which HE400SE international(118$) or china(94$) should i get?
can only find this comparison
i asked the vendor, they said the international(stealth magnets) is easier to drive?
I remember a reviewer saying that the only difference is the stealth magnets. Basically, the Chinese 400se is the equivalent to Dropâs HE-X4.
Sounds like it all comes down to what sound preference you like.
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Though I donât have the Chinese version to test, Iâm guessing itâs close to the 400i which is drastically easier to drive than the 400se stealth version.
Specs wise the Chinese and the international are both listed to be the same with 25 ohms and 91db sensitivity, even the listed weight of 390g. The hifiman HEx4 have the same specs but weigh 420g (most likely due to the headband).
hmmm just watched this
said theyâre pretty much the same despite the different drivers/slight measurement differences
i guess iâll get the cheaper one. since the china vers doesnât come with that silver cable
Theyâre listed as the same because hifiman tested the original 400se Chinese version and pasted it on all their 400s. My 400se stealth measured 56 ohm
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A little suggestion for those who want to purchase these: wait for a week or two (especially UK).
I purchased these with my local provider and asked them if it includes the upgraded second cable beforehand (see my post above). Received them yesterday and it was missing the second cable. Contacted the customer service and they said that adding the second cable was just a recent addition from Hifiman so if you purchase these recently, thereâs a risk that youâll get sets from the previous stock with just the extremely crappy silver stock cable. Luckily, my local provider said theyâll contact Hifiman asap to send a second cable to me. (Hmmm⊠sounds like they just manage the orders and Hifiman UK/EU ships the set accordingly)
But impressions just out of the box is FANTASTIC. I could imagine it might be sibilant for some, but personally Iâm treble sensitive as well and I donât feel any discomfort in the sound. The crispiness is just a little under the limit of feeling piercing in general (meaning there hasnât been any tracks unbearable for me). I imagine burning in for a while would make the sound even smoother, but so far I completely love these cans!
The clarity and attack sound like a $500+ IEM, and these are just the perfect pair with my KPH30i Clears. Whereas the KPH30i CL is intimate, close, and bassy, the 400se is intimate, spacious, and crispily neutral. Iâm running these off my FiiO K3 at 3 oâclock; could also do either bass boost or high gain and the cans still sound fine af. Bass boost actually makes it sound a little more v-shaped. Honestly pretty surprised that these could still run off FiiO K3 with ease.
I have a xDuoo MT-602 on its way here. Hopefully the hybrid tubes and power will turn these cans into ecstasy (it already is). 
Btw, how do folks deal with the hot spot on the dead center of the thick Hifiman headband other than Dekoni nuggets?
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Extend the yokes all the way out and squeeze the headband like youâre trying to crease the center. It helps a lot. Dekoni nuggets are kind of a joke imo, just makes the fit too loose.
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Sharing it here as well:
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Just received the HE400se (China version, released in 2020 non-stealth magnets) 94$.
Build Quality
Overall the outside is fine, itâs the drivers that look a little shoddy. There seems to be some oxidation on the magnets, a little brownish(rust?) hard to capture this on camera. tried to use a bit of isopropyl and a cotton swab to see if itâll come off, no dice. thereâs also a tiny piece of what seems to be glue on the diaphragm. tried to nudge it off gently with a toothpick(donât do this lol), decided to give up before i poke a hole in it. at least thereâs 1 year warranty if anything goes wrong.
eq settings is from HiFiMAN HE400se - Official Headphone Model Discussion - The HEADPHONE Community
overall experience so far is great. using the eq settings above makes it less bass lean, which completes the package for me. even without eq itâs still pretty good. definitely my daily driver for now, as a low-fi peasant.
using an O2 on low gain to power these, default gain resistors (2.5x low gain, 6.5x high gain). the knob stays between the 1st and 2nd notch, windows vol 100%, audio interface as dac.
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pretty interesting video repairing the broken trace of these headphones
what would be the bare minimum amp for this headphone?
iâve found the douk u3 drives pretty much anything, sounds just fine and being class a drives harder to power headphones with pretty solid authority. fantastic $35 amp.
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Liquid spark is great cheap power
The HE400se: A headphone so good the Headphone Show crew reviewed it twice
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Is anybody else hearing a really big treble spike around 9100hz? Itâs driving me crazy and I canât eq it out without ruining the sound, I have to decrease it by 5 or more db. Itâs literally painful for me to listen to them without eq.
Hifiman provides the best tonal balances for the price, the folks at headphones dotcom love headphones the less they need to EQ them
Try to shelf up the treble region that you like and then drop the hurting frequencys as much as you need.
Although a combination of pad swap, a -1 or -2 db treble shelf and even changing your source will help reduce that sharpness all the better.
What I did when I owned them was use a chifi tube buffer with treble knob, or a schiit loki reduced the 9k annoyance more than software eq for me. (More like reduced the spike less than eq but with better overall sounds, if its very sibilant you may need to change cans)
The more I see/read about the 400se, the more I ask myself if it is worth buying it when I already have a 400i 2020. Do anyone have both and can compare? Or is the a review that talks about it?
Probably to save and good for something higher up. I wouldnât imagine the 400se being a major upgrade over the 400i 2020