Official HIFIMAN HE1000 Impressions Thread
May 27, 2016 at 5:46 PM Post #2,371 of 3,807
Well, I have the HEK, got to compare the HEX at a meet, not for a minute did I feel if be willing to exchange them (and pocket some change). But that's me, meet conditions, yada yada yada...


I've been wanting to listen to the ZOTL for so long, as the amp has been a part of the last few larger shows I've attended, but haven't gotten around to be able to audition. Hopefully at the upcoming T.H.E. Show, Newport will have one available.
 
May 27, 2016 at 5:56 PM Post #2,372 of 3,807
Well, I have the HEK, got to compare the HEX at a meet, not for a minute did I feel if be willing to exchange them (and pocket some change). But that's me, meet conditions, yada yada yada...


I've been wanting to listen to the ZOTL for so long, as the amp has been a part of the last few larger shows I've attended, but haven't gotten around to be able to audition. Hopefully at the upcoming T.H.E. Show, Newport will have one available.


How you get to audition it, great pairing with HEK imo. I'm bringing mine too the NY meet most likely, which doesn't help you, of course. Hopefully you'll get to check it out.
 
May 27, 2016 at 6:33 PM Post #2,373 of 3,807
Just thought I'd quickly weigh in on the edition X vs the hek.

What an absolute badboy of a headphone it is.

Unlike the hek (to me) it has zero harshness or glare in records. Handles higher volumes better. The bass is very close. And for being kind of a laid back headphone; it's incredibly engaging.

Wow what a dark horse. Genuinely great experience. I'm ashamed to have overlooked this.

Tested with the Ifi idsd micro.


I don't agree you can conclude "Handles higher volumes better" when you are under powering the HE1K. The amp you noted is not capable of delivering what the HE1K is capable of sucking up. It takes clean watts, plural, to reach the loudest the HE1K can cleanly deliver.

P.s. this is not to disagree with your sentiment of it being a great 'bad boy' of a headphone that is probably overlooked due to the HE1K... only that as someone who almost exclusively now drives the HE1K from the 50wpc speaker taps of the MHA-100, with affected hearing from years of abuse that has the side effect of me being able to tolerate incredibly high decibel levels, I know very well the limits of the HE1K. And you didn't hear it. It is beyond what that fairly high powered amp you tested with can deliver.
 
May 27, 2016 at 7:47 PM Post #2,374 of 3,807
How you get to audition it, great pairing with HEK imo. I'm bringing mine too the NY meet most likely, which doesn't help you, of course. Hopefully you'll get to check it out.


We will see! Just to be crystal clear, the Linear Tube Audio amp you're talking about is the MicroZOTL 2.0, correct?
 
May 27, 2016 at 8:21 PM Post #2,375 of 3,807
We will see! Just to be crystal clear, the Linear Tube Audio amp you're talking about is the MicroZOTL 2.0, correct?[/quote]

The very same, MicroZOTL 2, now using it with the upgraded LTA LPS, and a bit of tube rolling (which is really NOT my thing...). Currently evaluating it with a Mojo Audio Joule v5 LPS. But, used it with stock tubes and power supply for a long time, fine as is.
 
May 27, 2016 at 8:46 PM Post #2,376 of 3,807
The very same, MicroZOTL 2, now using it with the upgraded LTA LPS, and a bit of tube rolling (which is really NOT my thing...). Currently evaluating it with a Mojo Audio Joule v5 LPS. But, used it with stock tubes and power supply for a long time, fine as is.


Thanks for the update. I'm going to ask the rep(s) if they have the upgraded LTA LPS and listen that way then, as I've read positive words about it (including yours, of course). If I can I would like to try it completely stock as well. So far, my micro iCAN SE powers the HE1000 exceedingly easily, and sounds great. My new Questyle Audio Q192 Amp makes the HE1000 sound really good, as it is probably the most detailed and "musical" of the amps I personally own.
 
May 27, 2016 at 8:57 PM Post #2,377 of 3,807
Haven't heard either of your amps, see if I can find them at the meet and listen to them.
 
May 27, 2016 at 10:10 PM Post #2,378 of 3,807
Haven't heard either of your amps, see if I can find them at the meet and listen to them.

 
You may not find the Q192 amp, as the newest DAC/Amp: CMA600i (and closest in price), would probably be the most relevant one to try out.  Not sure if it will be available in your area, but would be worth a listen if you can find either one near you.
 
As for the micro iCAN SE, it's still pretty new, but maybe a Head-Fier will bring one to a show near you.  Make sure to try out the settings (3D, XBass, etc.) to find the best sound to your ears. 
beerchug.gif

 
May 28, 2016 at 3:52 AM Post #2,379 of 3,807
Thanks for the update. I'm going to ask the rep(s) if they have the upgraded LTA LPS and listen that way then, as I've read positive words about it (including yours, of course). If I can I would like to try it completely stock as well. So far, my micro iCAN SE powers the HE1000 exceedingly easily, and sounds great. My new Questyle Audio Q192 Amp makes the HE1000 sound really good, as it is probably the most detailed and "musical" of the amps I personally own.

 
How strange how I coincidentally found this message! You'd think my job involved self-googling once a day. 
 
The rep at the LTA booth in the headphone area at Newport ("rep" aka "me") will have three MicroZOTL2s and for demonstration purposes they will all be set up with the LPS, the combo which we are now joining our dealers in calling the "MicroZOTL2 Deluxe," because that's what one guy wrote down once. We'll also have a couple of stock supplies and are happy to let you A-B the two, which several people did at Axpona. Unlike CanJam and Axpona, we won't have an HE1000, as we were borrowing that from HiFiMAN and though they offered to let us hold onto it, we don't really have the funds to reasonably purchase them right now. HiFiMAN is also not at the show, though I'm sure there will be at least a couple HE1000s around, potentially borrowable. Or bring your own, stash them at our booth when you're wandering around if you don't want to carry them. I can think of more situations, but I think that gets the point across. Feel free to PM me if you have questions more pm-suitable. 
 
May 28, 2016 at 4:11 AM Post #2,380 of 3,807
   
How strange how I coincidentally found this message! You'd think my job involved self-googling once a day. 
 
The rep at the LTA booth in the headphone area at Newport ("rep" aka "me") will have three MicroZOTL2s and for demonstration purposes they will all be set up with the LPS, the combo which we are now joining our dealers in calling the "MicroZOTL2 Deluxe," because that's what one guy wrote down once. We'll also have a couple of stock supplies and are happy to let you A-B the two, which several people did at Axpona. Unlike CanJam and Axpona, we won't have an HE1000, as we were borrowing that from HiFiMAN and though they offered to let us hold onto it, we don't really have the funds to reasonably purchase them right now. HiFiMAN is also not at the show, though I'm sure there will be at least a couple HE1000s around, potentially borrowable. Or bring your own, stash them at our booth when you're wandering around if you don't want to carry them. I can think of more situations, but I think that gets the point across. Feel free to PM me if you have questions more pm-suitable. 

 
Thank you for the message!
 
Okay, so you will be there at T.H.E. Show, Newport - awesome!  I didn't know if LTA would show up to the meet or not, but now I know for sure!
 
I was at AXPONA and wanted to listen to the MicroZOTL 2.0, but the reps there were closing up as I didn't get there in time to audition.
 
I will bring my HE1000 to audition on various amps.  No knock on you, but I will definitely not stash my headphone at the booth since unfortunately headphones at various meets/events have gone missing/stolen (some missing/stolen have not been disclosed publicly).  I'll show you how I take care of the HE1000 when I see you shortly.
 
Thanks again for the message and see you then! 
 
May 28, 2016 at 6:28 AM Post #2,381 of 3,807
That makes me nervous...I'm going to bring my ZOTL/HEK to the NY meet, but then I'll be nervous leaving it to audition other gear. Hmm....
 
May 28, 2016 at 11:42 AM Post #2,382 of 3,807
I don't agree you can conclude "Handles higher volumes better" when you are under powering the HE1K. The amp you noted is not capable of delivering what the HE1K is capable of sucking up. It takes clean watts, plural, to reach the loudest the HE1K can cleanly deliver.

P.s. this is not to disagree with your sentiment of it being a great 'bad boy' of a headphone that is probably overlooked due to the HE1K... only that as someone who almost exclusively now drives the HE1K from the 50wpc speaker taps of the MHA-100, with affected hearing from years of abuse that has the side effect of me being able to tolerate incredibly high decibel levels, I know very well the limits of the HE1K. And you didn't hear it. It is beyond what that fairly high powered amp you tested with can deliver.


I've heard the HEK through the Dave, Chord Hugo and Ifi idsd micro. They've been powered just fine when I've auditioned them.

On every occasion the harshness has doubled with volume increase. Try not to tell me what I did and didn't hear. It's been noted and raised by more than just me how the headphone breaks up and becomes harsh at higher volumes. You don't have to have them at ear bleeding levels to show this flaw, or anywhere near. I also had the owner of the shop confirm it as she was skeptical when I told her.

The HEX did not display this. At all.
 
May 28, 2016 at 12:25 PM Post #2,383 of 3,807
Certainly you hear what you hear, can't argue with that. But I don't know how loud you listen...I've never gotten harsh sounds of of the HEK (the HE-560, is another story, does sound harsh to my ears). But, hey, it's cool, if you prefer the sound of the less expensive unit, that's great! (In the end it all boils down to personal preference).
 
May 28, 2016 at 3:21 PM Post #2,385 of 3,807
Thanks for the detail potkettleblack. Maybe, likely, I just can't gear it. I do wonder if the difference is an amp that peaks at a watt or so rms, vs an amp that peaks at many watts rms, into the impedance of the he1k.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

  • Back
    Top