I…can’t…bear to part ways with either the HEKV2 or the HEKse. It’s an impossible choice. Will someone else make it for me please? Tough love is in order, I’ve got a credit card bill coming up…
Based on your signature, I guess keep HE1000SE.
I have OG Utopia and HE1000SE.
I feel HE1000SE sometimes outperform Utopia in every way.. Using Studio-Six Tube Amp.
I bought my HE1000SE when my Utopia went in to replace drivers for 3rd time, > month long wait so I need something else to back it up...
My 4th time was done one month prior to 5 yrs warranty ends.
Now, I use both and also new used LCD5 too....Depending on mood....
Based on your signature, I guess keep HE1000SE.
I have OG Utopia and HE1000SE.
I feel HE1000SE sometimes outperform Utopia in every way.. Using Studio-Six Tube Amp.
I bought my HE1000SE when my Utopia went in to replace drivers for 3rd time, > month long wait so I need something else to back it up...
My 4th time was done one month prior to 5 yrs warranty ends.
Now, I use both and also new used LCD5 too....Depending on mood....
This is a helpful start, thank you. I’m still smarting over Focal releasing a “fix” to my Utopia and calling it an “upgrade”. At least HFM offers a trade in policy! I think I need to stop listening to the V2 and that’ll do the trick (hopefully)!
Based on your signature, I guess keep HE1000SE.
I have OG Utopia and HE1000SE.
I feel HE1000SE sometimes outperform Utopia in every way.. Using Studio-Six Tube Amp.
I bought my HE1000SE when my Utopia went in to replace drivers for 3rd time, > month long wait so I need something else to back it up...
My 4th time was done one month prior to 5 yrs warranty ends.
Now, I use both and also new used LCD5 too....Depending on mood....
Off topic, but how long did you have your Utopias before the coils failed? I’ve had nine for a year and a half. One of the reasons I’m in the market for something different is that I’m waiting in fear for mine to fry and unfortunately their resale value dropped when they released this “upgrade”. And by the way I agree with you that the HEKse is the superior headphone to the Utopia across a range of criteria…
Off topic, but how long did you have your Utopias before the coils failed? I’ve had nine for a year and a half. One of the reasons I’m in the market for something different is that I’m waiting in fear for mine to fry and unfortunately their resale value dropped when they released this “upgrade”. And by the way I agree with you that the HEKse is the superior headphone to the Utopia across a range of criteria…
Wow. Unbelievable. Did they repair it for free, and how long was the turn around? I thought HFM got a bad rap for build quality, but Focal promotes this as one of their strengths…
I’m not doubting your experience but to invest in a whole new rig to play a set of cans is not what I’m looking for—either iteration of the HEK is right up my alley
Yes, this was my whole point. That's why I referred to going down the "rabbit hole" of the Susvara vs the more sensible HEK series. The iCan Pro is a great amp, and it works beautifully with the HEK variations.
Wow. Unbelievable. Did they repair it for free, and how long was the turn around? I thought HFM got a bad rap for build quality, but Focal promotes this as one of their strengths…
Wow. Unbelievable. Did they repair it for free, and how long was the turn around? I thought HFM got a bad rap for build quality, but Focal promotes this as one of their strengths…
The LCD4 is great. Superb. But for a very different flavor.
I'm also happy to still have both the V2 and the SE. Slightly different, but different enough to reach for depending on mood/preference in the moment. (Sorry not much help here srkbear).
The LCD4 is great. Superb. But for a very different flavor.
I'm also happy to still have both the V2 and the SE. Slightly different, but different enough to reach for depending on mood/preference in the moment. (Sorry not much help here srkbear).
Well, my ears preferred SE vs V2 enough that I sold V2 after a few weeks of owning both. But is was really a forced choice -- couldn't afford to keep both at the time, so I knew I was going to let one go. And to my ears, the SE had slightly fuller mids, which was my only complaint regarding V2 -- not really a complaint, but just a slight (opposite of preference).
Plus, the fact that I could enjoy it from all my sources due to the greater sensitivity was a nice bonus.
Admittedly there was probably some new toy syndrome in there.
I own the OG iCan Pro. The power ratings are the same as the Signature versions. I found that it didn't mesh well with Susvara. The resulting sound didn't have enough grunt and scale. The iCan Pro isn't up to a low sensitivity headphone with an impedance of 60 ohms, at least not through the headphone outputs. With the HE 1000V2 and 1000SE, it acquits itself quite well.
Once I went down the Susvara rabbit hole and bought a speaker amp and preamp to power it, I found the Susvara to be much more even-handed in its tonality and more holographic than the HE1000SE. When switching between the two, the persistent treble peaks of the 1000SE tuning are readily apparent.
But now that I've crossed the divide and use digital EQ with all of my headphones, the difference is not as great. It would have certainly been easier and cheaper for me to power the HE1000SE adequately with a warmish headphone amp and some EQ, and have it sound good than reconfigure my whole system as I did to get Susvara sounding its best.
Is Susvara worth going down the rabbit hole? I'll say that I pretty much forget about my other headphones when I'm using the Susvara. But the HE1000SE with some EQ remains my second favorite pair of headphones.
Hi @dcguy73 , could you please elaborate on EQ you use to make them sound closer to Susvara? I'd like to test it before making the final decision to upgrade to Susvara from 1000SE.
Well, my ears preferred SE vs V2 enough that I sold V2 after a few weeks of owning both. But is was really a forced choice -- couldn't afford to keep both at the time, so I knew I was going to let one go. And to my ears, the SE had slightly fuller mids, which was my only complaint regarding V2 -- not really a complaint, but just a slight (opposite of preference).
Plus, the fact that I could enjoy it from all my sources due to the greater sensitivity was a nice bonus.
Admittedly there was probably some new toy syndrome in there.
See for me I’m finding the bass slam to be a little more impactful with the se, although at first I thought the reverse. I still think the soundstage is just a teeny bit wider with the V2’s, and they’re a little less bright. But with a little PEQ the se sounds as good as anything I’ve ever heard before, if not better. I never knew what I was missing with the Utopias! I’m actually tempted to sell them now (before one of their voice coils fails).
At least it was easy to send the Susvaras back. I want to think of myself as an analytical, critical, discerning audiophile, but I’m really looking just to rock.
See for me I’m finding the bass slam to be a little more impactful with the se, although at first I thought the reverse. I still think the soundstage is just a teeny bit wider with the V2’s, and they’re a little less bright. But with a little PEQ the se sounds as good as anything I’ve ever heard before, if not better. I never knew what I was missing with the Utopias! I’m actually tempted to sell them now (before one of their voice coils fails).
At least it was easy to send the Susvaras back. I want to think of myself as an analytical, critical, discerning audiophile, but I’m really looking just to rock.
I am using Lokius external EQ from Schitt for all three HPs
HE1000SE, UTOPIA, LCD5.
I think SE is the best out the bunch.....using external EQ for the first time, through my ears SE has the Slam, Authority, Transparency, Splendid Mid, Natural Voice, and sweet Treble.
For me Utopia has a sentimental value for me, like step into great Hi Fi and never look back since 2016....well, I have 2 channel system as well before HP system.
I've had LCD2 way before, too heavy for my neck.
LCD5 is much lighter.
Waiting for special adapter for LCD5 so I could use the same DHC Comp4 OCC Silver cable for all three TOTL HPs.
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