HeAudio 1.3, 1.2B and the new JADE Stat Headphones - Page 16

What the heck. O.o And HE60 has bass in those terms?


+1 on Immtbiker's ratings, although depending on listeners tastes O2 and HE60 are sidesteps.

HE60's bass is not its strength, but it doesn't have the super brightness, hence overall better than 4070. O2 is overly dark to my ears on the other hand. HE60 is better than both overall.

I tried both, although not with all phones.

717t: O2, 4070, HE Audio 1.2/1.3
ES-2: HE90, HE60, HE Audio 1.2/1.3

The amp just might be it, because when running out of ES-1 4070 did not seem overly bright, while on the other hand HE60 sounded just plain uninteresting. Either way, EHs/HE90 had their own unique magic that generally beat everything else.

Pretty close to my rankings:

HE90
4070
He1.2
HE60
O2 (new version)
O2 (old version)

My thoughts on the 4070:

I didn't have the brightness issues that some people are describing here with the 4070, although I can understand where they're coming from in terms of the sonic signature that the 4070 tend to portray. Agreed, they are much more forward than the O2 (either version), but in a quite welcome and pleasing way to my ears. This is true both under meet conditions and at home with the HEV90 doing amp duties.

Speaking of the HEV90. Oddly enough, if anything "bad" can be said about the HEV90 it would be that it tends to lean a bit toward treble happiness. Moreover, this is the one thing that will annoy the snot out of me with heaphone listening in general! Treble brightness is by far my #1 pet peeve! I've never been able to get "into" the RS-1, for example, despite their reputation for rockability. At times, the RS-1 can be tolerable to my ears (under certain meet conditions), but at other times I can't keep them on my head for 20 seconds because their exaggerated and colored treble makes my ear bleed!

I've never had this experience with the 4070 at all. Nothing is "offensive" about their presentation. But of course the same is true of the AD2000, as another example of a pair of phones that some people find to be bright, but my ears sort of "get it" and aren't annoyed in the slightest degree by their admittedly colored presentation that leans toward treble happiness.

So the difference, to me, is that the RS-1 presents a colored view on music that I don't happen to like and it sometimes grates on my nerves; the AD2000 presents a colored view that I do happen to like; whereas the 4070 just presents a slightly shifted, but not at all colored, presentation of music. In other words, the 4070 (to my ears) are an extremely neutral pair of phones, but with the highs being slightly more emphasized and "present" than the lows. I see it as a refinement/balance issue and nothing more. Neither the highs nor the lows are missing; neither is presented in a colored fashion to in some way achieve a "new" sound with the 4070 (as an instrument of it's own as I think is the case with the RS-1 and AD2000 but is not the case with the 4070).

Instead, to my ears, the 4070 are to electrostat headphones what the Grado HP-1000 are to dynamic headphones: the champs of neutrality! I think they would make for exceptional studio monitors, which is essentially what they were designed for. The highs don't jump at me, and the lows are there with plenty of room to spare, but they don't take over like the O2 lows tend to do (and thus my low rating of the 02 which I find to be excessively dark).

About the He phones:

I never did listen to the He 1.3 since I was told that the He1.2 would become the production unit, or (at least) that it would be based on this design which I liked better than the He1.3 overall in terms of cosmetics.

However, I didn't find the 1.3 as fugly looking as I thought I would. Both He designs had the look and feel of a very high DIY quality. In other wards, no, they're not AT-woody-like in terms of fit and finish, but they don't seem like "cheap" home brews either. I actually quite like the look and feel of both the He1.2 and the He1.3 (other than the unfortunate choice in wood color/species with the 1.3).

I'd probably end up with a pair of the He1.2 if I didn't own a pair of HE90. But I find that (like the HE60), the He1.2 signature is close enough to that of the HE90 that I'd almost never listen to them (other than perhaps to do further comparisons). Why listen to Harry Connick Jr. when you can listen to Frank Sinatra instead? Not that the HE60 or the He1.2 could ever quite become the cheesy knock-off equivalents of a Harry (get a life of your own) Connick (it makes me sick even to mention your name in the same breath) Jr. (why don't you go play in traffic?). In fact, I think I'll do just that - listen to some Frank on my HE90/HEV90 system!

Nankai-what is the lead time?

I also think the 4070 is the most neutral-sounding of the electrostats I've heard. Its tonality is somewhat similar to the AirBow SR-SC1. It also reminds me of the HP-2, and little bit of the K701's tonality as well.

Driven by the KGSS, the 4070 can seem a bit thin, slightly bright and uninvolving. With the Aristaeus, it is fuller-bodied, warmer, more refined and much more involving. Bass impact and quality is improved. Depending on point of view, this might be considered "added coloration" by the Aristaeus. Whatever it is, I like it.

However, I would rank the 4070 below the O2 (1st version). I do think the O2 is a bit dark-sounding, especially compared to the HE60. The O2's imaging and separation are especially good, and it makes the most of its relatively small headstage by creating a very well-defined and coherent soundstage.

When I look at the rankings I wonder how old you all are.
This isn't meant to be offensive since I'm not young anymore, too.
Loss of treble due to age or hearing abuse (club, live rock music) is a fact.
I do own lots of electrostats (SR-007, HE60, several incarnations of Lambdas, SR-X Mk III) and except of the new HeAudio I've auditioned almost all serious electrostatic headphones ever produced.
To my ears the SR-007 is the most refined of the bunch I've auditioned.
The (here often ranked higher) HE60s are without any doubt technically inferior.Deep bass , true microdetail, layering, imaging, the Omega is just superior in regard to any imaginable criterium, except of .........

............. the tonal balance.
The SR-007 is built for the relatively young and healthy listener.
I do have the same problem with the Omega as some of you since I do perceive the treble as overly recessed, but from my point of view it's due to my age (I'm 47) and no fault of the Omega II.
I've tested my hpothesis by applying EQ for myself and by inviting some young but nevertheless experienced music lovers and in fact to them the SR-007 does sound perfectly fine and far superior and they did rank the HE60 as treble heavy.Not unlistenable but at the edge.

At age 44 I can see what cosmopragma is getting at. Age/ear condition is a part of overall synergy .

At least that's the way I view it.

I respect and appreciate all the opinions rating the HE60 so highly yet I respect spritzer considerably as well and we all know his truest devotion in ESPs is the SR-007.

What works for me - right now as I write this - are the HE60s. Really enjoying them. Really, really really. So what if I'm yet to hear the SR-007 sound good to me (and I am looking forward to some further opportunities to do so). I'm enjoying my music - right now - like no other system has been able to deliver it to me.

I discussed the earlier postings with my wife this evening. Commenting on how lucky the multi-best ESP owners are to be able to compare. But also commenting on how in this community it's important to consider the relative merits of recommendations based on how much the commentator 'synergises' with your own listening preferences.

When I bought the HE60s I relied on [AK]Zip for guidance. All that I'd read of his posts was so in alignment with my own impressions of various pieces of equipment and music/sound that I had a trust/faith in his (more experienced) impressions. I knew I could only afford one 'highest category' ESP and it came down to SR-007 or HE60 (if I stretched). O1, HE90 were not even considerations.

For the equipment I had, and what he knew about my preferences and age, he recommended the HE60s. He was right. They've been ideal for me. (Forced me to improve my amps, but that's another story ).

Whether I'd compare and rank as ast, Wmcmanus, immtbiker and others I really do not know (and will probably never be in the situation to even try ).

But I also take those rankings in the same vein as the top level of portable amp rankings in the various threads around here. The top level (of both ESPs and portable amps) are all very good at what they do. Some will synergise with different systems (including different (perhaps aged) ears) better.

For me, regardless of 'technical superiority', cosmopragma's comments on the SR-007 being "built for the relatively young and healthy listener" is as strong as Spritzer's statements that they can only show their best when driven with the best equipment.

Different strokes for different folks (and different equipment, etc).

Thanks for all the sharing. Really have appreciated it this evening.

Now, back to listening to Diana Krall....

Wmcmanus is around 45 and I'm 48. We are no longer spring chickens

Ah, you don't look a day past 30.

I've owned the SR-007 since I was 21 (it was my birthday present that year, from me to me ) and that might indeed color my findings. I was checked late last year and I hear well past 18kHz and I've also been taught to discern between different circuits, caps wire etc. by local veteran designers and audiophiles so add strict training to my youthful age. I also tend to rate the technical ability of transducers more then their ultimate sound quality i.e. is the soundstage accurate, is the bass well controlled, are there any artifacts noticeable as these are all directly tied to the design and the amp used to power them.

My rating would be:
SR-007 (no issues if the amp/system is up to snuff)
-
SR-Omega (slightly loose bass and the soundstage is overblown/lacks layering, some treble issues)
-
HE90 (bass and treble a letdown, soundstage is horrible but they are sooo smooth)
4070 (soundstage is too small, lacks bass bloom)
HE60 (lacks bass bloom and doesn't really do anything special except the amazing speed)
-
SR-SC1
SR-X Mk3 Pro
Sr-Lambda modded

and it goes on from there some 30 places.

Well I just bit the bullet and ordered the 1.2B as a birthday present from me to me.

So how long is the wait time now anyway? Before it said two month but that is gone from the site.

“HE90 (bass and treble a letdown, soundstage is horrible but they are sooo smooth)”

“soundstage is horrible” Get out! I literally duck when a sound comes blasting out of open space and flies through my head and out the other side.

To me it’s like you’re positioned on stage (like with Grados) but have the open expanse like that conveyed with Senn HD600’s. When listening to Pink Floyd “Wall” in the beginning how far away is the wall that the heartbeat is reverberating off of?

You need to hear the HE90’s with a good amp.


Mitch

Oh, to have such youthful ears and such spending power and advice at that age...

Thanks for sharing your rating, spritzer.

Mitch's “Wall” question might give a good general reference to share, but it wil be sharing the differences between the full rig that anybody (who responds to it) is listening to.

Somehow I doubt spritzer having anything less than a 'good' amp (or 2 or 3 or more 'good' amps at any one time ). Whether he's heard a source/amp/HE90 combo in synergy at the same level as Mitch is another question...