11% of 127 verified HiFiMan HE400seowners don't recommend it, and 1 describe specific problems — based on real owner comments from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube.
For balance: 80% recommend it. This page collects the complaints so you know what you're signing up for — read the full owner report for both sides. How we score
“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.”— @westsenkovec on YouTube
“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).”— sondwave on Reddit
“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”— JoaoNBFLY on Reddit
“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.”— asalixen on Reddit
“The sound just sucks on these I got them a while ago and they ended up collecting dust. Terrible sound quality.”— @hellguard2002 on YouTube
“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.”— KouhaiHasNoticed on Reddit
“Mine arrived today. Right driver completely DOA.”— @ShaneMckilroy on YouTube
“I had same issue with both HE400i 2020 and HE400se. New headband maybe soft, but the style just doesn't work as intended.”— ultraman31 on Head-Fi
“i've also had to rma these 2 months after getting them due to driver failure. this happened once again after 14 months.”— @saprk1d873 on YouTube
“My copy of the HE400SE has a collection of very high-Q, high magnitude spikes between 8-12kHz located in quite different spots between the left and right channels that I find unbearable to listen to without EQ, and available EQ presets don't correct them.”— MayaTlab on Audio Science Review
“Quality is POOR, my 1st Planar purchase, it fell apart within 4 months!!!”— @michaelstaruszkiewicz8798 on YouTube
“Não é um fone prático e nem robusto o bastante para usar em viagens”— Outrageous_Roll9860 on Reddit
Not complaints — practical notes from owners that didn't affect the score.
“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”— Ithilstone on Head-Fi
“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.”— pk500 on forum.headphones.com
“it was a bit lighter than 1990”— ThisGuyFrags on Reddit
“more of a neutral sound”— Myke69420360 on Reddit