[LouisArmstrong]

  And,     Then.......    he swapped out the Beats for a HD800, and now....   wow - just WOW...!!!!!!!!!!!!

Has anyone done a head-to-head comparison of the HE1000 and the Beats solo yet? Looking forward to it.

 

[Exidrion]

IMO Beats wins by a large margin once you use a proper silver cable.

 

[Mortalcoil]

I have heard (from an undisclosed source) that its to close to call, Copper, Silver regardless.

 

[n99127]

Well I have a Beats Solo 2.0 somewhere if you guys actually want a comparison, though I think it's at the bottom of my closet so I'd have to dig to find it.

 

[TonyNewman]

Are these the Beats you are referring to?
 
 

 
 
They look a little cheap to me.

 

[JaZZ]

  It's probably based on that old engineering adage. If you want something that's 90% accurate, it'll cost you a dollar. If you want something 99% accurate, that's $100 dollars. If you want something 99.99% accurate, that's $10,000 dollars. If you want something 99.9999% accurate, that's $1 million dollars.
 
The more perfection you want, the more expensive things get.

 
I'm not so sure if it's really about accuracy. (And the numbers look much too high in my book anyway.)

 

[n99127]

   
I'm not so sure if it's really about accuracy. (And the numbers look much too high in my book anyway.)

Eh...it was just a generic example. The point still stands though. (You pay increasingly more for increasingly small gains)

 

[Jozurr]

are leather pads not available for the HE-1000? Im really starting to dislike the feeling of velour on my ears.

 

[JaZZ]

 

  I'm not so sure if it's really about accuracy. (And the numbers look much too high in my book anyway.)

Eh...it was just a generic example. The point still stands though. (You pay increasingly more for increasingly small gains)

 
It wasn't meant as a criticism on your post, rather as an «ideologic statement».

 

[securitybunny]

  are leather pads not available for the HE-1000? Im really starting to dislike the feeling of velour on my ears.

Seconded. Really wish there were alternative earpads.

 

[nephilim32]

Has anyone done a head-to-head comparison of the HE1000 and the Beats solo yet? Looking forward to it.

funny guys. Love sarcasm. It rules.

 

[nephilim32]

Or the soon to be released Violectric V850 DAC. They would match I'm thinking about it for sure. There is a sale on their site right now. 15% off the V281

You know something. At this point I am definitely not wanting to part ways with my ARCAM irDAC; however I feel in the near future I can do better with in the amp department to complete a better sound chain. As mentioned I use the Burson soloist and I think its excellent. It must be cause I can hear absolutely everything in my music with zero noise floor depending on the album recording.
However, the V281 I just know would improve my sound chain pretty dramatically. Burson uses a short signal pathway using only 21 components but the violelectric just has to be better for a 4.5k amp. I am willing to do it someday soon, but I need more time and 15% still doesn't help me. Lol.

 

[FredrikT92]

You know something. At this point I am definitely not wanting to part ways with my ARCAM irDAC; however I feel in the near future I can do better with in the amp department to complete a better sound chain. As mentioned I use the Burson soloist and I think its excellent. It must be cause I can hear absolutely everything in my music with zero noise floor depending on the album recording.
However, the V281 I just know would improve my sound chain pretty dramatically. Burson uses a short signal pathway using only 21 components but the violelectric just has to be better for a 4.5k amp. I am willing to do it someday soon, but I need more time and 15% still doesn't help me. Lol.

 
I'm happy that im not alone owning some expensive headphones, but a cheap DAC. 
Arcam irDac is really good for the money, and you really do have to pay many many times its price to get any sort of upgrade thats worth it. 
Well... Yggdrasil is probably better.. But other then that, its pretty good. 

 

[nephilim32]

I'm happy that im not alone owning some expensive headphones, but a cheap DAC. 
Arcam irDac is really good for the money, and you really do have to pay many many times its price to get any sort of upgrade thats worth it. 
Well... Yggdrasil is probably better.. But other then that, its pretty good. 

Yes.
I'm very much aware just how good irDAC by ARCAM is for the cash. I know I did very well choosing a high quality DAC for under 1000$.
It's lovely with my HD 800's and I of course would really like to pair it with those He 1000's to get a different sonic signature. It's nice with the sony MDR Z7's which I own as well, but I really wonder just how much different the HE 1000's are from that of the HD 800's. Double the price!

 

[saidentary]

Yes.

I'm very much aware just how good irDAC by ARCAM is for the cash. I know I did very well choosing a high quality DAC for under 1000$.
It's lovely with my HD 800's and I of course would really like to pair it with those He 1000's to get a different sonic signature. It's nice with the sony MDR Z7's which I own as well, but I really wonder just how much different the HE 1000's are from that of the HD 800's. Double the price!

I've listened to the HD 800's twice.  First time, not impressed at all.  Second time, they sounded much better to me, and I finally understood why so many people love them.  Based on limited listening, and also based on reading some of the posts, I would say this:
1) The biggest difference is in the bass, especially the low bass.  Here, IMO, the HE-1000 are far superior to the HD-800.  With some notable exceptions, most (but not all) listeners agree about the low bass.  The mid-bass in general and the mid-bass punch in particular is more controversial. 
2) The treble of the two headphones seems to be perceived differently by different sets of people.  I'm generalizing and I'm sure there are exceptions (and maybe I'm dead wrong about this), but my overall impression is that there are two main groups, neither group being "right" or "wrong":
      a) Group # 1 perceives the HD-800 as significantly more detailed and resolving, and less forgiving, than the HE-1000.  They find the HE-1000 to be more laid back and many of them think the HE-1000's are TOO laid back.   Some think there's a lack of transient attack or leading edge attack.  This group tends to listen primarily to classical and jazz music. 
      b) Group # 2 perceives the HD-800 as strident and analytical to the point of sounding artificial or even "etched".  By contrast, this group finds the HE-1000 to be much more natural sounding and "musical."  This group varies with respect to whether the HE-1000's have more or slightly less detail than the HD-800, but they think the treble is better overall in the HE-1000. 
3) I think that most people would say that the HE-1000 has an outstanding soundstage.  Comparisons to the HD-800 on soundstage seem to be all over the map.  My personal opinion, formed only after the SECOND listen to the HD-800, is that the HD-800 has an even better soundstage than the HE-1000.  To my ears, this is the only area where the HD-800 is "better" than the HE-1000.
4) Midrange: I can't answer which is better because it would require more time listening to the HD-800 to get a sense of its midrange.  People have varied widely on how they describe the midrange of the HE-1000.  Some say it's recessed (mostly Group #1), others say it's "natural" and beautiful (Group #2).
 
Here's an important point:  The HE-1000's sound good to great on most amplifiers, provided a certain threshold of power and current (and maybe voltage) is met.  In my case, they became consistently magical with the MicroZOTL 2 amplifier.  Others have reported significant improvements for the HE-1000's using "better" amplifiers.  The HD-800's are almost certainly even more amplifier dependent. 
 
BOTTOM LINE:  You'd need to listen for yourself, then decide. 
 
By the way, I also use an Arcam irDAC.