Hifiman HE1000 Planar Dynamic Headphone
Apr 4, 2017 at 11:53 PM Post #9,136 of 14,555
For the best soundstage you need the Smyth Realiser. No kidding. I always think that talking about soundstage on headphones and IEMs is a joke, maybe partly because I have a good 2 channel speakers system and a 11.1 channel Dolby Atmos home theatre. But the Smyth Realiser changed the soundstage for headphones, once and for all. It makes the so called wide sound stage of the HD800 a practical joke, and it can do it on any headphone.
 
Apr 4, 2017 at 11:55 PM Post #9,137 of 14,555
I would second an AKG K1000 for biggest soundstage. But the comfort is not great, and the technical abilities are nowhere near HD800 or HE1000v2.
 
Apr 4, 2017 at 11:58 PM Post #9,138 of 14,555
There are probably a lot of HEK V2 fanboys here but I emplore you for an honest appraisal. For my listening, I need sound stage. Big, big, wide open OMG sound stage. The kind of spaciousness where you can distinctly hear sounds close and afar, completely separate and in the correct spatial position. I have the Senns HD 800's and HD 800 S's. They're amazing, comfy, can where them for hours.But I'm still very curious about the HEK. The Audeze LCD-X's I have come close to the Senns but they're 600 grams! That get's pretty wearisome after a short while. The LCD-X's are only 20 Ohms and the HEKs at 35 ohms aren't far behind. The Senns are 300 ohms. So an honest, no BS appraisal only with regards to sound stage and nothing else: Are the HEK V2's on par with the Senns, better or worse? for 3 grand, I really need to know and demoing them in a store because of the gear I use just won't cut it. I'm hoping there are some people here that own the Senns and the HEK's and can give me true, objective (hard with sound I know) appraisal. Should I just stick with my Senns and be happy or can the HEK V2's outperform the Senns regarding sound stage? Final thought: If you can think of any headphones that you truly think can beat the Sennheiser 800/S's in sound stage, let me know.


I had both help v2 and hd800 sdr, and with my setup at the time, the v2 was about 80% of the hd800s soundstage. But it was more realistic soundstage on the hek v2, vs. artificially wide from the hd800 sdr
 
Apr 5, 2017 at 12:00 AM Post #9,139 of 14,555
  For the best soundstage you need the Smyth Realiser. No kidding. I always think that talking about soundstage on headphones and IEMs is a joke, maybe partly because I have a good 2 channel speakers system and a 11.1 channel Dolby Atmos home theatre. But the Smyth Realiser changed the soundstage for headphones, once and for all. It makes the so called wide sound stage of the HD800 a practical joke, and it can do it on any headphone.


Those Smyth Realiser is quite something...you won't realised it until you actually heard it. Thought I was listening to a 7.1 system in my headphone 
 
Apr 5, 2017 at 12:02 AM Post #9,140 of 14,555
Burning in my HEKv2 as we speak...don't have time to listen to it as yet but will be doing a week long listening session to compare my v1 with v2, as well as with HD 800S and Utopia very soon
 
Apr 5, 2017 at 3:15 AM Post #9,141 of 14,555
Okay, so something that's been putting me off getting these for ages -- "you need a TOTL amp to do them JUSTICE!"
Elitism, truth? How bad is it, really? Using the Schiits as a measuring scale, lets see if I've gotten it right:
 
Jotunheim -- dream on!
Bifrost / Valhalla 2, Asgard 2 -- I'd be better off getting these and something like he 500 or lcd-x because there's no justice.
Bifrost multibit / Lyr 2 -- It's 5% better but not nearly there.
Grugnir / Mjolnir 2 / -- the bare minimum here, you're not an idiot for having bought the HEK
Grugnir / Ragnarok -- big boys club, congrats, this is what they deserve, but:
Yggdrasill / Ragnarök -- JUSTICE!
 
?
 
Apr 5, 2017 at 3:40 AM Post #9,142 of 14,555
  Okay, so something that's been putting me off getting these for ages -- "you need a TOTL amp to do them JUSTICE!"
Elitism, truth? How bad is it, really? Using the Schiits as a measuring scale, lets see if I've gotten it right:
 
Jotunheim -- dream on!
Bifrost / Valhalla 2, Asgard 2 -- I'd be better off getting these and something like he 500 or lcd-x because there's no justice.
Bifrost multibit / Lyr 2 -- It's 5% better but not nearly there.
Grugnir / Mjolnir 2 / -- the bare minimum here, you're not an idiot for having bought the HEK
Grugnir / Ragnarok -- big boys club, congrats, this is what they deserve, but:
Yggdrasill / Ragnarök -- JUSTICE!
 
?

 
My Lyr 2 makes the HE-1000 sound like Schiit. I can testify to that. HE-560, Bifrost Multibit and Lyr 2 are magical, the same can't be said with the HE-1000 thrown into the mix.
 
I'm going to throw a Trilogy Audio 931 into mix and hope that improves the sound.
 
Apr 5, 2017 at 5:24 AM Post #9,143 of 14,555
So it's basically... true? Get a sub 1000 amp at least (Mjolnir for example), or while you're at it already, why not a Ragny...
 
Apr 5, 2017 at 5:43 AM Post #9,144 of 14,555
  So it's basically... true? Get a sub 1000 amp at least (Mjolnir for example), or while you're at it already, why not a Ragny...

 
I don't know about it being absolutely set-in-stone true for Schiit amps but, I've heard the Mjolnir also, is not a good pairing for the HE-1000, although I have no experience of this myself.

I'm sure someone upgrading from a 400i on a Modi/Magni to a HE-1000 would hear huge gains, but, the HE-1000 scales a lot better than the 400i with better amping and DACs I'm sure.
 
It's all relative, if you're going to spend £2200-2600 on a pair of headphones, you're more likely going to have the cash to spend more on an amp and DAC. Why wouldn't you spend upward of 1k on an amp if you'd just dropped 2-3k on the HE-1000's? I bet there are some cheaper solid state amps that sound amazing with the HE-1000, but you're kinda asking the wrong crowd here, if you know what I'm saying. 
normal_smile .gif

 
Apr 5, 2017 at 7:51 AM Post #9,145 of 14,555
I have an Auralic Taurus MKII that positively sings with the HEK's. I'm actually about to list it on the forums as I've now got a McIntosh and I just love that thing.
 
Apr 5, 2017 at 9:22 AM Post #9,146 of 14,555
I heard the HEK v1 with the Mac (as I've previously posted) at Stereo Exchange, NYC, thought it was a really great sounding combo.
 
Apr 5, 2017 at 11:24 AM Post #9,148 of 14,555
I just sold my mjolnir2 because pairing wasn't good with my he1000v2.

 
Of course. Of course it wasn't. Let me guess gentlemen -- only above 1500 amps like the ragny and Auralic Taurus MKII are anywhere near good enough... (I'm not being prissy, it's just my wallet is crying)
 
Is there even anything under 1000 that feeds these exceptionally well?
 
Apr 5, 2017 at 11:25 AM Post #9,149 of 14,555
Liquid Carbon is one I've used, sounds good with HEK v1.
Of course, MicroZOTL2, which costs more, sounds better...but you can enjoy your HEK with the LC.
 
Apr 5, 2017 at 11:30 AM Post #9,150 of 14,555
   
Of course. Of course it wasn't. Let me guess gentlemen -- only above 1500 amps like the ragny and Auralic Taurus MKII are anywhere near good enough... (I'm not being prissy, it's just my wallet is crying)
 
Is there even anything under 1000 that feeds these exceptionally well?

 
Yes, the LC is excellent, I have tried it with my V1. Trilogy Audio 931 is £895, is excellent, the HiFiMAN EF6 can be picked up for well under £800, used, that's good also. Depending on your taste, the Questyle 600i can be gotten for ~£700 used, I thought it sounded decent enough. The Bryston BHA-1 can be had for under 1k. There are a lot of options for the HE-1000 if you're prepared to buy used and wait for the right amp to come along.
 

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