The Sennheiser Orpheus 2? A First Look At The Sennheiser HE-1 (The New Orpheus)

[raypin]

mm...lol! No. They were not that happy. Business-like. Efficient. Courteous. I wish they were that happy. lol!

Me? I was just in the corner with my friend, patiently waiting to touch the HE 1 while the unboxing and inspection process went ahead. I was, of course, given the honor of turning the unit on. It was connected to an Acer laptop that has seen better days (I think it belonged to the Sennheiser technician) and a cheap USB cable.

Right now, playing some of my grandpa's music: Ben E King albums off Tidal Masters. Wow....so vinyl like on the HE 1. Before that, The Nordic Sound 2L. Yup. Classical orchestral music and Sennheiser headcans are MFEO. It is one of the reasons why I love the HD 800 and 800 S. Tried Jay Z's 4:44 Tidal exclusive earlier. Hahhh......not for me. Next up *Eric Bibb* (Migration Blues) and Dolly Parton.

 

[Whitigir]

From my point of view, HE-1 sure are warmer than 009, but with this Sennheiser "very-flat-and-accurate-response-to-the-point-of-very-slightly-cold" touch. Senn's e-dyn are for sure more prone to that, but you can hear it with HE-1 (and with HE-60 as well...even if they are way brighter).
HE-90 are more mellow, and 009 (as well as most Stax) are more "sparkling", so to say.

Looking at bass, properly driven 009 are faster and more impactful, but HE-1 have surely more volume, in a symphonic and relaxed kinda way.

Anyway, congrats for you buy Raypin...it's the ultimate madness, but like I've always said, we hobbysts entered the madness territory a long time ago, when we crossed the HD600 price boundary

Ali

Stax 009 when properly driven is breathe takingly good, I love punches and bass but not the bad quality one and I do agree that the bass on 009 is just "beautiful". Yeah, we only have a pair of ears, and it degrade+aged every second passed by, why do we waste it

Raypin, I don't know about T8000, it may be the best of Stax....but I doubt it can compete with KG top tier

 

[Deftone]

The downside of owning a HE-1 (if there is one) is you've reached the mountain top and the only direction is down, no more dreams of what could be next. Well, I guess you could still start the journey all over again with something like the $30 Koss PortaPro.

I bet thats actually a lot of peoples fear here on headfi, finding an actual endgame because then its all over.

Not all of us are music first audiophiles.

 

[Deftone]

6. If you are a serious headfier just starting your collection and aiming to have the very best (or one of), seriously save up your funds and avoid the the baby steps (steps that I undertook) by buying this and buying that. Just buy the HE 1. It will be the best and most rewarding shortcut of your journey. I wish I had known that 4 years ago. If you have a very good friend or a brother who has the same level of passion about headphones as you, split the cost to make the purchase easier to make.

Umm yeah never going to happen lol...

 

[Deftone]

Mm..snakes! snakes, everywhere! Lol! Very sloppy cable management. Snake oil? Booo! Lol!



Btt, Tbh, I can live with either set-up. Next project: integrate the M Scaler of the Chord Blu II in my audio chain. I've been reading the Chord Blu 2 thread with great interest. If what I've read is true and accurate (from those who have it), the leap in SQ will be considerable.

@raypin I find it really strange that you barely hear any difference between the DAVE and built in Sabre9018 on your HE1, i hear a difference with Mojo even on apple earpods surprisingly. i wonder why this is? if anything the HE1 is extremely resolving is it not?

 

[raypin]

Mm...adding the DAVE to the audio chain does alter the sound as I've mentioned before but, at this point, it is like choosing between two evenly matched warriors. By itself, the HE 1 is a perfect headphone system (at least for me) for the type of music I like to hear, in the manner that I prefer to hear it (truth in audio) and wiithout wanting for anything else. For some albums, I prefer adding the DAVE. For others, just the HE 1.

By itself, the HE 1 just peels the last few layers of veil that separates me from your music. It just presents the music effortlessly, authoritatively and with vivid realism unlike anything I've experienced before.

 

[astrostar59]

Dumb question guys. I booked a slot with the HE-1 at Can-Jam London in July. I think I did it through a link on this site, but can't find the link to check my booking. Does anyone know where it is? Thanks.

 

[raypin]

Mm..link:

https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/4090c45afac2da3fd0-sennheiser2

 

[Matez]

Mm...adding the DAVE to the audio chain does alter the sound as I've mentioned before but, at this point, it is like choosing between two evenly matched warriors. By itself, the HE 1 is a perfect headphone system (at least for me) for the type of music I like to hear, in the manner that I prefer to hear it (truth in audio) and wiithout wanting for anything else. For some albums, I prefer adding the DAVE. For others, just the HE 1.

By itself, the HE 1 just peels the last few layers of veil that separates me from your music. It just presents the music effortlessly, authoritatively and with vivid realism unlike anything I've experienced before.

Ah, my thoughts to some extent. At certain high level of enjoyment I tend to think that it's difficult to say which product out of two compared is better, yet it's much easier to say where are they simply different. And 'better' comes down to what one likes more. It's more about various sound injections rather than the ultimate one that beats all else. Having said that, I prolly couldn't live with just one setup, I think.

 

[Jmask5]

I wonder how close you could get to the He-1 sound by putting off the shelf components together? Would be interesting to see the cost as well.

 

[Matez]

I wonder how close you could get to the He-1 sound by putting off the shelf components together? Would be interesting to see the cost as well.

As far as amplification and source circuitry goes, probably quite close. Still, a pair of headphones can't be DIY-ed easily, if at all. HE-1 transducer or anything even slightly simmilar simply can't be bough. Unless I don't know something.

 

[Whitigir]

I wonder how close you could get to the He-1 sound by putting off the shelf components together? Would be interesting to see the cost as well.

KG T2 and 009 ?

 

[Jmask5]

Something like that. I guess its also possible somebody could build something that they find better than HE-1. For me i loved everything about he-1 except for the brightness. If there was something that had the bass, clarity, imaging, soundstage but less bright that would be ny endgame.

 

[JimL11]

Still, a pair of headphones can't be DIY-ed easily, if at all. HE-1 transducer or anything even slightly simmilar simply can't be bough. Unless I don't know something.

I hate to tell you, but 'you know nothing, Jon Snow.' As a matter of fact, Chinsettawong has made DIY electrostatic headphones. See Tyll's review here:

https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/extraordinary-diy-electrostatic-headphones-chinsettawong

Others have done so as well, for example, n3rdling has built an HE90 clone, which has been discussed on another web site that shall not be named.

 

[Matez]

I hate to tell you, but 'you know nothing, Jon Snow.' As a matter of fact, Chinsettawong has made DIY electrostatic headphones. See Tyll's review here:

https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/extraordinary-diy-electrostatic-headphones-chinsettawong

Others have done so as well, for example, n3rdling has built an HE90 clone, which has been discussed on another web site that shall not be named.

Point taken, some years back I indeed saw these somewhere in the web, presumably here. Shame on me for not remembering this.