[conquerator2]

I do question the price but a] there is not much I can do presently as the HEK is already out for the price it is priced at and I can't pass it up [as explained above] but also b] the tricked down HEX will be significantly cheaper at 1799$, so there's that 

 

[sheldaze]

  Even then it's still overpriced in my opninion. And companies will keep raising the pricetags because many people doesn't question the absurd prices.  

I agree to an extent. I see the value of the HEK in these terms. Prior to the HEK, I had multiple headphones, all at around the $300 price range. Each one did a certain thing well, and none of them did anything exceptionally well. When I upgraded my DAC to an R2R, I found more pleasure listening to it on my speaker setup. I went seeking for a headphone to better match with my speaker sound, at around the $1500 going price:
 

1. Audeze LCD-X (or LCD-3)
2. Mr. Speakers Ether (open and closed)
3. Sennheiser HD800

 
And I listened to each one of these. And for me - I found they all circled around what I thought was the ideal. Some hit too hard, others too soft, too much bass, too much treble, etc. Some people at the meet, where I was able to audition all these phones, suggested that the highest satisfaction might be to buy an EtherC and an Ether. Then regardless of the music, one would certainly find happiness by plugging in the one best matching headphone to the particular song. I agreed, but that would turn out to be a $3000 investment.
 
Then I put on the HEK, and simply put - it ticked all the boxes, for my ears. I would never consider it to be a value headphone, but it simply worked for me. Everything else was a compromise, and if I'm going to compromise, I'm going to stick with my $300 headphones. So yes, it was costly. But yes, it was something I could reasonably do. If it did not basically replace every single one of those headphones I heard, I would not have bought it. But it did for me. It's a very personal thing, and I say - more power to the people releasing the LCD-4. If it works magic for some people, let them buy it and be happy 

 

[negura]

 

 
This is a good point. I too make the same comparison with my speakers vs all my headphones, usually when evaluating upstream gear. Indeed all the headphones I know (which include most if not all flagships) do hover around what I consider an ideal response, without coming close enough. Where my opinion differs is that HEK are quite a way off, on any gear I've heard them with. I hear them as heavily coloured as a combination of transient and tonal response colourations. 
 
Some of the closest to  what I hear as ideal are the modded HE-6/EC and SR007 MKI/BHSE, but still not quite there. The SR009s with the more organic/fuller sounding version of the KGSSHV are in top tier too imo. Some modded versions of the HD800s  I can include in this tier, but I am less happy with these, because the modifications I know to make degrade their performance in exchange for a more normal tonal response. And the same is the case with matching them with exceedingly coloured amps, which is a no-go imo. Work in progress with these.
 
I will comment more on the relevance of an accurate and realistic tonal response, in my upcoming review the MSB Signature 5 DAC stack, and how limiting at this level of the game, the more coloured transducers become. This is true even at the lower tier (Yggdrasil/Theta V A) - for example I found it more difficult to compare gear with the HEK as opposed to some other headphones, because the former dilute some of the differences in upstream gear (result of their colourations) and just did not keep up as well as some others. 
 
In other words, imo it's GREAT to have options out there and coloured/fun/nice/relaxing headphones. That is also what mid-fi is for and I do enjoy some headphones that I do no consider top tier in sound but offer a pleasing coloured response. But when we are talking high-end pricing, I have completely different expectations on what adequate sound performance is. In any gear, not just headphones.

 

[Youth]

So far I also find the HE-1000 to be the headphone that I like best but that doesn't change the fact that $3000 is absurd for a headphone. Even if it's the perfect headphone I simply refuse to pay that amount of money. 

 

[saidentary]

  So far I also find the HE-1000 to be the headphone that I like best but that doesn't change the fact that $3000 is absurd for a headphone. Even if it's the perfect headphone I simply refuse to pay that amount of money. 

This is another crucially important point.  Almost everyone (including me) has a price limit that they just won't exceed--PERIOD. They may or may not be able to quote the number off the top of their head, but they certainly know it when they see it.  The next step down from that is what sheldaze said, which is a highly conditional willingness (not eagerness) to pay such a price, but only after considerable assessment.

 

[conquerator2]

I wish this site had a dislike button as well. It'd make things very interesting IMO 

OT, I should hopefully have the HEK next week or the week after. I look forward to finally finding out how they'll sound on my own setup 

 

[conquerator2]

Also, I could swear there was 3 years warranty last time I checked... Now there's only 1 year 

 

[reddog]

Also, I could swear there was 3 years warranty last time I checked... Now there's only 1 year 

Yes this does suck, how dare the manufacturer change the warranty after purchase. I will register my protest by not buying anymore HiFfiman products. I am very sad.

 

[conquerator2]

Yes this does suck, how dare the manufacturer change the warranty after purchase. I will register my protest by not buying anymore HiFfiman products. I am very sad.

Now, I am not sure this is right. But I do think it was 3 years before. Hopefully my mind wouldn't make it up 

 

[goldendarko]

I'm pretty sure the warranty has always been 1 year because I remember people complaining about it early on

 

[conquerator2]

I'm pretty sure the warranty has always been 1 year because I remember people complaining about it early on

Could very well be! For some reason, I had 3 years stuck in my mind. Thanks for clarifying 

 

[money4me247]

it was 1 year with hifiman saying that it may be extended to 3 years (...I think?). I recall the 3 year number as well, but yes, it has always been 1 year on the website I think.

 

[raybone0566]

The old website was 3yrs. On the he1000, & every other phone was 1 yr. I remember reading that and thinking you get a year protection for every 1k you spend.

 

[ufospls2]

I thought the warranty was for three years??? Have they really changed it to one year? Or is this some sort of mistake?
 
EDIT: It is three years. From the manual below. Where are you guys seeing it is one year?
 

 

[conquerator2]

  I thought the warranty was for three years??? Have they really changed it to one year? Or is this some sort of mistake?
 
EDIT: It is three years. From the manual below. Where are you guys seeing it is one year?
 

https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/he1000.html
 
Hopefully it is just a mistake then