Drop + HIFIMAN HE-X4 Planar Magnetic Headphones Reviews | Drop

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Drop + HIFIMAN HE-X4 Planar Magnetic Headphones

Audiophile

FULL DISCUSSION

Rambone

Nov 16, 2022

Verified Buyer

X4 or 400se

By now many reviews have covered the X4 but what I do not see much of is X4 vs 400se. Having both, listening to them back to back at same volumes, etc. They definitely sound very similar however I think the X4 sounds better. The first thing that was apparent when putting them on is that it had a bit better bass over the 400se, not much but it was still an improvement. With the X4 the sound seemed less smoothed over which I liked. I like the comfort of the X4 better, I can wear it much longer over the 400se. I do not have any complaints with the build quality, my 4XX which I scooped up many years ago still looks like the day I got them. Both of these headphones didn't really benefit much from analog bass boosts of my iFi dac/amps and didn't really scale with more powerful amps and sounded the same between dac chips (burr brown, ESS, AKM). 400se vs X4, which one should you get? I'd say the X4 as it tends to be cheaper in USD on sale and in my opinion sounds better. If you already have a 400se should you get an X4? No, no point. I wouldn't really get either of these if bass slam/punch is important to you. Should you get the X4 or the 4XX? I like the 4XX better as it has even more and better bass. The only thing that I don't like about the 4XX or at least mine is that it uses 2.5mm connectors to the cups. Edit This review was created because I see a lot of forum posts and reviews indicating that both the 400se and X4 are basically the same and to go with whatever is cheapest. I see a lot of people repeating this information without actually listening to them both. There was maybe one person out there that thought they sounded radically different, so I had to put this to the test as it has been bothering me a lot. The X4 and 400se sound pretty damn close but there are some very key differences which I pointed out in my review. Words can't really describe how close these two headphones are to each other but imagine a race where we have two athletes racing to the finish line, I think the X4 definitely wins the race but only by a fingers length (not a hair), it's pretty close but the X4 is still a win and a lead above the 400se to my ears. I prefer the X4 over the 400se most definitely.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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