Customer Service Tel: 1-201-4434626

THE HE1000 BY HIFIMAN

I am really glad Hifiman bucked that power equation also and gave us a headphone that delivers satisfying tonality (albeit with less dynamic and resolution) on good quality DAP’s and portable headphones. That is a huge plus and with the advent of the Edition X, a more efficient version of the HE1000, I am really excited to see if the mobile luxury flagship planar can actually be realized.


“You are going to need a bigger amp”. Now looking around at my loveable Mjolnir and Hifiman EF6 SS amps that didn’t inspire any fiscal and aural confidence but nevertheless those were the ringing ‘Scheideresque’ type words when Hifiman just announced the all new planar flagship, the HE1000. I was not about to go all ‘Quint’ on this review either and start recanting Spanish Ladies as the HE1000 munched all the way through my previously durable amps with rather limp results. If I needed a better amp I better get one otherwise I would have this nagging feeling I may not have done any justice on a running commentary of the HE1000’s performance. So $4000 later and one Studio 6 tube amp installed I feel I am finally ready to talk about the HE1000. My bank manager on the other hand does not wish to have this conversation raised again for quite some time. He would rather I learn to sing.


With Price Comes Opportunity

A $3000 planar headphone is indeed rarefied air in an audio box and it was perhaps unsurprising that Hifiman would make a dash for the planar flagship throne. The JPS Labs Abyss has created a yawning gap between the LCD-3 from Audeze, the previous ‘planar of planars’, (at least in pricing), to its own rather unobtanium enriched pedestal of $5k. Do not even get me started on the new Sennheiser Orpheus MK2 at $55k. Such price gaps, over time, become opportunities. Technology does not stand still and neither does the competition. Audiophiles now accept that in some cases, a higher priced headphone can indeed sound a lot better than a cheaper one with the right setup and worse with the wrong setup. Not all mind you, but the odd one or two can go a long way to convincing you that maybe opening the wallet one more time is worth it.


I can’t see Dr. Fang Bian open up a chorus of “Show me the way to go home” but he was grateful enough to shed some light on why now for the HE1000 and why at $3000:


I don’t care so much about the buzz, but I do care about business. I dared to price the HE1000 at $3k because for a few reasons. One, I was confident in its sound quality, and comfort compared to what was already in the market. Two, it was an expensive product to develop taking years on the driver alone. And lastly, if we priced it lower, I was concerned we wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demand. Given the new introductions from other brands, I feel our pricing at $3k was correct and even makes HE1000 a good value.



Until a few weeks ago I might have debated with him on what new introductions he meant but the Audeze LCD-4 put paid to that and yes there is the Abyss and not to mention the myriad of high end Stax out there every bit as expensive if not more. It’s not the price that gets anyone going, it’s the conditioning of the mind that a planar should be that price. That is a process only the market can decide and so far it has worked out pretty well for Hifiman.


The Pitch


But you still need a pitch, you still need a story behind the sound, and a reason for why things are the way they are. You won’t convert everyone but the context is important. The HE1000 is not just a reshaping or replacement of the HE-6 and nor is it the evolution of what was started with the recently redesigned HE400, HE400i and HE560. Those cans, though no less enjoyable, belong to both a different era and a different target market.


The Good Doctor


Someone politely inquired a year or two ago what exactly Fang is a Doctor off. Well he is a Doctor of Nano-Technologies and it is precisely that knowledge that has driven him to design a planar headphone with what seems to be the first blended use of nano tech inside a headphone. Now before you go all 7 of 9 on me this is not some living breathing series of mechanical devices assimilating in a cup but rather it is being touted as the world’s first diaphragm in nanometer thickness.


Planar headphones suffer from weight problems and are the equivalent of a John Goodman method acting role. Its credible, its actually very good indeed, but damn that weight. If anything, outside of power, planars just plain suck as being lightweight. Even the small, portable class PM-3 from Oppo, the lightest yet, is still a hefty 320g which is much heavier than the Sennheiser HD600 and HD650 by almost 100g and they are classed as full size dynamic cans. On the flip side the LCD-2 and LCD-3 are over 500g. That is very noticeable on your noggin and if you are not used to it, say HD800/K812 level of light and breezy, it will come as a shock moving to planars.


The Nano Tech


However thin and light is not going to justify the price or in reality produce an awesome sound in its own right. You need something a lot more. As Fang was quite keen to mention to me:


HE1000 is the beginning to apply nano tech research into headphone design. There are so many unique features we applied to the HE1000: asymmetrical ear cup, new magnet arrangement, window shade grill, etc. These designs are the key to unlocking the best sound quality potential of nano material.

It’s the nano-material combined with the some of these design changes that mark out the HE1000 as unique from not just other Hifiman headphones but from most of the entire planar range out in the market right now.

You want light, that video pretty much captures how light the diaphragm actually is (regardless of what you think of Queen). Not only light and low in mass, but apparently tight, really durable and designed to produce a very high quality fast sounding dynamic response compared to regular planar diaphragms.


A New Magnet design


The second big change is the magnet design which Fang hinted in his chat with me earlier. All Planars need magnets, that’s a given fact for now and a contributing factor to the weight equation. Now what Hifiman have done with the HE1000 is supposedly address regular planar magnet design refractions and reflections. Most use single sided planar designs to get around the reflection issue and produce a completely open sound. JPS Labs did that with the Abyss, and Hifiman also used this single sided design (on one side of the diaphragm only) on the HE400 and HE560 to great effect. So the workaround is common at all levels of the most recent planar headphones. Audeze attacked it with the Fazor technology to produce a more open sound also in their latest LCD revisions.


For the HE1000 though it is all change. Back we go to dual sided but this time it’s in a non-symmetrical little and large array of magnets. The little is on the ear side of the diaphragm and the large is on the outside. With this design Hifiman claim reflections are minimized in such a way that you should in theory get a much cleaner, true to life sound free of the usual problems associated with planar magnet designs.


The Window Shade Design


The final piece in this redesign jigsaw is the ‘Window Shade’ design on the outside of the cups. Again to combat second reflections its unique design it put together primarily to give the headphone an open a sound as possible for planar technology and free from distortions and vibration. Imaging and soundstage have never been the key strengths of planar technology even on the flagships so anything that tightens this area up considerably is a welcome innovation in my book.


The Unit


There was a lot of wild guessing as to what the HE1000 was when the pictures first came out – was it planar or electrostatic? Of course now we know it’s an all-out planar with quite an extensive reworking of planar technology. In fact, the design you see today started out 7 years ago.


Cups


In truth the design itself is part evolution, part modernisation but there is a definite if evolved consistency from the Jade to the HE1000 in spirit and more than a nod to the HE90 from Sennheiser. At the heart of the HE1000 it is really all about weight distribution and comfort. The cups are huge, Jade huge but surprisingly light. They are neither rounded like the HE-6, K812 nor are they angled or ‘D-shaped’ (as I call it) like the HD800. They are more in line with the HD600/HE90 long oval cup shape and are probably the biggest circumaural I have tried to date outside of the Orpheus last year.

Weight


480g in planar world is competitive, especially so when you consider that the HE1000 from headband to gimbals and outer grills are crafted from metals rather than plastics. The majority of the weight is in fact housed in the cups rather than the headband or supporting gimbals but it doesn’t drag down on your head like the old HE6 or HE500. Much like the HE400i and HE560 the HE1000 uses the new headband system which distributes weight far more evenly than the old traditional headband. The headband strap is made of a higher quality suede material than the more mundane non vented materials of the lower tier units and it certainly is no lacking in comfort and durability. The metal used on the headband reminds me of the nickel alloy used on ALO Audio 2015 RX portable amp. It looks slightly aged and retro rather than bang up to date cool steel you normally see. I think it’s a nice touch actually and blends well with the wood toned cups.


Wood Veneers


If there is one area of concern it is the oiled wood veneer finish of those cups. I know wood and Hifiman are not the best of buddies with a few aborted attempts for one reason or another. It just doesn’t seem to be a material that Hifiman enjoys working with on a production level but at $3k, beautiful as it looks from afar, the HE1000 wood veneer does have its sore points with not all of them looking finished flush as they should do when up close.


Normally we call this growing pains and the Edition X seems more in keeping with the safer plastics or metals of which Hifiman does a great job on. It is nit-picking but it is a $3k can so you do not get out of jail with a free pass and I would have preferred either real wood or perhaps a steel casing rather than the veneer personally. That being said the tonal match is perfect with the retro alloy headband so I can see why they chose that design path aesthetically.


The Pads


The pads follow the same format as the Focus pads of the HE400i and HE560 but the leather and comfort levels are on a far higher level. There is a noticeable difference in the quality levels of the leather in the HE1000 pads; much softer to the touch on your head. These bevelled ear pads are called the Ultra Pads by Hifiman and measure from 15mm to 25mm in overall thickness. Not as deep as the Audeze pads or the MrSpeakers Prime pads but they are comfortable indeed.



You can wear these for hours without issue and the combination of velour and leather offers a nice balance between seal and heat dissipation. A few have started already to look at modding the pads since they are detachable with outright replacements for those that fit and adding some foam layers and creating further angles to place the drivers more towards the user’s ears to further tighten up imaging. Its par for the course, heck even the Focus pads came out of a successful modding exercise.


What You get


Surprisingly the HE1000 package, fittingly color coded it may be, did not take my breath away. It didn’t feel like a whole step up from say the HE-560 box in terms of visual impact. It follows the design cues from all the new Hifiman Gen 2 cans apart from the HE400s and I guess you could debate that it brings harmony to the HE line but that’s stretching it. I have to admit I am yearning for a travel case more in tune with the Audeze pelican-style unit at least as an option for a $3k headphone. The manual is a nice touch, not many companies see fit for manual to go along with a headphone but it does a nice job of setting the background story to the development and tech of the HE1000.


Inside you also get an array of cables including an unbalanced TRS cable terminated 3m cable and a balanced 4 pin XLR output terminated 3m cable Both cables now come with the new 2.5mm stereo/mono plugs for attaching to the dual entry cups of the HE1000 itself. Technically this is the first one I got without the coaxial cables of the previous models however the HE400S was the first review in which I privately celebrated the end of the agony. The new 2.5m jacks are so easy to push in and out and are a very welcome relief from endless screwing in and out before use.


The third and final cable is a shorter portable 1.5m cable (terminated with a 3.5mm TRS plug) which I think I remember getting one similar one with the HE400 Gen 1 but not honestly sure. That is a tip to the confidence within Hifiman that the HE1000 can perform with strong line outs from DAP’s and headphone jacks from good portable amps which the previous flagship, the HE6, could not achieve. Though in no way a portable class headphone it does seem Hifiman believes that the HE1000 can indeed be driven by portable gear of a certain calibre.

Sound Impressions


(Core Setup – ALO Audio Studio 6 and a combination of the NuPrime DAC-10 or the Continental Dual Mono for DAC duties, source material was 320k MP3, FLAC, DSD64 and DSD128 via JRiver Media Player/ASIO and Foobar WASAPI Push).


Tonality


Hooked up to an ALO Audio Studio 6 tube amp and any number of good DAC combinations, such as the NuPrime DAC-10 and its ESS chip setup or the CDM from ALO Audio and its Wolfson implementation, the sound from the HE1000 is spectacular but varied. This is a tonality that at its best flows effortlessly with bags of power and an almost bottomless depth to that bass extension. I was expecting open sure but not this revealing and spacious. It is very rare indeed you get a combination of this level of detail yet retain a high degree of musicality. The tone is very organic and natural, especially with tube amps. The bonus of using the Studio 6 is that actually has a tighter more defined bottom end with the stock tubes, more so than regular tube amps which convey a traditional softer tube amp sound. A hint of solid state in many ways which the HE1000 laps right up to produce possibly the best distortion free bottom ends I have heard in years.


Complimentary Tones


It is also the most refined of the Hifiman range I have heard to date and also easily the most resolving. That combination of detail and balance and a hint of sub-bass warmth, especially when combined makes the HE1000 a far more natural sounding experience than the pinpoint analytical detail king, the HD800. For me it doesn’t quite overpower the HD800 in terms of imaging, soundstage width and pin point detail retrieval but it is a far more engaging with an instrumental timbre that I just find to be easily the more pleasing of the two. There will be some die hard HD800 fans that I cannot see dumping their precious for the HE1000 but for those with room to spare I actually think both complement each other nicely at the flagship table.


Speed


Do not be fooled by the words smooth, natural and flowing – this is no audio equivalent of a slow moving cruise ship. The HE1000 technically has a very responsive and speedy signature. There are no overly lengthy decay traits or overly rounded attacks in the HE1000’s signature. If you feed it metal it will keep up and give you a very precise reproduction from double kick drums to complex shredding solos. If you feed it acoustics it can slow it down yet reproduce a very convincing sense of space and layering without ever sounding too dry or thin. This combination of control and musicality, for me, is what makes the tonality of the HE1000 very special indeed.


Bass


This is perhaps the most impressive aspect of the HE1000 for me. The HE1k’s bass extends incredibly deep. I remember the first time when I popped on the LCD-2 v1 in 2011 and listening to Mediæval Bæbes out of a Lehmann amp and my jaw dropped at how authoritative the sub-bass was and until now that has been my benchmark on sub-bass performance. The HE1000 eclipses the Audeze sub-bass reach by some margin and extends way beyond the HE6 also for that matter.


The difference though comes in the impact and tonality of the bass performance between the two. The HE1000 bass on the whole is relatively neutral with a hint of warmth and linear in performance. You will not find any mid-bass elevation or exaggeration in the curve, it is almost straight line from 20-200hz with the mid-range showing no noticeable recession beyond up until 1k. It really is that well behaved and balanced. I did say almost because right at the bottom, say 20-30hz there is the tiniest bit of elevation rather than rolled off and that makes a wonderful difference for me in the performance of the sub-bass giving the HE1000 a strong sense of heft right at the bottom where, for me, few headphones can go.


If anything you are going to “feel” this sub-bass as much as you will hear it. I remember my old ASW1000 sub from B&W (back as it was then and not Bowers & Wilkins) having that same effect. I had previous subs in my own home setup that gave me bass noise but nothing with a level of reach that not only gave me a proper sub bass performance but at the same time allowed me to tweak my speaker setup to really focus a lot more on mids and upwards. Gone was the mush and the compromise with the ASW1k. The HE1k evokes that very same feeling I got with my home setup in terms of bass performance.


Having said that the bass presented by the HE1k, vast it may be it is not equally so in impact. I did mention linear in that respect and that includes little or no coloration meaning you will not get any artificial bumps on the way up. Those looking for bite or something more visceral and migrating from say the HE6 might be left a little wanting in that respect. Those hoping for an ocean of air being pushed in at mid bass will also be left a little wanting also. The HE1k bass is simply not presented in that fashion for me. Its tight possessing oodles of sub-bass texture and incredibly life like sounding.


Grab “Ecce Chorus Virginum” by the Mediæval Bæbes for a really good example of how the HE1k bass responds. Right throughout there is a slow paced bass drum underlying accompanying acoustic guitars and lead female vocals which are rather complex and ethereal in nature. It shouldn’t overwhelm but at the same time give a very strong sense of depth. The HE1000 delivers an incredibly low distortion free response on this track that clearly reproduces that bass drum as tight and deep as can be. The ability to define this drum and give it such gravitas without overwhelming the rest of the instruments is fantastic.


Mids


The mid-section of the HE1000 has a tiny dip post 1k to around 3k then it comes forward again from 4-7k into the upper mids and lower treble. I wouldn’t term the mids though as sounding recessed just not as forward or intimate in the lower range but possessing a very good vocal presence and an increased level of perceived energy in the upper mids. It is perhaps that very slight dip in the lower mids that make the vocals stand out that bit more. Instrumental spacing and timbre is excellent though, very natural and life like in quality and articulation. Micro detail and clarity is excellent, especially on crunching rhythm and bass guitar work which has suitable weight and speed.


Vocals are wonderfully expressive and free of grain or sibilance though I wouldn’t term the HE1000 as an intimate headphone for vocals. Challenging breathy vocal sets from the like of Buika and Laura Mvula, which can shoot out nasty sibilant trails with other brighter or harsher headphones, are perfectly balanced and natural on the HE1000. Male soulful vocals such as Legend are on song for me. “This Time” from Legend’s Evolver is beautifully presented and never once sounds lost or way back in the mix. The HE1000 really excels with that type of vocal that is thick, throaty or husky that lingers or whispers.


Perhaps my favorite experience with the HE1000 midrange and vocal performance has been with atmospheric recordings and Enya in particular. It is an excellent example of the how to control ethereal delicate vocals in a very natural manner with a huge soundstage backdrop and a big orchestral backdrop. Enya’s “May It Be” from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is my ‘nailed on favorite’ for emotive listening with the HE1000. Vocals positively soar without a hint of harshness in sight sounding incredibly fluid and detailed.



Treble


The treble performance of the HE1000 is perhaps where I met most of my challenges both good and not so good and it is all to do with the slight peak at the 7k level. Outside of that the treble performance is excellent, articulate and very incredibly detailed.


Ultimately I found my amp and DAC synergy to be one of the major factors in controlling this peak and allowing the HE1000 to play to its strengths rather than showcase any slight weakness it had in the treble performance. Tubes worked better than solid state unless the solid state was inherently warm and rich to begin with. ESS equipped DAC’s brought a much higher level of resolution and clarity with the HE1000 treble but at the cost of a bit too much shine when things got energetic.


It was the smaller CDM from ALO Audio and its tube buffer and WM8741 implementation that brought a much smoother and musical top end to the HE1k. Not just with the Studio 6 but also the EF6 and Mjolnir amps. With this combination I got great detail but a calmer water even when things got energetic. It was only my CDM/Bakoon HPA-01M pairing that I also got fairly satisfying results in treble performance with metal genres though everything sounded a lot drier in doing so.


The second major factor, and something which I think plays a role in understanding how the treble might play out on a personal level is genre selection itself (combined with DAC and amp synergy). I noticed quite a varying degree of commentary on the HE1000 peak, some barely noticing it and some making it a standout weakness and after testing differing genres I actually felt both are right. With slower paced genres, where vocals or midrange performances take center stage and a bit of top energy is taken out the HE1000 treble is beautiful. High notes are crystal clear and very well extended and its neither too harsh or overly bright. In this context the 7k peak works to its favor helping to present a very airy and balanced tone with good headroom and a nice snap to percussion work.


However, load up the top end with high energy rock, metal and other sonic assaults where hi hats and cymbals go into overdrive or synth work is extremely high pitched then the treble starts to get a bit sharp at the 7k to the point where it is much less natural and forgiving. If anything it gave the impression that the HE1000 was not a headphone for high energy melodic rock or anything that taps that range too hard. Rather the HE1000 treble seems to be much more at home with sparser arrangements that requires a subtler presentation.


Sting, Krall, Chesky, Enya, Richter, Adele, Obel, Brun, Legend, Buika, Govan and Terry Clarke – these are some of the names that are doing it for me with the HE1000 treble for the majority of the system choices I threw at it. I can stretch to the likes of Crucified Barbara and Five Finger Death Punch handily with the Bakoon HPA01M though with a slight EQ tweak on that 7k because of that excellent bass depth and spacious and natural midrange lending itself well to rhythm guitar work. Sorry but Death Magnetic just didn’t work for me despite the unbelievable speed and clarity, just too sharp and peaky with Lar’s high energy cymbal work and dry production values.

Matchability


The Power Equation


When the HE-6 came out and to some extent the LCD’s from Audeze the big issue with these planar flagships was finding the right amp that could power them adequately. The HE-6 is just not efficient at 83.5dB and I do not think anyone is trying to excuse this long standing fact. I tried a lot of solutions for not so much money before I grabbed a Mjolnir and started to relax properly with an EF6 added. Tonal synergy of course matters and the HE6 with the EF6 seems to hit the mark with plenty of power also with its more liquid or wet signature than the more strident Mjolnir.


Now the HE1k is something a bit different. The efficiency rating of the HE1000 is actually that bit higher at 90db so in theory it will drive on a lot more amps than the HE6 will. However, going back to the very start of my article and that phrase “you are going to need a better amp” it is not all ones and zeros here and more power does not mean the HE1000 will automatically sound better. Driving the HE1000 is not the big issue here that grabbed the HE6 but more so synergy and when I put this to Fang he concurred:



Everyone knows that HE6 was difficult to drive, which required more than 4 watts per channel output to make it sound right. HE1000 is much easier to drive however HE1000 also has much more potential than HE6 so that a powerful amp will make it sound better. A powerful output amp with great sound quality is the requirement. I don’t see anything in the market with the ultimate output and sound quality for HE1000 so are working on our own solution.


Now the last sentence has me intrigued because obviously Fang is referring to the EF1k amp that was on show recently but not out yet. In the meantime, my interpretation is that power is one thing, but it’s not the most important thing for the HE1k. If you are running a system, synergy will be overriding factor for the HE1k, with both amp and DAC.


DACs


For example, the Oppo HA-1 as a DAC combined with the Studio 6 tube amp sounded off right from the start with a really sharp treble reproduction and a thin response across the range that didn’t mesh at all well with most genres I threw at it save a few light acoustic tracks. The same story unfolded with the HA-1 and the Mjolnir and the EF6 so out it went. The NuPrime DAC-10 sounded a lot more controlled and resolving with the Studio 6 as well as the other two amps but again that supreme clarity and micro detail came at the cost of a slight shine in the treble once the energy levels went up. Both these DAC’s seemed to tap on that 7k on high energy rock and metal. I was not really a fan at that stage.


There is no problem with power with any of these amps, the Studio 6 being the best of the three by some margin but tonally the ESS DAC’s didn’t get the best performance producing a very neutral signature that left the HE1k a bit too thin up top with the Studio 6 on stock tubes. Cue the Continental Dual Mono by ALO Audio and in some ways a compromise to produce a win. As a DAC the CDM is perhaps a step lower in terms of resolving capability, but what it lacks in top end marvel it makes up for in overall tonality. That smoother out top end and musical tones was a far more natural match with the HE1000. Treble performance was a bit less strident, a touch less resolving but with bags more character and a fuller richer sound right throughout when combined with the Studio 6. On its own the CDM amp performance a notch or two lower than the Studio 6 but tonally it still sounded very similar indeed particularly in the midrange and vocal performance.


Amps


The HE1000 scales so well that it is very tempting to throw the baby out with the bathwater and just spend megabucks to see what it can do but even Fang is not suggesting that you should do that. I asked him what match up did he enjoy with the HE1000 in our chat and he professed that he thought the HM901s line out sounded quite nice. I was expecting something like the McIntosh MHA100, which by the way sounded visceral and engaging when paired with a HE1000 at a recent audio show but there you go, a fine example of that all-important tonal signature factor at play.


The Flexible HE1K


Equally the HE1000 does not wither and die quite like the HE6 with an ‘underpowered amp”. It does not follow that same logic as the HE6 given its more forgiving tuning and higher rated efficiency. Sure it scales and with the Studio 6 I got a more assured and fuller performance than the much smaller CDM even if tonally similar but drop it right down to a less powerful setup and it didn’t sound awful either. Simply put the HE1000 is not as fussy as the HE6.


Case in point was the Lotoo Paw Gold DAP and the HPA-1M from Bakoon. The Paw Gold was not as full sounding or have the same level of dynamics as the Studio 6 setup or even the EF6, but tonally it sounded very good and more than acceptable for a DAP jack performance. Treble was smooth with a softish laid back top end that made the Lotoo combination immensely listenable. The midrange perhaps was not as spacious but nevertheless was flowing and very fluid and whilst the bass lacked the same levels of extension as the high end amps it still has good reach and decent punch.


Current Mode


By contrast the Bakoon HPA-01M portable current mode amp was much more visceral and hard hitting than the Paw Gold with a slightly drier signature and no issues driving the HE1000k to a very good standard. The Bakoon current mode output is always a great planar match and it is no different with the HE1000 though it doesn’t quite scale as well as the Mjolnir in terms of sheer balanced power or sound as grand and smooth as the Studio 6. Paired with the CDM as a DAC though I found it worked a treat with metal music and one of the only amps I had that was really able to play such energetic treble comfortably without it getting too sharp. My only one criticism of the HPA-01M is that it still suffers from channel imbalance at low volume levels, even with the HE1k.


Tubes


Overall though I tended to veer to tube setups rather than SS for matching with the HE1000 with the Bakoon HPA-01M current mode portable amp being the exception. One such gem of a tube setup outside of the main Studio 6 review setup was the HE1000 matched with Cypher Labs Sustain84 and the CDM. Not quite up there in terms of scale and power as the Studio 6 but tonally very coherent with a nice low end heft and slightly more of a tube sound than the stock Studio 6 in the mids, especially combined with the CDM in DAC mode. Bass was a touch slower and warmer than the S6 and whilst the treble remained very nice and clear it didn’t tweak too much on the 7k to sound distracting. Genres that had a mid or slightly slower tempo such as Mayer and John Hammond sounded incredibly natural and life like with this all tube matchup.


Comparisons


Hifiman HE6


The obvious pointer here outside of tonal preference is the efficiency level of each. The HE6 was the flagship Hifiman headphone and provoked year of power upgrades for many a fan based on that 83db rating. The HE1000k is rated at 90db and is a far easier headphone to drive than the HE6 as well as sounding tonally more “in tune” than the HE6 on lower powered units with less distortion and clipping.


Amps such as the EF6 and the Mjolnir as well as the Studio 6 were more at home with the HE6 due to the match of power and tonal quality however DAP’s such as the Paw Gold, HPA-01M and the iBasso P5 didn’t quite scale so well nor did they sound as confident with the HE6 as they did with the HE1000. There is no getting around that power equation sometimes.


Tonally the HE6 is the more neutral sounding of the two with a brighter top end and a peak that hits a bit harder at around 10k than the HE1000 7k. Vocals are more assured and detailed on the HE1k than the HE6. Both headphones have good bass extension but the key difference here for me is the extension and sub bass of the HE1000 which goes that bit deeper and sounds fuller than the HE6 sub bass response. In return the HE6 bass response is bit more lively and impactful and lends itself better to harder hitting EDM than the HE1000 which sounds politer in comparison.


Soundstage on the HE1000 is superior to the HE6 which still sounds good but not as grand sounding with far less top and bottom extension as the HE1000 can provide on a good setup. Imaging in the HE6 is ok but much tighter and more accurate on the HE1000. Traditionally this was one of the weaker points when the HE6 originally came out and something which planars are normally plagued with but it seems less so with the HE1k.


Perhaps the biggest tonal difference is just that little sheen of warmth that the HE1k displays over the HE6’s cooler more neutral response. This transforms the HE1k to something far more alive and natural sounding than the HE6. Traditionally I would use the HE6 for certain genres and then switch to the LCD-2 for say rock and EDM genres. With the HE1k that little edge of warmth makes it the more tonally flexible of the two headphones so less switching.


Physically it is also more comfortable with the new headband system whereas the old HE6 tended to drag down on your ear a lot with the old school single headband system. The He1k is only 20g lighter than the HE6 but the difference feels a lot more on the head and size wise the HE1000 dwarfs the HE1k in terms of cup dimensions so in terms of size to weight ratio the HE1k is a lot lighter.



Other Planars


Audeze


Both the Audeze LCD-2 v2 and the LCD-X differ to the HE1k most markedly in treble and bass performance but in differing ways. The HE1k extend lower to my ears than both the LCD-2 and the LCD-X which both have a slightly more elevated midbass response and impact. The bass response on the LCD-X is also a good bit tighter than the darker thicker bass tones of the LCD-2 and is the more aggressive and quicker of the two in comparison. The HE1000 bass in contrast can seem a touch slower due to the sub bass prominence but the texture and detail from bottom upwards is much better to my ears than the LCD-X which seems to be a bit blander.


Treble on the LCD-X is cleaner and tighter than the shelved down LCD-2 and I dare say the more forgiving but less detailed of the two between it and the HE1k. The He1k will sound the brighter of the two in that respect. Synergy and efficiency with the LCD-X is a bit easier to acquire over the HE1k when source/amp matching but it does not scale as impressively the better the amp you throw at it.


Oppo


It is difficult to really compare the PM-1 to the HE1000. They are two planar headphones but that’s about it because one is designed primarily to be really good at a consumer bass driven sound with decent clarity but nothing special in terms of treble performance and it’s not the HE1k. The calling card of the PM-1 is the relatively svelte lightweight design, super efficiency and non-offensive slightly slow sound that gravitates to most modern genres. It does it well, highly musical in many ways but it’s not a top performer even in the LCD-X class for overall clarity.


The HE1000 has far better speed, clarity and dynamics. Its soundstage is massive, imaging is way more accurate and more lifelike and natural sounding timbre than the PM-1. Bass on the PM-1 is resolutely in the mid-bass and simply does not have the sub-bass extension capability or weight of the HE1k. The one area people might stop some from saving a bit more is the preference for an airy treble that can get a bit picky versus a very forgiving top end from the PM-1 even in low end sources. I am not sure the target markets really overlap that much but it’s possible.


HD800


I could have picked a whole load of dynamic cans such as the K812 but the HD800 seems to be the one I would consider as an alternative for those willing to fork out $3k on a HE1000. I can well understand why the HD800 would provide that moment of hesitation as on a high level it shares many of the same characteristics of the HE1000 with a comfortable lightweight fitting, excellent detail retrieval and excellent ability to scale with the right amp. It too has a treble performance with a noticeable 6-7k spike that requires careful thought in terms of source and amp matching. The Questyle CMA800R amp was probably one of the best amps I have heard paired to the HD800 and its a current signal amp with excellent control from top to bottom and worth the asking price if you ask me.


Certainly on efficiency levels the HD800 is the more sensitive and easier to drive headphone of the two. Despite the advances Hifiman have done, and it is a lot, the best of Hifiman is still less efficient than a good dynamic headphone and that is the case with the HE1000. Of course if you are dropping 3-4 big ones on a flagship amp that might be a leveller of sorts and true enough both the HE1k and HD800 had no such issues bring driven from my Studio 6, Mjolnir, and EF6 or even the smaller Sustain84.


Overall though the HD800 sounded the slightly cleaner or analytical of the two with slightly superior level of micro detail. The HE1000 sounded the more natural and flowing with a bit more musicality, body and character. Extension wise both had excellent reach and a spacious headroom but I found the oceanic depth to the HE1K the more compelling of the two bass signatures. You could argue the HD800 is the more realistic of the two in terms of accurate reproduction of instruments but it lacked a bit of life in that reproduction sounding more sterile than the HE1000. Both are superb at detail retrieval in the midrange but I slightly preferred the HE1k midrange again with its more forward and expressive vocal range.


In a funny way these two headphones seem to share common performance traits with both being a little fussy with system synergy. For me though the HD800 seems to be the less flexible of the two with brighter setups and basically anything that triggers its own peaky treble performance or leaves it too thin. The slight glint of warmth in the general HE1k tonality gives it a bit more genre and system setup flexibility.


Final Thoughts


Thus far the HE1000 is the best set of headphones I have put on my head in the last 5 years that is not called Stax or Orpheus. It is by far the best of many worlds in planar technology and sound. It has enough body, enough musicality and more than enough detail to comfortably be the only headphone you need with the right setup. I cannot tell you its worth $2999, that’s a value judgement and it is going to be very dependent on your source material and system setup. It is one that I currently agree with given the pricing of some other headphones in the same category though. Some may prefer the HD800 at half the price, others may think the LCD-4 just out is better at $1k more, others will think Stax and the Abyss are fair game.


I do think it has a slight bias with most setups to gentler genres that do not have a lot of treble energy but certain amps such as the Bakoon HPA-01M have proved to me that the HE1k can indeed be more versatile than that. It is not a home run either in terms of being the perfect headphone. That treble is a bit fussy, it doesn’t warm to some of my DAC’s and amps and some genres just pick away at that 7k peak making it sound splashy when I wish it wasn’t. However, it is a discovery headphone much like its older sibling the HE6, amps and system matching is a fun quest if you are building something to match the HE1k. This time though, unlike the HE6 you are matching in terms of quality and not just quantity.


I am really glad Hifiman bucked that power equation also and gave us a headphone that delivers satisfying tonality (albeit with less dynamic and resolution) on good quality DAP’s and portable headphones. That is a huge plus and with the advent of the Edition X, a more efficient version of the HE1000, I am really excited to see if the mobile luxury flagship planar can actually be realized. It is scary to think that is Fang’s first attempt at nano-tech in a planar or any headphone for that matter – I wonder what is next?


Price: $2999.00


Links: http://hifiman.com/he1000/index.asp


Technical Specifications


Style: Open Back

Driver type: Planar Magnetic

Impedance:35+/-3 Ohms

Sensitivity: 90 dB

Frequency response: 8Hz-65KHz

Weight: 480g



From Headfonics
2015-11-30 17:11:00
View:5119
Dealers | Service | Contact us
Shop at the HIFIMAN Store , or find a Authorized Dealer.
Copyright 2007-2018 HIFIMAN Corporation

Follow us

sign up