HE1000 V2 Full Size Planar Magnetic Audiophile Headphones

If you're on the edge, just order these, and thank me later while you're bathing in musical bliss. Endgame quality for sure, to me they excel in every category that I'm able to assess: bass/mids/treble quality, overall tonality, low/high extension, soundstage, imaging, detail.I own many headphones, most of which I plan to sell after getting this HE1000 Stealth. Some comparisons to the others I own:- ZMF Aeolus: in comparison, the highs are so lacking, less detail / liveliness - they sound relatively dull- Focal Elex: I still love the sound of these, especially the bass and dynamics, but the soundstage is claustrophobic, they're less resolving, and the tonality is a bit strange. Planning to replace with Stellia which will also double as my closed-back- LCD-2: ... MoreIf you're on the edge, just order these, and thank me later while you're bathing in musical bliss. Endgame quality for sure, to me they excel in every category that I'm able to assess: bass/mids/treble quality, overall tonality, low/high extension, soundstage, imaging, detail.I own many headphones, most of which I plan to sell after getting this HE1000 Stealth. Some comparisons to the others I own:- ZMF Aeolus: in comparison, the highs are so lacking, less detail / liveliness - they sound relatively dull- Focal Elex: I still love the sound of these, especially the bass and dynamics, but the soundstage is claustrophobic, they're less resolving, and the tonality is a bit strange. Planning to replace with Stellia which will also double as my closed-back- LCD-2: these are overall kinda similar to the HE1000S but slightly less good in every way except bass, where I think they do have a slight advantage in quality/texture- LCD-2 closed: I can't identify anything wrong with these, but for some reason I never crave to listen to them. Excellent bass, though it's not punchy, it's strong, smooth, textured, and extended. Plan to replace with Stellia as my closed-back- Sennheiser HD6xx: actually I'll keep this one for change of pace and those perfect mids :))To recap I think they're amazing and best of any headphone I've heard, well worth the price.

The HE1000 V2 Stealth are spectacular. Have listened for few weeks and comparedto the Ananda quite a bit. The Ananda were my favorite headphones, but the HE1000are superior in most aspects.Both have a tall and spacious soundstage, but the HE1000 is wider left to right,and instruments can be picked out with more clarity. In groups or orchestrasin a large space, you're aware of echo in the large space, which is quite amazing.The HE1000 bass goes deeper and has more definition.The upper bass / lower mids seem stronger on the HE1000, and this gives a more speaker-likepresentation. The mids and timbre are a little more natural and precise on the HE1000.The Ananda has a small mid-treble peak, but the HE1000 seems smoother in this range.In comparisons the Ananda ... MoreThe HE1000 V2 Stealth are spectacular. Have listened for few weeks and comparedto the Ananda quite a bit. The Ananda were my favorite headphones, but the HE1000are superior in most aspects.Both have a tall and spacious soundstage, but the HE1000 is wider left to right,and instruments can be picked out with more clarity. In groups or orchestrasin a large space, you're aware of echo in the large space, which is quite amazing.The HE1000 bass goes deeper and has more definition.The upper bass / lower mids seem stronger on the HE1000, and this gives a more speaker-likepresentation. The mids and timbre are a little more natural and precise on the HE1000.The Ananda has a small mid-treble peak, but the HE1000 seems smoother in this range.In comparisons the Ananda sounds brighter in mid-treble. High violins sounda bit shrill on the Ananda, but the HE1000 sounds sweeter and more natural, so arevery good for classical.Highly recommended, these are so good I don't care what the Susvara sounds like.

I’ve only had for a few days, but initial impressions:- Extremely comfortable, I was prepared for them to be a little heavy, but not at all. I can wear for hours without any discomfort or fatigue.- Great detail retrieval + very good bass. This seems like a tough combo for most headphones to pull off.- These seem very easy to drive for high-end headphones. I have a Topping A90 Pro and it has way more power than is needed. I don’t know all of the technical specs, but I would guess these will perform well with less powerful amps.- Not as “easy listening” as a pair of ZMF Verite closed I own, but that is why I bought them. I wanted a compliment that had better detail, wider imaging, planar vs dynamic and open back vs closed back, and so far they seem like a great ... MoreI’ve only had for a few days, but initial impressions:- Extremely comfortable, I was prepared for them to be a little heavy, but not at all. I can wear for hours without any discomfort or fatigue.- Great detail retrieval + very good bass. This seems like a tough combo for most headphones to pull off.- These seem very easy to drive for high-end headphones. I have a Topping A90 Pro and it has way more power than is needed. I don’t know all of the technical specs, but I would guess these will perform well with less powerful amps.- Not as “easy listening” as a pair of ZMF Verite closed I own, but that is why I bought them. I wanted a compliment that had better detail, wider imaging, planar vs dynamic and open back vs closed back, and so far they seem like a great compliment.

Awesome headphones and great service

After five years in mid-fi purgatory, I decided to make the jump to hi-fi, potentially endgame headphone territory. Was looking at the Arya Stealth, HE1000 V2, and HE1000SE but ultimately decided on the HE1000 V2. I had a question for the HeadAmp team and they got back to me very shortly which I appreciated. I placed an order and the headphones were shipped within several hours, which was awesome, most companies will take a day or two.For the headphones themselves, wow. I've owned and listened to some great headphones but there is no comparison. In my opinion, there are no flaws, the best listening experience I've had thus far. Great detail and the resolution is phenomenal, extremely capable drivers. Wide soundstage but not too expansive. The bass response is very ... MoreAfter five years in mid-fi purgatory, I decided to make the jump to hi-fi, potentially endgame headphone territory. Was looking at the Arya Stealth, HE1000 V2, and HE1000SE but ultimately decided on the HE1000 V2. I had a question for the HeadAmp team and they got back to me very shortly which I appreciated. I placed an order and the headphones were shipped within several hours, which was awesome, most companies will take a day or two.For the headphones themselves, wow. I've owned and listened to some great headphones but there is no comparison. In my opinion, there are no flaws, the best listening experience I've had thus far. Great detail and the resolution is phenomenal, extremely capable drivers. Wide soundstage but not too expansive. The bass response is very enjoyable, the extension to bottom frequencies is crystal clear and full. My favorite part of these headphones, however, was the tuning of middle frequencies. Both male and female vocals sound so intimate and natural, so effortless and unstrained. These headphones lean a touch bright but didn't find the treble excessive or fatiguing.Build quality is good by Hifiman standards and they are very comfortable and light to wear. Will probably buy an aftermarket cable however, my one nitpick is that the stock cable is somewhat underwhelming.Overall a phenomenal headphone, both technically and musically.

Good if you like the HiFiman house sound

TLDR: If you like the HiFiman sound and want a good all-arounder that enables analytical listening without spending $2-4k, these are a solid choice. If you just want to kick back, go with the Ananda Nanos and save some cash. If you find other HiFiman headphones to be grating and/or fatiguing, don't expect these to solve the problem.Up front, I will disclose that it turns out that I'm personally not a fan of the HiFiman house sound - however, I'm attempting to leave a star rating and review that corrects for this fact.In other words, if you don't have a distaste for the HiFiman house sound, I believe these are 4 star headphones in terms of price/performance.Detail retrieval and precision is clearly superior to the Ananda Nanos (a headphone that I prefer from a ... MoreTLDR: If you like the HiFiman sound and want a good all-arounder that enables analytical listening without spending $2-4k, these are a solid choice. If you just want to kick back, go with the Ananda Nanos and save some cash. If you find other HiFiman headphones to be grating and/or fatiguing, don't expect these to solve the problem.Up front, I will disclose that it turns out that I'm personally not a fan of the HiFiman house sound - however, I'm attempting to leave a star rating and review that corrects for this fact.In other words, if you don't have a distaste for the HiFiman house sound, I believe these are 4 star headphones in terms of price/performance.Detail retrieval and precision is clearly superior to the Ananda Nanos (a headphone that I prefer from a pure value perspective). If you want to engage in analytical listening and like planars, I'd say that these can compete with the HD800s.Compared to the HD800s, I felt like details in the music were being more actively pointed out with the HE1000 Stealth, rather than presented for me to possibly notice, if that makes any sense. I have a feeling that this difference in style is more a matter of personal preference rather than one being clearly superior.These have enough bass and versatility to be good all-arounders while also being suitable for analytical listening, which is a nice combo. But, if I simply wanted to sit back and enjoy music and didn't care much about hyper-detailed analytical listening, I'd go for the Ananda Nanos instead and spend the price difference elsewhere, whether on an additional complementary set of headphones or on upgrading my DAC/amp situation.All that said, if you've had another set of cheaper HiFiman headphones and thought to yourself, "These would be great without the lower treble spike, maybe the HE1000 Stealth fixes that," know that it's still an issue (and actually still an issue even with the Susvara, at least to my ears in a brief listening session).I tried EQ-ing them to the Harman Target, but it introduced a thick veil and came at the expense of so much detail retrieval that I didn't find it to be a satisfactory solution.

Great fun headphones

I bought these for work (in my home office, I'm a data engineer and I WFH) to slam hard and keep me energized and entertained while I perform tedious tasks, and to play at medium volume to block out the world and other thoughts while I'm coding or doing other tasks that require extreme concentration (I have ADHD). These are perfect for my use. They go low and hard, and are plenty bright (I'm a treble head) but not painfully so. The midrange is very clean, but I think slightly less present than it is with my Empyrean II's. They're more enjoyable to listen to than I expected, especially given their intended purpose. I drive them with a GS-X Mk2, *plenty* of power.The only downside (and why I gave them 4 stars rather than 5) is comfort. Maybe my other headphones ... MoreI bought these for work (in my home office, I'm a data engineer and I WFH) to slam hard and keep me energized and entertained while I perform tedious tasks, and to play at medium volume to block out the world and other thoughts while I'm coding or doing other tasks that require extreme concentration (I have ADHD). These are perfect for my use. They go low and hard, and are plenty bright (I'm a treble head) but not painfully so. The midrange is very clean, but I think slightly less present than it is with my Empyrean II's. They're more enjoyable to listen to than I expected, especially given their intended purpose. I drive them with a GS-X Mk2, *plenty* of power.The only downside (and why I gave them 4 stars rather than 5) is comfort. Maybe my other headphones (HD800 and the Empyrean II's) have spoiled me, but while the pads on these are large and comfortable enough most of the time, they do press a bit on my jawbones and it can get uncomfortable if I leave them on for long periods, like all afternoon - the only time I notice it. Maybe it's the size and shape of my head, I'm not sure. The pad surface is fine all day, but not as plush as my other headphones. I only really notice when switching. The included cables are decent, but I upgraded to a balanced set of Silver Dragon from Moon Audio.

Potential endgame for just $1400

Coming from the Arya stealth, the bass in the HE1000 is more dynamic with an audible emphasis on the sub-bass. The mids on the HE1000 still have that distinctive Hifiman scoop, but the upper mids are more balance which fixes the timbre issues I had with the Arya. The treble, however, is still Hifiman treble and is still bright, way too bright than what I'd consider natural. Nevertheless, it's not harsh or piercing; the upper frequencies are surprisingly well-balanced, giving the treble a crisp and engaging quality rather than being sibilant.The soundstage is above average, and the level of detail is better than most headphones in the $2000 range. When compared to other Hifiman HE1000 models and the Susvara, the Stealth, with its V-shaped tuning, is the most ... MoreComing from the Arya stealth, the bass in the HE1000 is more dynamic with an audible emphasis on the sub-bass. The mids on the HE1000 still have that distinctive Hifiman scoop, but the upper mids are more balance which fixes the timbre issues I had with the Arya. The treble, however, is still Hifiman treble and is still bright, way too bright than what I'd consider natural. Nevertheless, it's not harsh or piercing; the upper frequencies are surprisingly well-balanced, giving the treble a crisp and engaging quality rather than being sibilant.The soundstage is above average, and the level of detail is better than most headphones in the $2000 range. When compared to other Hifiman HE1000 models and the Susvara, the Stealth, with its V-shaped tuning, is the most fun-sounding Hifiman headphone I've heard. I consider the Arya series the worst-tuned among the egg-shaped Hifiman headphones and would say that this one is more tonally similar to the Ananda or Edition XS. If you have those, this is more of the same, just with the sonic refinement and technical performance enhanced to the max.

Stunning

I bought these as a complement to the Meze Empyreans I had given the HE1000’s different tonality, but, after listening to them for over a month now, I have decided to sell the Empyreans.The HE1000 Stealth edition are nothing short of superb. The seem infinitely resolute when powered properly and still manage to kick and tumble when called upon to do so. The build quality is nice although, from this single perspective, they don’t hold a candle to the Empyreans.They are, however, very comfortable and seem like they will last if taken care of.I cannot recommend the HE1000’s enough. HeadAmp also deserves a special shout-out for awesome their customer service and getting the headphones out to me within two days.

Value Exceeds Price

I really like the sound of these headphones. They have the HifiMan sound, but the treble is not etched or sibilant. There is also very good low bass. Not as euphonic as ZMF, but more detailed. While not hard to drive, I do have to go with the high-gain mode on my headphone amp. Also, exceedingly comfortable. The fit and finish is also well above Sundara for example. They look better in person than in the pictures. I will also comment that the included cables are much better than prior HifiMan cables. Good enough that I don’t feel the need to replace right away with after-market. These are the most resolving headphones that I have tried, but they are not fatiguing. With the price drop, these headphones provide incredible value.