Sennheiser HE1 and More: My Opportunity to Experience a Truly Special System

Jan 11, 2025 at 8:15 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 11

rblack77

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I've recently become friends with fellow Head-fier @Joey_V. We met on a telegram chat and discovered that we live within five minutes of each other and had never met. I found out that he has a Sennheiser HE1 and after getting the typical ten minute demo of one at Dallas CanJam, I was not very impressed, but he was insistent that I needed to come to his house and experience it in a better environment with less time pressure. I did fall in love and it is a special system for sure, but it turns out the true treat was @Joey_V's 2 channel speaker system.
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His 2 channel system featuring Magico M2 speakers, power amp by Boulder, two turntables by VPI, a Tourbillon reel to reel system by Metaxis, and supporting gear by some of the best company's around was nothing short of breathtaking. I can tell you that I have had the opportunity to hear some other very elaborate and expensive systems, but when I consider them all, I can easily rank those other systems then I find myself hitting a gap between the best of those and his system.
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The preparation of the room is just as impressive with acoustic panels lining every wall and the entire ceiling, massive bass traps in the corners, and other treatments that create a sound so intimate, I spent the considerable time that he acted as DJ for me covered in goosebumps and with my hair standing on in. The acoustic treatments combined with the cozy atmosphere make the space feel unique and intimate.
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We began the session with digital streaming tracks and when it comes to sound quality, the digital playback is exceptionally clean and resolving. Tracks recorded in the digital era, particularly from the ’80s onwards, really shine. The few older analog tracks I heard sounded good, but they had an almost sterile quality that didn’t seem to match the intended vibe of the recordings. This might be due to my own experiences with these songs in my youth on vinyl or low-fi formats like 8-track, where the grittier, more raw sound was part of their charm.

Modern artists like Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, and Ed Sheeran sounded fantastic, with the vocals and instrumentals rendered in vivid detail. I was particularly struck by how the Ed Sheeran tracks seemed to bring his voice right into the room—stunningly realistic. The bass from the Magico M2 speakers is perfectly balanced—tight, yet deep, and without the need for additional subwoofers. The mids and highs are equally impressive, capturing the nuances of each track with remarkable clarity.

The system had a way of enhancing familiar tracks and allowing me to hear them in a totally new way. A couple of Taylor Swift songs stood out to me, especially “Folklore,” which I felt I was hearing in an entirely new light. The depth of detail on Bon Iver’s vocals was mesmerizing; the system seems especially well-suited to bring out the richness of deeper voices.

One notable exception was Post Malone’s “Fortnight.” While I know his voice well, it didn’t quite have the same gritty, emotional depth I’m used to. The clarity was almost too much, smoothing out the rough edges of his delivery and what I have always heard as a “wobbliness” to his vocals that I feel has a certain charm. However, this would likely go unnoticed by anyone less familiar with his style. This is one of the areas where I find digital trails analog sound.

Moving on to analog recordings, vinyl playback on both VPI turntables was another highlight. Both decks delivered such an immersive, rich sound that I had trouble distinguishing between them. The Dean Martin track felt like I was sitting front-row at a vintage nightclub, a perfect example of how vinyl can transport you to another time and place. Honestly, if I hadn’t been listening with my eyes closed, I might have convinced myself Dean Martin himself was performing live in the room.
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And then there’s the reel to reel tape. Simply put, it was a revelation. The depth of sound from the Oscar Peterson recording was extraordinary, capturing the warmth and age of the recording while retaining clarity and richness. The double bass was so lifelike, with each pluck of the strings sharp and precise, and the way the sound naturally degraded as it trailed off was remarkable—an experience unlike anything I’ve ever encountered.

The system seems to excel with acoustic instruments, particularly piano and guitar. It would be worth adding some classical piano tracks to the demo list—pieces that showcase the subtleties of the instrument, like the distinct sound of each hand on the keys and the damping effect of the pedal and damper on the strings. Similarly, tracks that feature vocal artifacts—such as lip sounds, tongue clicks, or subtle breath noises—would demonstrate the system’s ability to render even the smallest details with stunning realism.

My apologies to @Joey_V for not providing a more technical review. I’m still refining my ability to listen critically and don’t yet have the vocabulary to fully articulate the depth of my experience. But I hope this gives the reader a sense of how truly exceptional and absolutely special this system is.
 
Jan 12, 2025 at 8:08 AM Post #2 of 11
Not gonna lie, i'm jealous, haha!
Those speakers are 93k, damn...
Please also tell us about your HE-1 experience, especially if you've own / heard other TOTL stuff!
 
Jan 12, 2025 at 10:15 AM Post #3 of 11
Not gonna lie, i'm jealous, haha!
Those speakers are 93k, damn...
Please also tell us about your HE-1 experience, especially if you've own / heard other TOTL stuff!
I own some decent headphones. My most expensive pair is the original Susvara. I also own a couple of electrostats of my own in the L500 mkII and DCA Corina which I just got. My energizer (and preamp for the rest of my chain) is a Woo Audio ES8. I wanted to try to provide some bonafides. I also had the chance to hear some really nice stuff at Dallas CanJam last year.

When at CanJam, I stumbled on one of the last demo times available that day and of course you split a 30 minute window with two other people giving you 10 minutes. My wife who isn’t really into audio, but loves to go to stuff like this with me was sweet enough to accompany me so I gave her the opportunity to listen first and she used about 3 minutes leaving me 7. I tried to focus on songs that I knew well so I could more easily compare what I was hearing to other headphones. I left at the end of the audition feeling it wasn’t worth the hype. I thought they sounded really good, but not phenominal and definitely not worth $70k. From there, I went over and talked to Cameron (GoldenSound) for a few while we waited in line to sit in a booth and listened to his new retuned version of the Warwick Aperio and could compare it directly to the Aperio black which was also in the booth. Cameron didn’t rush us and I got to give them a really good audition across a broad variety of songs. I left so impressed with the Aperio GSE that if I had the $30k and knew my wife wouldn’t make me sleep somewhere else, I would have bought them on-site. I was really confused because I had heard some retellings of what seemed to be religious experiences with the HE1.

A couple of months went by and @Joey_V gave me the invite. It’s hard for us to coordinate our schedules and this was the first opportunity that I had. We started the evening listening to a bit of the Taylor Swift Folklore Pond Recording Sessions on Disney+ in his TV room on his pair of B&W either 802 or 803 speaker which are amazing on their own. Folklore is a special album to me and I know it very well. I think Taylor is a great singer and excellent songwriter and just love the moodiness of Folklore and Evermore. He asked if I wanted to go into the next room to listen to his higher end stuff and of course I did.

He wanted me to start by spending some time with the HE1 and I was anxious to listen without a time constraint and decided to listen to tracks from Folklore and Evermore. I know these albums so well and knew I’d be able to spot the differences in the HE1 and all the other headphones I’ve listened to them on. My experience with estats made me go in expecting a low amount of bass and bright highs. That’s not what I had experienced with Aperio, but my L500s lean a bit that way and I didn’t have the Corina yet. I started with my favorite song from the albums, Exile which features Bon Iver. I closed my eyes and settled into his very comfy chair and I was instantly transported to a room with just me, Tay, and Bon. The soundstage was amazingly large and also extremely intimate at the same time. The lows of Bon’s beautiful deep voice was just reverberating in the headphones. Ray’s higher voice also rang in a way I had never heard it. I next listened to Champaign Problems with its beautiful piano and felt like there was someone playing in the room with me.

I continued to listen to four songs before we moved on to what I’ll call his reference system. Unlike every estat that I had heard to this point that all have at least one weaker area even though I have liked them all, there was nothing that the HE1 seemed was out of its range. That system is absolutely worth $70k if you have the means. It is a very very special system. Watching the startup routine where the knobs extend via motors from the marble base and the eight tube rise from the same base and in his case, each tube cap was adorned by a brightly colored tiny rubber duck that his adorable kids had decorated it with. I could sit and watch that startup sequence for hours. The closest I have is my Schiit Loki Max with the six motorized EQ knobs that rotate on their own when you select a preset. It’s my poor man’s HE1 experience.

My final thought is that I really need more time with it for some different music types and @Joey_V has assured me since we’re just a couple of minutes away from each other I’ll get many more opportunities. I now like it better than the Aperio GSE, but at this point, it is a close race. I love the sonic signature of both and can’t wait to hear the HE1 again.
 
Jan 12, 2025 at 5:35 PM Post #4 of 11
Randy
Thank you for the kind words.
How did you find or how would you compare the two different listening experiences?

The HE1 compared to the Speaker system?
 
Jan 12, 2025 at 11:45 PM Post #5 of 11
I have reread the thread. It’s very enjoyable.

This is one of those rare opportunities whereby one was able to compare directly 1v1 the summit level of headphones and the near summit level of a stereo. That makes this thread a particularly good data point and encapsulation of a set of opinions. I think Randy and I had a short discussion about this after the listening session (which I believe lasted 3 hours).
 
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Jan 17, 2025 at 4:49 PM Post #7 of 11
@Joey_V the system has reached new heights! I love the room treatments and combination of bass absorption and diffusion! I hope to hear one day and experience the magic 💥
 
Jan 17, 2025 at 4:58 PM Post #8 of 11
@Joey_V the system has reached new heights! I love the room treatments and combination of bass absorption and diffusion! I hope to hear one day and experience the magic 💥
Thx Red Leader… your work with room acoustics and bass attenuation and sound molding has yielded dividends. Had you never visited me years ago, I would likely be significantly more basic in my implementation.
 
Jan 17, 2025 at 5:10 PM Post #9 of 11
What people don’t know is that @aleopold was a local and extremely good friend during the genesis of the system. He knew about the quest for the HE1 as well. Without him, I would be at a totally different juncture and intersection. Tony is truly my mentor. No one has come and listened to the systems without a visceral reaction. Truly a testament to Tony’s reasonings, research, experimentations with his room and own system, and suggestions for optimal sonic balance given real world restraints and limitation set by the room.
 
Jan 17, 2025 at 5:18 PM Post #10 of 11
@rblack77
Randy,
You would’ve enjoyed meeting the legend Tony. He’s the one I told you about.
 
Jan 17, 2025 at 6:35 PM Post #11 of 11
What people don’t know is that @aleopold was a local and extremely good friend during the genesis of the system. He knew about the quest for the HE1 as well. Without him, I would be at a totally different juncture and intersection. Tony is truly my mentor. No one has come and listened to the systems without a visceral reaction. Truly a testament to Tony’s reasonings, research, experimentations with his room and own system, and suggestions for optimal sonic balance given real world restraints and limitation set by the room.
You are too kind my friend. Joey sold me my first 802s and got me into the audiophile game. I was amazed at his sound back then, I can only imagine how good it is now. The room is definitely a difference maker. But now I’m a headphone guy and don’t have to worry about all the science of acoustics :)
 
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