The whole point here is the fact that the magnetic force acts in a much more uniform way on the whole diaphragm, thus resulting in a more linear fashion in which the whole moving part behave. In case of a dynamic driver – you have a voice coil that is wound on a former (actually usually glued to it). This former is then glued to membrane. Which, in turn, can be of various geometry.
Moreover, please notice that in dynamic drivers you usually (which means 99% cases in reality, with a very few notable exceptions) have at least one point of mechanical connection between the voice coil and the membrane itself. Both of them are different parts – very often made from completely different materials – that are connected together in the manufacturing process. While being far beyond the scope of the review here, it’s also worth mentioning that the dynamic driver’s complexity when it comes to the actual thing that moves and produces sound – is not a necessarily a good thing and usually causes many mechanical problems that directly translate to various sound anomalies.
In contrast, when we consider planar drivers construction in general, things suddenly get simpler, and more elegant, too. Of course, this may be some kind of over-simplification for the sake of this review, but the driver here can be viewed as a voice coil at the same time (it actually has the voice coil deposited on its flat surface).
One thing that I would also like to stress here, which is important enough to even repeat it – is that the force that acts and moves the diaphragm is, in case of the planar drivers, distributed more uniformly, more evenly throughout its surface. Therefore, by the virtue of its modus operandi this kind of transducer is simply less prone to mechanically-induced problems, like cone breakups, which in case dynamic-driver-based headphones are quite a plague. The whole moving mass is also usually much lighter in case of planars, than it is with the dynamics, which is also of importance.
Planar drivers are widely considered to have a better bass extension, image separation and have generally tighter and more controlled and more precise sound. Obviously, as with headphones of any other kind, the actual combination of the distinctive sound traits will vary from model to model, yet the general rule still applies. Obviously, there are some drawbacks, or at least there used to be in the past. First planar headphones were heavy, bulky and in some cases (like HiFiMAN HE-6) they required a ton (or, more exactly, a healthy few watts) of power. They may exhibit some problems of their own, but this actually applies to every other headphone technology on the market.
Coming back to the HE400SE – there are few things to notice. Let’s start with the contents of the box and the way everything is wrapped. There’s something interesting about it, because the actual packaging is extremely tidy, and while you can see can’t see enormous opulence anywhere there’s just something that feels right about the way the HE400SE is presented. Maybe it’s that “Stealth Magnets” sticker. Or the fact that the cable has its own box. Or the whole combination. Ot the fact, that two weeks after unpacking them I noticed that there’s even that headphone stand included. Nonetheless, the way the whole HE400SE package feels is more like a clever and no-nonsense sum of choices and a solid value proposition that something with too much corner cutting.
There’s more to it, the phones are actually better-looking and feel better in hand than the sticker price might suggest. The materials are simple, yet tidy. Maybe the screws in the head-band don’t look to much of a hi-end gear, but for the price – nothing seems out of place here.
As for ergonomics, I have only one comment. The headband is a bit stiff in the middle where it touches the top of the head. This can be somewhat alleviated by the experimentation with the phones’ positioning on listener’s head. But still – if there’s anything that should be improved, then that would be it. The cable is nothing fancy, likes to tangle, but since it’s detachable, you can always change it. But I don’t see the reason for it, since it has the right length. Ah, there’s also a 6.35 to 3.5 mm adapter included, lest you were wondering if that’s covered too.