[tuna47]

I had the hex v2 now have the hek v2
Both are great phones but hek is much stronger in treble and detail
They both have great sound stage but hek is a little more 3D
Overall they are a nice step up not worth 3x the amount but probably 2x
This hobby is about loosing for the next wow I think you will get

 

[Gowry]

So, I upgraded to the HEKv2. I've had them for a while now and my feelings about them have been mixed. (when compared to the V1). The V2 are definitely more comfortable than the V1 and the headband doesn't move every time you take them off. I never felt the V1 build quality to be bad, but I was annoyed by the fact the headband adjustment moved too easily.

Sound-wise, it took a while, but I think I have a handle on what I"m hearing now.

Right from the start the V2's sounded a lot different than the V1's to me. I don't understand the reviews that say the differences are small. There are two main differences: 1. Soundstage, 2. Frequency response. Soundstage has a greater effect on the overall impression I have of the two and frequency response has an effect on DAC pairings.

Soundstage: I think what I'm hearing is that the V1 radiated sound into a "room" and the V2 don't. The V1 had greater space between the driver and the ear and there were reflections that made listening to them more like listening in a room. The V2 are more focused and the imaging is spot on, this is because now the sound is basically directly sent into your ear, as is the case with most headphones. I used to be fooled and have to check whether or not I accidently set my output to the LS50's on my desk. With the V2 I don't have that problem. I've encountered the situation only once with the V2, and it was when I was running crossfeed. I get the feeling most people enjoy the less-fuzzy, directness of the V2. I like it, but also sort of miss the uniqueness of the V1.

Frequency response: Mostly what I hear here is a difference in treble, and some other difference that may or may not be because of the soundstage change. I once commented that the treble was euphonic on the V1. With the V2 it's not as present. The V1's were unusable with my Hugo; they became too bright. With the V2's the treble is diminished on my Naim DAC-V1, but the Hugo seems to do a better job here. However, I think the Naim still wins on voices--not sure here. I really need to listen to the Hugo more to form a good opinion.

Maybe it's time I try a tube amp. I dunno, the Bryston has always given me all I needed, and I love the fact that they have a 20 year warranty.

Thanks for reading.

 

[TonyNewman]

I am running a Freya preamp (in tube mode) between my Yggy DAC and M9->HEKV2. This works for me. Puts some warmth and body into the sound. This is tube dependent, of course. I am using NOS National Union 6C8Gs (1945 JAN stocks). The NU is a very sweet tube. Warm, with lovely treble and retains good bass. Only shade behind the legendary TS RP IMHO.

 

[montanari]

The right driver on my v2 stop to sound
Contacted hifiman on Friday
They reply on Monday morning asking for receipt that I can't find (it was a gift from some ex colleagues)
All these on Monday
From there they stop to answer

the right driver of my he1000v2 stops to sound 10 ago, I finally received instruction for shipping back and rma number (still not updated from hifiman website)
According to the instruction:
I prepared an anonymous box, inside just the headphone in the bubble wrap and a note stating I need a he1000 v2 replacement; my name, phone number, email address, address the replacement should be sent to, the issue with the product and the RMA number

I also wrote the rma number out from the box

I didn t put the card with the serial number, the cables and the manual, and of course the box

can you please confirm that is ok without cables and card with the serial number?
customer service and hifiman team here on headfi dont reply..
Thanks
DM

 

[Maxx134]

I don't understand the reviews that say the differences are small.

Agreed, difference is not small unless you are not actually listening to music, and instead focused on freq response.

You will find that the V2 are the most balanced headphones and will expose the tonality and quality of your setup, because they can climb to utopia levels of transparency.

I am using NOS National Union 6C8Gs (1945 JAN stocks). The NU is a very sweet tube. Warm, with lovely treble and retains good bass. Only shade behind the legendary TS RP IMHO.

I totally 100% agreement with your tube assessment.
Those are exact tubes I like.

can you please confirm that is ok without cables and card with the serial number?

Yes that is what I did in past with my V1 so I assume same for this.
Just the headphone.
You can put the serial number if you like because new/replacement one will have a new serial number card..
Edit:
Remember to place letter inside with the headphones for return adress and specifically state that you need replacement HEKV2..

 

[montanari]

Yes
Did it
Thanks

 

[omniweltall]

So, I upgraded to the HEKv2. I've had them for a while now and my feelings about them have been mixed. (when compared to the V1). The V2 are definitely more comfortable than the V1 and the headband doesn't move every time you take them off. I never felt the V1 build quality to be bad, but I was annoyed by the fact the headband adjustment moved too easily.

Sound-wise, it took a while, but I think I have a handle on what I"m hearing now.

Right from the start the V2's sounded a lot different than the V1's to me. I don't understand the reviews that say the differences are small. There are two main differences: 1. Soundstage, 2. Frequency response. Soundstage has a greater effect on the overall impression I have of the two and frequency response has an effect on DAC pairings.

Soundstage: I think what I'm hearing is that the V1 radiated sound into a "room" and the V2 don't. The V1 had greater space between the driver and the ear and there were reflections that made listening to them more like listening in a room. The V2 are more focused and the imaging is spot on, this is because now the sound is basically directly sent into your ear, as is the case with most headphones. I used to be fooled and have to check whether or not I accidently set my output to the LS50's on my desk. With the V2 I don't have that problem. I've encountered the situation only once with the V2, and it was when I was running crossfeed. I get the feeling most people enjoy the less-fuzzy, directness of the V2. I like it, but also sort of miss the uniqueness of the V1.

Frequency response: Mostly what I hear here is a difference in treble, and some other difference that may or may not be because of the soundstage change. I once commented that the treble was euphonic on the V1. With the V2 it's not as present. The V1's were unusable with my Hugo; they became too bright. With the V2's the treble is diminished on my Naim DAC-V1, but the Hugo seems to do a better job here. However, I think the Naim still wins on voices--not sure here. I really need to listen to the Hugo more to form a good opinion.

Maybe it's time I try a tube amp. I dunno, the Bryston has always given me all I needed, and I love the fact that they have a 20 year warranty.

Thanks for reading.

Thanks very much for sharing your impressions!

I agree with you, especially on the "listening to a room" on the V1. I also prefer V1's bass presentation and overall warmer tonality. I feel the bass is more subwoofery? Its specific bass presentation is very unique that I haven't found in other cans yet so far.

But when I tried V1 vs V2, there are songs that I find better on V1 and there are some that sound better on V2. Female vocals do sound good and clean on V2. But overall, I still prefer the V1. I feel the V2 is getting closer to HD800 territory, and don't complement it well. If I were to choose, I will chose HD800 over HEK V2 unfortunately. But HD800 and HEK V1 complement each other very well, in my opinion. I can't choose between them.

 

[watchdog507]

Thanks very much for sharing your impressions!

I agree with you, especially on the "listening to a room" on the V1. I also prefer V1's bass presentation and overall warmer tonality. I feel the bass is more subwoofery? Its specific bass presentation is very unique that I haven't found in other cans yet so far.

But when I tried V1 vs V2, there are songs that I find better on V1 and there are some that sound better on V2. Female vocals do sound good and clean on V2. But overall, I still prefer the V1. I feel the V2 is getting closer to HD800 territory, and don't complement it well. If I were to choose, I will chose HD800 over HEK V2 unfortunately. But HD800 and HEK V1 complement each other very well, in my opinion. I can't choose between them.

 

[watchdog507]

I Have the HE X and a newly acquired HE 1000 V1 that was a warranty replacement to the original owner. I bought these because I thought that if I didn't enjoy the presentation I could upgrade to V2 with HiFiman on their program. Unfortunately, when I read the fine print it only applies to the original owner. I've called customer service but they don't open until later today. Has anyone been able to get the upgrade without being the original owner? I should have checked I guess, but who knew.

 

[Maxx134]

You have a greater than 50% chance as they are actually very good customer service, and upgrades benifit them as sales..

 

[Thenewguy007]

I Have the HE X and a newly acquired HE 1000 V1 that was a warranty replacement to the original owner. I bought these because I thought that if I didn't enjoy the presentation I could upgrade to V2 with HiFiman on their program. Unfortunately, when I read the fine print it only applies to the original owner. I've called customer service but they don't open until later today. Has anyone been able to get the upgrade without being the original owner? I should have checked I guess, but who knew.

I remember reading they won't do upgrades for anything other than original owners with documented proofs of purchase.

 

[matthewhypolite]

That reviewer is dead WRONG in so many way, that's what I'm going to say.

v2 is just a sidegrade? Whatever...

I also dont think this lol. I have a complete writeup of my comparison between the 2, will post it soon. I also included the Utopia and Abyss in my comparison. But i can say its definitely not a sidegrade.

 

[Thenewguy007]

I also dont think this lol. I have a complete writeup of my comparison between the 2, will post it soon. I also included the Utopia and Abyss in my comparison. But i can say its definitely not a sidegrade.

Can't wait to read it!

 

[patrikh]

I bought a pair of v2 earpads from user yellowblue in March and I've been using them since with my v1. To give you a fair assessment on the sonic changes, I took my time with them. My initial impressions were aligned with yellowblue, in that the pads changed the signature closer to neutral while improving positioning and separation, however, comparing them now to the original pads, differences in neutralness are far less stark. The pads were extremely hard when they were new and after a couple hundred hours of use the foam inside has become way softer and I think this contributes to the change. The increased volume inside the pads makes horizontal positioning or layering very easy to distinguish and the steeper angle corrects the soundstage so that it doesn't feel slightly tilted backwards. The former raises the resolution experienced considerably and the latter makes the headphones accurate so that they feel way more reliable when observing instrument placement and audible cues in competitive video games. I couldn't tell a difference in warmness doing pad swapping today unlike when I first got them, yet I feel the bass was a bit muddy with the v1 pads; the quantity of bass, surprisingly, was about the same in contrary to my initial comparison.

In conclusion, this is how I'd imagine V1 should have sounded when it came out; laid back, correct and not tilted soundstage and way better separation both front to back and depth. Hearing from the community that V2 is more neutral I would not trade my V1 for a pair and I am increasingly inclined to back the pad controversy as a strategic move of bad taste, especially considering the v2 pads aren't still for sale.

 

[tunes]

Sennheiser’s new $55,000 Orpheus headphone system

Has anyone had a listening session with this incredible system and compared it to the likes of HEK V2 and Utopia???