[TheAttorney]

I don't know which one you tried , but some PEQs (non-professional EQs mainly) reduce the gain a couple of dB to avoid over-clipping. Could that be the effect you heard? At least I can say that the FabFilter Pro Q3 is very good.

I can't remember the name of the pro PEQ I tried a few years back, and googling now shows up so many products that I can't find it. But I did my research at the time and it was highly regarded by studio professionals at the time.

I'm fully aware of the importance of level matching, as well as the very real pit-falls of expectation bias and various other mind tricks. I've been around the hifi block a few times. On the particular topic of volume adjustments in PEQ, I do remember one comparison: On Roon's PEQ, which doesn't change overall volume by default, when I added some + peaks I found that Roon's "overload" indicator would occasionally light up. So I reduced the PEQ's overall volume by a couple of dB and increased Dave's volume by the same amount. Although the volumes were the same, I preferred the sound of an occasional overload to the loss in transparency by bringing in Roon's volume control.

Anyway, I'm now using Euphony Stylus which has no PEQ and no option to plug anything in, but the fundamental SQ is sufficiently superior to Roon's (on the same NUC server) that I don't feel I have a problem that needs fixing by EQ. Which doesn't stop me from wondering if Solitaire P or other darker-sounding TOTL headphones might suit me better - because it's what us audiophiles do.

 

[chesebert]

I use DMG Audio Equilibrium, which is pretty old school, but who am I to argue with Bob Katz on the best sounding PEQ. On my desktop system, I run absolutely everything through Equilibrium, including Tidal/Qobuz via Jriver WDM driver. No compliant but you need a fast PC (I have a 12-core system) for high res materials.

 

[SonicFade]

When people make these huge moves with PEQ, particularly with lower frequencies, I’m always surprised. You’re basically changing the master of everything at that point. When mastering engineers do that portion of the production process, the name of the game is to have a good mix down which needs very little changes made. I’m not a headphones expert but i do have a few hundred hours in audio production at a hobbyist level. (There’s my disclaimer)

when you affect the lower frequencies, of course you’re going to clip because it’s almost the same as turning up the volume at that point. You need headroom if you’re going to be boosting lower frequencies.

boost with a wide Q, cut with a narrow Q, but boosting should be very minimal imo

 

[chesebert]

Thank god none of the HEK needs low frequency boost - these things are like sub woofers on your head.

 

[TheAttorney]

I use DMG Audio Equilibrium, which is pretty old school, but who am I to argue with Bob Katz on the best sounding PEQ.

Thank you for reminding me - it was indeed DMG that I tried plugged into JRiver a few years back. I tried the EQuick simpler variant which I think has less features, but with the same basic engine, than its bigger brothers.

From a transparency point of view, it didn't work out for me, but it could have been a synergy/integration issue with JRiver. I'm sure it's great in different situations, as the research I did at the time suggested it to be one of the best PEQs around. Like I said, I'm not looking for a PEQ right now, but I always try to be open minded as to what may work best in the future.

 

[DarginMahkum]

By the way, talking about PEQ, FiiO just mentioned that they are now implementing a PEQ for their players, which can later be made a system level PEQ. The upcoming M17 is a powerful DAP with dual ES9038PRO and THX amplifier. It will be a great match for planars like HEKse and Solitaire P:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fii...-release-after-july-2021.954441/post-16358570

 

[meomap]

With less than 10 hrs of new burn in, I decided to swapped my , just fixed, DHC Comp4 silver cable now with 4 pin XLR to 4.4 mm balanced adapter and LEMO to 3.5 mm Triple Thread Adapter on top. The HE1000SE SQ now is much more details and opens a lot more with bottom end frequency, mid, Soundstage, and treble frequency through both DX220MAX and Studio Six tube amp.

Hide away the stock cables now.

Instead of running music burnin only, I try watching movies using DX220MAX through Netflix and observing how dynamic the sounds from the movies can move so surprisingly from this hp.

Waiting for my Utopia to be fixed in the meantime, OMG when ETC?, while enjoying HE1000SE burnin....

 

[Palyodgree]

For anyone interested in wanting to move on from the 1000SEs , Holo Audio design team have voiced a new amplifier using the Susvaras, The amplifier is named the Bliss with a retail price of around 3K USD , certainly reasonable and affordable in the price category of the Susvaras..

 

[DarginMahkum]

For anyone interested in wanting to move on from the 1000SEs , Holo Audio design team have voiced a new amplifier using the Susvaras, The amplifier is named the Bliss with a retail price of around 3K USD , certainly reasonable and affordable in the price category of the Susvaras..

...or for those willing to upgrade to a Susvara level HP that can be driven pretty well even from a DX300 level DAP, there is always T+A Solitaire P. I still have to compare the HEKse to P-SE sometime.

 

[dleblanc343]

For anyone interested in wanting to move on from the 1000SEs , Holo Audio design team have voiced a new amplifier using the Susvaras, The amplifier is named the Bliss with a retail price of around 3K USD , certainly reasonable and affordable in the price category of the Susvaras..

Any more information?

Haven't seen anything about this yet and it sounds exciting. Did Tim make it public yet?

 

[Spawn300Z]

Any more information?

Haven't seen anything about this yet and it sounds exciting. Did Tim make it public yet?

Please share. It’s not I. Their webpage.

 

[Palyodgree]

Any more information?

Haven't seen anything about this yet and it sounds exciting. Did Tim make it public yet?

I was chatting with Tim out of the blue he mentioned that he is using the Susvaras and that Holo Audio are using these headphones to voice the Bliss amplifier. Information will be out later this year ,...

 

[Strayngs]

I just received the Wells Audio Dragon Level II…..wow it is a fantastic pairing with the HE1000SE. Between the Rogue RH-5, Privaluna EVO 300 Integrated and the Wells Audio….I believe the Dragon may be the best! ….. this is new out of the box….when it is broken in?….! Very promising!

 

[xtr4]

I just received the Wells Audio Dragon Level II…..wow it is a fantastic pairing with the HE1000SE. Between the Rogue RH-5, Privaluna EVO 300 Integrated and the Wells Audio….I believe the Dragon may be the best! ….. this is new out of the box….when it is broken in?….! Very promising!

So it was you, who was poisoning my FB feed with delicious pictures of your gear

 

[Strayngs]

OK after some time on my HE1000SE and my new Wells Audio Dragon Level II, I can now say that with that combination….the HE1000SE is the best headphone I have owned (I have owned a bunch). I use a Kennerton balanced Litz cable. I wrote a little review on the Wells Audio page…but the new Dragon is sensational and I now have something truely special.