[up late]

thanks for the impressions rrahman

 

[goropeza]

From what Ive been hearing, the HE 1000 sound like a super beefy HE 500 with a bigger/better sound stage, better detail across the spectrum, and more clarity. If it keeps that rich, natural tonality of the HE 500 im in. Maybe i could sell my collection to afford them. Any news on expected impedance?

 

[conquerator2]

Impedance was said to be at 32 ohms, with 90dB/mW sensitivity

 

[rgs9200m]

Yeah, if the HE1000 has an HE500 flavor, that would be nice. Strangely, although I have a 560 and used to have an HE6, I have a strong visceral affection for the HE500.
The HE500 just has a nice even-handed sound, with nice punch and is a goldilocks sound, not boring, not in-your-face, palpable with just-enough detail with no glare on vocals, but not recessed or cloaked,
and just has a very dignified sound that is very listenable and musical long-term and always put a smile on my face. 
If Fang could maintain that overall sound with a touch more definition and a bit clearer bass, that would be awesome.
I still think the HE500 stands as one of the best values ever in headphones, designed from the heart, not the head. (Or from ears and sonics, not just engineering.)
[edit: if you don't mind guys, I think I'll just repeat this rambling that  came off the top of my head in the 500 thread]

 

[conquerator2]

From all accounts, it seems to fit somewhere around that, possibly close to the 560 but without any treble spikes.
A smooth 560 with even better bass and bigger stage?! me likes

 

[goropeza]

Thats great news! It looks like my current amp (Burson Conductor SL w/1793 chip) should be able to easily drive it.

Yeah, if the HE1000 has an HE500 flavor, that would be nice. Strangely, although I have a 560 and used to have an HE6, I have a strong visceral affection for the HE500.
The HE500 just has a nice even-handed sound, with nice punch and is a goldilocks sound, not boring, not in-your-face, palpable with just-enough detail with no glare on vocals, but not recessed or cloaked,
and just has a very dignified sound that is very listenable and musical long-term and always put a smile on my face. 
If Fang could maintain that overall sound with a touch more definition and a bit clearer bass, that would be awesome.
I still think the HE500 stands as one of the best values ever in headphones, designed from the heart, not the head. (Or from ears and sonics, not just engineering.)
[edit: if you don't mind guys, I think I'll just repeat this rambling that  came off the top of my head in the 500 thread]

I agree completely! Currently my HE 500 gets the most head time just because of how universally polite it is. Its definitely one of those rare products that was a grand slam on all fronts, including price. Hifiman is usually so good at pricing their products affordably so I hope they dont go over $2,000 usd with the HE 1000.

 

[rgs9200m]

Thanks Goropeza! Price is only a rough guide to headphone quality to a particular person. I also think Grado is a fine example for this. The medium-price models are the standouts for me
(but let's not digress here on this subject beyond Hifman, so I'll leave it at that).

 

[MrPanda]

It will be interesting to see if Fang's new innovations appear in other headphones in his lineup...

 

[PaulMah]

   
Yeah, that's a concern of mine as well - that these will be priced for the ferrari crowd.  

Unfortunately there are always some audio components priced to aim at the ultra-luxury crowd, who generally gives a rats behind about sound quality

 

[PaulMah]

  It will be interesting to see if Fang's new innovations appear in other headphones in his lineup...

More and more audio manufacturers are doing the trickle down approach.  Perhaps Dr Fang will follow, so stay tuned. 
 
 
Cheers,
Paul Mah

 

[immtbiker]

 
Unfortunately there are always some audio components priced to aim at the ultra-luxury crowd, who generally gives a rats behind about sound quality

How do you know that the ultra-luxury crowd generally doesn't care about sound quality? That statement is very one-sided.
 
People I've known that have a lot of money, but don't know about sound quality, seem to ask us when we tell them we are into hi-end audio, "What do you think about 'Bose' or 'Beats' headphones". They are the group that have disposable income but don't know much about the subject and are influenced by the blitz of mass marketing.
 
You have to be pretty deep into the hobby to know about the higher end micro-brew headphones that we are exposed to.
 
You can't walk into an audio store and say , "my good man, gimme the best and most expensive headphone you offer", and end up with an Abyss, SR-009, or HE-1000.

 

[PaulMah]

From asking industry people for many years about the type of person who buys the most expensive components (e.g. speakers over $100k, amps over $50k, etc.).  I'm not speaking merely about the rich (i.e. millionaires) but the super-rich.  I also know several people in that category who only bought the equipment because it was the most expensive.  This is a very small segment of the high-end market.  There are exceptions, that's why I said "generally."   I have never heard or met anyone who is super-rich asking about Bose or Dr Beats.  I don't know about the buying reasons of the group below this (i.e. merely rich) and if I did, I wouldn't be posting my knowledge on this or any other forum.  I can speak about the super-rich as a group because they are often featured on TV shows describing their lifestyle, so it's public knowledge.

 

[immtbiker]

So would the "ultra-rich" that you are describing, be the only consumers who can afford a $2000 headphone, and the only demographic they are aimed at?
Or a decent size portion (enough to warrant it's existence) of people on this forum (enthusiasts) that can afford this purchase price point, one way or another.
 
If it's only for the super rich, then there are a lot of products on Head-Fi that would also carry into that category (Abyss, Cavilli amps, Blue Hawaii, AK240, etc.)

 

[Karllin]

Many of the wealthiest, do go looking for Bose. They don't know what sounds great, just what they read about in their Fortune Magazine ad. But let's stick to the HE-1000 impressions, shall we?

 

[PaulMah]

No, I never said that.  Many people with good incomes can afford $2000 headphones.  Members of this and other forums generally care about sound quality, and have a particular interest in headphone equipment.  It is not a priority or interest of the super rich.  How many do you know are members of HeadFi or another forum?  How many do you see at audio shows?  What the super rich want is exclusivity, the fewer the number made the more they want it, which means not everyone can buy it.  It's cachet they are after.  Anyway, that was my original point and why I made the general comment about some audio component prices are being aimed at the ultra-luxury crowd, which refers to Jodet's original posting that he hopes that the HE-1000 will not be priced for the Ferrari crowd.  I wasn't stating any specific product.
 
This has gotten off-topic and I want to return to the subject of the title.  If you want to discuss further, pm me.