HIFIMAN HE1000se Planar Magnetic Headphone + Hapa Audio KnØt Full Size Cable

[VSG]

We take a step back in time to see how the HE1000se, HIFIMAN's 2018 release, fares today as we step into the flagship class of planar magnetic headphones. This article also covers a bespoke, truly customizable cable from Hapa Audio, and the two look absolutely gorgeous together, too.

Show full review

 

[XL-R8R]

As much as I'm thankful for thorough reviews of tech products and sound equipment, I cant help but wonder which audience @ TPU these headphone reviews cater to?


When the mass populous of these forums are complaining about GPU/CPU/RAM/SSD pricing being at an all-time high, threres not really many people caring for $3.5K headphones; let alone $1.5k (!!!) cables...... maybe on a dedicated audiophile forum where people burn money as if its air in order to argue about subtle nuances proclaimed to exist?





Wheres the reviews of the $30-$100 headphones that most normal mortals (read: forum visitors) will purchase?

 

[zlobby]

As much as I'm thankful for thorough reviews of tech products and sound equipment, I cant help but wonder which audience @ TPU these headphone reviews cater to?

Me for one. But nothing exciting haven't got my ear recently.

In the over-$1000 very few entries are worth their money, IMO.

 

[VSG]

As much as I'm thankful for thorough reviews of tech products and sound equipment, I cant help but wonder which audience @ TPU these headphone reviews cater to?


When the mass populous of these forums are complaining about GPU/CPU/RAM/SSD pricing being at an all-time high, threres not really many people caring for $3.5K headphones; let alone $1.5k (!!!) cables...... maybe on a dedicated audiophile forum where people burn money as if its air in order to argue about subtle nuances proclaimed to exist?





Wheres the reviews of the $30-$100 headphones that most normal mortals (read: forum visitors) will purchase?

I cover all sorts of budgets, you might have missed the $18 FiiO JD3, the $20 Moondrop Chu, the $25 Tripowin Lea, the $50 Tripowin TC-01 and Truthear Zero, and plenty others in the $50-100 range. Not many headphones here though since most tend to be re-branded OEM stuff out of China that don't get sent out for review, but I've done/am covering many $100-300 sets also. As for which audience, given the most recent of the linked ones is on the popular reviews list right now, I'd say there's a sizable audience

 

[Veseleil]

If I can't afford something, it doesn't mean I don't want to read about it. Being able to spend money on a high-end audio equipment doesn't make one an audiophile. You can't buy a good hearing, nor a profound taste for any thing in the world.

 

[Dristun]

Man, the headband on these... inexcusable, haha. And I feel the same way about lots of premium headphones. How come the 300$ Deva has a great padded leather one and the flagship product has something straight off some 50$ cans. The old 1000s I tried sounded nice though, no complaints about that.

 

[VSG]

Man, the headband on these... inexcusable, haha. And I feel the same way about lots of premium headphones. How come the 300$ Deva has a great padded leather one and the flagship product has something straight off some 50$ cans. The old 1000s I tried sounded nice though, no complaints about that.

So there are basically three types of headbands that HIFIMAN uses across its entire headphone line- the Sundara style suspension heeadband with no swivel, the Deva style padded headband with some swivel, and then you have to step up to the Arya to get the suspension headband that's on this HE1000se too with extreme swivel and articulation. Comfort wise, I'd personally take this one over the one on the Deva/Edition XS etc. But if the Deva headband is comfortable for you and you don't miss out on the extra swivel options this one does, then I can see the extra padding there being more helpful.

 

[Dristun]

So there are basically three types of headbands that HIFIMAN uses across its entire headphone line- the Sundara style suspension heeadband with no swivel, the Deva style padded headband with some swivel, and then you have to step up to the Arya to get the suspension headband that's on this HE1000se too with extreme swivel and articulation. Comfort wise, I'd personally take this one over the one on the Deva/Edition XS etc. But if the Deva headband is comfortable for you and you don't miss out on the extra swivel options this one does, then I can see the extra padding there being more helpful.

I just really love the padding. Personally, for me great padding is way above all the swivel perfection. And I'd put fat cushy earcups second place above lots of articulation. That's just preference, I guess, but for me these lightweight flat thingies don't even count as a headband It just gotta be all soft and nice to touch.

 

[Space Lynx]

Me for one. But nothing exciting haven't got my ear recently.

In the over-$1000 very few entries are worth their money, IMO.

me as well, I am a big headphone guy.

@VSG I personally have always felt HiFiMan was overrated. have you ever reached out to Zach from ZMF Headphones?

ZMF Headphones

Heirloom quality wood headphones crafted in the USA.

www.zmfheadphones.com

Would love to see some reviews of his headphones on here. I have talked to him before, he is a really nice guy. I'm still happy to stay retired with my Sennheiser HD58X (these are Made in Ireland for those of you who don't know, pretty cool having cans made in Ireland), it's a fun hobby, just too expensive, lol

 

[VSG]

me as well, I am a big headphone guy.

@VSG I personally have always felt HiFiMan was overrated. have you ever reached out to Zach from ZMF Headphones?

ZMF Headphones

Heirloom quality wood headphones crafted in the USA.

www.zmfheadphones.com

Would love to see some reviews of his headphones on here. I have talked to him before, he is a really nice guy. I'm still happy to stay retired with my Sennheiser HD58X (these are Made in Ireland for those of you who don't know, pretty cool having cans made in Ireland), it's a fun hobby, just too expensive, lol

I've reached out thrice over the last year+ and never once got a reply so I don't think ZMF coverage is happening here tbh.

 

[champsilva]

$1200 for a cable.

iPhone is $1000 and people think it's expensive

 

[zlobby]

$1200 for a cable.

iPhone is $1000 and people think it's expensive

Not that I justify it but these guys have their crowd, sort of just like Apple with their iPhones.

 

[TheUn4seen]

As much as I'm thankful for thorough reviews of tech products and sound equipment, I cant help but wonder which audience @ TPU these headphone reviews cater to?

Me, for one. I believe that PC hardware stagnated to the point at which I barely care any more. It's just slightly more performance for a lot more power used and with shouty marketing slapped over the most mundane things. I'm still interested in what's going on in this market, but reading again and again about an old, outdated TV sold as "OMG GAMING" monitor for "OMG GAMERS" or another shooter game for braindead adolescents - who, apparently, are this "OMG GAMERS" demographic -, or another CPU which is slightly faster but requires you to buy new memory, motherboard, SSDs and such, is just sad. When I see the word "leak" I just skip over just like I would any other ad. Reviews of less PC hardware-centric devices are what's increasingly often more interesting. Also, TPU reviewed headphones at various price points, just as there are people shopping at various quality levels.

$1200 for a cable.

iPhone is $1000 and people think it's expensive

I would argue that a piece of wire is much more useful than an iPhone. Also, mind you, there are people who don't think 1000$ is expensive and there are probably more of them than most people think. Apple itself sells millions of those shiny toys every year. Also, there are people who think a bar of soap for 5$ is expensive...

 

[konga]

Say what you want about that cable (it's pure snake oil in my opinion), but reviews of Hi-Fi headphones are welcome. Even if you don't intend to ever drop four figures on a pair of headphones (which I don't), it's nice to know where the high-end is. How close to the high-end can you get without blowing out the budget? What are you gaining over the low-end by spending a little extra? These are useful questions to ask when considering any purchase, so it's helpful to have reviews for products on both sides of the price spectrum.

I mean, this site also reviews $2000 graphics cards even though most people would be best-served with $250 GPUs, so this isn't too different.

 

[TomasK]

So it's official, Crinacle is a Hifiman shill!

 

[VSG]

So it's official, Crinacle is a Hifiman shill!

Eh?

 

[TomasK]

Eh?

I was just kinda jokingly referring to the fact that his ratings of Hifiman headphones seem slightly more positive than general reviews of Hifiman headphones. Example being the subject of this review, the HE1000se, he rates them "A+" with an "A+" for tuning and "S-" for technicalities, while at the same time commenting "Basically a brighter and slightly shoutier version of the OG; may be a little too intense for some." And I suspect that if any other manufacturers' headphone sounded the same, he would not be as generous. See his web here. But maybe I'm just too paranoid, seeing that more than 40% of his top-rated headphones are from Hifiman. Maybe Hifiman really is just that good, maybe it's his subjective opinion and he just really likes the Hifiman sound. And I've never heard a single Hifiman headphone

 

[VSG]

I was just kinda jokingly referring to the fact that his ratings of Hifiman headphones seem slightly more positive than general reviews of Hifiman headphones. Example being the subject of this review, the HE1000se, he rates them "A+" with an "A+" for tuning and "S-" for technicalities, while at the same time commenting "Basically a brighter and slightly shoutier version of the OG; may be a little too intense for some." And I suspect that if any other manufacturers' headphone sounded the same, he would not be as generous. See his web here. But maybe I'm just too paranoid, seeing that more than 40% of his top-rated headphones are from Hifiman. Maybe Hifiman really is just that good, maybe it's his subjective opinion and he just really likes the Hifiman sound. And I've never heard a single Hifiman headphone

Oh I am well aware of the guy and his ranking list. To be fair it's his subjective thoughts too, and he likes the HIFIMAN house tuning. I am overall a fan of their headphones too, just not here and in a couple of others not yet covered here. I also won't ever make a ranking list like that because so much depends on your memory of how some products were.

 

[Hayder_Master]

nice review bro, one question need your advice to move from HD700 to the something price range of $1500, I have Schitt lyr 2

 

[Mister300]

• Piercingly bright in the treble region for most people
• EQ doesn't fix this deficiency without losing technical performance
• Some female vocals can sound hollow in the upper mids, and others can be sibilant

Too many flaws at this price.

 

[VSG]

nice review bro, one question need your advice to move from HD700 to the something price range of $1500, I have Schitt lyr 2

The obvious one would be the HD800S, but there's also the HiFiMAN Arya Stealth and Audeze MM-500 to consider. I have reviewed the Arya here, and it's a great all rounder too.

 

[zlobby]

nice review bro, one question need your advice to move from HD700 to the something price range of $1500, I have Schitt lyr 2

While I'm not @VSG who you are asking, I'm curious what your main genres that you listen to are?

• Piercingly bright in the treble region for most people
• EQ doesn't fix this deficiency without losing technical performance
• Some female vocals can sound hollow in the upper mids, and others can be sibilant

Too many flaws at this price.

I don't want to turn this into a hate fest but I feel the same. One would expect little to no significant flaws in this price segment.

 

[Space Lynx]

$1200 for a cable.

iPhone is $1000 and people think it's expensive

It's a niche hobby, no different than car guys who spend obsene amounts on car parts. Everyone has their "thing"

While I'm not @VSG who you are asking, I'm curious what your main genres that you listen to are?


I don't want to turn this into a hate fest but I feel the same. One would expect little to no significant flaws in this price segment.

yeah that's why reviews are good, now you know to avoid it if you are ever in the high end market. as far as I am aware STAX electrostatic headphones are still considered end game headphones for the rich. about 5 grand for the whole setup though.

 

[VSG]

yeah that's why reviews are good, now you know to avoid it if you are ever in the high end market. as far as I am aware STAX electrostatic headphones are still considered end game headphones for the rich. about 5 grand for the whole setup though.

Maybe I should share these here then:

I have e-stats in the house, including two separate amps, and soon I've talk to the Nectar Hive guy again and take him up on the review offer too. Sadly no STAX yet, their marketing department doesn't respond back lol.

 

[Space Lynx]

Maybe I should share these here then:

View attachment 258670

View attachment 258671
View attachment 258672

I have e-stats in the house, including two separate amps, and soon I've talk to the Nectar Hive guy again and take him up on the review offer too. Sadly no STAX yet, their marketing department doesn't respond back lol.

Looking forward to the reviews.