[JaZZ]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Quote:

  I have no issue with anyone who chooses the Utopia over the HE-1000 v2. I believe at this level, it comes down to which amp you pair with the headphone, and which qualities you enjoy in a headphone. That said, I own the HE-1000 v2.
 
On the new Woo Audio WA33, I preferred the HE-1000 v2 over the Utopia. I felt the HE-1000 presented better bass, imaging, and soundstage. But that's an $8000 dollar amp, and those are qualities that are important to me. I'd suggest there are likely other rigs that would change the outcome of the shootout. I own a Woo Audio WA5LE with upgrades all over, and I love the HE-1000 v2. I'm a huge fan of this headphone, it's my favorite pair of cans on the market, and my reviews reflect this opinion. Based on a loudness observation, I believe the Utopia is an easier headphone to drive.
 
If I were in your shoes, I'd locate a store or a Head-Fi meet where I could audition both in different rigs. Use your own ears, then see if others agree or have differing opinions. Your ears and preferences are unique, and you are the one who has to live with your decision. Take your time and enjoy the purchasing and auditioning process, it's a part of the journey of audiophiles. Bring tracks with you that you are familiar with and enjoy. Some headphones are better for different genres, make sure you are listening to tracks that matter to you. The HE-1000v2 is amazing with jazz, live recordings, vocals, and it responds well to audiophile recordings. 
 
I wrote on another thread: We live in a remarkable era for personal audio. Future enthusiasts will look upon this era with wonder. Never have there been this many options for gear of this quality. We are experiencing a renaissance, a golden era.

I agree with every word you said and i appreciate the perspective on how wonderfully spoiled we are.
 
What amp do you run your HEKs off of?  I'm currently using Schiit Bimby/Ly2 stack but i'm not happy with the sound of the Lyr 2 and the HEKs.  I enjoyed the Mojo MUCH more when i was auditioning.  That little guy is special.  I am also considering the ifi iCan Pro which i heard at Can Jam and the HEKs sounded awesome with it.  Decisions decisions!  I just don't see the Mojo as my end game which is what i'm looking for.

 
The upcoming Hugo² could be worth considering. It promises to be some sort of super Mojo, even DAVE's little, portable brother – so maybe the end-game source/amp you're looking for. I for one have landed with a DAVE as my end-game source/amp for the HE1000, but am also eyeing the Hugo² for occasions where I want ultimate sound quality away from home. BTW, before the DAVE era I was very happy with the Hugo in lieu of it.

 

[reeltime]

  I agree with every word you said and i appreciate the perspective on how wonderfully spoiled we are.
 
What amp do you run your HEKs off of?  I'm currently using Schiit Bimby/Ly2 stack but i'm not happy with the sound of the Lyr 2 and the HEKs.  I enjoyed the Mojo MUCH more when i was auditioning.  That little guy is special.  I am also considering the ifi iCan Pro which i heard at Can Jam and the HEKs sounded awesome with it.  Decisions decisions!  I just don't see the Mojo as my end game which is what i'm looking for.

I have a Woo Audio WA5LE, upgraded internal caps and with Takatsuki 300B tubes, which is a WA5 300B tube amp without the speaker outputs (my nearfield monitors are Genelecs, internally amped, so I didn't see the need). It's connected to a turntable on one input and a Chord Hugo TT on another for my digital source. 
 
I thoroughly enjoy this setup. The WA5 is a great amp.
 
The WA33 is on another plane, unfortunately!
 
I also have a Hugo v1 for my travel rig paired with an AK240, but I don't travel with the HE-1000. I really appreciate Chord's sound, and they custom design their DAC chips. My biggest issue with Schiit gear (near as I can tell) is that nothing supports DSD. Schiit amps and DACs are of good quality, but I really like the higher resolution audio files, and the HE-1000 sounds great with high-res. 
 
The Hugo v1 is a steal right now if you can pick up one used. 

 

[matthewhypolite]

  Pulled the trigger on the HE1000v2 today. As mentioned earlier, I am have sold my Utopias. Fantastic headphone, just too forward and caffeinated for my tastes and my rig. I am hoping for something more relaxed and laid back with the HE1000v2.

Cant believe you sold the utopia, but if you're looking for laid back, HEK v1 and v2 is definitely that.

 

[tunes]

What is a mint but used Utopia going for these days??

 

[ezekiel77]

What is a mint but used Utopia going for these days??

 
3k thereabouts. Check the HF classifieds.

 

[tuna47]

Will the mojo drive the hek v2 I just bought

 

[Gibson59]

Will the mojo drive the hek v2 I just bought

I am just getting some good time in with a Mojo i borrowed so i can speak to this.  I also have a new pair of HE1000 v2s and i'm also searching for the perfect amp.  The short answer to your question yes, the Mojo can certainly drive them and sounds very nice with them.  With that said, this weekend I had a chance to demo the Schiit Ragnarok, Woo Audio WA6 and Neo 230HAD, and they all bring out the very best in the headphones...  Kinda night and day compared to the Mojo.  I had my Schiit Bitfrost Multibit DAC hooked up to these three different amps btw.  I enjoy the sound through the Mojo, but when i listened through the other more powerful amps it reminded me why i bought these TOTL headphones in the first place and what amazing sound can be achieved with the right rig.  I'd love to buy a Mojo just to have a portable option that can get the job done in a pinch, but I will absolutely be purchasing one of the amps i mentioned.  They brought numerous qualities out in the HE1000s the Mojo hasn't been able to.  Hope that helps!

 

[tuna47]

Thanks I blew all my fun money on the hek so I need something in the $500 range
Like the jot using there dac selling my mojo
Would that be an improvement Help please

 

[ruthieandjohn]

I am just getting some good time in with a Mojo i borrowed so i can speak to this.  I also have a new pair of HE1000 v2s and i'm also searching for the perfect amp.  The short answer to your question yes, the Mojo can certainly drive them and sounds very nice with them.  With that said, this weekend I had a chance to demo the Schiit Ragnarok, Woo Audio WA6 and Neo 230HAD, and they all bring out the very best in the headphones...  Kinda night and day compared to the Mojo.  I had my Schiit Bitfrost Multibit DAC hooked up to these three different amps btw.  I enjoy the sound through the Mojo, but when i listened through the other more powerful amps it reminded me why i bought these TOTL headphones in the first place and what amazing sound can be achieved with the right rig.  I'd love to buy a Mojo just to have a portable option that can get the job done in a pinch, but I will absolutely be purchasing one of the amps i mentioned.  They brought numerous qualities out in the HE1000s the Mojo hasn't been able to.  Hope that helps!

Amazing finding for the Schiit Bifrost Multibit! I use it to drive my HE1000 v1 through my HiFiMAN EF-6 amp, and find it to be exquisite. In other comparisons, it is only the Schiit Bifrost Multubit that exceeds my Chord Hugo, which other comparisons report sounds bettter than the Chord Mojo.

Hurray for the Schiit Bifrost Multibit (affectionately known by some as the "Bimby.").

 

[Gibson59]

Thanks I blew all my fun money on the hek so I need something in the $500 range
Like the jot using there dac selling my mojo
Would that be an improvement Help please

I totally get that. I was hoping not to have to upgrade my components once I got he HEK, but I find it hard not to now after hearing what it can really do through some other amps.

I also had the opportunity to demo a Jot using both the Jot's internal DAC and using my Bimby. The Jot is certainly powerful enough to drive the HEKs and the internal DAC does an admirable job. If your on a budget I can see this being a viable option. With that said, using my bimby with the Jot saw a remarkable improvement in sound. I know that's a more expensive than your going for. Just wanted to throw it out for the DAC comparison. Maybe do a Jot and a Mimby? I already had the Lyr 2/bimby stack but if I were doing it again I'd probably just get the Mimby which many say sounds virtually the same as the Bimby. It's only $249 vs the Bimby which is $599.

I'll tell you though, while the Jot provides a little more power and maybe a slightly more "full" sound, I definitely enjoy the HEKs through just the Mojo alone more than I did the Jot even with the Bimby hooked up to it. The Jot sounded a little boring by comparison to my ear. Whereas the Mojo sounds musical and it just seems to bring out some of the beautiful notes that the HEK is capable of providing as well as better control and spaciousness. If it were my $500 I would actually use he Mojo over the Jot to be honest. I'm sure some here would disagree but who knows. Almost can't believe I'm saying that the little Mojo sounds better to me that all the hardware in the Jot/Bimby combo but it does. I'm a believer in that little guy. Also goes to show how much of a difference an amp can make because my Bimby hooked up to all the other amps I mentioned in my previous post made the HEKs absolutely sing.

 

[Gibson59]

I guess it's worth offering a ranking of the amps I've tried with the HEK v2. All using my Schiit Bitfrost Multibit "Bimby" DAC besides the Mojo:

#1/#2 WA22/WA6 SE (can't decide which I like more)
#3 Ragnarok
#4iFi iCan Pro
#5 Neo 230HAD
#6/#7 Lyr 2/Chord Mojo (I like them equally for different reasons... the Lyr 2 for power and resolution and the Mojo for musicality and beautiful tones)
#8 Jotenheim (balanced output)

 

[tuna47]

Thanks all for the help guess I'll use my mojo until my wife won't kill me for throwing more money into to sound
Never ended hobby. I love it but my wallet is not happy

 

[JaZZ]

Good decision in my book! For $500 you can't do better in my book. At least you won't achieve a more transparent sound in my book.
 
The only thing I would consider as a worthwile upgrade is a Hugo² in the future. You know, it will bring you halfways to DAVE level – or so it's been said. Amplifying the headphone out of your Mojo makes no sense, and from a technical and metrological perspective there's no more advanced DAC around in its class, let alone a DAC/amp combo. Better wait for the Hugo² until you can afford it instead of investing in something technically inferior!
 
So don't worry, be happy for a while! Enjoy the while until it goes away!

 

 

[Hifi59]

I am just getting some good time in with a Mojo i borrowed so i can speak to this.  I also have a new pair of HE1000 v2s and i'm also searching for the perfect amp.  The short answer to your question yes, the Mojo can certainly drive them and sounds very nice with them.  With that said, this weekend I had a chance to demo the Schiit Ragnarok, Woo Audio WA6 and Neo 230HAD, and they all bring out the very best in the headphones...  Kinda night and day compared to the Mojo.  I had my Schiit Bitfrost Multibit DAC hooked up to these three different amps btw.  I enjoy the sound through the Mojo, but when i listened through the other more powerful amps it reminded me why i bought these TOTL headphones in the first place and what amazing sound can be achieved with the right rig.  I'd love to buy a Mojo just to have a portable option that can get the job done in a pinch, but I will absolutely be purchasing one of the amps i mentioned.  They brought numerous qualities out in the HE1000s the Mojo hasn't been able to.  Hope that helps!

Not sure if your budget permits but the only amp that I've heard at a reasonable price (and I've heard them all) that brings Hifiman headphones to life is the Well Audio Milo. It was like getting a new headphone (he-1k and he-6). Tons of power and a very refined, impactful sound. A steal at its price of 1700.

 

[LouisArmstrong]

Any Dave users here? Do you use a separate headphone amp to drive the v2 or is the headphone out good enough?