[jlbrach]

I too was at canjam and actually spent some time speaking to fong..i also received my pair of v2's this morning ...i owned the v1's and sold them because they were too polite and not dynamic enough for me....the v2 is a different animal and far better IMHO....it retains the overall sound for sure but it is more dynamic and engaging,a bit narrower soundstage and more comfortable....i am impressed

 

[mowglycdb]

Has the V2 addresed the 10k peak? Mines way too peaky, I have to EQ It.

 

[jlbrach]

i think it sounds great to my ears....i much prefer the v2 to v1

 

[kaushama]

I too was at canjam and actually spent some time speaking to fong..i also received my pair of v2's this morning ...i owned the v1's and sold them because they were too polite and not dynamic enough for me....the v2 is a different animal and far better IMHO....it retains the overall sound for sure but it is more dynamic and engaging,a bit narrower soundstage and more comfortable....i am impressed

How do you compare HEK V2 with Focal Utopia?

 

[jlbrach]

interesting question...i have a love hate relationship with the utopia.....i love its detail and how dynamic it is but i find it a bit of a small soundstage and a bit fatiguing.....I would say the utopia is a fair bit better than the HE1000 v1 but the v2 which is far more dynamic is a very close...to be honest as i listen to the v2 as I write this I can say i could easily live with one or the other and feel the v2 is in the same league as the utopia...the differences in the 2 make it a subjective answer more than anything else....worth listening to both

 

[llcook51]

Is there a travel case that fits the HE1000 v2?
thank you.

 

[gatorengineer64]

I was unaware of any changes made to V2 from V1, for those claiming a huge difference what was changed?

 

[Thenewguy007]

I was unaware of any changes made to V2 from V1, for those claiming a huge difference what was changed?

For the sound, just the new pads & a new cable.
Outside that it is just aesthetic changes.

 

[auricgoldfinger]

For the sound, just the new pads & a new cable.
Outside that it is just aesthetic changes.

 
The internal structure inside the cup (not the driver) was also changed.  The changes have been well described by others on the two HE1000 threads and the HE1000 v.2 thread.  Search them and you will find the answer.

 

[gatorengineer64]

Im an HEx user looking to maybe oneday upgrade, is the pad change worth the 80 bucks they want for it from a sound perspective?

 

[john777]

Can someone who has had the V2 for awhile please comment. I found my new pair's SQ stunning straight out of the box, but I am getting inconsistent SQ as I use them. Some days great, other days not so good. Is this to be expected as they 'break in'? Or have I got an impending failure of some sort?

 

[djlethal]

Is there a particular problem you can identify with them rather than "not so good"? A defect in the headphones would likely be audible at all times, as long as the volume and tracks are the same.
 
If it's just a general impression, I'll just throw this out there: I've had experiences like you describe and they're all the result of my "mood" that particular day and critical listening. If you really feel like listening to music, you will and the headphones will sound great. If not, you can have the most wonderful headphones in the world and it'll still not satisfy you. Don't force yourself to (critically) listen just because you got a new toy, is my advice. YMMV though.

 

[TheAttorney]

I try not to think about burn-in whenever I get a new component - because life would be much simpler without it, but sometimes it just comes to me. In the past, I've noticed pretty obvious burn-in with some audiophile cables, but never with headphones - until now: I do think my new HEK V2's have changed over the first one or two hundred hours. At the very beginning, the bass seemed overblown, then there was a period when the overall sound was slightly dull, and now a very slightly brightness (compared to my reference Stax 009's). This characteristic has not changed for a while. so maybe it's stabalised.
 
I can't say if this was due to cable or drivers or both. It's also hard to quantify differences that happen over time because, as has been stated, mood etc can effect this too. It's easiest for me to describe the brightness in terms of close-miked female voices: Compared to my reference, the HEK's have a slightly thinner sound and lacking in "body". I said "slightly". I also noticed that kind of female vocal thinness in the past with (unmodded) HD800S, but I much prefer my HEK V2 to the memory of that HD800S sound.  
 
I've started trying Roon's parametric EQ feature and have found that reducing the band somewhere around 8khz-10khz seems to help in this regard. Does anyone have a FR chart of the HEK V2 so that I can do the EQ more scientifically? I've seen the FR of the HEK V1, but we already know that V2 is voiced differently.

 

[astrostar59]

 
I've started trying Roon's parametric EQ feature and have found that reducing the band somewhere around 8khz-10khz seems to help in this regard. Does anyone have a FR chart of the HEK V2 so that I can do the EQ more scientifically? I've seen the FR of the HEK V1, but we already know that V2 is voiced differently.

I haven't heard the V2 but have played quite a bit with EQ. Ignoring the software in use, and DAC, I have found the 007A (2015) needs roughly 4dB of treble lift around 4-6Khz and around 2dB of bass reduction while the 009 would be flat to get the same sound signature. Female vocals is the big test for a digital front IMO and a speaker or headphone that is heading towards the high end, i,e revealing and transparent as opposed to masking or hiding is going to test everything in the chain.
 
I would spend time playing with the EQ curve on music you are familiar with and hear any issues with that. The official FR of a component is good to know, but it seems more system dependent and how everything fits together affects the sound IMO.
 
Good luck.

 

[auricgoldfinger]

Can someone who has had the V2 for awhile please comment. I found my new pair's SQ stunning straight out of the box, but I am getting inconsistent SQ as I use them. Some days great, other days not so good. Is this to be expected as they 'break in'? Or have I got an impending failure of some sort?

 
I have not experienced that issue after over a month of regular listening.