Hey guys, I was lucky enough to be able to get to go to CES this year. The first thing I did this morning was head straight to HiFiMAN's booth to listen to the HE-1000 lol.
Anyways, here are my listening impressions. I have also posted this in the other HE-1000 thread.
Since I was lucky enough to literally be the first person to walk to into Hifiman's room, I was able to listen to the HE-1000 for quite a while (about 45 minutes) and in a relatively quiet environment. All listening with the HE-1000 was done with the new EF1000 amp, fed by the new HM901s seated in a dock.
I begin with that my highest end headphone that I own is the HE-400i. So I'll be mainly comparing the HE-1000 to the HE-400i and the HE-560 (which I also got to listen to in the same room). Also another disclaimer, Hifiman's staff said that the tuning in the sample they showed off here is almost what will show up in the production model, but they may do some tiny changes before actual production.
To immediately spoil what I thought of the headphone, the HE-1000 makes the HE-560 sound lacking. Yes, the HE-1000 is that much better than the HE-560. In fact, it was quite obvious when I did an AB comparison using the same setup in Hifiman's room. Compared to the HE-560, the HE-1000 literally feels like there was a layer of veil peeled off from the music.
Highs on the HE-1000 are well extended, with no sibilance. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that the HE-1000 has highs that are at least as good as the HD800's (if memory serves me right), if not better.
But what about the bass? I'm happy to say that the HE-1000 has pretty much some of the best bass I heard. It's very hard hitting (but only if the recording dictates it), and even tighter and more well-controlled than the HE-560's and the HE-400i's bass. Of course, none of the bass bleeds into the mids.
Mids are extremely good. Vocals are extremely realistic, to the point where the vocals from the HE-400i and the HE-560 sound fake compared to what you hear in the HE-1000. In a good recording, it literally feels like the singer is singing a couple of feet away from you - not extremely in your face, but not too far away, much like the HE-560 and a little bit further than in the HE-400i. Overall, I would say that the mids sound the same tonally as the HE-400i and the HE-560, but with a lot more detail and a lot more realism.
I wouldn't say that the HE-1000 is a boring headphone to listen to. The bass is present when it needs to be, and with good quality and quantity. And I wouldn't call the headphone laid back, especially not compared to something like the HD650 or the Sony MDR-Z7 (which I heard at the show, but again with a different setup). Overall, tonally it sounds like a HE-560 (and also kind of like a HE-400i), but a bit lusher (everything seems to have a bit more weight in the HE-1000 than its lower siblings) and still maintaining a greater amount of detail.
Soundstage size of the HE-1000 is about the same as the HE-560. So don't go expecting an HD800-like soundstage. However, the magic in the HE-1000's soundstage is in its presentation. Sounds in the HE-1000 don't feel like as if they're coming out of a headphone - instruments, vocals, and everything else in the music seem to really be projected holographically, much like a set of tower speakers and much like what I remember about the SR-009's soundstage. The HE-400i and the HE-560 simply cannot match this kind of holographic soundstage. Imaging is pinpoint accurate - even better than the already excellent imaging of the HE-400i and the HE-560. I won't say if the HE-1000's imaging is better than the HD800's, since it's been quite a while since I heard that headphone.
A few words about comfort level and efficiency. The HE-1000 is about as comfortable as the HE-400i and the HE-560, as the HE-1000 weighs about the same as its two lower siblings, and uses the same clamping system. The clamping force of the HE-1000 sample was less than the HE-400i and the HE-560 Hifiman brought along, although I don't know if that is the result of many people having possibly already tried the headphone. I would say that the HE-1000 is about as efficient as the HE-560. I felt like I cranked up the volume knob to about the same level as I would in the HE-560 to get a similar amount of loudness. On Hifiman's EF1000 amp, I cranked the volume knob to about 10-11 o'clock to get to a volume level that's comfortable for me. I feel that cranking up the EF1000's volume knob to about 2 o'clock would be plenty loud for most people. For the HE400i, I cranked up the volume knob to about 9 o'clock to get to a comfortable listening level for me.
Overall, I can confidently say that the HE-1000 is a noticeable step up from the HE-560. It can definitely compete with the Abyss, which I also heard at CES (although with a different setup).
Also, I don't know if this has been mentioned, but Hifiman plans to release this headphone in Q2 2015. Pricing has not been determined yet, and Mr. Fang Bian (very nice man) really wouldn't give me a good sense of what the pricing will be when I asked him.
Hopefully, these impressions aren't too incoherent. Let me know if you guys want any other impressions about the headphone, and I'll try to answer them the best I can.
EDIT: Added another disclaimer about the tuning of the HE-1000 sample I heard, and the little information I could get out of Hifiman about the release date and the pricing of the HE-1000.
