[Svperstar]

V2 has a soundstage, but can't bring it in. That's where the 1000se does... huge holographic soundstage that can bring the finish.

I wonder how the 1000se does vs the Arya Organic, to my ears the V2 and Organic are basically the same when it comes to soundstage.

 

[joseph69]

This is why buying used is your best bet. I didn't pay anywhere near full price for my CRBN, and I would not.

I don't like to buy pre-owned headphones unless they're out of production and I really wan them--besides, I never pay retail for any headphones--there's always good room to negotiate when dealing with a reputable AD.

 

[morpheus69]

I wonder how the 1000se does vs the Arya Organic, to my ears the V2 and Organic are basically the same when it comes to soundstage.

The Organic is basically a V shaped Arya V2 with stealth magnets. I preferred the Arya Stealth in that regard, i don't want emphasis not in the recording. The 1000se stands above all the other Eggs IMO, the speed and detail of the driver, the instrument separation, the micro/macro transients, the width, height and depth of the stage --- it has a very honest representation of the recording.

 

[jcdreamer]

This is why buying used is your best bet. I didn't pay anywhere near full price for my CRBN, and I would not.

The thing is that $1999.00 price point for the SE (which I currently have as well for exactly 1 week today) is nothing in comparison to some of the TOTL headphones prices these days, which are just ridiculous. I'm not saying $1999.00 isn't a lot of money--because it is, but at this price point the SE in comparison to other TOTL headphones is an absolute bargain--as well as a TOTL endgame headphone.

I bought my HEKse used. Unfortunately I bought it before HiFiMan made that huge reduction in price. I paid $2,000 for a used one, which makes buying a new one at the current price a no-brainer if someone is interested in this marvelous headphone.

 

[joseph69]

I bought my HEKse used. Unfortunately I bought it before HiFiMan made that huge reduction in price. I paid $2,000 for a used one, which makes buying a new one at the current price a no-brainer if someone is interested in this marvelous headphone.

 

[Chuy24]

I had the Arya V2 for 2+ years and bought the HEKSE last summer. Ended up selling the Arya V2 last month. HEKSE has more sparkle and has somewhat of a silkier sound on top with more detail and better imaging. I generaly found its sound less clinical...contrary to what many reviewers say. This through my Schiit Mjolnir 3. Maybe its just the pairing!

That pairing must be great.

 

[sahmen]

That pairing must be great.

It's not just that pairing. I have tried the He-1000se within several different pairings, some of which one might classify as summit-fi, and others as "mid-fi." and, so far, it has never really disappointed with its performance on any occasion. Sometimes "a great can is simply a great can" and after all the trials on different rigs, I feel the Hekse is among the cans that ought to belong to that class of great cans. The susvara performs better when it is driven properly, but there are far too few rigs that can drive it properly as compared to the Hekse, so when it comes to drivability and compatibility or synergy with a superior number of diverse rigs, the Hekse is more likely to come out ahead of the Susvara, and I do not see that as an achievement to sneeze or snarkle at. Of course, YMMV, as usual.

 

[Pelilin]

I wonder why they reduce the price of SE. Recently i bought an SE and i find driver faulty from Imbalance and the left driver have different frequency / distortion on the left driver in 1700-2500hz area. The stamp of my unit was QC ed november 2023. Waiting my replacement but i am worried this is not my first time replacing Hifiman unit is their QC fall behind lately?

 

[morpheus69]

I wonder why they reduce the price of SE. Recently i bought an SE and i find driver faulty from Imbalance and the left driver have different frequency / distortion on the left driver in 1700-2500hz area. The stamp of my unit was QC ed november 2023. Waiting my replacement but i am worried this is not my first time replacing Hifiman unit is their QC fall behind lately?

Maybe they are the only smart company to adjust prices for the increased expense of life. Unlike others raising them. Better to sell than sit on it.

 

[MrHaelscheir]

I wonder why they reduce the price of SE. Recently i bought an SE and i find driver faulty from Imbalance and the left driver have different frequency / distortion on the left driver in 1700-2500hz area. The stamp of my unit was QC ed november 2023. Waiting my replacement but i am worried this is not my first time replacing Hifiman unit is their QC fall behind lately?

Yeah... I'm not sure if you've seen https://www.head-fi.org/threads/totl-disappointments.925164/post-17949397 (post #936). Frequency response or driver matching QC was generally pretty good across all three units I received, but the first and second replacements after the "good" unit (at least measured comparably to my Arya Stealth) whose diaphragm I accidentally punctured (something you wouldn't actually notice except in a 100 dB sine sweep with canal-blocking in-ear mics and upon looking at the distortion measurements) had unacceptable to disappointing distortion measurements. O: My two faulty units were also from November while my first good one was from August. I've emailed HiFiMan, whereby they appear to be taking my findings seriously and are investigating, whereby best case they will get back to me with a replacement that measures as we would expect for the HE1000se.

 

[Pelilin]

Yeah... I'm not sure if you've seen https://www.head-fi.org/threads/totl-disappointments.925164/post-17949397 (post #936). Frequency response or driver matching QC was generally pretty good across all three units I received, but the first and second replacements after the "good" unit (at least measured comparably to my Arya Stealth) whose diaphragm I accidentally punctured (something you wouldn't actually notice except in a 100 dB sine sweep with canal-blocking in-ear mics and upon looking at the distortion measurements) had unacceptable to disappointing distortion measurements. O: My two faulty units were also from November while my first good one was from August. I've emailed HiFiMan, whereby they appear to be taking my findings seriously and are investigating, whereby best case they will get back to me with a replacement that measures as we would expect for the HE1000se.

Have you got your replacement? Was it fixed? I notice this distortion with my ear it was very audible from the left driver.

 

[MrHaelscheir]

Have you got your replacement? Was it fixed? I notice this distortion with my ear it was very audible from the left driver.

What happened was I started with one unit which was okay, though I would have liked the right driver to be as good as the left. That unit got damaged, so I got one replacement which had rather poor distortion measurements, almost as bad as a driver that had been punctured. Otherwise, that distortion was probably barely audible for regular music listening, but was still clear evidence of poor QC. So I got another replacement which was only a bit better. I am awaiting a fourth replacement per the customer representative having said they are investigating the cause of these distortion issues. If you are noticing "very audible" distortion on just the left driver, the distortion measurement would probably look "horrific". Did you use a test rig or in-ear mics to localize the distorting frequencies and channel imbalance, or did you use some other method like listening to sine sweeps?

 

[Pelilin]

What happened was I started with one unit which was okay, though I would have liked the right driver to be as good as the left. That unit got damaged, so I got one replacement which had rather poor distortion measurements, almost as bad as a driver that had been punctured. Otherwise, that distortion was probably barely audible for regular music listening, but was still clear evidence of poor QC. So I got another replacement which was only a bit better. I am awaiting a fourth replacement per the customer representative having said they are investigating the cause of these distortion issues. If you are noticing "very audible" distortion on just the left driver, the distortion measurement would probably look "horrific". Did you use a test rig or in-ear mics to localize the distorting frequencies and channel imbalance, or did you use some other method like listening to sine sweeps?

Nah i dont have such equipment. I just use tone generator provided by a website. You can google it which make it easier compared to sine sweep video. Cant you just ask for refund will they agree?

 

[MrHaelscheir]

Nah i dont have such equipment. I just use tone generator provided by a website. You can google it which make it easier compared to sine sweep video. Cant you just ask for refund will they agree?

I have my reasons for still wanting an HE1000se, so I'm counting on the possibility of receiving a unit of the expected quality.

 

[Pelilin]

I have my reasons for still wanting an HE1000se, so I'm counting on the possibility of receiving a unit of the expected quality.

You must really love the sound of it. I kinda like the sound too but i am not comfortable with QC issue with expensive gear.