Has anyone had second thoughts for purchasing the HEX v1/v2 after reading poorly rated reviews like the one at the top of page 2 here from headfi member Sil3nce:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hi...anar-magnetic-headphones.21205/reviews?page=2
Everyone's miles may vary, but...
"This is
not a reference headphone by any means."
"The lower registries of the HE-X are flabby and not very detailed.
It gets really fatiguing especially if you prefer modern music (e.g. Electronica and Hip Hop). The bass is definitely not flagship material. Let's just put it like that."
Anyone else ever feel like it has a flabby low end response??
The thing to keep in mind is that everything is relative and different people have different biases. All his criticism is valid when it comes to the v1 (which I demoed today coincidentally), but you've got to see it from his point of reference. That's why it's so important to actually try the headphones for yourself, though I know it's not feasible for everyone.
The bass
is loose with slow decay, at least relative to the HD800 for instance. I'd like to emphasize that this is relative ONLY to the HD800. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Slower decay works for acoustic bass and cello for instance, allowing for a more nuanced and textured experience compared to tight bass with fast decay. Maybe it doesn't work in EDM or hip-pop for him, though I thought the HEX did fine in those genres. I personally didn't find the quantity to be too much, and flat out disagree that it's fatiguing.
I completely agree with him when it comes to mids. Here's where
my biases show; organic yet transparent mids is paramount for me, and the HEX does this brilliantly. Therefore I would rate this headphone much higher than he would.
His opinion of the treble of the HEX is where
his biases show through the most. He apparently places great emphasis on treble extension and as a corollary, a 'reference' sound. He doesn't like a darker presentation, and that's completely fine. He even concedes that the HEX might be inherently detailed, just not upfront about it. For other biases, he finds warmth to be 'romantic' and less 'life-like'. I find that my HD800s are too 'studio-like' and not 'organic/natural' enough, whereas the HEX is better in that regard due to its warmth.
From where I stand, I like a darker presentation, and even prefer it to a 'reference' sound. I listen to music louder than average, so a brighter presentation ala HD800 can get fatiguing and at times, sibilant. So I'm putting a decent amount of emphasis in avoiding that in my next headphone purchase. Calibrating, I would call it.
So ultimately, it comes down to
your preferences and biases. Frequency responses and written reviews only go so far; you'll only know for certain after trying the headphone for yourself. But I know that it's often expensive and unfeasible for people to try enough headphones to establish their preferences. It would help to know a few things about your listening habits: what genres you usually listen to, how loud you listen, or anything you can think of. Gotta compensate somehow.
It's also completely fine to have second thoughts. These headphones are really quite expensive. It would be quite a hassle if you ended up disliking them, so it really is quite a risk. If you have cold feet regarding these, I would suggest that you dip your toes in first.
Though I haven't heard these models personally, I would suggest Oppo PM3, Hifiman HE400i, or Hifiman HE560, just to experience the planar sound first. Especially the latter two; they'll probably hit rock bottom prices come Black Friday due to the upcoming Sundara.
EDIT: or a used pair of LCD2 goes for about 600 USD if you want one of the best bass performances in its price class.
Basically this was just a long-winded, round-about way of saying "your mileage may vary." But I feel like not enough people in this hobby really understand the significance of the saying.
