Recently HIFIMAN launched a low-cost flat headphone, and I was the first time I was exposed to that cheap! I searched for their products in previous years, and they have launched HE400i and HE400s, the price is more expensive than it. This should be the cheapest one of HIFIMAN, right? As the title says, there are surprises after listening. Compared with traditional dynamic headphones of the same price, the biggest advantage of flat-diaphragm headphones is sound reproduction, sound field positioning, mid-frequency density and dynamic response.
Unboxing and product details
The outer packaging does not look as exquisite as HIFIMAN’s mid-to-high-end headphones, but the basic protective measures are still in place. The contents of the box are simple: a headphones, a Y-cable and a small card. 3.5 to 6.5mm adapters are also available, gold-plated!
I checked the HE400S on the Internet, the color is the same as the HE400se, the silver and black combination is still pretty good, at least much better than all black. The workmanship in details is pretty good, and the weight of 390g is well controlled.
The biggest feature of the appearance of the HIFIMAN HE400se earphone is the mesh panel. You can faintly see the flat diaphragm inside. It is an open earphone, so the sound will come out of the panel. Turn it to a louder volume, and the surrounding environment will not be noisy by it.
The skeleton system of the HIFIMAN HE400se headphones is estimated to be aluminum alloy, and the material does not look thin. The earmuffs of the headphones look very thick, the material of protein + flannel, and the gasket is not the kind of flat thickness. It should be added with ergonomic design, and it fits well with the skin and feels very comfortable.
The leather wrapped around the head beam of the headphones is also very thick, so there is no pressure on the head.
Double wire into the ear, you can play balance. However, if there is no balance line in the standard configuration, you need to purchase it separately.
Wear Feeling
First of all, I have to declare that I am a fat man with a big head and how big his head is. Look at the picture below. Then, in the following description, you can get a rough feeling with my photos! The thick headrest cushions and earmuff cushions mentioned earlier are very comfortable for me. They fit well and don’t feel stuffy. I am quite satisfied with these. But I think it’s still a bit of a chuck. I have worn it for more than 2 hours for the longest time. At that time, I was playing LOL. After wearing it for a long time, I feel that it is OK. Although it is a bit depressed, the ears will not It hurts, I think it’s quite satisfactory in terms of overall comfort. But if your head is smaller than mine, you should not have these problems.
Analysis of subjective hearing
The impedance of HIFIMAN HE400se is only 25Ω, but the sensitivity is only 91dB. When I didn’t buy it, I read some celebrity reviews, and they all said this headphones is good? WTF! Basically, you have to turn on more than half of the volume to give a more comfortable sound pressure. If you are using a mobile phone driver… However, I found that no matter how expensive and cheap players or mobile phones are used to drive HE400se, there is no nasty noise, which is reassuring.
With the sound performance of the Quloos QA390 player, the HE400se headphones have rich details, transparent sound, and a clear sense of vitality. The mid-frequency density is amazing and the low-frequency potential is strong.
I haven’t come into contact with many flat-panel headphones, but from the feedback of netizens, this should be the advantage of the flat-panel diaphragm. If you use the HIFIMAN HE400se to listen to large-scale productions, this headphones can also cope with it freely. The scene is relatively large. Musical works such as opera perform well in reduction. There will be no frequency band that gives you a particularly exciting feeling. They are very soft Silky, no rough details, no sudden sound pressure, smooth and stable, it sounds very comfortable.
In terms of pop music, I have a lot of them in my SD card, so I just picked a few. For example, Jay Chow’s “Seven Miles”, when the music prelude sounded, it hit my heart at once. After the vocals appeared, I was a little surprised. I have never heard such a clear accent!
Using the HIFIMAN R2R2000 red special edition to drive the HE400se headphones, the overall feeling: relaxed and natural, still full of information, but a bit of an old CD.
In terms of details, the HIFIMAN R2R2000 will have a little distortion, but this distortion is not at the expense of hearing. As I said just now, it has a feeling similar to an old CD, with a strong contemporary sound. The musical sense will be more colorful, especially elements such as human voice and cello. In the song “It’s too late”, the human voice is not only as simple as lines and details, but also gives her voice a “story” tone, which sounds very charming. The separation of the background music is good, the information presentation is no problem, and the compact density is unforgettable.
Summary
While the sound field and positioning of the HIFIMAN HE400se headphones are both, it is far more musical than those dedicated headphoness for games. Furthermore, the density, distortion control, information volume, and processing of detailed sound mentioned in the article are the advantages of HE400se headphones. If you use HE400se as an entry-level fever headphones, there is no problem at all. But I also said that this headphones needs to be used with a good playback device. It’s fine to use a computer or mobile phone. Although it won’t be bad, it’s a waste. If you can add an amp, you can really tap the potential of this headphones.
The article mentions a lot of advantages, and finally talks about the disadvantages:
1. Few color options for headphones
2. The standard configuration does not contain a balance line
3. It would be better to design a buckle at the wire inlet, so that the plug will be more stable
Check the HIFIMAN HE400SE price:
- Check price on Amazon US
- Check price on Amazon Germany
- Check latest price on other Amazon countries
- Check price on Aliexpress