[Slackaveli]

Do we have any theories as to why Hifiman dropped the price of the HEKS and HEKSE so much? It seems extraordinary that they should reduce the prices on relatively new and very popular headphones for no apparent reason. I did wonder if there is a HEKS V3 on the horizon but it seems unlikely with the HEKS being so new.

They are just priced to move a higher volume; they want to sell as many as they produce I think.
They had new tech go all the way down to Arya so they moved their prices around and positioned themselves in the market better.
HeKse is still the same amazing product they were when they cost $3500 and the HeK are still the same great $3k headphones.

Other products like Meze 109 Pro , for instance, really helped push down prices.

 

[devilboy]

Do we have any theories as to why Hifiman dropped the price of the HEKS and HEKSE so much? It seems extraordinary that they should reduce the prices on relatively new and very popular headphones for no apparent reason. I did wonder if there is a HEKS V3 on the horizon but it seems unlikely with the HEKS being so new.

Stealth is the "V3"

 

[Slackaveli]

Stealth is the "V3"

for some reason some stores refer to it as v4, but, it's just the Stealth.
The only for sale products (new) are He1000se and HE1000 (Stealth) currently.

Not sure why they called this v4 but thats what they called it when i bought it in December, too.

 

[borkenarrou]

I also found LCD-X to be much better with old rock albums especially low dynamic range album's like 80's Iron Maiden, both the HekV2 (OG) and SE lacked life and sounded anemic with these albums, for well recorded good dynamic range music though SE anytime.

 

[TheR0v3r]

A quick search will reveal many comments about the harshness/brightness of the SE.
I was a CanJam New York City last weekend and I spoke with an owner of the Stealth and we were both confused as to why it gets labeled as bright sometimes.

Caveat first, I’ve not heard the Stealth. But I have the Ananda Nano (love it!) and those are also considered bright by some.

Sometimes I switch components in my system to things I know are inferior. These are components (adapter, electronics, cables etc) that I have kept around because their weaknesses are a known quantity to me. One thing I notice is that when I ”detune” my system and the quality of the treble reproduction falls the Nano starts sounding harsh. My theory is that people might confuse harshness in the treble region with brightness. So maybe the Stealth being ”too bright” is actually people hearing harshness or lack of resolution in their systems? Anyway that’s my theory.

And this brings me to the SE. Having spent alot of time auditioning the SE, trying different setups etc I also consider them bright. They are very technically strong but the only way I could make them work at the dealers was to shift the tonality of the entire system (switching cables) to counter balance the brightness of the SE.

 

[thecrow]

for some reason some stores refer to it as v4, but, it's just the Stealth.
The only for sale products (new) are He1000se and HE1000 (Stealth) currently.

Not sure why they called this v4 but thats what they called it when i bought it in December, too.

Maybe because in order of release it went

He1000
He1000v2
He1000se (se = special edition)
He1000 stealth.

What i saw was the stealth initially was titled on the hifiman website (and packaging i think) as the he1000v2 stealth and then later as the he1000 stealth.

The he1000se came out as a higher tier product from the he1000v2.
The he1000 stealth a modification of the he1000v2 like other new “stealth (magnet)” releases of hifiman hps.
All this reflected with hifiman pricing.

Of course personal subjective preferences, budgets, law of diminishing returns, people’s own setups (dac, amp, etc) can play a part to what people prefer

 

[Slackaveli]

Maybe because in order of release it went

He1000
He1000v2
He1000se (se = special edition)
He1000 stealth.

What i saw was the stealth initially was titled on the hifiman website (and packaging i think) as the he1000v2 stealth and then later as the he1000 stealth.

The he1000se came out as a higher tier product from the he1000v2.
The he1000 stealth a modification of the he1000v2 like other new “stealth (magnet)” releases of hifiman hps.
All this reflected with hifiman pricing.

Of course personal subjective preferences, budgets, law of diminishing returns, people’s own setups (dac, amp, etc) can play a part to what people prefer

Makes as much sense as anything. All I know is I love HeK Stealth , especially @ that $1259 price point. That's HeK for LCD-X money, which has ALWAYS been a W and remains so imo.

 

[thecrow]

Makes as much sense as anything. All I know is I love HeK Stealth , especially @ that $1259 price point. That's HeK for LCD-X money, which has ALWAYS been a W and remains so imo.

I’ve never heard the stealth but have owned the v2 and se and imho at these prices they are hard to beat for value (if they suit one’s tastes of course)

 

[andrewchoppa]

Makes as much sense as anything. All I know is I love HeK Stealth , especially @ that $1259 price point. That's HeK for LCD-X money, which has ALWAYS been a W and remains so imo.

If you're an american (I'm not but have bought from there before), Underwood Hifi also has Hifimans at great deals. They list the normal price $1399) but advise calling for a bettere price.

 

[Slackaveli]

If you're an american (I'm not but have bought from there before), Underwood Hifi also has Hifimans at great deals. They list the normal price $1399) but advise calling for a bettere price.

great tip.

 

[borkenarrou]

If you're an american (I'm not but have bought from there before), Underwood Hifi also has Hifimans at great deals. They list the normal price $1399) but advise calling for a bettere price.

Headamp.com also give some good deals if you ask them, I got my V2 (OG) for 1599 when it was 1999.

 

[classymaillot]

Caveat first, I’ve not heard the Stealth. But I have the Ananda Nano (love it!) and those are also considered bright by some.

Sometimes I switch components in my system to things I know are inferior. These are components (adapter, electronics, cables etc) that I have kept around because their weaknesses are a known quantity to me. One thing I notice is that when I ”detune” my system and the quality of the treble reproduction falls the Nano starts sounding harsh. My theory is that people might confuse harshness in the treble region with brightness. So maybe the Stealth being ”too bright” is actually people hearing harshness or lack of resolution in their systems? Anyway that’s my theory.

And this brings me to the SE. Having spent alot of time auditioning the SE, trying different setups etc I also consider them bright. They are very technically strong but the only way I could make them work at the dealers was to shift the tonality of the entire system (switching cables) to counter balance the brightness of the SE.

I haven’t heard the he1000 stealth either, but I have experience with two he1000se. Yes they are bright, but in a good way. They are very revealing but smooth. To my taste (prefer harman), I prefer adding a 4-5db bass shelf (on Adi 2 DAC FS) and leave the rest of the FR as is. People generally keep increasing volume until they pick up enough bass. On an he1000 se, that means you get to a point where there may be a lot of treble energy, depending on genre and recording.

Once I add a bass shelf, the he1000se becomes addictive and they work for all genres. If you primarily listen to jazz or classical, I don’t feel I need to fix tonality. Bass in that case come through very detailed and clean.

 

[classymaillot]

Another reference point if you anre familiar with other hifiman ovals. I also owned an Arya stealth and previously an Ananda stealth. I perceive the He1000se presentation as more detailed and smoother at the same time compared to the Arya. I think it’s a combination of small differences in FR and my intuition is that it has better transient performance.

The Arya needed peq in treble to work for me. Otherwise I would get hearing fatigue in no time. I do’t get that on the he1000se (based on a sample of 2).

 

[Slackaveli]

Yeah the HeKse is just much better to my ear, too. SE sounds pretty close to my HeK Stealth except I do perceive a bit wider soundstage with the SE.

 

[joseph69]

Yeah the HeKse is just much better to my ear, too. SE sounds pretty close to my HeK Stealth except I do perceive a bit wider soundstage with the SE.

Not quite sure how I feel about the HE1000se yet--as it is new with little burn in.
So far I do feel the Stealth had more attack with stronger, punchier dynamics. My V2 on the other hand is simply sweet sounding.