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

I have never owned or heard a planar headphone before. I am not a major audiophile, and the best headphones I have owned are V-Moda M-80, which I have had for a while, and Philips Fidelio X2HR, which I got a few weeks ago. I have been happy with both of these for casual listening, but wanted to try planar drivers without spending a lot of money. I decided to take a plunge with these entry level planars.I like the way they look. The colors are understated, and the size is about the same as the X2HRs. The build quality is not as good as the Philips cans, which use a lot more metal. The HE400se sound a bit more creaky when handling, and seem to be built with a much looser tolerance between parts. They do seem sturdy enough to last, but only time will tell.The headband is not as good as the Philips suspension support, but it is well cushioned, and better than how the V-Moda cans fit. The earpads are quite squishy, and distribute the clamping force quite well.Where these headphones shine is in the sound quality. The other two dynamic headphones I have aren't bad per se, but the bass seems to be a lot less crisp. Rapid changes in pitch never seem to get out of sync with the planar drivers, resulting in every drum hit, string pluck, and cymbal crash sound much more precise. These also resolve much more detail from layered songs, which make you notice nuances you miss with other headphones.I first drove these directly from my computer, and they seemed much quieter than my other phones. This is due to the planar drivers being more power hungry. I really couldn't drive them efficiently this way, as turning us the volume too much would cause my sound output start to clip. These issues were resolved after I added an cheap mini amp to boost the computer sound output, after which these came in line with the levels I was used to with my dynamic headphones. I also added an EQ profile to correct the response to be closer to the Harmon target.These now sound smooth, crisp, and detailed. The soundstage is nice, and the response is totally neutral. A great value for the money when you properly adjust the settings, and now my primary listening device.P.S. - This is getting to be an expensive hobby, or is it actually rising to the level of an addiction? I got a Fiio BTR5 and a balanced cable and matched them to this. The balanced signal is much louder and the output level is comparable to other headphones now. I can't tell if it made the sound quality better over the single ended 3.5 connection, but it certainly didn't make it worse, and louder is better, am I right?

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...!!!