[haasaaroni]

No need for a battle, I love them all in peaceful harmony .. and I'm not good at describing what I hear + I find many reviewers too exaggerated. But I will try real quick -

I've owned the Senn and Fostex for years now so I am very used to their signatures. As one might guess, I'm in love with nice elevated quality bass, extended treble and huge soundstage. I like the mids to be on or above Harmann. I don't like mid bass and that is a real issue for me as many headphones with elevated bass kill it for me by being too thick in the lower mids.

So, is the HEK1K a "love child" between the 800s and TH900 for me? Maybe yes but it is still very different from both of them. I think that the Hifiman is my personal perfect allrounder while the Senn and Fostex will still be loved as specialists.

HEK1Ks bass is lighter than TH900 but quicker and, hard to describe - from high quality - very well controlled. Some might call it "dry", in a positive way. Soundstage is huge, less than the 800s, of course, but very very enjoyable to me. The mids and treble are spot on for me and, very important, no elevated mid bass. Resolution/Detail is fantastic but I never had the change to listen to Focal Utopias, so I can't compare.

I don't now what else to say other than long time extended searching and reading the forums and reviews dit it for me. Hifiman HE1000 v2 Stealth is the best pair of headphones I've been ever listening to!

(edit) I forgot one important subjective fact - all 3 are comfortable to me, n1 Senn, n2 Fostex, n3 Hifiman, the later still very comfortable but I feel them a little more than the other two.

I went from the Arya Stealth (briefly owned the HEKV2) to the HD8XX with sticker mod, so basically an HD800S, and I’m right with you about it being a specialist headphone. What’s incredible to me though, is the fact that the mids are still so present and realistic even though the soundstage is so wide. With the Arya, the soundstage was good, but the mids were sucked out a bit and the top end was a little too artificially boosted. How do you find the mids on the HEKV2 Stealth compare?

 

[srkbear]

I went from the Arya Stealth (briefly owned the HEKV2) to the HD8XX with sticker mod, so basically an HD800S, and I’m right with you about it being a specialist headphone. What’s incredible to me though, is the fact that the mids are still so present and realistic even though the soundstage is so wide. With the Arya, the soundstage was good, but the mids were sucked out a bit and the top end was a little too artificially boosted. How do you find the mids on the HEKV2 Stealth compare?

I am looking forward to hearing these as well. What I have heard is that this is the exact same headphone other than having the Stealth magnet, so the tuning should theoretically be unchanged—same as the Ananda Stealth turned out recently.

I recently spent a long time comparing the original HEKV2 to the HEKse and the Arya Stealth, and I ended up buying the latter two but passing on the original HEKV2 only because it wasn’t anywhere near as resolving as the HEKse (with the stealth magnet). However, I so wished that a combination of the two HEK flagships existed that combined the strengths of both—the tuning of the HEKV2 with the detail retrieval of the HEKse.

The main differences between the two are that the V2 has a somewhat wider soundstage, an emphasis on sub bass (an extremely physical low end), and extremely smooth highs—zero fatigue factor. The HEKse has a slightly narrower soundstage but better imaging, an emphasis on mid bass instead of sub bass that provides more warmth and fullness but a bit less slam, peerless detail retrieval and accuracy, and a hump in the 5,000-8,000 hz range that brings out the detail even more but has a brightness that could easily lead to fatigue for some folks.

This is pretty much how Crinacle has positioned them, although the HEKV2 sits on top in the “S” category while the HEKse was a few steps down at the top of the “A+” grade, only because of the brightness.

If this new HEKV2 Stealth truly does preserve the tuning and soundstage of the original, and brings the detail retrieval anywhere close to the HEKse, I could not imagine how you could find a more perfect flagship headphone. I’m going to wait until it hits Amazon in the US to try it out, only so I can avail myself of their return policy, since I already have the se. But I’m very excited about this!

 

[CharlyBrown]

I went from the Arya Stealth (briefly owned the HEKV2) to the HD8XX with sticker mod, so basically an HD800S, and I’m right with you about it being a specialist headphone. What’s incredible to me though, is the fact that the mids are still so present and realistic even though the soundstage is so wide. With the Arya, the soundstage was good, but the mids were sucked out a bit and the top end was a little too artificially boosted. How do you find the mids on the HEKV2 Stealth compare?

I find it very hard to A/B headphones as it takes too many seconds to switch. But to me HEKV2S' mids are on par with the HD800s', if not even a bit more forward, but not much.

 

[BowWazoo]

Just ordered the Stealth

 

[BowWazoo]

PS.
Selling my 4 Months old V2 for 1600€

 

[srkbear]

Just ordered the Stealth

No FAIR. You guys in Europe totally suck! Why do the folks in China think you guys deserve first grabs, that’s what I want to know!

 

[mtoc]

I went from the Arya Stealth (briefly owned the HEKV2) to the HD8XX with sticker mod, so basically an HD800S

can you elaborate on this? the usual route should be from hd800 to Arya/He1000 v2 like many above, but your choice is so different, I'm sure many of us would like to hear your opinion about this...

 

[haasaaroni]

can you elaborate on this? the usual route should be from hd800 to Arya/He1000 v2 like many above, but your choice is so different, I'm sure many of us would like to hear your opinion about this...

Sure! I mean, the HD800 series may be an earlier release than the Arya or HE1000 headphones, but so much depends on source chain, personal preferences/hearing, and genres.

I owned the HD800S a few years ago for a couple of weeks, back when I just had a Grace SDAC and JDS Atom, and I really hated the sound. Too thin, distant, and diffuse. Fast forward to now, when I'm driving it with a Gungnir Multibit and ZMF Pendant, and it's a completely different experience (and my hearing has probably changed too). And I'm using it for mostly classical music and movies.

My progression after that first HD800S was from the Ananda to the Arya V2, briefly to the HEKV2, then to the Arya stealth, and finally HD8XX with the sticker mod (aka cheaper HD800S). The Ananda was okay, but impact, layering, and timbre were not very strong. The Arya V2 had better impact, layering, and timbre, but the treble was artificially boosted to my ears. The HEKV2 was amazing, and improved upon everything I didn't like about the Arya, but it just never engaged me like the Arya iterations. The sound was spacious, timbre was realistic, but everything sounded too soft, so I kept the Arya V2 and eventually traded it in for the Arya Stealth. It just still had that slight bit of artificial treble that bothered me though, and changing amps didn't seem to help for long. that's when I started taking the HD800S seriously again, and I found it was what I was looking for all along. On my setup, the treble is much more in line with my preferences, the mid bass impact is good (bass detail not as much), soundstage is amazing, and midrange timbre pretty spot on. It also excels in detail, but in a much more natural way than the Arya iterations.

Now with the Stealth version of the HEKV2, I'm curious if it'll fix that that sense of punch and impact the original lacked. If it does, it might dethrone the HD8XX.

 

[Thetaburn]

Sure! I mean, the HD800 series may be an earlier release than the Arya or HE1000 headphones, but so much depends on source chain, personal preferences/hearing, and genres.

I owned the HD800S a few years ago for a couple of weeks, back when I just had a Grace SDAC and JDS Atom, and I really hated the sound. Too thin, distant, and diffuse. Fast forward to now, when I'm driving it with a Gungnir Multibit and ZMF Pendant, and it's a completely different experience (and my hearing has probably changed too). And I'm using it for mostly classical music and movies.

My progression after that first HD800S was from the Ananda to the Arya V2, briefly to the HEKV2, then to the Arya stealth, and finally HD8XX with the sticker mod (aka cheaper HD800S). The Ananda was okay, but impact, layering, and timbre were not very strong. The Arya V2 had better impact, layering, and timbre, but the treble was artificially boosted to my ears. The HEKV2 was amazing, and improved upon everything I didn't like about the Arya, but it just never engaged me like the Arya iterations. The sound was spacious, timbre was realistic, but everything sounded too soft, so I kept the Arya V2 and eventually traded it in for the Arya Stealth. It just still had that slight bit of artificial treble that bothered me though, and changing amps didn't seem to help for long. that's when I started taking the HD800S seriously again, and I found it was what I was looking for all along. On my setup, the treble is much more in line with my preferences, the mid bass impact is good (bass detail not as much), soundstage is amazing, and midrange timbre pretty spot on. It also excels in detail, but in a much more natural way than the Arya iterations.

Now with the Stealth version of the HEKV2, I'm curious if it'll fix that that sense of punch and impact the original lacked. If it does, it might dethrone the HD8XX.

If you prefer bass and dynamics for your sound signature you could try pairing the Hekv2 with a tube amp and a bassy tube or a Burson soloist 3x.

The hekv2 is soft / relaxed on its own.

 

[mtoc]

My progression after that first HD800S was from the Ananda to the Arya V2, briefly to the HEKV2, then to the Arya stealth, and finally HD8XX with the sticker mod (aka cheaper HD800S). The Ananda was okay, but impact, layering, and timbre were not very strong. The Arya V2 had better impact, layering, and timbre, but the treble was artificially boosted to my ears. The HEKV2 was amazing, and improved upon everything I didn't like about the Arya, but it just never engaged me like the Arya iterations. The sound was spacious, timbre was realistic, but everything sounded too soft, so I kept the Arya V2 and eventually traded it in for the Arya Stealth. It just still had that slight bit of artificial treble that bothered me though, and changing amps didn't seem to help for long. that's when I started taking the HD800S seriously again, and I found it was what I was looking for all along. On my setup, the treble is much more in line with my preferences, the mid bass impact is good (bass detail not as much), soundstage is amazing, and midrange timbre pretty spot on. It also excels in detail, but in a much more natural way than the Arya iterations.

Now with the Stealth version of the HEKV2, I'm curious if it'll fix that that sense of punch and impact the original lacked. If it does, it might dethrone the HD8XX.

What a great revisit story. many just dumped the hd800 series right away. there's a tendency "once into planars, you're not looking back." it's certainly not true at least in your case.

I think you overall prefer the impact or punch or dynamics from the HD800 series (well, dynamic driver, they got the name), instead of the softer presentation of He1000 or Arya.

so, the latest he1000 v2 stealth, like the comment above, I don't think it will have the strong dynamics like the HD800... maybe power amps can do it, but not too practical.

some called the stax: feminine sound

 

[BowWazoo]

No FAIR. You guys in Europe totally suck! Why do the folks in China think you guys deserve first grabs, that’s what I want to know!

Yes, I'm totally surprised myself.
Usually it's always the other way around.
The dealer I ordered from yesterday,
received 8 Stealth wednesday.
7 have already been sold thursday.

 

[Quarzer]

Can one of you tell me the differences regarding the packeging of the Stealth compared to the V2?

 

[haasaaroni]

If you prefer bass and dynamics for your sound signature you could try pairing the Hekv2 with a tube amp and a bassy tube or a Burson soloist 3x.

The hekv2 is soft / relaxed on its own.

That's a thought. I remember now that the best pairing I had with the HEKV2 (while using a friend's pair) was with a THR-1 amp from Kinki Studios. It made the HEKV2 kick like a mule. I had a Burson Soloist 3XP at the time, and it sounded soft in comparison. It's not bass slam I'm most interested in though, it's the impact across the whole frequency range. The HD8XX has it. Things sound more "tactile" and less of a holographic representation, as impressive as it is.

What a great revisit story. many just dumped the hd800 series right away. there's a tendency "once into planars, you're not looking back." it's certainly not true at least in your case.

I think you overall prefer the impact or punch or dynamics from the HD800 series (well, dynamic driver, they got the name), instead of the softer presentation of He1000 or Arya.

so, the latest he1000 v2 stealth, like the comment above, I don't think it will have the strong dynamics like the HD800... maybe power amps can do it, but not too practical.

some called the stax: feminine sound

Yeah, that's my perception too. I could easily live with a Susvara, LCD-5, or Caldera, but aside from those three, I've always heard something very characteristic about planar timbre that makes me choose dynamics over them. I think Resolve calls it a "plucked" quality. It's usually not for me.

 

[Guipnox]

That's a thought. I remember now that the best pairing I had with the HEKV2 (while using a friend's pair) was with a THR-1 amp from Kinki Studios. It made the HEKV2 kick like a mule. I had a Burson Soloist 3XP at the time, and it sounded soft in comparison. It's not bass slam I'm most interested in though, it's the impact across the whole frequency range. The HD8XX has it. Things sound more "tactile" and less of a holographic representation, as impressive as it is.

Yeah, that's my perception too. I could easily live with a Susvara, LCD-5, or Caldera, but aside from those three, I've always heard something very characteristic about planar timbre that makes me choose dynamics over them. I think Resolve calls it a "plucked" quality. It's usually not for me.

You need to test a fully modded HE6seV2 through speaker taps, man.
Just saying

Your DCA earpads are having good use here by a friend.
I'm using Ether Angled.
They're awesome.
Still have comfort issues though even with 2x Dekoni Nuggets.
I guess I need to buy a new headband :/

I actually plan to produce electronic music using my setup.
Gonna start soon.
I was waiting for my Gustard P26 preamp but I think I can start early because it's taking too much to arrive.

03:16 here so off to bed.
Later, dude

 

[BowWazoo]

Can one of you tell me the differences regarding the packeging of the Stealth compared to the V2?

As far as I know, the Stealth, like the Arya V3, comes in a box. No more faux leather luxury