Hi-Fi Choice - May

HEADPHONES
£220-£350
GROUPTEST
Hifiman
HE400S £220
This rising star brand delivers high performance at
increasingly lower prices. We like the sound of that
DETAILS
PRODUCT
Hifiman HE400S
ORIGIN
China
TYPE
Over-ear open-back
headphone
WEIGHT
350g
FEATURES
● Planar magnetic
drivers
● Quoted sensitivity:
98dB/mW
● Detachable 1.5m
cable with 3.5mm
mini-jack
● 6.35mm adapter
DISTRIBUTOR
Audio Affair
TELEPHONE
0844 5040350
WEBSITE
hifiman.com
C
hinese brand Hifiman,
founded by current owner
Dr Fang Bian in 2007,
certainly seems to have
mastered the art of ‘trickle down’. The
HE400S takes its tech cues from two of
the company’s much more expensive
planar magnetic high fliers – the
HE560 and HE400i (HFC 397) – and,
rumour has it, sounds very nearly as
good, prompting Hifiman to claim that
its budget planar ’phone redefines
what’s possible in the mid-price class
represented by our group here.
Planar magnetic headphones have
traditionally had two drawbacks.
One, they’re big and heavy. Two,
they’re power hungry and need a lot
of driving. The claim for the HE400S,
however, is that it’s sensitive enough
to be driven by a smartphone alone
without the additional muscle of a
headphone amp. At 350g, it isn’t the
lightest planar magnetic design on
the market (that honour belongs to
the Oppo PM-3 which undercuts it by
30g), but it is a little less heavy than
Philips’ Fidelio X2.
Unlike the Oppo and in line with
Hifiman’s pricier models, the HE400S
is an open-back design which, on
paper, could give it an edge sonically,
but confers no favours aesthetically.
The soft-sheen silver finish, large,
perfectly round ear cups and sharply
angled headband frame are certainly
distinctive, but unlikely to woo
headphone fashionistas. No matter,
those jumbo ear cups permit a decent
surface area for the planar membranes
What we have here
is the headphone
equivalent of
Quad electrostatics
within and, lined with removable
velour-covered memory foam, sit very
snugly on the head, the generous
circumference distributing the
pressure generated by the metal frame
comfortably. No travel case is supplied,
but the split twin-plug 1.5m cable
looks both cheerfully snazzy and
durable and additionally comes with
a 6.35mm adaptor.
Sound quality
Despite the claimed smartphonefriendly
sensitivity, the FiiO X3 DAP
(HFC 382) requires quite a volume
push from the group norm – though,
admittedly, no more than with the
Oppo PM-3 – to reach a decent level.
That said, it copes, though the
Questyle QP1R (HFC 409) and Chord
Hugo (HFC 386) are needed to show
what the HE400S is really capable of.
Partly because it is open backed, the
HE400S is a little brighter and quite
a lot airier and, well, less closed-in.
Initially, at least, the sound seems
thinner and a tad undernourished,
with a significantly leaner bass. There
certainly isn’t the up-an-at-’em attack
and sense of joyful enthusiasm
displayed by the Meze offering,
but sticking with the programme
eventually reveals what the HE400S
FANG CLUB
Hifiman’s founder and boss, Dr Fang
Bian, is a firm believer that ‘high-end’
is an attitude and not a price tag –
an approach that is perhaps best
expressed with the HE400S, which
brings the benefits of planar
magnetic driver technology to a new
low price point and wider audience.
In fact, when it comes to headphones,
Hifiman’s entire lineup is planar
magnetic, for which Dr Fang makes
no apology. While conceding that
electrostatics offer the best possible
sound quality, he sees planar
magnetics as a very close runner up
for out-and-out sound quality but a
more practical proposition for the
evolving headphone market, not least
because they require less power and
can be driven by a smartphone. And
they play louder, too. Dr Fang,
perhaps unsurprisingly, predicts a
rosy future for the headphone
market, and especially hi-res portable
players, which he also makes.
is all about and yields deeply
satisfying results.
There is a weakness with the bass.
Agile, tuneful and articulate as it is,
it could really do with a little more
propulsive oomph. That apart, what
we have here is the headphone
equivalent of listening to Quad
electrostatics: ultra-low colouration,
beautifully rendered high frequencies,
superb transparency, whip-crack
timing and a powerful sense of
cohesion that lets the music roll in
a lucid, free-flowing manner. The
languid grace of Brazilia, the hi-res
track from Robert Len’s Fragile, is
exquisitely captured. And just listen
to Overture from the Whiplash
soundtrack. Of all the headphones in
the group, this is the only one that
truly pulls the piece together. Even
cinema’s angriest band leader,
Terence Fletcher, would smile ●
OUR VERDICT
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
EASE OF DRIVE
OVERALL
LIKE: Transparency;
detailed sound; timing
DISLIKE: No oil
painting; bass needs
more beef; fairly
inefficient
WE SAY: Revealing,
enjoyable and terrific
value, but a little more
bass would certainly
go a long way
MAY 2016 29