[drbluenewmexico]

The little 1 watt of the MicroZotl2 is enough to drive the HE1000 to it's full potential !! ?

Anyway, I may order 1 MicroZotl2 to try since I really like " small tube amps" ( I already owe a TU-05 and a TUR-06 from Analog square paper)

The MicroZotl drives my ZU AUDIO SOUL SUPERFLY towers just fine, its a hell of watt!  I can't turn most headphones up
past 40% volume gain without it getting too loud or breaking up....on my 400is i can go about 45% volume pot up, i bet the
HE1000s would enjoy all that pure transcendent power of the one watt without clipping...

 

[drbluenewmexico]

  yes, I've tried it.
 
totally personal subjective opinion so ymmv
 
It's not adequate. You can get better performance from a wide variety of other equipment (imo). Though I wasn't able to do a direct head-to-head against my home set-up, I felt that my mid-tier amps were better. Was able to do a direct comparison against the Taurus and MHA100, both which sounded much better. Even the deckhard or random new type-writer Hifiman amp seemed better to me. With just the Hugo driving it, the HE-1k sounded a bit thin to me without that resolution of the textural detail I was used to. I actually wasn't that impressed with its dac section either. Did not feel like it provided the improvement that would justify its price tag. (edit: I was actually hoping to sell all my other gear & just get the Hugo as an all-in-one solution to streamline everything, so quite disappointed with my demoing experience. Do note only one extensive audition session. I do feel like you may not always get an accurate sense from just demoing conditions)
 
I actually went in looking for a dac upgrade, but left feeling that an amplifier upgrade would 'scale' the sound quality significantly more for the HE-1000.
 

Spoiler: personal disclaimer:

[size=1em]Now I am actually more in the camp that believes in audio transparency (aka if two solid state amplifiers designed to be neutral and meet all the technical criteria required to cleanly reproduce sound should sound identical)... Hence, looking for dacs over amps to blow $$$ on. However, my demoing experience made me question how many amplifiers actually are [/size][size=1em]audibly transparent or if there are some other factor/considerations that gave me the impression that it was the amplifier that scaled the sound quality much higher than the dac. the relative differences from swapping between high-end dacs were basically insignificant imo (though do note was not as large of a dac selection to try). All lossless testing.[/size]
 
[size=1em]I've also heard quite significant variations between entry-level dacs, to a much more significant degree than entry-level amplifiers. So a bit confusing why it seems to have swapped for me at the higher price point.[/size]
 
[size=1em]Would recommend trying your own personal testing as different people's experiences can vary greatly.[/size]

you should check out Mojo-Audio's NOS non oversampling DAC. most analogue sounding digital source i have heard. full of detail, transparency and dynamics
talk with Benjamin Zweikel, head Mojo Designer about his sound goals and check out the white papers accessible from the Mojo site!

 

[Wildcatsare1]

@Money4me247 how did the Taurus HEK combination sound? Were you able to test any other HPs with the Taurus?

 

[doctorjazz]

The little 1 watt of the MicroZotl2 is enough to drive the HE1000 to it's full potential !! ?

Anyway, I may order 1 MicroZotl2 to try since I really like " small tube amps" ( I already owe a TU-05 and a TUR-06 from Analog square paper)

 


Saidentary, glad you found the MicroZotl2 synergistic with the HE-1000s!, as does doctorjazz (personal communication).  I haven't heard the HE1000s, but find that
 400is quite wonderful with the MicroZotl2, but my favorites are the ATH W1000s, which have a higher impedance. Overall the Microzotl reveals the strengths and limitatins
of everything in the sound chain that reaches your ears, so that really good interconnects, a NOS high end DAC, etc, good power supply with black background filtering,
etc all add up to make whatever headphones you are listening through sing through the MICROZOTL2. IM happy to hear the HE1000s contribute to that
supreme audio experience you crave, recognize and enjoy!.

If I may be so bold as to make a recommendation:  You MUST* hear the HE-1000s.  I know I'll get flamed for saying it, but I honestly don't care: That combination is OTHERWORLDLY!

*OK, it's not like you MUST, as in a law or something, but I think you'll want to at least try it out.  Just sayin'.

Have to agree here...I obviously haven't heard all (or any, really) TOTL amps out there, so most of my listening with the Ray Samuels HR-2, which is a fine amp, but the MicroZOTL/HE k is fabulous!!! Vocals are present, in the room, soundstage/space to die for, detail. Mentioned this earlier, put this combo on my wife's ears (fed by Pono playing Louis Armstrong/Ella Fitzgerald duets), and she was floored, had no problem with me buying these (she loves music, but it's no audiophile). Just sayin'

 

[money4me247]

@Money4me247 how did the Taurus HEK combination sound? Were you able to test any other HPs with the Taurus?

@Wildcatsare1, It was definitely quite nice! Was able to test the HD800 and Audeze LCD-3 on it too. Very clean, retained each headphones inherent characteristics. My personal favorite out of everything that I tested was the MHA-100 until the dealer told me the price point =O!!!! will probably be sticking my to mid-tier set-up hahah but was quite enjoyable experience!

 

[thinker]

Is it healthy to roast your head several hours between two very strong magnets

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Is it healthy to roast your head several hours between two very strong magnets:basshead:

Only when speaking on your cellphone and using a microwave.

 

[bmichels]

Bmichels, how do u like the TU-05 and TUR-06 with the HE1K? Favorite?

Thx

Sorry, but I do not have (yet) a HE-1000.   I hope to get one soon.  Want to sell my LCD-X before...

 

[KritiKal]

Is it healthy to roast your head several hours between two very strong magnets:basshead:

Well, if you believe in the efficacy of homeopathy, then perhaps having your head between some magnets will be beneficial to your health.

Otherwise, if you believe in sound (as in dependable, not audio) science, then no, there won't be any effect, detrimental or otherwise.

If magnetic fields roasted anything, human kind would have shriveled up and out of existence a very long time ago!

 

[reddog]

I am very impressed how the HE1K sounds driven by the lyr2 using my NOS telefunken tubes. I love these tubes, however upscale audio has raised the price on these tubes, and I Would rather not purchase them again. But still I think the HE1K really likes a hybrid tube amp , and I wish I could afford the Hifiman hybrid tube amp, that is to be paired with the HE1K. I was using my Yggdrasil hooked to my lyr 2, listening to a lot of music. Dave Brubeck was a lot of fun but the best to me was Frank Zappa's Sheik Yerbouti'z Dancin' Fool. The guitar and vocals we spot on natural, the soundstage was holographic and helped make the sound signature very musical. I can't wait for the ETHER'S to show up and I can do a proper comparison.

 

[jamato8]

I have the Lyr 2 with the Telefunken E88cc platinum and it is very good. Surprisingly, the HE1000 gather more spacial information and I get a better acoustical presentation with the Richard Marsh DIY amp. He knows what he is doing but you do have to build it yourself and I decided on dual power supplies vs a singular one. 
 
The HE1000 are sounding very fine. I find they allow you to see into the recording venue and to bring great contact with the music. Also they tend to lay bare what you are using upstream. I love rolling tubes and have around 150 NOS 6DJ8 types so the Lyr is a nice platform but the DIY still step up there with its simple straightforward approach. 

 

[ruthieandjohn]

Since it has been a week and a day since I completed and posted my review of the HE1000 beta, I just thought I would give an update as I continue to use them:
 

1. My enjoyment increases with use... not like a flashy gee-gaw that is fun at first but fades, but more like a classic novel that invites discovery at every use;
2. I can listen to nearly any piece of very familiar music (like over 100 plays) and hear something new and undiscovered on first listen with the HE1000;
3. I can even discover new things in new music... for example, a listen to the album Jazz At The Pawnshop revealed the most startling effect of hearing a xylophone spatially... high notes come from the left and low notes come from the right (remember, it is facing me so backwards from the orientation as seen by the player).

 
I will be devoting an amp to them, just as I have for my Sennheiser HD 800s (the Sennheiser HDVD 800 DAC/amp) and my Grado PS1000s (the Joseph Grado HPA-1 amp).  I have ordered the Schiit Lyr 2, as several reviewers wrote positive reviews of the HE1000 while using this amp and it is recommended by Grado for use with their headphones, of which I have 13.
 
But my first step upon receiving the Schiit Lyr 2 will be to head down to my local HiFiMAN dealer with it and my HE1000s and compare to the HiFiMAN EF-6 (already found as the best of the 5 amps I compared on the HE10000 in my review).  If the EF-6 is better, I will send the Lyr 2 back, pay its restocking fee, and purchase the HiFiMAN EF-6.
 
I also greatly enjoyed the public debut of HiFiMAN's North American Marketing Manager, Summer, whom many of us beta testers recognize from the beta tests, as a video star, along with Jana of Sky-Fi, taken at Stereo Exchange, New York City, as posted by @Decoy, here.  The video is worth viewing, not only to "meet" Summer but to understand some of the internals of the HE1000.

 

[DreamKing]

 
OK, fair enough, though transparency differs significantly by amplifier. I am not technically adept enough to explain why though. The O2 really isn't a very good amp, on many levels, transparency being one of them. Kinda the similar to the Fiio Amps in this regard, just bright and murky versus dark and murky . Again, examples which have passed through my house on this sonic journey.

 
You'd have to demonstrate what these levels are about and how the O2 is the one coloring your signal. For what it is, the objective 2 is technically accurate. Measures flat, is noiseless, channel separation is very good (can't discern artifacts in this area coming directly from it), etc. That doesn't mean it will or won't sound good to someone though, but that doesn't speak to its technical merits. I can't say much about the brightness you heard because it could have been inherent in the source or the headphone if you analysed them. It could have been clipping the signal due to too high of an input. Basically, any of this would disturb any synergy you had with another amp.  So in retrospect, I need to specify that I mean transparent as a standalone electronic device but what you're going to hear is relative to your chain in actuality.
 
I personally wouldn't be completely satisfied with it because of its output levels and don't know how it would sound with my setup, through my ears but I can't see an apparent technical flaw in it.

 

[musicman59]

Do you think they are too soft in attack? Mids and Soundstage better as 009?

They are relaxed but not to soft IMO. No, I don't think the midrange and soundstage are better than the SR-009 but they are very close but the bass IMO is clearly better.

 

[miceblue]

Got the Pulse X Infinity in and I've been listening to it. I don't think anyone can complain that my setup is less than optimal now, as if it were in the first place.

MacBook Pro (Audirvana Plus media player, hog mode, integer mode)
LH Labs LightSpeed 1G USB cable
LH Labs Pulse X Infinity (using the switching power supply wall adaptor; Frequency Response Mode digital filter)
Single-ended headphone output to FiiO HS2
RCA-3.5 mm output from Pulse X Infinity into Objective 2 (battery powered)
Output of Objective 2 to FiiO HS2
HE1000 connected to HS2

Volume-matched with 1 kHz sine wave and pink noise signals generated from Audacity.

Between the two amps:

• O2 has a slightly wider soundstage
• X Infinity has more depth in the soundstage
• X Infinity has better center imaging
• X Infinity has slightly more warmth in the bass/lower-midrange
• X Infinity has better bass extension
• X Infinity doesn't sound as bright as the O2
• X Infinity has better instrument separation
• X Infinity has less treble grain

In any case, I would be hard-pressed to pass an ABX test between the two amps. I do have a preference for the Pulse X Infinity though.

I still hear the HE1000 to sound somewhat slow in the bass/lower-midrange area.


I think I'm in accordance with money4me247 in that a DAC can influence the sound more than the amplifier can (assuming the amplifier can drive the headphones, in which both the Pulse X Infinity and O2 can for the HE1000 for my listening conditions). I think the Pulse X Infinity's DAC sounds superb with the HE1000; certainly MUCH better than the Geek Out or Objective DAC. The amp section sounds pretty close to the O2 though and I wouldn't really suggest someone to go out of their way to buy the Pulse X Infinity to replace the O2 alone. I personally mainly backed it on Indiegogo to be an all-in-one DAC solution with the amp section being a bonus, and so far I'm pretty darn impressed, really impressed actually, with how the DAC sounds.