[doctorjazz]

There was definitely something wrong (see above).
I also had trouble with a Stax amp I brought to drive my Koss ESP-950 I brought, though the Koss amp I brought worked fine. When I got home they both worked fine. Maybe the power strip misbehaved? Don't know.

 

[conquerator2]

What about the AURALiC TAURUS MKII??
Got good reviews? Will it pair well with the HE1000?

ZOTL 2 would be a better choice.

 

[mikey1964]

I briefly heard this combo at the meet and needed to turn up the volume knob to nearly 90% on some recordings. Had the same problem with my portable rig using the Cypher labs Theorem 720. Love that little Amer/DAC for travel but just isn't nearly powerful enough to drive the HE 1000 to their potential and don't think there is another reasonably priced portable (not transportable) DAC/amp for the iPod that will work.

Heh, I'd tried out the HEK on my Fiio X3 II + Tube Amp BL-2 and if you look at the pic below, note the volume knob, it's at the ~8 o'clock mark and it was plenty loud enough for me.

I do have a HFM HM901s that can drive the HEK well enough (with the appropriate amp card), but then, there are some who listen at ear bleeding level. I have a friend whose main pre-occupation is a high end home audio setup - YG Acoustics Anat II Reference, Accuphase pre + power amps, Lumin D1 Audio streamer, Nordost speaker cable, the works! - and I've listened to his setup, the heaven truly opened up and the angels wept is all I can say.

 But man, when he listens to cans, he listens at ear bleeding loudness (to me), I don't think I can put up with his level of "just right" volume for more than 30 seconds. I've chided him for listening at such volume and cautioned him about hearing loss.

 

[LouisArmstrong]

How much is the Pinnacle better than the ZOTL2 on the HE1000?

 

[doctorjazz]

Good question...anyone have both? I'd hope for $10,000 it's pretty good! I've read Tyll loves it.

 

[Maxx134]

I have had my pair for about 2 months, and although I love them, I have found them a little too laid back, and also with a hazy quality in the upper treble.

Well on Thursday I heard them with some Cardas Clear cables in place of the stock, and I didn't hear either of those things. I had a friend with me who does not like the HE1000. He has heavily modded HD800s, and always complains that my HEKs suck in the treble and soundstaging. He was even more impressed than I was, and thought that The cable made the biggest difference he had heard.

It's a pricey cable, but it certainly made a big difference - obviously, the stock cable sucks.

Before I stump up that kind of money, I thought I might try a cheaper option. I have always liked pure silver cables, so I have ordered a set of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Master-Pure-Solid-Silver-Sennheiser-HD700-Hifiman-HE1000-Edition-X-upgrade-cable-/172166331475?hash=item2815e9bc53:g:25AAAOSwLmVXDiT4

He gave me a nice discount, so us$325 delivered.

This is a good idea of upgrading the cable.

Thru my readings on here and other sites and finally thru listening with very strong amp,
I verified that the HE100 will loose that laid back nature with very strong forward SS amps.

Even though the HE1000 are quite efficient.
Yet I rather not loose the quality of soundstaging in SS,
So I stay with a tube amp.

I realize that is a general statement and to be more specific I only notice this happen in amplifiers,
wich do the largest job signal amplification.

But anyways in all my meets and visiting friends setups,
I have yet to hear a SS amp that could match a tube amp for Soundstage holography,
and the best tube amps are often better experience than any surround sound.
I cannot say this holds 100% true as it is only my "limited" experience so far.


My point is that the HE100 are one of best headphones that Excell at soundstaging.
They are more accurate to me in depth of field than the HD800 which I also own.
So naturally you would want an amp that can showcase this strength.

Hey guys I have a problem maybe you can help.
I need to transport my HE1000 almost every day and have been using a soft computer bag, but find it too loose inside the cups hit each other and possible one cup to go into the other..

Can anyone suggestions on possible good case to transport the HEK??

I would prefer flat instead of round but just wanted to know if anyone already searched this..

The hard shell case that ZMF.com sells for 40.00 I believe is a perfect fit. Compact and lightweight for a hard shell case.

The hard shell is a good idea.
Do not use soft cases at all with the HE1000..!!

I had a mishap with the soft case allowing the headphones to move inside.
Not sure what happened during transport,
But one driver got damaged.
Hifiman has EXCELLENT customer/repair and I was taken care of quickly (!)even though it wasn't a failure problem.

Bottom line is, you need take care of these units.
No drops, and NO SOFT LOOSE CASE for travel.
I am using now a hard case and treating them like 100x their weight in GOLD, as they are my favorite headphones


Also using custom made headphone cable by "ela-audio" :



SOLID 99.999 PURE SILVER,
Made with 8 cores of 24awg DOUBLED (16X24),
For a total of... 12...
YES, TWELVE GUAGE...!
Pure silver wire,
IN teflon sleeving..

 

[mowglycdb]

The user versace contacted me to tell me that he had the same issue that I had with my HE-1000. A buzzing like distorsion on the left driver in the 300 to 700 hz region. He also has a powerfull headamp, the eddie current BA. He had his second RMA like me and will probably be replaced with a new unit, like it happened in my case.
I have been too frightened to connect them to my Master-8, because a comment was if this new pair fails again it's my equipment that's damaging the phones and not the phones issue.

So I was wondering if any of the people here with a buzzing like distorsion on the left driver have been using powerfull amps. (For now I'll use them on my x7 with AM3 when i get it)

Thanks!

 

[versace]

The user versace contacted me to tell me that he had the same issue that I had with my HE-1000. A buzzing like distorsion on the left driver in the 300 to 700 hz region. He also has a powerfull headamp, the eddie current BA. He had his second RMA like me and will probably be replaced with a new unit, like it happened in my case.
I have been too frightened to connect them to my Master-8, because a comment was if this new pair fails again it's my equipment that's damaging the phones and not the phones issue.

So I was wondering if any of the people here with a buzzing like distorsion on the left driver have been using powerfull amps. (For now I'll use them on my x7 with AM3 when i get it)

Thanks!

can confirm! was doing some research on my issue and came across his similar one! i wonder if some of the people who use speaker amps can give any insight on how much power you can actually put into the HEK? 

 

[m8o]

Isn't the balancing act less than 1 watt? Edit: ok, 1.5 watt. That's not that much.

I drive it with about 12 watts into 32 ohms. McIntosh MHA100 50wpc at 8 ohms using the speaker taps. No issue. Knock on wood.

 

[Maxx134]

The user versace contacted me to tell me that he had the same issue that I had with my HE-1000. A buzzing like distorsion on the left driver in the 300 to 700 hz region. He also has a powerfull headamp, the eddie current BA. He had his second RMA like me and will probably be replaced with a new unit, like it happened in my case.

I have been too frightened to connect them to my Master-8, because a comment was if this new pair fails again it's my equipment that's damaging the phones and not the phones issue.


So I was wondering if any of the people here with a buzzing like distorsion on the left driver have been using powerfull amps. (For now I'll use them on my x7 with AM3 when i get it)


Thanks!

can confirm! was doing some research on my issue and came across his similar one! i wonder if some of the people who use speaker amps can give any insight on how much power you can actually put into the HEK? 

Wow second RMA ?(!), anyways
Did either of you remove the pads?
Two scenarios:

1-A hair or debree could be inside touching driver.
A hair can enter either front or rear.
I cleaned a Code-X which had this issue, but it was not an actual hair, rather it was some debree.

2- Pad removal not recommended because it is dangerous to expose driver.
The membrane is extremely thin and large, covering whole area,
so care must be taken to not blow with air or touched if you are removing pad for any reason which there is none unless hifiman makes a pad replacement.

 

[Sandy]

Also using custom made headphone cable by "ela-audio" :



SOLID 99.999 PURE SILVER,
Made with 8 cores of 24awg DOUBLED (16X24),
For a total of... 12...
YES, TWELVE GUAGE...!
Pure silver wire,
IN teflon sleeving..

 
I suspect that you have got your wire gauge calculations wrong, but anyay, more important, how does it sound compared to the stock?

 

[versace]

Wow second RMA ?(!), anyways
Did either of you remove the pads?
Two scenarios:

1-A hair or debree could be inside touching driver.
A hair can enter either front or rear.
I cleaned a Code-X which had this issue, but it was not an actual hair, rather it was some debree.

2- Pad removal not recommended because it is dangerous to expose driver.
The membrane is extremely thin and large, covering whole area,
so care must be taken to not blow with air or touched if you are removing pad for any reason which there is none unless hifiman makes a pad replacement.

Hey Maxx! this was my first thought as well. i had a few hairs but they where caught in the pads. i removed them with some plastic tweezers i had laying around. with all the trouble shooting did i found it to be the most pronounced around 450 hz, but as soon as you introduced a higher frequency like lets say  4khz as an example the distortion stops completely. whats really weird is if you flipped the channels from either using cabling to do it and or software most went away. but you could still kinda hear it.

 

[Mikem231]

where to start with these headphones? I am typing and listening at the same time, and I am having a hard time coming up with the right words to describe what I am hearing. Let me back up about 1 hour, to when I first put them on my head. Initial impression was not great, in comparison to my LCD3s, those had me hooked the second I put them on, and then about 30 mins later I had to take them off, not comfortable on my head at all. The HE1000s are very comfortable, but the first few tracks I threw at them didn't sound very good. I know you are thinking that this noob need to let them break in. In just one short hour I already notice a pretty dramatic difference. I know they still need a lot more time to fully bloom, but this is just my honest opinion so far. 
 
Using a Master11 via usb/foobar2000. Tracks listened to so far
 
Radiohead. Identikit. This song is so punchy, and butter smooth mids. One thing that was missing from my TH900s
 
Nine inch nails. We'er in this together. A song that I feel is much better suited for speakers, sounds in your face, and powerful.
 
Puscifer. Autumn. A kind of duet, the vocals are smooth and feel like they have a weight to them. 
 
 
I am not a golden ear, but I feel that I made the right purchase.

 

[goldendarko]

  where to start with these headphones? I am typing and listening at the same time, and I am having a hard time coming up with the right words to describe what I am hearing. Let me back up about 1 hour, to when I first put them on my head. Initial impression was not great, in comparison to my LCD3s, those had me hooked the second I put them on, and then about 30 mins later I had to take them off, not comfortable on my head at all. The HE1000s are very comfortable, but the first few tracks I threw at them didn't sound very good. I know you are thinking that this noob need to let them break in. In just one short hour I already notice a pretty dramatic difference. I know they still need a lot more time to fully bloom, but this is just my honest opinion so far. 
 
Using a Master11 via usb/foobar2000. Tracks listened to so far
 
Radiohead. Identikit. This song is so punchy, and butter smooth mids. One thing that was missing from my TH900s
 
Nine inch nails. We'er in this together. A song that I feel is much better suited for speakers, sounds in your face, and powerful.
 
Puscifer. Autumn. A kind of duet, the vocals are smooth and feel like they have a weight to them. 
 
 
I am not a golden ear, but I feel that I made the right purchase.

Also own the LCD-3 & HE1000 and can identify with what you're saying. The HE1000 is not a headphone that hits you immediately like the LCD-3. Inevitably, the Audeze's always sound better right away but they can get fatiguing (sound wise and also comfort wise) to the point I only listen to about 1 or 2 albums max with them before I need to switch. And they perform way better at certain genres (rock, EDM) than others too unfortunately, so I'll only use them for those particular genres.
 
The HE1000 on the other hand has it's beauty in it's subtlety. It may not sound as enthralling at first but it allows you to melt into the sound and eventually it can reach a peak that is much more euphoric than the LCD-3 can attain. You can hear every little detail, crystal clear and can focus in on a bass line here, or the drum patterns there and it's so balanced across all spectrums. Also, I can literally listen to all genres of music, all night long with them, and that's where their appeal really lies for me, the long play. Once you've been listening for a while and then go BACK to the LCD-3 it can be quite disruptive. Everything feels tight and congested, artificial, etc. Since I've gotten them they've begun to take up probably 60-70% of my head time, and I also own the LCD-3, Ether C & TH-900 now so that is really saying something. IMO, best headphone I've ever heard. 

 

[raypin]

mmm......I kinda' feel the same, having used the HE 1000 for a couple of months now. It is the best  general-purpose (sounds good across all musical genres)  high-end open-back headphones in the market. @goldendarko, if not stock,  what is your favorite headphone cable with your HE 1000?