[Thenewguy007]

WOW, this has turned into a cable review thread. Don't take this wrong. I have found the reading educational and entertaining. In some way it has made me sad. I will never spend $500 to a few thousand dollars for any wires. No matter the beauty, craftsmanship, nor claimed sonic benefits. But I can sort of listen vicariously through the writings of others and the pictures.

lol you do know you are posting in a thread about $3,000 + headphones.

 

[mandrake50]

Glad I could give you a laugh! I am not sure whether the LOL was all that sincere though.

I own the headphones... I certainly am aware of what they cost. So yes! As I mentioned, I have been subscribed to this thread since day one. I heard the HEK at RMAF 2015 at the Cavalli both and fell in love with them.
When the V2 was announced I was able to get a good deal on new V1. A very good deal Of course that is relative but at ~50% off, I consider it to be good. . Otherwise, I am sure that I never could have justified the purchase. I have been struggling with rationalizing the Hifiman upgrade offer. I am still not sure that the described differences between the V1 and V2 to be worth the money and the hassle.

The cable thing is a personal preference based on bang for the buck. I like quality and craftsmanship just as much or more than many. The same with SQ. There is simply a cost line that I cannot cross. Not because I cannot afford it, but I feel the need to control my impulses so that I maintain some semblance of what I consider to be practicality. I believe that there are likely a significant number of HEK owners that are in a like situation.

I did replace the cables for the HEK . Mostly because I wanted something longer. 8 strand 24 gauge copper/silver plated hybrid with Eidolic connectors. Got what I needed, longer, better construction, much prettier, but a significant change in SQ is not part of the results. All of that for under $150.

So the comments about wires makes me curious. Not that I discount anyone's thoughts, but just because I feel that I may be missing something. Not to the extent that it makes the price of admission to find out acceptable, but still.

Oh well. I said what I had to say.

If nothing else, there have been more posts here than has been the case recently.

 

[Thenewguy007]

I can understand drawing the line for cable price.

Like the Prion 4 price is ridiculous. There are used HEK v1 that sell for less than that cable.

 

[Gibson59]

Someone mentioned earlier in the thread about the HE1000 being very scalable. This was very apparent to me as I auditioned various cables. In my effort to squeeze every bit of capability out of them I opted for the very expensive Danacable Lazuli Reference. If you had told me even two months ago I'd spend close to $1000 on a cable I would have laughed in your face (we'll maybe not so aggressive but you get the point). With a lot of this stuff you just don't what you will appreciate till you try it. It's so tough cuz many aren't able to audition so they must have faith in what they read here. But I firmly believe that especially that last 5% of true tuning to our systems that we're all out to achieve is sooo subjective.

 

[esimms86]

I can understand drawing the line for cable price.

Like the Prion 4 price is ridiculous. There are used HEK v1 that sell for less than that cable.

I have no issue with your or anyone else's personal decision as to where to draw the line. Spending decisions are not one size fits all and, face it, the majority of people on the planet would never even consider investing the amounts of money that so many of us headfiers do on this hobby.

Having said that, I think it's important to keep in mind that the average headfier likely owns two or more pairs of headphones. And no one on this forum would bat an eye if someone posted that they owned two or more pairs of headphones costing 1000 or more dollars each. Now consider that you can buy Prion4s with adapters making them suitable to swap the same cable between different sets of headphones. Suddenly, the Prion4s begin to look like a more reasonable purchase.

 

[Whazzzup]

Nordost has 3 to 6 g cables.... there are 3-8 g power regenerators, 3-10 g desktop servers.... most won't get any, I have a server, some have em all and more. Who are we to judge how much or how many, just follow your own path...

 

[Christer]

I just read Stereophile's raving review of HE1000V2 and the pics show a black cable. My set has the rubbery-feel yellowish-grey cable.
Anybody here who knows anything about what the black cable is?
Have I got the wrong cable with my HE1000V2?
My set sounds excellent with the rubbery one.
But I am bit curious both regarding the black one and might try connecting my big and heavy and stiff pure silver cable that I used for a while with my HD800 before going back to the original Sennheiser cable again with it.
The combination silver cable and non modified HD 800 could get a bit too overbright and fatiguing with strings and female vocies.

 

[auricgoldfinger]

I just read Stereophile's raving review of HE1000V2 and the pics show a black cable. My set has the rubbery-feel yellowish-grey cable.
Anybody here who knows anything about what the black cable is?
Have I got the wrong cable with my HE1000V2?
My set sounds excellent with the rubbery one.
But I am bit curious both regarding the black one and might try connecting my big and heavy and stiff pure silver cable that I used for a while with my HD800 before going back to the original Sennheiser cable again with it.
The combination silver cable and non modified HD 800 could get a bit too overbright and fatiguing with strings and female vocies.

A good quality silver cable pairs well with the V2. Try your big, heavy, and stiff pure silver cable and see how it sounds.

 

[TheAttorney]

The standard V2 cable is definitely the rubbery feel one (unless hifiman has changed the spec recently, but as they use a similar-looking cable for the newly released Susvara, I'd be surprised if the spec has changed ). I'd describe the colour as light brown, rather than yellowish-grey, but I haven't inspected it that closely.

I don't think anyone is saying that you can't get a great sound sound out of the stock cable - just that you can get even greater sounds with alternative cables.

 

[Axel]

On the verge of purchasing a pair of HE1000V2.
Looking to buy a great headamp to match its quality.
Current options considered (which are priced similarly at my local dealer):
- Ayon HA-3
- Leben CS300XS
- Luxman P700/750u
- Pass HPA-1
- Simaudio 430HA

Which, in your experience, will best match and bring out the best of the HE1000V2?

Thanks!

 

[Velomane]

I use a Simaudio 430HAD with my v2's and they sound heavenly. I also use the Simaudio 340i integrated amp via the speaker outs, and this too sounds amazing.

 

[Slim1970]

On the verge of purchasing a pair of HE1000V2.
Looking to buy a great headamp to match its quality.
Current options considered (which are priced similarly at my local dealer):
- Ayon HA-3
- Leben CS300XS
- Luxman P700/750u
- Pass HPA-1
- Simaudio 430HA

Which, in your experience, will best match and bring out the best of the HE1000V2?

Thanks!

I didn't see this option on your list but I'm using the iFi Pro iCan with mine and it drives them beautifully. With the Pro iCan you also have the option to switch to tube or tube+ mode if you don't like the solid state option. I've only driven my HE1000 V2's in solid state mode as they already have a warm signature to them. You'll need an external DAC to go with it as it doesn't have one built in. Right now I'm using my Mojo as the DAC until the Pro iDSD is released.

 

[wasupdog]

you won't be able to go back after you try a solid silver cable with the v1 or v2. same situation as audeze any lcd-series headphones imo.

 

[MAURO16164]

I attached my v2 to the terminals of the integrated Sugden a21se. I have an apex pinnacle and a headamp gsx mk2. Well, only with Sugden I can make it sound incredibly. The hifiman he1000 v2 sounds at 100% only attached to the terminals of an integrated amplifier, with all the others at most reaching 80%. And a solid silver solid cable gives you at least 20% more heat, solidity and openness. I have tried everything and this is the best possible coupling.

 

[Thenewguy007]

I attached my v2 to the terminals of the integrated Sugden a21se. I have an apex pinnacle and a headamp gsx mk2. Well, only with Sugden I can make it sound incredibly. The hifiman he1000 v2 sounds at 100% only attached to the terminals of an integrated amplifier, with all the others at most reaching 80%. And a solid silver solid cable gives you at least 20% more heat, solidity and openness. I have tried everything and this is the best possible coupling.

Does your Fostex th900mk2/Sennheiser hd800s benefit from the speaker terminals as well?