[sulfuriq]

Want to know what inside the Hifiman HE400SE?

Hifiman HE400se Design review - taking a look inside some cheap planars

 

[10000days]

Want to know what inside the Hifiman HE400SE?

Hifiman HE400se Design review - taking a look inside some cheap planars

Yeah, looks like a very similar driver to the HE400i ver 2020 - which is not a bad thing for such a notable price drop. If it sounds the same as those then at 150 usd the HE400se is easily the best headphone deal ever. These 4-- series headphones from Hifiman have no real cons (except for a slightly phantomatic center image), everything else (technicality, detail, soundstage) are the best you can get for the price, period. Only Sennheiser fans will probably disagree, because these are certainly not intimate.

I've already owned the HE400i and HE4XX, so I eventually decided to ignore the HE400se and jumped straight to Sundara. Can't wait to hear them.

 

[tentoes]

I emailed Hifiman and asked when the HE400i 2020 would be available for North America. They replied within a few hours.

Hello Friends,

When will Hifiman HE400i headphones be in stock and available for delivery to Canada?

Regards

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out. We regret to inform you that both HE400i and HE400i 2020 have been discontinued, so it won't be back to the market anymore. Would you like to try our newly launched HE400SE which is the updated version of HE400i 2020. Here is the link to the HE400SE: https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/he400se.html

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to ask.

Best regards,

 

[Ichos]

I emailed Hifiman and asked when the HE400i 2020 would be available for North America. They replied within a few hours.

In my opinion the 400SE is better than the 400i 2020.

 

[vormhat]

In my opinion the 400SE is better than the 400i 2020.

From all I've read the 400i 2020 is near identical to the 400i which also makes it identical to the HE4xx (mine being sold). The differences can easily be explained by pads and unit variance. The 400SE sounds almost the same as the 5xx to me except for a bigger soundstage in the 400SE (also selling my 5xx). That would make the 400SE, Deva, and 5xx close siblings. The biggest difference in these 2 lines in terms of the driver is the double magnet in the 400SE (and deva and 5xx).

 

[Ichos]

From all I've read the 400i 2020 is near identical to the 400i which also makes it identical to the HE4xx (mine being sold). The differences can easily be explained by pads and unit variance. The 400SE sounds almost the same as the 5xx to me except for a bigger soundstage in the 400SE (also selling my 5xx). That would make the 400SE, Deva, and 5xx close siblings. The biggest difference in these 2 lines in terms of the driver is the double magnet in the 400SE (and deva and 5xx).

Never heard the 400i OG or 4xx.
Regarding 400SE vs 5xx they are different drivers of course and they sound a little different but not that much.
Deva and 5xx sound indentical to me.
But if you ask me this is the case with all HiFiMan headphones up to the Ananda.
Differences are there but not that huge.

At the end of the day what counts more is that the 400SE is an excellent sounding headphone and a great value.

 

[vormhat]

Never heard the 400i OG or 4xx.
Regarding 400SE vs 5xx they are different drivers of course and they sound a little different but not that much.
Deva and 5xx sound indentical to me.
But if you ask me this is the case with all HiFiMan headphones up to the Ananda.
Differences are there but not that huge.

At the end of the day what counts more is that the 400SE is an excellent sounding headphone and a great value.

The 400SE sounded identical to the 5xx to me. The stage was a little bigger in the 400SE but the the cups are deeper and the pads I had were thicker so that would explain that.

I had and sold the 400i OG and just packed up the 4xx to a seller. They sounded nearly the same too.

So I agree pretty much with you with the cans I've owned. Never had a 2020 400i or Deva though. The Deva/5xx/400SE sound basically the same. The 4xx/400i OG/400i 2020 sound basically the same.

The 4xx I had *did* sound different than the 5xx/400SE though (i posted some observations a few pages back).

I really enjoy the 400SE, that's why I'm selling the 4xx and 5xx.

 

[RMac]

Has anyone heard both the China version and International version and can shed light on any differences (if any?)

I know being in America not being able to get warranty on the China version is a deterrent to buying it. But they are so cheap, maybe it doesn't matter.

Thinking of getting the international version just to see for myself.

 

[vadim fedenko]

Has anyone heard both the China version and International version and can shed light on any differences (if any?)

yeah I'm interested as well. I personally have the chinese version, and the cable on it is much better, not microphonic at all, and just looks fine overall. the second difference is the absense of stealth magnet, and so far I haven't seen a single comparison with and without those magnets. but EQ'ing chinese 400se with data from international version works perfect for me, so that should give a clue

 

[pk4425]

yeah I'm interested as well. I personally have the chinese version, and the cable on it is much better, not microphonic at all, and just looks fine overall. the second difference is the absense of stealth magnet, and so far I haven't seen a single comparison with and without those magnets. but EQ'ing chinese 400se with data from international version works perfect for me, so that should give a clue

I bought an iFi Hip-DAC to hopefully get more power and fidelity for my 400se International versions than what my TempoTec Sonata HD Pro can provide, and without having to use the adapter technique to "trick" the Sonata HD Pro into high-gain mode.

Happy to say the Hip-DAC has much more power than the Sonata HD Pro, and the slightly warm sound of the Burr-Brown chip of the Hip-DAC works perfectly for me and the 400se Internationals. It works pretty well with my Sennheiser HD 560s and Meze 99 Classics, but it's such an ideal match to my ears for the 400se International that I'm seriously considering selling my 99 Classics and HD 560s and just going with the 400se Internationals for over-ear cans and my Moondrop Starfields for IEMS.

The 400se International and hip-DAC combination is that good for me right now. Really stoked.

 

[SilverEars]

Want to know what inside the Hifiman HE400SE?

Hifiman HE400se Design review - taking a look inside some cheap planars

Custom Cans (Their Youtube channel)! So, this means double sided magnets?

 

[vadim fedenko]

I bought an iFi Hip-DAC to hopefully get more power and fidelity for my 400se International versions than what my TempoTec Sonata HD Pro can provide

would be nice to hear from someone with a wide collection of amps about how the 400se sound differs between them. thinking about magni or liquid spark for some good current to power these

 

[sulfuriq]

I bought an iFi Hip-DAC to hopefully get more power and fidelity for my 400se International versions than what my TempoTec Sonata HD Pro can provide, and without having to use the adapter technique to "trick" the Sonata HD Pro into high-gain mode.

Happy to say the Hip-DAC has much more power than the Sonata HD Pro, and the slightly warm sound of the Burr-Brown chip of the Hip-DAC works perfectly for me and the 400se Internationals. It works pretty well with my Sennheiser HD 560s and Meze 99 Classics, but it's such an ideal match to my ears for the 400se International that I'm seriously considering selling my 99 Classics and HD 560s and just going with the 400se Internationals for over-ear cans and my Moondrop Starfields for IEMS.

The 400se International and hip-DAC combination is that good for me right now. Really stoked.

Have you try it with 4.4 mm balanced output from iFi Hip DAC? Mine Hip Dac is still on RMA but I using it with PAW S1 and iFi Zen DAC with balanced cable.

 

[pk4425]

Have you try it with 4.4 mm balanced output from iFi Hip DAC? Mine Hip Dac is still on RMA but I using it with PAW S1 and iFi Zen DAC with balanced cable.

No. I don't have balanced cables -- yet. Sorry.

I'm getting plenty of power with single-ended. Need to turn knob only to halfway in high-gain mode to get adequate volume for my HE-400se Internationals.

 

[sulfuriq]

No. I don't have balanced cables -- yet. Sorry.

I'm getting plenty of power with single-ended. Need to turn knob only to halfway in high-gain mode to get adequate volume for my HE-400se Internationals.

HE400SE play really nice SQ with Balanced Cable plus if you are planning to upgrade, 4.4mm to dual 3.5mm now is widely use on DAC/AMP. Most 2.5mm are being use on DAP. Never going back to use single ended. You can get it cheap at Aliexpress.