[Yeahnahrighto]

Hi all, I have been following this thread intently, very interested in the new he1000 stealth vs. he1000se.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to demo them side by side for about 2 hours.
I'm certainly not a professional reviewer and only have my arya stealth as a baseline (have never heard the v2 non stealth) but here is my 2 cents:

He1000 Stealth
- Nice thick low end that takes an eq shelf very well (even better than arya)
- very satisfying sub bass rumble, capable of making your skull shake.
- Mids are very noticeably more forward than either the arya stealth or he1000SE, was even too spicy on some tracks (but finally a mid forward hfm)
- Very bright treble, surprisingly even brighter than the he1000SE, not necessarily more peaky but very elevated.
- Aggressive attack overall, not at all laid back like some claim the v2 is, but pretty dynamic for a hfm planar (not as much as he6).
- I wouldn't really call the tuning 'neutral' maybe 'bright neutral' or even just 'bright', remind me a bit of the Focal Elex 'W shaped' with good bass, mid forwardness and truckloads of treble.
- Overall I found the stealth a very fun and detailed listen but easily the most fatiguing between it and the arya stealth & SE. The he1000se actually sounds dark in direct comparison (which it obviously isn't)

He1000SE
- takes everything the he1000 stealth does well and improves on it at least slightly, with the exception of mid presence which is not nearly as forward as the stealth's (but I think feels a bit more natural).
- bass and treble texture is noticeably better, mids slightly more recessed but still very detailed.
- Timbre is less 'planar-like' than the stealth but not zmf levels of natural, still pretty good for a planar.
- layering and depth really stands out as phenomenal, even compared to the stealth and arya stealth, which are already excellent at this. In fact the he1000SE very arguably has the best sense of separation and layering of any headphone I've ever heard, it feels like you can count the numbers of each instrument and musicians in the track and easily tell where they all are.
- Noticeably more detail but less treble, which is definitely welcome when a/b-ing the two.
- Stage size feels pretty similar, if not maybe slightly larger on the SE. The stage is more controlled on the SE; everything is placed with laser precision in a very natural spherical 3d stage around you.

TLDR;

When comparing the Stealth to the SE It feels a bit like someone has taken an inferior driver and tried to tune it to a superior headphone's tuning; like taking the edition XS and trying to eq it to arya stealth tuning; here it feels like they've taken the v2 and tried to tune it more like the SE, it will sound similar but the technicalities will not be there, even if the treble is.

I know overall I sound quite critical of the stealth and it's certainly not a bad headphone, it's just not really to my preference. If you want something really engaging with all the benefits of a high end hfm but with actual mid forwardness and you don't mind a spicy meatball of a treble shelf then this will be perfect for you.

Cheers!

ps. source gear was not my chain, it was some super fancy NAIM streamer the store used, something much more expensive than i would usually use lol.
EQ experimenting was done with my mojo2.

 

[boodi]

in line with my findings , except that stage was sensibly deeper , far deeper at times with the kse ( talking good production and hi-res ) , hekv2stealth tends to be studio/room stage size, at the point that orchestra /some classical works can sound a bit out of place as for a compressed stage ..

 

[Archlize]

Hi all, I have been following this thread intently, very interested in the new he1000 stealth vs. he1000se.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to demo them side by side for about 2 hours.
I'm certainly not a professional reviewer and only have my arya stealth as a baseline (have never heard the v2 non stealth) but here is my 2 cents:

He1000 Stealth
- Nice thick low end that takes an eq shelf very well (even better than arya)
- very satisfying sub bass rumble, capable of making your skull shake.
- Mids are very noticeably more forward than either the arya stealth or he1000SE, was even too spicy on some tracks (but finally a mid forward hfm)
- Very bright treble, surprisingly even brighter than the he1000SE, not necessarily more peaky but very elevated.
- Aggressive attack overall, not at all laid back like some claim the v2 is, but pretty dynamic for a hfm planar (not as much as he6).
- I wouldn't really call the tuning 'neutral' maybe 'bright neutral' or even just 'bright', remind me a bit of the Focal Elex 'W shaped' with good bass, mid forwardness and truckloads of treble.
- Overall I found the stealth a very fun and detailed listen but easily the most fatiguing between it and the arya stealth & SE. The he1000se actually sounds dark in direct comparison (which it obviously isn't)

He1000SE
- takes everything the he1000 stealth does well and improves on it at least slightly, with the exception of mid presence which is not nearly as forward as the stealth's (but I think feels a bit more natural).
- bass and treble texture is noticeably better, mids slightly more recessed but still very detailed.
- Timbre is less 'planar-like' than the stealth but not zmf levels of natural, still pretty good for a planar.
- layering and depth really stands out as phenomenal, even compared to the stealth and arya stealth, which are already excellent at this. In fact the he1000SE very arguably has the best sense of separation and layering of any headphone I've ever heard, it feels like you can count the numbers of each instrument and musicians in the track and easily tell where they all are.
- Noticeably more detail but less treble, which is definitely welcome when a/b-ing the two.
- Stage size feels pretty similar, if not maybe slightly larger on the SE. The stage is more controlled on the SE; everything is placed with laser precision in a very natural spherical 3d stage around you.

TLDR;

When comparing the Stealth to the SE It feels a bit like someone has taken an inferior driver and tried to tune it to a superior headphone's tuning; like taking the edition XS and trying to eq it to arya stealth tuning; here it feels like they've taken the v2 and tried to tune it more like the SE, it will sound similar but the technicalities will not be there, even if the treble is.

I know overall I sound quite critical of the stealth and it's certainly not a bad headphone, it's just not really to my preference. If you want something really engaging with all the benefits of a high end hfm but with actual mid forwardness and you don't mind a spicy meatball of a treble shelf then this will be perfect for you.

Cheers!

ps. source gear was not my chain, it was some super fancy NAIM streamer the store used, something much more expensive than i would usually use lol.
EQ experimenting was done with my mojo2.

Nice and detailed explanation! Will the SE be something you'll be getting?

 

[Yeahnahrighto]

in line with my findings , except that stage was sensibly deeper , far deeper at times with the kse ( talking good production and hi-res ) , hekv2stealth tends to be studio/room stage size, at the point that orchestra /some classical works can sound a bit out of place as for a compressed stage ..

That's a fair point, i think for my classical/orchestral collection i gravitated towards the SE pretty much all of the time so may not have noticed that on the stealth.

Nice and detailed explanation! Will the SE be something you'll be getting?

Thankyou
I'm very tempted, it sounds wonderful and by other acclaim it's a 'baby susvara' or at least something close that doesn't require a $5000 usd nuclear reactor to power.

 

[boodi]

My playlist today was comprehensive of Hiromi Uehara Trio Project , Holst : The Planets , Lady Gaga , My Bloody Valentine , Dream Theater , Valentina Lisitsa , Emerson Lake and Palmer , Porno For Pyros and Yuya Wang
So : lot of different things .

v2 where a very refreshing joy vs hekse on most of it , to say how different and differently good the two are .
Today I didn't want the airy stage and positioning ( usually I do ), I was emotionally curious and appreciated alot the welcome hekv2 smoothness across frequencies and their overall more emotional drive . It was a bit more immersive experience then usual - music felt more liquidly and continuously rendered across frequencies then on hekse.
The bass is nicer then before too, it now has a more tactile beat.
I really liked today listenings .

I had a little more time today for listening ( not much short session with both headphones , the v2 are not changed much lately for burning in)

1. one thing I notice that going back to hekse after day off makes for instant amazement , it doesn't happen easily with the v2 - it's a softer acquintance

2. the technicalities ( namely speed separation transients and measures-distances ) are instantly better on the hekse , it's a fair different headphones , superior and evidently so in these regards : imo .

3. if it's true v2 does better midrange textures or mids details , meanwhile so many other things are on a better level on hekse : air ( second to none! highs are more detailed ) sense of stage going far and out of head layering and positioning , bass reach bass precision bass texture bass tightness and dryness ; bass is more tactile ; I appreciate a lot bass dryness , I would only want warmness when it's recorded - or if I want to add it through the chain , I like it as an option that I can switch ;
Dynamics : dynamics are 2 or even 3 notches better then v2 , microdynamics and macrodynamics ; it's easy to hear on portable , but it's there too on desktop amps ( Violectric v281 coming this week ) where the hekse have wider swings and v2 sounds more flat . There I might already say that the hekse is quite the superior set if I do not account ultimate general timbral fidelity and mids details / textures which are displayed better -even much better- on v2 ( I can hear nuances on v2 and I miss them on hekse .. gone back and forth multiple times .. there's no denying here , v2 has a better midrange and it is more human for voices )

4. classical ensamble / quartet / jazz or mostly anything whre there is no voice , will sound instantly un-believebly good with hekse . I have had more then once people wearing hekse last 2 months and found them with literally eyes wide open or similar expressions in the middle of a track for the type of clarity and speed they offer , If you own hekse find a stream of Hiromi Uehara "Alive" in an hi-res format and play it , it's an easy listen , i am sure that even not liking modern piano and trios or quartets you will appreciate to some degree the production and over it how it's put up on hekse . I would say hekv2 it's very good on a same well cared and produced music but .. again : separation and stage will be less developed giving less amazement , also the placement is fairly different : hekse will give you a front clear image, most of times and instruments , where usually v2 puts you more proximal or inside the ensamble where it's not completely clear what is front and what behind in the mix ( stage rendering and layering is quite less clear )

5. you can shelf up something ( mids ) and somewhat eq hekse to make them sound more similar to hekv2 , but not the opposite , hekv2 lack precision , bass is more diffused etc .

I will give hekv2 again a bit more time , burning in is possibly not completed still .

 

[vsg28]

Just got the new HE1000 Stealth in and I am a big fan already, plenty more testing to go before I write the review:

Compared to HE1000se:

Compared to Audivina:

 

[boodi]

not many Audivina users still around , while i don't like the retro bulky look , I am curious on their character and differences with the others TOTL closed/Hifiman lineup

 

[nieveulv]

Just got the new HE1000 Stealth in and I am a big fan already, plenty more testing to go before I write the review:





Compared to HE1000se:



Compared to Audivina:

Holy....the audivina measures so bad....why hifiman cant tune a proper closed back?

 

[EternalChampion]

while i don't like the retro bulky look ,

My eyes hurt terribly with that brown/orange color combo and suggest that this is probably the worst-looking Hifiman to date. But that's just me no offense to anyone.

 

[boodi]

I wouldnt be surprised people skipping on them just for aesthetics. Likely this finish/wood use is for acoustic reasons

 

[EdvonSchleck76]

Hey guys, i was just wondering if i should go for Ultrapads V2 or Dekoni Elite Hybrid for my Hifiman 1000V2 (non stealth). Problem with Dekoni is that it does not have the dust protector mesh like Ultrapads V2. My original Pads flaked after 4 years. So is it a problem not to have the dust protector installed? Will Dekoni Hybrid alter sound quality? Do Ultrapads V2 show better quality than my original ones from 2019? Thanks

No advice on this particular topic?

 

[mudguardiain]

Just got the new HE1000 Stealth in and I am a big fan already, plenty more testing to go before I write the review:





Compared to HE1000se:



Compared to Audivina:

Congratulations on getting the Stealths, they are amazing headphones. They definitely lean towards being bright and require careful matching & good downstream gear. I really like them on my HP8 tube amp paired with my Spring 3. I love the energy they bring to the music. I love going to gigs & the energy live music has, these phones can help replicate that to a decent degree. On my gear I also find the sound stage width to be spot on with good depth also.

 

[EternalChampion]

I wouldnt be surprised people skipping on them just for aesthetics. Likely this finish/wood use is for acoustic reasons

I wouldn't skip them over solely for their appearance. For my taste there are far worse than those. But the color scheme just looks off to me.

 

[Archlize]

No advice on this particular topic?

Not sure, but from my experience pad rolling on the Clear MG with the Dekoni Pads. It does change its sound. I think all pads in general will change the sound of any headphones. So if you're looking for the original sounds, I suggest getting the stock-pads from Hifiman.

 

[Archlize]

here it feels like they've taken the v2 and tried to tune it more like the SE,

Now that you mentioned this, the SE supposedly using V2 driver with Stealth Magnets. But could it be that V2 Stealth is just a tuned Arya driver? I remembered someone mentioned this in a couple hundred pages ago. Makes me wonder.