[amalgamist]

Great first impression feedback! How much bigger are the cups compared to the HE-500, HE-6 ?
 
Any idea when us west coasters will be able to audition these ?

 

[preproman]

What about the mids?  Are they more like the HE-500s or like the HE-6s.  Hope it's not a midrange suck out going on or a U shape sound..

 

[Spanish]

can somebody compare it vs MyST Izophones or ortophones?
Or may be somebody can take on head-fi meet at Vienna?

 

[money4me247]

Quote:

 Great first impression feedback! How much bigger are the cups compared to the HE-500, HE-6 ?
 
Any idea when us west coasters will be able to audition these ?

Hi, I didn't have a ruler with me, but the HE1000k has a oblong upside-down teardrop-shaped earcup, so mainly the height of the earcups are different. For me (I have a small head - HE400 on smallest headband setting, HE-560 on 2nd smallest headband setting), they basically covered the majority of the side of my head.  The depth of the earcup is very similar (so they do not protrude out from your head more than the HE-560).
 

 What about the mids?  Are they more like the HE-500s or like the HE-6s.  Hope it's not a midrange suck out going on or a U shape sound..

 
The HE1000 are extremely linear, so the mids were definitely not deficient & these headphones do NOT have a u-shaped sound signature from my listening tests. For me personally, sometimes I find a neutral pair of headphones a bit on the boring side, but for these HE1000s, they sounded so life-like and engaging, you really don't feel like you are listening to music, but rather listening to instruments that are in the room with you.
 
I have actually never heard the HE-500 or HE-6. I do have a HE-560. The sound of the HE1000 is a definite step-up from that imo (though I was not able to direct compare). Hard for me to describe the mids in any more detail without a direct reference/comparison point. I did was not really able to identify any real weaknesses in the sound signature during my short time with them.

 

[YtseJamer]

Quote:
I do have a HE-560. The sound of the HE1000 is a definite step-up from that imo

So do you think that they sound $2100 better than the HE-560 ?

 

[conquerator2]

Clearly better than my HE-560? Without mods?! Oh my!
Where is the kidney doctor!

 

[preproman]

  Quote:
Hi, I didn't have a ruler with me, but the HE1000k has a oblong upside-down teardrop-shaped earcup, so mainly the height of the earcups are different. For me (I have a small head - HE400 on smallest headband setting, HE-560 on 2nd smallest headband setting), they basically covered the majority of the side of my head.  The depth of the earcup is very similar (so they do not protrude out from your head more than the HE-560).
 
 
The HE1000 are extremely linear, so the mids were definitely not deficient & these headphones do NOT have a u-shaped sound signature from my listening tests. For me personally, sometimes I find a neutral pair of headphones a bit on the boring side, but for these HE1000s, they sounded so life-like and engaging, you really don't feel like you are listening to music, but rather listening to instruments that are in the room with you.
 
I have actually never heard the HE-500 or HE-6. I do have a HE-560. The sound of the HE1000 is a definite step-up from that imo (though I was not able to direct compare). Hard for me to describe the mids in any more detail with a direct reference/comparison point. I did was not really able to identify any real weaknesses in the sound signature during my short time with them.

 
 
I'm with you on the "bold"  However, I would like a slight mid range hump rather than a mid range suck out.  But linear is good to. 

 

[icebear]

I posted my impressions from Saturday in the summit fi / high end HE1000 thread.
 
I don't wanna cross post but to have it all the impressions in one place, here a link :
http://www.head-fi.org/t/748334/hifiman-he1000-planar-dynamic-flagship/855#post_11236206
 
I guess it is very obvious that different music preference and favorite headphones will result in a quite different perception of the HE1000 prototype.
 
Emphasizing that prototype stage, i.e. it's still a work in progress, should calm down all the speculations about a price indication.
Dr. Fang and his development team will need some time to fine tune different aspects of the HE1000 and then work on translating that into a production scale.
So at this point there is no way for him to give any indication of the price even if a 100 people pull each of his legs

.

 

[money4me247]

So do you think that they sound $2100 better than the HE-560 ?

mmm pricing for the HE-1000 has not been finalized. whether it is worth it for you to upgrade would be a personal value thing.
 
I personally am satisfied staying at below the $1k price point.
 
however, for someone who is looking for the best sound possible regardless of dollar value, these definitely have the performance that surpasses current $1-2k flagships on the market right now (imo). so depending on the final pricing, these can be really extremely competitive for people shopping in that extreme high tier price bracket.
 
While I wasn't able to do a direct side-by-side comparison to confirm, I do truly feel that they are in a league above. The most comfortable planar magnetic on the market right now (better ergonomics than Audeze & deeper earcups compared to the PM-1) with stunning build quality comparable to the both. Extremely high quality sound with amazing detail, resolution, imaging, and speed. I thought their sound stage was significantly larger than the HD800 and they had better bass quality over the LCD-X.
 
What else could you ask for in a TOTL uber-expensive flagship? These are definitely very exciting & definitely deserve the attention of people interested in summit-fi.

 

[TMRaven]

How did you feel the LCD-X, LCD-3 and HD800 compared against each other?

 

[money4me247]

  How did you feel the LCD-X, LCD-3 and HD800 compared against each other?

Their overall sound quality was a lot closer than I expected. I personally liked the LCD-X the best & ended up spending the most time with them. I just really enjoyed their sound signature. Comfort was acceptable, but the leather earpads do get quite stuffy & hot. Bumps were not a problematic as I feared & the weight was honestly fine for me.
 
The HD800 was definitely more comfortable than Audeze after long listening sessions. Sound stage & imaging was not as impressive as I was expecting. Just maybe subtly better than my own HE-560 and the other Audezes I tried. However, I did just come from the HE1k which quite impressive sound stage & imaging capabilities, so I think my reference point was off. The HD800 were definitely a touch brighter in comparison to the Audeze, but their bass was quite capable and I did not find it lacking. There may have been a few parts of songs where the HD800 was just a bit too overly sharp or too resolving that you could pick up noise detracting from your music, but I felt like the fears of the HD800 requiring very specific other components to shine or being too "analytical/clinical" seems overblown to me.
 
For the LCD-3s, honestly, I had difficulty picking out where they technically outshined the LCD-Xs. If they are indeed supposed to have better technical abilities, I would say that it is pretty subtle as it was hard for me even with the ability to swap back & forth directly on the same system. Slightly different sound signature compared to the LCD-X though. I think that would just be a personal preference pick. I personally liked the bass presentation on the LCD-X the best & I did slightly prefer the Audeze sound signatures over the HD800's presentation.
 
I had some other thoughts about the voicing of these different headphones, but I think that I would need to spend a longer period of time with each with a greater variety of sources to be comfortable making additional claims. Their sound performance abilities were all incredibly impressive and I was really nitpicking for differences or flaws. My brother actually served as a good grounding perspective for a lot of the sonic attributes I was testing as he does not have any experience with this kind of gear.
 
I actually had a ton of fun in New York playing with all this summit-fi gear. My brother did get a bit bored or else I would have spent the entire weekend there hahah! very enlightening & fun experience for me personally.

 

[rrahman]

  mmm pricing for the HE-1000 has not been finalized. whether it is worth it for you to upgrade would be a personal value thing.
 
I personally am satisfied staying at below the $1k price point.
 
however, for someone who is looking for the best sound possible regardless of dollar value, these definitely have the performance that surpasses current $1-2k flagships on the market right now (imo). so depending on the final pricing, these can be really extremely competitive for people shopping in that extreme high tier price bracket.
 
While I wasn't able to do a direct side-by-side comparison to confirm, I do truly feel that they are in a league above. The most comfortable planar magnetic on the market right now (better ergonomics than Audeze & deeper earcups compared to the PM-1) with stunning build quality comparable to the both. Extremely high quality sound with amazing detail, resolution, imaging, and speed. I thought their sound stage was significantly larger than the HD800 and they had better bass quality over the LCD-X.
 
What else could you ask for in a TOTL uber-expensive flagship? These are definitely very exciting & definitely deserve the attention of people interested in summit-fi

 
A league above all the other TOTL's is a bit superlative.  We only listened for a couple minutes on a pink floyd album, maybe one full song lol.  Far too short at time at a meet environment to make such a blanket statement.
 
I concede the soundstage was pretty impressive and is probably the best part.  It was very realistic and speaker-like.  HD800s still have a larger soundstage, but perhaps a bit unrealistically large.  I plain disagree on the bass, LCDs just have better bass, more slam and texture.  Mids, detail, and treble were far too unremarkable for them to be exalted above the rest.  I walked away very impressed too, but I doubt this headphone as it is now will dethrone all of the TOTL's.
 
Nice meeting you btw

 

[avitron142]

   
A league above all the other TOTL's is a bit superlative.  We only listened for a couple minutes on a pink floyd album, maybe one full song lol.  Far too short at time at a meet environment to make such a blanket statement.
 
I concede the soundstage was pretty impressive and is probably the best part.  It was very realistic and speaker-like.  HD800s still have a larger soundstage, but perhaps a bit unrealistically large.  I plain disagree on the bass, LCDs just have better bass, more slam and texture.  Mids, detail, and treble were far too unremarkable for them to be exalted above the rest.  I walked away very impressed too, but I doubt this headphone as it is now will dethrone any of the TOTL's.
 
Nice meeting you btw

I don't get why everyone's hung up over the bass, lol. As someone who doesn't have the LCD's, I may be flawed in my opinion, but the bass texture was as perfect as I could hear... anything more and I'm afraid they could become a "bassy" headphone or unrealistic in its detail.
 
2 songs was really all I needed to test its capabilities, and I'm sure some other head-fi'ers could probably say the same. Realistic is the crowning piece in this flagship, and I'm unable to pinpoint any other headphone that was more organic and realistic than this one. It was also hella inviting, and more enjoyable than any other headphone I've tried while not losing any details. I didn't see the hd800's doing that on any near level. Mids and highs were pronounced to a level that was smack on target, and had the "wow" factor to them too... at least for me. 
 
Lastly, I'm more glad on the versatility of this headphone - not in terms of portable/home based, for obvious reason, but how unfussy these are about amping. Any owner of the hd800's knows that in addition to the headphone cost, you have to spend practically double that amount on equipment along the rest of the chain.  The HE1000's will bring the best out of any equipment you have at the moment - a serious factor to consider to those who may have $2000 for the new flagship but not $4500 on a McIntosh amp until later.    
 
This may be Hifiman's answer to the K812 pro.               

 

[TMRaven]

 
Their overall sound quality was a lot closer than I expected. I personally liked the LCD-X the best & ended up spending the most time with them. I just really enjoyed their sound signature. Comfort was acceptable, but the leather earpads do get quite stuffy & hot. Bumps were not a problematic as I feared & the weight was honestly fine for me.
 
The HD800 was definitely more comfortable than Audeze after long listening sessions. Sound stage & imaging was not as impressive as I was expecting. Just maybe subtly better than my own HE-560 and the other Audezes I tried. However, I did just come from the HE1k which quite impressive sound stage & imaging capabilities, so I think my reference point was off. The HD800 were definitely a touch brighter in comparison to the Audeze, but their bass was quite capable and I did not find it lacking. There may have been a few parts of songs where the HD800 was just a bit too overly sharp or too resolving that you could pick up noise detracting from your music, but I felt like the fears of the HD800 requiring very specific other components to shine or being too "analytical/clinical" seems overblown to me.
 
For the LCD-3s, honestly, I had difficulty picking out where they technically outshined the LCD-Xs. If they are indeed supposed to have better technical abilities, I would say that it is pretty subtle as it was hard for me even with the ability to swap back & forth directly on the same system. Slightly different sound signature compared to the LCD-X though. I think that would just be a personal preference pick. I personally liked the bass presentation on the LCD-X the best & I did slightly prefer the Audeze sound signatures over the HD800's presentation.
 
I had some other thoughts about the voicing of these different headphones, but I think that I would need to spend a longer period of time with each with a greater variety of sources to be comfortable making additional claims. Their sound performance abilities were all incredibly impressive and I was really nitpicking for differences or flaws. My brother actually served as a good grounding perspective for a lot of the sonic attributes I was testing as he does not have any experience with this kind of gear.
 
I actually had a ton of fun in New York playing with all this summit-fi gear. My brother did get a bit bored or else I would have spent the entire weekend there hahah! very enlightening & fun experience for me personally.

 
I see!  As far as LCD3 and superior technicalities, it just seems to have a smoother and more refined frequency response and balance throughout the mids and lower treble.  Detail might be more apparent as well as it still sports the thinnest of the Audeze diaphragms.  I'd have to have a real good side by side comparison of the two to get affirmative on that.  I agree that the LCD-X has the most tasteful bass of the Audeze bunch (at least for me.)  It's the highest in quantity down low and punches the hardest.

 

[bozebuttons]

I spent sunday afternoon at the mini -meet &   I almost didn't go due the rain but I was glad I did.
 
The He1000 is on my Radar now, I was considering picking up a abyss at some point but it just got bumped by the HE1000.
 
The first song I listened (Dark side of the moon SACD) to the He1000 reminded me of the HE90s deep headstage middle hall & wide headstage.
 Listening to other songs the headstage changed with the recording,Wider, more upfront Headstage.
The He1000 had the ability to change its presentation with each recording,and it did it extremely well.
 
Top to bottom it was hard to hear any faults ,Very clean and fast with good dynamics.
 
The  he1000 driven straight out of HM901s  was very good as well ,lost some of the soundstage & dynamics of HEK1000 amp,but it shows that the HE1000 was able to driven by a lesser amp or player.
 
The He1000 looks better in person then the pics & is comfortable ,feels lighter then my HE500.
The amp & Headphone together are a end game setup.
 
These are meet impressions,so keep that in mind .But I must say I was very impressed.