[TheMiddleSky]

I had the HEKse and sold it after receiving the Susvara in a trade deal. I kind of regretted selling the HEKse instead of the Susvara, as it was very easy to drive. Although I still believe that DCA Stealth is the HP for me, I want to buy something that is both easy to drive and completely open, so that I can still hear what is happening around me. My candidates are the HEKv2S and Arya Organic.

If you want to retain most of technical factors from HE1000SE, then I suggest just go to HE1000 Stealth. Arya Organic, while nice for the price, still in Arya's realm of technicalities. Arya Organic has advantage with weightier notes and smoother treble presentation than HE1000 Stealth though.

 

[RadekB]

It's been a while since the price drop of the HE1000se, and I still feel screwed up by HiFiMan (bought mine almost full price not so long ago). Got the same?

 

[TheAbyss2022]

It's been a while since the price drop of the HE1000se, and I still feel screwed up by HiFiMan (bought mine almost full price not so long ago). Got the same?

I bought a 2nd hand pair for £1950 just when they did the initial price drop and I didn't even realise the price went down and thought I got a good deal but at least I didn't need to go through any burn in...

 

[tradyblix]

Headphones nor any other consumer electronics are investments, so I guess nobody should expect them to retain value long term. They're luxury expenditures.

I mean think about all the people that have headphones that are still being traded for $5,000 that aren't worth it...

 

[S Crowther]

Agreed There's no endgame generally, I think. There's going to be a better DAC better AMP in the future but you have to look for it, of course. It's really up to you if you are contented or satisfied in your setup and decided not to look for a better one. In that case, that will be the endgame. Your "endgame". Maybe we can leave it at that?


Anyway, came here for help about my post above . Any DAC amp suggestions? From what I've read/scoured so far the Violectric v280/1 seems to be the best match for HekSE(aside from tubes).

I had the V281 and the HEKse. I found the V281 was too powerful for them. I sold the V281 and bought a Denafrips Artemis. I like this combo better. Much better details and more natural bass. The Artemis also pairs well with my Sennheiser HD800s.
only caveat is I understand an upgraded Artemis is due in a few months.

 

[tholt]

It's been a while since the price drop of the HE1000se, and I still feel screwed up by HiFiMan (bought mine almost full price not so long ago). Got the same?

Are they still selling for that lowered price? That is crazy low. I wonder if that is the new normal. If it is, I feel bad for anyone selling a pair, they're gonna lose a ton of money.

You're in the same boat with anyone who bought recently before the drop but it is what it is, unless you can work something out with Hifiman.

I had the V281 and the HEKse. I found the V281 was too powerful for them. I sold the V281 and bought a Denafrips Artemis. I like this combo better. Much better details and more natural bass. The Artemis also pairs well with my Sennheiser HD800s.
only caveat is I understand an upgraded Artemis is due in a few months.

I also had the same combo V281/HE1000se. I ended up liking tubes a lot more with the 1000se but you do realize the gain on the V281 can be changed. I didn't think the amp was 'too powerful' since the gain was adjustable, but more of a sonic preference, or not. Tubes are great with the 1000se

 

[EasyCheese]

I had the HEKse and sold it after receiving the Susvara in a trade deal. I kind of regretted selling the HEKse instead of the Susvara, as it was very easy to drive. Although I still believe that DCA Stealth is the HP for me, I want to buy something that is both easy to drive and completely open, so that I can still hear what is happening around me. My candidates are the HEKv2S and Arya Organic. SE is somewhat bright for me.


This is a very controversial subject, as it needs more "detailed" discussion about the process itself (the signal processing part), its physical implementation, the components around it, the package it is served in etc. I think it is better to keep the DAC discussion out if we want to keep the temperature low in this thread.

Oh, OK! There is a HE1000 thread. Maybe I should head to there. Sorry for keeping the wrong trade busy.

What amp are you running to drive your HEKse? Are you looking to downstep with the Arya Organic? I'm speculating you may benefit from a warmer amp.
(Coming from the HEKV2Stealth here as my background of knowledge)

 

[DarginMahkum]

What amp are you running to drive your HEKse? Are you looking to downstep with the Arya Organic? I'm speculating you may benefit from a warmer amp.
(Coming from the HEKV2Stealth here as my background of knowledge)

Thanks for the suggestion. I prefer to have the most transparent, colourless sources and use EQ to "reshape" them. Same thing also for the portables, but running extra EQ processing means eating away from the battery, so I prefer to have something that either does not need any EQ or as less as possible. I have also the Meze Elite here, which I got through a trade deal but I don't like its base tuning at all. I know many do, but they are just not for me. Focal Utopia 2022 was also an option but I don't like, as a vegan, that they use real leather everywhere on the HP. That brings me back to the HEK series.

Frankly I still think that the best option is OG HEKv2, as it has the best tuning I have heard so far but it is more difficult to drive. I was just hoping that the Arya Organic has a similar tuning to HEKv2, that is why it is also in my list.

 

[RadekB]

Headphones nor any other consumer electronics are investments, so I guess nobody should expect them to retain value long term. They're luxury expenditures.

I mean think about all the people that have headphones that are still being traded for $5,000 that aren't worth it...

Yes, they are. And nobody expect them to retain value long term, that's the fact.
But if you buy 3.5k and then see it at 2k, you can no longer expect to sell yours better than 1.5k. That's a hell of a value loss in a short period of time.
Not caused by the fact that they are not good headphones, therefore not worth the money you paid originally.
It's because the manufacturer who's not even pretending about their margins - a huge slap in the face for a huge HiFiMan fan I used to be.

 

[EasyCheese]

Seeing STAX retain an amazing resale value through the years and Hifiman dropping fast even before this most recent price drop was one of my largest considerations when I bought an SR-007 earlier this year, actually, and one of the things making me afraid of staying upgraded from my Ananda to my HEKv2S on its 30 day return window, honestly... It feels almost like buying a windows PC and pretending it will sell anywhere as well as I bought a few years later.

 

[Faitoq]

@S Crowther @tholt - thanks both for the inputs.

@tholt - what tube amps have you tried with HekSE? and what was your favorite paring?

 

[tradyblix]

Yes, they are. And nobody expect them to retain value long term, that's the fact.
But if you buy 3.5k and then see it at 2k, you can no longer expect to sell yours better than 1.5k. That's a hell of a value loss in a short period of time.
Not caused by the fact that they are not good headphones, therefore not worth the money you paid originally.
It's because the manufacturer who's not even pretending about their margins - a huge slap in the face for a huge HiFiMan fan I used to be.

Yeah. I mean I understand why you're upset that you can't sell a can that probably wasn't worth 3.5k in the first place for more than 1.5k now, I do understand that, but it's great for new buyers. Like myself. Where now things are more sensibly priced. Especially After experiencing 5k products (which I didn't pay more than 2700 for btw, nobody should be paying MSRP on these things) failing after 5 years and being a hassle to get fixed, and having 3k products have successors come out only a year later which also devalues them.. it's just par for the course.... I just hope for longevity out of my current devices.

Once in a while you'll get something like the R10 I guess, and that might actually increase in value. Something that becomes a curiosity item. Stax has always been niche since it requires expensive energizers to use, etc. but man I mean think about the original 1266 owners or LCD3 and 4 owners at this point...

But hey just my opinion.

 

[S Crowther]

Are they still selling for that lowered price? That is crazy low. I wonder if that is the new normal. If it is, I feel bad for anyone selling a pair, they're gonna lose a ton of money.

You're in the same boat with anyone who bought recently before the drop but it is what it is, unless you can work something out with Hifiman.


I also had the same combo V281/HE1000se. I ended up liking tubes a lot more with the 1000se but you do realize the gain on the V281 can be changed. I didn't think the amp was 'too powerful' since the gain was adjustable, but more of a sonic preference, or not. Tubes are great with the 1000se

I adjusted the gain to the lowest possible. I did not like the change in SQ. I also did not like having to change the gain settings whenever I changed headphones.
But at the end of the day the Artemis just sounds better.

 

[RadekB]

Yeah. I mean I understand why you're upset that you can't sell a can that probably wasn't worth 3.5k in the first place for more than 1.5k now, I do understand that, but it's great for new buyers. Like myself. Where now things are more sensibly priced. Especially After experiencing 5k products (which I didn't pay more than 2700 for btw, nobody should be paying MSRP on these things) failing after 5 years and being a hassle to get fixed, and having 3k products have successors come out only a year later which also devalues them.. it's just par for the course.... I just hope for longevity out of my current devices.

Once in a while you'll get something like the R10 I guess, and that might actually increase in value. Something that becomes a curiosity item. Stax has always been niche since it requires expensive energizers to use, etc. but man I mean think about the original 1266 owners or LCD3 and 4 owners at this point...

But hey just my opinion.

Again, I'm not talking about products losing value over time; that's normal, and everyone is aware of it. I'm talking about manufacturers showing their customers that a 45% drop in price is still profitable, which is definitely not a typical behavior among manufacturers.

Before buying the HE1000se, I auditioned the 1266TC, LCD5/4, Meze Empyrean/Elite, and many others in that price range. In my opinion, the HE1000se stood out significantly above the rest. That's why I chose them, not solely based on their price but also for their features. I was willing to pay that amount (just as I was ready to pay for Meze and the others).

Of course, this is great for new buyers, and I'm not suggesting that they shouldn't have done it.

It's just the first time I've seen a manufacturer demonstrating margin issues so clearly. That's surprising.

P.S. I no longer listen to the HE1000se since I got Susvaras

 

[tradyblix]

Lol. I almost spit out my coffee that was so smug.

I wonder if you will be as happy as you are now if a new Susvara comes out and the old model is moved to the recently vacated 3k range.

One thing I noticed about head fi is the more expensive the headphone the snootier the thread gets. there's just something about that exclusivity or Price equals better thing that can't be shaken.

Also aren't you in the wrong thread if you don't listen to your hekse anymore ?