Please see the original post for additional details and give the WIKI and forum comments a read for helpful discussion.
About this Product:
"The B-stock products are all tested in good working condition but may have slight cosmetic defects. Those products also come with accessories and HIFIMAN's standard warranty."
This collaborative space allows users to contribute additional information, tips, and insights to enhance the original deal post. Feel free to share your knowledge and help fellow shoppers make informed decisions.
Please see the original post for additional details and give the WIKI and forum comments a read for helpful discussion.
About this Product:
"The B-stock products are all tested in good working condition but may have slight cosmetic defects. Those products also come with accessories and HIFIMAN's standard warranty."
These have been out of stock for ages, it looks like they finally restocked. Assuming you have the risk tolerance for a b-stock hifiman headphone, and have an amp capable of driving the 400se with eq (equalization), this is an incredibly good deal for a budget planar magnetic audiophile headphone.
A few basics to get out of the way first, since I know people wander onto these headphone deals not realizing these are audiophile cans for critical listening: these headphones are wired only (no bluetooth or wireless connections of any kind), have no form of active noise cancelling, have extremely poor sound isolation (you can hear what's going on around you, and everyone around you can hear what you're listening to), and are somewhat heavy (385g) and bulky. They are designed to be used at home with a dedicated audio setup.
The he400se is decently compliant to the harman curve, with a major deficiency in bass (especially subass), a sizeable dip around 2000hz, and some messiness in the upper treble. Due to having low distortion this headphone takes quite well to eq; for a more neutral sound signature and good bass response I highly recommend eq (oratory1990 eq presets are my go-to as a starting point). While the 400se have a relatively low impedance (32 ohm), their low sensitivity of 91db means they're already a bit difficult to drive even without eq. With the require negative preamp for a proper eq being greater than -9db, an amp is recommended for these headphones.
I have a pair of he400se, and with eq the sound quality is exceptional for the price. They're excellent value jack of all trades headphones, being decent for music, gaming, and movies. With eq the soundstage is fairly good with decent imaging, dynamics are acceptable, the sound signature is overall neutral, bass is quite crisp and reasonably impactful, and the instrument separation and clarity are fairly good. It's worth noting that as planar magnetic headphones you won't get much of the traditional bass "rumble" normally present with dynamic drivers. The upper treble also has a bit of harshness and an incredibly faint almost metallic tinge. Without eq the bass deficiency in particular becomes rather glaring, and I have a much harder time recommending these headphones without eq. I find the comfort of these headphones to be acceptable, though I personally would've preferred a hammock style headband. Their weight being a bit on the higher end means it might take some getting used to for long sessions, though I personally don't have a problem wearing them for hours at a time. The included cable is decent quality but quite short, especially when you take into account the split termination (3.5mm into each cup separately). You might need to purchase an aftermarket cable if your audio source isn't in very close proximity.
These are b-stock headphones, which as far as I can tell means refurbished or open box headphones with sufficient cosmetic damage that hifiman won't sell them as open box or refurbished. As always, keep in mind that hifiman has a poorer than average reputation for quality control and product longevity. I've yet to personally run into any issues, and anecdotally I know people who have purchased refurbished hifiman headphones that came in essentially pristine condition, but there is obviously an elevated degree of risk in purchasing b-stock. Hifiman's b-stock headphones do come with the standard 1-year manufacturers warranty.
Overall, at $69 the he400se is probably the best value headphone you can get period, and if you have an amp capable of driving them with eq I highly recommend them.
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These have been out of stock for ages, it looks like they finally restocked. Assuming you have the risk tolerance for a b-stock hifiman headphone, and have an amp capable of driving the 400se with eq (equalization), this is an incredibly good deal for a budget planar magnetic audiophile headphone.
A few basics to get out of the way first, since I know people wander onto these headphone deals not realizing these are audiophile cans for critical listening: these headphones are wired only (no bluetooth or wireless connections of any kind), have no form of active noise cancelling, have extremely poor sound isolation (you can hear what's going on around you, and everyone around you can hear what you're listening to), and are somewhat heavy (385g) and bulky. They are designed to be used at home with a dedicated audio setup.
The he400se is decently compliant to the harman curve, with a major deficiency in bass (especially subass), a sizeable dip around 2000hz, and some messiness in the upper treble. Due to having low distortion this headphone takes quite well to eq; for a more neutral sound signature and good bass response I highly recommend eq (oratory1990 eq presets are my go-to as a starting point). While the 400se have a relatively low impedance (32 ohm), their low sensitivity of 91db means they're already a bit difficult to drive even without eq. With the require negative preamp for a proper eq being greater than -9db, an amp is recommended for these headphones.
I have a pair of he400se, and with eq the sound quality is exceptional for the price. They're excellent value jack of all trades headphones, being decent for music, gaming, and movies. With eq the soundstage is fairly good with decent imaging, dynamics are acceptable, the sound signature is overall neutral, bass is quite crisp and reasonably impactful, and the instrument separation and clarity are fairly good. It's worth noting that as planar magnetic headphones you won't get much of the traditional bass "rumble" normally present with dynamic drivers. The upper treble also has a bit of harshness and an incredibly faint almost metallic tinge. Without eq the bass deficiency in particular becomes rather glaring, and I have a much harder time recommending these headphones without eq. I find the comfort of these headphones to be acceptable, though I personally would've preferred a hammock style headband. Their weight being a bit on the higher end means it might take some getting used to for long sessions, though I personally don't have a problem wearing them for hours at a time. The included cable is decent quality but quite short, especially when you take into account the split termination (3.5mm into each cup separately). You might need to purchase an aftermarket cable if your audio source isn't in very close proximity.
These are b-stock headphones, which as far as I can tell means refurbished or open box headphones with sufficient cosmetic damage that hifiman won't sell them as open box or refurbished. As always, keep in mind that hifiman has a poorer than average reputation for quality control and product longevity. I've yet to personally run into any issues, and anecdotally I know people who have purchased refurbished hifiman headphones that came in essentially pristine condition, but there is obviously an elevated degree of risk in purchasing b-stock. Hifiman's b-stock headphones do come with the standard 1-year manufacturers warranty.
Overall, at $69 the he400se is probably the best value headphone you can get period, and if you have an amp capable of driving them with eq I highly recommend them.
These have been out of stock for ages, it looks like they finally restocked. Assuming you have the risk tolerance for a b-stock hifiman headphone, and have an amp capable of driving the 400se with eq (equalization), this is an incredibly good deal for a budget planar magnetic audiophile headphone.
A few basics to get out of the way first, since I know people wander onto these headphone deals not realizing these are audiophile cans for critical listening: these headphones are wired only (no bluetooth or wireless connections of any kind), have no form of active noise cancelling, have extremely poor sound isolation (you can hear what's going on around you, and everyone around you can hear what you're listening to), and are somewhat heavy (385g) and bulky. They are designed to be used at home with a dedicated audio setup.
The he400se is decently compliant to the harman curve, with a major deficiency in bass (especially subass), a sizeable dip around 2000hz, and some messiness in the upper treble. Due to having low distortion this headphone takes quite well to eq; for a more neutral sound signature and good bass response I highly recommend eq (oratory1990 eq presets are my go-to as a starting point). While the 400se have a relatively low impedance (32 ohm), their low sensitivity of 91db means they're already a bit difficult to drive even without eq. With the require negative preamp for a proper eq being greater than -9db, an amp is recommended for these headphones.
I have a pair of he400se, and with eq the sound quality is exceptional for the price. They're excellent value jack of all trades headphones, being decent for music, gaming, and movies. With eq the soundstage is fairly good with decent imaging, dynamics are acceptable, the sound signature is overall neutral, bass is quite crisp and reasonably impactful, and the instrument separation and clarity are fairly good. It's worth noting that as planar magnetic headphones you won't get much of the traditional bass "rumble" normally present with dynamic drivers. The upper treble also has a bit of harshness and an incredibly faint almost metallic tinge. Without eq the bass deficiency in particular becomes rather glaring, and I have a much harder time recommending these headphones without eq. I find the comfort of these headphones to be acceptable, though I personally would've preferred a hammock style headband. Their weight being a bit on the higher end means it might take some getting used to for long sessions, though I personally don't have a problem wearing them for hours at a time. The included cable is decent quality but quite short, especially when you take into account the split termination (3.5mm into each cup separately). You might need to purchase an aftermarket cable if your audio source isn't in very close proximity.
These are b-stock headphones, which as far as I can tell means refurbished or open box headphones with sufficient cosmetic damage that hifiman won't sell them as open box or refurbished. As always, keep in mind that hifiman has a poorer than average reputation for quality control and product longevity. I've yet to personally run into any issues, and anecdotally I know people who have purchased refurbished hifiman headphones that came in essentially pristine condition, but there is obviously an elevated degree of risk in purchasing b-stock. Hifiman's b-stock headphones do come with the standard 1-year manufacturers warranty.
Overall, at $69 the he400se is probably the best value headphone you can get period, and if you have an amp capable of driving them with eq I highly recommend them.
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Quote
from ThriftyManatee4506
:
Is this better than the phillips shp9500?
The he400se is a whole tier higher than the shp9500 imo. I've owned both the phillips shp9500 and the phillips fidelio x2 (basically the higher end big brother of the shp9500), and the 400se with eq is better than both. Don't get me wrong, the shp9500 were fantastic budget headphones back when you could get them on sale for ~$50 new, but they're meaningfully worse in terms of sound quality in just about every way. Also, the lack of replaceable pads on the shp9500 (if I recall correctly the pads are held down by adhesive and there aren't stock pads available for sale) is a major downside imo.
I own a Hifiman HE-X4... how does this compare ? Thanks
The he-x4 use the domestic chinese version of the drivers without the "stealth magnets" of the international version. Anecdotally the sound quality of the he-x4 is slightly worse, but their performance should be similar enough that it doesn't really make sense to upgrade to the he400se. Also, the he-x4 have a substantially different headband, which I've heard have a generally higher rate of failure, though this is also anecdotal.
I have the Sundra's and love them. With the proper setup, they are amazing, so clean and crisp without being harsh. $69 entry point for a planar magnetic headphone is outstanding. You will need additional equipment to use them, but this definitely lowers the entry point.
If these are the stealth magnet version, they're really on par as far as pricing goes on AliExpress when they're discounted during big sales dates. If not, these are kind of overpriced as you can get the non stealth versions for about 50 during sales.
As for sound quality, they're good, they're not your typical planar bass boosted good though. They're kind of flat and really doesn't do justice for planar. However you might still think it's good as they're definitely not junk for the price. Also these are pretty heavy and you won't be able to drive them properly unless you have good amps/dac/sound equipment. Don't even think about using this on most phones.
This is a crazy deal! The $110 price was already wild for planar magnetic headphones. I've got much better options, but I paid 500% as much for them... this is a tempting deal even though I don't need these at all.
Top Comments
A few basics to get out of the way first, since I know people wander onto these headphone deals not realizing these are audiophile cans for critical listening: these headphones are wired only (no bluetooth or wireless connections of any kind), have no form of active noise cancelling, have extremely poor sound isolation (you can hear what's going on around you, and everyone around you can hear what you're listening to), and are somewhat heavy (385g) and bulky. They are designed to be used at home with a dedicated audio setup.
The he400se is decently compliant to the harman curve, with a major deficiency in bass (especially subass), a sizeable dip around 2000hz, and some messiness in the upper treble. Due to having low distortion this headphone takes quite well to eq; for a more neutral sound signature and good bass response I highly recommend eq (oratory1990 eq presets are my go-to as a starting point). While the 400se have a relatively low impedance (32 ohm), their low sensitivity of 91db means they're already a bit difficult to drive even without eq. With the require negative preamp for a proper eq being greater than -9db, an amp is recommended for these headphones.
I have a pair of he400se, and with eq the sound quality is exceptional for the price. They're excellent value jack of all trades headphones, being decent for music, gaming, and movies. With eq the soundstage is fairly good with decent imaging, dynamics are acceptable, the sound signature is overall neutral, bass is quite crisp and reasonably impactful, and the instrument separation and clarity are fairly good. It's worth noting that as planar magnetic headphones you won't get much of the traditional bass "rumble" normally present with dynamic drivers. The upper treble also has a bit of harshness and an incredibly faint almost metallic tinge. Without eq the bass deficiency in particular becomes rather glaring, and I have a much harder time recommending these headphones without eq. I find the comfort of these headphones to be acceptable, though I personally would've preferred a hammock style headband. Their weight being a bit on the higher end means it might take some getting used to for long sessions, though I personally don't have a problem wearing them for hours at a time. The included cable is decent quality but quite short, especially when you take into account the split termination (3.5mm into each cup separately). You might need to purchase an aftermarket cable if your audio source isn't in very close proximity.
These are b-stock headphones, which as far as I can tell means refurbished or open box headphones with sufficient cosmetic damage that hifiman won't sell them as open box or refurbished. As always, keep in mind that hifiman has a poorer than average reputation for quality control and product longevity. I've yet to personally run into any issues, and anecdotally I know people who have purchased refurbished hifiman headphones that came in essentially pristine condition, but there is obviously an elevated degree of risk in purchasing b-stock. Hifiman's b-stock headphones do come with the standard 1-year manufacturers warranty.
Overall, at $69 the he400se is probably the best value headphone you can get period, and if you have an amp capable of driving them with eq I highly recommend them.
25 Comments
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Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank BeigeRoad455
A few basics to get out of the way first, since I know people wander onto these headphone deals not realizing these are audiophile cans for critical listening: these headphones are wired only (no bluetooth or wireless connections of any kind), have no form of active noise cancelling, have extremely poor sound isolation (you can hear what's going on around you, and everyone around you can hear what you're listening to), and are somewhat heavy (385g) and bulky. They are designed to be used at home with a dedicated audio setup.
The he400se is decently compliant to the harman curve, with a major deficiency in bass (especially subass), a sizeable dip around 2000hz, and some messiness in the upper treble. Due to having low distortion this headphone takes quite well to eq; for a more neutral sound signature and good bass response I highly recommend eq (oratory1990 eq presets are my go-to as a starting point). While the 400se have a relatively low impedance (32 ohm), their low sensitivity of 91db means they're already a bit difficult to drive even without eq. With the require negative preamp for a proper eq being greater than -9db, an amp is recommended for these headphones.
I have a pair of he400se, and with eq the sound quality is exceptional for the price. They're excellent value jack of all trades headphones, being decent for music, gaming, and movies. With eq the soundstage is fairly good with decent imaging, dynamics are acceptable, the sound signature is overall neutral, bass is quite crisp and reasonably impactful, and the instrument separation and clarity are fairly good. It's worth noting that as planar magnetic headphones you won't get much of the traditional bass "rumble" normally present with dynamic drivers. The upper treble also has a bit of harshness and an incredibly faint almost metallic tinge. Without eq the bass deficiency in particular becomes rather glaring, and I have a much harder time recommending these headphones without eq. I find the comfort of these headphones to be acceptable, though I personally would've preferred a hammock style headband. Their weight being a bit on the higher end means it might take some getting used to for long sessions, though I personally don't have a problem wearing them for hours at a time. The included cable is decent quality but quite short, especially when you take into account the split termination (3.5mm into each cup separately). You might need to purchase an aftermarket cable if your audio source isn't in very close proximity.
These are b-stock headphones, which as far as I can tell means refurbished or open box headphones with sufficient cosmetic damage that hifiman won't sell them as open box or refurbished. As always, keep in mind that hifiman has a poorer than average reputation for quality control and product longevity. I've yet to personally run into any issues, and anecdotally I know people who have purchased refurbished hifiman headphones that came in essentially pristine condition, but there is obviously an elevated degree of risk in purchasing b-stock. Hifiman's b-stock headphones do come with the standard 1-year manufacturers warranty.
Overall, at $69 the he400se is probably the best value headphone you can get period, and if you have an amp capable of driving them with eq I highly recommend them.
A few basics to get out of the way first, since I know people wander onto these headphone deals not realizing these are audiophile cans for critical listening: these headphones are wired only (no bluetooth or wireless connections of any kind), have no form of active noise cancelling, have extremely poor sound isolation (you can hear what's going on around you, and everyone around you can hear what you're listening to), and are somewhat heavy (385g) and bulky. They are designed to be used at home with a dedicated audio setup.
The he400se is decently compliant to the harman curve, with a major deficiency in bass (especially subass), a sizeable dip around 2000hz, and some messiness in the upper treble. Due to having low distortion this headphone takes quite well to eq; for a more neutral sound signature and good bass response I highly recommend eq (oratory1990 eq presets are my go-to as a starting point). While the 400se have a relatively low impedance (32 ohm), their low sensitivity of 91db means they're already a bit difficult to drive even without eq. With the require negative preamp for a proper eq being greater than -9db, an amp is recommended for these headphones.
I have a pair of he400se, and with eq the sound quality is exceptional for the price. They're excellent value jack of all trades headphones, being decent for music, gaming, and movies. With eq the soundstage is fairly good with decent imaging, dynamics are acceptable, the sound signature is overall neutral, bass is quite crisp and reasonably impactful, and the instrument separation and clarity are fairly good. It's worth noting that as planar magnetic headphones you won't get much of the traditional bass "rumble" normally present with dynamic drivers. The upper treble also has a bit of harshness and an incredibly faint almost metallic tinge. Without eq the bass deficiency in particular becomes rather glaring, and I have a much harder time recommending these headphones without eq. I find the comfort of these headphones to be acceptable, though I personally would've preferred a hammock style headband. Their weight being a bit on the higher end means it might take some getting used to for long sessions, though I personally don't have a problem wearing them for hours at a time. The included cable is decent quality but quite short, especially when you take into account the split termination (3.5mm into each cup separately). You might need to purchase an aftermarket cable if your audio source isn't in very close proximity.
These are b-stock headphones, which as far as I can tell means refurbished or open box headphones with sufficient cosmetic damage that hifiman won't sell them as open box or refurbished. As always, keep in mind that hifiman has a poorer than average reputation for quality control and product longevity. I've yet to personally run into any issues, and anecdotally I know people who have purchased refurbished hifiman headphones that came in essentially pristine condition, but there is obviously an elevated degree of risk in purchasing b-stock. Hifiman's b-stock headphones do come with the standard 1-year manufacturers warranty.
Overall, at $69 the he400se is probably the best value headphone you can get period, and if you have an amp capable of driving them with eq I highly recommend them.
Is this better than the phillips shp9500?
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As for sound quality, they're good, they're not your typical planar bass boosted good though. They're kind of flat and really doesn't do justice for planar. However you might still think it's good as they're definitely not junk for the price. Also these are pretty heavy and you won't be able to drive them properly unless you have good amps/dac/sound equipment. Don't even think about using this on most phones.