“I also once had the Hifiman HE400SE and I can only say: entry-level planars are all well and good, but in terms of long-term reliability prognosis and build quality they are no match for the K702.”

80% of 127 verified owners recommend the HiFiMan HE400se, based on real owner verdicts aggregated from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube.
Affiliate blogs here say 100% recommend, while the owner-based score is 80%. They earn a commission on every sale — so we show them for transparency but never let them move the score.
The headline score reflects owners (Reddit, enthusiast forums), independent lab tests, blogs with no affiliate links, and YouTube owner-comments when they line up with owners. YouTube and Affiliate blogs are shown for perspective but kept out here — hover the i for why.
Synthesized from what HiFiMan HE400se owners say — not a spec sheet.
Retailers' own star averages, for comparison — separate from our vetted owner-verdict score above.
“I also once had the Hifiman HE400SE and I can only say: entry-level planars are all well and good, but in terms of long-term reliability prognosis and build quality they are no match for the K702.”
“The treble is still tamed, but the bass doesn't seem to roll off. Punchy and fun.”
“Hifiman are known to last about two months. It's only a question of time before they fail and customer service is bad from what I saw.”
“I recently got hifiman he400se, as hd58x owner. Granted, not same sound as s2, but it is senn sounding headphone. As you said, amount of details in highs is present, but they lack resolution.”
“they are amazing, the replacement grills smooth out all the peaks and dips”
“Tive exatamente o mesmo problema na minha unidade nova no HE400SE v1. O problema era físico infelizmente, mais especificamente a construção dos drivers, que geravam vibração excessiva em um intervalo de frequência específica (grave).”
“Hifiman HE400se are great budget planar magnetic headphones. They have a fast, tight sound that works great with any type of media. They're not too high fidelity though and have awful build quality.”
“Super comfortable, these are now my office daily drivers. Great value for the money!”
“I had a problem with the driver of my brand new He400Se. Sold it and bought a used Ananda OG, it works like a charm”
“I have the HE400SE that I bought on Amazon. Is the real deal, but build quality leaves a lot to be desired. Had to return the first one because the adjustment was janky and the drivers were super crinkly.”
“these are amazing headphones in terms of comfort and the price is amazing at 150.”
“This was an issue for me with hifiman he400se's. For me it feels like there is a pain in my ear, similar to when you press on a bruise. And i get headaches. So i sold the he400se's long ago and got sennheiser hd600's instead which are wonderful.”
“I have the HE400SE and agree with almost everything you said, except comfort. For me the headband is almost rock solid”
“This headphones is the single best deal in Headphone market IMO.”
“The sound just sucks on these I got them a while ago and they ended up collecting dust. Terrible sound quality.”
“tienen un sonido increíble, muy suave y detallado, no cansan.”
“HE400SE: first Hifiman headphone I got, them make a point to show that their product range from absolutely boring to the best there is. Bass is the only thing interesting here imo. Mids and trebbles are boring to a point I always get annoyed when listening to these.”
“I consider them very different from each other, the he400se is more detailed and the hd585 is cozy”
“My hifiman he400se with balanced output cable sound path through my eq is unbelievable.”
“Mine arrived today. Right driver completely DOA.”
“He400SE: They are kinda just there. Don't hate them, don't love them. The other 2 headphones above kinda spoiled me though, for their price (I got them for $60) they are great. They don't really do anything exceptionally well but there isn't anything terrible about them either.”
“I had same issue with both HE400i 2020 and HE400se. New headband maybe soft, but the style just doesn't work as intended.”
“me han maravillado y dejado boquiabierto”
“The 400se seem to be better built & more comfortable but have probably the worst cable Hifiman has ever made”
Practical notes owners raise — setup, quirks, and issues to watch for. They don't say whether the person likes the product, so they're not counted in the score, but they inform the pros, cons, and who it's for.
“It is relatively hard to drive - what I mean is 400i 2020 can be powered by phone ( OnePlus 3T) it will not sound it best but it will be OK where 400se needs more juice”
“these cans aren’t ravenous for power. I drive them just fine with a TempoTec Sonata HD Pro and even better with an iFi Hip dac.”
“it was a bit lighter than 1990”
“more of a neutral sound”