[Audio Addict]

For the followers of this thread, HiFiMAN has loaned a HE1000 and HM901S for the Chicago Head-Fi meet next weekend, June 27th. It will also be available to audition with the recently updated microZOTL amplifier. Please stop by and get a chance to listen to the HE1000 in person and make your own conclusion.

 

[doctorjazz]

Any way you can move the meet closer to New Jersey?

 

[Audio Addict]

Any way you can move the meet closer to New Jersey?

If they would just finish building the teleporter, it would not take any time to get a chance to listen to the HE1000. There actually looks like there maybe 2 other HE1000 at the meet. Who would have guessed.

 

[doctorjazz]

Actually have a beta HEK, have posted impressions (got mine late, though). My interest would be comparing to other TOTL headphones. Not too crazy about scrambling my molecules, already pretty scrambled!

Any way you can move the meet closer to New Jersey?

If they would just finish building the teleporter, it would not take any time to get a chance to listen to the HE1000. There actually looks like there maybe 2 other HE1000 at the meet. Who would have guessed.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

ChiUniFi last year was my first headphone meet.  Drove 5 hours each way the same day with a gazillion headphones in a tiny FIAT 500 Abarth... heard the HD 800 for the first time and bought it.  Bet a LOT of people do the same with two or three HiFiMAN HE1000s there to hear!
 

My Table at ChiUniFi 2014

 

[doctorjazz]

ChiUniFi last year was my first headphone meet.  Drove 5 hours each way the same day with a gazillion headphones in a tiny FIAT 500 Abarth... heard the HD 800 for the first time and bought it.  Bet a LOT of people do the same with two or three HiFiMAN HE1000s there to hear!



My Table at ChiUniFi 2014

Man, what a mess of cans (that would be MY table...)

 

[Ali-Pacha]

At least a pair of Stax. You're not completely lost for the cause 

 
Ali

 

[ASAP]

Do any of you have information about the HE-1000's with the Taurus MKII?
Thanks for any help. I'll have the HE-1000 on June 25.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Do any of you have information about the HE-1000's with the Taurus MKII?
Thanks for any help. I'll have the HE-1000 on June 25.

I have the Taurus Mk. 2 and will be getting a loaner pair of the HEKs. You will probably have yours first though, I am looking forward to your impressions. It should be a sublime combination.

The Taurus is fantastic with my HE560 (grill mod, pad mod, and Norne Draug 2 balanced/SE), Grado PS1000, even my Alclair RSM CIEMs.

 

[Kiats]

Mine arrived yesterday. The first one in Singapore from the AD. listening to it via the LAu/Bricasti M1 DAC. The presentation of the music is very natural and errorless. Compared with the Abyss, I would say that both are very transparent and detailed. The Abyss takes it insofar as visceral bass is concerned, while the HE1000 takes it in the realm of more involving mids. Definitely both will have a place in my little collection of cans.

 

[doctorjazz]

Mine arrived yesterday. The first one in Singapore from the AD. listening to it via the LAu/Bricasti M1 DAC. The presentation of the music is very natural and errorless. Compared with the Abyss, I would say that both are very transparent and detailed. The Abyss takes it insofar as visceral bass is concerned, while the HE1000 takes it in the realm of more involving mids. Definitely both will have a place in my little collection of cans.

That's some nice little collection!!!!!

 

[rgs9200m]

Quick off-the-top-of-my-head real-time unedited impressions of the HEK soon after arrival with an old time-life 1970 CD I downloaded.
 
I am using this EQ which I found to nicely mellow the high treble, so take that into account of course: 
12 Khz: 0.4 db cut
14 Khz: 1.5 db cut
16 Khz: 3.1 db cut
 
1. The music seems just to fall out of it. It's the sonic equivalent of a very comfortable shoe that fits just right. I just want to lean into the music and it draws me in.
2. No drama or pain or wincing or fatigue or shout-factor even on tracks that I know can cause this (Jackson 5). There is no fear with the HEK, but it's not boring and it draws me in.
3. I can't call these dry or liquid, just down the center line.
4. Bass is deep, but a little lumpy, not super-detailed bass, but nice very pleasant musical bass that is not overwhelming. The bass reminds me of my Grado GS1000e, extremely pleasant and just forceful enough. The HEK bass is deeper and slightly more detailed and better integrated.
5. Vocals have nice texture and detail without screaming or shout. The best Eddie Holman Hey There Lonely Girl I can recall. Projects well, but not painfully over the top like I have heard.
6. I do not want to take these off and stop listening. Addictive after 10 minutes. A good sign.
7. I do however, miss somewhat the extra punch and insight and push of the LCD3-F on Spill the Wine by Eric Burdon.
8. However, It gets Venus by Shocking Blue just right, a perfect balance of impact and pain-avoidance.
9. A great companion to my LCD3F, which seems similar but the Audeze falls on the side of midrange/vocal highlights. 
10. Bass seems to be tightening up. Suddenly startled by No Time by The Guess Who's bass line. Deep and satisfying.
11. A very different sound from Stax 009. Stax is super transparent like nothing but air between you and the music. HEK is still a conventional transducer sound, as is the LCD3F.
12. I like the way the HEK cures these old harsh recordings.
13. Stax 009 bass not as deep but definitely quicker and more detailed. The HEK bass is a foundation, a more generalized but very pleasurable lower floor.
14. Moody Blues Question is another track that these phones are just super-good with. Bass is just hard hitting enough and these phones keep up with the fast pace. Justin Hayward's vocals not silky but somehow sound right.
15. I feel like the HEK is not pushing the music at me, like I have to do a little work to concentrate, but when I do, it's all there. I guess this sounds paradoxical. In contrast, as much as I relax with the Oppo PM1, I feel there is some treble or other detail that is missing in action sometimes.
16. Listening to Joe South - Walk a Mile in my Shoes. Just carried along with the flow, but I think the vocals could be more forward. I'll give the nod to the LCD3F on this track. But I still want to lean in and enjoy it.
17. This is a very different sound to me. It's curing bad recordings by walking a line. On The Band -Cripple Creek, the vocals are recessed but not miniaturized or lacking in detail. The dual vocals sound like 2 people.
18. I usually fuss with the volume control a lot, and somehow I just set it and forget it. The detail comes through even at lower levels.
19. Guilty Pleasure: Mungo Jerry In the Summertime. Again, pure pleasure with the HEK, no overhyped percussion or instruments to annoy me as usual, like an old AM Radio but with with lots of substance and insight. Just carried along.
20. That last comment sums up the HEK on first listen. I'm just carried along for the ride, not plinked/plunked/slammed/clubbed/shouted at/screamed at, but still the music is there. I really like these.
21. These do not sound a lot like other Hifiman phones to me (like my 500 and 560). They are more conventional, more pushy and less neutral, with emphasis of particular frequencies. I was not expecting this.
Thanks for reading my de-briefing. This is not meant to be a review, just spontaneous reactions with these things on my head.
 
My system :
Windows desktop w/Jriver (solid state external drive) --> AQ USB cable --> Chord Hugo --> Stealth ICs --> Rudistor RP010B amp w/ Shunyata Anaconda Alpha power cord into wall --> stock Hifiman balanced cable --> HEK.

 

[rgs9200m]

Ha, these HEKs must be soaking up a lot of power... my Rudistor amp is running hotter than it ever has (well, a lot warmer at least).

 

[rgs9200m]

Follow-up to my 1st impressions: as I listen to a variety of music, I sometimes need less EQ, and toggle back and forth with the earlier EQ of 1.5db at 14khz and 3.1db at 16 khz to a flatter 0.5 cut at both these frequencies.
There is something going on up there, but I need to play with this some more.

 

[doctorjazz]

Quick off-the-top-of-my-head real-time unedited impressions of the HEK soon after arrival with an old time-life 1970 CD I downloaded.

I am using this EQ which I found to nicely mellow the high treble, so take that into account of course: 
12 Khz: 0.4 db cut
14 Khz: 1.5 db cut
16 Khz: 3.1 db cut

1. The music seems just to fall out of it. It's the sonic equivalent of a very comfortable shoe that fits just right. I just want to lean into the music and it draws me in.
2. No drama or pain or wincing or fatigue or shout-factor even on tracks that I know can cause this (Jackson 5). There is no fear with the HEK, but it's not boring and it draws me in.
3. I can't call these dry or liquid, just down the center line.
4. Bass is deep, but a little lumpy, not super-detailed bass, but nice very pleasant musical bass that is not overwhelming. The bass reminds me of my Grado GS1000e, extremely pleasant and just forceful enough. The HEK bass is deeper and slightly more detailed and better integrated.
5. Vocals have nice texture and detail without screaming or shout. The best Eddie Holman Hey There Lonely Girl I can recall. Projects well, but not painfully over the top like I have heard.
6. I do not want to take these off and stop listening. Addictive after 10 minutes. A good sign.
7. I do however, miss somewhat the extra punch and insight and push of the LCD3-F on Spill the Wine by Eric Burdon.
8. However, It gets Venus by Shocking Blue just right, a perfect balance of impact and pain-avoidance.
9. A great companion to my LCD3F, which seems similar but the Audeze falls on the side of midrange/vocal highlights. 
10. Bass seems to be tightening up. Suddenly startled by No Time by The Guess Who's bass line. Deep and satisfying.
11. A very different sound from Stax 009. Stax is super transparent like nothing but air between you and the music. HEK is still a conventional transducer sound, as is the LCD3F.
12. I like the way the HEK cures these old harsh recordings.
13. Stax 009 bass not as deep but definitely quicker and more detailed. The HEK bass is a foundation, a more generalized but very pleasurable lower floor.
14. Moody Blues Question is another track that these phones are just super-good with. Bass is just hard hitting enough and these phones keep up with the fast pace. Justin Hayward's vocals not silky but somehow sound right.
15. I feel like the HEK is not pushing the music at me, like I have to do a little work to concentrate, but when I do, it's all there. I guess this sounds paradoxical. In contrast, as much as I relax with the Oppo PM1, I feel there is some treble or other detail that is missing in action sometimes.
16. Listening to Joe South - Walk a Mile in my Shoes. Just carried along with the flow, but I think the vocals could be more forward. I'll give the nod to the LCD3F on this track. But I still want to lean in and enjoy it.
17. This is a very different sound to me. It's curing bad recordings by walking a line. On The Band -Cripple Creek, the vocals are recessed but not miniaturized or lacking in detail. The dual vocals sound like 2 people.
18. I usually fuss with the volume control a lot, and somehow I just set it and forget it. The detail comes through even at lower levels.
19. Guilty Pleasure: Mungo Jerry In the Summertime. Again, pure pleasure with the HEK, no overhyped percussion or instruments to annoy me as usual, like an old AM Radio but with with lots of substance and insight. Just carried along.
20. That last comment sums up the HEK on first listen. I'm just carried along for the ride, not plinked/plunked/slammed/clubbed/shouted at/screamed at, but still the music is there. I really like these.
21. These do not sound a lot like other Hifiman phones to me (like my 500 and 560). They are more conventional, more pushy and less neutral, with emphasis of particular frequencies. I was not expecting this.
Thanks for reading my de-briefing. This is not meant to be a review, just spontaneous reactions with these things on my head.

My system :
Windows desktop w/Jriver (solid state external drive) --> AQ USB cable --> Chord Hugo --> Stealth ICs --> Rudistor RP010B amp w/ Shunyata Anaconda Alpha power cord into wall --> stock Hifiman balanced cable --> HEK.

Have to say I agree with the impressions, they sound open (haven't heard the Stax to compare...do have the Koss 950 stats plugged into a Stax 323, but haven't been able to take the HEK off long enough to compare them...the Koss (from memory), is fast, open, but rolled off in the highs-faster than the HE-560's, say). They do have that detail, but don't present it in the way some do that has the small details overshadowing the main musical event
(love the music you listen to, but have you heard anything past 1975? Actually, as I get older, pulling out the old stuff more and more, especially to make sonic comparisons. After not hearing them for 'cough cough' years, I downloaded hi rez versions of the Dead's American Beauty and Workingman's Dead, and often use them to evaluate gear-and just enjoy the listen).
Awaiting more impressions!