hek stealth treble is different to hekse treble though. i've brought both after xmas and the stealth treble was too much for me with cymbals; it was distracting and a bit harsh to my ears. hekse treble, at least the recent revision with the black cable set, felt more natural and harmonious to the other sounds in the mid range. i kept the hekse and returned the stealth. i'll try the unveiled next month at canjam.
HIFIMAN HE1000 Unveiled
- Thread starter leylandi
- Start date
hek stealth treble is different to hekse treble though. i've brought both after xmas and the stealth treble was too much for me with cymbals; it was distracting and a bit harsh to my ears. hekse treble, at least the recent revision with the black cable set, felt more natural and harmonious to the other sounds in the mid range. i kept the hekse and returned the stealth. i'll try the unveiled next month at canjam.
It depends on your audio chain and your hearing sensation.
I've auditioned the HE1000se, HE1000 Stealth and HE1000 Unveiled for two days side-by-side on my own chain with my own music. I'm a long-term listener of the HE1000 series since the HE1000V2. My auditioned HE1000se was manufactured end of 2023.
To me, the HE1000se has had the 'sharpest' treble of all three. The Stealth was a bit (somewhat) smoother and the Unveiled was a bit smoother again. When comparing the treble of the HE1000se with the Unveiled, I would describe the sound of a tambourine (the small metal jingles) with the SE as if you were throwing coins into a coin box with force. With the Unveiled I would say it's like rattling with a key ring. The Stealth was in between.
Since we all hear a little differently and have different audio chains, it's best to listen to it for yourself. There're dark sounding headphones like the 2016 Audeze LCD-4, and in comparison, the HE1000se might sound too bright/sharp.
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Spawn300Z
Headphoneus Supremus
The HEKSEs really benefit from quality hybrid cables. They become a game changer in its price range. But I’ve recently changed the pads to the ZMF perforated lambskin pads and the had another sonic shift for the better.
Yep, if I don't EQ the HEKse, with stock pads, the treble is way to sharp and energetic and lean sounding on the bass which exacerbates the ear-gain peak on the HEKse and makes it a lot more noticeable and the treble sounds even more energetic, specially with female singers, once EQ'ed, the HEKse really shines and elevates itself into really high levels of performance with a more balanced sound signature while still maintaining a lot of clarity but taming down that sharpness and the bass really punches HARD on the HEKse, and that's one of the reasons that I like the HEKse so much, it's relatively easy to EQ and you can tilt it towards either a warmer and smoother experience or a little bit more incisive and precise.
Your audio chain still matters even with EQ and pad swapping, and I have find that out the hard way, the HEKse is going to scream at you if there's something that she doesn't like and there's no amount of EQing and pad swapping that can solve that.
I think that the new Arya and HE1000 U's are for people that don't want or like to EQ their headphones, at most they probably be willing to do a pad swap to tilt the FR a little bit more to their liking, but that's about it, but if you EQ your phones, I don't think it's worth to upgrade to the HEKu
I'm currently running the hybrid lambskin pads on the HEKse, it definitively tames down the ear-gain and higher treble on the HEKse and brings a hefty bass boost, but it could be a little bit too much of a good thing, I think I'm going to try out the perforated lambskins and maybe this will be a really good compromise between the stock and hybrid pads from ZMF.
Spawn300Z
Headphoneus Supremus
I’ve said it before I still have my HEKSEs although I have my system optimized for the Susvara OGs. They are that good especially if you are running on lower power or gear. But they scale like the Big Boys. Best deal in Headfi right now along with the HE-10P Steaths.
I wish I was entering this game now. The HEKSEs & HE-R10P Steaths are the perfect open closed back combo. With current pricing on Hifimans site for open box I would have saved a ton of cash. You get both sets for the cost of one TOTL can. This is unheard of.
I wish I was entering this game now. The HEKSEs & HE-R10P Steaths are the perfect open closed back combo. With current pricing on Hifimans site for open box I would have saved a ton of cash. You get both sets for the cost of one TOTL can. This is unheard of.
Yep, Hifiman has been hitting it out of the park recently, starting all the way from the budget, entry level phones like the Edition XS and Sundara, Arya Stealth for $600 usd and now the Arya Organic for under a grand, honestly if I've known better, I would have just grabbed the Arya Organic, swapped the pads to some ZMFs, EQ them to taste and called it a day, it's that good and in a level playing field, with both the Organic and the HEKse with swapped pads and EQ'ed, it's going to come down to taste what you prefer because both phones are incredibly performant, I would say that the Organic hits a little bit harder on the bass compared to the HEKse but the HEKse is overall better on the rest of the FR and brings more clarity to the music.
Fiio is also coming out strong on the entry level stuff, both the FT1 Closed Back and the FT1 Pro are giving everybody a run for the money in that segment of the market and are hitting WAY up their price range, it's getting really competitive and that's good for us the consumer.
SoundBytes
500+ Head-Fier
wow nice picture of sound you painted there.. so pleased I picked a gr8 headphone. They all look really good from your description though...
The best would be to audition the SE, Stealth and Unveiled for yourself. While the $2,699 Unveiled is the 'best of' of the HE1000 series, the $1,699 SE is a real alternative and the $1,119 Stealth has a great value for its price. If you can live with a smaller soundstage, then the Stealth would be a very good solution too.
BORUSSIA
100+ Head-Fier
Tough decision. I briefly demoed the 1000UV against my 1000SE, and it really comes down to sound preference and the music genres you listen to.
The UV sounds really smooth—no sharp treble peaks and fuller mids. The SE, when paired with the Hugo 2, has better bass. It sounds much faster and has better attack. I found the UV a bit lacking in that regard and, honestly, kind of boring.
Using the warmer filter options on the Hugo 2 helps tame the treble of the SE and makes the peaks less fatiguing.
The UV sounds really smooth—no sharp treble peaks and fuller mids. The SE, when paired with the Hugo 2, has better bass. It sounds much faster and has better attack. I found the UV a bit lacking in that regard and, honestly, kind of boring.
Using the warmer filter options on the Hugo 2 helps tame the treble of the SE and makes the peaks less fatiguing.
As for the bass, I personally found the Unveiled and the Stealth better than the SE, just like it can be seen in the FR diagram by vsg28 - Head-Fi.org .
The bass on the Unveiled and the Stealth was deeper for me. Can't comment about speed and I'm unsure about better attack.
The Raal Immanis and the T+A Solitaire P have way better sub-bass than the HE1000 series. But with the HE1K Stealth I've found that EQ'ing the 0-40 Hz area might help.
BORUSSIA
100+ Head-Fier
I actually had the same impressions. The UV sounds much smoother and more laid-back.
However, as I mentioned, I found the bass lacking, especially in terms of attack and, therefore, dynamics.
Don’t get me wrong—I think it’s an amazing-sounding headphone, and I’m debating whether to trade it for my SE.
bagwell359
Headphoneus Supremus
Have not heard any unveiled yet. I doubt I could enjoy any long cup HFM w/o a very analog DAC. On my system (see sig) the SE (later ones) are for max quality recordings (IMO acoustic music in great settings - basically audiophile). The Stealth is for more types of recordings and music at a less elevated levels of quality - a very nice all rounder - but it lacks the nuance of the SE. They both sound better with PEQ IMO.
If so, then the HE1000V2 sounds much more smoother and much more laid-back.
Do you think it’s an upgrade from He1000se? Is it worth it to buy if i already have the he1000se
