I was one of the lucky winners of the HE1000 V2 lottery. Thank you Hifiman! My wife and I finally got around to sit down and do some serious comparisons between the V1 and V2.
TLDR:
We both agree V2 sounds more transparent, captivating, has better separation of sounds, bass is more tight and tactile, and has better rhythm and timing. The V1 sounds more relaxed, emotional, warm, and need more volume to shine. Build quality wise, we thought quality of metal, cable, wood and overall aesthetics was better on V1, but weight, coolness of pads, and headband adjustment fit was better on V2. We both agreed that the V2 was not clearly better than V1 but offered a different flavor.
Build Quality
I'm not sure if there was product variation in build quality of the V1's, but I never had any issues with the V1's other than having to adjust the headband at its lowest rung which didn't allow any range in adjusting the fit. Alternatively I have the V2's on the third rung. Also, the headband adjustment seems to lock in better with a more discernible clicking sound on the V2's. The fit of the V2's is more firmer and secure on my head than the V1's.
Furthermore, my wife says the V2 being lighter makes a positive difference for her, whereas I didn't really mind the weight of the V1.
My wife and I both agree that the overall aesthetics and material quality of the V1's seem better than the V2's. The metal of the V1 looks like stainless steel whereas the V2's metal looks a bit plasticky. Also, the cloth around the cable on the V1's looks more refined, whereas my wife though the V2 cable looked "cheesy." Lastly, the wood is a bit darker in color and wider which makes the V1 look a bit classier in our subjective opinion.
Regarding the pads, the surface of the V2's appear to have a perforations/pattern of small holes allowing better air flow. Conversely, the surface of the V1 pads seem more woolly and velvety. I didn't have a problem with heat on the V1 pads, but my wife said she was slightly bothered by the heat of the V1's and preferred the coolness of the V2 pads. We live in in a dry, cool climate near beach but I can see how folks living in more hot and humid places would prefer the V2 pads.
Testing Gear
The audio chain for testing was: QLS QA 660 as the transport --> Audio-GD Master 7 (IS2 input, new DSP7) or NFB 7 (AES input) as the DAC --> Audio-GD Master 8 as the Amp.
First off, we evaluated which DAC we preferred for test. Prior to current testing, I preferred the NFB 7 for the V1's and my wife confirmed this preference. My wife described the Master 7 and HE1000 pairing as "muffled," "too warm," "everyting not distinguished," and "white noise in background." However, she described NFB 7 with the V1 as "cleaner," "soundstage bigger and taller, "blacker background," and "not trying too hard."
I agree with her assessment that the Sabre DAC based NFB7 is better fit for the HE1000's. My interpretation is that there is an inherent euphonic quality to the HE1000s, which is too much of a good thing with the Master 7's which I consider a warmer DAC with a slight euphonic flavor, whereas I consider the NFB 7 to be more neutral. As an aside, I prefer the Master 7 with more neutral cans like the Sennheiser HD800s and Stax 009s, so I think its a matter of synergy. Taken together, we used the NFB 7 as DAC for following testing.
Sound Quality
Both my wife and I don't have golden ears nor have good vocabulary to describe sound quality, so please consider the following "stream of consciousness" impressions as a layman's take on the sound quality.
We evaluated the V1 and V2 difference using a ABA approach with Diana Krall's "Case of You" played from start to finish at each step: A1=V1 (to establish V1 as baseline) --> B1=V2 (noting aspects of V2 that standout in comparison to V1) --> A2=V1 (noting aspects of V1 that standout in comparison to V2).
My wife went first (volume at 25/99 steps):
A1. V1 = "Vocal's stand out, this is so relaxing, I can fall asleep, ohhh nice, beautiful."
B1. V2 = "More integrated, different elements more integrated." I asked her to elaborate. She said the V1 was like she was sitting on front row, so soundstage seemed wider, but sound elements were panned way to left, middle, or right (i.e., 3-blob soundstage) and so soundstage did not sound as integrated. On other hand, my wife said V2 felt like she was sitting in "sweet spot" of concert hall in which all the sound elements surrounded her in a coherent, "rounded way" in front of her and that the sounds seemed "grounded" on the same "horizontal plane." "Vocals has more power, getting my attention, feels like a live concert, she (Diana Krall) is sitting right there and captivating my whole attention." My wife stated that the V1 sounded relaxing but the V2's "demand my attention."
A2. V1 = "More emotional, more warm" in comparison to V2.
Here are my impressions (Volume at 30/99 steps):
A1=V1: Vocals sound a bit narrow, stretched vertically. Smooth. Black background. Beautiful. Background sounds seem more buried and hard to discern. Slight grainy vocals. Slight sibilance. Piano has a resonance that sounds a bit harsh, as if the notes are blending together. Musical.
B1. V2: Sounds are fleshed out more. Clear and transparent. Compared to V1, there seems to be a haze that's lifted. Sounds pop out more, especially vocals. Vocals are more expressive and detailed (e.g., can hear vocal inflections better). Vocals more thinner. Deep bass is more tactile and tight. Highs seem more extended. Sounds are more separated. Piano doesn't have resonance problem as V1, as if the rhythm and timing is better in which notes of piano aren't blending together. Each piano note sounds more distinct. Images are more solid and background sounds more discerible. Sound stage is more 3D with better depth cues. Imaging is more pinpoint. I agree with wife tht vocals more captivaing and sounds more live/real life.
A2. V1: At same volume level, V1 sounds less loud compared to V2. Background sounds doesn't stand out as well as V2. For example, the rustling and coughing in crowd not as discernible. Piano resonance problem has returned. Vocals thicker. Sound is more relaxed and emotional. Same level of sibilance as V2, but slightly more shouty. Got impression that V1s need a bit more volume to shine. Soundstage doesn't seem as stretched vertically as impression on A1.
