyway. Personally, I would just go with Sundara over the 5XX. Hifiman seems to have laid it out at every price-point. I think it's the timbre that does it with Sundara. It's like a transition point for timbre (at the point that timbre gets more natural in realism).

I was going to get Sundara as my first planar and open back headphone, luckily the seller adviced me that Hifiman coming out with a new HE400SE International Version (Half of the price of Sundara), and glad that I've make HE400SE as my first experience. Would definitely go with the Planar Open Back upgrade after this.

 

[pk4425]

I was going to get Sundara as my first planar and open back headphone, luckily the seller adviced me that Hifiman coming out with a new HE400SE International Version (Half of the price of Sundara), and glad that I've make HE400SE as my first experience. Would definitely go with the Planar Open Back upgrade after this.

Yeah, I don't see the 400se International as my end game for planars, especially since it's my first! I find it hard to believe it's better than the Sundara, which I've never heard. Then again, HiFiMan seems to do a good job of sabotaging its product line with lower-priced and better-sounding new products all the time.

I see the 400se International as an amazing value for a first planar, which is my case. Holy hell, if planars get substantially better than this without breaking the bank, my time with dynamic-driver cans may dwindle rapidly.