Straight off the bat, I will mention that I have not listened to any of the other HIFIMAN HE-400 or HE-500 variants, including the collaborations with Drop. The Chinese version of the HE400se also does not use stealth magnets at this time and comes with a different cable than the international version. That said, a stealth magnet version for China is coming up, and the cable included with the international version is being updated as well. So it might be a case of a single version globally moving forward. Even outside of HIFIMAN in this price range, I have very few other products remaining here, especially given the open-back nature of things. Those I do have use dynamic drivers that just sound different in bass response and timbre, but the equivalently priced alternatives are tuned worse to where I would easily take the HE400se over those. As per usual, head over to VSG.squig.link whenever new headphones and/or target curves are added to make comparisons of your own.

Moving up the HIFIMAN stack, there's of course the renowned Sundara (2020), which is another set I have never listed to. The brand-new Edition XS is what I have here next, which costs $500 and outperforms the HE400se in every single way but the treble tuning. The much more expensive Arya and HE1000se are tuned somewhat worse, but technically beat the pants off the HE400se. In fact, pretty much all headphones I have here in the $400+ range are not going to fear the HE400se at all. The trouble is that things under $400 might well do, even if the HE400se can be harshly dismissed as a set that is tuned well but without body to make the most of this sound signature.

This is the least expensive option I can recommend to also try out the HIFIMAN house sound, which favors the likes of smooth jazz and classical music more than vocals, and certainly anything that benefits from a bass response. It's not surprising then that I personally dig the tuning, although I made some EQ changes of my own that worked out quite well. I would not call the HE400se a reference set per se, but it can be used for monitoring music as long as you account for the tuning and how it pertains to your work. It's otherwise a set you put on your ears to close your eyes and relax with. At 390 g on a relatively large frame, it's not heavy as much as it is comfortable with a nice fit. Getting that seal is important, although glass-wearers should not have too much to worry about considering the resonance frequency of the drivers only hits at a seal break further off from just having a set of glass between the headphones and head. Too bad there is no horizontal swivel, though. I will also mention the possibly lower clamp force and/or hotspots on your head courtesy the headband design. However, it can easily be forgiven at $130, which is why I am happy to recommend the HIFIMAN HE400se from a budget value perspective.