[FredrikT92]

It seems to be a trend to price new headphones really high compared to what you get? 
Bcuz of this ive started looking in the the "lower" priced bracket as I havent explored much in the headphone world

 

[up late]

 On a beer budget :wink_face:

sniff - not in this forum sir

 

[Decoy]

Yeah, come to think of of it, I think I heard a 1.3% reduction in the treble splashiness aspect with the betas after running them for 2 days straight. With the production units, not hearing any change. Maybe HFM burned in the production units for longer? I know they were in a rush trying to get the betas out to people in a timely fashion.

Is that an exact figure? Is that metric or imperial treble splashiness?

 

[TonyNewman]

 
 On a beer budget

 
Bringing you the cheapest possible jokes...
 
Back on topic - I am struggling to understand what the HE1000 does that justifies being twice the price of the Ether. Mr Speakers appears to have nailed the 'close to neutral' planar with their new HP. Would be fascinated to hear some more from folks that have had the chance to A/B test these 2 HPs.

 

[musicman59]

   
Bringing you the cheapest possible jokes...
 
Back on topic - I am struggling to understand what the HE1000 does that justifies being twice the price of the Ether. Mr Speakers appears to have nailed the 'close to neutral' planar with their new HP. Would be fascinated to hear some more from folks that have had the chance to A/B test these 2 HPs.

i have not done extensive listening to the Ether. last time was at Axpona with Dan's WA5. Out of the single ended output they sounded ok but out of the balanced output sounded amazing. IMO the sounded a little more on the warmer sound than neutral maybe because of the great bass the produce.

 

[Kojaku]

   
Bringing you the cheapest possible jokes...
 
Back on topic - I am struggling to understand what the HE1000 does that justifies being twice the price of the Ether. Mr Speakers appears to have nailed the 'close to neutral' planar with their new HP. Would be fascinated to hear some more from folks that have had the chance to A/B test these 2 HPs.

I'd say the most apparent differences are the staging and the bass on up to the low mids. The Ether draws an analogue to some of the earlier modded T50RP cans (I know it's a new driver, chill) in that the bottom end is a bit more anemic sounding than the HE1000. It's got attack, but perhaps not as much body. The Ether is definitely a more classically neutral sounding headphone. Is it Harman Kardon TRC neutral? Not really, but that's not everyone's taste, is it? The HE1000 draws a line down the middle of Audez'e/HD800 tuning, leaning more toward the Audez'es by a bit.
 
The HE1000 feels a tad more spacious, but less airy. The images have a bit less breathing room. A little more cohesive, less distinct. The Ether isn't the be all, end of imaging and staging, but it is a bit better in this regard, I feel (I've never been a fan of exaggerated staging, though). 
 
The reason the HE1000 cost is seemingly justified is that it's a "musical" (ugh, I know) headphone with a great deal more speed and resolution. Planar folks couldn't get that sound without tipping over into HD800 category and losing that low to mid linearity, or falling back to the darker Audez'e house sound. The Ether isn't necessarily that much worse of a performer, in fact in many ways it's better, but it doesn't represent something we haven't heard before. What makes the Ether great is it's ability to give you insight into the flavor of your audio chain...at a price we can say is digestible, considering the competition. Is it a resolution king? Can it be "luscious"? Not inherently.
 
It's a value proposition, more than anything. I find that the Ether is close to a number of headphone I've heard in the past, just a bit more "flagship" in terms of build and raw performance. The HE1000 is something I still have trouble quantifying. It's NEW. A dichotomy of performance analogies that we often keep diametrically opposed. Warm, yet quick. Spacious, yet luscious. Novel.
 
Kojaku

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Bringing you the cheapest possible jokes...

Back on topic - I am struggling to understand what the HE1000 does that justifies being twice the price of the Ether. Mr Speakers appears to have nailed the 'close to neutral' planar with their new HP. Would be fascinated to hear some more from folks that have had the chance to A/B test these 2 HPs.

I haven't heard the HEK yet, but did A/B the Ether with my modded HE560 and didn't find it to be a significant improvement. It's an excellent headphone, but didn't wow me.

 

[purrin]

I haven't heard the HEK yet, but did A/B the Ether with my modded HE560 and didn't find it to be a significant improvement. It's an excellent headphone, but didn't wow me.

 
Agreed. The Ether is an excellent headphone, on par with the HE-560 where they trade minor blows against each other. The only significant weakness of the Ether, and please take this in a relative context, is the bass. Ether's bass quality is mediocre. Not the most clear, impactful, or articulate. Ether ergonomics are fantastic - probably the best.
 
HEK is in another class though. Clarity, "get-out-of-the-way" character, and speed only surpassed by SR009. Retrieval of low level musical information just a bit below the HD800.

 

[rgs9200m]

Kojaku really hit the nail on the head about the HEK. It really has a new and different kind of headphone sound. Whether you like it is of course up to you. It's hard to compare it to other phones. It's hard to characterize it at all. Fang has really pushed the envelope. I would say the last phones in a long time to do this would be the Stax SR009, but in a completely different way to my ears. Both are breakthrough products. This does not mean either are best, or good for your tastes at all, as they excel in different areas, the 009 in precision, transparency, realism, and speed, and the HEK in a delicate balance of atmospherics, soundfield, detail, and relaxation.

 

[purrin]

Yup, it's different than anything before it so it's hard to compare. The best way to put is if if you like the HD800, get the HD800, if you like the HE6, get the HE6, if you like the Abyss, get the Abyss, if you like the SR009, get the SR009, if you like the HEK, get the HEK.

 

[rgs9200m]

I'm actually kind of in awe of Fang and his team's abilities after having the HE1000 for a few days, I have to say. I didn't really think there was much new under the sun in headphones, but I was proved wrong. Congrats.

 

[purrin]

You gotta stop saying stuff like that, otherwise HFM will increase the price of the HEK to $4K.

 

[Kojaku]

  You gotta stop saying stuff like that, otherwise HFM will increase the price of the HEK to $4K.

In b4 price up.
 
Kojaku

 

[negura]

  You gotta stop saying stuff like that, otherwise HFM will increase the price of the HEK to $4K.

 
I've returned my pair for refund as I think they are worth something like 1000-1500$ based on the sound quality. I hope that helps.
 
I wish Head-Fiers the best of luck getting ever increasing incomes to spend on little or no SQ improvements over existing flagships. 

 

[icebear]

   
I've returned my pair for refund as I think they are worth something like 1000-1500$ based on the sound quality. I hope that helps.
 
I wish Head-Fiers the best of luck getting ever increasing incomes to spend on little or no SQ improvements over existing flagships. 

+1.
I love the HD800 and heard the prototype HE1000 and decided I don't like it's sound signiture any better than what I get from the Sennheiser. So even for the same price of the Senn. I wouldn't buy the HEK. But as always YMMV and it's about personal preference and music style that you enjoy most. So who ever has $3k for a HEK, enjoy the heck out of it.