[ptolemy2k6]

Ouch

What will a v2 owner do? LoL

Will it be 800 more bucks to upgrade?

pretty sure these will be much easier to drive, so it's not an upgrade but a along-side....? audeze just did that with lcd-4 and I guess the mx version?

 

[rgs9200m]

I haven't had any QC issues with my HE500, HE6, HE560, or HEKv2, just for the record.

 

[JaZZ]

I for one did have build-quality issues with my unit. The leather headband was way too short and thus had too much tension, causing an uncomfortable concentration of the pressure on the middle of my head. Two esthetically questionable foam cushions passably helped. Later successively both sides of the leather band separated from the frame. I couldn't fix it any other way than with super glue. Another problem of the headband was that the stops didn't really provide reliable stops; each time I took the headphone off and put it on again I had to readjust the headband. After maybe 1½ years the right socket began to develop interrupts and finally died. So I brought it to my dealer for repair or replacement. I got a brand new pair. With which everything is fine now, except for the headband stops, which could be called nonexistent. My solution was to hammer some short pieces of wire into the stop holes of my preferred postition. I was glad when the V2 pads were finally available – they provided a definitive improvement both sonically and in terms of comfort. A few weeks after purchase the polyester skin of one of them began to separate from the foam filling. After all I got a new pair for free. So far no problem anymore.

Of course my sympathy for HiFiMan has greatly suffered, not least after the temporary V2 pads boycott. On the other hand I'm not strictly against improvements of existing models and don't feel duped by the SE. I will certainly audition it and compare it with the Susvara (of which I had a brief audition already – to my ears the DAVE can drive it effortlessly, with better sound than via EF1000). Well, the sound quality of HiFiMan's top models is simply too high to be ignored.

 

[rgs9200m]

So JaZZ, since you have long experience with the HEKs, I be grateful for your impression of how they compare to the Susvara sonically.

I'm a big fan of my HEKv2, so I'm curious. I've had the HEKv1 (and later the HEKv2) since the HEK was introduced.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Hifi Boy]

I for one did have build-quality issues with my unit. The leather headband was way too short and thus had too much tension, causing an uncomfortable concentration of the pressure on the middle of my head. Two esthetically questionable foam cushions passably helped. Later successively both sides of the leather band separated from the frame. I couldn't fix it any other way than with super glue. Another problem of the headband was that the stops didn't really provide reliable stops; each time I took the headphone off and put it on again I had to readjust the headband. After maybe 1½ years the right socket began to develop interrupts and finally died. So I brought it to my dealer for repair or replacement. I got a brand new pair. With which everything is fine now, except for the headband stops, which could be called nonexistent. My solution was to hammer some short pieces of wire into the stop holes of my preferred postition. I was glad when the V2 pads were finally available – they provided a definitive improvement both sonically and in terms of comfort. A few weeks after purchase the polyester skin of one of them began to separate from the foam filling. After all I got a new pair for free. So far no problem anymore.

Of course my sympathy for HiFiMan has greatly suffered, not least after the temporary V2 pads boycott. On the other hand I'm not strictly against improvements of existing models and don't feel duped by the SE. I will certainly audition it and compare it with the Susvara (of which I had a brief audition already – to my ears the DAVE can drive it effortlessly, with better sound than via EF1000). Well, the sound quality of HiFiMan's top models is simply too high to be ignored.

I agree with everything you said, but are you sure that the polyester pads are more comfortable than the velour pads? I'm not talking about the shape, but strictly the material.

 

[JaZZ]

That may be an individual thing. Yes, for me the new pads are way more comfortable. The old ones felt hot and kind of scratchy after five or ten minutes.

 

[omniweltall]

That may be an individual thing. Yes, for me the new pads are way more comfortable. The old ones felt hot and kind of scratchy after five or ten minutes.

Yeah, me too. The v1 pads make me itchy. It is a matter of preference too.

 

[Matez]

Yeah, me too. The v1 pads make me itchy. It is a matter of preference too.

Fully agreed. Had v1, now I own v2 and these are better indeed.

 

[Hifi Boy]

For me it's about the softness. They do get warm, which doesn't really bother me, and I've never felt any itching, so overall v1 wins for me.

 

[JeffMann]

I own both the HE1000v2 and the Susvara and I think that the Susvara is much better from a sound quality perspective. When I first purchased the Susvara I thought that the improvement in sound quality was not necessarily worth the extra $3,000, but after 1 year I am increasingly delighted that I purchased the Susvara and I no longer listen to my HE1000v2 (which I should probably sell).

Jeff.

 

[Rhamnetin]

I own both the HE1000v2 and the Susvara and I think that the Susvara is much better from a sound quality perspective. When I first purchased the Susvara I thought that the improvement in sound quality was not necessarily worth the extra $3,000, but after 1 year I am increasingly delighted that I purchased the Susvara and I no longer listen to my HE1000v2 (which I should probably sell).

Jeff.

Yeah when you get to this end of the spectrum, even what one might call a 10% improvement could be considered massive and worth a lot of extra money. An example I can give right now is comparing the Kimber Kable Hero to the Hero AG interconnect in my current system. I'd call the Hero AG 10-15% better yet it costs many times more, but I may very well purchase a Hero AG.

 

[mulveling]

That's the nature of asymptotes. A very small displacement in one axis (absolute performance level) can still lead to a HUGE effect in another axis (i.e. you unhindered connection to the music).

 

[GU1DO]

Bright and unrealistic sound ? really confusing review.

 

[ufospls2]

After reading the below

http://majorhifi.com/hifiman-he6se-review/

I realised "Major-Hifi" is to be disregarded on a whole. Seems like a website dedicated to making money (even worse than the usual suspects,) rather than well done reviews and high quality content.

 

[alphanumerix1]

Bright and unrealistic sound ? really confusing review.

he/she is confusing in general.