[joseph69]

One item that I really love which I heard during the meet is the HE1000 V2. One of the young urns brought it to my house. I have the He1000se but the V2 is very good too.

I own the HE1000v2 and hold them in very high regard.
What was it you liked about the v2 in comparison to the SE and vise-versa?

 

[UntilThen]

I own the HE1000v2 and hold them in very high regard.
What was it you liked about the v2 in comparison to the SE and vise-versa?

I was going to borrow the v2 for a few weeks to compare with my HE1000se before spilling the beans but I'll let out some now.

HE1000se - sharper at the treble which I quite like. I've never felt let down by the high frequency spike others complain about but it's my ears and preference. Apart from the treble, Se is slightly brighter BUT only in relation to v2. On it's own I would never call Se bright. It's also tighter and more linear. Bass is a notable difference with v2. Bass on the Se is tighter and has more control imo.

HE1000 v2 - On 1st listen, I immediately detect that it's slightly more relax, more body to the tone, a very very slight warmth - again always in comparison with the HE1000se. On those attributes alone, I actually prefer the v2 over the Se ..... BUT knowing my ears, I have to live with both Se and v2 for a period of time to really decide which I prefer. It could be that I just love both for what they are.

Everyone (the other 3) at the Meet love the HE1000 v2 and for the life of me, I did not bring the HE1000se back from Canberra this weekend. God knows why !!! I could not do a direct A/B comparison but I will in a couple of weeks time.

Gear used are Bifrost 2 > McChanson KT77 > HE1000 v2 / He6se.

Between v2 and He6se, it's a no contest. I will take v2 any day and any night but He6se is actually very good also on it own merits when driven by the powerful KT77 amp.

I'm now listening to the He6se driven by Wa22. Volume is at 3pm (3 quarters) with Tung Sol 5998. Clearly not a good match. He6se needs an amp with balls. No kidding.

 

[joseph69]

@UntilThen
Thanks for spilling the beans early.
I totally understand your views and difference for your preferences. I've never heard the SE before and was just curious of your impressions, so thank you. Also, looking forward to you spending time with both, the v2 & SE and reading your impressions. If The Cable Company starts to loan headphones again (CV-19) I'm going to borrow the SE being I'm very interested in hearing them.

 

[UntilThen]

@UntilThen
Thanks for spilling the beans early.
I totally understand your views and difference for your preferences. I've never heard the SE before and was just curious of your impressions, so thank you. Also, looking forward to you spending time with both, the v2 & SE and reading your impressions. If The Cable Company starts to loan headphones again (CV-19) I'm going to borrow the SE being I'm very interested in hearing them.

You know Joseph for you, my prediction is that you will prefer the Se. For the simple reason you are quite intrigue with the Utopia and HD800. I do too but then again my ears are quite adaptable. I even love the Aeolous and Auteur on the desk with the KT77 amp.

However what do I know about your preference.

 

[joseph69]

You know Joseph for you, my prediction is that you will prefer the Se.

I'll let you know as soon as I can borrow them.

 

[UntilThen]

I'll let you know as soon as I can borrow them.

Well Joseph, I'm trying to borrow the HE1000 v2 for a few days because I'm getting McChanson 300b amp home to audition for a week. I'm still an amp mafia.... right @whirlwind ?

However that still means I can't get my hands on my own HE1000se which is 300 kms away.

 

[whirlwind]

Well Joseph, I'm trying to borrow the HE1000 v2 for a few days because I'm getting McChanson 300b amp home to audition for a week. I'm still an amp mafia.... right @whirlwind ?

However that still means I can't get my hands on my own HE1000se which is 300 kms away.

Yes sir, you are most definitely in the amp mafia

 

[UntilThen]

Yes sir, you are most definitely in the amp mafia

Lol what a term you've coined. These days I'm fortunate enough to sample a lot of amps and headphones because I've met 3 young friends who happen to collect these gear. Last night I collected the 300b amp on loan to me for a week. I'll be posting my impressions of it in the McChanson's thread instead. Headphones I'm using with it are HiFiMan's HE1000v2 and He6se v2.

 

[hypnos1]

Fascinating that you've demonstrated experimentally the properties of the crystal structure that Neotech maintain give such good results!

Yes there's so much to take into account when selecting the appropriate cable. I was a bit concerned as I said when I saw the diameter of the cable I used for the internal output wires on my amp and they were very easy to break if you weren't careful, but the results were superb and I would recommend them to anyone. (I was a bit miserly when ordering the wires due to the cost).

I wanted to improve the clarity, transparency and textural detail of the amp as much as possible over the OCC copper that I had put in originally, and I think I achieved that and am very happy with the result. As I said in the thread, the sound of a violin bow screeching across the strings was texturally superb, very realistic and faithful to the sound of the instrument whereas the OCC copper was much warmer and smoother!

Of course poor quality silver is to be avoided at all costs, that will give you that tinkly, sharp sound that isn't pleasant at all.

I think due to the innovative design of the amps on this thread the cables will be of much less importance though.

Good to see another Brit on the thread lol!

Aaarrrgh bb...me near Nelson country and you near Francis Drake's! Afraid I myself had a much more cushy time as an O and G(?!) on board cruise ships for a while (LA based, mostly).

Anyway, back to one of my favourite topics - cables & wire. Interesting you used the UP-OCC silver inside your amp so successfully (despite, yes, its brittle nature as solid wire - especially the thinner gauges!). Feliks Audio were also impressed with the suggestion I made for it to be used in their Special 'Anniversary Edition' Euforia, although they went for 'just' the OCC copper...sadly IMHO!

I suspect that the models here may not benefit quite so much from its use (internally), but every equipment upgrade I've made, from DACs to amps have shown increased performance when treated to Neotech silver as the connection medium. After all, everything carrying the audio signal will have an effect upon its quality/integrity/proneness to interference degradation....and 'weakest links' spring to mind lol! And that even applies to connectors of course...which is why I try to minimise their effect by having the wire itself act as the connection interface wherever possible, rather than transfer via inferior materials and solder!...(not easy though and can only really be done with DIY cables of course).

But I must admit I could never afford commercial cables built to the spec I now demand alas. However, if I should relapse into tubedom at some time in the future, I would definitely ask Tomas to use UP-OCC silver wire in my own baby, whatever the cost...I'll not consider anything else these days!!

 

[UntilThen]

However, if I should relapse into tubedom at some time in the future, I would definitely ask Tomas to use UP-OCC silver wire in my own baby, whatever the cost...I'll not consider anything else these days!!

You want me to spend more on Odyssey do you? Do you know that Odyssey is now close to a million?

 

[baronbeehive]

Anyway, back to one of my favourite topics - cables & wire. Interesting you used the UP-OCC silver inside your amp so successfully

Just for the output wires, ie those going from the output tubes to the output jacks on the chassis, in effect an extension of the external headphone cable in an effort to preserve the purity of the signal going direct to the headphones.

I didn't expect it to have such an effect after the UP-OCC copper which I liked very much but the effect was quite impressive.

But I must admit I could never afford commercial cables built to the spec I now demand alas. However, if I should relapse into tubedom at some time in the future, I would definitely ask Tomas to use UP-OCC silver wire in my own baby, whatever the cost...I'll not consider anything else these days!!

Re: your forthcoming relapse, there must be some medicine you could take.. on the other hand it's not such a bad fate .

 

[baronbeehive]

You want me to spend more on Odyssey do you? Do you know that Odyssey is now close to a million?

Odyssey will be so good you won't even notice it hasn't got silver inside!

 

[UntilThen]

Odyssey will be so good you won't even notice it hasn't got silver inside!

There will be enough silver in Odyssey because the whole chassis is silver !

 

[baronbeehive]

There will be enough silver in Odyssey because the whole chassis is silver !

Solid silver I hope .

 

[UntilThen]

Solid silver I hope .

Pure silver I can assure you. Tomas say no extra charge.

I thought that Odyssey will be my last tube amp but this 300b amp is a killer. I have to find a way to get Tomas to build me a 300b amp a year after Odyssey.

I even put in my Mullard GZ32 and I can hear quite a change in tone. Tube rectifiers are not just AC/DC !