Chiming in to say this us the right move. If a headphone half the cost is doing it for you stick with it. Then when you get upgraditis consequentially in a few years you'll have plenty to grow into.
The main things I feel like I'm missing out that I experienced with the HekV2 was timbre and texture. I'd be very curious of whether it would be worthwhile upgrading to the HekV2 SE vs. the new Arya Organic. I'd be after as much detail / texture as possible, but without sacrificing an impactful bass.
I ordered HEK Stealth but they send me HEKSE instead lol. Such a beautiful headphone. I don't understand why but HEKSE looks smaller and more compact than Arya Stealth to the eye for some reason lol.
Yes it’s a fabulous headphone—did they charge you for the HEKse or for the Stealth? If you only paid $1,399 you got a great deal!
If the brightness of the HEKV2 troubled you, you should probably forgo the HEKse or the HEK Stealth. I’d consider waiting for their next flagship or find a set of Meze Elites on sale—the latter is very smooth and light on the treble and the hybrid pads have a very robust, smooth bass response. I am more keen on high end so I listen to my HEK Stealths/SEs far more often than the Elites, but Meze makes extraordinary stuff—just the build quality, aesthetics and fit alone are worth the price. Plus they come with a sturdy aluminum valise that looks better than a Rimowa suitcase!
They charged me for Stealth. Great deal indeed. It's almost 50% more expensive than Stealth. Drivers are quite different than Arya and HEK. There is almost nothing in the way of sound waves. Diaphragm is almost fully exposed. I didn't noticed this before.
Can I see a shot from the window shade side of your magnets, please?They charged me for Stealth. Great deal indeed. It's almost 50% more expensive than Stealth. Drivers are quite different than Arya and HEK. There is almost nothing in the way of sound waves. Diaphragm is almost fully exposed. I didn't noticed this before.
Interesting designs. I wonder what are the trade offs.
Can't really capture it with my camera. They are identical i think.
HekSe won't do timbral accuracy better then hekv2 period , the hekv2 is better in this regard ( the stealth too )
Eh, yeboyi just got a stupendous deal and a fabulous headphone—let’s let him enjoy it!
The only trade off I’ve ever found with the SE is their brightness—if that’s really a trade off. The brightness is part of their incredible detail retrieval and I think you got one hell of a deal. If you live with it for awhile and sense any fatigue I’m sure Hifiman would take them back for the Stealths, or cut you a deal on their next flagship. But you got an endgame headphone for $2100 less than I paid for them, so I think you have one lucky find on your hands there!They charged me for Stealth. Great deal indeed. It's almost 50% more expensive than Stealth. Drivers are quite different than Arya and HEK. There is almost nothing in the way of sound waves. Diaphragm is almost fully exposed. I didn't noticed this before.
Interesting designs. I wonder what are the trade offs.
I got the 3 for quite extended time ( side by side ), and - **as many other owners ** - agree on fact that hekse have a most evident limit in timbral accuracy, in particular compared to hekv2 hekstealths, and even more to their own set of other technicalitiesEh, yeboyi just got a stupendous deal and a fabulous headphone—let’s let him enjoy it!
I own both the HEKse and the HEK Stealth and auditioned the V2 for over a month—their primary differences are in tuning, not so much timbre in my opinion (and sensitivity—the former two are much easier to drive). The two Stealth models are the clear winners in detail retrieval, and not just because of the boosted frequencies above 10,000hz but in actual performance—I don’t know what Hifiman did between 2017 and 2018 to improve the SE in this regard, but it’s pretty much the most resolving headphone I’ve ever heard.
And with a bit of PEQ taming the highs a bit, the instruments sound astonishingly lifelike to me. The only reason I listen to the Stealth more these days is due to their somewhat increased bass response. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the three to be honest, if you’ve got a powerful enough amp for the V2s! The differences are nit picking at this level of performance and come down to taste preferences, and he sounds happy. I remember when I got my SE and I’ve been in heaven since!
Eh, yeboyi just got a stupendous deal and a fabulous headphone—let’s let him enjoy it!
I own both the HEKse and the HEK Stealth and auditioned the V2 for over a month—their primary differences are in tuning, not so much timbre in my opinion (and sensitivity—the former two are much easier to drive). The two Stealth models are the clear winners in detail retrieval, and not just because of the boosted frequencies above 10,000hz but in actual performance—I don’t know what Hifiman did between 2017 and 2018 to improve the SE in this regard, but it’s pretty much the most resolving headphone I’ve ever heard.
And with a bit of PEQ taming the highs a bit, the instruments sound astonishingly lifelike to me. The only reason I listen to the Stealth more these days is due to their somewhat increased bass response. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the three to be honest, if you’ve got a powerful enough amp for the V2s! The differences are nit picking at this level of performance and come down to taste preferences, and he sounds happy. I remember when I got my SE and I’ve been in heaven since!
Thanks
I didn't have much time with them yet. I try to not get hyped and asses the headphones as objective as possible when i share my thoughts. I'm not sure if these are brighter than Arya Stealth but i can say the treble is more present and noticeable, it's not masked behind anything. There are more imaging points/locations. You can dissect everything. Also it's a bit more distant, laid back sounding headphone compared to Arya.
What a beauty.V2, Stealth, SE, Arya, yadda…
My best-sounding of all my headphones is still the original HE1000 through the EF-6 amp. HE1000… just like the thread title says.
Yet I can imagine the newer ones being even better, yes, Better Than The Best! But I am happy with mine!
