[ORIGINAL MSRP $149, currently $109 (new) or $89 (open box) on Hifiman.com. Purchased from Hifiman directly for $89 (open box1) in November 2025, available for $109.99 on Amazon in January 2026]
[Tl;dr: The 400se are a competent, introductory planar magnetic headphone from Hifiman, and their current aggressive pricing makes them pretty competitive in the sub-$100 category. They’re a little undercut by Hifiman’s approach across their whole range, though, as the HE-5XX is a better headphone for only around $30 more, and the excellent Hifiman Sundara only another $50 or so. If you’re planar-curious and want to try them without spending a lot of money, they’re worth your time. Ditto if you can’t spend more than $100. If you can spend a little more, I’d go with either of the other Hifiman options (or stretch up to the Fiio FT1 Pro, if you want a really great, fun headphone at around $200).]
Scores:
Cost-agnostic: 5 out of 10 Denalis
Cost-sensitive: 6 out of 10 Denalis
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Intro to the Intro
This is a “quick” review. There are a number of things that I’d love to get quick notes down on for my own edification/memory, but that I don’t want to spend the substantial time I devote to most of my (overly?) in-depth reviews on. Some of these will be things that aren’t in production anymore (so it’s less likely anyone will read a review), or are extra niche, or are things that I didn’t particularly like but want to be able to point people to my reasoning, or that are in a category I don’t spend a lot of time with (like IEMs). Today, the Hifiman HE400se.
Introduction
As I discussed in my review of the (it turns out) excellent Hifiman Sundara and HE6se v2, I largely ignored Hifiman as a company for the first eight or so years of my journey into headfi; they seemed overly expensive and had tunes that I didn’t particularly love. At some point Hifiman started massively discounting most of their products3 and I started seeing the ‘value’ in some more expensive headphones and wrapping my head around the (admittedly diminishing) returns on additional investment in headphones. After my drama with Hifiman this summer, I largely swore off of Hifiman products (at least directly from Hifiman!), but then I started spending a lot of time answering questions in r/HeadphoneAdvice and was quickly reminded that while I’ve tried a lot of headphones, I’ve reviewed very few in the $100-150 range that I’d recommend. I decided to turn a Visa gift card from my former healthcare company into a couple of cheaper pairs to test. Thus, I ended up with this pair of HE-400ses.
I had previously (and briefly!) had a pair of the HE-X4 which I really enjoyed, but for a buzzing for a small range of frequencies that are, unfortunately, well-used by Massive Attack. These are supposed to be pretty identical (and the X4 no longer available) so I was curious to give them a try.
Testing rig
Here’s my basic testing protocol.
Based on my philosophy on the allocation of resources in headfi, I really should test these with something in the $50 range like my Moondrop Dawn Pro. But, I just got in a new budget(ish) DAC/amp that I’m excited to spend some quality time with, so except where otherwise noted I’m going to primarily be testing these with a Fiio K11 R2R DAC/amp, running balanced4 via a 4.4 mm Hart interconnect, connected via USB-C to a Mac Studio running the Roon client.
Volume
Here are the volume settings I use with the Hifiman 400se (unless otherwise noted, running via Roon with no headroom management, playing Daft Punk’s “Face to Face” from Tidal):
- Chord Mojo: white, light red, red, red
- Dongles (iPhone 15, Apple Music):
- Alo Pilot: 65%
- Apple: 70%
- Crinear Protocol Max: 85% (single-ended), 66% (balanced)
- Fiio
- BTR11: 55%
- KA11: 55%
- Fosi DS2: 50% (single-ended), 40% (balanced)
- JCALLY:
- JM6 Pro: 75%
- JM12: 75%
- Moondrop Dawn Pro: , 90% (single-ended), 80% (balanced)
- Fiio:
- K11 R2R: 38 (balanced), 45 (single-ended)
- North American Apple dongle:
- Via iPhone 15 (Apple Music): 66%
- Via Mac Studio: 90%
- Schiit:
- Fulla: 9:30
- Hel2: 10:00
- Mimir/Jotunheim 2 (Mimir has a -15 dB pregain applied via Forkbeard): low gain, 10:30 (balanced); low gain, 12:00 (single-ended)
- Modi/Magni: low gain, 8:45
- Modius/Magnius: low gain, 11:00 (balanced); low gain, 9:30 (single-ended)
- Topping:
- DX5 II: -26 dB (single-ended), -35 dB (Balanced)
- E30/L30: lowest gain, 10:00
My torture testing list
My torture testing list: Apple, Tidal, Spotify.]
The Basics
The HE-400se is a budget-focused, passive, open-back, planar magnetic headphone from Chinese manufacturer Hifiman in their 400 series of headphones, and was released in the spring of 2021. It combines relatively large, spacious ear cups with reasonably compliant pads with the moderately-old-style Hifiman headband shared by other products like the HE6se v2 and Edition XS. It’s a moderate impedance (32 Ohm), low- to moderate-sensitivity (91 dB/mW) headphone, and weighs in at a pretty hefty 385 g.
The 400se is a successor to the venerable 2014 HE-400, and joins fellow series members 400i, 400i 2020, 4XX, HE-X4, etc. Resolve (Andrew Park) at The Headphone Show lays out a little about the history of this headphone family. I had a pair of the HE-X4 briefly that I enjoyed until I identified a buzzing, and I was curious to spend time with a pretty similar headphone.
EQ: The 400se don’t *need* EQ as they’re pretty well-tuned out of the box, but I find that applying a little bit of EQ opens them up a bit. This EQ profile came from The Headphone Show’s Resolve, though Amir from ASR had a pretty similar adjustment (though with the bass boost split between 20 Hz and 37 Hz). To the extent that I listen to this, I will probably take a moment to apply this EQ:
Sound
Because this is a quick review, I’ll keep this (relatively) brief (for me).
The soundstage on the 400se is decent but nothing to write home about, particularly for a planar magnetic. Instruments are in roughly the right place, but do not have the kind of instrument separation that you would want for a critical listening headphone. This does have the odd advantage of making some songs with particularly distracting separation (like “Blackbird”) weirdly more fun to listen to.
The dynamic range is reasonable. After setting the volume at the beginning of “It’s All So Incredibly Loud”, it gets uncomfortable around 3:00. Microdynamics are fine, though you have to turn the volume up substantially on “Angel (Blur Remix)” to get a satisfying edge on the bass and treble bell tones, and you never get quite the warble you want on the trailing end of those notes.
Detail retrieval is fine, but again nothing exceptional. Nothing in my listening jumped out as being missing from any given track, but neither did anything stand out as being particularly well-executed or detailed.
Overall, I would say that these are nice, competent, value headphones but not something I would grab over most of the things on my wall. Of course, these are substantially cheaper than everything on my wall, so that’s not HUGELY surprising. They do better with louder, busier music than quieter, more sparse tracks, and they never get as quiet as something like the 6XX.
Bass
The bass is fine but not particularly memorable. It’s a little rolled off even coming from the Sundara (not a particularly bassy headphone itself) but the bass is generally well controlled. The bass (instrument, not frequency range) on “What Did I Do?” is clear and crisp, and while you lose a little bit on Q-Tip’s bass line on “Got ‘Til It’s Gone” the rest of the notes are clear and clean, if a little understated. They do a surprisingly, and pleasingly good job on a busy, bassy track like “I Against I.”
Midrange
Generally the mids on the 400se are competent, though occasionally the timbre on vocals is just a little … off. On “Got ‘Til It’s Gone”, Q-Tip’s voice is a little flat and robotic at times. This is true to a lesser extent for Justin Hicks on “What Did I Do?”, but seems largely limited to male vocals with Christine Hoberg reproduced nicely on “Clair de Lune” and Amelia Meath floating her way through “Coffee.”
Treble
The treble is pretty well done, particularly for a value planar magnetic. You get maybe a tiny bit of overemphasis on some of the synths and bells on “Coffee”, but even the relatively punishing guitar riffs on “2021” stay on the happy side of harsh.
Gaming
These are a decent, but not great, option for gaming. The soundstage isn’t as wide as you might want for an FPS, but for single player games where music is important (like “Death Stranding” or “Cyberpunk 2077”) they’re pretty nice and a great value.
Amplifier Compatibility
These do not seem to be particularly amplifier-sensitive, being relatively easy to drive and not prone to any particular audio issues. They will run fine from a dongle, though just for headroom alone you might want to pair them with an inexpensive desktop amplifier.
Based on their value proposition, though, I’d recommend amps on the lower end just because you can get a lot more bang for your buck upgrading your headphones vs. the amplifier/DAC.
[Editors note: no one will be doing this anyway, but you really, really don’t want to pair the 400se with something like the Holoaudio Bliss (KTE) and Cyan 2 (and to a lesser extent something like a Jotunheim 2/Mimir stack); the treble gets VERY spikey and unpleasant and the bass a little more splattery. I want to spend more time with this as it more or less breaks my belief that amps/DACs don’t REALLY matter that much, but this is my subjective impression today.]
Build
Physically, these are very similar to the HE6se v.2, albeit about 100 grams lighter. All you get in the box is the headphone, a standard foam Hifiman headphone stand, and a single right-angle, dual-entry 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm cable with a non-threaded 6.35 mm adapter.
Construction. The 400se’s construction is quite good for a budget headphone. It’s an example of Hifiman’s older round design rather than the new(er) egg-shaped one of the Arya Stealth, Edition XS, Audivina, etc. The shells are plastic, but a good, solid plastic that doesn’t look or feel that plastic-y. The headband is a single padded band, the yokes a milled metal, and the grills themselves a nice metal grid. The yokes extend ten clicks on each side giving a reasonable range of sizes, and the updated cup/yoke design give you 45 degrees of swivel and a full 360 degrees of tilt. The earpads are leather/pleather on the outside, a velour material where they touch the sides of your head, and a perforated leather/pleather on the inside, and the interior of the cups is roughly 60 mm in diameter.
While earlier versions of the 400se came with a laughably bad cable, the version I got came with a pretty standard, dual 3.5 mm entry cable like the ones you get with any of the Hifimans under around $500. It’s perfectly serviceable, and because Hifiman remains largely (totally?) committed to using this standard connector it’s pretty easy to find a better5 aftermarket cable for it. The jacks on the cups are very slightly recessed on three sides,6 so do check compatibility before buying a cable, or get one explicitly made for the 400se or HD6se v2.
The cups are a little microphonic. Running your fingers along the edges of the cups or on the yokes will be distinctly audible, even with music playing.
Comfort. I find the 400se reasonably comfortable. I’m the odd guy out in that I find the single headband Hifimans relatively comfortable, even over the updated design used on the Arya Stealth, Audivina, etc. (which I find move around too much when I move my head quickly side to side, or up and down at all). Between the adjustable headband and the swiveling/tilting cups, I found it pretty easy to get a comfortable and consistent fit, and I can wear them for several hours at a time without discomfort.
Appearance. Aesthetics are intensely personal, but I find the 400se perfectly serviceable looking, if a bit bland. I prefer the silver-on-black look of the Sundaras, and even the just black look of the HE6se v2, but these are … fine looking. Very normal looking headphones.
Value & Comparisons
This is a market that I don’t spend a lot of time in, with a tendency to start headphone purchases around the $200 mark (what I consider the sweet spot for headphones, particularly open-back), so most of these comparisons will be to more expensive headphones. Despite that, they hold up reasonably well for what they are.
Hifiman HE-5XX (another Drop collaboration)
The HE-5XX is another Hifiman/Drop collaboration that sells for $230 new, but around $120 open-box from Hifiman directly.7 This makes them, at least in open-box form, about $30 more than the 400se. Is that a $30 well-spent?
For me, I think so. At least with my specific (open-box) units, you get a little more bass (without losing quality or clarity), slightly less of the flat timbre for vocals, and a pretty similar all-around treble. To me, the 5XX has a very slightly wider soundstage (~10%, maybe?) but substantially better instrument separation within that sound stage. On the 400se the various guitar lines out to the left of center on “Chan Chan” start to blur together a bit, whereas with the 5XX they’re much more distinct. Neither really compete with a detail monster like the HE6se v.2 or Arya Stealth, but there is some small improvement there.
As for comfort, they represent two of the more comfortable Hifiman styles for me. The 5XX has the older Hifiman style with a leather coated metal band and exposed adjustment arms vs. the concealed adjustments on the 400se. Which you will prefer is up to you, but I’ll take the older style for both comfort and appearance, and the fact that the 5XX is slightly lighter is a fair trade off for slightly less padding on top. The 5XX is also a little clampier, which means that the weight is better distributed across the ears and top of the head with the 400se pressing slightly more up top.
A quick look at the graphs8:
That looks right; honestly, if I weren’t doing a lot of quick back and forth as part of my A/B’ing, I don’t know that I’d notice a difference (except for maybe the soundstage and timbre, and those are really picking nits).
I’m taking the 5XX every time.
Hifiman Sundara
The Sundara are currently retailing for around $160 but were around $140 over the recent holiday season (and are currently $139 refurbished). Are they worth the extra $50 at the current prices?
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. The Hifiman Sundara are a really great intro to the world of audiophile-grade open-back planar magnetic headphones. While I’m genuinely impressed by the 400se, there’s just no good faith comparison where I can tell you that they’re particularly competitive. The bass, mids, and treble are all better on the Sundara. The soundstage on the Sundara is both wider and much better separated, and the detail retrieval is a substantial step up from the 400se.
In some ways this is Hifiman facing the consequences of their business model; the Sundara originally retailed at almost $500, and it wasn’t a bad value at that price. The 400se originally retailed under $150. As Hifiman has aggressively cut prices on their older models, the Sundara and 400se have gotten close enough in price that it’s hard to argue that the 400se are a good purchase IF you can stretch the extra $50. If you can’t … consider saving for a bit longer?
The one place that the 400se win is comfort. The downside of the Sundara is that they’re a weird version of the Hifiman headband, and one I’m glad they appear to have forever discarded. The lack of adjustment on the Sundara means that they have a relatively short shelf-life on my head that’s substantially less than the 400se, but I’d rather listen to the Sundara and take breaks (or wear a beanie?) than listen to the 400se. For confirmation, a graph:
Yup. Better in every region for my preferences, at least. And still one of the better values in hifi, six years later.
Fiio FT1 Pro
The Fiio FT1 Pro are currently retailing around $200, so a little more than twice the price of an open-box 400se. What do you get for that extra $110?
In my book, a lot really. Better, stronger bass, better, cleaner mids (and timbre), and a slightly better treble presentation to my ears. Plus a similarly comfortable fit, and less movement on my head as I look around. In a world in which I can choose between these two, I’m grabbing the FT1 Pro every time. BUT, if you find yourself in a world in which $90 is doable and $200 isn’t, the 400se is a perfectly nice option.
Quick look at the graphs:
[Side note: every time I come back to these and put them on for a review, I’m reminded just how fun they are to listen to. Particularly on a couple of my test tracks, the tracking, separation, and sense of space is just awesome, even if you give up a little bit of detail for that. They’re just … engaging. And fun. Fun is the word I keep coming back to. I should listen to them more.]
Sennheiser HD 6XX
If all you care about is bass (especially sub bass), you might prefer the 400se over the 6XX. On the other hand, if all you care about is bass, the 400se probably isn’t the right choice for you anyway.
In 2026 I’m still taking the 6XX over the FT1 Pro for most things, so I’m also taking the 6XX over the 400se. That said, the 400se is a real value proposition, and it’s closer than I would have expected coming into this.
Overall
The Hifiman HE400se is a surprisingly good headphone, particularly at their current price around $89. They’re not going to beat many of the things in my collection, but for a sub-$100 headphone at this price point I wouldn’t really expect them to. If you’re looking for a pair of headphones and have a hard cap of $100, they’re a pretty good option. If you’ve got more flexibility, I’d urge you to consider waiting and saving a little more to move up the Hifiman line.
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