[Slim1970]

I got my hifiman he1000 v2, and i love it.

I used the stock balanced cable with it to my chord qutest and ifi pro ican amp

Can I ask, do you think the stock cable is good enough or is there another cable you would recommend to use with it that is gonna make a noticeable difference

best wishes

I thought the stock cable was great when I had the HEK V2’s. I never felt the need to upgrade. The stock cable is a mix of silver and copper. So you’re getting the best sound out of both. I’m sure there are some aftermarket cables with different wiring patterns and cable properties that might net you slight incremental improvements but you’re gonna pay top dollar to hear it.

For me the biggest improvement I hear is when I change DACs and amps. For me, a change in headphone cable would be the last tweak once I got my front gear all set.

 

[471724]

I don't like the stock headphone cable that comes with the HE1000V2 - it's overbright and smeared. I've tried a number of different aftermarket cables, and of them all I like the Cardas Clear the best. Very high resolution of detail, unsmeared, very musical. Next best was the Double Helix Molecule SE22 Litz, followed by the Audio Art HPX-1.

 

[sahmen]

Norne Audio's silvergarde S (1 or 3) cable really shines with the He 1000 v1 or v2. The Draug 3 cable too is nice with them, Both kinds trounce the stock cable, and make it sound sub par... in balanced or SE mode. I personally think the stock cable does not bring out the best in these cans.

 

[Sound Eq]

Norne Audio's silvergarde S (1 or 3) cable really shines with the He 1000 v1 or v2. The Draug 3 cable too is nice with them, Both kinds trounce the stock cable, and make it sound sub par... in balanced or SE mode. I personally think the stock cable does not bring out the best in these cans.

since both are made of different materials how would the silvergrade compare to draug, most definitely I do not want to have the bass to be less, or add any harshness to HE1000 V2

 

[sahmen]

The bass will not be less in either case... The bass sounds well extended and clean in both cases. I think the silvergarde cable appears to have a slight edge in detail retrieval, and in conveying a sense of airy spaciousness, transparency, and a certain cleanliness. That works really well if you're into jazz and classical, and music that requires a certain analytical transparency and instrument separation. The Draug v3 is not a slouch at all in any of these areas, and does not roll anything off or lose any details... The silvergarde simply has a slight edge in making its qualities shine a tad better... They're both pretty smooth sounding and non-fatiguing too...

This is how they sound on my own rigs, so someone else's mileage may vary...

 

[Sound Eq]

The bass will not be less in either case... The bass sounds well extended and clean in both cases. I think the silvergarde cable appears to have a slight edge in detail retrieval, and in conveying a sense of airy spaciousness, transparency, and a certain cleanliness. That works really well if you're into jazz and classical, and music that requires a certain analytical transparency and instrument separation. The Draug v3 is not a slouch at all in any of these areas, and does not roll anything off or lose any details... The silvergarde simply has a slight edge in making its qualities shine a tad better... They're both pretty smooth sounding and non-fatiguing too...

This is how they sound on my own rigs, so someone else's mileage may vary...

can I also ask which you think will give fuller sound especially in mids, or are they the same in that regards

 

[sahmen]

To @Sound Eq :

They both sound full enough and pretty liquid in the mids, although it also depends on source/content you're listening to, and the rest of the rig. Another factor to consider is the relativity of he term "full." I recently used the Norne Solvine 2C with my LCD-X, on one of my familiar rigs (metrum Ambre/Metrum Onyx/Cavalli Liquid Carbon v1), and that cable promptly took the LCD-X into near basshead territory, increasing bass heft and thickness, but maybe not bass extension. The mids were sounding a lot "fuller" and thicker than usual with this cable, but I also thought that was because the bass was bleeding a little more into the mids than I was used to, and creatin a sense of more fullness and thickness than I wanted for the type of music I was listening to at the time (which was some classic, and avant-garde jazz)... So I reverted back to the silvergarde S, and all was well again.

I am not saying this to diss the Solvine 2C... I actually think it will work well for some music in which bass heft/.quantity and thickness of mids could be essential, such as some types of hip hop R & B, and EDM. So when you say "full,", I am inclined to ask whether you're referring to Hip hop/R &B fullness, or Jaza/Classical fullness. The Silvergarde and Draug V3 sound reltively cleaner and more transparent, without sounding in anyway "thin" or lean to my ears, if you know what I mean. They sound "full" enough in the mids, for the music I use them for... The "lesson" of the Draug 2C is that you can get the mids to sound even fuller and thicker, but that may or may not be to your taste, depending on your usual musical genre preferences.

 

[Sound Eq]

To @Sound Eq :

They both sound full enough and pretty liquid in the mids, although it also depends on source/content you're listening to, and the rest of the rig. Another factor to consider is the relativity of he term "full." I recently used the Norne Solvine 2C with my LCD-X, on one of my familiar rigs (metrum Ambre/Metrum Onyx/Cavalli Liquid Carbon v1), and that cable promptly took the LCD-X into near basshead territory, increasing bass heft and thickness, but maybe not bass extension. The mids were sounding a lot "fuller" and thicker than usual with this cable, but I also thought that was because the bass was bleeding a little more into the mids than I was used to, and creatin a sense of more fullness and thickness than I wanted for the type of music I was listening to at the time (which was some classic, and avant-garde jazz)... So I reverted back to the silvergarde S, and all was well again.

I am not saying this to diss the Solvine 2C... I actually think it will work well for some music in which bass heft/.quantity and thickness of mids could be essential, such as some types of hip hop R & B, and EDM. So when you say "full,", I am inclined to ask whether you're referring to Hip hop/R &B fullness, or Jaza/Classical fullness. The Silvergarde and Draug V3 sound reltively cleaner and more transparent, without sounding in anyway "thin" or lean to my ears, if you know what I mean. They sound "full" enough in the mids, for the music I use them for... The "lesson" of the Draug 2C is that you can get the mids to sound even fuller and thicker, but that may or may not be to your taste, depending on your usual musical genre preferences.

thanks so much for this answer, Yes I am more into acoustic, metal, electronic music and do not listen to classical music. Reading bout solvine intrigued me

 

[tunes]

Definitely go with an aftermarket cable.
Norne makes great cables at reasonable prices.

 

[tunes]

Does anyone know if the leather headband on the HE1000V2 can be replaced and if yes how can I order one?

 

[llamaluv]

Does anyone know if the leather headband on the HE1000V2 can be replaced and if yes how can I order one?

If you contact Hifiman, they'll sell you one. It cost me $50 + $10 shipping (US). Their customer service is quite good.

There are two small Phillips screws per side that hold the headband in place. Personally, they were very hard for me to unscrew so I had to send it back to them to replace for me for another $60 or so, which was unfortunate. Though I'm pretty sure most people with better practical skills than I have a better time of it lol.

 

[BuddhaBruce]

Does anyone know if the leather headband on the HE1000V2 can be replaced and if yes how can I order one?

I did it to my HeX V2. Fairly easy and there's a tutorial floating around on youtube. Just be careful and you will be good. Contact customer support and they will help you out.

https://imgur.com/ZxbwM8D

 

[datasyd]

Can I ask, do you think the stock cable is good enough or is there another cable you would recommend to use with it that is gonna make a noticeable difference

I listened to the chord Qutest connected to the ifi Pro iCAN. It certainly delights. Although I bought the Pro iDSD instead of the Qutest I'd be surprised if anyone was not in awe of either setup.

With my setup I'm using Denon AH-D7200 Headphones and I replaced it's stock cables with these balanced cables:
https://www.minidisc.com.au/beyerdynamic-t1-mk2-balanced-connection-cable

For my ears, the difference was night and day. It was honestly so startling across the board that buying balanced 4pin XLR cables was about the easiest audio decision I could have made, given my rig. I was not aware of other 4pin XLR-brand choices but could not be happier.

How would you compare the hifiman headphones to others you might have connected to the Qutest/Pro iCAN?

 

[Sound Eq]

I listened to the chord Qutest connected to the ifi Pro iCAN. It certainly delights. Although I bought the Pro iDSD instead of the Qutest I'd be surprised if anyone was not in awe of either setup.

With my setup I'm using Denon AH-D7200 Headphones and I replaced it's stock cables with these balanced cables:
https://www.minidisc.com.au/beyerdynamic-t1-mk2-balanced-connection-cable

For my ears, the difference was night and day. It was honestly so startling across the board that buying balanced 4pin XLR cables was about the easiest audio decision I could have made, given my rig. I was not aware of other 4pin XLR-brand choices but could not be happier.

How would you compare the hifiman headphones to others you might have connected to the Qutest/Pro iCAN?

Definitely both set ups should be amazing, but I just love my ifi pro ican amp connected to qutest, with my Hifiman HE1000V2, I really am just speechless as I have never enjoyed listening to music like in that setup, and no other headphone I own or owned compares to my current experience with my system and HE1000 V2 period. The grand big sound, the amazing tonality, and the perfect mids and highs, with a great bass in the exact amount I desire, all this finally put a stop to pursue the thought of looking for another totl headphone , so what I am doing now is just some slight upgrades here and there with rca cables and usb cables and 4pin balanced cables. Literally i am in just in awe and thankful to those 3 companies, Hifiman, Ifi, and chord for making such an amazing setup possible.

 

[datasyd]

Literally i am in just in awe and thankful to those 3 companies, Hifiman, Ifi, and chord for making such an amazing setup possible.

It's a little easier explaining to my friends why i might favour something because it is visually appealing. And that just makes sharing the experience so much more of a thrill. How does one best describe to someone that they are about to hear something I had never thought possible without it seeming a little over the top? Well.... it turns out I don't really need to, because 20 seconds into them listening to any song I like that's exactly what they are explaining to me