[reeltime]

  ^^^Interesting impressions! Without having heard the V2 myself, this review is making me think that the slightly narrower soundstage of the V2 and the improved sense of "intimacy" spring from the same source, to the point where we could say, one is the effect of the other (of course, I could be wrong about that). That said, and without intending this to sound like a critique,  I would have liked some commentary on the type of music that was used in the comparative evaluation...  I am wondering whether the sense of increased intimacy and "slightly narrower soundstage" of the V2 would have the same apparently beneficial effect on all types of music... Or put in a different way, are there not some types of music that might possibly sound better to some listeners on the V1 (as is) than on the V2, precisely because of the relatively reduced sense of intimacy of the V1?
 
One more question:  I have decided to stick with the V1 and not to send it to hifiman for the upgrade.  However, I would like to purchase the pads and cable of the V2 in order to experiment with them on the V1...  I wonder what results this type of experimentation might produce.
 
These remarks are not to be taken as a critique of the very interesting review above, for which I am very grateful.  I am just articulating some questions and concerns that the review has produced in my mind.
 
Thanks very much for the review.

 
That's sort of my working hypothesis on the intimacy theory.  I think moving the driver / membrane closer to the ear has slightly narrowed the soundstage and brought greater focus.  I could be wrong, too!
 
I listen to mostly rock and jazz, some blues, a little classical.  
 
I don't know how to take the ear pads off and swap them.  I'm not terribly inclined to experiment.  

 

[tunes]

Loto Paw Gold owners
Has anyone found this dap to adequately drive the Hifiman HE 1000 to their full potential. I found that to do this with the QP1R you need to add a decent amp. The iFi micro iCAN SE has amazing power and clarity with the QP1R as a "transportable" solution but is not battery powered. I have been looking into an external 15v rechargeable for it but now a much bigger stack. If the Loto Paw Gold is really powerful enough and as good as the QP1R SQ then I would consider it as a true portable 1 box solution for driving the HEK.

 

[Weilli]

Loto Paw Gold owners
Has anyone found this dap to adequately drive the Hifiman HE 1000 to their full potential. I found that to do this with the QP1R you need to add a decent amp. The iFi micro iCAN SE has amazing power and clarity with the QP1R as a "transportable" solution but is not battery powered. I have been looking into an external 15v rechargeable for it but now a much bigger stack. If the Loto Paw Gold is really powerful enough and as good as the QP1R SQ then I would consider it as a true portable 1 box solution for driving the HEK.

 
Did you mean to drive Hifiman HE1000 directly by Lotoo Paw Gold?
 
I think Lotoo Paw Gold is a good choice at its price, especially as a portable solution it bests lots of desktop-orientated headphone amplifiers at same level of its price.
I enjoy lineout driving HE1000 most.
 
However, for my taste there is still far away from full potential of HE1000.in details, sound stage, and transparency.

 

[tunes]

Did you mean to drive Hifiman HE1000 directly by Lotoo Paw Gold? Yes!!

If it needs an amp then I would tend to stick with my QP1R and add a powerful potable amp of high quality. The QP1R is an excellent dap with reviews as good as LPG but 1/3 the price. Do you know of a powerful enough portable amp to really drive the HEKs?

 

[MacedonianHero]

Loto Paw Gold owners
Has anyone found this dap to adequately drive the Hifiman HE 1000 to their full potential. I found that to do this with the QP1R you need to add a decent amp. The iFi micro iCAN SE has amazing power and clarity with the QP1R as a "transportable" solution but is not battery powered. I have been looking into an external 15v rechargeable for it but now a much bigger stack. If the Loto Paw Gold is really powerful enough and as good as the QP1R SQ then I would consider it as a true portable 1 box solution for driving the HEK.

 
It could drive the Abyss headphones quite well, so I'd say the HE-1000s would be ok. But with regards to "their full potential"....certainly not. The Abyss sounded better on both the Woo Monoblocks and Wells Audio HeadTrip by a good margin. But for a portable setup, the Paw Gold packs quite the punch!

 

[gto88]

One basic question about using Jotie as pre-amp, what is the benefit to add a pre-amp?

 

[Maxx134]

Jotie balanced out livens up HEK with impact similar to the headtrip (from memory).

Side note:
After owning the Flow and trying the Elear,
Neither the Flow or the Elear will match the HE1000 V1 in soundstage or depth but Elear does give alotta impact and height..
Both are nice additions rather than replacements for an HEK or HD800,

But the lesser HEX V2 is probably a worthy and much more balanced contender in that area..
Although the Elear (from memory) probably has the higher resolution, but just too elevated in whole lower spectrum, while the Flow is more U shaped, so the HEX V2 has a good chance to be preferable.

 

[pedalhead]

Hi Maxx. I've got a Jotunheim and Wells Enigma here (similar sound to Headtrip). The Enigma has a lovely warm, rich, powerful kind of sound. The Jot to my ears is more neutral and reveals more hf details, but does also still have bags of impact. A wonderful match with the HE1000 imho.

 

[heyyeh]

Good news!  V2 upgrade program available for $650.  
Go to Hifiman.com for details!!

 

[moshen]

I did a writeup of my HE1000 and Utopia here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/822955/focal-utopia-vs-hifiman-he1000

 

[dglow]

Whoa, what's with this?  http://hifiman.com/shangri-la/index.html
 
Electrostats from HiFiMan... has the release been formally announced?

 

[goldendarko]

  Whoa, what's with this?  http://hifiman.com/shangri-la/index.html
 
Electrostats from HiFiMan... has the release been formally announced?

Yeah, it;s been in development for a while, but the pricing is going to be like $50k, so it's basically for the 1%.

 

[dglow]

  Yeah, it;s been in development for a while, but the pricing is going to be like $50k, so it's basically for the 1%.

 
Guess I hadn't noticed this splashy page on their site, just news from earlier this year (CES?). Still isn't listed under 'Products', though.

 

[mowglycdb]

374gr not bad

 

[BleaK]

For those who have heard the v2, how huge are the differences between v1 and v2 in soundstage? Does the v2 trade soundstage for imaging?