Hifiman HE1000 Planar Dynamic Headphone
Jan 2, 2015 at 6:59 PM Post #121 of 14,568
While we're at it with blanket statements, there's no ortho phone out there that has the speed of an sr009, couldn't even dream of approaching it. Because of that, people turn the argument around and call it ethereal sounding. Go listen to a 009 playing acoustic bass or electric bass: these are just bs blanket statements often made by people with an axle to grind against stats else trying to push an alternative.

As for blaming it on the pad, actually the 009 seals the most easily of all stax phones I have tried, pretty difficult to mess up the seal there I'd say. No: I think it's just easier to sling mud at something you want to compete against... And it happens more often than not actually.

Now, I am curious about the HEK, it's just freakingly huge and seems very open, I bet there's some sounds coming out of it
smily_headphones1.gif
. I have never been too impressed with hifimans phones, but thats just me as the only orthos I've liked to date are the Oppo pm1. It's always good to see new contenders for the best of the crop and hifiman is quite motivated to release a statement product so these are exciting times.

Arnaud

I don't know. A lot is about personal preference. The SR-009 does a whole lot very well, but it's not perfect - no phone is. As for bass, definitely equal to or surpassing the HD800, LCD-3, etc. HE-6 has more body to it comparatively, but it lacks that speed and resolution of the SR-009. Still it's the best bass out of a headphone I've heard - including Abyss.
 
We'll continue chasing the unicorn of a phone that does IT all, but I am skeptical of the HE1000.
Furthermore, the HE1000 will have to clearly be a step up otherwise HE-6 owners will just have a good chuckle.
 
Jan 2, 2015 at 7:48 PM Post #122 of 14,568
As a lover of both stats and orthos, I'm in the camp of even something as low on the totem pole as a pair of srx mkIII surpasses most midfi cans, and every vintage lambda surpassing most high end dynamic cans. With that said, The he6 is the best can I've listened to(that list includes L3000, R10, HD800, Lcd-2,3 XC, 007, and 009). I think it narrowly edges out the 009. The 009 does some things better, while the he6 does other things better. For me, the things the he6 does better has more weight.
 
So I'm very interested in what the "hek" can do. If it merely matches the he6 overall while providing much less weight, then that won't be enough for me to pull the trigger on. But if it's significantly better without being twice the price, then I'm definitely on board. But I am very skeptical of all of the orpheus claims. It would be great if they were true, but it could be a case of trying to justify a very lofty price which would be very disappointing. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
 
Jan 2, 2015 at 7:57 PM Post #123 of 14,568
Let me write that I like the look and style of these.  Very interesting to look at, even if they are huge.
 
It will be interesting to see how these stack up against the HE-6, which is maybe the one current flagship I'm even remotely interested in at the moment.
 
Jan 2, 2015 at 8:07 PM Post #124 of 14,568
Hi,
There are a lot of comments about the appearance of HE-1000 here. We just want to say that most of people here haven't seen the actual headphone in person yet, so it might be a bit premature to make any judgement.
 
The Industry Design of HE-1000 took more than two years. It's a total collaboration between a very well known ID design firm we hired from Boston and our engineering team from China. Every piece of the headphone was designed from scratch. A lot of tools and machines were made or purchased specifically to manufacture this headphone. A good example would be the nanometer diaphragm. A lot of technologies and manufacturing process we used has never ever been done before.
 
We know that we cannot please everyone (who could?), but we are very confident that once you see this headphone in person, touch it with your own hands, and most importantly listen to it with your own ears, it would be very hard to put it down. 
 
Yes, HE-1000 will be priced among the top tier headphones (exact price hasn't been set yet.) However, as someone has said before HifiMan has always been a company that gives audiophiles the best value in the industry. HE-1000 won't be different. I bet if you knew the time and effort it takes us to manufacture this headphone, you would be surprised what a good deal you get. 
 
Again if you are going to CES next week, we encourage everyone to visit us at CES LVCC South Hall 21806 and Venetian room 30-219. We promise that HE-1000 will not disappoint.
 
HiFiMAN Innovating the art of listening. Stay updated on HiFiMAN at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
http://hifiman.com
Jan 2, 2015 at 8:10 PM Post #125 of 14,568
Hi,
There are a lot of comments about the appearance of HE-1000 here. We just want to say that most of people here haven't seen the actual headphone in person yet, so it might be a bit premature to make any judgement.

The Industry Design of HE-1000 took more than two years. It's a total collaboration between a very well known ID design firm we hired from Boston and our engineering team from China. Every piece of the headphone was designed from scratch. A lot of tools and machines were made or purchased specifically to manufacture this headphone. A good example would be the nanometer diaphragm. A lot of technologies and manufacturing process we used has never ever been done before.

We know that we cannot please everyone (who could?), but we are very confident that once you see this headphone in person, touch it with your own hands, and most importantly listen to it with your own ears, it would be very hard to put it down. 

Yes, HE-1000 will be priced among the top tier headphones (exact price hasn't been set yet.) However, as someone has said before HifiMan has always been a company that gives audiophiles the best value in the industry. HE-1000 won't be different. I bet if you knew the time and effort it takes us to manufacture this headphone, you would be surprised what a good deal you get. 

Again if you are going to CES next week, we encourage everyone to visit us at CES LVCC South Hall 21806 and Venetian room 30-219. We promise that HE-1000 will not disappoint.


I am a design nerd and I think it looks too notch. Would love to know pricing and availability :)
 
Jan 2, 2015 at 8:27 PM Post #128 of 14,568
I'm waiting to see if these can be driven properly by a reasonable headphone amp and their weight is significantly reduced from the HE6. If it meets those requirement I would be in line for purchase at whatever price. I am not easily seduced but these look like a must buy for me if they meet those requirements count me in.
 
Jan 2, 2015 at 8:44 PM Post #130 of 14,568
Not many HE sound equal on both headphone and speaker amp. IMO, that's the beauty of the HE. They scale so well with quality amps.

I was implying a high quality headphone amp vs a speaker amp as a requirement to drive these. I am familiar with the need to drive the HE6 with a headphone amp to get their best and I would like to avoid that step.
 
Jan 2, 2015 at 9:10 PM Post #133 of 14,568
Any short comments from the above 2 members about the EF6 amp for the HE6?  Thanks in advance.
Also, since the new HE1000 was announced as sort of a surprise, I wonder if Hifiman would be kind enough to consider a trade-up to the HE1000 of a HE560 (to an owner who bought them new from Hifiman or an authorized dealer).
(Or perhaps for an HE6 purchaser within the last year too.)
These customers may have waited for the HE1000 if they knew it was in development.
 
Jan 2, 2015 at 9:46 PM Post #134 of 14,568
  Hi,
There are a lot of comments about the appearance of HE-1000 here. We just want to say that most of people here haven't seen the actual headphone in person yet, so it might be a bit premature to make any judgement.
 
The Industry Design of HE-1000 took more than two years. It's a total collaboration between a very well known ID design firm we hired from Boston and our engineering team from China. Every piece of the headphone was designed from scratch. A lot of tools and machines were made or purchased specifically to manufacture this headphone. A good example would be the nanometer diaphragm. A lot of technologies and manufacturing process we used has never ever been done before.
 
We know that we cannot please everyone (who could?), but we are very confident that once you see this headphone in person, touch it with your own hands, and most importantly listen to it with your own ears, it would be very hard to put it down. 
 
Yes, HE-1000 will be priced among the top tier headphones (exact price hasn't been set yet.) However, as someone has said before HifiMan has always been a company that gives audiophiles the best value in the industry. HE-1000 won't be different. I bet if you knew the time and effort it takes us to manufacture this headphone, you would be surprised what a good deal you get. 
 
Again if you are going to CES next week, we encourage everyone to visit us at CES LVCC South Hall 21806 and Venetian room 30-219. We promise that HE-1000 will not disappoint.

 
Thank you for the posting. I will look forward to listening to HE-1000 in upcoming CES.
 
Jan 2, 2015 at 9:49 PM Post #135 of 14,568
  I'm waiting to see if these can be driven properly by a reasonable headphone amp and their weight is significantly reduced from the HE6. If it meets those requirement I would be in line for purchase at whatever price. I am not easily seduced but these look like a must buy for me if they meet those requirements count me in.

 
This.  Send a pair to a neutral party with a Lyr, have them write an honest review, and then we'll see.
 
As to the design, organize a touring party (or a cruise; I might break my cruise ban for that :wink: and I'll sign up happily.  I bought the HE-560s sans touring preview, and I don't regret it, but for these...
 
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