I assure you they respond extremely well to power.
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how do they compare to the GL2000?
The gl2k isnāt for everyone but modded itās amazing and the tuning on the he400se is very neutral and is very good all around but with a grill mod on both of them they both come alive. The gl2k still wins imo but not by so much that it would be worth it to most people. I judge a lot of headphones by their gaming potential so things like imaging and soundstage usability matter more to me than anything else and I tend to like brighter headphones so thatās also a factor. The gl2k is just objectively comfier but it does weigh a lot more and I do like it all around more ONCE MODDED but I think a lot of people that even have high end headphones could be pleasantly humbled by how great the he400se is compared to much more expensive headphones. Again itās worth mentioning that I refuse to have a circle can hifiman that isnāt grill modded as itās just stupid easy to do and makes a massive difference in soundstage presentation and sound profile. Theyāre very good headphones as they come and take eq phenomenally but with the honeycomb grills theyāre about as good as it can get for under $400-500 imo. These things make sundaras look like a joke and I really do mean that. They just need a suspension headband now lol though squeezing the headband they have fixes most of the comfort problems.
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Awesome review here, I was waiting for someone to AB test these vs the 400i 2020. I was lucky enough to buy the 400i 2020 off of Amazon in the US before Hifiman removed them for sale in the USA.
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They run really well of an atom stack. Low gain they got plenty of loud for me at around 2-3oclock(off is around 7) on low gain and 12-1 on high.
I enjoyed the sound so far. Nice bass, mids seemed neutral and treble was to my liking. Spent most of the time during my listening section A/Bing planar and dynamic.
Can see these benefiting from a schitt stack because more power
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i think i kind of solved the headband issue with a non-intrusive āmodā. i had some cable velcro straps from my guitar cables lying around so i could test my theory that this headband would be so much better with the middle part left out like on a lot of sennheiser headphones. so i tightly wrapped the velcro strap around the middle ontop to force squeeze the foam to make it like a two part foam strap. i will need to get some thicker straps to make the gap wider but this seems to be already a big improvement. can recommend
Im thinking about 3d printing some adapters to either audeze headbands or hifiman suspension headbands or both. If thereās any interest I guess Iād put the effort in. Possibly hifiman grill seals to make closed backs out of any circle can too.
Just got my pair, initially I was disappointed but after using oratoryās HE400i 2020 EQ on them theyāre pretty good. I still prefer my DT880s but Iād still be plenty happy if I only had these. I love the comfort so far but the headband is stupid stiff. The cable is very microphonic and it rattles when you shake it. Itās the crappiest cable Iāve ever seen. It seems like itās mostly build out of plastic but honestly I could see these lasting a while. These are the first planars Iāve tried and I really donāt hear the āplanar bassā people rave about. I am running these off a Fiio BTR3k so it might be hindering these.
A btr3k isnāt going to give them the slam and the detail is noticeably better with power. These things really love power.
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So the he400se has the same yokes as the deva and the he400i.
I wonder if itās possible to repair/replace them if they break. I think the headband itself is made out of steel right? So this would probably be very durable. Has anyone seen a teardown video for deva or he400i headband?
Suspension headbands from hifiman are I think $125 and they look pretty nice. But the cheaper suspension headbands with the plastic yokes donāt fit without modification. People seem to like the audeze headband mod, too.
These are good for gaming.
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Yeah like really really good.
My only gripe with is headphone is the Soundstage. Sound like it can be fixed with the grill mod
its not a subtle change its very drastic and noticeable. grills are a must on hifiman circle cans if you ask me. you can make your own pretty easily but make sure you use aluminum or plastic and not steel.
Yep. I was running mine off a TempoTec Sonata HD Pro in high-gain mode. Enough power to get them sufficiently loud, but I was at about 70 percent of my phoneās volume and max on the Sonata.
Got an iFi Hip Dac today, and the 400se Internationalās sing with it. That little thing has WAY more power than I even expected. It runs the 400seās with ease at around 50 percent in low-gain mode. But when I hit the high-gain button, I donāt think Iām anywhere near 50 percent on the volume knob.
The warm Burr-Brown chip of the Hip Dac also compliments the 400se Internationals quite well. I sat at my kitchen table last night to listen to music at about 1:30 a.m. with that setup. Planned to listen to a few tunes and go to bed. Next thing I know, I looked at my phone, and it was 2:42 a.m.
Thatās a very good sign. 
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I bought an iFi Hip-DAC to hopefully get more power and fidelity for my 400se International versions than what my TempoTec Sonata HD Pro can provide, and without having to use the adapter technique to ātrickā the Sonata HD Pro into high-gain mode.
Happy to say the Hip-DAC has much more power than the Sonata HD Pro, and the slightly warm sound of the Burr-Brown chip of the Hip-DAC works perfectly for me and the 400se Internationals. It works pretty well with my Sennheiser HD 560s and Meze 99 Classics, but itās such an ideal match to my ears for the 400se International that Iām seriously considering selling my 99 Classics and HD 560s and just going with the 400se Internationals for over-ear cans and my Moondrop Starfields for IEMS.
The 400se International and hip-DAC combination is that good for me right now. Really stoked.
My Sundara just arrived, holy moly theyāre such an improvement. I have randomly found posts from you on head-fi and amazon and if you like the 400 series sound then the Sundara will rock your world.
Compared to HE4XX and HE400i the difference is night and day. On the Sundara the bass is more liquid, responsive and extremely rhythmic/musical, the mids have this incredible naturalness and immediacy to them and in the highs there is so much more microdetail. The instrument separation is downright ridiculousā¦ And because I know you care about this: in busy passages they cut even easier haha. I am deeply in love with the effortless sound of Hifiman (or planar-magnetics?).
The highs are indeed a bit more piercing than on the 400 series, but not by much and they can easily be EQd down.
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Iām sure my 400se Internationals ā which still turn me on as much as the first day I heard them ā will be a gateway drug to Sundaras at some point.
Glad youāre digging your Sundaras!
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The he400se international is straight up massively better than sundaras. Im dead serious. @pk500
Iād even say better than anandasā¦
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