[Ichos]

Can anyone point me in the direction of an online retailer selling compatible balanced cables with a 4.4mm termination for the HE400se? I've just bought an iFI Zen Dac v2 and want to make the most of the balanced output.

https://forzaaudioworks.com/en/

 

[theangelboy]

Can anyone point me in the direction of an online retailer selling compatible balanced cables with a 4.4mm termination for the HE400se? I've just bought an iFI Zen Dac v2 and want to make the most of the balanced output.

Periapt has good cables that won't cost more than your headphone. https://periaptcables.com/products/8-type-8-dual-3-5mm?variant=13627726856297

According to their FAQ if you want 4.4mm just select the Pro XLR option and say that you want 4.4 mm in the notes section of the order.

 

[sjbrook]

Can anyone point me in the direction of an online retailer selling compatible balanced cables with a 4.4mm termination for the HE400se? I've just bought an iFI Zen Dac v2 and want to make the most of the balanced output.

https://hartaudiocables.com/collect...9-dual-3-5mm-mono-ts-balanced-headphone-cable

 

[pk4425]

Can anyone point me in the direction of an online retailer selling compatible balanced cables with a 4.4mm termination for the HE400se? I've just bought an iFI Zen Dac v2 and want to make the most of the balanced output.

https://www.audiophileninja.com/product/inset-dual-3-5mm/

Jeremy at Audiophile Ninja makes quality cables for fair prices.

 

[NateInBelgium]

Thanks everyone, plenty of options! One thing that does stand out is that apparently not many companies in Europe make cables for headphones.

 

[LogicSound]

Good amp/dac combo or stack that recommend with this headphone?
What about E1DA PowerDac V2.1 - That is "good enough"?

 

[BobSmith8901]

Can anyone point me in the direction of an online retailer selling compatible balanced cables with a 4.4mm termination for the HE400se? I've just bought an iFI Zen Dac v2 and want to make the most of the balanced output.

Here's the one I got for my HiFiMan HE-X4 (Drop cousin to 400SE) and works great, non-microphonic, durable:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08LVDCCBH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here's another one, different connectors and a bit shorter, but looks to be close to the same cable material, plus less expensive:

https://www.amazon.com/Youkamoo-Com...able+for+hifiman+400se&qid=1638809298&sr=8-17

 

[treecloud]

Hifiman newb here. Just received a set of 400se yesterday. A steal at $129. They came with a 1m rubbery cable in a separate padded envelope taped to the box so I haven't even tried the notorious memory wire cable.

Curious about pad rolling. I have a set of Shure 1540 alcantara pads fitted to a set of AKG K240m (600ohm) that are soooo comfortable but I rarely use the headphones. If I pickup the $20 pleather oem pads to harvest the rings is it easy on/easy off or are they glued together? I haven't verified all dimensions but cursory searches seem like Shure pads will work and these have already had the oval stretched out of them onto the big ol'AKG donuts.

I tried a few pads with my older pair of HE400S and the run away winner in every way (comfort, durability, and sound quality) are the Dekoni Elite Sheepskin pads. They seal better giving a nice increase in bass warmth, and super comfortable.
https://dekoniaudio.com/product/elite-sheepskin-ear-pads-for-hifiman-he-headphones/

The 400S are still sounding great but I just ordered a pair of the 400SE from the Hifiman store, no tax and free shipping, $129 total, couldn't resist. I'll swap the Dekoni pads to them for a subjective comparison, I have the feeling they will be similar, we'll see.

Another thing I've seen with the older 400S is how scalable they are with clean power. The best amp I've used with the 400S is the Schiit Asgard 3. With lesser amps I was EQing in a bit of bass boost, not needed with the Asgard 3, and it just sounds more dynamic in every way.

The only thing wrong with the 5 year old 400S is the headband is flaking, but they still sound great.

 

[drugones]

Thanks everyone, plenty of options! One thing that does stand out is that apparently not many companies in Europe make cables for headphones.

Same issue here, found some off Amazon for 40e, not great value for the price;

Waiting now for this from Aliexpress where I had a good experience in the past.
Of course you'll need to wait for 1 month to get them.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001642424244.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.3f9a4c4dsLZPAx

 

[NateInBelgium]

Same issue here, found some off Amazon for 40e, not great value for the price;

Waiting now for this from Aliexpress where I had a good experience in the past.
Of course you'll need to wait for 1 month to get them.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001642424244.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.3f9a4c4dsLZPAx

The cable from Ali looks great. I have actually bought the ones from Amazon, they just arrived yesterday. Quality wise, everything seems fine with them, but I haven't had time to listen to the setup with the new wire yet.

 

[bagwell359]

Thanks everyone, plenty of options! One thing that does stand out is that apparently not many companies in Europe make cables for headphones.

Didn't see list, but from UK: Custom Cans - superior.

 

[treecloud]

Impressions of HE400se a few days in, compared to the 5 year old HE400S. The biggest structural difference is the driver is double ended, magnets on both sides of the diaphragm. And that exerts better control of the driver diaphragm, and yes they do have less distortion than the older single ended 400S. I wasn't sure if they were going to be double ended or single ended, so that's a happy note. Oddly the manual they came with say they are single ended.

The construction of the driver seems more refined also, with tighter tolerances. The Dekoni Elite Sheepskin pads work well on them too. The tone signature is very similar to the older 400S (which I like a lot), with maybe just a touch more zing at about 5k, but it's subtle and not offensive at all. Overall I like the tone balance a bit better, combined with the slightly higher resolution it's a slam dunk winner.

I don't see how you could do better for the money. How much more would significantly better cost? Well there's nothing wrong with the tone balance to my taste, so improvements would come in the area of resolution. Can a brighter tone balance sound like greater resolution? Yes, but they are not the same thing. I'm guessing you'd have to lay out significantly more bucks to get higher resolution. Which may mean the 400se has set a new and higher bar in price vs performance.

 

[cjc]

Anybody built an unbalanced replacement cable for the new HE400SE ?
I'm looking for the 3.5mm male connectors that will work for these.
It seems they must be about max. 6-7mm wide..... 8mm are too big to fit the recessed area on the cup

 

[Coldheart29]

Hey guys, i was thinking of getting a pair of these headphones to try out some planars, and just found them for about 20 bucks off, so i was thinking of getting them right away.
Now, my issue is that the only thing i'd have to drive them would be my fiio x3ii (or an apple dac hooked to my computer :V). Would that be enough to drive them satisfactorily for the time being? I would be getting a dac/amp stack or combo in the next couple months anyway once i'd save enough for that (was eyeing the zen dac v2, but i'm starting to doubt even that would be enough from what i've read in this thread), but i still wouldn't want to end up with an unusable headphone for a number of months if i ended up to have to postpone that purchase.

 

[NateInBelgium]

Hey guys, i was thinking of getting a pair of these headphones to try out some planars, and just found them for about 20 bucks off, so i was thinking of getting them right away.
Now, my issue is that the only thing i'd have to drive them would be my fiio x3ii (or an apple dac hooked to my computer :V). Would that be enough to drive them satisfactorily for the time being? I would be getting a dac/amp stack or combo in the next couple months anyway once i'd save enough for that (was eyeing the zen dac v2, but i'm starting to doubt even that would be enough from what i've read in this thread), but i still wouldn't want to end up with an unusable headphone for a number of months if i ended up to have to postpone that purchase.

Hi,

I can't help you with the fiio or apple dac enquiry, but I do have the Zen Dac V2 and it can handle the HE400SE very well. I would suggest that if you do go that route, get yourself a balanced cable. It does give the headphones that little bit more power and I have to say there is a marked improvement of using this dac/amp with it's balanced output.

I think what most people mean is that planars actually perform better when you provide them with plenty of headroom. So for instance upgrading and using a Zen Can in the future as a stack will give you more power which they will absolutely flourish from, but even without they perform brilliantly with the Zen Dac as it stands. My volume barely ever goes above the 10 o'clock position.