HIFIMAN HE-1000 STEALTH + HE-1000SE COMPARISON.

The similarities, and differences between these two outstanding Hifiman headphones.
5:44... Similarities.
11:12... Differences.
21:58... Conclusion.
Hifiman headphones available from APOS Audio....apos.audio/products/hifiman-h...

[@SupplyNinja]

Long comment coming... but 1st: great review, brother. So I bought both the HE 1000 Stealth and SE a few months back. I auditioned them both back to back for hours a day for two week straight. They compliment each other SO WELL! The SE is a technical maven. It is the cleanest, purist audio quality I have ever heard. In my entire life from any system, headphones or studio system. The Stealth though has bass and warmth that just envelop you. It has the very best tuning I think I have ever heard before. It makes the music so emotional. And the SE reveals all of this purely perfect detail that you didn't know was there. They are literally perfect complimentary sets to own. So I honestly could not choose a favorite. My ideal situation would have been if i had enough money to keep them both. So which did I keep? I kept the SE. I did this because it adjusts SO WELL to EQ, and I can EQ it to get damn close to the same signature of sound as the Stealth. I did so and saved the EQ as a template. The Stealth though, no matter what I did with EQ, could not match the clarity of the SE. So this is what i used to form my choice over which to buy. But honestly, I still want to buy the Stealth. And if i had the stealth I would still want to buy the SE. The next HE 1000 had better be a mix of the two. That would be the perfect headset. I hear the Abyss headphones are essentially this. But. My pockets aren't that fat, sadly. $2000 was my max for my new set, and that was pushing it. Anyway, greatttttt review. I agree, if you listen to just one of the two, you will not notice any flaws. You will simply be in awe for different reasons.

[@iikatinggangsengii2471]

ah yes, its been along time, think ill have a listen after i got back home

[@iikatinggangsengii2471]

totally forgot i can listen to red halo anytime lul

[@richpogorzala7009]

One of the best comparison videos! Thank you as I don't have a local store where I can compare the two. I will get a chance to listen to the SE this weekend and based on your video that is the one I am leaning towards. Thanks!

[@GG-xi5pd]

Wow, now I want to see how the HE1000 Stealth compares to the Arya Organic. Please and thank you

[@irun2sanaxox]

right, almost no one has directly compared these two with all their revisions.. ppl just say they are the same but probably havent lived with both

[@CrackaSlapYa]

@@irun2sanaxox HE1000 is MUCH better on technicals, resolution, imaging, detail retrieval, soundstage, and treble is super ethereal and lovely. Only advantage Id give the Arya Organic is a slightly greater bass presence in the mid-bass. Treble is too sharp for some and I prefer the sub-bass of HE1000 as well. With 10% off at Soundapproach I even beat the Ayra's price. The HE1000 is a flagship- one that used to be $3000.

[@DditsMas]

@@irun2sanaxox What im seeing is the he1000 stealth has a higher quality sound.

[@provisionalhypothesis]

@@irun2sanaxox they aren't the same. But i'll put it this way. if you can't afford the se or he1000, just get any modern Arya, they're all fantastic. I liked my Arya stealth so much I got an SE.

[@irun2sanaxox]

@@provisionalhypothesis i would wanna try the se, i got the V2 arya shortly before the stealth came out & they perform so well, bit perfect & exclusive mode with your eyes closed these things might as well transport you there 😭

[@death007007]

Top notch review, so detailed in your explanations, im so appreciative for this video!!!

[@melodygeeks3917]

really thank you for this mate

[@anncleverley4721]

Thank you so much for this excellent review and I read it whilst carressing my brand new HE1000SE. I am still running mine in and use them with a balanced cable on my Cayin N8II and it sounds magnificent.

[@Kenoji8]

Good comparison, William! I hope you are doing okay. I had been thinking a lot about your health and I'm glad to see that you seem to be doing well.

[@LexiRose]

Hi William! New subscriber here because of the quality of this video! Thank you for your in-depth comparison and review! Just bought the Stealths and I'm so excited for them to come on Thursday :D

[@JacekS406]

Great comparison. Thank you.

[@OrphanSocks]

Excellence review and explanation of the differences!

[@FreddieDaniells]

Great compare William. Look fwd to the full review. Be interested in your thoughts on the Arya Organic too when you get a chance. Keep up the great work. No idea why you don’t have 5-10x the subscribers!

[@TheVeganVicar]

These are on sale at the moment, so I'm tempted... WOW - JUST AS I TYPED THE ABOVE SENTENCE, YOU MENTIONED THE SALE!!!

[@i.b15]

Very useful video, thank you

[@boukegaastra513]

Thanks for the detailed comparison. Ordered a refurbushed 1000 SE. Cant wait to burn them in 😊

[@richardwilliams2396]

I also ordered refurbished, arrived about a week ago. Did you find they needed much burn in, and what difference did you notice? I've heard differing opinions on whether burn in is a thing or if it is just the brain getting accustomed to the headphone tuning. My experience with the Edition XS is that the treble did mellow a bit with time.

[@richardwilliams2396]

@@zaktai4361 I ordered direct from Hifiman via their web site and they came with full warranty that way. Quite a few of their headphone models are available refurbished or open box.

[@everettedl]

I was considering the HE1000SE because of the current sale. I watched your video review of the HE1000SE and saw you made this one. Your video on the SE helped me decide on it, but this one helped confirm I was right. I agree with everything you said. I got to demo it before buying and the SE is amazing on all fronts. I would love to see a comparison between the SE and the Arya Organic, since the Arya now possess technology from the SE. I'm hearing that it kinda closes the gap a bit, or makes me think another iteration of the HE1000 will be announced soon. Thanks for your video!

[@CrackaSlapYa]

Arya is a step down from HE1000 Stealth and 2 steps down from HE1000se. It's a mid-fi offering compared to Flagships.

[@lb3537]

Great review comparison….I have the he1000 stealth and Arya stealth and love them both !! and your audio is fine never had an issues with any of your videos audio

[@nortonfamily6711]

could you describe the differences you hear between them, and why you chose to keep both?

[@lb3537]

@@nortonfamily6711 I would say they are very close in sound… the he1000 stealth is prob a little wider soundstage a little more bass and tighter bass and a little more air and detail… but these differences are slight …. There is just something about the he1000 though in it’s complete package …it’s like you want to hear every song you’ve ever heard again through them and it will prob be the best you have heard that song …. The Arya stealth is a great all around headphone I bought this first just haven’t sold it and may not sell it I don’t know …I have a lot of headphones and the he1000 stealth is the best … I also think the silver build is better than the black Arya as well … the metal is a little more robust on the he1000 and the silver is nice … so If I were to buy one …the he1000 at 1399 is an unreal deal but you won’t miss much if you get the Arya at 999 is great too … I do like the Arya and he1000 sound much better than the focal clear and meze 109 pro… etc

[@nortonfamily6711]

@@lb3537 I actually own the Arya stealth as well, and today I got the Arya Organic in hopes that they would improve the soundstage (I felt pretty much exactly the same as William in his comparison of the Arya Stealth vs V2, where I find it to be a near perfect headphone, other than a bit more soundstage would be nice). Unfortunately I found that the organic sounds pretty much identical to the stealth, except it's tuned slightly differently. Staging-wise I can't tell much of a difference. So I'm curious whether the HE1K Stealth does in fact improve the soundstage. Is the difference in soundstage enough to be noticeable, or could someone mistake the two for being pretty much identical?

[@jonmarinos7170]

Just received my HEKV2SE yesterday and I am blown away by the technical performance of this headphone. Extremely detailed, imaging is precise, very dynamic for a planar. Compliments my ZMF Atrium very well.

[@Snxgur]

any other headphones you own that you can compare the HEKV2SE against?

[@jonmarinos7170]

@@Snxgur LCD-X, Clear MG, Radiance, DT 1990, 6XX, Ananda OG (sold), Meze 109 Pro (returned - overhyped). HKV2SE smokes them all. It’s not even close. I’ll probably sell off the majority of my headphones and just stick with the HEKV2SE and Atrium as my mains (one planar, one dynamic).

[@Snxgur]

@@jonmarinos7170 I own focal clears currently and tempted to upgrade haha

[@iamwoteveriwanttobe]

I can't find HEKV2SE in a search. Do you have a link to this headphone please?

[@Snxgur]

@@iamwoteveriwanttobe HE1000 Stealth / HE1000 V2 Stealth

[@DAVIDSDIEGO]

After being captivated by this review, I'm considering the Hifiman HE1000 Stealth and HE1000SE. I've gathered that the HE1000SE has sonic similarities with the Susvara, and the HE1000 Stealth might lean towards the brighter side in treble. Given my current gear, I'm leaning towards the HE1000SE. I've been deeply immersed in high-fidelity audio and am cherishing the pairing of my Hifiman Edition XS with the Chord Mojo 2. The Edition XS punches above its price point, delivering a sonic experience that's hard to match. While they can be a tad bright for certain genres, I've fine-tuned them with EQ, adding a touch of bass warmth to achieve my desired sound signature. I'd love to hear recommendations from the community on this. Your insights are highly sought after. 🎶🎧

[@richardwilliams2396]

I have the Edition XS and recently acquired the HE1000se. I still use the XS a lot as the more "fun" headphone. Based on William's reviews I am guessing the Arya Organic would be the upgrade path for the XS if I ever need it, whereas the XS and HE1000se are further apart in tuning. The HE1000se is my first "audiophile" headphone. I took the plunge when the price dorpped - if it was still selling at $3,500 I would have been happy to stick with the XS. The HE1000se brings a different listenting experience to good recordings, I suppose where it becomes listenting as a hobby rather than for recreation. For example I can really appreciate listening to jazz on this headphone even though I rarely listen to the genre normally.

[@TheSaassaf]

I just found your channel and really liked your authentic attitude . I'm leaning to go for the stealth version as like you said on the video I want and looking for more of the 'fun' HP . What I want to ask and as you said they are pretty forgiving in the amp/dac area .. can you suggest plz on a budget friendly dac/amp (portable if there is some) that in your experience can fit good with them . Thanks !

[@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250]

I don't have a lot of experience with portable amp/dacs, but I'm guessing the iFi Hipdac 2 would do a good job. As far as a desk top amp/dac the Hifiman EF-400 does very well.

[@hiraksarma3068]

Great reviews!!! so which one has better vocals SE or Stealth.

[@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250]

Very similar, but the HE-1000 Stealth is just the slightest bit warmer. The HE-1000SE presents vocals a little wider and deeper.

[@urbenkam]

Hey Awesome comparison exactly what i needed. I am leaning towards Stealth version. I am just worried about the treble. I am treble sensitive. Do you think stealth is less fitiguing? is it more forgiving with bad recordings and if it is easier to EQ eg Roon? plz

[@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250]

Both HE1000 versions have a strong treble, but it is so clean that I don't find it fatiguing. Neither is very forgiving of bad recordings. I haven't tried EQing either.

[@gdemirjian]

Do you have plans to review the Arya Organic? Thanks, William.

[@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250]

I would love to, but Hifiman hasn't offered to loan me one yet.

[@augustinecabrera121]

Due to current sales… currently considering one of these… Looking to get a desktop amp… Looking at Schiit Midgard & Topping A90. What amp would you recommend ? Thanks.

[@final3119]

Both are good but the newer A70 Pro outdoes the A90. Both should sound very neutral. The A70 Pro has a lot more power so if you're ever getting something like the HE6 or Susvaras, the Midgard might struggle with those. The A70 Pro could drive some easier to drive speakers, too, with 17W per channel at 8ohm which is just crazy for a desktop headphone amp. If I wanted a new amp and only had $500, I would go for the A70 Pro. Schitt will have better QC and customer support, but I've never seen someone struggle to get replacements for their Topping amps when they've had trouble. You're paying for US manufacturing and support with Schitt. I liked my Topping L30 II more than my Asgard. The Asgard had to be flipped up to high gain to get decent volume out of it and it introduced background hiss when quiet. I now use a Monolith THX AAA 887 which is more than powerful enough for everything and sounds nice and neutral.

[@c34webb]

Have you auditioned the HE6SE's?

[@suryaaje5245]

arya organic comparison?

[@vipernecklampy8773]

Width? I remember years ago i compared HE1000v2 to HE1000se and the SE had less width, very noticeable so. So my preferred was HE1000v2? Nowadays, are they the same width?

[@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250]

I've never heard the HE1000 V2 so I don't know that answer to that question.

[@wangvictoria2210]

I can tell the HEk v2 Stealth has narrower soundstage than se, so if you believe the OG v2 > se, than it should be OG v2 > se > v2 Stealth

[@brothatwasepic]

Hi guys I have the SE and the Susvara and the SE is so damn close. At this diacounted price it is too good to turn down (I got mine at the original price haha 😢)

[@RazorRamon7777]

сейчас их можно купить за 967,17 USD

[@TheSaassaf]

I'll appreciate an answer here. Will a dongle like I have - IFI GO BLU , be able to run the HE1KSE properly? Plz hlp

[@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250]

I have not tried the Go Blu, so I honestly can not say. The HE1000SE is not extremely power hungry, but it definitely scales up with better equipment. I'm currently listening to the 1000SE with the iFi PRO iDSD Signature, and loving it.

[@TheSaassaf]

@@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250 Do you have experience with the fiio k9 pro ? Do you think it's a good match to the v2 ?

[@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250]

I reviewed the Fiio K9 PRO ESS, and loved it. I would assume it would be an excellent match with the HE1000SE or 1000 Stealth. I have not heard the 1000 V2.

[@TheSaassaf]

@@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250 Thanks a lot , I'll take a look . When I wrote V2 I meant the 1000 stealth . Man that's confusing 😀

[@1979Weasel]

I dont think hifiman's prices are sale prices. I think they actually lowered a lot of their prices by a lot! Am I wrong?

[@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250]

You may be right? I thought the $1999.00 intro price of the HE-1000 Stealth was temporary and was expecting them to go up. Not drop to $1395.00

[@soulfulfool]

With my Feliks Elise amp AT ADX5000 can battle any of those egg shaped Hifimans, they have fastest dynamic drivers I have heard, pure precision. They live in shadows of those hype headphones that everybody talks about yet beeing so much more

[@suryaaje5245]

can recommend under 2k headphones with deeper soundstage than the he1000 stealth?

[@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250]

Yes, the $1999.00 HE1000SE.

[@suryaaje5245]

@@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250 tks. how about dynamic driver set?

[@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250]

My favorite dynamic driver headphone is the ZMF Atrium, but that is $2.5K. @@suryaaje5245

[@seriouslyEH]

Think the speed of the HE1000se comes from the neodymium stealth magnets vs the ferrite magnets in the HE1000 Stealth.

[@vipernecklampy8773]

Ferrite? A even worst one than neodynium? Nowadays there Is N52 magnets even cheap at 500€ headphones, HE1000se Is 4 years old night even be N50 but now should be updated N52. I Heard there might be an even lot stronger magnet but maybe in development.

[@Zombie101]

both look cheap to me, or like something designed in the 60s

[@c34webb]

You don't hear with your eyes 😂

[@Reeeepicheep]

Not sure you need anything more from Hifiman's headphone lineup beyond the Sundara. It just seems that everything above it is unnecessarily bright, which may appeal to older listeners, but less well-rounded overall. Perhaps Ananda/Arya/Hek are more niche oriented towards classical/jazz/soundtrack music with its greater stage and air. I personally have only tried Ananda OG and Stealth and the Arya Stealth, and returned them all because I simply preferred my Sundara and my Verum One. Worth mentioning too that I have a warm chain (Multibit/R2R+tubes) and still found the high-end Hifimans too bright. Was hoping the Arya Organic would tame the treble, but I'm hearing it's still too bright.

[@Ezees23]

I vehemently disagree. Have you heard anything over the Sundara for more than a short listening session? Methinks you haven't really had an in-depth listen of HFM's models above the Sundara (after giving them ~75hrs+ to burn in, that is - they can all be bright and sterile when fresh out of the box)...or maybe you'd not have said that. Of course we all have our preferences, but - I owned the Sundara, then after awhile I bought the Ananda, followed quickly by the Arya V2 (when I heard the Anandas I almost immediately wondered what the Arya was like). From my experiences, the HE-4XX/HE-400i, and Sundara are just the introductions to HFM SQ - followed by the Edition XS and Ananda to give you a li'l more bass, detail, and soundstage - and then their "reference" lines being the Arya and above, with each bump up in price being commensurate with a bump up in overall SQ. I'd say it's pretty close to being linear, IMO - with the Arya and above being remarkably more capable than the Sundara and below. I'm speaking as someonw who still has on hand the he-400i to compare it with my Ananda and my Arya Stealth - the Arya Stealth crushes even the Ananda, IMO - while the Ananda leaves the he-400i in the dust.....

[@rustamken4350]

​@@Ezees23disagree

[@rustamken4350]

Absolutely agree with you!

[@CustomPcTech]

Adds almost made me not watch

[@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250]

KZbin put 9 add breaks in this video. I cut it to 4.

[@nickdual]

Your audio is so bad

[@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250]

I do the best I can with the equipment I have.

[@atoz6552]

What a judge-mental comment

[@itt9037]

Be a kind human being

[@freddycely9580]

My favourite reviewer. BTW what silly comment

[@hhalistaja]

@@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250 Nothing wrong with the audio. Awesome very detailed and informative comparison video. Thank you! I ended up ordering the HE-1000 Stealth.