Guy Fawkes
100+ Head-Fier
stay away from this seller (invictus cable), he scammed me years ago.
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Hifiman HE1000-SE
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- he1000se impressions
This is my best sounding headphone cable from a very nice seller. 16 cores pure silver. Made to order any length.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/115714280141?var=415976211065
https://www.ebay.com/itm/115714280141?var=415976211065
Never had a problem with Invictus Cables in my life. I buy from them on a regular basis and never had a problem (via ebay and also directly).
they have been selling on ebay for years and if they were scamming I don't think they would still be online
Guy Fawkes
100+ Head-Fier
Have you ever purchased a UPOCC pure silver cable from him?
if so, try desoldering the connectors and checking the conductors used, in my case by scratching the individual filaments, in reality they were cheap silver-coated copper conductors
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Thanks to everyone who replied to my post #5043. I thought to elaborate a bit more and share some thoughts based on feedback...
First off, my only headphone for the past 11 years has been Audeze LCD-2. However, the intimate sound stage has me looking for a new headphone. And honestly, the damn thing is pretty uncomfortable with its clamping force.
Music I frequently listen to: classic rock, jazz, old-school metal, classical (solo piano, in particular, but also everything else including opera), trip-hop
Swapped out my 11-year old Asgard 2 for an iFi Pro iCAN Signature, as I wanted an amp with enough current to drive Susvara and the ability to add some tube sound to HE1000SE.
My chain: FLAC/WAV Roon -->Monoprice USB -->Chord Quest stock filter-->Audioquest Golden Gate-->iFi Pro iCAN Signature
Some listening impressions from the past few weeks:
HE1000SE: I really want to love this headphone. For classical, it is hands-down the best I've heard. For rock, it is so addictive and engaging but listening fatigue can set in after 30-45 minutes. For metal...I still can't get over the treble, almost sibilant at times. For trip-hop, I miss the deep ocean sub-bass of Meze Elite, but the bass of the HE1000SE is quite good - very tight and controlled. However, after ~100 hours of burn-in (I just left the headphone playing music from Roon; I did not actively listen for 100 hours), the treble has not mellowed out, at least to my ears. That said, "tube" mode on the iFi has tamed the treble a bit, but brighter recordings are still *bright*. Guess I'm more sensitive to treble than I previously realized.
Susvara: solid all-around but not as engaging as HE1000SE. Vocals are recessed in comparison and I'm not as involved in the music. I feel the Sus is too "polite" for me. And classical, especially solo piano, is too holographic for my taste on the Susvara.
Meze Elite: too laid-back. It is beautiful to look at and so comfortable and so well-built. And that sub-bass is beyond any headphone I've ever heard. But for classical (solo piano, especially), it isn't even close to HE1000SE. And vocals across all genres are too recessed and veiled. I feel disconnected from my favorite tracks. Could I fix with EQ? Perhaps. But I am no expert and feel that I can find a headphone having stock tuning that matches my preferences.
Dan Clark Expanse: I could not get over how sensitive these were to ear placement. Slightly shifting the cups dramatically altered the sound signature. Having slightly compressed pads also had a big effect. Too touchy for me.
Focal Clear: nope. Took one listen and...nope. Not for me. The soundstage is too intimate.
Grado GS1000X: nope. Cold and analytical. I can imagine a recording engineer would love these, but it's not what I'm looking for.
Based on all this listening, I've come to one major conclusion: I want a sound signature closest to HE1000SE, but the listening fatigue is just too much. However, I do want the forward vocals and clarity, especially for classical. And I could do with some deep sub-bass ala Meze Elite. Therefore, I'm considering the following as next to audition:
ZMF Caldera
HE1000 Stealth
Anyone with the HE1000SE end up preferring the Caldera or HE1000 Stealth? Unfortunately, looks like HE1000 V2 (non stealth) is hard to get these days...
The other option is to build around HE1000SE. As others have pointed out, perhaps replace the Qutest with an R2R DAC and the iFi Pro iCAN Signature with a tube amp (Feliks Audio Envy is the one I'm currently considering) and get some copper cables? Or just get the RME ADI 2 and learn how to do some basic hardware-based EQ?
Based on my observations, any thoughts about the best direction to go? Thanks again for your time. This community is really fantastic.
First off, my only headphone for the past 11 years has been Audeze LCD-2. However, the intimate sound stage has me looking for a new headphone. And honestly, the damn thing is pretty uncomfortable with its clamping force.
Music I frequently listen to: classic rock, jazz, old-school metal, classical (solo piano, in particular, but also everything else including opera), trip-hop
Swapped out my 11-year old Asgard 2 for an iFi Pro iCAN Signature, as I wanted an amp with enough current to drive Susvara and the ability to add some tube sound to HE1000SE.
My chain: FLAC/WAV Roon -->Monoprice USB -->Chord Quest stock filter-->Audioquest Golden Gate-->iFi Pro iCAN Signature
Some listening impressions from the past few weeks:
HE1000SE: I really want to love this headphone. For classical, it is hands-down the best I've heard. For rock, it is so addictive and engaging but listening fatigue can set in after 30-45 minutes. For metal...I still can't get over the treble, almost sibilant at times. For trip-hop, I miss the deep ocean sub-bass of Meze Elite, but the bass of the HE1000SE is quite good - very tight and controlled. However, after ~100 hours of burn-in (I just left the headphone playing music from Roon; I did not actively listen for 100 hours), the treble has not mellowed out, at least to my ears. That said, "tube" mode on the iFi has tamed the treble a bit, but brighter recordings are still *bright*. Guess I'm more sensitive to treble than I previously realized.
Susvara: solid all-around but not as engaging as HE1000SE. Vocals are recessed in comparison and I'm not as involved in the music. I feel the Sus is too "polite" for me. And classical, especially solo piano, is too holographic for my taste on the Susvara.
Meze Elite: too laid-back. It is beautiful to look at and so comfortable and so well-built. And that sub-bass is beyond any headphone I've ever heard. But for classical (solo piano, especially), it isn't even close to HE1000SE. And vocals across all genres are too recessed and veiled. I feel disconnected from my favorite tracks. Could I fix with EQ? Perhaps. But I am no expert and feel that I can find a headphone having stock tuning that matches my preferences.
Dan Clark Expanse: I could not get over how sensitive these were to ear placement. Slightly shifting the cups dramatically altered the sound signature. Having slightly compressed pads also had a big effect. Too touchy for me.
Focal Clear: nope. Took one listen and...nope. Not for me. The soundstage is too intimate.
Grado GS1000X: nope. Cold and analytical. I can imagine a recording engineer would love these, but it's not what I'm looking for.
Based on all this listening, I've come to one major conclusion: I want a sound signature closest to HE1000SE, but the listening fatigue is just too much. However, I do want the forward vocals and clarity, especially for classical. And I could do with some deep sub-bass ala Meze Elite. Therefore, I'm considering the following as next to audition:
ZMF Caldera
HE1000 Stealth
Anyone with the HE1000SE end up preferring the Caldera or HE1000 Stealth? Unfortunately, looks like HE1000 V2 (non stealth) is hard to get these days...
The other option is to build around HE1000SE. As others have pointed out, perhaps replace the Qutest with an R2R DAC and the iFi Pro iCAN Signature with a tube amp (Feliks Audio Envy is the one I'm currently considering) and get some copper cables? Or just get the RME ADI 2 and learn how to do some basic hardware-based EQ?
Based on my observations, any thoughts about the best direction to go? Thanks again for your time. This community is really fantastic.
Give a try for Empy 2.
It's kind of a mix between He1000se and OG Empy. Well, not really a mix, but it's the best way I know how to describe what I'm trying to say.
It's not up there in technicalities department with He1000se, but it's way less fatiguing and it has a tonality which could be what you're looking for (kind of a mix between He1000se and OG Empy).
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Appreciate these impressions of yours. I can see the 1000se being fatiguing, subjectively and based on preferences (and tolerances). The chain helps but IME you have to skew the chain pretty warm and forgiving to complement this headphone. Even then, its inherent treble nature is skewed toward bright and bitey, which will always remain.
Am interested in others' thoughts on this as well as I'm looking at both of these headphones and unfortunately haven't heard either. But from what I've read, the Stealth might not be the answer to the things you didn't like about the 1000se.
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davehutch
500+ Head-Fier
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Made me laugh. That's exactly what I thought about the Elite, despite the hype. But yes, very comfortable.
I'm currently using the Mojo 2 with my HE1000SE and with just a couple of dB taken off the upper mids (using the Mojo 2's lossless EQ) and with the slightly warmer nature of the Mojo 2 compared to the Qutest, it's just about there. I can listen for hours
I also found the tone/timbre was really natural which was pretty much my priority. If a headphones tone is off I don't give it more than about 10 seconds before moving on.
I'm going to try a 'proper' amp next and might well try tubes. Have a listen to the Feliks Audio Elise. It struck me as a really good match.
Someone also commented a second-hand Woo WA-6 SE or what about a new WA6?
The HEKv2 is an exceptional sounding headphone--if you get the opportunity to purchase these, do so.
These sound like exactly what you're looking for in a headphone. I own my for 6+yrs and still enjoy them immensely each and every time I listen to them. Search high and low without giving up--and you just might find a NOS BNIB somewhere out there.
psy472
500+ Head-Fier
From your impression, I’d figured your issue is with the source gear and not so much the headphones. I had similar issues with the Jot2 and Bifrost combo. All my headphones sounded better and different after upgrading my DAC and Amp.
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A warmer DAC will definitely help tame the He1000se treble.
The He1000se is very transparent, I found adding the IFI Defender 3 USB with a 5v Linear Power Supply into my PC plus adding a DDC noticeably helped smooth out the sound and treble.
Someone from a different thread stated, that too much treble energy /harshness could be from electrical distortions, especially if the source is a noise PC (CPU and GPU).
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HE1000 V2 and HE1000 Stealth Magnet are both available as refurb on the HiFiMan site for $1209 right now.
https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/headphones.html?dir=asc&order=price
https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/headphones.html?dir=asc&order=price
My stock pads have a lot of wear on them now and I want to get a new pair.
What are the best pads? stock or another brand like Dekoni?
What are the best pads? stock or another brand like Dekoni?
To be honest the iFi Pro iCAN signiture is just not a proper tube amplifier and I would suggest a transformer based tube amplifier . Tube rolling will find you the sound signature you are looking for with the HEKSE.
Tube amplifiers like the Cayin HA-3A provide you with a wide range of different tube combinations that will ultimately find you the sound you are looking for with this headphone. For me, the tubes I found to be the best combination gave me punchy and powerful bass presence and just enough treble presence but doesn't go over the edge for me anymore. This Cayin amplifier also has an impedance switch so medium impedance gives me the most balanced sound whilst the high impedance brings the vocals more forward to a point where they really challenge my LCD 4 in the vocals department and the bass just gets incredibly punchy. As you mentioned the energy sometimes gets too much and this is the case in the high impedance mode but you can just switch it back to medium impedance and you can a more laid back delivery.
andrewchoppa
500+ Head-Fier
Dekoni on my stealths are excellent but now zmf are doing hfm pads!!!! Supposed to be fantastic!!!
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