IMO, the HE1000 Stealth is a lush, warm headphone with well extended treble. I though they had bright treble, however believe you me, after 250+ hours the treble became much more relaxed and even more smooth without any loss of detail or air. BTW great review!
I'm hearing/experiencing this phenomenon right now as I'm slowly burning in my new set. They were bass-bloated and sharp/bright when fresh out of the box - but now they're much more balanced, textured, wide/deep/tall, detailed without harsh brightness (that is, unless the track is brightly recorded). I have about ~40 - 50 hours on them right now with a mix of pink noise and varied, bass heavy music from my "burn in playlist". I'm still comparing them with my Arya Stealths though.....
I bought the HE1000SE refurbished from Hifiman for $1749 and the Hifiman EF400 also refurbished for $309. This headphone is my endgame, amazing sound, fantastic detail, even gaming is so immersive is like being there. Refurbished as they are, the EF400 came with some scratches in the front panel, nothing bad. The headphones had marks in the band where it slides up and down, and that's all the imperfections I can find. The build is excellent and the sound is just perfect to me. I'd like a little bit more bass, but I appreciate the neutral and analytical sound.
Thank you for the review. I love this headphone and, let me tell you, when it is hooked up to Schitt’s Mjolnir 3 class A amp and Bifrost, it sounds magical, truly.
You nailed it! Great review. The HEk Stealth and Atrium are my two favorites in my collection. The HEk is one of the few headphones where I love the stock cable too. Hifiman sure went from worst to first there. Absolutely no other headphone can beat the HEk Stealth at under $1,500. Cheers my Hi-Fi brother.
Another great review my friend! I think you nailed the difference between the Stealth and SE. And it's true the SE is technically better, yet I find I wear my V2 more often because of the "perceived" level of detail it has due to the hot treble. I usually recommend the V2 to people our age due to the slight hearing loss we all get in the treble range after 50. My nephew and younger family members find the V2 too hot and prefer the SE. It's like Hifiman made the perfect headphone for both those above and under 50. And if you like female vocals then you must eventually own a Susvara. That is its main selling point. Susvara is absolute end game for vocal naturalness. See you on your next one ✌
@@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250 You know, I just seem to go back and forth, rotating between SE and V2. I think our tastes can change from week to week. One week I am loving the V2 for its treble and larger sound stage and then the next week I like the SE better. I suppose the music playlist has a lot to do with it as well. The V2 are non-stealth and have you noticed that the non-stealth version of all hifiman models seem to have a little bit bigger sound stage than their stealth counter-parts. I find the same thing with Ananda and Arya as well. Non-stealth version has the slightly larger sound stage. I don't know why it's like that either, since I don't know what gives them the large stage to begin with.
I juuust got my HEKv2 Stealth set about ~14 days ago. I'm still burning them in (over nights) - but so far after about ~50 hours they've gone from having narrow soundstaging, bloated bass, with bright/harsh treble - to a much more balanced, nuanced, and textured presentation. It's bass and mids are much more balanced and textured, it's SS has expanded in all directions, and it's treble has smoothed out quite a bit to not be so bright/harsh but is still very detailed. I'm liking what I hear so far after these few hours of play/burn in - and while comparing them with my Arya Stealths. BTW, a discrete Class A/AB BAL amp is pretty much mandatory for best SQ with HFM's higher-tiered cans, IMO (ie: Ananda and above) - no IC/THX/NFCA amps have ever produced as natural a sound as even my much cheaper discrete amps have with HFM's detailed HPs. Right now I'm rocking a used Gustard H20 BAL amp with upgraded discrete opamps - it's been my best sounding and favorite go-to amp for the last couple of years, IMO - though I have been thinking of shopping for a used Burson Soloist 3xp or a new Gustard H26 though. Keep up the good work, Will....
Last month i've been reading reviews of so many headphones and seen probably 50+ videos on different headphones i want to upgrade to. What i ended up with is exactly these ones. HE1000 Stealth. I just need to find the courage to spend that amount of money haha. I've asked Hifiman nicely for a discount >_
As someone who's been through the Sundara-Ananda Stealth-Arya Stealth and even now the Ananda Nano, I'm looking at either the HE1000 Stealth or the HE1000se as an endgame. I can really appreciate technical ability and I especially like soundstage depth (giving an extra sense of realism to spaces and voices), but at the same time, I've also realized that I don't really want a dry, soft and boring sound in what is supposed to be an ENDGAME headphone. I'm still not really sure what to get, but your review has added more description and sent me a few steps closer to a decision down the line.
I wouldn't call the HE1000SE dry. It does have the same warm vocals of the HE1000 Stealth. It is a little more neutral, and less dynamic. But I do love that soundstage depth.
For depth, the HE1000SE is more deep but for width I’d take the HE1000 Stealth. The Stealth is warmer and slightly more bass heavy than the SE but the SE has the benefit of being more “detailed” due to less bass quantity and a more upper mid range focus than the Stealth. If you had the Arya Stealth, then I’d probably go for the HE1000SE since the HE1000 Stealth is like an improved Arya Stealth and you want something a little different in your arsenal of cans. I’m definitely would not recommend the original HE1000V2 though because I found it to be boring, soft, and while large in “appeared” soundstage, sounded defused and less sharp in its spatial characteristics
@@dbean5174 Thank you for chiming in. I'm leaning to the HE1000SE these days, and will maybe trade in the Arya Stealth for it. I'm very much looking for something with a sense of 'ethereal'/'airy-ness' to have as something for special listens or situations. The SE strikes me as just about the endgame for that.
Using my HE1000 with my Fiio K7, I notice that going from single-ended to balanced (doubling the output from 1W into 32 Ohms to 2W) improved the depth and continuity of the stage. Single-ended had a tendency to be 2-dimensional and 3-blobby. All that got fixed when I went to a balanced connection, though. I still don't think the K7 is an ideal amp for the HE1000 Stealth, as I would prefer maybe a tube hybrid with a wetter, less clinical sound. However, it definitely works, and sounds great.
Even from new without even running in they are a very impressive headphone and with the Phonitor se amplifier compares very well with my Stax 009 and mjolner carbon amp .Bargain .
are you able to give an opinion on these compared to the HD 800s if you have heard them before? im curious if the soundstage on these is comparable somwhat to the HD800S, same with sound quality ect
I'll do a comparison tomorrow that no one does: HE1000 stealth vs Hifiman edition XS, why? because the edition XS is best bang for buck in it's price range of 500$. And I think they share many simelarities soundstage wise. The edition XS is wider than the Arya and arya organic. The HE1000SE had clearly bigger stage than the edition XS so I think the HE1000 stealth will share simelar stage like the edition XS in width but with more details and more clarity
Interesting haven't heard the ananda stealth, but received the HE1000 stealth today. This is the endgame headphone for me I guess, I prefer it more than the HE1000SE, incredible tuning and timbre.@@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250
@@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250 totally agree William. I liked the XS plenty but I bought an Ananda Stealth last year and prefer it. Now that it's at the same price point it's flying under the radar as one of the best Hifiman options in that range, if not the best.
thank for your review. I just (2 weeks ago) got HE1000stealth($1400) and EF400($400). What would you say about this combo? does EF400 steels some details from he1000stealth?
IMO the EF400 is a great dac/amp, and is an excellent match with even the HE1000SE. That said an amp/dac like the iFi PRO iDSD Signature ($3250.00) will take the HE1000 a little further, but at a huge price difference. The EF400 gets you 95% of the way there for a great price.
Can you propose to hifiman to send you one? I highly value your opinion because you are different to other you tubers. You come across as using headphones to listen to music not like all them audiophiles using music to listen to headphones. I am a Porsche Boxster kinda guy. BMW has more power but Porsche gives me more smile and you just enjoy headphones while others are reviewing graphs. Keep up the good work.
@@reneagac4739it seems that many are saying that the HE1000 Stealth is less bright than the Arya Organic. Many say that the HE1000 Stealth is the sidegrade to the Arya Organic for a warmer and smoother presentation.
I have the Hifiman 1000 V2 and for me it is not worth to switch except to the Hifiman Shangri-la 😉 For me is the Shangri-la State of the art but the price too🎉❤ Thanks for the video
Even thou their price dropped by half I'm still afraid of those Hifiman trebles. I had Arya V2 they failed so badly at treble region and timbre was fake by that
I hate the arya v2 treble it is badly done spicy and hot. He1k tho they are different especially the SE . SE have normal level of treble why i say normal maybe because i am asian and i love treble compared to west market which love darker sounding gear like atrium. Arya V2 or stealth was too bright for me the organic also a bit bright. He1kse tho... It is magic!
@pelilin2519 I hate overly bright too, I've had people say the He1000v2 Stealth are brighter than the SE and Organic but also people said the opposite! I can't decide...
At sound approach there was a 10% off code so I snagged them for 1259.10. Now I'm going to have to research better amp/dacs since I'm running a balanced Zen Dac/ Zen can stack. It'll do for now
I have the Hifiman 1000 V2 and for me it is not worth to switch except to the Hifiman Shangri-la 😉 For me is the Shangri-la State of the art but the price too🎉❤ Thanks for the video
