HIFIMAN HE1000 STEALTH Impressions sharing

[NymPHONOmaniac]

Hello headfier, i'm not 100% certain if their a thread dedicated to this headphones but I haven't found it if so...
I did find some for all other HE1K version though....but I just own the Stealth version right now so I can't comment on other...


I mean, I own Arya Organic, Audivina, Ananda Nano and Sundara, but my supreme crush and obsession is this marvelously musical and lush sounding mid centric HE1000 Stealth and I will be happe to share about it here as well as very welcome for diversify impressions of other owner!

So unless their another thread about this HP, let's wake up this one!

For ex, it seem the big question I get often is how those compare the the HE1K SE...since its 600$ pricier I expect superior technical performance but will tonality differ alot too? Thats the question, cause Stealth tone and timbre is so delicious....

I can't stop to listen solo piano piece with those, right now its last Keith Jarret album, playing Wurttenberg Bach sonatas....note weight is felt, each note has natural full bodied tone, its soft, their no texture imbalance, nor grainy presence, nor planar infamous wonky timbre....sustain is vibrant and warm...piano sound better than clavichord because it doesnt need as much snap and spakle-decay, so Goldberg Variation played with this instrument from same Keith was good in tone yet lack a bit of edge to attack definition as well as well felt air on top so this metallic note blossom fully...

Anyway, its very first post i will share more observation here...as well as pics. There some:

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

Their you go for my first comparisons. I hope it will help you make the right choice!

HIFIMAN HE1000 Stealth VS HIFIMAN ARYA ORGANIC

The Arya are brighter, crisper and more U shape in overall balance. HE1K is warmer, more mid centric and smoother-thicker in balance. Arya sound more technical and less colored.

The bass boom faster and cleaner but is thinner, more resonance and less creamy with Arya, their less mid bass body and weight than HE1K, kick drum are less rounded but bass line are clearer and more agile. HE1K slip and thicken lower mid range more too.

The mids are leaner, slightly more recessed, brighter and more transparent with Arya, it sound more open and offer edgier definition of instrument. HE1K is lusher, offer wider more fowards vocal and mid range instrument presence, this presence is more creamy, less prompt to sibilance or texture dryness. Timbre is more natural and smooth. Piano and overall instrument have heavier not weight and more tactile body. Arya mids are more resolved and airy, less sitcken togheter with lower harmonic warmth.

Treble is quite similar, but Arya have cleaner airier presentation which permit more precise tracking of percussions, we have a hint more brilliance and sparkle but slightly thinner highs. Lower treble is more boosted and extract greater texture info than more buttery HE1K. Sens of speed is more magnify with the Arya as well.

Spatiality is notably wider and taller with HE1K but not as depth and clean as Arya, which isn't as intimate in holographic headroom. With HE1K your in middle of music scene, sometime very near instrument or vocal while for Arya you not far from stage, like in second row with clean vision.

Imaging is superior-edgier-crisper with the Arya, when vocal occur with HE1K it can affect readibility of whole scene due to extra focus of the mid range. Monitoring is easier and more accurate with Arya due to cleaner separation and edgier definition of them.

All in all, if you are timbre and tone lover and favor mid range instrument and vocal fullness and wideness as well as note weight and smooth balance, the HE1000 Stealth is the one to choose, if your more into high fidelity clarity and effortlesly analytical sound, the Arya Organic is an easy suggestion. Personaly, the HE1K trigger way more emotional response and musical immersivity to me and warmer tonality make it more versatile, while Arya shine with instrumental music mostly and less so with vocal, but even that will depend since the presence from upper mids is quite fowarded, just not as softed and a bit more desubstantialize in lower mids and fundamental harmonic.

 

[andjar]

https://audionotions.com/hifiman-arya-organic-he1000-stealth/

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

https://audionotions.com/hifiman-arya-organic-he1000-stealth/

interesting....very different impressions than mine....i guess your take about mids is about presence boost (upper mids)...fascinating how different is psychoacoustic perception.

can i know what you pair it with?

me its Hifiman EF600....smooth sounding with dense natural timbre and relaxed yet weighty dynamic...and plenty of power up to 5W

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

For graph lover, i think this can be interesting though im not sure how valuable and precise those graph are

 

[andjar]

interesting....very different impressions than mine....i guess your take about mids is about presence boost (upper mids)...fascinating how different is psychoacoustic perception.

can i know what you pair it with?

me its Hifiman EF600....smooth sounding with dense natural timbre and relaxed yet weighty dynamic...and plenty of power up to 5W

Not mine. I just thought it's a good comparison.
Anyway...there is a huge thread in the high-end section but since Hifiman doesn't charge 3000$ for the HE1000 anymore ,i think it should have a thread here as well...or maybe the admins will have that one moved in this section.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hifiman-he1000-planar-dynamic-headphone.748334/

 

[TechNICKal]

Something to consider as well is the HE1000 Stealth has:
1. An overall nicer build quality
2. An extra year of warranty
3. Comes with both a 1/4" AND a balanced cable
4. Will likely hold its value better over time

If you can't decide which headphone you may prefer best, I think the HE1000 Stealth is the logical choice for another $100. Or if you're okay with refurbished, even less than the Arya Organic.

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

Not mine. I just thought it's a good comparison.
Anyway...there is a huge thread in the high-end section but since Hifiman doesn't charge 3000$ for the HE1000 anymore ,i think it should have a thread here as well...or maybe the admins will have that one moved in this section.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hifiman-he1000-planar-dynamic-headphone.748334/

ok, yes tx for sharing it was an interesting take.
If you find any comparisons against Susvara or/and HE1K SE this would be incredible....ill seek some.

about thread i just didnt find it for the Stealth....so ill give a look to whole HE1K serie thread too.

I see you own those, what part of sound your prefer with them? and well lol same question: what dac-amp prefer?

im about to give a try with something else than EF600....but i love so muct this setup...i think it will be a schock to go SMSL SH9 THX AAA ultra lean cold amp!

Something to consider as well is the HE1000 Stealth has:
1. An overall nicer build quality
2. An extra year of warranty
3. Comes with both a 1/4" AND a balanced cable
4. Will likely hold its value better over time

If you can't decide which headphone you may prefer best, I think the HE1000 Stealth is the logical choice for another $100. Or if you're okay with refurbished, even less than the Arya Organic.

nice adding, i should take pic of these 3meters long cable lol quality is good for hifiman cables yet....as a cat owner im super paranoid with these cable...but ive try Meze 2.5bal to XLR adapter and dislike it so much....need to go back to stock XLR cable. it think the fault is due to my cheap XLR to 2.5mm adapter, not the meze cable.

and its true that it would surprise me these goes lower than 1K$ in the future....unlike Arya. ironically, the Hifiman headphones keeping its value the most seem the Sundara...which i will never ever sell! even if HE1Kstealth is kina ultimate upgrade of similar tonality and timbre....

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

ok out of not that enthusiast curiosity i give a try to SMSL SH9+Hiby R6proII pairing with HE1Ks....
its cleaner and leaner as well as crisper...as expected since it do this to anything i throw at it...i can still perceive this sligth sub to mid bass warmth but without the rounded thicken punch of EF600 pairing, which sound way more dynamic, yet we have some tube like euphonic warmth going on in lower mids...

Planar are very source picky in term of amping and quite transparent in term of tonality of DAC...to fully open its headroom, i think the SH9 isnt a good choice, it deliver tunnel like spatiality....

 

[Magol79]

Hello headfier, i'm not 100% certain if their a thread dedicated to this headphones but I haven't found it if so...
I did find some for all other HE1K version though....but I just own the Stealth version right now so I can't comment on other...


I mean, I own Arya Organic, Audivina, Ananda Nano and Sundara, but my supreme crush and obsession is this marvelously musical and lush sounding mid centric HE1000 Stealth and I will be happe to share about it here as well as very welcome for diversify impressions of other owner!

So unless their another thread about this HP, let's wake up this one!

For ex, it seem the big question I get often is how those compare the the HE1K SE...since its 600$ pricier I expect superior technical performance but will tonality differ alot too? Thats the question, cause Stealth tone and timbre is so delicious....

I can't stop to listen solo piano piece with those, right now its last Keith Jarret album, playing Wurttenberg Bach sonatas....note weight is felt, each note has natural full bodied tone, its soft, their no texture imbalance, nor grainy presence, nor planar infamous wonky timbre....sustain is vibrant and warm...piano sound better than clavichord because it doesnt need as much snap and spakle-decay, so Goldberg Variation played with this instrument from same Keith was good in tone yet lack a bit of edge to attack definition as well as well felt air on top so this metallic note blossom fully...

Anyway, its very first post i will share more observation here...as well as pics. There some:

How is imaging and soundstage on the HE1K Stealth vs. the Audivina?
I had a loaner Audivina and I found it to be much more spacious and precise in its imaging compared to my Arya Stealth.

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

How is imaging and soundstage on the HE1K Stealth vs. the Audivina?
I had a loaner Audivina and I found it to be much more spacious and precise in its imaging compared to my Arya Stealth.

oh right....ive just finish a detailed comparisons (paired with Hifiman EF600)

And its true Audivina is a master of imaging. In that regard their no doubt it win against HE1000 Stealth.

there you go:

VS HIFIMAN AUDIVINA

The Audivina is notably more technical and neutral sounding than more laid back and natural sounding HE1KS. It's near dead flat, yet with little extra upper mids and ultra highs boost.

It's certainly more appropriate for monitoring music than enjoying it in a immersive way, the rendering is colder and more ''cerebral'', you an observer of the music while with HE1KS your swimming into the middle of lush layering.

The bass is cleaner, faster and leaner with the Audivina, bass line and kick separation is better and less thicken by warmth, overall bass is thinner but have more fine details in term of texture as well as attack edge. HE1KS bass is chunkier, more vibrant and dense in rumble sustain, more weighty but darker in definition and slip into lower mid range more, adding sound layers density to each other. Dynamic impact is greater with HE1KS too, tone is lusher, more juicy vibrant, it's more physical and tactile, less flat and dry than Audivina.

The mid range is brighter, cleaner, more resolved and transparent with Audivina, for those seeking pure high fidelity experience, it's certainly the one to choose. But this mean dynamic is flatter and make the vocal feel less fowards as well as less widen in warmed presence. Note weight is lighter, but edgier in stroke lead definition.
HE1KS has more lower mids fullness, presence and warmth, vocal and instrument are more bodied and foward yet less sharp in upper mids so smoother, creamier, more colorfull than hyper-realisticaly textured. The attack sustain-release of Audivina is longer and extract more sound info of natural resonance recorded even if for ex piano note don't fall as heavily, ill be able to know more easily if the pianist press sustain pedal with Audivina due to crisper center stage. Its evident HE1K offer a more mid centric sound experience.

Then the treble is sharper, snappier and sparklier with Audivina but again in a leaner way that doesn't deliver as tactile percussion and guitar dynamic. It's more speedy and controlled in attack, the percussions are easier to follow in busy track due to crisper attack edge and cleaner air when mid range instrument take the lead.
Lower treble is more abrasive with the Audivina, which will benefit electric guitar presence that is creamier with HE1K but denser and more vibrant in fundamental. This made treble of HE1KS less thin and dry sounding but less generous in micro details too.


The Soundstage is way wider and taller with the HE1KS, sens of depth is different though because your part of center stage while with Audivina your more like in small studio room with centered monitor speakers, for ex, HE1000S remind me my big Magnepan MG02A planar speaker which embrace my whole sound perception scale.

While the imaging feel more holographic and effortless in the of sound layers projection in space and dynamic with HE1KS, the imaging is more accurate and precise with the Audivina, it's way easier to separate bass line, kick drum, mid range and high range instrument even if not as spacious and this is mostly due to less bass warmth that blur silence between instrument and more edgy upper mids that boost presence clarity of each instrument while keeping it's transparency to be able to spot the positioning in both X and Y axis.

All in all, with Audivina I need to force my mind to find music immersive and musical while the HE1000 Stealth embrace me in right away and make me close to my fav singer, pianist or saxophonist. It's more colored and less neutral and technical than Audivina but unless you want to monitor your music, I don't think anybody will say Audivina is superior in tonality cohesion and musicality presentation.

 

[bagwell359]

the Hifiman headphones keeping its value the most seem the Sundara...which i will never ever sell! even if HE1Kstealth is kina ultimate upgrade of similar tonality and timbre....

The Sundara don't seem similar to the Stealth, except being good/excellent values at the price range, and the unfortunate peak at 6k. Probably both destined to be seen as classics of this time.

Beyond that: Stealth has strong bass under 60 Hz, much bigger (it doesn't do small as well as it should but does better than the HEK v2 at that)/deeper soundstage, more transparent and cohesive, more detail from top to bottom.

Ananda Stealth, all Aryas, all HE-6 SE, HE-500, HEX v2 & XS are all cans I'd rather have than the Sundara, and none I'd rather have than the Stealth - so there is a gulf.

 

[martel80]

Can anyone comment on the HE1000 v3 ( or stealth magnet I guess I should say) vs Ananda Nano?

I got the Nano's and really really enjoy them a lot. So much that I sent them to Sonarwork for individual calibration and they came back with an aggressive calibration that really brought the cans to a whole other level. Good thing that planars take EQing like a champ.

I'm looking for a set of cans that have a lot of details and definition and a flat frequency response across the frequency range (as much as possible).

To put things in context, I also have the HD650, the Q701 and the NDH 30. None of them have the details, transient response and bass details that the Nano have after calibration.

The Q701 soundstage is exaggerated. The HD650 bass is lacking massively and the soundstage is 2D. The NDH 30 is way too mid bass forward and they lack details and depth massively.

I'm wondering if I can find something even better in the Hifiman range without spending 4K$ on the Susvara or a set of Audeze.

Which is the exact reason why I'm asking about the HE1000 v3. (I really don't know a thing about them)

Please keep in mind that I use my cans for critical analysis ( aka audio engineering). It is not for enjoyment so any ''hyped'' sound is unwanted from me.

I need something aseptical, clinical and the whole damn harsh truth spit in my ears. No need for warm sound at all. (not saying that I don't want no low mid range representation, just saying no overhyped home listener tube thingy).

Thanks for your inputs.

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

Ok my review of HE1K V3 is complete and can be read here.
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hi...th-stealth-magnets.26331/reviews#review-31946

Pros:
-lush and open musicality
-mid centric tonality
-most natural timbre of any Planar HP or IEMs ive test
-gigantic headroom
-deep thumpy warm bass
-excellent sound layering
-intimate mid range with full bodied instrument
-lively yet not agressive macro dynamic
-end game female vocal
-great sens of proximity with piano, vocals, sax, guitar etc
-tactile large and dense instrument presence
-fast attack speed and control
-smooth treble that don't lack richness or fine detailing
-plenty of lower mids, nothing sound thin with those
-very comfortable even after hours and hours of listen
-great construction
-very decent sound value even with it's high price

Cons:
-not the best bass separation and definition
-lack a bit of treble sparkle and brilliance
-not end game imaging
-underwhelming packaging
-so so cables
-metal headband part isn't as elegant as rest of construction

For now its my favorite Hifiman headphones, big time. For those finding Sennheiser HD820 mids too thin or Arya too U shape and lacking a bit of lower mids warmth....its a must. I mean, audiophile that need meaty intimate mid range will be in heaven with the Stealth. Cello, piano, saxo and female vocal are truely blissfull.

 

[bagwell359]

Can anyone comment on the HE1000 v3 ( or stealth magnet I guess I should say) vs Ananda Nano?

I got the Nano's and really really enjoy them a lot. So much that I sent them to Sonarwork for individual calibration and they came back with an aggressive calibration that really brought the cans to a whole other level. Good thing that planars take EQing like a champ.

I'm looking for a set of cans that have a lot of details and definition and a flat frequency response across the frequency range (as much as possible).

To put things in context, I also have the HD650, the Q701 and the NDH 30. None of them have the details, transient response and bass details that the Nano have after calibration.

The Q701 soundstage is exaggerated. The HD650 bass is lacking massively and the soundstage is 2D. The NDH 30 is way too mid bass forward and they lack details and depth massively.

I'm wondering if I can find something even better in the Hifiman range without spending 4K$ on the Susvara or a set of Audeze.

Which is the exact reason why I'm asking about the HE1000 v3. (I really don't know a thing about them)

Please keep in mind that I use my cans for critical analysis ( aka audio engineering). It is not for enjoyment so any ''hyped'' sound is unwanted from me.

I need something aseptical, clinical and the whole damn harsh truth spit in my ears. No need for warm sound at all. (not saying that I don't want no low mid range representation, just saying no overhyped home listener tube thingy).

Thanks for your inputs.

I knew a guy that did what you do, and he said he wanted it harsh, so after hours and hours, he'd be hit over the head so he wouldn't miss it (whatever he needed to hear).

The Stealth is probably too warm for you. Have not heard the Nano but it has a reputation along the lines of what you want. What about near-field monitors, or is it headphones only?

The most defined sound I know over 250 Hz are estats (needing an amp, or energizer, bass and cost issues) and the Rall CA-1a (need power) but with the filter applied I've never heard anything as defined, even 20k speakers, but the bass has a good dollop of harmonic distortion. If quick bass with good timbre (but not potent under 75 Hz) there is always the Senn HD-800 and 800S, big stage, very defined. Or maybe one of those old Beyers with the glass cutting treble?