[Sennheiser]

Season's Greetings, Head-Fi!

​

ICYMI: A few months ago, we opened the Audiophile Experience Center (AEC) in our Tullamore, Ireland factory Well, to celebrate the opening, we’re sending THREE lucky people AND their +1 to Tullamore for the audiophile experience of a lifetime. You’ll get to:

• Tour the same factory where we make our audiophile line of headphones
• Experience the HE 1 for yourself in our dedicated listening room
• Meet some of the people behind the Sennheiser sound
• Witness the real-time production of headphones made by our skilled team
• Tour the Tullamore Dew distillery
• Visit a local Irish pub
• Check all of the above off your bucket list with some of the most devoted members of the hi-fi community

​

Here’s what to do:

• Read the entirety of this post—the important details are below and in the links provided
• Reply to this very post you are reading with your country of residence and which album you’d listen to on the HE 1 and why. Spare no detail or creativity—we're looking for the most passionate audiophiles to bring to Ireland
• Click the below links for Privacy Notice and T&Cs
• Of course, you must be able to travel internationally if required

Details: open to residents of the contiguous United States, United Kingdom, France and German residents only, and must be 18+. Promotion ends December 31, 2023 at 11:59PM PST. Winners will be contacted from the @Sennheiser verified account only via private message by January 4, 2024. If winners do not respond to prize notification within 48 hours of message, a new winner will be selected. By participating you confirm that you have read and understood the Sonova Privacy Notice: https://bit.ly/3RSpLDL. Full Terms and Conditions: https://bit.ly/3GORKha.

Happy HD-olidays!

-

 

[Svperstar]

US, I would listen to Post by Björk. It isn't as respected as some of her other works but it perfectly captures that state of music in its time. It mixes so many genres together. Plus Hyperballad is the first test track I listen too on ANY headphone.

I use FLAC to test but here is a YouTube link for convenience:

 

[CheekerBreeker]

Only France and Germany? Why not the whole EU?

"Of course, you must be able to travel internationally if you are outside of the United Kingdom" but Ireland isnt part of the UK?
Although Ireland is of course in a customs union with the UK

 

[Lowtech Trevor]

Cool contest, good luck to all!

 

[alxw0w]

Ohh Tullamore, I like

 

[fidgeraldo]

Great, we can all enter...I am less of a fan of Sennheiser from this point on.

I might sell all ten Senn headphones because of this.

 

[plumpudding2]

Only France and Germany? Why not the whole EU?

"Of course, you must be able to travel internationally if you are outside of the United Kingdom" but Ireland isnt part of the UK?
Although Ireland is of course in a customs union with the UK

Was already typing out my heartfelt submission (i'm from the Netherlands) before I noticed that part

 

[Unseen Aura]

USA. Would listen to Seasons of Sartaaj. It's a beautiful album with an array of melodic tunes and instruments, really shows what this artist is capable of & how deep and layered the music is. Very addicting sounds. My favorite all-time tracks by him are Nilami, Aarsi, and Auzaar. The Empyrean are what first unveiled the depth and drunkenness of those songs, only space for improvement from there on out.

 

[preauxtip]

Season's Greetings, Head-Fi!

​

ICYMI: A few months ago, we opened the Audiophile Experience Center (AEC) in our Tullamore, Ireland factory Well, to celebrate the opening, we’re sending THREE lucky people AND their +1 to Tullamore for the audiophile experience of a lifetime. You’ll get to:

• Tour the same factory where we make our audiophile line of headphones
• Experience the HE 1 for yourself in our dedicated listening room
• Meet some of the people behind the Sennheiser sound
• Witness the real-time production of headphones made by our skilled team
• Tour the Tullamore Dew distillery
• Visit a local Irish pub
• Check all of the above off your bucket list with some of the most devoted members of the hi-fi community

​

Here’s what to do:

• Read the entirety of this post—the important details are below and in the links provided
• Reply to this very post you are reading with your country of residence and which album you’d listen to on the HE 1 and why. Spare no detail or creativity—we're looking for the most passionate audiophiles to bring to Ireland
• Click the below links for Privacy Notice and T&Cs
• Of course, you must be able to travel internationally if required

Details: open to residents of the contiguous United States, United Kingdom, France and German residents only, and must be 18+. Promotion ends December 31, 2023 at 11:59PM PST. Winners will be contacted from the @Sennheiser verified account only via private message by January 4, 2024. If winners do not respond to prize notification within 48 hours of message, a new winner will be selected. By participating you confirm that you have read and understood the Sonova Privacy Notice: https://bit.ly/3RSpLDL. Full Terms and Conditions: https://bit.ly/3GORKha.

Happy HD-olidays!

-

I'm from the United States.

I think if I had to pick one album I would choose Antimai by The Dear Hunter. This album came out last year and I think was one of the best albums of the year. They are a lesser known modern Prog Rock band but the mix of instruments and sounds they bring to the table is unrivaled if you ask me. The vocals on the album span a huge range from one voice with little instrumentation to full choral sections. The percussion involves a lot of xylophone, tons of different drum hits with no shortage on the toms. Of course we can't leave the guitar and bass work out of it which is fantastic. And then they use a lot of brass and horn sections that really flesh out the entire album. At some points it feels like you're listening to a broadway musical soundtrack, at other points its like you're listening to some OG prog rock from the 70s. It's a weird album, it isn't for everyone, but I love it and probably listen to it in full once a week.

 

[maegnificant]

Wow, this is pretty crazy! I have wanted to hear he HE-1 for a long time now, couldn't find a retailer in my area that has it.

This sounds like a dream come true prize! So thanks a lot for the opportunity.

There are many albums I would love to listen to with the HE-1. And while the choice was hard, now that I have to decide for just one album (and I hope I'll be able to listen to that whole thing for real) I will choose this one:



Jameszoo is a phenomenal producer with a very unique, quirky approach to sound design. He seems to be influenced by Jazz music, but his albums and songs are really "out there", both in structure as well as in their choice of compositional elements. This live album is one of my top 10 albums of all time. Jameszoo collaborates with the Metropol Orkestra to play his songs live, especially arranged for this unique context. His synth sounds are mixed with classical orchestral instruments, but also Jazz Big Band instruments and various percussive choices throughout the perfomance. The songs are arranged in a more "acceptable" style, but still have a wast feeling of chaos and grandeur, while inheriting the awkwardness of the original source material. Jules Buckley, the Arranger of the Metropole Orkest has done an incredible job here.

The recording is very dynamic and full of small details that got revealed to me only after listening to it dozens of times. It manages to contain elements of many styles of music I enjoy and take special notice of when I seek out a new transducer, so it is always a "test" album. But at the same time it speaks to me both as a musician and as a pure listener. There are many great technical and emotional qualities to both the arrangement of the songs and the perfomance of these musicians that speak to me as a person. And that is why I would love to hear what the HE-1 can do with this material.

I could go on and on about the whimsy saxophone solo, the surprising entrances of drum beats, the string and horn section building a great wall where James' Synthesizer is dancing in front of and so on and so forth.

But you should probably just listen to the record yourself. Which is what I will do now.

Thanks again, Sennheiser!

*edit* Oh and I am from Germany...

 

[Sennheiser]

Only France and Germany? Why not the whole EU?

"Of course, you must be able to travel internationally if you are outside of the United Kingdom" but Ireland isnt part of the UK?
Although Ireland is of course in a customs union with the UK

We're working on that and hope to include more regions in the future

 

[jsiegel14072]

Season's Greetings, Head-Fi!

​

ICYMI: A few months ago, we opened the Audiophile Experience Center (AEC) in our Tullamore, Ireland factory Well, to celebrate the opening, we’re sending THREE lucky people AND their +1 to Tullamore for the audiophile experience of a lifetime. You’ll get to:

• Tour the same factory where we make our audiophile line of headphones
• Experience the HE 1 for yourself in our dedicated listening room
• Meet some of the people behind the Sennheiser sound
• Witness the real-time production of headphones made by our skilled team
• Tour the Tullamore Dew distillery
• Visit a local Irish pub
• Check all of the above off your bucket list with some of the most devoted members of the hi-fi community

​

Here’s what to do:

• Read the entirety of this post—the important details are below and in the links provided
• Reply to this very post you are reading with your country of residence and which album you’d listen to on the HE 1 and why. Spare no detail or creativity—we're looking for the most passionate audiophiles to bring to Ireland
• Click the below links for Privacy Notice and T&Cs
• Of course, you must be able to travel internationally if required

Details: open to residents of the contiguous United States, United Kingdom, France and German residents only, and must be 18+. Promotion ends December 31, 2023 at 11:59PM PST. Winners will be contacted from the @Sennheiser verified account only via private message by January 4, 2024. If winners do not respond to prize notification within 48 hours of message, a new winner will be selected. By participating you confirm that you have read and understood the Sonova Privacy Notice: https://bit.ly/3RSpLDL. Full Terms and Conditions: https://bit.ly/3GORKha.

Happy HD-olidays!

-

USA - Steeley Dan AJA - to see how close you can get to the original recording session

 

[MattTCG]

USA. One album is very difficult. But it would be k.d. Lang: Hymns of the 49th Parallel. Of course the album is masterfully recorded, but it's the tone and timber of k.d.'s voice that sends me goosebumps every time. It's an experience that changes my mood and refuels the soul if you will. Hard to imagine being able to listen on the HE-1.

 

[ostewart]

I'm from the UK (England) and count myself lucky to have experienced the HE-1 system on two occasions (both at CanJam London). Both short experiences left me with the opinion that whilst they are not my personal "cup of tea" I can appreciate them from a technical perspective, and this leads me to my answer about what album I would want to listen to.

Sleep Token - Take Me Back To Eden, this is an album that has won multiple awards this year and enabled a once unknown band to end the year headlining the O2 arena, less than a week ago. They are a metal band but, Take Me Back To Eden has a huge variation of musical influences and blends genres so seamlessly it's a captivating listen from start to finish. From jazz to metal, trap to soul, it's a musical masterpiece and leaves me wondering how the HE-1, with their excellent transient response, will handle this eclectic mix of songs.

This is an album that has pulsating bass lines, soulful vocals, crunching guitars and excellent layering - a feast for the ears.

Thanks for this opportunity @Sennheiser and good luck to all entrants!

 

[wazzupi]

I’m from the United States.

The Album I’d choose is De-loused in the Comatorium by The Mars Volta. It’s by a progressive rock band from Texas, I find the album follows a story from beginning to end, while each song brings it’s own unique flavor, it’s very chaotic with a mix of raw emotion immersion 360 imaging dynamics and complex/busy setup of instruments. I believe it’s one of the best albums to showcase HE-1 technical prowess and tuning.