HeAudio 1.3, 1.2B and the new JADE Stat Headphones

[pabbi1]

Originally Posted by vcoheda

that is interesting. what do i do? keep the 1.3 or trade in for the 1.2B?

hmm ...

Question is - how does it sound?

[vcoheda]

Originally Posted by pabbi1

Question is - how does it sound?

i posted the 1st paragraph in another thread earlier today but it really belongs here.

as for the EH-1.3 it is very good, even on the basic solid state amp i am using with it. it has very good bass with some slam, outstanding separation of instrument and voice, and excellent detail. it is also not thin sounding or unmusical as some stats seemed to me. it has a very quick pace as well. it has some burn in now (50-60 hours) and still seems a tad bright although less forward, which is good. as for musical genres classical, other than string ensembles and violin, does not seem to be its forte. and acoustic guitar still seems a bit off. but for most rock and other genres it is very good.

i'm sure the new 1.2 model will sound the same generally. the difference as before will be largely cosmetic. the 1.3s actually don't look that bad. if my photographic skills were better, you would see that. but the 1.2 model does have an overall nicer and sleeker look to it. i'll have to see what fang says about the timeframe to decide on an exchange. i think i would like to see the new model (at least a photo or two) before deciding. ideally i would like to hear it as well, but that may be asking too much.

[jpelg]

A bird in the hand...

Plus, the 1.3's will become a very limited edition.

[immtbiker]

They sound quite good.
At 60 hours the 2 things that stand out the most are soundstage and detail. The 1.2's go from the back of your head to the tip of your nose and from your kness (standing up) to the ceiling. The 1.3's go from just behind you ears to the sides of your nostrils .
Perhaps after 200 hours the 1.3's will exhibit a wider and taller soundstage and more detail.

[immtbiker]

Spent a couple of hours today comparing the 1.2's to my HE-60's. The differences that stick out the most to me are that the 1.2's have a bigger soundstage, more detail (the 60's have a little less weight) and the bass is more visceral (as far as headphones go).

[vcoheda]

i spent the evening at aaron's (immtbiker). it was a an enjoyable time filled with lots of good music and quality listening. and i again want to thank him and his wife for inviting me into their home and having me as their dinner guest. as a guy who lives solo and doesn't cook (i'm sure many can relate), a well cooked meal is a nice treat and something easily taken for granted. plus good company and conversation is always welcome.

aaron has a lot of nice audio gear and it all sounded pretty good. in one room there was the emm labs stack (this is a serious piece of audio equipment), an esoteric DV50 (not everything is on cd), an aires 2 turn table (who knew recordings from the 1950s could sound so good), a macintosh preamp, a cary power amp, some other stuff and amazing speakers which could be used for 2 or 5.1 channel. both configurations sounded great. it was a real treat to hear sacd in 5.1, watch diana krall live (she is so good), and view parts of the matrix in surround sound. in 5.1, that movie goes to a new level. (there is no spoon.) but the main purpose of the visit was to listen to our new electrostatic headphones. we did our headphone listening in another room. the source was a meridian G08. the headphones being used (mostly) were aaron's EH-1.2, EH-1.3 and my EH-1.3 switching between the woo ges (a tube electrostatic amp) and the he audio, which is solid state. and to mix things up, we threw in the sennheiser HE60 (baby orpheus) and even took his HP-2 and R10 for a quick spin. i mean, why not.

in general, my view of the EH-1.3 (my or aaron's pair) has not changed. on both amps the bass was very good, the instrument separation and detail excellent, and the sound fast yet musical. the 1.3 is a very good headphone. on the woo ges, the sound as probably expected was a bit richer and warmer with an overall more fluid flow and progression to the music. for example, acoustic guitar which doesn't quite sound right on the he amp sounded more correct on the woo. on the he audio, the presentation was more forward (which isn't entirely a bad thing), the sound was a tad brighter (generally a negative), but there was also better articulation (just a certain sharpness and crispness to words and between some notes which was somewhat lacking on the woo) and better bass response (more slam). the latter to me was the biggest difference between the two amps with the better articulation being more subtle. i think the woo is probably a more pleasing listening experience overall, if one considers a wide variety of recordings and genres and session time, but the he audio is quite good in its own right and there are surely certain recordings/artists where it may be preferred.

as for the EH-1.3 compared against the EH-1.2, the latter definitely has a smoother and more organic sound. the soundstage is more centered and the music just sounds more natural and less bright (harsh) when compared against the 1.3. for example on the he amp, the 1.2 could not only do acoustic but even piano, which i thought was a weak point with the 1.3. it is worth noting that the 1.2 had a lot more burn in (200 hours or so) than the 1.3s (about 60), so my hope is that the 1.3 after a sufficient period of break in will come into its own. i think it may. but i'm not sure. if it doesn't i will exchange it for the newer model - the 1.2B. i also did a quick comparison to the HE60 and i agree with aaron that the sound on the HE60 is thinner, the sound stage is smaller, and the bass is not as good. i think the EH-1.2/1.3 is easily better than the HE60. although i will admit that my comparison among them was brief.

that's it. just wanted to get a few thoughts down. some pics are below. left to right is aaron's 1.3 (notice the different colored wood to mine), his 1.2 (which with black tarnished wood is what the 1.2B will look like), and then my 1.3.

[AudioCats]

very very interesting!
Good thing I didn't go the 007 and TakeT route.... yet

[krmathis]

vcoheda. Thanks a lot for the write-up and pictures.
I am really tempted to order a pair of my own. Just need to see pictures of the 1.2b before I place my order, since the vendor switch design and wood type/color all the time.

[foo_me]

this makes me potentially want one as well...not looking for something like the he90 i used to have, but sounds like this could hold its own...and at a very nice price.

[smeggy]

Originally Posted by AudioCats

very very interesting!
Good thing I didn't go the 007 and TakeT route.... yet

I'd love to get these three in a room together along with the K1000 just to see which of them is really me. I think they'd have great difficulty knocking the K off it's perch because they have a sound that gells with me very well.

[foo_me]

electrostats will be a completely different sound, especially in terms of soundstage and listening to live music, so if you really like the k1ks, i don't think these will change your mind.
though you might like these enough as a complementary rig.
i still prefer my k1000s over the he90s i had.

[smeggy]

Originally Posted by foo_me

electrostats will be a completely different sound, especially in terms of soundstage and listening to live music, so if you really like the k1ks, i don't think these will change your mind.
though you might like these enough as a complementary rig.
i still prefer my k1000s over the he90s i had.

I also have stax 003, gamma and sr-x with pro drivers. I had a 404 but sold it off. These three, the He 1.x, TakeT and O2 are ones I've yet to hear and all are very interesting designs. I love the SR-X as much as the K1K so anything is possible.

[spritzer]

Originally Posted by smeggy

I also have stax 003, gamma and sr-x with pro drivers. I had a 404 but sold it off. These three, the He 1.x, TakeT and O2 are ones I've yet to hear and all are very interesting designs. I love the SR-X as much as the K1K so anything is possible.

The SR-007 is basically an upgraded SR-X with more of every thing so you should like them. I know I do love the SR-X Pro and the SR-007.

[jpelg]

Great writeup & pics, Dave! You are turning into quite the reviewer.

Interesting comments about the amps. Seems more like the classic differences between tubes & SS, rather than any weakness on the HE-Audio amp's part. Can you open up the HE-Audio amp for some internal pics?

With regard to burn-in, was that v1.2 unit used by Nankai for meets & such prior immtbiker receiving it? I only ask because that pair may have even more than the 200hrs that Aaron put on it. How many hours do you guys have on your v1.3's?

With regard to fit-&-finish, the biggest cosmetic diff is the outer grills. Also, the top headband on the 1.3 seems much wider than on the 1.2 - perhaps to accomodate a wider range of heads? I wonder if that accounts for any sonic differences? How does each respective model fit on you gentlemen?

Seems like any HE60 owners planning to sell off their units had better do it quickly, as the v1.3 & 1.2(B) may spell their death knell (or at least the insane prices they are going for these days). Thanks to Nankai & HE-Audio for bringing them to us.

[silencewithin]

Thanks for the reviews and information, this is a great thread.
These headphones look very interesting and are priced at a nice gap in the prices of the current stax lineup which could prove to be a very smart move indeed. I look forward to some further comparisons upon burn-in

Originally Posted by jpelg

With regard to fit-&-finish, the biggest cosmetic diff is the outer grills. Also, the top headband on the 1.3 seems much wider than on the 1.2 - perhaps to accomodate a wider range of heads? I wonder if that accounts for any sonic differences? How does each respective model fit on you gentlemen?

The narrower headband looks a bit more aesthetically pleasing to me but I would guess from the pictures that the wider headband is mostly a side-effect of the recessed hinges? I wonder if it had any fit consequences though yeah.