HiFiMAN HE-400
HiFiMAN’s accessible planar: real planar bass and slam with a bright, energetic top, at a fraction of flagship money.
Our take
The HE-400 brought planar slam to the masses: tight, punchy bass and a bright, sometimes hot treble around a slightly scooped mid. It’s fun and fast, benefits from an amp, and EQs nicely if the upper treble gets sharp. The gateway planar.
Measured on a Head Acoustics HMS II.3 artificial head — raw response, left/right averaged, normalized to 0 dB at 1 kHz. From the Sonic Temple Archive(2008–2014, one unit per model). Honest limits: seating variance runs ±0.4 dB in the mids to ±3.9 dB above 12 kHz, and open headphones read bass-light on this fixture — don’t read fine treble detail as settled. How we measure →
Common questions
Straight answers — the same ones our measurements support.
Does the HiFiMAN HE-400 need an amp?
It benefits from one: easier than big planars, but a proper amp tightens the bass.
Is the HE-400 bright?
It has an energetic, sometimes peaky treble. A small EQ dip smooths it.
If you like the HE-400
Close on the graph, or a deliberate step in one direction.