HIFIMANHE400SE Stealth Magnets Version Over-Ear Open-Back Full-Size Planar Magnetic Wired Headphones for Audiophiles/Studio, Great-Sounding, Stereo, High Sensitivity, Comfortable, Sliver

Should you want to venture into the world of 'Magnetic Planar' headphones without breaking the bank, then the HIFIMAN HE400SE Stealth Magnet headphone is a great place to start...!!! I bought mine in May 2022 and have been extremely pleased with their quality-build, comfort, and overall sonic performance...!!! You will notice small nuances in the music that weren't there before when using other dynamic headphones in the past... The clarity and detail retrieval is amazing, especially when considering the price point...!!! Hifiman is a well-known company that produces planar magnetic headphones, that come in a wide range of prices, so you're dealing with a quality brand from the get-go...!!! Before I jump into its outstanding features, you should understand one aspect of planar magnetic headphones versus dynamic headphones... Magnetic Planar Headphones require a little power to drive them to their optimum level/performance... You can't just plug them into your cell phone or laptop and expect them to sound great...!!! They require some extra power to perform to the best of their ability... I run mine through an iFi Zen DAC V2, which is a DAC/Amp that puts out 380mW-Balanced & 280mW-unBalanced, which is more than enough to drive these headphones to the maximum...!!! There are numerous portable DAC/Amps on the market that can drive these headphones, so it's not as bad as it might sound to people new to the Hi-Fi hobby... As to sound qualities - (1) Bass is well-detailed, well-controlled, and overall is pretty neutral in its tonality (2) Mid-Range is clean, highly detailed, organic/natural sounding... (3) Treble is slightly emphasized, but never too bright or harsh, with good clarity and detail retrieval... The soundstage is wide with accurate imaging overall... These headphones are neutral and well-balanced, so they are great for long listening sessions, yet you can also use an equalizer to tune them to your own personal tastes, if you like... At its price point, I believe the HIFIMAN HE400SE headphones outshine the competition with (1) High Resolution (2) Fantastic Clarity (3) Overall Balanced/Neutral Tuning (4) Top-Notch Price-Performance...!!! At approximately $120 dollars, it truly punches above its weight in every aspect you can think of... My friends are amazed when they try out these cans...!!!

I already own the Hifiman HE400Is I got on here five years ago, so why did I buy these? I tried to buy the IFI hIP dAC V2 AMP, only to find that it lacks a 3.5" basic input, all USB, which is not what I neededfor my simple but solid Fiio X1 player/Fosi Audio amp rig. I am not using my smartphone for most musiclistening. I use the iPhone14 in the car and it's great for that. I realized I was looking a gift horse in the mouth: I have the player and amp I love, so don't mess with it! Headphones can always be improved, however. At least, until you hit the diminishing returns wall, but I'm not in the market for $10,000speakers or headphones, in any case.Instead, this came up at $100 on here and I realized I was staring a true deal right in the face.I love the He400Is but they aren't terribly portable. Well, these are slightly more portable, butstill a big, bulky headphone, let's face it. But, the tradeoff is sheer luxury, sound quality, andto me, the build quality is fantastic and solid. Maybe Focals are better, i dunno, but my budgetis not for $8000 phones, sorry. I know some have had issues with Hifiman's quality control,I haven't. I tend to baby my gear, anyway. I'm not about to lug these around outsideall day long, etc.I was willing to bet on Hifiman again, and I'm so glad I did. These beauties showed up Sat.night and I unboxed them gingerly, tested them on the Fiio player with .wav files, hoursof Miles Davis Quartet the Second box set, (Columbia CD edition) Wish You Were Here (latest remaster), and some Morton Feldman For Bunita Marcus by Aki Takahashi (newest Mode edition CD). All sounded sublime, but particularly the Miles Davis. This is half the reason to invest in Hifimans or planars or electrostatics, treating yourself to quality music, well recorded, etc. I'm a heavy metal fan too,but I wouldn't buy these whatsoever for speed or death metal. Get something with more slamand heavy bass if anything. Beats, whatever.Even if you're not a jazz or classical fan, and I'm mainly a rock/pop guy, or dance,these are a darned good reason to expand your horizons and get a good headphone amp,portable or not, a good high res player (not your phone!), and load it with HQ sourcesand you're in for a real treat. Put on John Coltrane's Heavyweight Champion box setand have a good ol' time. Steely Dan! Hells yes.As with the HE400Is, these open backs shine with the detail, wide soundstage, solid but notsuper deep bass (just "true" but with bass boost/EQ on it extends more), and shimmering, naturalsounding treble. The mids are decent, if not super extended. But the mids are anything but"screechy" or sibilant, either. Comfort level of the pads, suspension, and headbar are off the charts,at least for me. My head is smaller so I don't even extend the bands. You can sit there with these or the 400Is for hours and never get fatigued, either your ears, or your head. They bleed sound in room....who cares!? Don't worry about it unless you're in a public space with tons of people near you. I thinkthe treble in the 400Is might be a bit clearer, or sharper, but I'm not sure since I haven'tused those in a while.This is extraordinary in the headphone world, where in myexperience, cheap earbuds and headphones are often totally lacking in comfort. Pioneer,I'm talking to you! These actually seem very efficient for planars, my Fosi Audio amp powers them very easily, and I only have to crank them up a bit more than say, my Sennheiser Urbanites XL toachieve the same level. I wouldn't try this without an amp, however, and let's face it, planars will only truly shine utilizing a good amp, so get one! Though via your phone with a good amp would be fine, too.Don't bother with Bluetooth either, you'll only cheapen the experience, and degrade the signal.As for Bass-heads: these are NOT for bass heads. There is some good bass here, but it's not likenightclub Beats over the top super sub bass. What you get instead is some of the tightest,truest general deep bass you're going to ever hear. It's all about accuracy, in the bass, but,never clinical, either. The 400Ses are accurate, detailed, but warm, maybe a tiny tad "dark"sounding.For $100 these are a total steal, I believe. You can spend $1500 for Audezes, I'm sure they'reworth every penny (they are, I've heard them), but if you're starting out with mid-Fi, or audiophile stuff, you can buy these and be confident that your $100 was spent very wisely indeed. Just don't takethem to the beach, for goodness' sake! Even better running these from a really good desktopheadphone amp or receiver, but portable amps will do fine! At 32 ohms and "high sensitivity,"these shine with an amp but you won't push the amp beyond belief. They also look phenomenalwith a beautiful black and silver metal suspension and those velour pads. OMG!Get them now before they are discont'ed and sell for $1000. A bit of burn-in time will likely'be a good idea, too.