[Gibson59]

The HE1000 is meant to be a relaxing listen and is one of the least flawed open back non electrostats I have ever heard. A little too soft for me though, I need more impact and energy. I believe the Susvara is similar but with a bit more impact, will probably still be a tad too mellow for me but we shall

What amp were using with the HEK? I think they sound great even with my little chord mojo, but there is no doubt that they continue to scale with more power. With my Wells Milo or the iCan Pro they offer a more gripping sound with more pulp than with the Mojo for instance. I listen to a lot of rock and with some AC/DC or Rage Against the Machine they bring hit me right in the chest. Not trying to convert you but just a suggestion to give them as much power as you can afford.

 

[Rhamnetin]

What amp were using with the HEK? I think they sound great even with my little chord mojo, but there is no doubt that they continue to scale with more power. With my Wells Milo or the iCan Pro they offer a more gripping sound with more pulp than with the Mojo for instance. I listen to a lot of rock and with some AC/DC or Rage Against the Machine they bring hit me right in the chest. Not trying to convert you but just a suggestion to give them as much power as you can afford.

I have used only the HE1000v1 but with powerful amps; the HiFiMan EF1000 or whatever it's called and the HeadAmp GS-X Mk2 which is probably the prince of dynamics/impact.

 

[montanari]

I would choose hd800 That i already had in the past, Just for the comfort and quality construction /reliability

 

[TeamHiFiMAN]

Yesterday I sent an email to the customerservice for a driver damaged
they replied today, (on sunday??!!)
i m based in EU they asked me to ship back the headphone to Cambusbarron, Stirling. in scotland
before I always dealt with Mark in Edinburgh..

can somebody confirm this new address?

Yes that is the correct address.

 

[llcook51]

The HEKv2 with the Cavalli Liquid Platinum is sublime. Exceptionally open with deep fast bass. The highs are smooth and airy. Stravinsky and Muse both express their best with this combo.

 

[Dinrog]

These Cans are the best IMO for liverecordings or classical. Latter depending on the size of the room gives me almost the same vibe as sitting in a big classical musichall or opera. Judging from all the operahalls in the He-1000 brochure, that seemed like the goal for these xD

 

[chimney189]

I'm driving this headphone just from the DragonFly Red and it sounds amazing..

 

[Todd R]

So....
I'm running mine with a Chord Hugo 2 which sounds great, but I'd still like more bass fullness and weight out of these phones (without EQ).
I had a Bottlehead SEX amp 3.0 (about 2 wpc) connected to it earlier, but couldn't tell much difference between that and just coming straight out of the Hugo. Anyone know if using a higher powered amp will do me any good?

 

[JaZZ]

Equalizing is the best and most logical way in your case – so why renounce it? An amp that's bassier than neutral is a step away from ultimate transparency, the more so as you add it to the signal path (instead of replacing the Hugo's, which is impossible).

 

[Todd R]

I've never been a believer in EQ, and it's so easy to get it wrong, plus I would need to go in and change it whenever I listen to other headphones.
What I'm questioning is if the Hugo 2 up to driving these phones properly?

 

[Sound Eq]

I've never been a believer in EQ, and it's so easy to get it wrong, plus I would need to go in and change it whenever I listen to other headphones.
What I'm questioning is if the Hugo 2 up to driving these phones properly?

get an ifi ican pro you will not need to mess with eq, and the sound of the he1000 will sound fuller when you use the hugo2 as a dac into the ifi ican pro, I use that combo myself

 

[JaZZ]

I've never been a believer in EQ, and it's so easy to get it wrong, plus I would need to go in and change it whenever I listen to other headphones.

Wouldn't that be the same problem with an amp – you would have to swap the amp depending on the attached headphone? A good software equalizer allows for an infinite number of stored curves that are easily accessible.
Moreover, a bass emphasis isn't rocket science. My own curve for the HE1000 (with V2 pads and a Lavricables Master Silver) on a DAVE looks like this:

Enhancing the bass would result in a curve like the one below:

It's hard to believe that someone «doesn't believe in EQ». Without it (in the recording studios), our music would sound dull, lifeless and colored.

What I'm questioning is if the Hugo 2 up to driving these phones properly?

Yes, it is. I have experimented enough with my Hugo and several headphone amps to come to the conclusion that all the amps do is coloring the sound and reducing accuracy and transparency. Therefore I haven't repeated the comparisons with the Hugo₂.
Note that you can't bypass the Hugo's analogue output stage/headphone out, it will remain in the signal path with an external amp – some sort of double amping if you will.

 

[JaZZ]

get an ifi ican pro you will not need to mess with eq, and the sound of the he1000 will sound fuller when you use the hugo2 as a dac into the ifi ican pro, I use that combo myself

The «fullness» comes at a price. See Rob Watts' comments.

 

[franz12]

Wouldn't that be the same problem with an amp – you would have to swap the amp depending on the attached headphone? A good software equalizer allows for an infinite number of stored curves that are easily accessible.
Moreover, a bass emphasis isn't rocket science. My own curve for the HE1000 (with V2 pads and a Lavricables Master Silver) on a DAVE looks like this:



Enhancing the bass would result in a curve like the one below:



It's hard to believe that someone «doesn't believe in EQ». Without it (in the recording studios), our music would sound dull, lifeless and colored.


Yes, it is. I have experimented enough with my Hugo and several headphone amps to come to the conclusion that all the amps do is coloring the sound and reducing accuracy and transparency. Therefore I haven't repeated the comparisons with the Hugo₂.
Note that you can't bypass the Hugo's analogue output stage/headphone out, it will remain in the signal path with an external amp – some sort of double amping if you will.

What software do you use? I am asking this because some eq software degrades SQ, while some does not. Also, is there any reason why you don't use parameteric EQ?

 

[JaZZ]

What software do you use? I am asking this because some eq software degrades SQ, while some does not. Also, is there any reason why you don't use parameteric EQ?

It's xnor's ⅓ octave Graphic Equalizer for foobar2000. After using foobar for a while and looking for a good equalizer – preferrably parametric – it was the only one I could find. And it turned out to be so good and useful that I stuck to it. I think it suits my needs even better than a parametric equalizer, since it allows for tiny 0.1 dB steps within a limited frequency band, ideal for experimenting – and I use to apply tiny steps. A parametric equalizer is good if you have your mind set on a curve based on an existing frequency-response graph, but not so practical for experimenting further on the basis of the original curve. I don't trust available frequency-response graphs at all (all compensation functions I've seen so far are heavily flawed in my experience), but do use them as rough guidelines – building a curve out of the air bears too much risk of endless erring in the wrong directions.

I have used a parametric equalizer in the past, a Technics SA-9010 – thus an analogue hardware equalizer. From its functionality it was perfect, but it degraded the sound quality too much to be of any use for listening to music: As soon as it was in the signal path, the sound became rough and spatially flat. So it got relegated to be a tool for developing crossover networks during my extensive speaker-builder occupation.

I don't expect the same from digital equalizers. Although I'm no programming expert, I imagine it to be hard building a software equalizer that degrades sound quality. Can you point me to one? xnor is a Head-Fi member, although it's been a long while since I saw him posting. I can guarantee you that his equalizer doesn't degrade the sound. I even suspect that criticisms on existing software equalizers are rather based on users with limited experience than the software itself. Or maybe impractical frequency bands – like with some HiFiMan DAPs (maybe they're improved meanwhile). In this context the worst thing I can imagine are octave equalizers with frequency-band Q factors of less than 1 – which still don't degrade sound quality per se, just limit usability.

The reason for my SA-9010's bad sound are without a doubt the countless electronics components in the signal path. Now imagine the impact of a complete headphone amp attached to the Hugo's headphone output – a technically redundant gain stage with a bunch of electronics components. It may not sound as bad as my Technics equalizer, but it will degrade the sound to a considerable degree as well. Maybe that's even wanted: Quoting Rob Watts: «Some people like harmonic distortion.» It's true, harmonic distortion in the homeopathic doses like the ones in amps have the ability to make the sound richer, fuller and more forgiving. Unfortunately they represent an invitation to use them as quasi-equalizers for people with no interest to occupy themselves with the real thing. And that's a pity! The consumer attitude even leads them to spend $600 or $1600 for technically questionable solutions, although they could have the best solution for free.

I should add that I understand that not everybody feels comfortable with equalizing. After all there's a tool called Sonarworks which does all the EQ work for you. And as said, merely adding some bass isn't rocket science. Just replicate what a good old tone control would do, just with better control (by selecting the corner frequency according to your needs)!