[rrahman]

Tyll posted a nice video on innerfidelity. Spoiler tyll thinks the he1000 are amazing!

 

[RCBinTN]

Price will be higher than people are anticipating, which is fine, because people will pay if the performance is there. People are paying $4000+ for the Tera Player now, so there are no limits. And the new wealth here in a China often results in higher prices meaning it is better regardless of the reality. I just saw a pair of Infinity Kappa 80s sell for $4000! Only in China.

I will buy a pair But he better build these very well. I have never been happy with his QC. Have had to spend too much time returning for repairs....but I keep buying, so he's doing something right.

 
Right.  I've heard fellow head-fiers rave about the HE-6 sound quality but totally bash their build quality.  Would be nice to see the company come together on sound + quality aspects into a solid performer that can take on Audez'e.  

 

[RCBinTN]

Tyll posted a nice video on innerfidelity. Spoiler tyll thinks the he1000 are amazing!

 
Thanks for the head's up.  Just read Tyll's mini-review.  Looking forward to a more detailed one...
Switching to the other thread now.  It's been fun, folks.

 

[grizzlybeast]

2500?!

Peace out hek

 

[icebear]

 ... looks like we need a price poll

 

[PaulMah]

I was there on Sunday for about an hour.  When I wasn't listening to the system, I spoke to a couple of Head-Fiers but mostly to Fang and Peter, the marketing manager.  Fang mentioned that the HE-1000 is at least two iterations of changes before entering production and the EF-1000 will also be tweaked some more.  The EF-1000 is a hybrid amp and can be either used as a headphone amp or regular amp driving speakers.  It will operate in class A for headphone use, where the amount of watts will differ based on the impedance of the headphone.  If used with speakers, the amp will operate in both class A and A/B, wattage will of course differ depending on operation.  Listening to unfamiliar music, I thought the overall presentation was refined in that it was organic and smooth.  I heard no obvious bumps or dips in the entire frequency range and tonality was close to neutral.  To my ears, the HE-1000 is not an "exciting sounding" headphone, but delivers a more natural and realistic presentation.  If Fang can refine the sound even further, the HE-1000 and EF-1000 will offer the listener a closer experience to a real musical performance (whether a studio recording or a live recording at a venue) rather than reproduced music. 
 
Cheers,
Paul Mah
Dagogo reviewer    

 

[DarknightDK]

Thanks Paul. Your impressions were very helpful. I look forward to seeing what Fang can do with these beauties. 

 

[Jodet]

  Man, just reading these impressions, the HE-1000 just sounds like it'll be expen$$$$ive.... the fact that Fang made a direct comparison to the Orpheus doesn't bode well either.
 
Dr. Fang, please make these attainable for the blue-collar head-fi'ers!!

 
Yeah, that's a concern of mine as well - that these will be priced for the ferrari crowd.  

 

[wahsmoh]

This thread here is a treasure trove of information. Much more useful than the main HE-1000 thread that is full of rambling and has another 10 pages added on each day. This will be my reference until they release the final HE-1000

 

[up late]

yeah the main he-1000 thread is full of whining posts

 

[louis9]

When is it available?

 

[rrahman]

 
Yesterday I went back to stereoexchange for an extended listen w/ familiar equipment and songs.  So I listened for like 45 minutes w/ the auralic taurus mk2 w/ comparing some well known to me jazz, pop, techno, and hip hop songs with the LCD3F and the HD800.  I was surprised at how much my impressions didn't change much from the first listening session.  HD800s are definitely faster sounding w/ a wider soundstage, but the HE1000's have a much more realistic soundstage.  Much more open and airy than the LCD3Fs, which sound a bit dense. The bass is definitely more present in this headphone than both the HD800 and the LCD3F and never bled into the midrange.  The LCD3F bass is still more refined and textured though surprisingly.  The LCD3F's bass impact also seems to hit harder.  The mids of the HE1000 sound alot more reference to me than the LCD3F's, just as flat, but more resolving.  The LCD3F's have a lushier, more euphonic, forgiving midrange.  The HE1000s mids are more akin to the HD800s, but again not as quick or fatiguing.  They are still remarkably faster than the LCD3's in the midrange.  Treble is also very impressive, just marginally brighter than the LCD3F's.  Overall I think this headphone sounds like a departure from the HE6 although again vs the LCD3F's and the HD800s I'm torn and couldn't say it was my preference.  I think once Fang refines it a bit more it has potential to be a giant killer.  
 
Also I noted a few things about the design.  This headphone needs some casing modifications, because it feels fragile.  The metal gratings will bow w/ a little bit of pressure and the gratings are quite large such that something could enter pretty easily.  The hinges where the headband connects also felt a bit flimsy.  This is a prototype and if the final product is as refined as the HE560 then this is all moot.
 
Lastly, I just want to mention something about stereoexchange.  While I am glad stereoexchange exists in Manhattan and everyone usually is pretty collegial there, the store owners wife needs to take it easy.  She is the pushiest and greediest sales woman I've ever met.  There isn't even a price tag on the headphone yet and she insisted for me to put money down for the prototype HE1000 just to listen to it.... Luckily another salesman rescued me. 
 
Oh and I asked and they won't allow me to bring my ragnarok... oh well the taurus is pretty equivalent anyhow.
 
Quote:

  Well I came by and heard these today...  My impressions
 
Technically speaking... Well built, metal, looks a bit fragile because of exposed diaphragm elements, but thats just speculation.  Very comfortable, feels just a little heavier than my HD800, but equally as comfy.  I'd say a step up in design from the other hifiman headphones and audeze headphones.  My only gripe, is the earpad felt feels like the same felt on a HD650, I prefer HD800s alcantara or the LCD3 leather pads.  Fang told me he was planning on improving the looks even more prior to release so we will see.
 
Sound wise closer to my HD800 or a Stax than the LCD's, but we are splitting hairs here.  Tonally. marginally brighter than the LCD series.  I agree with avitron that these headphones sounded very quick, comprable to the HD800.  They also sounded very light and airy but less so than my HD800.  Less clinical than the HD800, but still highly resolving.  Soundstage was definitely superior to my LCD3s, less than the HD800 though.  Extension was also pretty impressive, but I don't think it had the slam and bass texture of my LCD3.  Most importanly, no really annoying treble peaks, muddied bass, or anything overwhelmingly wrong sounding.  In alot aspects the HE1000 sits in the super narrow sweet spot between the HD800 and LCD3.  Overall they sounded very impressive to me and it could be my main headphone, but it wasn't a slam dunk between the SR009, LCD3, and HD800.  I could probably be okay with any of these 4 headphones as my main.

 

[JoelT]

^^^What source were you using? Thank you for the impressions...ironically your breakdown is almost exactly how I would describe my modded HE-6 on the Ragnarok compared to the LCD-3 & the HD800 (stock HE-6 is a different animal though). Should be interesting.  

 

[Karllin]

This is exactly the sort of comments Fang needs to help in fine tuning these prior to release. His comparison with the HE90 has me a bit concerned he is headed towards a price that will alienate many, but he has a history of being very strategically sound with making this decision. We will just have to wait and see. Many high end product have really gotten out of hand with raising prices, let us hope Hifiman continues to buck this trend.

 

[up late]

When is it available?

release date hasn't been announced