[saidentary]

  HE1K: Right off the bat these headphones were amazingly musical no matter what genre I threw at it. The soundstage was very impressive, almost as good as the HD800s. ..................................................... sounded like I was listening to hifi speakers 10 times the price of these headphones. Soundstage, musicality, instrument separation are some of the keywords here.................... I've already placed an order for the HE1K (a headphone that wasn't even on my radar - that's how good they sounded). .............................I don't think I've ever been completely blown away listening to a headphone before (just in the first few minutes).

Well, FWIW, all of what's included in the above excerpt from your post matches my impressions and experience exactly.  Not approximately, not closely, not very closely, but EXACTLY--right down to the soundstage on the HD800.  To my ears, the soundstage is the only area where the HD800 is clearly superior to the HE-1000.  Sounds like speakers--check.  Hadn't been on my radar--check.  Then I heard them and was blown away--check.  In just the first few minutes (for me it was within seconds, so I guess that's a slight difference--LOL)--check. 

 

[goldendarko]

 
You mean the ALO Studio 6, correct?  That plus the yggy driving HE-1000s.  That really must be phenomenal!  I haven't heard the ALO Studio 6 myself, but I suspect it must be among the very best headphone amps in existence.  Congrats to you!  

 

Yup, that's the one. It is amazing with the HE1000, most realistic 3D-like presentation I've ever heard, you can literally hear everything on good recordings

 

[moshen]

  Well, FWIW, all of what's included in the above excerpt from your post matches my impressions and experience exactly.  Not approximately, not closely, not very closely, but EXACTLY--right down to the soundstage on the HD800.  To my ears, the soundstage is the only area where the HD800 is clearly superior to the HE-1000.  Sounds like speakers--check.  Hadn't been on my radar--check.  Then I heard them and was blown away--check.  In just the first few minutes (for me it was within seconds, so I guess that's a slight difference--LOL)--check. 

After comparing my HD800 & HE1000 focused specifically on soundstage, I feel the soundstage width is a bit larger on the HD800, but for me the imaging is more diffuse and less defined than on the HE1000.

 

[FDH5555]

  Yesterday I got a chance to audition the HE1K and LCD4 side-by-side. Before I describe my experience let me preface it by saying that I currently own LCD-3F and recently picked up the ETHER for use at work. I'm a fan of the Audeze sound signature and never liked the way the HiFiMan that I've previously auditioned sounded (like HE400 & HE560).
 
When the HE1K was announced and when I heard how much they cost I never bothered to even check them out. But I couldn't pass on the opportunity to hear the LCD-4s and be able to compare them with the HE1K. 
 
Long story short the HE1Ks were so unbelievably musical and amazing soundstage that I ordered one today and the LCD-3s are ready to find a new home. So I am keeping the ETHER and HE1K.
 
If anyone is interested in a more detailed comparison between the HE1K vs LCD4 vs ETHER, I'll get off my lazy ass and write one

That's exactly how I felt. I'm a big fan of lcd3 and lcd2. Although I do think a well-driven he6 is technically superior to lcd3, I still find lcd3 more musical and enjoyable. But after receiving my hek, now I hardly listen to lcd3 anymore. The performance of HEK is definitely on a much higher level than that of lcd3.

 

[pedalhead]

  And finally, here is how I would rank them:
 
  1) HE1K
  2) LCD-4     
  2.5) MrSpeakers ETHER
  4) LCD-3
 

 
Thanks for the comparison, tuxbass. I suspect it is one that many of us have been waiting for.  Obviously this stuff is all subjective, but as a HE1000 owner this pleases me

.  If the soundstage of the LCD4 is considerably narrower than the HE1000 then I know I'll never be tempted by it as a wide soundstage is a big preference of mine. Good to know, cheers.

 

[kikouyou]

  Ok here we go ... damn I feel the pressure
 
HE1K: Right off the bat these headphones were amazingly musical no matter what genre I threw at it. The soundstage was very impressive, almost as good as the HD800s. But unlike the 800s the sound wasn't analytical but more on the musical/enjoyable side. In summary it sounded like I was listening to hifi speakers 10 times the price of these headphones. Soundstage, musicality, instrument separation are some of the keywords here.
 
LCD-4: In comparison, the soundstage on the LCD-4s was significantly narrow. Also the treble sounded a bit muffled, I guess that's the Audeze house sound in action. Which I used be a fan of, but after listening to the HE1K it opened my ears and muffled was the thought that came to me as I was listening. LCD-4s are surely a notch above the LCD-3 but I don't think I can justify the price difference.
 
The Obvious: HE1K was super comfortable, after few mins you don't even feel them in your head. On the other hand LCD-4s are as hefty as usual. The new headbands seems to help with the comfort. But I can't comment how much better they are because I didn't have them on for hours.
 
And finally, here is how I would rank them:
 
  1) HE1K
  2) LCD-4     
  2.5) MrSpeakers ETHER
  4) LCD-3
 
Note:
  1. I didn't include the HD-800 in that list, because I've not heard them with the any kind of mods. I've only heard them in their stock form.
  2. The LCD-4 and ETHER are pretty close. Maybe if I had compared them using another genre the order might have been different. Since my primary goal was to compare HE1K and LCD-4 I didn't spend too much time comparing LCD-4 vs ETHER.
 
As I mentioned in my previous post, I've already placed an order for the HE1K (a headphone that wasn't even on my radar - that's how good they sounded). I don't think I've ever been completely blown away listening to a headphone before (just in the first few minutes).
 
If you got this far congratulations and sorry I am not very articulate. If you've very specific questions please ask I'll try to answer them.

As an owner of LCD3F and LCDXC, I confirm these impressions too when compared to the H1K. I loved the sound of the LCD3F, but the difference is so important that there is no need to spend a long time doing A/B testing. I would just add that the people who like LCD3F and LCDXC should really like this one. The LCDX and XC have a better attack but the musicality, soundstage, comfort and very deep bass capability of the H1K make it up for it at least for me. 

 

[conquerator2]

It was the same with me!
First I was like '2999$ for a headphone? Bro, the HE560 is excellent for much less! I don't think it gets better!'
Canjam London and listening to the HEK.
'God damn it. damn. Why HFM, why???'
Now I gotta have it too -_- And I didn't believe, didn't wanna believe either... Yet, ugh!

 

[bmichels]

  Yesterday I got a chance to audition the HE1K and LCD4 side-by-side. Before I describe my experience let me preface it by saying that I currently own LCD-3F and recently picked up the ETHER for use at work. I'm a fan of the Audeze sound signature and never liked the way the HiFiMan that I've previously auditioned sounded (like HE400 & HE560).
 
When the HE1K was announced and when I heard how much they cost I never bothered to even check them out. But I couldn't pass on the opportunity to hear the LCD-4s and be able to compare them with the HE1K. 
 
Long story short the HE1Ks were so unbelievably musical and amazing soundstage that I ordered one today and the LCD-3s are ready to find a new home. So I am keeping the ETHER and HE1K.
 
If anyone is interested in a more detailed comparison between the HE1K vs LCD4 vs ETHER, I'll get off my lazy ass and write one

 
Very interesting.  Coroborate my short listening of the LCD-4.
 
Could you tell us what AMP was used during your testing ? 

 

[tuxbass]

  .... In just the first few minutes (for me it was within seconds, so I guess that's a slight difference--LOL)--check.

Haha I could've said that too .. but I was very conscious about not sounding too exaggerated (Since, I'm relatively new here).
Great to hear all the feedback ... it has encouraged me to write another impression post once I've my pair here in the next day or two.

 

[tuxbass]

   
Very interesting.  Coroborate my short listening of the LCD-4.
 
Could you tell us what AMP was used during your testing ? 

Thanks
McIntosh MHA100 was the Amp used during this comparison.
 
I will be using them with my MJ2, so hopefully there isn't too much drop off from what I heard. If there is then my wallet is screwed again

 

[ruthieandjohn]

Perhaps we should start a thread "Do you remember where you were when you first heard the HE1000?"

For me, it was as a beta tester, and when it was on its way to me, I realized I didn't really have a good amp for it (well, I THOUGHT I didn't... turns out my Sennheiser HDVD 800 is great, but I didn't expect that), so I bought the CEntrance HiFiM8, which offered lots of flexibility (single and balanced output, selectable output impedance, selectable gain, selectable digital input from USB or Apple Lightening, etc.)

So my first listen upon my HE1000 arrival was with the CEntrance.

Within the first two seconds, I realized that 1) the HE1000 has fabulous bass, and 2) the HE1000 has fabulous sound stage. Didn't take any of the 10 detailed acoustic tests, four test tracks, or that back-and-forth repetitive listening that I later did to write my review... the improvement was instantly apparent.

 

[tuxbass]

Perhaps we should start a thread "Do you remember where you were when you first heard the HE1000?"

.....

Or perhaps it should be called "Where did you get (instantly) teleported when you first heard the HE1000"

 

[sheldaze]

Perhaps we should start a thread "Do you remember where you were when you first heard the HE1000?"

I like that idea!
 

  Or perhaps it should be called "Where did you get (instantly) teleported when you first heard the HE1000"

I like that idea too...
 
For me I was at a recent headphone meet in Nashville, TN. I was teleported into the studio where Pink Floyd must have first heard their fabulous sound come together in the early 70s as they finally got the sound right for Dark Side of the Moon. The smiles on their faces, the congratulations they must have spoken to each other. There's even a line in the album where someone says, "I think it's nice." followed by a warm chuckle. I felt like I was there in the studio with them, when they realized what a masterpiece they had just constructed.

 

[musicman59]

Last March at Jude's office two weeks before CanJam SoCal paired with the EF-6.

 

[sahmen]

Okay, okay, okay!  You guys have won!  I have now re-placed the He-1000 on my "must-buy" list, and I foresee a gaping crater in my wallet in the not too distant future, with 3,000 smackers written all over it, a $3000 "crater" that I must perform near miracles to conceal from the spouse...
Don't blame me... I have placed, removed, replaced, and removed  in turns on the list, the hd-800, the newly released ether and ether-C,  any number of Audeze models, and others I do not care to mention, but I have had to discard them all because simply reading this thread has convinced me, perhaps prematurely, that none of those would satisfy me, even though I have not even tried them...
 
So for the foreseeable future in my experience with cans, it is either going to be the he-k or nothing else... I already have a few great cans in my stable to keep me occupied until that d-day comes... (I mean I thought they were great until the He-K came along)
 
In the meantime, if I should get divorced for making the purchase, I am going to blame you all for making me irrational...
 
 
Okay, half of the above is said in jest, but I confess that you guys are making me soooo jealous I do not know if I can take anymore of it... Maybe I should go on a little vacation from head-fi and attempt to re-discover the excellent performance features of my He-6 and T1?  Now there's a thought...