How far back do you want to go? HE-4, HE-6 (4 or 6 screw), HE-500 seem to have held value well. Newer models which have been made in greater numbers and HFM's tendency to drop prices over time has hurt early adopters. For instance the HE-1000 SE has been dropped to $1699, quite a drop from...

We've all been taken in! From Tyll to Resolve! Thanks to your well documented and nuanced comments we are all set straight!

The grills do not protect mylar drivers from everything as I have pointed out. Many people have been driving cans like the HE-6 6 screw w/o screens for over a decade, guess they are not clumsy.

This is Summit-Fi, right?

The danger outside of modding a headphone with a mylar driver and not knowing/underestimating what magnetic tools can do in close proximity is the obvious issue. The more subtle longer term issue is cooking fumes getting on the mylar and magnetic parts of the headphone which adds mass - which...

Lots of people paid $6k for the OG, doesn't seem like such a great leap. The outward facing stators are not particularly flimsy compared to ones fingers, not remotely. A puppy, baby, or cat - maybe there is trouble. No planar even with metal screens and some protective membrane are safe from...

SE at $1699 is hard to beat, esp if you drop a little PEQ on it. Planars including HFM even at the level of the 400, Sundara, XS can absorb lots of bass PEQ w/o getting wanky elsewhere (assuming you have the juice to maintain dynamics if you are doing say a +8 db under 100 Hz). I heard the...

I wish Solderdude would get hold of them, but he doesn't seem to get into stuff outside of dynamics and planars... I'm sure ASR will come up with something later in the year, and if they can, they will slam it (CA-1a which has HD flaws in the bass was killed for measurements, but, didn't seem...

Did the HE-500 bare backed for over 4 years and the 6 SE for about 3.5 years - as long as no toddlers, puppies, cats around, and you put them away when done - nothing happened to them. The Arctic screens (thinner ones) are inaudible to me, and nicely priced, so I gave in.

Not to mention the bass quantity/heft is liable to be no real match for the HEK (2, Stealth, SE).

I undersold the SE's better location of instruments in the soundstage in that write up. With PEQ the SE advantage in definition is still there. Given the Stealth is at $1399 and can deal with lesser equipment better upfront of the SE, it was a very viable choice vs the SE at 2k. But now it...

Got the 600, had the crack... Still got your 6 screw, 800S, Utopia, BHA-1.... I might drop my interest in one more big purchase if I was holding those... :smile_phones:

Thanks - I'm an open back fan and have not heard the E3 yet. Was hoping they would do an open back version. At $1699 the HEK SE appears to be what I'm going to do... unless I wait for the OG Susvara to drop to say $3-3.5k retail and lower used.

It's a triple - add in the E3 for a Home Run...

I admire over time HFM's drivers (owned 11), but the headbands, cups, rear screens, cables, packaging - basically everything else is done to meet minimal function and even often detracts from the performance of the drivers - that's why mods are so common with them. Their profit margin is very...

What about the Expanse and D8K vs Sus or Caldera. Easily.

Not if they lower the list price which HFM history suggests is likely.

The home audio industry started the unreasonable pricing to draw the attention and money of ego/"elite" buyers long before 2012. Goldmund Turntable $12000 1986 (later model $250k) HQD speaekers $26000 1984 Koetsu Onix Platinum cartridge $7500 2006 Audioquest Everest speaker cable 3M $21000 2008

Bingo Listening will be the test. For me in the Fall I might be able to do a $3k can, a nice new Susvara 1 could be tough to beat, so I'm happy with this new product.

Don't worry in 12-16 months it will be $6k and $3-3.5k respectively.

If the stators are on the back face which it appears to be, its not that dangerous. The mylar is the delicate part, and strong magnets drawing in charged particles (like cooking fumes, magnetized particles) are the things to worry about. I know there is an urge to look at ones treasures, but...

and while that sort of thing is good in statistics or democracy - its adherence in audio? So true - for those that trust their ears - be it for "fun", "audiophile", "accurate", etc, tunings - then there is an opportunity for a reward for their efforts. The same urge is also seen in finding and...

...up there in age. I understand Audeze still has the parts to service the LCD-4 with OG parts. HFM does not and I think offer an upgrade path - but *maybe* only for the OG owner (not sure) or they may charge more. I also think given the risk of failure of older cans, I'd gravitate to...

It's a good question, they might just keep the Susvaras at $3500 and that's a big gap to $1699 or even $2k. The split between the Sus and the HEK SE wasn't all that wide until they started selling SE's at $2k, now that's a gap, and at a price point (2-3k) that gets some good business - unlike...

I assume that these currencies are readily exchanged, and that Google has a translator built in to enable searches in ones native language.