HE-1 Reviews

[Matez]

Agree! And to do that, the reviewer would ideally have their own Stax system, with a BHSE / T2 or Carbon amp and the 009s at home for an A/B. Respect to those who have reviewed the HE-1 to date, but many haven't heard or own the better Stat amps or the 009, so that is key to have those and get a full 'Stat' review IMO. I am being selfish here, as I want to know just how far the HE-1 has taken the Stats. I respect comparisons to the HD800 and Utopia (for example). Just not as relevant to my own micro HP world.

Since SR-009 is considered by many people as the end game solution, what you wrote makes perfect sense.

 

[teddytejero]

I compared the HE-1 to a HD-800 playing the same 16 bit / 44.1 Khz file at a music fair in Brussels. After hearing the new Alexia 2 speakers from Mark Wilson , some Sonus Faber speakers and a lot more. The HE-1 stood out from all of them .... My buddy who is very critical towards headphones was amazed (not only the price but the musicality).
Last summer I was in Tokyo and had the stax 009 on my eager head. Also an amazing experience ... but the Sennheiser is also a piece of art and audio design beyond everything else. I think it's a marvel ... and a good investment!

 

[astrostar59]

Ha, an update by me to my own post..... After I heard the HE-1 at Can-Jam in London 2017, I was impressed with the system TBH. I had the 009s and 007As with my KGSShv Carbon amp for some years until end January 2018, and the HE-1 was a different take, very natural and smooth sound. It affected me more than I realised at the time, and since then I have moved to Planars. I am not saying the HE-1 is perfect in every way, nor am I saying planers are either, but the HE-1 did sound to my ears the most realistic I have heard in any HP to date. I came away thinking I wanted some of that sound for myself.... It was also closer to how I hear many big speaker rigs, full and dynamic with weight to the mids and solid bass, enough detail to be natural and not loose any information in the process.

I know the amp has been questioned over at the other place, and I am not getting into technicals. I am just saying what I heard with my ears. Also I still rate the 009s well driven by a non Stax amp, just my personal audio journey has taken a different direction.

 

[bclark8923]

I just posted a review on the HE 1 under the product page here, quite an amazing piece of hardware!

 

[Mediahound]

I had a chance to listen to the HE-1 today at the San Francisco Sennheiser store which is apparently (aside from shows), only 1 of 2 places in the world where you can go listen to them (the other location being Berlin).

I don't feel I can 'review' them on just 30 minutes of listening time, but here are my listening impressions:

 

[Zinfin]

I found the following account humorous:

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/8basu6/i_listened_to_the_55000_seinnheiser_he1_while/

 

[astrostar59]

I found the following account humorous:

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/8basu6/i_listened_to_the_55000_seinnheiser_he1_while/

Good post. I agree the HE1 has found an elusive path to detail, transparency yet retain body and weight. It is a great system IMO. But I am super happy with my LCD4 and Violectric out of my Kassandra DAC, I feel I am very close to that sound. Certainly closer than my Stax 009 and Carbon amp got. I have no fatigue now, and superb mids and bass, I find I can listen to all material without an issue. Many stats hit the buffers with certain material. The intro to that review nails it, many stats have a seemingly flat FR but the micro detail and treble detail is over energised and takes over the presentation to my ears. The HE1 pretty much avoids that.

 

[nihalsharma]

Hey, I too got lucky to try out the HE 1 at Sennheiser India office in Gurgaon. The people at Sennheiser were warm enough to host a small audiophile meetup where they showcased a great range of headphones. HD600 series, HD800s, HD820, desktop amps, and many other pieces of equipment. We took our portable and desktop setups as well.

Everyone was blown away by the HE 1. What a magical thing! Never ever had I imagined some audio setup to be this fascinating. The way it switches on - illuminating tubes coming out, the lid opening up on its own, too magnificent to put in words. It was a great pleasure listening to it. The whole setup is very costly. It has to do more with the aesthetic pleasure rather than just listening pleasure. Something so costly must make the owners happy in every aspect. When I auditioned it in a closed silent room with dim lights, it seemed like I was teleported to some other world. The sound is definitely great. I can't even dare to complain. The sound is so full of life. It has a very balanced output. The bass is quite controlled, the soundstage is great. I tried songs handpicked by Senn and also some of the songs which I carried with me. Every song sounded so full, so overwhelming. The vocals sound so amazing that you just want to listen more and more.

If someone gets a chance, this setup should definitely be tried.

​

 

[astrostar59]

Nice, I am glad you enjoyed the mighty HE-1.

But there is another path to this level and using more real world priced products. Namely the Abyss TC headphone driven by a good tube amp and a decent DAC. Then you get to the same level as the HE-1 for 1/4 the price. I know, I have done it.

 

[Mach3]

009S + BHSE is not Summit Fi level enough next to the HE-1 system.
They need to send it to people with real Summit Fi equipment.
Example, HE90, The original Stax SR-Omega and a proper DIY T2.
I currently own the HE90 and the SR-Omega so I can concur both are totally different beast and level to the 009S.
Hugo from the forum, who has a HE90 and DIY T2 prefer this over the HE-1 system.
I wonder if anyone else has a similar setup and has heard both prefer the HE-1 instead.
But the problem is, it super rare for someone to own both the HE90, SR-Omega and the DIY T2.
Then spend a vast amount of time with the HE-1 to compare.
Because the 3 items mention is on the scale of unobtanium due to their rarity and cost.
There are a few people I know from other forum that actually own the HE-1, but like someone has already mentioned earlier in the thread.
It the only headphone they have, and have never heard of other great headphone.

 

[mammal]

Not sure if other people consider my AB-1266 out of dCS Bartók a summit-fi, as it is missing TOTL amplifier (like Riviera or WA33), but I like it. I had a couple of hours with HE-1 at CanJam, which followed a demo of 009 out of Blue Hawaii. But that was in 2016.

I plan to audition Hifiman Shangri-La SR next week, and after that (sometimes in June) I should be able to listen to HE-1 again, so let's see how it stacks up.

 

[GY3288]

Hi everyone. I’m a new comer. Does anyone know the bias voltage for the Sennheiser HE-1? All Stax pro bias is 580V, and HE90 is 500V. I can’t information anywhere the bias voltage for the HE-1

 

[NOMOS]

 

[GY3288]

So Bias is 780 V DC?

 

[NOMOS]

Hey GY3288 .
The Bias Voltage is 650 V .
The Amplifiers are integrated into the Headphones.

Best Greetings , Nomos