Hifiman HE1000 Planar Dynamic Headphone
Apr 28, 2024 at 2:16 PM Post #14,641 of 14,653
Nice summary, fellow 70 year old HEKS + S17 Pro owner. :) I haven't heard the Arya Stealth but the Organic was top of my list before stretching for the HEKS and I certainly don't have any regrets, they are amazing value for the money.
Agreed, best headphone value at its price point. Not to mention it scales so well
 
Apr 28, 2024 at 5:28 PM Post #14,643 of 14,653
Many people may enjoy them more because of the slightly less detail retrieval and slightly higher mid bass quantity.
I would agree if we were talking about Arya Organic. I cant imagine anyone preferring Arya Stealth Th HeK. Only bc of the price difference is it even a question.
 
Apr 28, 2024 at 6:26 PM Post #14,644 of 14,653
Hmm, but I wasn't asking for a good deal...
I was asking if Arya Stealth is more enjoyable than HE1000 Stealth or SE?

So, I guess...the answer is...it's not :wink:
He answered you loud and clear.

The Arya is a great pair but the HEK is more refined and worth the money IMO.

I’m downsizing my headfi gear to make room for speakers. I realize I enjoy them more but my keeper is the HEK Stealth.

Fantastic sound and comfort. Whatever your choice/budget you’ll get a great sound regardless 🙂
 
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Apr 28, 2024 at 7:52 PM Post #14,645 of 14,653
I heartily agree the HE1000 Stealth is a wicked bargain at $1,399. I wouldn't scoff at the OG price of $3k, for this kind of performance. They are THAT good.
 
Apr 28, 2024 at 8:19 PM Post #14,646 of 14,653
I heartily agree the HE1000 Stealth is a wicked bargain at $1,399. I wouldn't scoff at the OG price of $3k, for this kind of performance. They are THAT good.
Tip- SoundApproach honors a 10% off code that they will give you for signing up or upon email request. Got my He1000 for $1259.10 out the door.
No sales tax either plus free shipping.
WICKED bargain indeed. Devilish even.
 
Apr 28, 2024 at 8:41 PM Post #14,647 of 14,653
Tip- SoundApproach honors a 10% off code that they will give you for signing up or upon email request. Got my He1000 for $1259.10 out the door.
No sales tax either plus free shipping.
WICKED bargain indeed. Devilish even.
I did one more or less as good. I used $185 Amazon Credit. :)
 
Apr 28, 2024 at 10:18 PM Post #14,648 of 14,653
Apr 29, 2024 at 12:06 AM Post #14,649 of 14,653
What is the best deal from Europe?
I have to admit that I got a problem with an smsl dac Amp, then just one month before warranty expired my hugo2 failed. I was glad to have a simple Amazon warranty program even though the hugo2 was bought from the market in Slovakia. So easy after sales is appreciated.
 
Apr 29, 2024 at 2:00 AM Post #14,650 of 14,653
What is the best deal from Europe?
I have to admit that I got a problem with an smsl dac Amp, then just one month before warranty expired my hugo2 failed. I was glad to have a simple Amazon warranty program even though the hugo2 was bought from the market in Slovakia. So easy after sales is appreciated.
My methodology here was find all the stores that had them priced @ $1399 then found a couple that didnt charge sales tax by adding to cart and going to the checkout screen (this step might not work in Europe), then find which store would give me 10% off. Ended up with a couple choices and went with a store I'd used before.
 
Apr 29, 2024 at 7:46 AM Post #14,652 of 14,653
My methodology here was find all the stores that had them priced @ $1399 then found a couple that didnt charge sales tax by adding to cart and going to the checkout screen ... then find which store would give me 10% off.
LOL, I do this also, except for the 10% off part. Though strangely enough, back when I bought the Arya Stealth, I confirmed that one retailer did not charge sales tax and then removed it from the cart. A few hours later, I got an email from them offering me a ten percent discount on the item I had placed and removed in their cart. This hadn't been intentional and I felt a little funny (I know I shouldn't but I did), but took advantage of it.

I'm retired on a fixed income, so NJ sales tax (.6625%) is not insignificant to me on a four figure item. Luckily for both of us, there are a number of prominent and reputable audio dealers in the US that don't charge state sales tax except for purchases within the state in which they operate. (For example, I have a headphone cable incoming ATM from a maker in California that charges sales tax only on California orders. And while I understand that Drop generally does or did not charge state sales tax, they charge sales tax to me because their warehouse is in NJ.) Also, I've never been charged sales tax when I've bought directly from Chinese manufacturers (or from Vinshine, Denafrips' worldwide distributor in Singapore). Though when I priced a great deal on the Aune S17 Pro on AliExpress, which is made up entirely of third party sellers, the seller was charging sales tax (and IIRC, for some reason it was a larger amount than NJ tax should have been). But that was merely the fortieth or fiftieth reason not to buy on AliExpress.

Update: I forgot that before I ordered the headphone cable referenced above (from Norne), I priced a cable from highly regarded Forza in Poland. I was surprised that they were not only charging tax (and again, if it was NJ sales tax the amount was too large; no idea how it was calculated) but also a hefty shipping fee to the US. This upped the effective price by roughly a third or more, so I forgot that option quickly.
 
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