HiFiMAN HE400SE – before we come to the gist of the matter
Well, this is where things get really interesting. Obviously, the HE400SE are not perfect, but let me flip the normal chronology of the review here and say one thing that I usually mention within closing comments. If the HE400SE were twice as expensive as they actually are, I would have to confirm that they are simply worth their asking price. But bearing in mind the fact that this particular pair of phones price is $109.00 – causes one to ask some, maybe even dangerous questions. Because, diminishing returns aside, when you look at the whole package here, even or maybe especially considering some of the shortcomings (more on that later), one may soon start to wonder, whether does the HE400SE have a price that can be seen as dumping, or are more expensive phones, well – too expensive? Obviously, this is something of a broader subject and maybe not that important for now, but it still will spark a lot of interest, especially when you focus on the general HE400SE performance in their price category and leave the whole planar thing aside.
The sound
First things first, let me get some facts straight – HE400SE are not some kind a miraculous foray into the world of hi-end planar headphones. Not should they be seen as any competition to more expensive, yet still relatively budget, Sundara. The latter are generally better and more mature sound-wise, and also made from palpably better materials. This should be seen as no surprise if you compare the prices of the both cans – there’s around three times difference between them.
The general sound of the HE400SE can be described as crisp, uncluttered and well-balanced overall. On Annie Lennox “Precious” it become clear that the HE400SE can definitely cope with more complex material and are not your average pair of entry-level phones. On the whole “Diva” album it was also clear that the resolving power here is well beyond its price point. And can be undoubtedly associated with its orthodynamic – or planar-magnetic, if prefer – design. HE400SE clearly showed even subtle timbre differences between Lennox’s first solo album and her previous recordings with Eurythmics.
Going further, when confronted with well-recorded Beyoncé “Beyoncé” album, my assumptions regarding the entire spectral character of the HE400SE were simply confirmed. On “Partition” I compared the HIFiMan cheapest planar offering to some heavyweight players, like HEDD Audio HEDDphone One (and the newest HEDDphone Two, since it was also at hand). And, which comes as no surprise, German cans showed that you can still get more grunt, more presence and less dips in the spectrum at the same time. But please bear in mind that the price difference is more than ten times here. So, we’re looking here through the prism of more absolute scale. When we consider the HE400SE more direct surroundings, thus look at them in the context of more localized scale – it will soon become obvious that they have a lot to offer.
Well, yes, the sub-bass is a bit rolled-off, and there’s that hint of treble glare which some may associate with less-than-perfect planars. But it’s nothing that happens to the extent that might spoil the entire experience. And you actually don’t notice that unless you compare it to something, I would say, at least twice as expensive. And I wouldn’t even bet on that.