Get insider access
Preferred store
Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
We've recently released our Test Bench 1.8 update for Headphones! Read the R&D Article to learn more about our new direction. As we ramp up and retest products, expect delays in testing new and updating preexisting reviews. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience!

  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PlayStation Compatibility
    6. Xbox Compatibility
    7. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

AKG K371 vs HiFiMan HE400se

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

AKG K371
HiFiMan HE400se

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jan 30, 2025 06:17 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Sep 25, 2023 05:09 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
AKG K371 Picture
HiFiMan HE400se Picture

Variants

  • K371
  • HE400se (Silver)

Our Verdict

AKG K371

HiFiMan HE400se

Depending on your usage, you may prefer either the AKG K371 or the HiFiMan HE400se. The AKG are closed-back headphones, which are well-suited for listening sessions where you want to block out background noise and reduce audio bleed. They also have a more neutral overall sound profile, which some users may prefer. However, the HiFiMan are open-backs, which are designed to let sound escape the ear cups in order to create a more immersive soundstage. They're more comfortable, better-built, and are able to reproduce audio more consistently. 

0

Check Price

Standard
K371
SEE PRICE
B&H
Silver
HE400se
B&H
Standard
K371
BestBuy.com
Silver
HE400se
BestBuy.com

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

8.0
8.2

Passive Soundstage 
 

4.8
8.3

Bass Accuracy 
 

9.1
7.7

Mid Accuracy 
 

9.3
8.6

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

6.1
8.3

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

AKG K371 Design Picture 2
HiFiMan HE400se Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Open-Back

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Dynamic
Planar Magnetic

Show text

Comfort 
 

7.5
8.0

Comfort Picture  

AKG K371 Comfort Picture
HiFiMan HE400se Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.57 lbs
0.87 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1.2 lbs
0.7 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

0.0
0.0

Controls Picture  

AKG K371 Controls Picture
HiFiMan HE400se Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

No Controls
No Controls

Ease Of Use  

No Controls
No Controls

Feedback  

No Controls
No Controls

Call/Music Control  

No
No

Volume Control  

No
No

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

No
No

Show text

Breathability 
 

6.3

Breathability After Picture  

AKG K371 Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

6.3 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

5.7
5.3

Portability Picture  

AKG K371 Portability Picture
HiFiMan HE400se Portability Picture

 

7.4" (18.8 cm)
8.2" (20.9 cm)

 

6.6" (16.8 cm)
6.3" (15.9 cm)

 

3.1" (7.9 cm)
4.5" (11.4 cm)

Volume  

150.70 in³ (2,469.52 cm³)
231.18 in³ (3,788.30 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

6.5
0.0

Case Picture  

AKG K371 Case Picture
HiFiMan HE400se Case Picture

Type  

Pouch
No case

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A

Show text

Build Quality 
 

7.0
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

AKG K371 Build Quality Picture
HiFiMan HE400se Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

6.0
6.0

Stability Picture  

AKG K371 Stability Picture
HiFiMan HE400se Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

AKG K371 Angled Picture
HiFiMan HE400se Angled Picture

Side Picture  

AKG K371 Side Picture
HiFiMan HE400se Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

AKG K371 Front Picture
HiFiMan HE400se Front Picture

Rear Picture  

AKG K371 Rear Picture
HiFiMan HE400se Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

AKG K371 Top Picture
HiFiMan HE400se Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

AKG K371 In The Box Picture
HiFiMan HE400se In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

0.19 dB
-2.79 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-1.99 dB
-1.75 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

6.1
8.3

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.9 dB
0.34 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

9.1
7.7

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.15 dB
3.09 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

10.91 Hz
55.76 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

0.51 dB
-6.07 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

-1 dB
-1.57 dB

High-Bass 
 

0.87 dB
1.37 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

9.3
8.6

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

0.96 dB
1.86 dB

Low-Mid 
 

0.77 dB
0.7 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

0.13 dB
0.22 dB

High-Mid 
 

-0.83 dB
-2.21 dB

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

7.7
7.6

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.41 dB
3.58 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-0.38 dB
-2.14 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-1.07 dB
0.62 dB

High-Treble 
 

-9.32 dB
-8.23 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.9
7.4

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.4 dB
1.81 dB

Dips 
 

1.03 dB
0.92 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

8.4
9.0

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.2
0.12

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

4.26
2.32

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

1.13
0.64

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.84
1.38

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

4.8
8.3

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

3.2 dB
3.34 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

4.06 dB
5.66 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

6.25 dB
9.82 dB

Openness 
 

5.1
9.6

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

2.3
9.4

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

AKG K371 Virtual Soundstage
HiFiMan HE400se Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App
No App

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.7
8.1

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.343
0.186

WHD @ 100 
 

0.112
0.091

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

No Firmware
No Firmware

Power 
 

Passive
Passive

Connection 
 

Wired
Wired

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

No Microphone
No Microphone

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

4.8
0.9

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-14.15 dB
-1.98 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

0.95 dB
-0.16 dB

Mid 
 

-10.25 dB
0.78 dB

Treble 
 

-34.06 dB
-6.32 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

8.0
0.6

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

33.85 dB
67.59 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
No

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

No
No

Recording Quality 
 

0.0
0.0

Microphone Frequency Response  

AKG K371 Microphone Frequency Response
HiFiMan HE400se Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech 
 

N/A
N/A

LFE 
 

N/A
N/A

FR Std. Dev. 
 

N/A
N/A

HFE 
 

N/A
N/A

Weighted THD 
 

N/A
N/A

Gain 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

0.0
0.0

SpNR  

AKG K371 SpNR
HiFiMan HE400se SpNR

SpNR 
 

N/A
N/A

Noise Gate 
 

No
No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

N/A
N/A

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

N/A
N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

N/A
N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

N/A
N/A

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Type 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Continuous Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Additional Charges 
 

N/A
N/A

Total Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Passive Headphone
Passive Headphone

Charging Port  

None
None

Show text

App Support 
 

0.0
0.0

App Picture  

AKG K371 App Picture
HiFiMan HE400se App Picture

App Name  

No App
No App

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

No
No

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
No

Show text

Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
0.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Android Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Wired 
 

9.5
9.5

Cable Picture  

AKG K371 Cable Picture
HiFiMan HE400se Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

Yes
Yes

Length  

4.00 ft (1.22 m)
4.92 ft (1.50 m)

Connection 
 

1/8" TRS
1/8" TRS

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
0 ms

Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

No
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

Show text

Check Price

Standard
K371
SEE PRICE
B&H
Silver
HE400se
B&H
Standard
K371
BestBuy.com
Silver
HE400se
BestBuy.com

AKG K371

HiFiMan HE400se

Comments

  1. Comparison

AKG K371 vs HiFiMan HE400se: Main Discussion

What do you think of these products? Let us know below.


Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.

PreviewBack to editorFormat guide
No comments yet, refresh to see new ones