[SilentFrequency]

Yeah. The design actually looks horrible to me. You guys are very generous on critiquing the design. My first reaction was...pinkish hue and you'd look like this:

Hey you, I already posted that same pic on pg.53, but...

...I totally forgive you

Well then your Audeze LCD-2 is ugly, the wood part is way too bright and without texture.

Stop calling diamondears LCD-2's ugly else I'll call your parents and you will be in trouble

 

[diamondears]

Hey you, I already posted that same pic on pg.53, but...

...I totally forgive you
Stop calling diamondears LCD-2's ugly else I'll call your parents and you will be in trouble

Oh, you already did? Didn't see it. The similarity is unbelievable though, so worth repeating, I think.

Calling my LCD-2 ugly is ok. But that preoccupation with others' wood is funky, to say the least. Woodphilia? And handle is XVampireX...

 

[SilentFrequency]

Oh, you already did? Didn't see it. The similarity is unbelievable though, so worth repeating, I think.

Calling my LCD-2 ugly is ok. But that preoccupation with others' wood is funky, to say the least. Woodphilia? And handle is XVampireX...

Worth repeating?

I wood say so

Woodphilia?

I just think XVampireX may be just barking up the wrong tree

(Sorry for the puns )

 

[conquerator2]

Wood headphones always look better in person.
LCD, HE or anything else.
In fact, most things do

 

[hifimanrookie]

Wood headphones always look better in person.
LCD, HE or anything else.
In fact, most things do

I agree with u my friend..my matt black 'vintage style' code-x woody looks bloody gorgeous

 

[Alessandro1]

I think it's already been mentioned that the he-1000 has been indicated to be $3000 with a possible limited edition version at $5000.

I think this maybe a "statement" model and that's perhaps why it may be so expensive?

If they want a "statement" product it's their choice. 
 
If they want a "killer" product the price should be not so far from LCD3. 

 

[jerg]

Seriously, they got burnt trying to make teak wood work with HE560, big time. I doubt Fang will want anything to do with solid wood for the foreseeable future.

 

[SilentFrequency]

If they want a "statement" product it's their choice. 

If they want a "killer" product the price should be not so far from LCD3. 

Maybe, I guess?

But Dr.Fang doesn't even know what price he is going to charge yet so I guess it's all speculation right now but I'd guess Dr.Fang is reading all the HE-1000 threads as indicators of what he can feasibly charge/not charge etc?

I'm not familiar with the LCD3 personally or any planar magnetic hp for that matter so I don't really get the reference to the he-1000 but I am familiar with the hd800 (Sennheiser) and wonder how close/far away the he-1000 will be to that hp as its kind of the biggest selling high end headphone in the world.

 

[hifimanrookie]

Seriously, they got burnt trying to make teak wood work with HE560, big time. I doubt Fang will want anything to do with solid wood for the foreseeable future.

something i honestly dont understand my friend....why do others manage to get it right (even on their own headphones for gods sake) and hifiman dont..its a mystery to me

 

[Pooger]

The two factors in determining a price are production costs (including R&D, etc.) and what the market can bear. Most comments on Fangs not releasing a price lean towards his trying to decide the latter question--but I think that both as a design with much new technology, and also a design with different materials and finishes than HifiMan has used in the past--along with what I hope is a desire to not have as many "hick ups" with QC issues on a flagship product-- there may still be a real range in what the expected production cost is. Fang would know best as to just how many of the nano-diaphragms meet muster, how many problems they are having with assembly, etc. This is cutting edge technology; going from making prototypes to production quantities may still be an unknown.

I've been making prototypes for over 30 years, for many industries, and have watched the struggles that even large companies (HP, Apple, Samsung, etc.) have in going from prototype concept to something that can be mass produced. And even at $3K, these would need to be mass produced, not limited production. People would choke at what prototypes cost.

 

[icebear]

HE-1000 impressions,  NYC  Jan. 17, 2015
 
Source: Dr. Fang’s Laptop & HiFi Man player & docking station
Music:
downloads (various formats 16 to 24 bits) of
Cassandra Wilson “New Moon Daughter”

 
Norah Jones “Come away with me”

 
Elgar, Cello Concerto,  Alisa Weilerstein

 
Bach, Goldberg Variation,  Jeremy Denk

 
Alexis Cole “Kiss in the dark” [Chesky binaural recording]

 
Headphones & amp:
HE-1000 powered by EF-1000
 
First of all,  big thanks to Dr. Fang to offer his new prototype for listening in the NYC area.
A unique opportunity to hear what all the buzz and speculation is about.
 
I was the only one waiting in the lobby this afternoon but two guys were already upstairs, Frank (headphone guru) and Peter.
They apparently already had enjoyed the set up and I could right away start listening  to any music on Dr. Fangs laptop.
 
Caveat lector  / YMMV 
 
My most used set up is the HD800 w. Norne Vanquish cable, driven by e20 exasound DAC, favorite music is acoustic  Jazz and classic. I do NOT feel that the HD800 has a lack of bass and I do NOT feel it has a strident treble presentation but it does have the best sound stage image of any headphone.  Additionally I have to add that Dr. Fang and myself are not native English speakers, some info details might not translate absolutely accurate.  
So given where I am coming from and what my preferences are, take the following with a pinch of salt, YMMV .
 
 
Listening:
Cassandra Wilson: Immediately I felt the bass of the HE-1000 was soft, significantly softer than the HD800. There is an acoustic bass on the New Moon Daughter album played by Lonnie Plaxico. The body reverb of the wooden instrument is very defined and obvious over the HD800. (When I was back home I checked this first thing). Over the HifiMan bass has less definition, I could not recognize this as an acoustic bass  – it’s softer and just good helping more than necessary, just for my personal taste that is…
 
Nora Jones voice and piano playing sounded harsh at times, so I had to lower the volume a bit from the setting I used for Cassandra Wilson. There is a discussion about the quality of the N. J. album, I am aware of that but it sounds OK in my set up.
 
Alisa Weilerstein’s cello sounded almost like a bass to me. Everything sounds nice and pleasant but for me, this is all a few degrees too warm. Earlier in this thread there was a statement by Dr. Fang that over a Stax there is no bass, a cello sounds  too bright, almost  like a viola … he voiced the HE-1000 obviously the other way around.  Goldberg variations, Piano solo, Jeremy Denk sounded very pleasant, a bit dark but with lots of detail of the Steinway reverb in the recording space.
 
Alexis Cole, one of the latest Chesky binaural recordings,  sounds super detailed. There is LOTS of ambient information of the huge recording space (Hirsh Center, Brooklyn, 2300+ seats) BUT … for me it is all presented inside my head. Given that you can easily “hear the space” it’s even more irritating that it’s all exactly between your ears and not outside the head, like over the HD800.
 
Before the meeting Dr. Fang mentioned to me while waiting  in the lobby for more people to show up, that he thinks the huge sound stage of the HD800 sounds artificial and the attempt to create this image can cause loss of detail. Also the very exact outline of the instruments body (like I described above with the wooden body of the acoustic bass) does not sound natural to him.
 
As of this afternoon Dr. Fang has not made up his mind yet, if he will be selling the headphones and amp separately or as set only. I did not even ask about for price .
 
After I was done listening and started chatting with Frank, Harvey from Brooklyn showed up and he started his listening  session with the Elgar cello concerto and he thought, it sounded fantastic. There were 2 HE-1000 in the set-up and Dr. Fang changed some cable and phones and I didn’t keep track if Harvey and myself indeed listened to the same headphone.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/g/i/1281733/dr-bian-fang-he-1000-prototype-nyc-mini-meet-01-2015/sort/display_order/
http://www.head-fi.org/g/i/1281732/ef-1000-hifi-man/sort/display_order/
 
 
So already among  two guys two pretty different opinions, as always YMMV )

 

[Xenophon]

Many thanks, this is very helpful, especially because you give your impressions of how a HD-800 sounds to you as a baseline.  Wonder how much of what you heard was the amp and how much the cans of course, with tubes or a hybrid tube/ss design its hard to tell.  Like you, I don't find the HD-800 to be bass-shy or too hot in the treble either and I've grown a bit wary of any gear described as 'warm' sounding.  Anyway, your observations are very interesting, thanks for posting.

 

[preproman]

It would have been good if you took your HD800 along with you for some side by side on the same amp and DAC..  Just saying.. 
 
Thanks for a different point of view and data reference. 

 

[ThurstonX]

The plot thickens, as does the sound, apparently 

 
Thanks for taking the time to provide such a well-written, honest assessment.  This makes me want to hear the HD-800s now.  And I was just reading a lot about Audezes.  And the man with the scalpel just showed up for my kidney, so we're all good here.

 

[wuwhere]

Thanks icebear. That's the kind of impression I like. So it sounds different than an HD800.