The Arya Unveiled is said to be quite warm, warmer than the HEK Unveiled, let alone the HEKse. It's a matter of taste, but it's definitely not for me, as I prefer neutral/bright(ish) headphones paired with slightly warmer sources (hence the Cyan 2 with its 'neutral R2R' character + MOSFET amp). The Prelude, however, was too warm for me.
For what's worth it, here's a review of the HE-R10P by Fidelio of Musicalhead.de (in German). He ranks the HE-R10P as one of the best closed-back headphones available and still lists it as #10 in his Top-10 of the world's best headphones (HE1000 Unveiled is #7, Susvara Unveiled is #2 and Raal Immanis is #1).
Thanks for the link - interesting review. I knew of them but never really looked up any reviews as I have never heard any good things about any Hifiman closed backs. I'm even hearing ordinary things about the new Isvarna. But I am massive fan of his open-backs!
1st off most have talked about the original HE-R10P not the HE-R10P Stealths. They are different. But both models have good reviews. But the Stealth version is where it’s really at IMHO.
They lightweight, good isolation and are easy to drive, but scale way up with better gear. They deserve a good portable setup, on a great desktop rig watch out.
They are very resolving, have a spacious and wide sound stage that will challenge most open backs. Has an ethereal quality. They great bass weight, density and presence. Midrange is realistic, rich and natural. The vocals are amazing. Treble is clean and have great extension.
These are a very musical headphone. That somehow falls under the radar and arguably one of the best closed backs out there. I feel it may have been due to the MSRP pricing and some don’t like the look. I know I originally said I wouldn’t pay that for a closed back. They never even would come close to an open back in the same price range. I can tell you that notion was completely wrong.
It would be hard to make a better looking wood headphone than a ZMF and they’re more economical at MSRP. So I can see why people gravitate more to their closed backs. I’m not saying they’re not good. Just not the HE-R10P Stealth good.
I have sold off all my closed backs and down to 3. The HE-R10P Stealths, DCA Stealths and Focal Stellias. These are on my transportable rig rotation (Chord Hugo 2 / Cayin C9II Stack). When I’m not at home I enjoy the music and not going through withdrawal symptoms of missing my main headphone chain.
You can search the system and see not many HE-R10Ps have come up for sale compared to must closed backs on the market. There’s a reason for that.
At the current open box pricing from Hifiman’s website if you don’t take a leap of faith and try HE-R10P Stealths you’re doing your ears a grave dis-justice IMHO. Especially, since they have a good return policy.
Good to know and thanks for the info. I may dive in one day. my closed backs are JM Audio XTC 2.5 Extreme Trip, ZMF Bokeh closed, Aune SR7000, Focal Radiance and Elegia and Fiio FT1.
Good to know and thanks for the info. I may dive in one day. my closed backs are JM Audio XTC 2.5 Extreme Trip, ZMF Bokeh closed, Aune SR7000, Focal Radiance and Elegia and Fiio FT1.
I read that HekU lacks dynamics a bit compared to HekSE and I already though dynamics is the HekSE's slight weak point as compared to Focals and Audezes, this will water down my expections a bit for the HekU.
I felt the HEKSE had a little more slam and extension in the low end. The HEKU maybe sounded slightly cleaner, so less mid bass but I could hear and feel roll off below 40hz.
I felt the HEKSE had a little more slam and extension in the low end. The HEKU maybe sounded slightly cleaner, so less mid bass but I could hear and feel roll off below 40hz.
Most likely, some reviewers seem to be raving more about the Arya Unveiled than both the HEKu and the SusU, that it's truly a completely different tuning in regards to the Arya line, so probably that would be a more interesting headphone to get, specially if you don't like to EQ your phones.
From what I read and what I hear, I would say the HeU is more for music and can be a bit tricky to use with songs tuned on the edge.
If I tune the HeU like a Arya U, it is better for songs but you loose something on guitars and other instruments.
I dont have the Arya so maybe you can tune it to have the FR on the HeU. But having the HeU can make you having both worlds : you can have a preset for songs and keep it as it is for music only. Maybe it can be done for the Arya too, dont know. But FR is clearly not enough to compare headphones. The FR of the oppo pm3 is not bad, but i can only say it sounds poorly compared with the HeU. Of course, you can listen pretty everything with it. But the joy is not really there if you compare.
When I listened to the HE1000se/Stealth/Unveiled, I heard the sub-bass in the same way as it was measured in the FR diagram by vsg28 - Head-Fi.org .
So there was no roll-off below 40 Hz for me with the HE1000 Unveiled. For comparison of the sub-bass, I had the in this regard excellent T+A Solitaire P.
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