We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-21 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want serious wired desktop-and-home listening with an open, airy planar-magnetic soundstage, choose HIFIMAN HE400se; if you need wireless noise cancelling, AI translation, and all-day battery in a pocketable package, choose Anker Soundcore P31i. These two are barely in the same category — one is over-ear wired hi-fi, the other is in-ear true wireless — so the decision comes down to how and where you actually listen.
• HIFIMAN HE400se — biggest strength: planar magnetic drivers, an over-ear open design, and a 25-ohm impedance that makes it unusually easy to drive from a phone or laptop.
• HIFIMAN HE400se — biggest trade-off: it's wired, has no active noise cancelling (isolation only comes from the bevelled pads), and at roughly 385–390 g it's a headphone you notice on your head.
• Anker Soundcore P31i — biggest strength: real-time adaptive ANC up to 52 dB, up to 50 hours of total playtime with the case, and built-in AI translation across 100+ languages.
• Anker Soundcore P31i — biggest trade-off: it's a small in-ear bud with an 11 mm dynamic driver and a 20 Hz–40 kHz range, so it can't match the physical scale of an over-ear planar design.
• Pick the HIFIMAN if you listen at a desk or in a quiet room and want the most natural, spacious sound for the money.
• Pick the Soundcore P31i if you commute, travel, take calls all day, or want one pair of earbuds to do everything wirelessly.
The HE400se is built around a planar magnetic driver — a thin diaphragm driven across its whole surface rather than a conventional voice coil at the center. In practice, that's the design choice behind the headphone's reputation for a wide, even, low-distortion presentation. HIFIMAN also gave it "stealth magnet" technology, which is the company's way of shaping the magnet structure so the diaphragm moves more cleanly. The spec sheet backs up the intent: a 20 Hz–20 kHz frequency response, 91 dB sensitivity, and a low 25-ohm impedance.
That 25-ohm figure is the detail most buyers should care about. Low impedance plus reasonable efficiency means the HE400se doesn't demand a dedicated amplifier the way many planar headphones do — it's explicitly pitched as a mobile companion, and it ships with a 3.5 mm plug plus a 6.35 mm adapter for desktop gear. You can plug it into a phone, a laptop, a dongle DAC, or a home amp.
Where it shines is quiet-room listening. The over-ear, leather-padded cups sit around your ears rather than inside them, and the bevelled pads are shaped for a bit of passive isolation and heat management. The adjustable headband is designed to be lighter and more comfortable over long sessions. The cable is replaceable, which is a genuinely useful long-term feature — a damaged cable is a cheap fix instead of a dead headphone.
Anker Soundcore P31i: Who It's For
The P31i is the opposite philosophy: maximum capability in the smallest possible package. It's a true-wireless in-ear bud with 11 mm dynamic drivers, a 20 Hz–40 kHz frequency range, 14.2-ohm impedance, and 120 dB sensitivity — an easy, efficient load that Bluetooth can drive without strain. Bluetooth 6.1 handles the connection, and LDAC plus Hi-Res Audio certification means the wireless link is designed to carry more data than a standard codec, so lossless-grade sources have somewhere to go.
The headline feature is adaptive ANC. Soundcore rates it at up to 52 dB of noise reduction, and the "adaptive" part means the earbuds detect your surroundings and adjust the cancellation level themselves. That matters on a train, in a café, or on a plane, where the noise profile changes as you move. Spatial Audio is on board too, for a wider, more enveloping presentation on compatible content.
Then there's the feature you won't find on almost any other headphone: real-time AI translation across 100+ languages. For travel, international work, or talking to family abroad, that's a genuinely different use case, not a spec-sheet garnish. Six microphones with an AI noise-reduction algorithm handle calls, and a wind-noise reduction algorithm is specifically there to keep you intelligible outdoors.
Battery life is the other pillar. You get up to 10 hours per charge, up to 50 hours total with the case, and even with ANC on you're looking at 8 hours per charge and 40 hours total. A 10-minute top-up gives 3.5 hours. The case is small — about 5.8 cm square — and IP55 means it shrugs off sweat and rain.
Who should buy it: commuters, travelers, remote workers on calls, and anyone who wants one pair of earbuds for everything. Who should skip it: purists who want the physical scale and natural openness of an open-backed over-ear, and anyone who dislikes in-ear fit or touch controls. The P31i's sound comes from a small dynamic driver, and no amount of tuning changes physics.
• Best for soundstage and natural tone → HIFIMAN HE400se. An over-ear planar magnetic design simply moves more air than an 11 mm in-ear driver.
• Best for noise cancelling → Anker Soundcore P31i. Up to 52 dB of real-time adaptive ANC versus passive isolation only.
• Best for battery life → Anker Soundcore P31i. Up to 50 hours with the case; the HE400se has no battery at all because it's wired.
• Best for calls and meetings → Anker Soundcore P31i. Six AI-enhanced mics with wind-noise reduction; the HIFIMAN has no microphone.
• Best for travel and translation → Anker Soundcore P31i. 100+ language real-time AI translation is a category of its own.
• Best for desk and quiet-room listening → HIFIMAN HE400se. No latency, no charging, no codec compression.
• Best for wired versatility and repairability → HIFIMAN HE400se. The replaceable cable and 3.5 mm/6.35 mm adapters cover phones, laptops, and amps.
• Best all-rounder for most people → Anker Soundcore P31i. It covers commuting, calls, travel, and workouts in one small case.
In my opinion, the Anker Soundcore P31i is the better buy for most people, because it does more of the things most people actually need: wireless freedom, strong adaptive ANC, clear calls, long battery, and even translation. The HIFIMAN HE400se is the better buy if your listening happens at a desk or in a quiet room and you care most about tonal quality and an open, spacious presentation — in that context I'd choose it without hesitation, and the 25-ohm impedance means you don't need exotic gear to drive it. If you can only own one, buy the P31i and save the HE400se for when you want to sit down and really listen.
FAQ
Yes. It uses real-time adaptive ANC rated at up to 52 dB, and it automatically adjusts the cancellation level based on your surroundings. The HIFIMAN HE400se has no active noise cancelling — it relies on its bevelled ear pads for passive isolation.
Yes. At 25 ohms impedance and 91 dB sensitivity it's designed as a mobile-friendly planar headphone, and it comes with a 3.5 mm jack plus a 6.35 mm adapter. It's wired, so there's no Bluetooth and no battery to manage.
The Anker Soundcore P31i. Up to 50 hours of total playtime, IP55 sweat and rain resistance, six-mic call clarity, and a compact case make it the practical commuter choice. The HE400se is better kept at home for focused listening.
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