HIFIMAN - HE400i

My closed back Sony MDR 7520. Not the most transparent, not the best bass, pretty narrow soundstage but easy to EQ and drive with my Qudelix 5K. Decent noise isolation, too. I’ll be taking it with me on an extended tour through Asia and Europe. The Hifiman HE400i comes a close second. Pretty neutral and easy to drive. (My Hifiman HE6SE v2 sounds remarkable but it’s too hard to drive with anything portable)

Starting to get the itch for an upgrade. Right now I kind of swap between 6xx, HE-400I, 990 pro, and occasionally a pair of modded T50rp’s (I think mrspeakers or something, I need to replace the pads). I mostly game these days but still like to do all kinds of music when I can (limited time these days so when I do have time I go gaming instead of music). I think the answer of “what you have is fine” is acceptable, but just kind of curious if there’s been anything more recently that is above this level I’m at now and worth it? Haven’t really shopped for headphones in 7-8 years I’d say.

I find suspension style headphones to be the best. For ex. The he400i are pretty comfy imo. I haven’t tried these Phillips but they look like they are also suspension style 

While the ALC can drive the headphone, u wont truly unlock their real potential till u have a better AMP, or even better a proper DAC/AMP unit, lots of reasonably priced fiio units can do the job. I had a similar experience when i got my first quality headphone, was a hifiman 400i, it was even worse on my m.b sound than the crapy gaming headphones i had.. almost sold them but i got to try them on a friend’s schit amp and man it was something else completely

Not op but, x3 has less bass and a bit brighter I think. X3 is built better whereas the x2hr has a couple failure points, but nothing dramatic. X2hr sound a bit more fun because of the bass for me. I bought planar headphones recently, a pair of used Hifiman HE-400i (older version with the suspension strap). Then found a used pair of Sash Tres for a good price. With eq the HE-400i is miles clearer and just better sounding than either of the fidelios and those can be found for very cheap at least around here. Cheaply built though and expect to buy a separate cable as the original is abysmal. The Sash Tres again is in a different league than the HE-400i. So now I'm just using those.

If you can find either of the fidelios for around 150€ or less in good condition. I would not personally pay more. They're good but there are better choices around now imo. Also, it's worth checking what you can find used in your price range, buying audio gear new is almost always a pretty bad investment.

HE400i is probably the hardest $150 headphone to drive though. HD560S is much more sensitive, a powerful amp wouldn't entirely transform the sound as much as it does to HE400i

Was just reading this compilation this morning https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/best-wired-headphones/ Personally I never found one that I really liked. Used a Bose triport thing for about a decade before it fell apart. Now I mostly use 1plus triport earbuds and am pretty happy with them. I also have a planar Hifiman HE400i which is interesting but I think it convinced me that I don't care for open back headphones.

It's very nice for the money. Just a few years ago, a planar like the 400SE used to cost over $400. Its predecessor, the HE400i, cost $500 USD at launch, I believe, and yet sounded worse than the 400SE!  With that being said, there's lots of tough competitors in that price range these days. Sennheiser HD560S may suit many people more due to their livelier, more exciting sound and because the Senns are easier to drive, so they will sound better with low power amplifiers. Other options, albeit at a slightly higher price, are Fiio FT1 and Audio Technica R50X. The Fiio is bassy, but still very well balanced sounding and loads of fun. R50X is generally neutral with a bright treble up top... My personal pick out of all the aforementioned headphones is the FT1. I think they are overall the most balanced sounding in their price range and are very competitive with open backs, like 400SE and 560S in sound quality, despite being closed back. Super easy to power too - the Fiio will play loud and sound great out of almost anything.  If you insist on getting an open back headphone, I suggest increasing your budget a bit. Check out Sundara or Edition XS... Those will be a solid upgrade over the HE400SE. I would also consider something like an HD550 or HD600, if your priority is the most neutral and natural sound for the price.

I agree - I myself got my FT1, I'm disappointed. I have the Denon MM400 which are better. Yes, the BD custom pro studio is worse. But HE400, XS, Steelseries Siberia even, Takstars maybe, Sony cheap closed backs etc are better. I think a couple of Senns may be better. Bass is good on the FT1 - quite good actually, but ss, imaging, and airiness is so inadequate here...

I went from HE400 to Maxwell simply because its wireless. The HE400 is objectively better in every way. Had it paired with a Schiit Magni Unity with DAC.