grizzlybeast
My name is grizzlybeast and I'm an audioholic.
We all hear things differently, which is why it's great to have to many different impressions here. There were a few of us discussing with @Bill-P for quite a while why he didn't like the HE-1000. He was questioning whether it was himself or whether he maybe heard a bad unit. But at the end of the day, his impressions are no less valid than anyone else's (even though he's in the vast minority!).
I'm fairly positive now that it wasn't myself. Heard another unit on Sunday on a fifth amp. Sounded very very different. Unless the stars misaligned and somehow made the HE-1000 harder to drive than Abyss, HE-560, LCD-2, etc... I'd say... bad unit.
But anyway, with that said... here's the rest of my impressions, including my thoughts on the HE-1000:
ALO Continental amp/DAC: I heard big soundstage, a bit of warmth, and a full-bodied sound here. Basically all the things that I think many are looking for in tube amps. Needless to say, I liked this one quite a bit! However, there was a bit of a tendency for the device to sound bright, peaky, and sibilant. I voiced my concerns to Ken and Vinnie, and they said they also thought that the treble might have been overdone. However, they said that some have told them they prefer the brightness as it gives more perceived details. I suggested instead that they push the treble back to neutral, and instead reduce the warmth sound signature by a tiny little bit, giving a thinner sound, which would make things sound "faster", and would be better as then that would allow "real" details to come out better. But that's just my opinions. I still like the amp/DAC as is.
Audeze EL-8 closed: I honestly think some can get behind this sound, and totally love it. I simply... couldn't stand it. This headphone was very far from the Audeze sound signature that I have come to know. In its defense, I did not hear any distortion, so that's a plus. But the headphone sounded very bright and resonant. Something about it sounded very wrong. Perhaps the two different closed-back EL-8 I heard at CanJam were somehow defective, and not representative of the production units, so... please take this with a grain of salt.
Audeze EL-8 open: now, this one sounds like the usual Audeze house sound. Perhaps with a bit of a peak at upper midrange. I wasn't bothered by that peak, as my listening level is low enough these days. However, I think some who listen at higher volumes will notice that peak plain as day. It was always there no matter what track I played. This one has more bass than the closed version to my ears, and also the treble is much more rolled off compared to the closed one, giving it an easier, relaxed sound. However, I think I also heard a bit of distortion in the bass region, or perhaps it was less controlled than the closed-back? I'm not so sure. But overall, I think the presentation of the open EL-8 good enough for my ears. It's not going to compete with the HE-560/LCD-2, etc... IMO. It could be good competition with the stock Sony MDR-Z7, though.
Hifiman HE-1000: oh man, now this one is the juicy bit... so... what happened was... I think I heard a bad unit of the HE-1000 on Saturday. I tried it out of 4 amps in total. Hifiman's EF1000 and the other amp present at the show. Purrin's Eddie Current 2A3, and Zashoomin's Beta22. And... how did it sound like? I'll be frank: it sucked. It sounded so very very... average. And by that, I mean... it may have been able to hang with the HE-560 and LCD-2 at under $1000, but no way does it reach $3000. I debated this with Stillhart and some others for a long while that evening. Everyone thought I was going crazy.
Then on Sunday, I got to try another HE-1000 unit out of the Schiit Mjolnir. It sounded better. Significantly better than the one I heard on Saturday. But... guess what? It still sounded average to me. This time, it sounded more or less like a slightly faster LCD-3F to me. All is good... if the headphone was not priced at $3000. A slightly faster LCD-3F with $1000 tagged on top was a bit... much, I think.
And before anyone points out anything, please take note that I was not alone in hearing this with the HE-1000. Please refer to n3rdling's impressions here:
The "person" he was referring to in that post is me. I talked to him after his audition. The both of us were discussing whether we should say anything about this as well. Now that n3rdling has decided to write about it, I think I should as well. If for nothing but that if Hifiman reads this, they may be able to identify the bad pair, and find out what's wrong with it.
Anyway, to go into details about what I heard... (this applies to the "good" HE-1000, n3rdling pretty much described the bad pair spot on), I thought the HE-1000 sounded fast and very estat-like, but a bit thin, ethereal, and dry. It wasn't as smooth as Frank's SR-009 setup. But even then... it didn't sound meaty, with good tonal density. Bass on the HE-1000 had an okay impact. More or less the same as LCD-3F, but lacking behind non-fazor LCD-2, and Abyss by a good margin. I think... the best way to sum it up is this:
- Bass on the HE-1000 hits okay, but not as good as LCD-2 w/o fazor, or Abyss
- Midrange of the HE-1000 was fast, but a bit dry, not smooth, involving, and hyper detailed like the SR-009
- Treble on the HE-1000 was equally fast and ethereal, but not as smooth and extended like the HD800
- Soundstage and imaging are also nothing special as the HD800 easily beats the HE-1000 here.
In other words... I think... the HE-1000 does everything well, but nothing amazingly well. It's bested by other headphones that are around the same price point, or cheaper. Granted, I guess that can be said to be its strong points: that it doesn't do anything specifically wrong. I simply don't think it's worth $3000 right now. LCD-3F at 2/3 the price is probably just 1% behind. And I think some may even prefer the slower pace of the LCD-3F, as it gives a more relaxed/organic sound.
EnigmAcoustics Dharma: the headband they have there sucks. But the Dharma sounds very very very good for a hybrid, I think. For most songs, I don't think the difference between the dynamic driver and the e-stat driver can be heard. There is some amazing coherence here. It's only when something with a lot of dynamic swing is played ( a lot of bass and a lot of fast treble at the same time) that the Dharma shows its limitations, where the dynamic driver creates wooly bass that's slower than the fantastically fast e-stat driver. Still... this was a phenomenon effort! Great job! I especially loved the Dharma for vocal representation. It would be great for kicking back and enjoying a relaxing jazz or acoustic song!
Mr. Speakers' Ether: very attractive looking, very good comfort, and sound very good! Pricing is just about right, I think. Dan could have priced it lower to be competitive, but I think the pricing reflects his pride in his product. This is Dan's best headphone yet for sure! I didn't get to try it at Dan's table, but there was enough of this headphone around that I was able to get an idea out of multiple different systems. So much so that I know that it scales well with upstream gears, which is good! Honestly, I thought the Ether sounded essentially like a perfected HE-560. I don't think I have heard many stock headphones as refined as this, so... kudos to Dan! Well done, sir! I thought the Ether sounded more or less the same or even better than the "bad" HE-1000 that I heard. Honestly.
More impressions to come when I have formulated some more thoughts on them. My favorite of all of the new released products is Mr. Speakers' Ether. It's got good looks, sounds great, and is reasonably priced, plus it's backed by a nice gentleman!
Most underwhelming to me was the HE-1000. I expected better, given people's responses, but it was only okay. Fairly decent as a successor to the HE-6, but not worth the cash IMO.
@Bill-P
I think it was you that I sold my he560 to. Given the enormous price difference of the two(he 560 and Ether) which of the two is more transparent, open sounding, and has the more dependable bass response and quantity.
I really enjoyed reading your impressions by the way. I found them very useful.
I also notice that everyone refers to the lcd3f but I had that headphone and traded it because I thought its impact to be very mediocre and its midrange, though very sweat and smooth, to be a bit odd. I instead now have an lcd-x and finds its bass to hit a bit harder with better extension than the lcd3f. I think the he560, though not ideal in quantity(a bit shy for my tastes), has the most ideal composure and impact of any headphone I have had including the lcd-x. But do to the lcd-x quantity and very good impact, its the overall winner for me. Having said all that, and considering that the he560 is about the least amount of bass I can accept, do you think the ETHER would be up my alley at all. If so I would keep the lcd-x and get the Ether as a companion. I would def take a look at the more expensive Dharma but I know I would grow tired of its bass if its the weak spot like everyone mentions. If its impact makes up for it then I may be game.
Thanks in advance.
