[Articnoise]

In my experience cables made of copper, silver or hybrids that use both - can all sound really good but all can also sound quite bad. My understanding is that the type of metal used for the wires is only one of many design aspects that can make a cable sound good/bad/different.

Other things that is of great importance is the quality (e.g. purity) of the copper/silver wires, the number of wire strains, the thickness of the cable, the insulation material used, the number of insulation layers in the cable, type of twisting design, the quality of the connectors, the soldering, the craftsmanship and probably many other things. All of them is of equal importance as the type of metal used for the wires IMO.

Maybe most important is the matching of gear. I can’t stress the importance of understand that we are changing components within a system (e.g. a chain), enough. By matching a system we chose gear that sounds good together, the problem is that if we change one component in an already well-balanced system we can loss the good balance. Not to complicate things, but it may not be the very component we changed that changes the sound per se, because the origin of the harsh sound for example can very well be upstream in some of our digital gear or coming from the mains power that was masked by the old component, previously.

I really like my HE1000se and think that it sound very good. I won’t deny that with its high resolution, super transparency and open and reviling character it fits best in a well-balanced audio system that have the same qualities, so not in a bright, harsh or overly analytical sounding system.

 

[KS80]

Let me ask you guys, has anyone heard the HEKSE with the Benchmark HPA4, is it a good match? If not, what are some good alternatives? Thank you!

 

[Arniesb]

So Trevor's pricey silver cables are A+ and his less pricey copper cables are crap? Got it. And if I change the sound with the DAC versus changing it with a cable, that's better? And warming the sound up with a copper cable is bad, but pricey silver cables trump all that? I think I understand now. I should know better than to express an opinion here on Head-Fi without qualifying it with, "just for my setup, just for my equipment, just what I hear, my own experience, YMMV, etc."

Listen man silver is just better conductor. It wont add anything, just reveal more.
He 1kse have dip in mids like many many high end headphones and therefore it can sound thin. I bet anything with Harman curve wont sound thin. I never heard Susvara sounding thin for example...

 

[GU1DO]

I am playing around with my HE1000se and i did put some foam layer inside the cups which gave interesting results :
Details are a little less , mid bass and mids got a boost , treble to my surprise got a little bit harsh , sound stage is smaller , and i know from my description it look like that its a bad mode but no not at all , what i gain in return is more dynamics , more excitement in the bass which suite pop and badly recorded music , and above all better depth in imaging which i find the HE6se has more, i dont how but i wish the HE1000se had the same level of depth as the HE6se , i dont think i will stick with that mode but at least its not permanent and could removed easily when i got bored with it,

 

[TheAttorney]

I am playing around with my HE1000se and i did put some foam layer inside the cups which gave interesting results

I've noticed recently that the SE pads have a significant difference to my old V2 pads:

On V2, the dust protector was a thin (elastic when pressed) mesh cloth built into the pads. And no dust protection on the driver.
On my SE of a few months old, there is no dust cloth on the pads, and instead there is a stiff plastic mesh, with larger square holes, built into the driver enclosure. The same stiff plastic mesh is on the outside of the driver.

I think the new design is slightly better in that there is less danger of damaging the driver membrane when changing pads, and especially if attempting the Felian Port mod.
However, the larger square holes will probably give a slightly different sound to the fine mesh cloth.

Furthermore, the very latest SE now has that hard plastic mesh replaced with the fine mesh cloth on both inside and outside of the driver. The pads themselves remain with no mesh.
One could speculate why this latest subtle change was made. Better dust protection maybe? But whatever the reason, this will most likely subtly affect SQ.

Note that this pad difference between V2 and SE means that it is ok to use V2 pads on SE (as hifiman have previously confimed), although a double mesh may impact SQ whilst doubling dust protection.
But it would be very unwise to use SE pads on V2 because there would be no dust/ debris protection at all.

 

[GU1DO]

I've noticed recently that the SE pads have a significant difference to my old V2 pads:

On V2, the dust protector was a thin (elastic when pressed) mesh cloth built into the pads. And no dust protection on the driver.
On my SE of a few months old, there is no dust cloth on the pads, and instead there is a stiff plastic mesh, with larger square holes, built into the driver enclosure. The same stiff plastic mesh is on the outside of the driver.

I think the new design is slightly better in that there is less danger of damaging the driver membrane when changing pads, and especially if attempting the Felian Port mod.
However, the larger square holes will probably give a slightly different sound to the fine mesh cloth.

Furthermore, the very latest SE now has that hard plastic mesh replaced with the fine mesh cloth on both inside and outside of the driver. The pads themselves remain with no mesh.
One could speculate why this latest subtle change was made. Better dust protection maybe? But whatever the reason, this will most likely subtly affect SQ.

Note that this pad difference between V2 and SE means that it is ok to use V2 pads on SE (as hifiman have previously confimed), although a double mesh may impact SQ whilst doubling dust protection.
But it would be very unwise to use SE pads on V2 because there would be no dust/ debris protection at all.

I am really tempted to try the V2 pads , are you sure it will fit the SE ?

 

[thecrow]

I am really tempted to try the V2 pads , are you sure it will fit the SE ?

Yes. According to hifiman (from when i upgraded to se)

 

[GU1DO]

Yes. According to hifiman (from when i upgraded to se)

Thats great ,, Thanks , i just ordered a pair

 

[nishan99]

Furthermore, the very latest SE now has that hard plastic mesh replaced with the fine mesh cloth on both inside and outside of the driver. The pads themselves remain with no mesh.
One could speculate why this latest subtle change was made. Better dust protection maybe? But whatever the reason, this will most likely subtly affect SQ.

Was that happened at the same time they changed the balanced cable to the 4 pin xlr instead of the 4.4mm?

 

[thecrow]

How does the HEK sound with the WA2? I know an OTL and planar are not usually a good combo, but how is it anyway? Looking for a good hybrid or tube amp with some slam for the HEK.

update: listening to steely dan with the hekse and wa2 and all is good. a touch of warmth and laid backness compared to my auralic taurus but unlike the empyrean (which was bloated) these are fine together.
Maybe not ideal or perfect but quite good and will get more use. Maybe even a little bit better match with the wa2 than what it was for my lcd 2 which was a little more warmer/coloured yet enjoyable

note: by "little" I mean litle

 

[Viper Necklampy]

So, did you guys find the He1000se good/better with a cable which has Rhodium-plated connectors?
Would like to know as in future i would liked to put top-of-the-line Rhodium connectors in my cable

 

[thecrow]

So, did you guys find the He1000se good/better with a cable which has Rhodium-plated connectors?
Would like to know as in future i would liked to put top-of-the-line Rhodium connectors in my cable

I’ve never tested or a-b’d connectors

maybe I’m not trying hard enough

 

[Viper Necklampy]

I’ve never tested or a-b’d connectors

maybe I’m not trying hard enough

Just let me know when you will have a copper or silver cable with rhodium-plated connectors then

 

[Articnoise]

So, did you guys find the He1000se good/better with a cable which has Rhodium-plated connectors?
Would like to know as in future i would liked to put top-of-the-line Rhodium connectors in my cable

I have rhodium-plated connectors on my Forza Noir Hybrid HPC, but can’t really compare them to none rhodium connectors without take them apart and soldering other connectors, something I won’t do.

I believe that if the rest of your audio gear is good the difference between connector materials can be heard, but would not estimate the SQ difference to be more than noticeable. Anyway I chose this one from Furutech and are confident it worth to get to use with the HE1000se.

http://www.furutech.com/2015/04/17/10768/

 

[crazy88888888]

I am looking into buying a balanced XLR cable. Does it matter on the dual 3.5mm side if its TS / TRS / TRRS ?