[PlussRep]

Congratulations and a good looking headphone there JaZZ! Waiting to hear how it compares to your modded HE1000

 

[JaZZ]

I had it play over night – with rather loud signals –, but didn't notice any change so far. What I noticed, though, was a feeling of discomfort due to the hinted brittle- and sharpness, despite the phenomenal resolution and imaging. Overtones just lacked a bit of the natural sparkle and smoothness I'm used to from my other headphones. Spotting the culprit wasn't hard, as I could resort to my experience with the predecessor. Fortunately I found a pair of 3.5 mm plugs for reterminating the Silver Dragon cable I had kept in reserve.

What an instant relief! Suddenly all the smoothness and sparkle was there. So the original cable doesn't seem to be much better than the one that came with the V1. I'm still waiting on my two Lavricables sent in to get reterminated, they promise to improve the sound even more (→ detail).

 

[Gibson59]

I had it play over night – with rather loud signals –, but didn't notice any change so far. What I noticed, though, was a feeling of discomfort due to the hinted brittle- and sharpness, despite the phenomenal resolution and imaging. Overtones just lacked a bit o the natural sparkle and smoothness I'm used to from my other headphones. Spotting the culprit wasn't hard, as I could resort to my experience with the predecessor. Fortunately I found a pair of 3.5 mm plugs for reterminating the Silver Dragon cable I had kept in reserve.

What an instant relief! Suddenly all the smoothness and sparkle was there. So the original cable doesn't seem to be much better than the one that came with the V1. I'm still waiting on my two Lavricables sent in to get reterminated, they promise to improve the sound even more (→ detail).

Yeah myself and others have commented many times that the original cable sucks balls lol. It’s almost embarrassing they even include it.

 

[MN8372]

Really pleased with how these have evolved after 150 hours of burn in - the treble brightnes/harshness that I struggled with on first listen out the box has eased (a lot).

Everything else that I liked on first listen is still there in spades. To my ears they are like my Utopias but with more bass and a larger soundstage..

Pre burn in they were brighter than my Utopias. Post burn that’s not the case. Still on the bright side of things but in a nice way - lots of detail and sparkle - with far less of the brittleness/harshness that I first experienced fresh out the box. I prefer them out of my Studio Six to my Moon amplifier. They are just that bit more holographic out of the Studio Six (although the difference is not that great overall).

Like every headphone I’ve ever listened to they can get a bit congested with loud complex passages of modern pop/rock but to a lesser degree than I’m used to (but its still there)

If anyone knows of any headphones that don’t suffer from this and can do all the other things that the HEKSE does so incredibly well please let me know - as that really would be perfection. Is that something inherent in all headphones (as compared with a large speaker?)

But in all other respects I’m very pleased.

 

[Articnoise]

Really pleased with how these have evolved after 150 hours of burn in - the treble brightnes/harshness that I struggled with on first listen out the box has eased (a lot).

Everything else that I liked on first listen is still there in spades. To my ears they are like my Utopias but with more bass and a larger soundstage..

Pre burn in they were brighter than my Utopias. Post burn that’s not the case. Still on the bright side of things but in a nice way - lots of detail and sparkle - with far less of the brittleness/harshness that I first experienced fresh out the box. I prefer them out of my Studio Six to my Moon amplifier. They are just that bit more holographic out of the Studio Six (although the difference is not that great overall).

Like every headphone I’ve ever listened to they can get a bit congested with loud complex passages of modern pop/rock but to a lesser degree than I’m used to (but its still there)

If anyone knows of any headphones that don’t suffer from this and can do all the other things that the HEKSE does so incredibly well please let me know - as that really would be perfection. Is that something inherent in all headphones (as compared with a large speaker?)

But in all other respects I’m very pleased.

I’m pleased to hear that you are enjoying the SE.

Nearly all modern pop and rock recordings are (heavily) compressed. With that said, you can always try SE’s bigger brother the Susvara with a powerful amp and hear if you find it handling complex passages better. I believe it does.

 

[sean-xenos]

The handling of complex passages is the most important aspect of a TOTL headphone for me otherwise I wouldn't be willing to spend so much money.

 

[puppypatrol]

Really pleased with how these have evolved after 150 hours of burn in - the treble brightnes/harshness that I struggled with on first listen out the box has eased (a lot).

Everything else that I liked on first listen is still there in spades. To my ears they are like my Utopias but with more bass and a larger soundstage..

Pre burn in they were brighter than my Utopias. Post burn that’s not the case. Still on the bright side of things but in a nice way - lots of detail and sparkle - with far less of the brittleness/harshness that I first experienced fresh out the box. I prefer them out of my Studio Six to my Moon amplifier. They are just that bit more holographic out of the Studio Six (although the difference is not that great overall).

Like every headphone I’ve ever listened to they can get a bit congested with loud complex passages of modern pop/rock but to a lesser degree than I’m used to (but its still there)

If anyone knows of any headphones that don’t suffer from this and can do all the other things that the HEKSE does so incredibly well please let me know - as that really would be perfection. Is that something inherent in all headphones (as compared with a large speaker?)

But in all other respects I’m very pleased.

Although they don't have the same sound signature as the HEKse (I have both) the Meze Empyrean are the only headphones I've ever owned (or even tried) that do not get congested at any volume, on any type of music. They are considerably darker than the Hifiman and the soundstage is narrower but they are very non fatiguing and very enjoyable. I keep them for loud and complex music, for which they shine like no other.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Really pleased with how these have evolved after 150 hours of burn in - the treble brightnes/harshness that I struggled with on first listen out the box has eased (a lot).

Everything else that I liked on first listen is still there in spades. To my ears they are like my Utopias but with more bass and a larger soundstage..

Pre burn in they were brighter than my Utopias. Post burn that’s not the case. Still on the bright side of things but in a nice way - lots of detail and sparkle - with far less of the brittleness/harshness that I first experienced fresh out the box. I prefer them out of my Studio Six to my Moon amplifier. They are just that bit more holographic out of the Studio Six (although the difference is not that great overall).

Like every headphone I’ve ever listened to they can get a bit congested with loud complex passages of modern pop/rock but to a lesser degree than I’m used to (but its still there)

If anyone knows of any headphones that don’t suffer from this and can do all the other things that the HEKSE does so incredibly well please let me know - as that really would be perfection. Is that something inherent in all headphones (as compared with a large speaker?)

But in all other respects I’m very pleased.

The Sennheiser 800/800S

 

[franz12]

I had it play over night – with rather loud signals –, but didn't notice any change so far. What I noticed, though, was a feeling of discomfort due to the hinted brittle- and sharpness, despite the phenomenal resolution and imaging. Overtones just lacked a bit of the natural sparkle and smoothness I'm used to from my other headphones. Spotting the culprit wasn't hard, as I could resort to my experience with the predecessor. Fortunately I found a pair of 3.5 mm plugs for reterminating the Silver Dragon cable I had kept in reserve.

What an instant relief! Suddenly all the smoothness and sparkle was there. So the original cable doesn't seem to be much better than the one that came with the V1. I'm still waiting on my two Lavricables sent in to get reterminated, they promise to improve the sound even more (→ detail).

My unit was received by sonarworks. I wonder what changes their software would bring to my unit.

 

[sean-xenos]

I am having the HifiMan HE-1000 V2 and SE and the Meze Audio Empyrean for loan over the weekend at home. I heard all three headphones in a headphone studio in Berlin for the second time and couldn't decide between the three cans.
My impression is that the V2 and the SE are very close in SQ if the V2 is properly amped with the right gain settings. The Empyrean is darker in comparison but also fuller in the midrange.
Sometimes the HE-1000 SE felt rather thin and coloured in the midrange, esp. with female singers like Diana Krall. I guess that it all depends on my own gear at home, DAC, cables, headphone amp.
I even brought my own amp for the listening session in the studio today and couldn't decide between the cans because I have a really wide range of musical tastes from classical works like Holst the Planets, Orff Carmina Burana, classical symphonies, Jazz, Pop and Rock, electronic music, even techno and some metal.
I already auditioned the Focal Utopias, Audeze LCD 4z, MrSpeakers Ether2, HD 800 S, Stax Electrostats and didn't enjoy them enough.

 

[Tekunda]

I am having the HifiMan HE-1000 V2 and SE and the Meze Audio Empyrean for loan over the weekend at home. I heard all three headphones in a headphone studio in Berlin for the second time and couldn't decide between the three cans.
My impression is that the V2 and the SE are very close in SQ if the V2 is properly amped with the right gain settings. The Empyrean is darker in comparison but also fuller in the midrange.
Sometimes the HE-1000 SE felt rather thin and coloured in the midrange, esp. with female singers like Diana Krall. I guess that it all depends on my own gear at home, DAC, cables, headphone amp.
I even brought my own amp for the listening session in the studio today and couldn't decide between the cans because I have a really wide range of musical tastes from classical works like Holst the Planets, Orff Carmina Burana, classical symphonies, Jazz, Pop and Rock, electronic music, even techno and some metal.
I already auditioned the Focal Utopias, Audeze LCD 4z, MrSpeakers Ether2, HD 800 S, Stax Electrostats and didn't enjoy them enough.

You have a couple more choices:
Final Audio D8000
Abyss 1266 TC
Hifiman Susvara
and the upcoming Heddphone, which I was able to audition in Munich.
My musical taste is almost identical to yours and I am also looking for the "perfect" headphone to suit my broad musical taste, which was one reason I went to the Munich show.
After listening to the Heddphone, I was impressed enough to wait for the official release of the Heddphone to make a final buying decision.
Before listening to the Heddphone, it was more or less coming down to either the Susvara or the Final Audio D8000.

 

[joseph69]

You have a couple more choices:
Final Audio D8000
Abyss 1266 TC
Hifiman Susvara
and the upcoming Heddphone, which I was able to audition in Munich.
My musical taste is almost identical to yours and I am also looking for the "perfect" headphone to suit my broad musical taste, which was one reason I went to the Munich show.
After listening to the Heddphone, I was impressed enough to wait for the official release of the Heddphone to make a final buying decision.
Before listening to the Heddphone, it was more or less coming down to either the Susvara or the Final Audio D8000.

What's the "upcoming headphone"?

 

[GU1DO]

What's the "upcoming headphone"?

He means this ,, i am also very interested
http://www.hedd.audio/en/heddphone/

 

[thecrow]

I am having the HifiMan HE-1000 V2 and SE and the Meze Audio Empyrean for loan over the weekend at home. I heard all three headphones in a headphone studio in Berlin for the second time and couldn't decide between the three cans.
My impression is that the V2 and the SE are very close in SQ if the V2 is properly amped with the right gain settings. The Empyrean is darker in comparison but also fuller in the midrange.
Sometimes the HE-1000 SE felt rather thin and coloured in the midrange, esp. with female singers like Diana Krall. I guess that it all depends on my own gear at home, DAC, cables, headphone amp.
I even brought my own amp for the listening session in the studio today and couldn't decide between the cans because I have a really wide range of musical tastes from classical works like Holst the Planets, Orff Carmina Burana, classical symphonies, Jazz, Pop and Rock, electronic music, even techno and some metal.
I already auditioned the Focal Utopias, Audeze LCD 4z, MrSpeakers Ether2, HD 800 S, Stax Electrostats and didn't enjoy them enough.

If you still have both, Your views on the hekv2 vs the hekse would be appreciated

 

[sean-xenos]

The Final Audio D8000 and the upcoming HEDDphone are really interesting alternatives to the phones I already auditioned. The D8000 seems to be a direct competitor to the Meze Audio Empyrean given their similar sound signature and great build quality.

HEDD Audio is based in Berlin, not far from where I am living. I'd like to ask them to audition a pre-production model of the HEDDphone to get an impression of its capabilities and sound signature.
It's really a great time to have so many high end TOTL headphones available.