The best headphone under $300
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HiFiMAN HE400S- Excellent audio performance for the money
- Incredible bass and clarity
- Easily powered by a smart-phone
- Comfortable once adjusted
- Construction quality needs some attention
- Headband adjusts in a stiff manner
The HiFiMAN HE400S is not only raved about by reviewers and customers—I also thought its performance was incredible for the price. At slightly under $300, you're essentially getting the audio quality of an $800+ pair of headphones. In fact, even some headphones that cost well above $1000 don't sound quite as good or measure as well as the HE400S.
The HE400S, like the Mr. Speakers Ether, is a planar-magnetic headphone. This essentially means it's going to measure well right off the bat, as all planar headphones tend to sound phenomenal by nature. The primary differences in sound signature between different planar headphones are going to come down to enclosure design and tuning.
The entire frequency range is superbly represented by the HE400S. Vocals are clear, mids are balanced, and bass notes are shockingly good. Both games and music sound great on the HE400S due to its open-back design. Some might scoff at this, but the sound field is lively, and makes a huge impact in games. On some headphones, being open-back can have an adverse affect on bass response, but not so with the HE400S. Don't get me wrong: the HE400S isn't littered with bass to the point where other frequencies are overpowered. Its control of bass is essentially unheard of within its price class.
Delivering performance that's usually reserved for headphones costing many times as much at a sub $300 price point is going to have some tradeoffs. Thankfully, HiFiMAN made sacrifices in areas that have no baring on audio performance. The downside though is you can visually see some of those tradeoffs. The silver finish, for example, can rub off at the joints. The plastic material also feels a tad cheap, although could probably be remedied if HiFiMAN didn't use a glossy finish. I didn't experience any structural issues during testing but I did pass on my findings to HiFiMAN and the company said it would look into the scuffing problem.
I would say that the HE400S is worth every dollar over the popular Sennheiser HD 598 headphones. Extremely popular with users, the HD 598 is a good headphone no doubt, but it doesn't even come close to the performance of the HE400S. Yes, the HE400S is double the price of the HD 598, but will literally dance toe-to-toe with Sennheiser's flagships—save for the new Orpheus.
No other headphone comes close in terms of performance-per-dollar.
Runner-up
Sennheiser HD 600
The HD 600 is the step up above the popular HD 598. It has a more flat frequency response and overall better sound-stage than the HD 598. The drivers in the HD 600 require a bit more juice, but if you have a competent DAC or headphone amp, it shouldn't be a problem. Often used by studios to mix, the HD 600 has a very balanced sound signature and thanks to its open design, delivers good imaging.
