Hifiman HE1000 Planar Dynamic Headphone

[boodi]

it's listed as "mint condition" .. bought open box from Hifiman in the past .. was not disappointed ( mint models )

 

[boodi]

drop them a mail about it and ask
I suppose "mint" is indistinguishable from new and box could come even closed .. just my 2c

 

[srkbear]

The pattern is low ohms and high sensibility: Nano, Audivinia, Arya Organic

The question is what will they call the new Susvara?

My local dealer laughed when I "predicted" that "Susvara" is next.

I think they are selling out of HE1000V2 purposely to end it They are preparing the replacement...I think

___

I don´t think there is a better headphone than Susvara. All other headphones are just additions in the collection. Susvara is still best!

Well I’m with ya on all of that except the Susvara part I think it was extraordinary for its day in 2016, and that for classical genres it likely has no peer, but Hifiman has come out with so many further innovations and refinements since then, most importantly moving towards a design ethic that is versatile for all genres and more Harman-compliant tuning.

I’ve owned the Susvara before I sold it for the HEKse that came out two years later, and in that time they were able to refine that Stealth magnet to move as dazzingly fast, but with far more efficiency—a rise in sensitivity from 83 to 96 is a big advance in my book, and a sensitivity of 83 in any headphone is to me simply a flaw—no headphone should be that unwieldy to drive.

They also tuned their subsequent releases to be far more Harman compliant and democratic in terms of genre—old school “reference” tuning for classical (erm, classist) tastes is divine, but anyone looking to listen to rock through a Susvara is going to be desperate for a far higher bass shelf (the Susvara’s bass is impeccably rendered, but is so rolled off that you can forget about anything resembling slam).

Finally, the fact that every release of theirs since the Susvara has been with their oval drivers—one of their finest innovations in terms of comfort, width, imaging and overall physicality in my book—is as good an indicator as any that it’s been preferred by their listeners by a wide margin. The Susvara’s design is very nice as well, but I think they’ve been moving closer and closer to a unified design ethic—updating all of their lineup to include the Stealth magnet, nano thin diaphragms, window shade grilles and now a more bass-forward, Harman compliant tuning most recently. It just makes sense to me that their next flagship would continue on the same set of values, to offer a terrific option for all budgets, but I guess we shall see!

 

[andrewchoppa]

Thanks for your feedback helps me out a ton..
What amp are you using? I lean toward the warmer side so i want to steer away from the brighter side.
Am curious to find out if the tubes tame the treble on the Stealths?
Any SS recommendations that lean towards the warm side to achieve the same.

I have 2 stacks-sparkos Aries/eversolo dmp-a6 and eufonika (non otl as I have all low ohm cans) tube amp/geshelli j2 (akm). Both sound amazing with hek stealths.

 

[srkbear]

For anyone who is interested, Hifiman will honor a trade up for any lower priced headphone they make for a higher price one, only for the cost of shipping your existing product to them, in the original packaging, plus a portion of the difference in price.

All you have to do is email their customer service with the request, and they’ll quote you a price for either A or B stock versions. I did this recently for my Arya Stealths, when they were listed for $1,299, for the recently released HEK Stealth, when it listed for $1,999. They asked me for $500 bucks, which was $200 less than the difference in price, and the whole exchange happened in less than a week. Good luck!

 

[Coolmoose]

The HEK series with its currently prices are probably one of the best deals in headphone audio at the moment, especially with newly released flagships prices leaving earth's orbit. The HEKs are allowing people who don't want to spend the price of a nice used car on headphones to experience what is essentially high end audio. Whats even better is that they have 3 different tuning to choose from in the forms of the V2, SE and Stealth. The HEK series might be phasing out of production, but I can assure you they will be relevant for a long time to come.

 

[OCC7N]

To the discussion with HiFiMans Clinical clean sound high frequencies, headphones Like Arya and HEK. Before selling them try beatiful VST plugins.

The secret ingrediens is saturation(tape and distortion) and it will bring a new headphone out. Specially for those of you that use Deltasigma dacs....I say DAYUM! You need this!

For Susvara its still a step up, but the most advantage/gains is the Arya/HEKS, because they are formless in sound and can be molded into anything almost.

 

[yeboyi]

Heads up, Hifiman pulled the Susvara from their Amazon storefront. This, coupled with the massive price drop on the HEKse and the fact that they haven’t released a flagship since 2018 strongly portends an imminent release of a new TOTL coming to market very soon. I own the HEKse and the HEK Stealth, and I honestly find the Stealth a considerable step up based on tuning alone (stronger bass presence, less fatiguing, pretty much comparable technically), but I’m highly anticipating either a refresh or replacement for the Susvara that is far easier to drive and much closer to Harman than the Susvara’s “reference” (flat) tuning.

The HEKse seems like an obsolete outlier at this point, but it’s possible there may be a replacement in the works as well. But given that they haven’t released a round driver option for years (the Edition XS, HEK series, Arya, Ananda and Audivina have all been oval pad designs), I wouldn’t be surprised if they jettison the Susvara’s design and come out with a single new oval pad flagship that is an industry game changer. We shall see!

Exciting indeed. Susvara needs that harman'ish tuning and efficiency improvements. Hekse is quite unique with symmetrical magnet design i wonder what they are planning there. I don't think they will abandon that symmetrical magnet design. There is no iteration on it yet.

 

[imdabesss]

The HEK series with its currently prices are probably one of the best deals in headphone audio at the moment, especially with newly released flagships prices leaving earth's orbit. The HEKs are allowing people who don't want to spend the price of a nice used car on headphones to experience what is essentially high end audio. Whats even better is that they have 3 different tuning to choose from in the forms of the V2, SE and Stealth. The HEK series might be phasing out of production, but I can assure you they will be relevant for a long time to come.

I agree. First time I heard them was at a headphone shop, after demoing the LCD-X, LCD-5 and Utopia. I asked the guy there what his favorite pair was and he pulled out the He1000V2, and told me to try them on and played Rumors by Fleetwood Mac and it sounded like it was performed live. The one headphone there that truly blew me away.

I was pissed leaving because it was like $2,000 though. Now they can be had refurb or used for around $1100-1200.

 

[dleblanc343]

Arya Stealth / HE1000 Stealth / HE1000SE
Currently using Ananda - really enjoying these.
WaNt to experience something new thats what this is all about.
Need some direction on the above as i'm not able to listen to them all together and memory isn’t my favourite way to make a choice.

1: In terms of sibilance which would be the most hot? What order.
2: Which is the most mid forward?
3: What category you place each headphone under: Cold Neutral Warm
4: Which do you have and what amplifier do you recommend?

Thanks

1. HEKse > HEKv2 se > HEKv2

2. HEkv2 se ever slightly > HEKse > HEKv2

3.
HEKv2: Neutral bright with warm midbass
HEKv2: Neutral bright with stronger sub bass but less midbass
HEKv2: Same as above, but brighter

4. I like these with solid state headamps. Sounds very good on BHA-1 but can scale with even more power. I also speaker tap them off MC152 power Amp

My review of the HE1000 Stealth is published now for those interested: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/hifiman-he1000-stealth-open-back-headphones

As always, great review and right on the money!

I agree the latest truly is the greatest in this case. With a bit of eq correction it’s all anyone could ever need to be happy.

 

[boodi]

Arya Stealth / HE1000 Stealth / HE1000SE
Currently using Ananda - really enjoying these.
WaNt to experience something new thats what this is all about.
Need some direction on the above as i'm not able to listen to them all together and memory isn’t my favourite way to make a choice.

1: In terms of sibilance which would be the most hot? What order.
2: Which is the most mid forward?
3: What category you place each headphone under: Cold Neutral Warm
4: Which do you have and what amplifier do you recommend?

Thanks

My take ( on Hekstealths/Hekv2/Hekse ) :

1. Hekstealths the hotter for sure . Hekse brighter. Hekv2 bright enough .., but not more then the formers

2.Hekstealths without any dubt , to me. Hekse is quite universally known to be slightly mid-recessed ..and sure less linear in mids then v2

3. Colder : Hekse.
Warmer : Hekstealths likely for some added energy on mids and sligh midbass up, Hekv2 warmness ( if any ) feels more diffused in comparison

4. Hekse , sold the other twos, pair them with Burson/Violectric/Sony TA and z1m2/

 

[thecrow]

1. HEKse > HEKv2 se > HEKv2

2. HEkv2 se ever slightly > HEKse > HEKv2

3.
HEKv2: Neutral bright with warm midbass
HEKv2: Neutral bright with stronger sub bass but less midbass
HEKv2: Same as above, but brighter

4. I like these with solid state headamps. Sounds very good on BHA-1 but can scale with even more power. I also speaker tap them off MC152 power Amp


As always, great review and right on the money!

I agree the latest truly is the greatest in this case. With a bit of eq correction it’s all anyone could ever need to be happy.

what’s happened to point 3 answers? Or are you saying the hekv2 are chameleons?

 

[boodi]

@srkbear actually I'd like to see a revised - high sensitivity/low ohm Susvara , as i 'm use portable listen setups only lately or so..

I've been annoying Susvara owners on the other thread with this problem of mine , for quite some months now, consensus seems to be to not drive Susvara from anything portable , or you will be damned lurking in upgradities until you buy them a 'final' chain ( 5k $ *minimum* expense or so / but nothing portable anyhow so.. ) and lucky then if you feel set and it fits your ears need too..so...

Given the compromises , i am on the fence and keep wearing the hekse , consensus seems to be also they hekse are still the most close sound to Susvara out there , or very close , so..

 

[Strat1117]

Can’t agree that the Stealth is overly bright. It’s open, transparent and detailed, but never bright, at least not in my system. Mc MHA200 with NOS Mullard and RCA tubes (not Russian reissues), WyWires Platinum cable (40% off on website, and Alex gives very nice trade-in values to boot), and primary sources are naim cd player and SME tt w/ Kleos cart, Cotter xfrmr, and Vertere phono stage, so no EQ. Haven’t compared to other HEK or Susvara, but they beat the pants off any of the lower priced HFM I’ve tried (560, Sundara, Ananda, XS - all of which I found to be ok, but ultimately lackluster and underwhelming), and play in the same league as my LCD-3 (although overall, I prefer the Stealth, they and the Audeze are very complimentary within the stable). For me, something like the Focal Clear Mg and Grados in general are unlistenably bright. I don’t hear the Stealths as being anywhere near that category, not at all, not even a hint. I consider the Stealths to be a pure delight - my Goldilocks cans. And a true ‘bargain’ at $1,399 if you’re looking to spend that kind of money (or more).

YMMV, and all that.

 

[haasaaroni]

Can’t agree that the Stealth is overly bright. It’s open, transparent and detailed, but never bright, at least not in my system. Mc MHA200 with NOS Mullard and RCA tubes (not Russian reissues), WyWires Platinum cable (40% off on website, and Alex gives very nice trade-in values to boot), and primary sources are naim cd player and SME tt w/ Kleos cart, Cotter xfrmr, and Vertere phono stage, so no EQ. Haven’t compared to other HEK or Susvara, but they beat the pants off any of the lower priced HFM I’ve tried (560, Sundara, Ananda, XS - all of which I found to be ok, but ultimately lackluster and underwhelming), and play in the same league as my LCD-3 (although overall, I prefer the Stealth, they and the Audeze are very complimentary within the stable). For me, something like the Focal Clear Mg and Grados in general are unlistenably bright. I don’t hear the Stealths as being anywhere near that category, not at all, not even a hint. I consider the Stealths to be a pure delight - my Goldilocks cans. And a true ‘bargain’ at $1,399 if you’re looking to spend that kind of money (or more).

YMMV, and all that.

Comments like this make me wish I never started following this thread Anyone got tips on how to make $1399 real quick?