HIFIMAN HE400SE Stealth Magnets Version Over-Ear Open-Back Full-Size Planar Magnetic Wired Headphones for Audiophiles/Studio, Great-Sounding, Stereo, High Sensitivity, Comfortable, Sliver

They are amazingly good for the price, definitely much better sound than my old AKG K271 MKII (which aren't just V-shaped, they are N-shaped, I can't believe I've spent at least 6 years in them. Yeah, and they cost about 2.5x more than the Hifimans). I think these Hifimans are the really flat apart apart from being a bit bassy and having a peak at a few kHz that can make the "S" sound in vocals annoying. But YOU may like it, and if you don't, like me, it is a very easy fix, described at the end of the review. The sound is unbelievably detailed with and without the mod, but without the mod the vocals also an feel a bit odd, like there is normally a minuscule amount of echo or sustain, and here there is none, so it can sound oddly dry in a way. Like the diaphragm can start and stop so fast it causes the sound to have way less sustain than you are used to. I guess it could be that most people including me listen to music through dynamic drivers only, whether it's speakers or headphones, and then they add a little bit of sustain to everything. The mod diminishes this effect a little, turning it from annoying to actually good. I never had planar magnetics before, so this could be the effect all planars do have, and in itself it's worth the price as it is really interesting to experience. It makes brass and percussive instruments sound crazy good, like you are there. They are surprisingly comfortable when you are upright, but can slide off if you are lying on your back and didn't tighten the headband more than what feels best when sitting or standing. The build quality is OK, and much better than it looks on the photos. The earcups do have a vertical swivel even though it doesn't look like they do, just the point of rotation is within the black part of the headband. And the forks are metal. The cable is really nice and thick, and is probably like a balanced cable all the way except for the plug. These headphones are easy to disassemble (sometimes a little too easy, the grilles for example), and there is a plenty of upgrades available, including 3D printed and buyable (headband, earpads, grilles, cables, etc.). But you DO need a headphone amplifier/actual soundcard/Bluetooth DAC/stationary hi-fi equipment that has a headphone output, as a phone or other portable devices meant for ordinary headphones can be too weak to drive them properly and they will sound a lot worse than they otherwise can, even at the same volume. They definitely sound good from Creative SoundblasterX G6 and Douk U3, so you probably don't need anything unreasonably expensive. Other than that I can't really think of any reason NOT to buy them if you want wired headphones that sound good, have great soundstage, are easily repairable/moddable and are cheap.The $0 mod goes as follows:Just remove the earpads and put adhesive tape as seen in the picture. The earcup has a plastic ring that is rather flexible nad has four hooks that point outwards. The easiest way to get it off is to reach for the ring through the earhole and try to lift it where one of the hooks is. The tape has to be between the second most rear and fourth most rear magnet, and should not extend out beyond these magnets (and put it on the magnets, NOT on the diaphragm, this is just to make the sound go less directly into your ear hole). Just leave one rear gap and three front gaps. And leaving about 5mm from the top and bottom makes it as detailed as it was without the nasty sharp "S" sound, and just a very, very small amount bassier). You can adjust the tape length to your liking of course, the amount shown works best for me. Also be careful, do not touch the diaphragm, and be aware that the magnets are quite strong, so that if you use a ferromagnetic tool to trim or apply the tape, it can be attracted to them suddenly). Also be aware that the earpads have front (thinner) and back (wider) sides, and do one ear at a time to avoid mixing them up.

this is my first pair of open-back headphones, i've only had closed-back headphones for the past 6+ years, so i'm not experienced enough to give a super helpful review, but i liked it. it sounded quite weird to me initially, but after using rtings and equalizerAPO to kinda tame the weird frequency response, i really like these.i had often been wearing my closed-back headphones with one ear off so i could hear things around me, but i don't need to with these. it's overall comfortable, but i do feel a bit of pressure where the earcups meet my head after wearing them for a while.it's not uncomfortable enough for me to hate wearing them as long as i'm listening to something, but my mdr-7506 headphones sat better on my head, to the point where i didn't feel the urge to take them off when the music ended. this definitely depends on your head shape and size, though, so your mileage may vary. this pair is also a little bit on the heavy side, so watch out for that.the cable is a little short for my preference, again, probably because i started with the mdr-7506 with its coiled cable, but it's a nice-feeling cable, and aftermarket cables are easy to find and use, given you can just unplug the cable from the headphones.the main thing i'm not liking is the earcups. i overheat easily, so i try to avoid synthetic fabrics, as they make me overheat faster, and while i couldn't quickly find something that said specifically what the earcups are made of, i have the same feeling wearing these as i do wearing, say, a polyester t-shirt. fortunately, this is another thing that's available from third parties.i'm overall very happy with it, though. if you're not a huge fan of how the mid-highs sound, i've attached my eq adjustments in case they help someone. you might need to tweak it a little bit depending on your preferences, but it's worth a shot if the only thing you don't like about it is the frequency response.(in case the image isn't available to you, my adjustments are +3dB at 1700Hz, +5dB at 5000Hz, and -3db at 8000Hz, all peak filters with the Q set to 3. i don't know if i'd recommend bumping up the bass/sub, i tried it but i kinda hated it, even though i'm used to the mdr-7506 which has a bit of a bump in the bass/sub, it just didn't sound right to me lol)

I bought these headphones (HE400SE) after watching many reviews, good and bad. I am no audiophile, but someone who enjoys music, mostly rock and heavy metal. Even when the instruction manual of the headphones states that they can be powered from a phone with a dongle DAC or with headphone amps, I found that they work, but don’t shine. My experience: I used a SHANLING UA1 Plus Headphone Amplifier (sold in amazon) with my iPhone and the headphones sounded good, but not great. When I connected the SHANGLING UA 1 through the Douk Audio U10 Mini Vacuum Tube Headphone Amp, (also sold in amazon), these headphones sounded beautiful! I can’t state the technicalities, but there are plenty of videos with the technical language. The bass sound nice, but if you love thumping bass pumping in your head, look elsewhere, these are open back and are NOT dynamic driver headphones. They are very comfortable and relatively light. And one last comment: Hifiman is shipping these with a better cable than the one used in the first packagings of this model, which sparked some bad reviews. They sound better than the $96.78 I paid!