Hifiman HE1000V2 First Impressions - Shiny Arya

[@Dovndyr13]

Great video, bought my HE1000 V2 in January for 2k$. Love the sound. And personally I also prefer them in front of my HD 800 S - especially for classic music Looking forward to your more in depth analyses

[@HillReviews]

Great to hear! Ever since I got these, I've definitely been using my HD800S much less

[@melodygeeks3917]

HI thank you for this review, i feel lucky to find this video!! I would like to ask, in your opinion which one is more high fatiguing the heKv2 non stealth or the newer stealth version? I know you compared those in the video just a bit and mainly the soundstage, just wondering other differences and what Hifiman is trying to upgrade with the heKv2stealth. I read somewhere that the newer have better bass and impact and also is smoother on the highs. thank you in advance, keep the great work with this channel really enjoy the your narrative!

[@HillReviews]

The newer HE1000V2 stealth, like the Arya Stealth, is more V-shaped, so yes, more bass, and has a smoother treble. Soundstage of the stealth is still very good and wide, just not as good as compared to the non-stealth, which is arguably one of the best soundstaging headphones. Honestly the stealth for $2000 now it is a great deal. I just personally prefer the different sound signature, airy treble, and incredible soundstage of the older HE1000V2.

[@melodygeeks3917]

​@@HillReviews I agree 100% with your opinion! the HeKv2 non stealth is one of the best sound staging headphones no doubt!! my dilemma is that I would like to upgrade my arya v2 and I found my aryas fatiguing after few hours so i guess I want something smoother on the highs and less fatiguing, which one would you recommend? I also read that the newer is a bit easier to drive Thank you in advance!!

[@HillReviews]

The newer HE1000V2 stealth or HE1000 stealth would be great choices and upgrades from the Arya!

[@freddycely9580]

So please anybody, could someone say which headphone is higher in treble ? The he1000v2 original or the newer he1000v2 stealth?

[@HillReviews]

​@@freddycely9580 the non-stealth has more treble, but it's more balanced, airy, natural and timbre accurate. Stealth has less treble but the overall sound signature is more V-shaped. I personally prefer the treble of non-stealth, I think stealth ruins the timbre.

[@ConIey916]

Where were you able to get the non stealths?

[@HillReviews]

You can only get them used or open box now. I traded this pair from my friend.

[@Snxgur]

Sadly can only get them in some country's also, hifiman wont ship the OG V2S to australia for whatever reason, only the Stealths, assume its something to do with them shipping from china and not having any in location there. @@HillReviews

[@Reeeepicheep]

RIP Goldensound lol

[@thiscorrosion900]

Could you use these at all with any portable headphone amp, or would it be a total and complete waste of time? I have the Hifiman HE400Is and the HE400SEs, both need a good deal more power than dynamics, but my IFI XCan headphone amp can power both quite well.

[@HillReviews]

I have tried them with Highend portable sources like my Astell&Kern Kann Max, they sounded ok, but desktop application is definitely recommended and preferred

[@thiscorrosion900]

@@HillReviews I see, that's what I would have expected. Hifiman claims that a lot of their upper tier phones can be driven by portable sources and amps, well, that's more than a bit disingenuous and misleading. Above a certain level their planars shine with a really powerful desktop type amp. It's not just the power but also the quality considerations. But the less you have to worry about power levels, the more you can worry about the quality levels, in my opinion. Plus most of the Hifimans aren't precisely portable. And open-backed by default so they're not for commuting or whatever. Same with most of the Audeze etc. or larger Sennheisers. I like driving my Hifimans with a desktop amp or card so I don't have to worry about draining the portable amp batteries.

[@thiscorrosion900]

@@HillReviews Another thing I've learned is that impedance doesn't mean much when the headphone design intrinsically requires tons more power to drive compared to a comparable dynamic headphone (I mean planar vs. dynamics). Back in the 80s nobody gave a damn for portable anything you just plugged in your horrid light Panasonic phones into your Walkman or Discman, and you got what you got. These days at least you have amp options for driving better headphones and IEMs but there's a limit to what portable amps will drive properly. Especially given the higher end planars are the equivalent of say, a small pair of KEF or Martin Logan speakers vs. a prosaic cheap pair of JBLs, let's say, that you could drive with any old lower power receiver. You really cannot drive better speakers with that junk.

[@blorg8206]

The newer stealth version is 93dB sensitivity which is easier to drive than the HE400SE (91dB), same as the HE400i. The older non-stealth is 90dB, similar to the HE400SE.

[@JTB--]

Check out the HE1000 V2 (V3) Stealth Magnet if you get a chance. Benchmark HP at $2K. Prefer the Stealth over the others

[@HillReviews]

The new stealth revision at the $2000 price point is awesome. Briefly compared it to the non-stealth in the video, I had HE1000SE, HE1000V2 stealth and non stealth lent to me. Preferred non-stealth the most, but that's just my personal preference

[@JTB--]

@@HillReviews It's all subjective. The Stealth has better overall Bass and slam to me. Great all rounder. Can't go wrong with either one

[@reevo1]

@@HillReviews Curious to hear a more in depth comparison between the stealth and non stealth versions. Could you do a quick write up on your thoughts?

[@AlexSmith-lo2mv]

Thx for review! Fully agreed. On my opinion next revisions and stealh versions totaly downgrade compare with origins. I have he1000V2 (orig) he-6 (orig) He1000se from hifiman's brand and other izodynamics collection (kennerton thekk, lcd-4 ...) and prefer 1000v2 and he-6. But my favor its piezoelectric Pioneer SE-700 (near 4Kohm and 75-80 db/mwatt) its pure masterpiece, but unmercy eater of your amp's power ). And also impressed sennheiser unipolar 2000/2002.