[gto88]

Surprised to see no V.2 at Canjam London!

Have you got a chance to try it.

 

[gancanjam]

By on paper specs HE1000 V2 SQ should be better than the original HE1000, can anyone please share the impression how much it is actually better than the original ? significantly/marginally/side grade ?

 

[Rowethren]

  By on paper specs HE1000 V2 SQ should be better than the original HE1000, can anyone please share the impression how much it is actually better than the original ? significantly/marginally/side grade ?

 
Speaking to the reps at CanJam last weekend, they won't be in the wild for another 2 weeks or so. Hopefully impressions will come soon after that.

 

[gancanjam]

Thanks Rowethren ! Hmm.. got to wait then

 

[oneguy]

Hopefully pricing will be out before they hit the street. I am curious to see if Hifiman will be reasonable when they price the pads or price them like that were made from unicorn hide.

 

[MooMooMoooo]

The post by HIFIMAN was ambiguous.  They wrote, "we are going to upgrade current HE1000 and Edition X owners with a V2 version of their respective model".  Then they said they'd pick 5 owners in the first month and then 3 per month after that "while the program lasts!".  Was it just unclear English?  Does HIFIMAN mean that they will upgrade ALL existing HE1000 and Edition X owners but slowly over time?  It is more likely, from a business angle, that HIFIMAN meant that they would only upgrade some owners, hence the lucky upgrade "opportunity".  HIFIMAN need to clarify.
 
HIFIMAN have been responding to posts here and on Facebook.  I'm sure they're listening to what the owners of the v1 have to say.  So far they've already said that upgrading the ear pads and the cable would give the same sound as the v2.  The lucky upgrade opportunity appears to show HIFIMAN's awareness that customers would be upset because of the short update cycle so the lucky upgrade was introduced to limit the fallout.  The Edition X is less than 12 months old and it's already upgraded to v2!  I own an HE1000 and I was shocked that the v2 has come out so soon.  The problem with the lucky upgrade is that it's only a few people per month.  It's also random so it's not satisfying the majority of the existing v1 customers.  I would rather have a predictable upgrade path that I can choose to use when I want to instead of holding my breath and hoping to get lucky.
 
HIFIMAN posted that they were considering introducing an upgrade path for owners of the v1 and I hope they provide the details soon.  Some in this thread have commented that an upgrade kit was an option.  HIFIMAN have said that the driver hasn't changed.  HIFIMAN said that an upgrade to the ear pads and cable would result in the same sound improvement as the v2.
 
Apple upset a lot of owners in the past by upgrading their laptops too quickly.  People who invested by paying a premium for their products were upset that less than 12 months had passed and their premium product was replaced and was discounted.  Releasing an upgraded product too quickly upsets the user base.  Apple then started to make their upgrade cycle more predictable so that users could expect when an upgraded product would be released.  Sennheiser took years to upgrade the HD800 to the HD800S so the owners of the HD800 didn't get upset as it was about time for a new flagship.  Every year there were rumours of a successor to the HD800 and it never eventuated.  When the HD800S was released a lot of people thought "about time".  Sennheiser were clever to also add that the HD800 would continue to exist in its product line alongside the HD800S.  That meant that the HD800 owners continued to own a current product.
 
Kudos to HIFIMAN for the Lucky Upgrade Opportunity but I hope that they listen to the rumblings of their fans in the posts.  HIFIMAN customers are more than just customers.  They really are fans because no mainstream consumer in their right mind would pay so much for the HE1000 or the Edition X.  It takes a lot of dedication and trust in the brand to pay so much for flagship products.  Fans aren't driven only by price but also their love for the product and the brand.  HIFIMAN is at a critical point where its fans are waiting on how HIFIMAN will take care of the v1 owners.  It could backfire spectacularly if the fans feel betrayed.

 

[supabayes]

Apple upset a lot of owners in the past by upgrading their laptops too quickly.  People who invested by paying a premium for their products were upset that less than 12 months had passed and their premium product was replaced and was discounted.  Releasing an upgraded product too quickly upsets the user base.  Apple then started to make their upgrade cycle more predictable so that users could expect when an upgraded product would be released.  Sennheiser took years to upgrade the HD800 to the HD800S so the owners of the HD800 didn't get upset as it was about time for a new flagship.  Every year there were rumours of a successor to the HD800 and it never eventuated.  When the HD800S was released a lot of people thought "about time".  Sennheiser were clever to also add that the HD800 would continue to exist in its product line alongside the HD800S.  That meant that the HD800 owners continued to own a current product.

I share your views. Interesting that you mention Apple laptops. I have thought about comparing Apple vs HFM in their flagship management too. I am a Mac user since 2009. The Macbook have premium prices compared Win os based laptops but the Macbook are no flagship, not even the most expensive cpu, ram and ssd customization. The flagship Mac is the Mac Pro which has seven year replacement cycle from version 1 to 2. A Mac Pro price is two to three times that of MacBooks, and the HEK price is the flagship in HFM stable is priced at two to three times the price of very good headphones like AQ Nighthawk, HD800, Elear, AKG812, Beyerdynamic T1 etc
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Pro

 

[ubs28]

The

I share your views. Interesting that you mention Apple laptops. I have thought about comparing Apple vs HFM in their flagship management too. I am a Mac user since 2009. The Macbook have premium prices compared Win os based laptops but the Macbook are no flagship, not even the most expensive cpu, ram and ssd customization. The flagship Mac is the Mac Pro which has seven year replacement cycle from version 1 to 2. A Mac Pro price is two to three times that of MacBooks, and the HEK price is the flagship in HFM stable is priced at two to three times the price of very good headphones like AQ Nighthawk, HD800, Elear, AKG812, Beyerdynamic T1 etc
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Pro

The 15" inch retina macbook pro is their flagship laptop.

That's almost like saying that the Focal Utopia is not a flagship headphone just because they have more expensive speakers.

 

[Beagle]

  If they don't provide an upgrade path at reasonable cost I will be very disillusioned with HiFiMan - why weren't these changes implemented after they went to such trouble to get feedback from the  HeadFi community  before launching the production version of the HE1000 in the first place ?
 
They must have been aware of these possible improvements even at the time of launch given the short time between the V.1 and V.2. It smacks of profiteering trying to get a product out to market early so as to capitalise on the early HE1000 hype, whilst being fully aware that upgrades were in the process of being implemented. It would have been more honourable to withhold the initial release until they had got the product right - but of course this would have delayed a significant revenue stream.  
 
As an early adopter of the HE1000 I will be severely upset if there is no upgrade path as this also affects the resale value of the V.1 due to the V.2 coming in at the same price. In this regard, HiFiMan so far, has shown no regard for existing loyal customers and has just pursued a strategy aimed at maximising new sales, profitability and cash flow. 
 
I will wait to learn more about HiFiMan's intentions - but I for one will certainly not be  buying anything from them in future (despite being interested in the Shangri-La) unless these issues are addressed by HiFiMan as a matter of urgency.

 
On the bright side, maybe if you wait another month or two, there will be a V.3 or HE2000.

 

[supabayes]

I own a 15inch MacBook but don't consider it as flagship Mac. I can agree to disagree with you and others who regard the 15inch MacBook as flagship. However, my point earlier is about how Apple manages the Mac Pro revision. Not about Focal Utopia headphones vs speakers. Personally I regard the utopia as Focal flagship headphone and so does Focal. Read their press release for yourself.

http://www.focal.com/headphones/docs/2016_headphones_press_release.pdf

 

[ubs28]

I own a 15inch MacBook but don't consider it as flagship Mac. I can agree to disagree with you and others who regard the 15inch MacBook as flagship. However, my point earlier is about how Apple manages the Mac Pro revision. Not about Focal Utopia headphones vs speakers. Personally I regard the utopia as Focal flagship headphone and so does Focal. Read their press release for yourself.

http://www.focal.com/headphones/docs/2016_headphones_press_release.pdf

The Mac Pro is a desktop PC with sever components, totally different product than a laptop. Next you'll be saying the iPhone 6S Plus isn't Apple flagship phone because you say the iPad Pro is despite being a totally different product type? 
 
And Apple simply doesn't care about the Mac Pro because the iMac was outperforming the best 8 core Mac Pro a few years ago as the Mac Pro was several generations behind in CPU technology. Some music producers actually tried to switch to iMac's for that very reason.

 

[supabayes]

 
The Mac Pro is a desktop PC with sever components, totally different product than a laptop. Next you'll be saying the iPhone 6S Plus isn't Apple flagship phone because you say the iPad Pro is despite being a totally different product type? 
 
And Apple simply doesn't care about the Mac Pro because the iMac was outperforming the best 8 core Mac Pro a few years ago as the Mac Pro was several generations behind in CPU technology. Some music producers actually tried to switch to iMac's for that very reason.

Looks like you still don't get my point, which was about Mac Pro revision cycle. If you are obsessed with the idea that 15inch Macbook is flagship - you have the right to your opinion and so do I.
 
I have said nothing about Focal Utopia. Nothing about about iPhone, iPad Pro. 
 
Can you be original and say what you want about Apple?
 
Seriously going OT.

 

[ubs28]

 
Looks like you still don't get my point, which was about Mac Pro revision cycle. If you are obsessed with the idea that 15inch Macbook is flagship - you have the right to your opinion and so do I.
 
I have said nothing about Focal Utopia. Nothing about about iPhone, iPad Pro. 
 
Can you be original and say what you want about Apple?
 
Seriously going OT.

 
Yeah cool. If you don't think the iPhone 6S plus is Apple flagship phone, the 15" Retina Macbook Pro their flagship laptop, and so on .... than whatever.  JH Audio does the same with their flagship IEM's by updating them every year ( never heard them personally, but they supposedly are the best IEM's on the market)
 
There is no rule that flagship products don't get updated frequently. Would be funny that flagship products get surpassed by mid range products who do get updated frequenctly.

 

[supabayes]

   
Yeah cool. If you don't think the iPhone 6S plus is Apple flagship phone, the 15" Retina Macbook Pro their flagship laptop, and so on .... than whatever.  JH Audio does the same with their flagship IEM's by updating them every year ( never heard them personally, but they supposedly are the best IEM's on the market)
 
There is no rule that flagship products don't get updated frequently. Would be funny that flagship products get surpassed by mid range products who do get updated frequenctly.

 
Again, I said nothing about iPhone 6S plus. Don't guess what I think. Don't quote me again, I am not interested in what you have to say. Say what you want in your own post. 

 

[Maxx134]

A bit lonely in here waiting for any news..