[silversurfer616]

In addition to above post, I also have a new HEKse (stamp on box says 01/23) and after a week of daily listening there was no burn in necessary or happened. Good sound straight out of the box. It’s my third pair and yes indeed, no harsh highs, treble well extended without being sharp(listen to some Joni Mitchell and you get the drift) and smooth, full bodied midrange. Bass and sub bass sufficient for me and I would say Susvara bass is better and deeper but HEKse wins in overall dynamics and engagement.
Definitely no treble/harshness issues.

 

[Archlize]

In addition to above post, I also have a new HEKse (stamp on box says 01/23) and after a week of daily listening there was no burn in necessary or happened. Good sound straight out of the box. It’s my third pair and yes indeed, no harsh highs, treble well extended without being sharp(listen to some Joni Mitchell and you get the drift) and smooth, full bodied midrange. Bass and sub bass sufficient for me and I would say Susvara bass is better and deeper but HEKse wins in overall dynamics and engagement.
Definitely no treble/harshness issues.

According to measurement its brighter than the V2. Is it sibilant? I can hear weird sibilance on poor recording with my v2. Which annoys me.

 

[silversurfer616]

Don’t care about measurements. Sibilant…some recordings are more sibilant than others. You can’t fix a recording you don’t like aspects of by manipulating the headphone or changing parts of your setup.In most cases there’s a reason why music sounds the way it does and that should be accepted. Nowadays we are all sound engineers it seems. Sibilance is annoying, you are right. The HEKse is not sibilant…some recordings are.

 

[Archlize]

Don’t care about measurements. Sibilant…some recordings are more sibilant than others. You can’t fix a recording you don’t like aspects of by manipulating the headphone or changing parts of your setup.In most cases there’s a reason why music sounds the way it does and that should be accepted. Nowadays we are all sound engineers it seems. Sibilance is annoying, you are right. The HEKse is not sibilant…some recordings are.

hrmm Interesting, thanks! I'll try to audition the Hekse again then.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

The HEKse is not sibilant…some recordings are.

Interesting perspective, does the same recording sound sibilant on other phones?
I remember grimacing like Tyll when I first put HEKV2 on. Few hours later, treble seems normal. Sibilance on the other hand is something you would always hear.

 

[Archlize]

Interesting perspective, does the same recording sound sibilant on other phones?
I remember grimacing like Tyll when I first put HEKV2 on. Few hours later, treble seems normal. Sibilance on the other hand is something you would always hear.

that's the same impression I got whenever I put it back on after a long sleep. Then slowly everything becomes normal and actually really good.

 

[InquisitiveLogic]

Interesting. I'm actually looking if I can find a D1SE here, or I might just pull the trigger on the Composer 3XP. I heard it's pretty warm leaning, plus a stack looks nice.

A Jpop song that I really like is this one currently.



and this one

Just gave both the songs a listen.
D1se (tone control Rich 3) and no EQ applied. Soloist on medium gain, volume at 85.

Both the songs sound fast, snappy and I can tap to the beats of both. The drums, bass plucks, piano hammers, are tight and in place. Vocals are distinct. The top end is crisp and and not sharp or sibilant.
So if you're asking that whether the pop songs you mentioned sounds ok on my chain, it indeed does and not just ok but pretty good.

If D1se is hard to get hands on, you can also check out the Bifrost 2/64 DAC. Another R2R kinda option (Schiits Multibit approach) that also I really liked and then subsequently, had a hard time deciding b/w the D1se and the 2/64.

 

[Archlize]

i

Just gave both the songs a listen.
D1se (tone control Rich 3) and no EQ applied. Soloist on medium gain, volume at 85.

Both the songs sound fast, snappy and I can tap to the beats of both. The drums, bass plucks, piano hammers, are tight and in place. Vocals are distinct. The top end is crisp and and not sharp or sibilant.
So if you're asking that whether the pop songs you mentioned sounds ok on my chain, it indeed does and not just ok but pretty good.

If D1se is hard to get hands on, you can also check out the Bifrost 2/64 DAC. Another R2R kinda option (Schiits Multibit approach) that also I really liked and then subsequently, had a hard time deciding b/w the D1se and the 2/64.

Thank you so much. With my Ifi Zen Dac + Soloist. The first song sounds a bit harsh at the top and thr vocal seems a bit thin. I also listened to the bass song you recommended. It was Bass-gasm for sure.

 

[Archlize]

Just gave both the songs a listen.
D1se (tone control Rich 3) and no EQ applied. Soloist on medium gain, volume at 85.

Both the songs sound fast, snappy and I can tap to the beats of both. The drums, bass plucks, piano hammers, are tight and in place. Vocals are distinct. The top end is crisp and and not sharp or sibilant.
So if you're asking that whether the pop songs you mentioned sounds ok on my chain, it indeed does and not just ok but pretty good.

If D1se is hard to get hands on, you can also check out the Bifrost 2/64 DAC. Another R2R kinda option (Schiits Multibit approach) that also I really liked and then subsequently, had a hard time deciding b/w the D1se and the 2/64.

i couldn't find the D1se, but I can find the D400ES. Do you think its worth it?

 

[boodi]

I tried many sabre dac implemented units
I still have the su-10 .

9038/pro/9039/9068 chip : tried all of them , and older chips too , before them

Just my opinion.. of course
My general impression is that sub 1000$ the 9038 implentation - the more frequent chip you see in "hi-end dacs" carrying these chips , falls short in many aspects of the sound

In other words , depending on your ears you may be out and searching for upgrade quite soon with them .
Whereas the amk chips ( ak4499/ex ) in the same price range perform better and share a more musical / less clinical signature , they draw you better into the musical experience " the flow" that happens when you listen to music . Also they may be worth for consideration if you are sensitive to brightness and feel some sort of harsness/hardness or too much energy somewhere along high mids / highs .

Again , my opinion , based on my ears or what I listen to , etc .

I can't tell for sure over 1000$ because I would look other solutions then.

I gave a chance to ESS chip based dacs lately after I put them aside years ago , and I am going back to my decision - to leave them

 

[EternalChampion]

@boodi, if your memory is still fresh, and when you consider all musical aspects, which of the HEK Stealth and HEK V2 comes on top for you and which one you prefer?

 

[boodi]

I didn't find the hekv2 particularly thrilling in the end..or too much flat : for both lack of precision and of dynamics . Even the Violectric v281 can't add too much in dynamics to them ; while i did not expect dramatic swings as I have heard stunning dynamics only from totl dynamic drivers , i have to say the hekse are quite better in this regard .

Hekv2stealth have an edge over regular v2 on dynamics and I found in them a more convincing vibrant and flashed timbre for some voices and instruments too, their tonal balance is very much the same v2 family but it is somewhat better technically . It is also better emotionally , i couldn't say they sound very flat in fact.

But the size of the stage combined with the added hottness for mids ( or brightness?, as someone may say ) didn't make them too comfortable to wear and listen for multiple genres and multiple hours listenings.

Although i found that hekv2stealth managed some of my rock and metal all-time favs better then hekse ( but not completely better then other dynamic drivers set..) I can't tell they are overall better then regular v2 which stand for being less fatiguing and more even /balanced : better fit for long music sessions . They manage more properly classical music i.e. . The tonal balance of v2 - midrange on all- is sweeter , less hot , voices and guitars still prominent but less fatiguing.

I would grab V2 if I had to : between the two; but I would keep none of them if it had to be my only pair.

 

[Archlize]

I tried many sabre dac implemented units
I still have the su-10 .

9038/pro/9039/9068 chip : tried all of them , and older chips too , before them

Just my opinion.. of course
My general impression is that sub 1000$ the 9038 implentation - the more frequent chip you see in "hi-end dacs" carrying these chips , falls short in many aspects of the sound

In other words , depending on your ears you may be out and searching for upgrade quite soon with them .
Whereas the amk chips ( ak4499/ex ) in the same price range perform better and share a more musical / less clinical signature , they draw you better into the musical experience " the flow" that happens when you listen to music . Also they may be worth for consideration if you are sensitive to brightness and feel some sort of harsness/hardness or too much energy somewhere along high mids / highs .

Again , my opinion , based on my ears or what I listen to , etc .

I can't tell for sure over 1000$ because I would look other solutions then.

I gave a chance to ESS chip based dacs lately after I put them aside years ago , and I am going back to my decision - to leave them

interesting take. Too bad in here I can't really come in and try out different dacs and amps just to audition them, or else that would be nice.

I didn't find the hekv2 particularly thrilling in the end..or too much flat : for both lack of precision and of dynamics . Even the Violectric v281 can't add too much in dynamics to them ; while i did not expect dramatic swings as I have heard stunning dynamics only from totl dynamic drivers , i have to say the hekse are quite better in this regard .

Hekv2stealth have an edge over regular v2 on dynamics and I found in them a more convincing vibrant and flashed timbre for some voices and instruments too, their tonal balance is very much the same v2 family but it is somewhat better technically . It is also better emotionally , i couldn't say they sound very flat in fact.

But the size of the stage combined with the added hottness for mids ( or brightness?, as someone may say ) didn't make them too comfortable to wear and listen for multiple genres and multiple hours listenings.

Although i found that hekv2stealth managed some of my rock and metal all-time favs better then hekse ( but not completely better then other dynamic drivers set..) I can't tell they are overall better then regular v2 which stand for being less fatiguing and more even /balanced : better fit for long music sessions . They manage more properly classical music i.e. . The tonal balance of v2 - midrange on all- is sweeter , less hot , voices and guitars still prominent but less fatiguing.

I would grab V2 if I had to : between the two; but I would keep none of them if it had to be my only pair.

Weirdly for me V2 vocals sounds very harsh. But I'm not too sure it's my ear or not. But any musical instruments sounds amazing.

 

[boodi]

vocals sounds very harsh. But I'm not too sure it's my ear or not. But any musical instruments sounds amazing

Could you tell me what piece/ track for reference , i will give listen too..thanks

 

[Archlize]

Could you tell me what piece/ track for reference , i will give listen too..thanks

Mostly these 2 tracks.. but I guess it gets better during the day, maybe it's brain burn-in. I'm not too sure to be honest. Or maybe because my ear starts to become less oily during the day. ( I clean my ears daily just in case )