If Sennheiser was *not* friendly to our community, they would not be spending time and money to show the HE-1 in a private suite at almost every CanJam for the last few years. When the introduced it, some of the first publicity was with Jude who made a couple of Head-Fi videos. They clearly want this community to buy it.
A few have speculated the he-1 is the same driver more or less, as the he90. Sennheiser was able to avoid additional R&D beyond tweaking and presentation.
I strongly doubt this is true. It directly conflicts with what Sennheiser said when they introduced the HE-1. I would like more evidence then "a few have speculated" before I believe that.
If Sennheiser was *not* friendly to our community, they would not be spending time and money to show the HE-1 in a private suite at almost every CanJam for the last few years. When the introduced it, some of the first publicity was with Jude who made a couple of Head-Fi videos. They clearly want this community to buy it.
In the he-1 thread it was said that sennheiser lost some of the machinery needed to make new he-1. Outside of a stockpile of what was already created they can’t make more. There’s also a used model on audiogon for sale right now that states reps have told him they have halted production entirely. Two people have mentioned that their he-1 needed repair and sennheiser took literally months to respond. Numerous threads both here and on other audio forums have talked about how the website does not respond….
Yet despite all this sennheiser has been VERY actively touring CanJam with the he-1 for auditions in the last year. They also recently had a raffle for people to go to the hq to hear it. Just like you pointed out, they've given us a lot of attention… But why do all this if they don’t have any to actually sell ? Because giving us exclusives helps market sennheiser. Obviously lol. You do realize they did the same thing with the original Orpheus long after it was sold out right? Go google “Orpheus cry” and you’ll find when they brought the Orpheus to an event to show off next to current models.
I agree that at this point they are using the HE-1 at CanJam to build their brand. Earlier, it was about both building the brand and selling units. Either way, it does not contradict my statement that they are friendly to Head-Fi community. They believe the HE-1 will appeal to us or they would not bother. And people's reactions to hearing the HE-1, seem to generally back that idea.
To be clear you think it’s a large soundstage, well separated headphone with a natural presentation?
If we compare the he-1 to a lambda - yeah I would agree. But once we’re in this price stratosphere I don’t see how it bests the sr-o and it lacks full conviction in any particular area over other greats.
I think part of this comes down to perspective and context. To your point, everything I've read points to it having a decent, but narrow soundstage compared to the top TOTL stats, 009, Omega, x9k, SGL-Sr and others. It was my main factor, more so than the system DAC/Amp coupling and price that pushed me towards the SGL Sr. The HE90 also is somewhat narrow in comparison to those, but in its own right very neutral and sufficient. I can see the HE-1 being the same for many. Just as I can see it being not as expansive to others.
Only reason I'm chiming in not having heard the HE-1 is because I have the HE90, a ton of sennheiser experience (HD600/650/HE60) and have read everything out there about the HE-1 impression wise--just being clear here that I haven't heard it and am not speaking from that perspective.
If sennheiser was really trying to be friendly to our community they would have made the headphone separate from the rest. It feels very “proprietary blend” if you know what I mean. A few have speculated the he-1 is the same driver more or less, as the he90. Sennheiser was able to avoid additional R&D beyond tweaking and presentation.
I do agree with others that they're commitment to CanJam, and particularly the way they've gone out of their way to ensure that just about anyone has a fair shot of hearing it despite a minute fraction of potential real buyers speaks volumes to their friendliness to the community.
But I also agree on the point about the all-in-one system and how it's very frustrating that they went that route. I think it's the only way you can justify pricing a system at that point, but I also wonder how much the HE90/HEV90 experience had to do with it.. in which original HE90 users were putting their units in danger trying 3rd party stat amps with the HE90 without the proper voltage modifications. If the latter was a true concern given a lack of customer support I would get it, but I'm doubtful it has more to do with anything other than pricing and premium market position.
So I have a conundrum, can you date somebody who has bad, or more politely, less refined, musical tastes? I think you can tell a lot about a person by the type of music they like. Like I like negative rap, negative metal, and pretty much anything funeral doom. I'm a negative person. Do musical tastes have to match, or can we just do that individually? I've dated girls super into music, but others who are not into it. It has got be me thinking
So I have a conundrum, can you date somebody who has bad, or more politely, less refined, musical tastes? I think you can tell a lot about a person by the type of music they like. Like I like negative rap, negative metal, and pretty much anything funeral doom. I'm a negative person. Do musical tastes have to match, or can we just do that individually? I've dated girls super into music, but others who are not into it. It has got be me thinking
You can pretty much date anyone. Speaking strictly for myself, I've never had a serious relationship with someone who couldn't really appreciate good music. That doesn't mean our tastes had to overlap 100%, but anecdotally they always did overlap to some degree. The percentage of time any couple spends on individual pursuits is widely variable. At least in the beginning, it seems important to spend time doing common activities, but that doesn't have to mean concerts or listening to music necessarily. FWIW, and good luck finding the one!
You can pretty much date anyone. Speaking strictly for myself, I've never had a serious relationship with someone who couldn't really appreciate good music. That doesn't mean our tastes had to overlap 100%, but anecdotally they always did overlap to some degree. The percentage of time any couple spends on individual pursuits is widely variable. At least in the beginning, it seems important to spend time doing common activities, but that doesn't have to mean concerts or listening to music necessarily. FWIW, and good luck finding the one!
Thanks! I normally "convert" my girlfriends to my type of music (at least hip-hop), but it's only 1 aspect of a relationship. I'm taking her to a Swans concert in a couple of weeks....let's see how she responds.
Music is just so important to me. It's hard to relate to somebody that doesn't like music like I like music. I guess I could always try to get into EDM, like she claims to like (but I don't really think she knows much about it)
She's educated, smart, has her own business, is cool, is kind, is very pretty, but doesn't appreciate music. Ehhh, I can always listen to music by myself (that's what headphones are for anyway, right? )
So I have a conundrum, can you date somebody who has bad, or more politely, less refined, musical tastes? I think you can tell a lot about a person by the type of music they like. Like I like negative rap, negative metal, and pretty much anything funeral doom. I'm a negative person. Do musical tastes have to match, or can we just do that individually? I've dated girls super into music, but others who are not into it. It has got be me thinking
You can date and marry someone with different music tastes. It’s not uncommon for most people to simply like pop, kpop, and a little of the popular hiphop songs. I feel like guys in general delve deeper in to the more esoteric genres.
I could care less if my partner likes my deathmetal, metalcore, dubstep music, it doesn’t really affect our relationship as long as they are accepting that’s the type of music I’m in to. Just like we aren’t expected to convert to Swifties, trying out the music is fine but becoming a fan isn’t necessary. Just like you wouldn’t expect your kids to be in to Skrillex or death metal.
Think of it this way, one day when everything is a crap show at home with your partner and kids, it’ll be nice to escape to your own music and space. That’s something that’s truly yours and yours only, allowing you to escape from it all for that brief period of time.
So I have a conundrum, can you date somebody who has bad, or more politely, less refined, musical tastes? I think you can tell a lot about a person by the type of music they like. Like I like negative rap, negative metal, and pretty much anything funeral doom. I'm a negative person. Do musical tastes have to match, or can we just do that individually? I've dated girls super into music, but others who are not into it. It has got be me thinking
So I have a conundrum, can you date somebody who has bad, or more politely, less refined, musical tastes? I think you can tell a lot about a person by the type of music they like. Like I like negative rap, negative metal, and pretty much anything funeral doom. I'm a negative person. Do musical tastes have to match, or can we just do that individually? I've dated girls super into music, but others who are not into it. It has got be me thinking
But I also agree on the point about the all-in-one system and how it's very frustrating that they went that route. I think it's the only way you can justify pricing a system at that point, but I also wonder how much the HE90/HEV90 experience had to do with it.. in which original HE90 users were putting their units in danger trying 3rd party stat amps with the HE90 without the proper voltage modifications. If the latter was a true concern given a lack of customer support I would get it, but I'm doubtful it has more to do with anything other than pricing and premium market position.
Had the pleasure of auditioning the HE-1 at my local dealership.
It was a memorable experience. After all, the chance to listen to “the” headphone. FOMO was strong.
Impressions was that it was a statement piece. Not dissimilar to art or top-end furniture. Hence the “all in one” with the marble finish. I wondered if it was modular - i.e. could one update the DAC? Was it upgradable at all? Was it started to show its age? Did it sonically appeal to my personal preferences?
We had rather free flowing discussion what we thought after the private auditions (and after the rep had left). Could we come up our own headphone chain to suit our preferences that may have been better? Most certainly. But would it have had the aura of the HE-1? No.
For those who have not yet heard the HE-1 but have the opportunity to do so ; I suggest ¨not looking up the retail cost of the unit before you form your impressions.
So, I let my, I guess, new girlfriend listen to all my sh!t. I planned it all out. She likes EDM and bass heavy music. I let her listen to the TCs and CA-1a first. She was really impressed. I then gave her the Valkyria, but played some Waxahatchee through them. I let her listen to the Sus and then the AC.
She's not an audiophile (she uses Beats), but her favorites were, in order: TC, Valkyria, CA, AC, Sus, SR.
She's my kinda girl, picking the TCs as her favorite. I was surprised she liked the Valk so much. She said it was like the artist was right in front of her. She didn't really like the Sus, which surprised me. She liked the way it look...hahaha, but she wasn't a big fan of the sound. I told her it takes time to properly understand them. She liked the SR looks, but agreed the bass was lacking.
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