[Canadian411]

@money4me247, thanks for the review, did you buy or a loaner set ?

 

[catspaw]

  I found the hd800 to be the worst gaming headset I'd used. I found more involvement from my momentums and preferred my 700's/x's over pretty much everything else (I haven't tried that many). The 700's can be a nightmare for music sometimes, but for action games the treble peaks create some of the most realistic gunfire I've ever heard. And I've shot a few guns in my time.
 
Games tested:
 
Battlefield
Cod
The last of us

Realistic gunfire would get you deaf rather soon, and ID rather avoid that .
Ive tested sennhesier HD380 Pro, HifiMan HE-400, shure 215, audezes 2,3,X, HE-560, HD700, Sennheiser HD558, AKG k701.
 
From those only the HE-560 and the sennheiser HD558 were acceptable in terms of quality and realism.
HE HD380 Pro was ok, but I could not used them for extended perios of time due to sweating.
Everything else just sounds off sometimes. It takes a long time to figure those problems out, but when a game hits the wrong note... its like hearing a voice that sounds bad in a song.

 

[prot]

Funny, I tested myself not long ago and I can hear up to 18.3 kHz . WEll I can hear up to 19k, but its a lot quiter there . If I remember correctly, when I was doing my driving liecence (this was in a silenced room) I was able to get above 20khz by a bit as the doctor told me, and he also asked me If I had any visual impediments as it seems most people dont have that good of a hearing unless their brain is compensating for visual deficiency.

I do have to say that his review does not tell me much however (I thought LCD-2, LCD-3 and LCD-X were barely better than my modded HE-400, so I will take his advice with a grain of salt). Clearly better but barely better if that makes any sense.

I do however need the best gaming headphone I can get withouth it killing my ears due to treble peaks in games, so I will keep looking and see what is the best I can get (so far, its the HE-560 but I decided that untill I test the HD800 and the HE1000 Im not buying it).

Some guy's 'barely better' is another's 'night and day'. I'm usually in the former camp and I see quite often ppl using words like night&day, destroys, etc for diffs that I know to be barely audible and only in quiet envs. You'll have to find same minded people and read their impressions, otherwise you need to 'translate'. One issue with that: ppl from the barely camp dont usually write nice, long and very detailed reviews...they barely write 5 lines... and that's why they arent usually picked for actions like this. Noone likes short, clear and honest reviews, everyone likes nice 'stories' about the sound.. manufacturers and buyers the same.
Gotta admit, I like reading a nice, well written review too .. but when it comes to buying decisions I'll go with the concise & brutally honest few lines. I know there is no perfect product (not even perfect-for-me) and I'd like to know the issues in advance .. plus, page-long praises have a funny smell (at least to me).

Anyway, I think money4me247 wrote a very nice review which has everything one needs .. thank you! But of course he cant compare with all HPs on the face of earth and noone can satisfy everyone.

As to your gaming HP quest, the he1000 is prolly not your target since it was already described several times as somewhat more laidback/slower/silkier than the usual orthos .. that's a typical audiophile signature and the opposite of the 'action HPs' needed for gaming. The faster/exciting he4xx/5xx/6 should be better for your usecase... or even a hd650.. or hd800 if you can tame the highs .. or the some of the other flagships releasing this summer (pioneer, dharma, ether) which seem to be all on the more faster/neutral side.

P.S.
hope I do not get banned for this... ppl ask Qs, it's normal to have some lateral discussions. I find Hifiman's 'dont make me ban you' attitude kinda pricky .. just do the work and link the relevant posts in the FP. And btw, wasnt there a special kind of thread for impressions? (where you can mark the review posts and have them autolinked in FP, etc..)

 

[Misterrogers]

As to your gaming HP quest, the he1000 is prolly not your target since it was already described several times as somewhat more laidback/slower than the usual orthos .. that's an audiophile signature and the opposite of the 'action HPs' needed for gaming. The faster/exciting he4xx/5xx/6 should be better for your usecase... or even a hd650.. or hd800 if you can tame the highs .. or the some of the other flagships releasing this summer (pioneer, dharma, ether)
 

 
There's nothing remotely slow about the HE-1000; it's lightning quick. 

 

[prot]

There's nothing remotely slow about the HE-1000; it's lightning quick. 

Orthos are usually quite fast but my benchmark for 'lightning quick' are 007/009 followed by hd800 and he6 .. i did not hear the he1000 but multiple people aready put them behind those. More laidback, more silky, etc... prolly by a very small margin but still no top-tier in that aspect. Which isnt necessarily a bad thing btw .. a somewhat more relaxed sound is surely better for long listening sessions... it'll be wonderful for jazz, chillout, etc... not so much for gaming.

 

[Misterrogers]

Well, another data point then; I have the HD800, listened to the HE-6 for years - I do not hear the HE-1000 as slower than those. Here's another way to think of it; for this headphone to handle sub-bass as it does with the very high level of detail in mids/highs; it has to be pretty damn fast.

 

[prot]

Well, another data point then; I have the HD800, listened to the HE-6 for years - I do not hear the HE-1000 as slower than those. Here's another way to think of it; for this headphone to handle sub-bass as it does with the very high level of detail in mids/highs; it has to be pretty damn fast.

thanks for that, I'll add it to my 'hek impressions box' .
OTOH, multiple people used words like laidback/silky/relaxed in their hek vs he6/hd800 comparisons so it's not easy for a spectator like me to pinpoint the sound. Jazz & chillout are two of my favourite genres and I was quite happy with the impressions up to now .. but looks like I may have to reconsider cause "lightning fast" is not what I'm after. Anyway, wasnt planning to buy without a live test and I'll see then where it stands on my scale.

In any case, fastest or just pretty-damn-fast, that does not sound like a gaming signature and I stand by my above posts ... generally you want extremely fast & exciting & inyourface & precise 3d soundstage for gaming ... you want to get sucked into the go-go-go action, not lay back and enjoy the atmosphere... you want the gunshots to be blazing fast, boomy ans scary, not "silky". Unless of course one is a dress-your-Sims 'player'

 

[Misterrogers]

I think some actual beta testers are struggling a bit with describing how this headphone performs. The combination of driver surface area, extremely low mass, new / optimized magnet structure - we're experiencing a headphone that can respond extremely quickly to impulse, without the 'edges' we've heard in the past with other ortho's - due to the extremely low diaphragm mass / optimized magnetics. We have a headphone here that can present as very fast AND laid-back / relaxed. When the music hits hard, this headphone will shake your spine. When music is delicate, layered, textured - this headphone delivers. Many are calling it a genre master; that really tells us a lot about its technical capabilities.
 
As always, you and everyone will need to decide if it's the headphone for your needs and preferences; I guess the point I'm trying to make is while driver speed has often meant certain strengths / limitations in the past, IME - that assumption should not be applied to the HE-1000.

 

[money4me247]

  One question though: how's the physical comfort of the HE-1000, especially against the HE-560 (one of its best features)?

 
@DreamKing, thank you for your positive feedback. didn't include comfort aspects in my review as those things may be subject to change. for physical comfort of the HE-1000 beta vs HE-560: the HE-1k's earpads are softer and much larger width and height. earcup depth at the back both hifiman models actually measures out quite similarly, but I do think the HE-1k's earpads are shallower at the back (especially accounting for compression from its extra softness). I am currently strongly advocating for deeper earpads on the HE-1k (though I have not personally run into any problems with the earcup depth).
 
The HE-1k is slightly heavier than the HE-560 but not nowhere near as heavy as something like the LCD-X. Do note that the "felt" weight on the K7xx, HE-560, and HE-1000 is less than the actual weight as well due to the suspension design on those headphones. My LCD-X also feels lighter on my head as I have a suspension strap mod. In the spoiler is the actual total weight of all my headphones for comparative purposes.
 

Spoiler: My measured weight of all my headphones (on kitchen scale, not the same as official quoted weights)

AKG K7xx = 294 grams
[size=1em]PM-3 = 331 grams[/size]
HE-560 = 383 grams without cable [edit] ~403 grams* (w/ cable still attached since I hate fiddling with the hifiman screw connectors)
Alpha Prime = 451 grams
HE-1000 = 486 grams
Audeze EL-8 = 504 grams.
Audeze LCD-X = 682 grams

 

Besides advocating for deeper earpads, my only other concern relating to comfort has to due to the fit of the leather suspension strap. Currently, I can see users having heads too small for even the smallest setting (actually have links to more detailed posting on both those issues buried in the value section of my review). I would personally benefit from such a change as well since I am currently using a headband mod to get the best fit (though they do fit my head in stock configuration). I fully expect our beta feedback will be taken into account prior to official release, so do note that all these concerns really only relate specifically to the beta units for now. We will see how the final production version turns out
 
Quote:

  @money4me247, thanks for the review, did you buy or a loaner set ?

@Canadian411, I have a HE-1000 unit as part of Hifiman's beta test program. A security deposit was required to be a part of this program, and will be refunded upon the safe return of the headphones. There is an option for beta testers to purchase the unit as well. I have not decided whether I will purchase these headphones or not, but I will definitely update my review once I decide. So the HE-1000 I have is a 'loaner' set, but I am seriously considering purchasing the HE-1k.
 
 
@catspaw & @prot. this may be a bit off-topic discussion, so I placed in a spoiler tag.

Spoiler: concise, brutally honest summary: HE-1k offers many easily appreciated differences over other flagships, highly recommend trying to see if it matches what you are looking for.

You guys are probably not familiar with my postings in the forums. I am usually the person who accidentally starts a 'flame war' because I say that I don't think there is any real significant difference or that the differences cannot really be appreciated haha. I do always try to make a strong attempt to put things into relative perspective. I initially had mid-tier comparisons and relative scaling of differences in my review, but the review was simply getting too long and I think that relative scaling of differences is quite a personal thing.  
I can tell you guys my personal thoughts on the relative scaling of certain headphones I have owned, but by no means is this anything beyond my own personal subjective opinions. I find the majority of very good mid-tier headphones (in the $200-$500 range) to provide 60-90% of the performance of flagships. For example I find the K7xx to provide >80% of the performance of the HE-560. The mid-tier headphones I personally rate extremely highly I personally believe requires direct head-to-head comparisons against flagships to really appreciate the subtle technical improvements. The old HE-400 is a quite nice pair of headphones that I also rate quite highly, but I do think that you can quite easily hear the differences in its sound signature tuning against the LCD-2/LCD-3/LCD-X. Whether the Audeze headphones provide a sound signature you enjoy more than your HE-400 will be a personal thing. There are sonic aspects (most notable in sound stage and imaging as well as transient speed and detail resolution) that you can notice improved on the LCD-X compared to the HE-400 (especially in a direct comparison). These are subtle improvements, not a 'night-and-day' difference that you will hear immediately. I do think that people (even non-audiophiles) can pick up on these differences in direct comparisons given the right test tracks and some guidance what to specifically listen for. I would rate a stock HE-400 being 60-70% of the performance of the LCD-X (points taken off for the noticeable coloration of the HE-400). I personally also find the LCD-X and LCD-3 to be extremely comparable in sound quality with even more subtle differences that are quite difficult to hear even during direct comparisons for both audiophiles and non-audiophiles.
 
For the difference between the HE-560, LCD-X, and HE-1k, I do believe that there is a 'significant' difference that people (even non-audiophiles as shown by my friends' audition) can hear with a direct comparison. The exact percentage of all the differences is hard for me to say, but I can say that it is easily audible with a quick direct comparison even for non-headphone enthusiasts. I attempted to illustrate exactly what those differences were in my review in an universally understandable way (if you are familiar with audiophile terminology and definitions). [size=1em]One of those differences is that the HE-1k is faster than the other headphones I compared and I do believe will work extremely well with gaming (as it also has very precise imaging for FPS and an engaging and realistic tonality that will help immerse you into the game). [/size][size=1em]Whether all those differences I mentioned are what you are looking for or "worth it" will be a personal decision dependent on your listening preferences and application.[/size]
 
[size=1em]Hope this explanation was helpful![/size]

 
@Misterrogers, I agree w/ you about the HE-1k's speed. I personally found them to be extremely fast. I also agree that they are a real genre master.
 
 
Final note: Just to reiterate for clarification, I am not a professional or paid reviewer. Writing reviews and listening to headphones is a hobby of mine that I am pretty passionate about and greatly enjoy. I also strongly believe that there is also nothing special about my personal impressions or hearing abilities. I simply hope that some of my thoughts can be helpful for others here (or at the very least, entertaining to read). I do think that there will be other reviewers who disagree with my personal subjective listening impressions, and I don't think that my impressions hold any more weight over someone else's. I am just offering my own personal perspective and opinions. As always, everyone has different ears and nothing is as good as a personal audition. So remember, YMMV!

 

[reddog]

My beta HE1K has shown up . Fedex delivered it in one piece and put it right next to my door.

 

[goldendarko]

My beta HE1K has shown up

. Fedex delivered it in one piece and put it right next to me

Oh you lucky red dog, you're in for a treat

 

[maeveth]

My beta HE1K has shown up

. Fedex delivered it in one piece and put it right next to my door.

Lucky, mine is not ETA until 6/1

 

[potkettleblack]

My beta HE1K has shown up

. Fedex delivered it in one piece and put it right next to my door.

Peasant.
 
Let me know when you're on my level.
 
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

[reddog]

Lucky, mine is not ETA until 6/1

I am truly sorry for you long wait sir. I hope the time goes by fast as possible. I replayed Fallout III to help kill the time.
Cheers.

 

[preproman]

I personally also find the LCD-X and LCD-3 to be extremely comparable in sound quality with even more subtle differences that are quite difficult to hear even during direct comparisons for both audiophiles and non-audiophiles.

 
This is where I think we're not on the same page.  Try to make clear which LCD-3 you're talking about, (for me anyway)  LCD-3C or LCD-3F.  You know you (meaning people in general) and me, tend to listen for the things we don't like the most (well at least I do).  That being said - U-shaped sound sigs. 
 
Having both the LCD-3F and the LCD-X side by side deciding which one to keep.  Right off the bat the midrange magic stood out for me on the LCD-3F (a good thing) and the lack of it in the LCD-X also stood out like a sore thumb (a bad thing)  YMMV of course.
 
That brings me around to the HE1000.  Even a slight mention of a recessed midrange on these has me already worried.  We all have different requirements for our headphones and a solid midrange (not recessed) in "one" of mine.  YMMV of course.
 
Just trying to get a handle on this midrange thing.  Not being a beta tester, I can for now anyway only rely on what others have to say and their impressions.
 
All in the name of constructive conversations.