[Khragon]

  Actually yes I had precisely the same impression of the V1, and the V2 surprised me because it is noticeably more liquid and full, especially in vocals. And it is more soothing and sweet and musical overall for someone like me who is super-sensitive to shrill highs. And the bass is bigger/better too and better integrated.

You're not helping me and my wallet  
 
Although that's good to hear, anyone else with thoughts on V1 vs V2, and also V2 vs Utopia.
 
Thanks

 

[saidentary]

  You're not helping me and my wallet  
 
Although that's good to hear, anyone else with thoughts on V1 vs V2, and also V2 vs Utopia.
 
Thanks

Well.... my impression is based on limited listening at a recent headphone meet.  There was background noise.  That said, I thought the two (V1 vs V2) sounded EXTREMELY similar..........

 

[kaushama]

You're not helping me and my wallet  

Although that's good to hear, anyone else with thoughts on V1 vs V2, and also V2 vs Utopia.

Thanks

I have not heard V1 ever. But V2 is very good. It has sweet and very transparent signature across the FR. Has immense sense of space and nuances with lots of micro details. The main criticism V1 has was that it sounded distant and soft. Soft in the sense it lacked attack and speed on leading edges of transients.
I do not hear such issue with V2. It is dynamic and has lots of energy in upper mids and Treble registers. Bass is very tight and has loads of details. And it extends very low.
I think, Utopia and V2 comparison should be very interesting. However Utopia seems to having entirely different signature with smaller sound stage and more energetic signature.
My guess is there is no one perfect TOFL headphone. And realistically we can not have such a headphone. Audio preference, and sense of perfection of audio gear, is a very subjective matter. There can not be a single cup of tea, which suits everybody's taste ever.

 

[nvfan]

Utopia is a rigid, high xmax driver. It's also a bit faster sounding than the HE1000. You can see in the impulse response the Utopia driver starts and stops very quickly whereas the HE1000 driver keeps moving well after the initial signal, which causes some sounds like the treble to hang in the air a bit longer, making it sound a bit slower in treble response.

 

[Weilli]

 Utopia is a rigid, high xmax driver. It's also a bit faster sounding than the HE1000. You can see in the impulse response the Utopia driver starts and stops very quickly whereas the HE1000 driver keeps moving well after the initial signal, which causes some sounds like the treble to hang in the air a bit longer, making it sound a bit slower in treble response.

I think both of two headphones stops at 1.2ms, but there is an obvious inner-reflection in HE1000 since 1.3ms because that acoustic wave was a reverse series of peaks comparing to first testing impluse. In contrast, there is no obvious reverse peaks in Utopia. Maybe HE1000 gets the larger earcups than any other headphones.

 

[fonna]

gonna order a forza cable soon i think, still using stock on my v2 at the moment.

 

[doctorjazz]

Similarly to @Saidentary, and his comments on v1 vs. v2, I got to compare at a meet, not the best place, some background noise, but I did have a v2 for a while to compare on my rig that I was using at the meet (iPad 3 with a base for optical out to CEntrance Hifi M8, MicroZOTL2 with Mojo Illuminati power supply), and I couldn't discern major differences from v1 to v2. My v1 has a Norne Zoetic cable, maybe the aftermarket cable helps and makes it a bit of an unfair comparison, but I didn't hear major differences at all. Dealers I've asked about it have told me the same thing. But, if you like v2 better in your own rig, by all means, enjoy it!
(being terminally afflicted with Audiophilia Nervosa, though, I still can't shake the feeling I should upgrade. Have to bring it up with my shrink! )

 

[bozebuttons]

  Thanks. I do really like the Norne on my Audeze (a Draug 2). The MIT is new to me, so thanks, I'll investigate.

You should also look at Effect audio cables,I heard some of them At Canjam with my ue 11s, they didn't have a hek setup at the meet,But I was impressed with the ones I heard.
Eric recommended the all copper cable for the hek ,but I kind of liked the Copper/silver cable & think it would be a better fit for the HEK.

 

[doctorjazz]

The thing about cables, they're even harder to evaluate, listen, compare than other gear (which is hard enough...). I've also personally auditioned the Dana cable (with the HE-560, and HE-1000 at a show), sounds really good, but a bit on the stiff/heavy side, which could be an issue for some.

 

[EdmontonCanuck]

Similarly to @Saidentary, and his comments on v1 vs. v2, I got to compare at a meet, not the best place, some background noise, but I did have a v2 for a while to compare on my rig that I was using at the meet (iPad 3 with a base for optical out to CEntrance Hifi M8, MicroZOTL2 with Mojo Illuminati power supply), and I couldn't discern major differences from v1 to v2. My v1 has a Norne Zoetic cable, maybe the aftermarket cable helps and makes it a bit of an unfair comparison, but I didn't hear major differences at all. Dealers I've asked about it have told me the same thing. But, if you like v2 better in your own rig, by all means, enjoy it!
(being terminally afflicted with Audiophilia Nervosa, though, I still can't shake the feeling I should upgrade. Have to bring it up with my shrink!

)

 
I'm with you and @saidentary ... I've heard both (I'm a current V1 owner) and I couldn't really hear any difference between it and the V2. I have to admit to being rather amused by some of the posts in this thread....when the V1 first came out people jumped on it and absolutely gushed over it. One year and version upgrade later, you'd think by some of the posts on this thread that it's totally "veiled" and drab and not worthy of your time at all, but definitely, the V2 is "gush-worthy". LOL!
 
For the poster that asked about the Utopia, I will also admit that it seems to be getting most of my head time these days. I absolutely love it.

 

[rgs9200m]

I asked about the cable for the HEKv2 because, after trial and error with a few other cables, the Norne Draug2 really stood out sonically and dramatically improved my LCD4 (and an HE560 I had a while back).
So I feel this is worthwhile.

 

[Sandy]

 
I received my master silver for Focal Utopia from Lavricables a few days ago and I'm very pleased with it so far.  According to his website, it takes 150 hours of burn in to reach its best.  After less than twenty hours with them I'm already a believer that custom cables makes a difference and I'm contemplating on getting one for my HE1000 should I decide to keep the headphone.  Very nice quality cables at very attractive pricing, what's there not to like?  Take a leap of faith and try it.

 
I have one of the Lavricables' master silver for my He1000 V1. I can report that it totally transformed them, removing 90% of the qualities that I didn't like - reticent mids and hazy treble.

 

[Thenewguy007]

Can anyone tell me how to remove the earpads?

Like do you twist it or just yank it off?
It looks tightly snug & doesn't seem to come off easy?

 

[xxx1313]

Can anyone tell me how to remove the earpads?

Like do you twist it or just yank it off?
It looks tightly snug & doesn't seem to come off easy?

​Just pull them off. You can look at how Tyll does in the following video (at 0:55):
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/exceptionally-pleasing-hifiman-he1000-planar-magnetic-headphone-page-2#xJYxpL9OofwfIdPR.97

 

[kaushama]

I am planning to buy an aftermarket cable for HEK V2. Shortlisted them to two cables.

Ultimate Silver Hifiman HE1000 upgrade cable by Lavricables

Claire hybrid HPC by Forza audiowaorks

Any opinions on these two cables and their synergy with HEK v2?