06-Oct-2015, 12:25
So today I ordered my HE1000 headphones
They will be driven by my Devialet 200 into my Auralc Tauris MK2 headphone amp.
I had the HD800 and HE1000 on home demo over the weekend which gave me a chance to compare them. The HD800 arrived first and straight out of the box sounded amazing. The new amp is quite a step up from my old one so not sure how much of it was down to this. But compared to my Q701s they were in a different league. Soundstage, clarity and detail in abundance. I sort of regretted asking for the HE1000 as at this stage I thought they could not match the HD800.
I was wrong. The HD800 is an amazing headphone and if I had never heard the HE1000 then I would have been very satisfied with them. But the HE1000 arrived and changed all that. Wow!
In my opinion soundstage is even better than the HD800. In short I felt it offered the same as the HD800 but was just more pleasing to my ears. The HD800 on certain tracks could sound a bit bright to me, some female vocals like Birdy for example had too much of a hiss for my liking. I feel the strengths of the HD800 would be with Classical music, I would imagine it excels at that.
I took advice on here and tried to EQ out some of the brightness and after about two hours experimenting I achieved it. Well to a degree. The reason I even tried this was the large price difference. So I thought I had achieved this, until I put the HE1000 back on. It again just sounded better, more natural. More forgiving possibly.
I have an album by Amber Rubarth-Sessions from the 17th Ward. Not usually my kind of stuff but I have grown to love this over the last few weeks. A track called Tundra I thought would be perfect to hear the HD800 on. It was, but again the HE1000 just did it better in my opinion. The percussion on this track with the HE1000 is absolutely stunning. Then a bit heavier stuff. Royal Blood, Arctic Monkeys, Foals etc. The HE1000 just did it all so well.
I much prefer the look and the fit of the HD800 , a simple and beautiful design, oh and I much preferred the price too , but it was always going to be about the one I enjoyed the most and that was undoubtedly the HE1000.
I just wish I could have the looks and fit of the HD800 with the sound of the HE1000……maybe one day.
They will be driven by my Devialet 200 into my Auralc Tauris MK2 headphone amp.
I had the HD800 and HE1000 on home demo over the weekend which gave me a chance to compare them. The HD800 arrived first and straight out of the box sounded amazing. The new amp is quite a step up from my old one so not sure how much of it was down to this. But compared to my Q701s they were in a different league. Soundstage, clarity and detail in abundance. I sort of regretted asking for the HE1000 as at this stage I thought they could not match the HD800.
I was wrong. The HD800 is an amazing headphone and if I had never heard the HE1000 then I would have been very satisfied with them. But the HE1000 arrived and changed all that. Wow!
In my opinion soundstage is even better than the HD800. In short I felt it offered the same as the HD800 but was just more pleasing to my ears. The HD800 on certain tracks could sound a bit bright to me, some female vocals like Birdy for example had too much of a hiss for my liking. I feel the strengths of the HD800 would be with Classical music, I would imagine it excels at that.
I took advice on here and tried to EQ out some of the brightness and after about two hours experimenting I achieved it. Well to a degree. The reason I even tried this was the large price difference. So I thought I had achieved this, until I put the HE1000 back on. It again just sounded better, more natural. More forgiving possibly.
I have an album by Amber Rubarth-Sessions from the 17th Ward. Not usually my kind of stuff but I have grown to love this over the last few weeks. A track called Tundra I thought would be perfect to hear the HD800 on. It was, but again the HE1000 just did it better in my opinion. The percussion on this track with the HE1000 is absolutely stunning. Then a bit heavier stuff. Royal Blood, Arctic Monkeys, Foals etc. The HE1000 just did it all so well.
I much prefer the look and the fit of the HD800 , a simple and beautiful design, oh and I much preferred the price too , but it was always going to be about the one I enjoyed the most and that was undoubtedly the HE1000.
I just wish I could have the looks and fit of the HD800 with the sound of the HE1000……maybe one day.
Devialet 200 -- Roon Nucleus-- Sonus Faber Olympica 2 -- Tellurium Q Black Speaker Cables --
Chord Qutest -- Niimbus US5 Pro Headphone amp —HifiMan HEK, Abyss 1266TC
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Chord Qutest -- Niimbus US5 Pro Headphone amp —HifiMan HEK, Abyss 1266TC
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
