HIFIMAN HE5se

Over the last few years HIFIMAN has developed quite the reputation for high quality headphones at relatively low prices, with the company winning back-to-back Sound+Image awards for the original Edition X and then the version 2, which dropped in price. The HIFIMAN HE5se is a nod to another of the models pivotal in developing that reputation, the HE5. There’s certainly a cosmetic resemblance, but it seems there are also some very significant differences.

One clear difference is the use of a planar magnetic driver. This uses a flat diaphragm, with a coil applied to its surface, in a strong magnetic field. This arrangement tends to allow