[Sorrodje]

   
Compared to HE6, yes. Compared to SR009, better in some respects (soundstage width and height/ pin point imaging) and worse in others (stage depth/ layering/ naturalness in spatial cues). Compared to HD800, no. Overall, very good, and "unoffensive".

 
I get the point. Thks

 

[potkettleblack]

Borrowed a Schiit Ragnorak from a friend...Wow! extremely impressive, clean, and powerful amp!
Also been using my revamped B22. Very impressive as well!
Ok,
from everthing I have heard from mine so far, and from other opinions...
In all honesty, and in its current state, and in order for this this headphone to really sell well, be more popular, and better overall once it goes into production, IMHO:
1. Improve the realism, energy, snap, and micro detail slightly.
2. Improve the frequency response in certain areas, especially around 7khz (the peak, slight coloration? ), and lower the retail price $500.00 to $1,000.00?
(The Stax SR-009 is down to just over $2,700 new now too!)
3. Redesigned/thicker earpads. I think this could help alot.

The HEK does do some things really well, but for the price I honestly expected more.
Now, bass extension and bass detail is almost perfect to me though. I really love that aspect.
Everything does improve with higher volumes, but would prefer more at lower levels too.
Its not burn in either. Mine have at least 200 hours.
Maybe I am spoiled by my modded HE-6's strong suits?
As is, I'm very undecided on whether or not to keep these.
Right now probably leaning towards 40/60... (40% chance of keeping, 60% chance of sending back.)
Please don't take this all negatively. Just stating the honest facts.
I really love the headphones, I just honestly feel, as others have also stated, that there is room for improvement here, especially at the retail price.
But, this is a beta test, and I'm sure the negatives will help Hifiman just as much as the positives on improving the final product.
The HE1000 does have alot of potential, no doubt about that.
Been very busy lately. More to come as I get time...

Does anyone agree with this price range given the TOTL competition out there at the moment?
 
These will cost about £2000 gbp 

 

[pedalhead]

I'll take this to PM so as not to derail the thread.

 

[doctorjazz]

I had limited time to listen to the hek (hopefully get a longer listen soon). Seems there are 2 camps...either they are the second coming, better than breast milk, or they do some things terrifically, but are overall less involving than they could/should be, especially at the price. Again, my time was limited, and not in optimal conditions. My limited comparison and impressions to the HE 560 was in the second group...while it definitely performed much better than the 560, wiping away the much overused "veils", having more detail, more open space, there was some level of involvement missing. Maybe more extensive listening/burn in/brain burn in/better ancillary equipment/mojo will change this. I'll report back when I get a better listen.

 

[doctorjazz]

And, as they are already on preorder, I can't imagine any major revisions.

 

[negura]

I'll post my comments on the matter of TOTL pricing to the other thread, to avoid further noise here.

 

[doctorjazz]

Well, this is a 'beta' run, so I'm presuming that final tweaks might be made before official release based on the tests. So we still won't know really what it'll perhaps end up as, although I suspect they'll be exactly the same as these ones!

I won't be paying £2000 for a headphone personally. Makes the hd800 actually seem like a pretty good buy to me at half the cost. Then I could use the saved £1000 for an amp.

This is the thing - add an amp and source - what would be (if you like) a minimum requirement for these?

Headphones like this may well be setting a standard, but they are also setting a standard for pricing which has been spriralling once manufacturers perhaps saw the Beats at a relatively high price, become a major seller. Result is that we now see £175 as an average kind of price for a cheap heaphone. Same for Audio Technica when I compare what I paid for mine five years ago compared to now. They've doubled in price.

It seems that £1000 is the average for a good headphone now.

I'm waiting for a manufacturer to find a way to offer something decent at a decent price I think.

This is exactly what happened to high end gear in the 80s and 90s, went from a price point that fans could afford first tier gear, to the point that one needed a major inheritance to even think about such gear!

 

[cradon]

  As I prefaced my first post in this thread, I honestly think a lot of people are going to really like these. I would like to paint a very realistic follow-up impression today, based on how I have been hearing these headphones over extended listening. This is my due dilligence to the community and Hifiman as beta tester, in addition to my original impressions in the first posting in this thread. I will not repeat what I've written as I think that is accurate after extended listening. This will not be a metaphoric post, but very dry and to the point. Read it as is. There is no catch. Here we go. 
 
- The HEK are technically good for a flagship, but are not technical masters. The modded HD800s continue rule supreme the macro resolution and DR field. The SR-009s, while I do not have them here, I owned for long enough to tell they would still lead the cutting edge precision of transient response and speed. The HE-6s are still undisputed leaders of attack viscerality. I cannot point to an area of sound quality the HEK do best out of all the flagships I'm familiar with (except for soundstage height). And this overall is the key with them as it follows.
 
- The HEK are all-arounders but do not excel in all genres. Acoustic, unamplified, classical and high DR music are left to be bettered by other headphones such as the HD800s, SR009s and HE-6s that can scale accordingly. The HEK have an inherent advantage in the stage height the drivers provide for, but this is not a DR attribute.
 
- I think the primary audience for these headphones would be those who are looking for a flagship with relaxed sound, relatively easy to amplify, and with technical substance. However for this the RRP is very steep. I would prefer and will be more comfortable to experiment further with the modded HD6X0 for this type of sound.
 
- These are true flagship headphones for the masses, and at that I think they will please many. And this is where Hifiman could have succeeded, compared to the previous flagships. There are few subtleties and a lot of average enjoyment to be had. While in comparison they do not bite, energize or engage as some other flagships, they are perfect for background undisturbing listening. They can also reproduce both extremely good and extremely average recordings to a very satisfactory level.
 
These headphones don't have many flaws, but they do not excel much either compared to other established flagships.
 
I will now bow down and will return the HEK beta when that time comes. I feel I have been 100% honest in my beta test opinion, like it or not. 
 
Rig used:
Eddie Current 2A3 MK4 amplifier (4x EML, 2x Amperex tubes)
Dual mono class A 60 watts speaker amplifier, 160 watts AB
Schiit Yggdrasil
Theta Generation V 
Audioquest SKY interconnects
Acrolink power cables
SOTM usb interface and LAN streamer
 
Later edit: Replacing the pads with Audeze vegan pads, which are more angled and wider, and sealing the open gaps does help these to become more lively sounding and less beautifully boring. It also adds some stage depth. It seems, however, that the Audeze pads also introduce some artifacts, which I suspect are caused by the pad being physically smaller than the driver, which creates a second enclosure. That and the fact the drivers have an unusual shape makes me look for pad/SQ improvements directly from Hifiman, before I am ready to purchase these headphones.

I hate to admit it but I agree with negura. I hope Hifiman will be retuned them and improve the pads.

 

[negura]

  I hate to admit it but I agree with negura. I hope Hifiman will be retuned them and improve the pads.

 
The drivers have more potential imo. But I just cannot reconcile having to use Audeze pads with some improvements and some more dubious results. Not to mention how they look with Audeze pads. These are beautifully designed headphones and should not be massacred like that.  =) 
 
There's always some improvement to be had with better pads, but not sure if that covers it. Perhaps there's also some further tuning that can be done to make these more energetic and livelier sounding. Magnets, driver itself?
 
I respect the super positive impressions too. But for those who were silently wondering for more feedback on sound quality for essentially beta headphones, I tried to add my 2c. I am an existing Hifiman product owner and I would like to see this product/HFM succeed even more in sound quality, if possible.

 

[money4me247]

I definitely 100% agree on the earpads. I also do wish that Hifiman would perhaps consider delaying the official launch of the HE-1000 to look further into all the beta feedback. There is no reason to rush pair of headphones that will be their standing flagship product for multiple years.

 

[doctorjazz]

Well, Audeze does continue to change and update their headphones after release (but it does seem to cause some confusion)...

 

[moodyrn]

I might get flamed for this, but hand on heart I realise that the HE1000 impressions of those with truly TOTL set ups are generally more lukewarm compared to those with less stellar setups.

That is a very inaccurate statement. My top two setups exceedes several thousands of dollars each, and I absolutely love the hek. There are others whose setups also eclipse several thousands who also loves these. Your'e not too crazy about these and that's fine. But don't go throwing around false statements just to bolster your opinion.

 

[lojay]

Originally Posted by moodyrn /img/forum/go_quote.gif

That is a very inaccurate statement. My top two setups exceedes several thousands of dollars each, and I absolutely love the hek. There are others whose setups also eclipse several thousands who also loves these. Your'e not too crazy about these and that's fine. But don't go throwing around false statements just to bolster your opinion.

How is my statement false? Do you not read the qualifier "generally" in my statement? It's really the unnecessarily antagonistic posters like you that deter me from posting on HF.

So your setups are several thousand. So what? My Shunyata power conditioning system costs several thousands. My electrostatic and dynamic/ortho setups each exceed $10,000. The point is not to brag here, but to point out that you don't know our perspective either, sorry. No need to be all antagonisic, especially when I expressly stated that was a general statement and not an absolute one.

I did say that I liked the HE1000 for background listening. It fits my purpose. But it doesn't make the HE1000 more resolving than the HD800, or quicker than the SR009, or more visceral than the HE6. The fact is you need a great setup to hear what you are missing with the HE1000. That was the point I made and I stand by it.
 
Edit: cut out the argument.
I don't see how my views are any less valid because you love your HE1000.

 

[moodyrn]

Your statement is false for claiming people with high end setups are Luke warm about these.. I have a couple of highend setups and my opinion isn't Luke warm. Also, there are several who have high end setups whose opinion is also not like warm. For you to say otherwise(which you did) is False. And if calling you out on your false statement detour you from posting, so be it. And claiming me to be antagonistic isn't accurate either. Your post is way more antagonistic. I only pointed out how your statement is not true.

 

[calaf]

 
I might get flamed for this, but hand on heart I realise that the HE1000 impressions of those with truly TOTL set ups are generally more lukewarm compared to those with less stellar setups. I made my view known that I strongly prefer the modded HD800 for certain types of audiophile music (classical / unamped live performances) given its sheer realism. But for most other types of music I like the HE1000, especially when I am at work.

 at issue here is what you define "TOTL": if you are a true-blue audiophile TOTL is probably a modded HD800 attached to a monster SS amp that allows you to hear a fly buzzing in a concert hall. You don't care if that setup would give you a splitting headache if you tried to listen to, say, "Sgt Pepper" CD for more than 10', because you only listen to well-recorded music at the highest possible resolution.  OTH, if you focus more on the music side of the hobby, TOTL is a headphone that works great with all sorts of music, and that does not distract you from the music flow every time a cymbal is hit. BTW I agree HE1K has a problem with cymbals, and it is rather distracting...
 
Intentionally or not, HE1K seems to be the latest attempt to build such a "universal" headphone.  I have personally owned two headphones in this lineage, AKG K701 and Beyer T1, and while I have yet to post the promised review, I do believe HE1K bests them sonically in every possible aspect, as it should at its price.