[joseph69]

You're going to enjoy it. I have both the HEK V2's and HEKse's and find they complement each other very well. The HEKse's are highly technical with great bass. The HEK V2's have technical ability, but are more musical with an expansive, airy sound in comparison. I love both headphones.

I've been hearing that I'm "going to enjoy it" since its introduction from many fellow head-Fi members who bought them or traded their V2 for the SE via HiFiMAN--but I was (and are) so satisfied with the V2 that I put off trading/buying the SE for $3.5K thinking it would just be a side step, and I already new what I had, but didn't know what I was going to get. Really looking forward to receiving the SE. You hit the sound description of the V2 right on the head as far as I'm concerned--so you can understand why I never made the move for the SE--but now it's time to hear it.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Agree. They don't compete with each other, they are too different. You might wanna say the technical abilities are simply another level and it's indeed true but the presentation, character is quite different and in good contrast. The HE1000v2 gives you a certain romance which the HE1000SE does not. It's softer, less tight and stringent, it's warmer, overall relaxed nature makes for a cozier listen. Hifiman should have kept this unique model instead of releasing a poor man's HE1000SE to replace it.

 

[joseph69]

Agree. They don't compete with each other, they are too different. You might wanna say the technical abilities are simply another level and it's indeed true but the presentation, character is quite different and in good contrast. The HE1000v2 gives you a certain romance which the HE1000SE does not. It's softer, less tight and stringent, it's warmer, overall relaxed nature makes for a cozier listen. Hifiman should have kept this unique model instead of releasing a poor man's HE1000SE to replace it.

I see you own both--the V2/SE--but I don't quite understand your post.
Which model are you referring to as "a poor mans HE1000se"?

 

[thecrow]

I see you own both--the V2/SE--but I don't quite understand your post.
Which model are you referring to as "a poor mans HE1000se"?

I assume the stealth edition

 

[Fegefeuer]

Yeah, the Stealth.

 

[joseph69]

I assume the stealth edition

Yeah, the Stealth.

Thanks
Just had the Stealth for ~3 weeks and thought it was a very good headphone, especially for its price, but did prefer my V2, so the Stealth went back and the SE is incoming.

 

[Daniel4IEM]

To determine which frequencies sound too forward for your ears, I would recommend listening through a sine sweep like below at moderate loudness for frequencies that get louder at a greater rate than usual, which would suggest the presence of a peak.



An alternate and a bit more taxing method would be to listen to pink noise like can be generated from https://download.cnet.com/burninwavegenerator/3000-2169_4-10711592.html, but you would also need access to parametric EQ like with Equalizer APO (for Windows) to create a +10 dB peaking filter that you can sweep back and forth to match and identify any peaks you might hear, whereby you can then apply a negative-gain peaking filter to smooth out the perceived frequency response in that region. I personally haven't heard any degradation from Equalizer APO, mind its minimum-phase EQ can actually be used to correct phase distortions. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mez...eadphone-official-thread.959445/post-17549413 (post #4,665) goes into more detail regarding how I EQ by ear. More accurate but involved would be to obtain a pair of in-ear mics like in https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mez...eadphone-official-thread.959445/post-17743502 (post #5,152) which will show you clearly where the peaks are for your own ears, and also reveals just how inaccurate making profiles from online measurements and adjusting them by ear can be.

If you want to find the forward parts specific to a song, you would need to download a spectrum analyzer that can read your PC or music player audio, and even then, some harshness may be inherent to the recording and not fixable with EQ or volume changes, though maybe DACs and amps can induce a psychological effect (until the day measurements come to say otherwise) smoothing out said harshness.

super helpful! THANK YOU

 

[Daniel4IEM]

Thanks
Just had the Stealth for ~3 weeks and thought it was a very good headphone, especially for its price, but did prefer my V2, so the Stealth went back and the SE is incoming.

While still in 30 day return period on SE I am considering v2. I see it refurbished at hifiman store. Anyone have experience with refurbished units there? Same 3 year warranty applies...

 

[eugene2]

Equipment should be a great consideration when discussing how headphones/speakers sound. For example peaks can be exacerbated by the equipment feeding the transducer. Tubes versus transisters, r2r dac versus delta sigma. I use a both with my Burson Voyager and Schiit Midgard. I think the question of better sometimes depends on synergy...

 

[MrHaelscheir]

Equipment should be a great consideration when discussing how headphones/speakers sound. For example peaks can be exacerbated by the equipment feeding the transducer. Tubes versus transisters, r2r dac versus delta sigma. I use a both with my Burson Voyager and Schiit Midgard. I think the question of better sometimes depends on synergy...

I know that some people may subjectively feel like peaks (I'm assuming you are referring to treble peaks in the frequency response as opposed to dynamic peaks) can be altered by amps or DACs, but I would at least like folks to more critically test whether such is the case by at least precisely volume-matching the stacks and seeing if differences in treble peak levels are audible when listening to sine sweeps or pink noise. If we're talking about amps or DACs changing the crest factor of the music output by the transducers, that phenomenon if extant should be measurable with a test rig or in-ear microphones, and maybe amp output impedance may have something to do with it.

 

[morpheus69]

While still in 30 day return period on SE I am considering v2. I see it refurbished at hifiman store. Anyone have experience with refurbished units there? Same 3 year warranty applies...

Unless you are doing it to save money, stick with the SE, it's a better headphone, Susvara tech, and if you haven't broken it in yet. wait... it's an amazing pair.

 

[oozy2007]

can u guys suggest me good rca and xlr cables interconnects for amp and dac for he1000se. feel my interconnects are not good, my budget 300 dollars for both interconnects right now i have amazon interconnects.

 

[Daniel4IEM]

Unless you are doing it to save money, stick with the SE, it's a better headphone, Susvara tech, and if you haven't broken it in yet. wait... it's an amazing pair.

According to this the V2 would help with the brightness (violins, horns and some vocals bother me), and yeah the $500 cost savings are significant. How many hours would you say I need to break in the SE? I have probably listened to 15-20 hours so far

 

[MrHaelscheir]

can u guys suggest me good rca and xlr cables interconnects for amp and dac for he1000se. feel my interconnects are not good, my budget 300 dollars for both interconnects right now i have amazon interconnects.

I would recommend Monoprice cables simply because they look and feel nice to me. If you care about measurements as in https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-of-rca-cables-mogami-amazon-monoprice.27871/ and https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/battle-of-budget-xlr-cables.31301/, they should be transparent, though the Amazon cables might even have better mains noise rejection, though that measurement result may have mainly been due to differences in cable length, and even then, for short runs, any noise picked up should not be audible. Is there anything you think you are hearing with the Amazon cables? Whether you choose to spend more in hope of hearing some kind of improvement is up to you.

 

[borkenarrou]

Equipment should be a great consideration when discussing how headphones/speakers sound. For example peaks can be exacerbated by the equipment feeding the transducer. Tubes versus transisters, r2r dac versus delta sigma. I use a both with my Burson Voyager and Schiit Midgard. I think the question of better sometimes depends on synergy...

Particularly the R2R part, I read somewhere that Dr Bian from Hifiman like R2R DACs so it is likely they tune their headphones using R2R DACs which also may explain the slight sizzle up top on all Hifiman HPs, if you see their DAC offering they are also all R2R topology.