WORLD's MOST EXPENSIVE HEADPHONES | SENNHEISER HE-1 Review

[@RayanAbedin]

Thanks Josh! I may be homeless and starving but i now have quality audio :)

[@Poor_Wayfaring_Stranger]

Thank you Josh, very cool!

[@hugevibez]

At least it comes with a box to keep it in

[@frogbob2315]

@@hugevibez sucks they didn’t make the box any bigger... Would’ve came really handy So I could sleep inside

[@masterxyr]

@@hugevibez hahahahaha, good one. None of that pleather crap :D

[@patrick7799]

Ok these headphones has sound quality but what is sound quality?

[@_symmetry_]

I was a really motivated buyer on the market for the absolute best heaphones I could find out there, but after a moment of weighting the pros and cons I finally decided to buy a lightly used Porsche Cayman GT4 (982) instead for the same price of these HE-1. I'm really happy with the symphony the engine provides so far.

[@fearonesgaming649]

Lol

[@killerra]

Haha that's a good one, and the exact decision any sane person should make in the end.

[@cisztheoriginal2911]

@@killerra I'd buy an M3

[@holohulolo]

@@killerra not if you're filthy rich and can afford whatever cars you want, multiples of them, just for the sake of having different colours depending on the mood of the day kind of stupid filthy rich.

[@Malinkadink]

@@cisztheoriginal2911 Over a GT4? You're a nutcase.

[@leoarick3753]

Imagine just plugging it into a Bluetooth adapter instead of the DAC and listening to crazy frog

[@michelechiavon546]

Obviously a 12$ Bluetooth adapter from Amazon

[@JohnSmith-qt4pv]

Don't forget the 96kbs MP3 from LimeWire

[@chandramoulimukhopadhyay7192]

Ah men of culture I see!

[@igorino1767]

Straight from youtube of course

[@syarifairlangga4608]

That expensive device forgot about convenient. Thats why Beats sells so much

[@CryptikDesign]

I was going to send my kids to college, but instead, I decided I needed to really HEAR, Taylor Swift... Thanks, Sennheiser, I couldn't have disappointed my wife and kids with this decision without you.

[@captainmz4910]

Nice one

[@2BTO]

Yeah, by listening to taylor swift

[@josephineoto2641]

@DEEJMASTER 333 exactly, listening to a high-end music still the best decision.

[@m0rax_csgo966]

that's the best decision you've ever done to your wife and kids.

[@BernieSanders-bn5dk]

@DEEJMASTER 333 Definitely not me 😂

[@rhokor4985]

I wasn't expecting a $60,000 price tag, holy cow!

[@KariIzumi1]

Spoilers! 😭😂 But no, I wasn't expecting that but seems like you get a lot for that amount. Still, I think I'd rather have a BMW M2 for that price 🤣

[@lukazupie7220]

Wow wow wow 😮

[@aicomylleville2261]

Don't forget about the $11,000 tax price, those are 71K headphones. Damn

[@Emeric62]

I think if they were mass produced $600 would be enough to make a profit

[@antreaskonstantinou8585]

Damn, for that price i would rather get a used bentley. But then again this is targeted for those who probably already have a Benltey which they bought new.

[@seraakk]

I was going to buy these for commuting but sadly my iphone doesn't have a headphone jack

[@johnhayes8476]

That Apple dongle works great with these!

[@iu1191]

You killed me!

[@TechOwnage]

cool story bro

[@steventoms7940]

My earphones (shoure tapes) were my saving grace before i split with my ex 🤣

[@DeviantDeveloper]

Alibaba is your friend...

[@JohannesLabusch]

Carrera marble is a good choice, because this thing could be the tombstone of your bank account.

[@ettore999]

carrara*

[@JohannesLabusch]

@@ettore999 sure. Thanks

[@ettore999]

Johannes Labusch I’m italian. he is mispronuncing it

[@alexwhite1624]

Oof

[@themarcos150591]

more like your own tombstone, after your wife finds out the price..

[@AlainKapture]

Perfect headphone to enjoy the compression of KZbin 😍

[@edseiya]

LOL and Spotify

[@jaalan7896]

@@edseiya yea but spotify is sooo much better than YT

[@edseiya]

@@jaalan7896 uh.. i mean.. they are two entire different things... spotify have way more compression tho... but obviously Spotify is better as a dedicate music app..

[@YcleptCrazy]

@@edseiya How does Spotify have more compression than KZbin?

[@MrRachter]

@@edseiya Yea how tf do you think Spotify has more compression than KZbin? We're talking about premium here not the free pleb 160 kbps that you get. The full mp3 320 kbps is the best you can get from standard compressed mp3 media. Do you think KZbin streams FLAC or something?

[@ketowolf]

For those who want to know: These cost $60k. With a headline like, "WORLD's MOST EXPENSIVE HEADPHONES" I was expecting to hear the price of these in the first few minutes. I have no idea if that's intentional or not, but it seems like the most obvious piece of information to lead with, especially with a headline like this. Neat little review. I really love the case it comes in! I struggle with the idea that any device is perfect and has nothing it can be improved in though tbh. I'd be SUPER curious to have a blind test with these and "normal" high-end headphones! :)

[@kaleidoscopeon]

Even in blind test these will sound way superior. You think sennheiser is just playing here and they don’t do blind testing?

[@MAGGOT_VOMIT]

@@kaleidoscopeon Yes because any company putting a $60k price tag on any headphones in there line-up and the very few whom purchases them, are all complete MORONS!! 🤣

[@-BuddyGuy]

He does it this way so you stick around, so he gets the watch minutes. I just downvote and click don't recommend channel when people do this.

[@MrDominoguy]

@@-BuddyGuy loser

[@MotorMaus01]

Yeah I disliked it! To much nonsens talk……

[@johannlourens6183]

To my ears these 3rd Gen Air pods are more comfortable compared to the newer Pro version with the soft gel tips. kzbin.infoUgkxgl8SzyQoymMu-S3V55Dskg5QJ8xr1yCR That said, compared to the 3rd Gen, I notice these do not stay planted in the ear as well. One design issue I think, is you squeeze the stem and click it twice to advance your songs. On 3rd gen you tap the large speaker. The difference is by grabbing the stem each time, you tend to loosen the bud fit in your ear. Not always, but the bud falls out a few times while running. The old tap to change never had that problem for me. I would not have changed that tap function. That said, the newer Pro version sticks in the ear, almost airtight if you want that. I do not like that Airtight fit. So that's why I'd stay with this version as the best trade off of comfort, use, and overall feel.

[@RichardCollette]

I worked for Sennheiser US briefly. On a trip to the factory in Germany I was able to try an Orpheus, which sat outside their audio testing room. It was incredible listening to some classical guitar. It was like having your ear up to the guitar. Unfortunately I wasn't able to listen to anything that was more like what I listen to. It was just a very brief listen.

[@thanosbustedinyourmum]

What a stingy company you work there and they wouldn't even let you fuck with the headphones? I'd I'd stolen a pair 😏 fuck them.. I have the senhieser true 2 momentum's how would you say they stack up to those

[@foxadee]

@@thanosbustedinyourmum If you can smuggle that tube amp through the rest of the tour, then be my guest.

[@jdraven0890]

And how much did that set you back? 🤣

[@zugo-tg7125]

Classical guitar is king, excellent choice.

[@andrzej_autko]

have You ever tried of listening to a real guitar? seems like spendid thousands on equipment is pointless above certain threshold and you're just buying audiophile status with golden cables and unobtainium magnets mag-leving above the surface of the earth.

[@mattgiunt]

The perfect divorce headphone

[@nonenothing4412]

Based

[@davidcoons89]

Divorce headphone meaning the one to get after a divorce or the one to cause a divorce? 😂😂

[@mattgiunt]

@@davidcoons89 Cause of course but that may be what you want to happen

[@nonenothing4412]

@@davidcoons89 yes

[@davidcoons89]

@@mattgiunt as long as I get to keep the headphones 🤭😬😂

[@masterxyr]

no Hi-Res Audio sticker? I call BS...

[@JohannesLabusch]

No bass boost, either!

[@leo_misha]

No Bluetooth, useless

[@RazorIance]

No haptics and RGB? What is this, a doorbell buzzer?

[@LordAndiso]

No accelerometer? i call bs

[@toneysunny9283]

no HDMI?

[@sean.jablon]

I had the chance to try these at an audio convention in Manhattan in early 2018. They are so hard to describe but it's literally like your ear is thrown inside of every instrument or voice you hear in the songs. I don't think any sound is justified at such a price, but if there was a headphone for it, it'd be this one. It is 1000% an unparalleled experience compared to any other headphone in the world. Pure bliss.

[@nishantshah4718]

I love the fact that he is actually reviewing in so much details as if people watching video are going to buy it!

[@abdulrehman-ko8eh]

you absolute mad lad, you have done it. this is the audiophile equivalent of climbing everest

[@amritjanardhanan]

When he gets into insanely high-end stereo o.O

[@enlistenmusic1719]

Ikr. The absolute MADLAD josh obtained the greatest pair of headphones that exist, what an absolute insanity of an individual.

[@allansh828]

Without including a dCS Vivaldi stack? HE-1 itself is only 1/3 of a complete system.

[@LaiGnaw]

Bruh this is equivalent to climbing Olympus Mons

[@lordeverybody872]

@@josephamir1840 no he did not buy them. Several times throughout the video he mentioned the people at sennheiser and difinitive audio Bellevue Washington setting up the meet and greet with the product for him to demo. He did not, I repeat, Josh did not purchase this item.

[@mattdouglas8900]

Should I buy this or Porta Pros 🤔

[@progressiveguy9959]

I would buy, 35,000 Porta-Pros. Sell them and then buy this headphone.

[@JoshuaValour]

Decisions. Decisions.

[@joshe2420]

Ksc75 imo

[@johnhayes8476]

Blons

[@lunarnoctis5924]

KPH-30i> porta pro

[@aviatoFPV]

2:48 is that glue sticking out of a 50k product

[@Tom94ness]

Holy moly, that's shocking. I'd hope it's just because it's a show unit---perhaps the logo got ripped off during transport and was haphazardly glued back on.

[@raypinparty7052]

The build quality and fit and finish are German- perfect. Impeccable. At least on my unit.

[@Adhgnis]

@@raypinparty7052 lmao that glue tho xD for reall ? brooo

[@petermartin9494]

No, that is a blob of chewing gum, chewed by a master musician!.

[@Fluterra]

@@raypinparty7052 Sadly, German fit and finish is not perfect. I have $500K worth of German cars that prove that. They are amazing and the best cars, but they are not perfect.

[@themadlad_]

finally, a pair of headphones to break the bank AND the marriage

[@darickfoxo7986]

If I was going to get a divorce I would buy these

[@Rocketyfox]

Am i the only one who finds it hilarious that there is such a huge difference in the sound quality between audiophile channels and pretty much everyone else on youtube?

[@Na0uta]

Some noise reduction, a bit of compression, and a little bass boost. And you can replicate it off any mic around 150usd. There's some more little things you can do to get closer. But it isn't anything crazy that the avg person can't get to.

[@johnnychronic222]

I noticed the ending sounded much better than most videos I've heard from other youtubers.

[@tomthompson7400]

not on my mono laptop there isnt ... it could be a tennis match and it wouldnt matter to me .

[@zugo-tg7125]

@@Na0uta Also needs to record lossless.

[@kozuta8858]

@@Na0uta is there any more tutorial on how to do this?

[@erickallage]

lol imagine if it was an affiliate link...

[@peeratv1288]

Like 500 dollars per sale

[@bosh6604]

lol imagine if it was bought :'D

[@chefgav1]

Wait for the Drop collaboration

[@badassmanale]

There are usually about 2 or 3 Orpheus' on world tour at anytime, in 2017 they came to Mexico City (my hometown). Surprisingly, word didn't get around too much. I got there with a friend about an hour before the listening session started and was about 5th in line to listen. If I could describe them in one word, that word would be 'control'. All other things I've heard sound sloppy in comparison, the attack and decay on every note is unreal. No note bleeds into anything, so there seems to be more information than before. The separation, the BALANCE is perfect, the only thing I've heard with a balance that somewhat resembles it is the Focal Clears. I listened to Hotel California as Senn tests its headphones with it and I know that song like the palm of my hand (if it ain't broke, don't fix it). 3 years later, I can't listen to Hotel California and enjoy it to the fullest. So if an Orpheus comes to town, do whatever you can to get a listen, but be warned... nothing will sound the same again and every headphone you listen to afterwards will never sound perfect.

[@primeshmohanty7701]

The HE-1 makes an appearance in Parasite (2019) at exactly 39:30

[@gigihanmandarin]

Up you go

[@taimurjamil4790]

Take this upvote, and get out!! 👏👏

[@JohannesLabusch]

Blink and you'll miss it. Looks like a set of salt shakers.

[@primeshmohanty7701]

@@JohannesLabusch Yes! More like chilly flakes. 😂

[@mustafayigitkartal4257]

where is it though? in the shopping cart?

[@Vamp898]

I enjoy how he is struggling to say "I expteced them to be better" in the most positive way possible :D

[@sirtokyoparker9851]

love your delivery and knowledge. good on ya. 2:39 - 2:48 i can see the glue holding the emblem. that kinda ruins the mystique and prestige of it for me.

[@jn01996]

Haha joke for this amount of cash

[@14-18_Highway_MPG]

I tried one of these in the Sennheiser store in SF. Without a doubt, there's literally nothing to compare it to it's so crisp and real sounding. I listened to the 800s and the 820 and they didn't hold a candle to the HE-1.

[@twogluon]

and then there's others posting here who say "this is all psychological and smoke and mirrors, the difference is minimal compared to high end 2-4k headphones ... " I would side with you.

[@deandredunbar9618]

Ahahahhaha it's a scam you can literally buy a house for the price of these. It's rich people circle jerking eachother. Ooohh I spent 60 thousan on headphones ooohhhh lol

[@Oblivion776]

Can confirm re: Definitive Audio. Stopped in early on during my audiophile journey and they were super friendly and helpful. They were plenty willing to let me listen to a bunch of stuff and really get a feel for what I liked even though I was clear that I was definitely not going to be buying anything right there and then. Great service, would recommend.

[@jamesorrell7462]

I think it's every audiophiles dream to experience these headphones at least once in their lives

[@professortoasty90]

Even more, standing in the room where those are hand assembled. Which I had the opportunity to do, imagine standing in front of 4 complete ones and one more being build. It is insand.

[@fullyverified7491]

@@professortoasty90 Did you see how they make the drives? I'm curious to know what the actual process is.

[@allansh828]

I heard it in a store once and it's nothing special. Soundstage and imaging are quite miniturised. It's just for rich people who just want to spend money.

[@professortoasty90]

@@fullyverified7491 No, but if it is anything like the HD800/HD820 they are spun with a machine and then handpicked into pairs after measuring their characteristics

[@jamesorrell7462]

@@allansh828 It's going to sound a lot better than any of the headphones that I've ever tried having never used headphones priced over $500

[@rohanjd]

I had a chance to spend an hour with it in 2017. It was doing its tour through Canada. I thought it was a work of art. It's a no compromise product, it's absolutely gorgeous. It's so much more than the sum of its parts, you feel you're experiencing something very special. I think the HD 6xx gets you 75% or 80% to the HE-1...in my subjective opinion. I also feel comparing the HE-1 to the HD 6xx is a real disservice to the HE-1...but I couldn't resist. :-)

[@omgshad0w]

which specific 6xx? the 600 or 650?curious since i've heard nothing but good things about both and looking for a next set of cans

[@rohanjd]

@@omgshad0w HD 650 with more bass and treble extension and separation

[@woooshbait9696]

@@omgshad0w 6xx is a massdrop version of 650

[@subspaceanomaly]

A friend of mine is a well known reviewer in hifi for the last few decades and it is amazing sitting in front of a 200k sound system with your head in the sweet spot listening to whatever you like. His advice is to not get into audio, it's not worth it, you just lose money and the diminishing returns are not worth it. Ignorance is bliss.

[@TimSmith-db1iu]

I'm not offended but this is dumb advice. You can get really good gear for a fraction of what this costs.

[@carlwood7588]

Your friend is a genius, coming to think of it that's very good advice, to me it's a bottomless pit, you will always be looking for more

[@wadimek116]

@@carlwood7588 Not really. I find out how best sound and you can get amazing dac and amp for cheap and amazing headphones wont sound better after some point. When Im selling high end headphones focal utopias rarely are sold. Most people prefer clear mg signature by a big margine. You can find better products at each price point

[@quackgarage9551]

@@carlwood7588 Absolutely not. Good audio has a threshold, if you pass that threshold it all comes to personal taste. We've reached a point where almost anything (minimally decent) sounds good if you don't have any kind of absurd equipment limitation, distortion and is able to have a nice clarity. Hell, even phones can handle most decent stuff clearly nowadays. As for the rest, it's just tricking idiots who think they have golden ears into buying more and more expensive gear. I bet my life that most people (even the so-called audiophiles) wouldn't be able to tell the difference between this and much cheaper (but also nice) headphones like a Sundara, the HD600/800 series, etc in a blind test. It's that simple. Yes, they would be able to describe the characteristics and how it sounds different from X or Y, but it would just come down as something nice and absolutely not outrageous nor having a stark difference if compared to other good and much cheaper headphones like the ones stated before.

[@alokbaluni8760]

@@TimSmith-db1iu can u plz recommend some brands

[@datdudeinred]

Sennheiser: do you want to put a c8 corvette stingray on your head. Me: yess... 😂

[@ericliu8434]

The madman finally did it...

[@navidn1353]

When does the Massdrop version comes out, I need to buy one 😉

[@deshan79]

Right... HE-1xx

[@dasboss9111]

@@deshan79 no its SennXHeiser X Drop XHEX-1XX

[@otterj4]

"We refined the sound signature a bit and improved the build quality. Also we added a new color scheme, matte black. New price tag is $15,000 and 500 units for the first drop."

[@bengsynthmusic]

They couldn't do HD800s. No way they'll pull this off.

[@davidcoons89]

@@otterj4 estimated shipping: June 2022

[@SlowPokeRacing33]

Thanks for this. Been searching for ages for new headphones for the gym. Finally found them. 👍

[@ramakrishnangopinath7464]

Very affordable too!!

[@paulh1860]

You need them in white

[@joachimsingh2929]

Capacitive reactance is basically a term used when you have a component in the system that has an influence on the current/ voltage that acts in a way that it charges with with electricity before contributing any output. Also, it can mean that a component is dependent on a higher load than is desired before contributing to the signal. The symptom of this is usually that very weak signals have a hard time reaching the speaker element because of either resistance or capacitive behavior, not making it way to the speaker element means that you loose some of the very very fine and miniscule contributing signals. It can also distort the signal. Although in this Application a humans ears would probably not notice a difference of having a long wire to the headphones as opposed to having the Amp directly on the headphones.

[@AllenFreemanMediaGuru]

I’d like to see a blindfold test. Audiophiles listen to 10 different headphones and try and match them up later. Would they realize one pair is $60k?

[@kaleidoscopeon]

I’m sure they will realise which one is the best sounding.

[@Silenceeify]

You pay for build and materials used in these.

[@wadimek116]

@@kaleidoscopeon Nah I doubt it. Testing many hifi gear with coworkers at hifi store price is the biggest thing that influence quality in peoples opinion. But when its blind results are not obvious. Blind tests confirm it. We are not talking budget tho but mid-high end speakers above 2k a pair. Dac above 300usd and amp above 2k

[@quackgarage9551]

I'm a musician/music buff who's in this world for quite some time, people would definitely realise it sounds good, but no one (not even the so-called audiophiles) would be able to tell the difference between this and much cheaper (but also nice) headphones like a Sundara, the HD600/800 series, etc in a blind test. It's that simple. Yes, they would be able to describe the characteristics and how it sounds different from X or Y, but it would just come down as something nice and absolutely not outrageous nor having a stark difference if compared to other good and much cheaper headphones like the ones stated before. To sum it up, it's definitely not 60k nice. Like said before, here you're paying for the build and materials. Good audio has a threshold, if you pass that threshold it all comes to personal taste. We've reached a point where almost anything (minimally decent) sounds good if you don't have any kind of absurd equipment limitation, distortion and is able to have a nice clarity. Hell, even phones can handle most decent stuff clearly nowadays. As for the rest, it's just tricking idiots who think they have golden ears into buying more expensive gear.

[@sauceover]

@@quackgarage9551 adding onto this. Simply personal preference dictates who is the winner among the top performers

[@Lockk9]

I thought the iFi Pro iDSD with it's 4 Dac chips was mad - this HE-1 has 8 of them ffs

[@HyperOpticalSaint]

No, it's one chip with 8 channels, so they sum up 4 per side as it only need stereo sound. It's also an old chip the ESS 9018 , the newest ESS TOTL is 9038pro, and you can find it in DACs ranging from $500-$3000+.

[@Lockk9]

@@HyperOpticalSaint But the specs say " 8 internal DACs "

[@HyperOpticalSaint]

@@Lockk9 Read the whole thing. It very clearly state 8 channels, not 8 chips.

[@Lockk9]

@@HyperOpticalSaint Yes - you are correct, okay so I can still be impressed with the Pro iDSD's 4 actual chips , I've seen the photos :)

[@-se6741]

Chips are cheap but making a great DAC isn't.

[@gehteuchnichtsan7911]

I'm gonna listen to lo fi music to study over KZbin on this haha

[@RazorIance]

at 144p for extra realism!

[@HaggisDruid]

@@RazorIance The clarity of these headphones allows for you to hear the compression of 144p with more detail!

[@CupcakeNRG]

@@HaggisDruid Wait they do? How does that work

[@HaggisDruid]

@@CupcakeNRG I'm just goofin' haha

[@Dikkie_Dik]

time to listen to them plugged in my phone with spotify

[@grumpyoldwizard]

I am glad I found your channel. I haven’t checked out the Audiophile world for decades. Thanks for the memories. I indulged in the Audiophile world back in the 1980’s, when I could afford it. This system really makes me long for those times. I would love to hear a top end turntable with a high end LP (not digital, analog) signal. I had a set of Acoustat electrostatic speakers for a while. The were about 8 feet tall and were very nice but extremely positional. To get a good depth of field you had to have exact placement. I am glad they still use the tech and have improved it. I really used to enjoy the magazine “Absolute Sound” due to its honest and acerbic reviews.

[@Epsi1ong]

1:33 so are you saying headphone companies should stick a fan under the headband for more downforce

[@thegirthquake8574]

Yes.

[@oddharsh]

add another earcup on the back for bass, tyrrell p34 style

[@thewhat1214]

Or use the purple bed material its cold to the touch

[@gumnaamaadmi007]

A front and rear wing setup will do that too.

[@adamismail2883]

German engineering at it's finest

[@intoitreviews]

Would love to have this opportunity! Congrats to you, your channel Josh!

[@cdfarala4723]

just here to help with the algorithm big fan keep up the great work josh

[@Patrickmathieu0482]

Hi mister Josh ! I own the HE1 :) I have NO words to describe the listening experience!! I have a room dedicated solely to my home theater and my stereo listening. my room is custom built and soundproofed to the maximum. when i listen to lana del ray's song "old money" i feel like she is right in front of me an inch from my face!!! it's indescribable!! the soundstage is simply breathtaking!!!

[@gcambron19989]

@Patrick what other more affordable headphones are out there that you recommend??

[@twogluon]

just curious, did you install hard reflective surfaces (concrete?) to soundproof your room or use something else ?

[@Patrickmathieu0482]

@@twogluon yes i used a material that’s call sonopan (4x8 sheet) under the gyproc sheet. I used sound absorbing foam under my gyproc for ceiling

[@HamzaShams_]

Bro how can you afford something like this, what do you do for a living ?

[@CraigTheBrute-yf7no]

Are you a billionaire?

[@ozkana]

The name of the intro song is Solarflares by Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen

[@B4JALT]

are these good for gaming? LMAO. on a real note: what a beautiful piece of Headphones. really enjoyed the review!

[@masterxyr]

better than ath m50?

[@nataflet]

@@masterxyr Anything is better than m50 for gaming.

[@skylordsrebornpvpreplays5795]

these will be good for gaming

[@vthomas375]

Not just gaming though, are they any good for the Rock genre or even the Drum n Bass genre??

[@mitchell4you397]

1. It takes 20min to heat up the unit...2. There is a audio delay aka for movies and games 3. dust and pet hairs kills unit 3 spilling water can be deadly to humans and pets... just some thoughts

[@HeySadEye]

These headphones have more character than most humans.

[@alpacino9226]

Don't forget hymen made this

[@israellai]

Most humans don't cost as much

[@kencur9690]

And yet most humans have more character than you.

[@jazon1407]

what?

[@ELJefeReviews]

Awesome work Josh! Glad someone finally got some time with this system to satisfy our collective curiosity.

[@l2etranger]

6:11 How dare you! Impressive review, I’ve always liked their headphones and I’m glad to find your video. Thank you.

[@anchovytrex]

The perfect voice to start a video. Subscribed right away. Good video mate thank you

[@anchovytrex]

And then he does a f1 reference within 2mins. Where was this channel before. Wow!

[@jessepowell733]

4:46 “overcome capacitive reactance” pretty much means to get rid of line loss.

[@AlexMetslov]

In average Joe language: "Headphone wires are thick."

[@scatteringparameters.4167]

Line + probes

[@Mart-E12]

the what

[@rhalfik]

The reason to have multiple dacs is to run them in parallel. This is a common practice in dac world. The output of a dac chip is a weak signal with high distortion and noise. Every time you join signals from two dacs, you get one stronger signal. So all 4 are playing at once. :)

[@Koozwad]

Aren't there 8 in there?

[@viktor1845]

what dac can you advice for 300 dollars? maybe 500

[@jekken333]

When the pricetag isn't just demanding your salary in a month but your annual salary/income, it better be good. How much is a kidney? I have an extra one. 😂😂😂

[@clementmaxwell8894]

Man i wish i have 3 kidneys

[@Forwhomthebelltolls24]

@@clementmaxwell8894 Why? Apple got the God given twos?

[@ddrg1271]

yearly salary ? I just calculated and it would take 8.3 years of my full monthly salary to purchase these.

[@ezg8448]

You would probably need to sell 3 kidneys to buy this unit.

[@Fayknol]

@@ddrg1271 the average american salary is 50k, so if you earn an average amount of money you can buy these in just over a year, but the you'd have to commit tax fraud. But who wouldn't commit tax fraud for these?

[@arthurw8054]

This made me think of NASA and Apollo. The moon landing wasn't public transportation for ordinary people, but it's about going to the outer edges, exploring what is possible. Great review.

[@howardphillips8513]

I spent a good half hour listening to these in a London Hfi show in a hotel. They told me that Sennheiser fly you to Germany for you to choose your block of Carrara marble! But that was in pre-COVID-19 days. There was one other pair in the show that sounded just about as good, but a few thousand cheaper. They really are outstandingly good and pleasant to listen to - but the price...

[@justinsugay1149]

I really appreciate how you struggled to find words to express your passion in reviewing this headset. To me that kind of humility shows the respect one has for the product they are reviewing and the fidelity you are trying to share to the potential consumer. I agree with you... I wish more companies would sponsor videos in such a manner. Excellent review. Again thank you so much!

[@Skylancer727]

The 8 DACs are likely similar to ECC RAM where they correct errors in the data from electromagnetic distortion, dirty electricity, etc so it has less errors and sounds more like it should. Kinda overkill though obviously.

[@steamstories1279]

8 channel DACs are used to improve SNR, dynamic range and overall less distorsion.

[@martinshoosterman]

Oh, I've been waiting for you to review these. I just couldn't make a decision without hearing your opinion first

[@VGM-R]

My brother has this headset in one of his houses and he let me try them out when I visited his family last thanksgiving. It was literally like having a concert or having personal music coming from all directions towards you. Like your own personal bubble of just pure music and audio that surrounded you. It’s hard to explain unless you try it out for yourself. The audio was so clear it made me wish everyone could try it out to hear what real music sounds like. Now anything that I hear doesn’t impress me which sucks, but I’m not spending 50k on a headset for myself.

[@randyjl7035]

yeah, sure!

[@someskinnydude100]

Ask him if he has a spare one that I can have lol

[@kidamnesiak1]

"What real music sounds like" Haven't you ever heard a great band or highly talented musician play live? That is the epitome of "what it was meant to sound like". A concert in an intimate it atmospheric setting is the end all be all and can be head for $20 to a few hundred dollars at the high end. These $60,000 headphones are not going to be superior to live music, that's asinine.

[@wadimek116]

@@kidamnesiak1 He just doesn't have enough experience in to hifi yet. No matter how expensive the gear is it will still sound unrealistic. Even beolabs 90 which I could play for days/weeks or focal utopia maestro didn't do it good enough to be considered real

[@woooshbait9696]

@@wadimek116 exactly

[@sleepsoundssource9845]

I had a pair of $100 studio Senns and they were literally the best thing I’ve ever put on my head. Fantastic sound, very comfortable over ear. Even without active noise canceling did an excellent job of isolating

[@eleventy-seven]

That said it would be the last set I would get. I can afford to but I prefer burning money by lighting it on fire.

[@sleepsoundssource9845]

@@eleventy-seven is $100 really that extravagant? :-)

[@Mista1Take]

U need the xm5 or hd820

[@lenii1235]

I bought the sennheiser hd400s, it could be said that it is the most basic that the brand has and even so, I was very impressed by the tremendous quality they have, they told me 1500mxn that would be like 50 dollars. From that moment I became an unconditional fan of sennheiser, I can't wait to have the hd600

[@kvnngkronos]

So, Josh, would you recommend me getting two of these, one for home, one for the chill out area of the office? XD

[@antonhelsgaun]

nah, 3. One for the commute

[@kvnngkronos]

@@antonhelsgaun, I prefer in-ears when commuting

[@the-turd-eye]

Yeah... You'll need this for those long subway rides

[@gigihanmandarin]

One for your private jet commute. But QC35 II has noise cancelling...

[@MonteiroM]

These headphones sound amazing man, how much do they cost? -EVERYTHING.

[@mydogskips2]

About $60,000 US, excluding VAT.

[@kennythien2049]

Thank God the model name is HE1, memorize in one look. I just remember Sony.

[@iainwatson8120]

What an amazing down to earth thought process of a truly good set of headphones. thank you for your honesty. I have a set of HD 600"s and love them but the leap to this level is just insane. We can only wish. Thanks.

[@charredolive]

May 2021: I remember back in the day when Sennheiser still had consumer audio

[@xistencestudios8904]

RIP

[@biggSHNDO]

As does Pepperidge Farms.

[@zugo-tg7125]

And they sold out…

[@iliketoreadiliketothink1763]

Great review. You’ll have to report back on what it was like to go back to listening to your headphones at home after spending time with this headphone.

[@allydea]

It's OK, don't worry.

[@G-entleManAndScholar]

THANK You, Josh! Finally! Maybe a separate vid of HE-1 versus the top 5 you've experienced? I saw this vid coming from you a year or so ago, with HE-1 experience.

[@AJL713]

Hey Josh, great episode. Looking forward to you sharing your test music playlists.

[@fabe61]

Bump!

[@Poisõn-P48LO]

6:11 imagine buying a headphone for fu*king 60000 and having a problem

[@nxtvctm]

Your intro to the video was superb! I subbed straight away.

[@RennieAsh]

2:40 It wouldn't matter normally, but if this is a no holds barred product, then that glue seeping out from under the emblem is a no no!!

[@Abhitips224]

I don’t see any glue.

[@RennieAsh]

Abhishek Nayak pause at 2:45. The yellow area on the right side of the “S”. I notice small details like this

[@TheRobyMann]

Great great review. I always have trouble understanding all the technical language that reviewers use to describe audio products and sound reproduction, but you did a wonderful job of demystifying that in this video. I could follow and understand everything you said. Kudos :)

[@raypinparty7052]

Still my favorite headphone system even after 4 years. The vacuum tubes are still fine although I had to replace the earpads and headband pad already (for hygienic reasons). My love affair with the HE 1 continues. Owner since 2017.

[@paulbarnard5267]

If the amps (mosfet) are in the cans and feed digitally by the DAC what are the tubes doing?

[@DCol]

What do you listen to with these? I would assume it’s only worth it for listening to FLAC audio files or vinyl records.

[@secullenable]

"I had to replace the earpads and headband pad already (for hygienic reasons)"...likely from all the jizz.

[@CallanElliott]

@@DCol I'll be honest, FLACs on this feel like using MP3s on a Stax. WAVs are about the only thing I can think of that actually feels worthy of this.

[@maegnificant]

@@CallanElliott there is literally no difference between flac and wave.

[@Tracomaster]

I got to listen to these once. Man what an experience that was. When they say that these ruin every other headphone then they are not underselling it. I really want to listen to these again

[@iikatinggangsengii2471]

its the best way to describe the sound

[@NoahDanteSmyth]

Amazing review man, I watched both parts and think you did an excellent job testing it. I'm going to be reaching out to Senhiessser myself in the future to lock in a time to test it myself, but until then this gives me a great idea of what they're like. I would love to see you do a video analyzing MQA and their claims about lossless performance. It recently came out that Tidal doesn't actually serve FLAC files anymore just a downsampled MQA and the MQA adds audible noise and artifacts. I'm sure you've seen the video going around, if not I can link you but I don't want to be mistaken for promoting it. I honestly didn't want to believe it, because I loved Tidal and it is better than Spotify, but I tested myself with a free trial of Qobuz and I found identical results to the video. Qobuz blows it away, it's like a layer of grime has been cleaned off the audio, much more clarity and depth and silent moments are actually silent! Not only can I confirm added noise and distortion, I noticed a complete loss of fine and quiet details on my favorite tracks between Qobuz and Tidal. MQA really is a fraud!

[@iu1191]

Simply the best review of this headphone I have come across. The closest to hearing it myself. I appreciate the care you took to provide us with the information. An impossible tack but you really gave it a go and that helped a great deal. How does one describe the experience of hearing music through headphones? Then how does one describe heating music through headphones which the manufacturer was trying to make the best in the world? An impossible tack. I love the thought you put into your descriptions while still making it relatable and understandable. . I have to somehow get my ears around this headphone system. That is the real takeaway here. I am not in the market for these and I doubt I ever will be looking for how to give someone 50K and have them give me this system. However, I am going to create a playlist for when that time might come. You never know and I might just get the chance to play with them for a short while. If that chance does, I will be ready. Love the review - Looking forward to seeing the one where you talk about the music you listened to. Were all the tracks FLAC from a connected drive or were they streamed? I wonder if you noticed a difference. If you can let us know if the next one, I would be grateful. Thanks again!

[@arandomchannel1614]

Oh god, here goes my productive weekend after finding this channel Amaaaaazing B rolls

[@Poludioskroz]

Finally,review of these headphones! Lottery ticket is bought...

[@Torrico97]

Dude…. Outstanding job!! Extremely detailed review!

[@andrewkraft5584]

@Joshua Valour I'm not sure if someone may has explained this already or if you actually care, but here we go. So, what they mean by the capacitance of the cable is that the cable can actually store energy sort of like a spring. When power is being sent from the amp, especially evident in bass hits and at high volumes where the energy required to move a speaker is greater, the cable will remain charged (milliseconds) until the speaker uses the energy. Thus, the cable itself becomes a capacitor. This can cause delay of power to the the input of the headphones, which translates to delays in music (again, especially low hz stuff. If you have ever had subwoofers in your car without a cap, you'll know exactly what I mean. Anyway, the amp being in the headphones eliminates the delay by removing the cable (amplified analogue audio) from the equation altogether. There would be one power and one (digital audio) signal going to these headphones (for each side) in order to control them properly like you said. Once the signal and power reaches the amp in the headphones, it goes DIRECTLY to the phones. Do not pass go, etc. Hopefully this helps explain the phenomenon a bit. This is basically how Bluetooth headphones work, actually, so it's not a new idea. The only exceptions are the signal is wireless and the built-in amp uses a battery instead of wall power. Oh, and most bt headphones are about $59,000 cheaper on average. Can't forget that. This is just what I think. I'm not sure if this is the actual reason or not. Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

[@nimapanahi5397]

Josh, you out did yourself. My heart was pounding and my ears tingling with the description. You do it in a way that both, I don’t see or hear anywhere else, or as excellent and real anywhere else.... by a long shot! Makes me feel excited to “discover” HE-1 like when I made the few breakthroughs getting my theory Ph.D. Proud to be a Patreon.

[@Juanixtec]

when I tried the HE-1 a few years ago I came to the following conclusions: Treble: Yes Midrange: YES Bass: HOLLY SHIT WHY ARE THE WALLS MOVING YES

[@KenMoreira]

really?! im shocked it has actual bass

[@steamstories1279]

@Kenneth Moreira I'm shocked that my L700 have more perceived bass than DT1990 on balanced pads. L700 play so loud, I can't feel any hint of compression when playing loud, the bass hits so fast and hard, unreal. But only with EQ, using graphic EQ with 127 steps for full frequency response. EQ tames the bad frequencies, but still sounding bright. Stock bass is less impressive. Stock HE-1 measures perfectly on Harman curve for bass, that would sound insane. Sadly, even a Chord Hugo 2 has much better resolution that the DAC included on HE-1, and it's not my opinion, it's the opinion from those who listened to them.

[@Juanixtec]

@@KenMoreira It has and quite a bit. it actually follows harman low shelf quite well. the sensation of size is truly magnificent. i literally felt that the lowest notes were produced by the walls and by the roof.

[@Juanixtec]

@@steamstories1279 That's plain BS. Only horrible dacs can be detected by hearing. any dac with decent performance is totally and objectively transparent to the human ear and both the Hugo and Sennheiser's HVD820 (not the same as the orpheus but taken as an example since it's the closest) are just fine in that regard. Ps: the 820 does have a pretty mediocre amplifier. other than that. as I said, the dac while not the best (and the Hugo isn't also) it's essentialy transparent enought.

[@keveshannaidoo5670]

@@Juanixtec LDAC

[@shanelyon414]

Wow, been waiting to hear an in depth review on these for a while. Thank you for adding to my "If I win the lottery" list. Regardless, my wife would never understand why these are worth that much.

[@zorqis]

Good review and blends with my impressions as well. As good as it is -- I had the chance to listen to them a few times and they made the impression they were slightly better than anything Stax had ever made, including the SR-Omega --, there are headphones that IMHO sound even better, and are far cheaper, of course with lesser build quality. For instance a full Phenomenon e-stat system (headphones+amp, made on order). Add your own source. Systems that approach it to reasonable degree are quite many, especially e-stats: Stax SR-Omega or 009 with the BHSE or the Phenomenon amp, or older Stax 007 Mk1 samples, or the older Orpheus/HE90. However, nobody has taken e-stats as far as Sennheiser with the HE-1 and it is hard to top the experience, when you include the whole package. About the price, many people have 7 figures audio systems, so there may be a niche market for it... But if they made a scaled-down version, headphones-only, without the built-in amp, and working with Stax pro biased energizers, it could make more profit for them than the HE-1. It's a statement product anyway.

[@outermarker5801]

Awesome review! Just customized mine in blue. Was just about to order but then I woke up

[@AsreiMurasame]

I've always wanted to hear these in person for years. Just because I've heard there truly isn't another sound signature quite like them and from what you've said Josh it sounds pretty accurate.

[@iikatinggangsengii2471]

it ranks low bcs its universal

[@tiagobalbino2663]

Hey another amazing content! In the next video you said you'd still talk about this headphone, it would be great if you could also talk about some comparisons between the HE-1 and the Abyss headphones you know so well, like the Diana Phi, Diana V2 and the Abyss 1266.

[@ozunkeskin6919]

The real question is, Orpheus vs Shangri-La

[@JoshuaValour]

That is the real question!

[@hal9xxx321]

@@JoshuaValour toss in Abyss Ab-1266 for good measure

[@G-entleManAndScholar]

@@hal9xxx321 Exactly.

[@pliedtka]

So I guess the Sennheisers

[@uo1147]

Tbh HE-1 > Shangri-La. But, HE-90 > HE-1 IMO.

[@rayoflight62]

Technically, you could have said that the HE1 do not phase-shift the audio over all the frequency response. It is an unique achievement that brings all the qualities you described ...

[@iikatinggangsengii2471]

i didnt hear the full sound to make proper comparison

[@M0nch_Cr0nch]

Whoah that carrera marble case comes with a free set of headphones, cool!

[@AlbinoTigerBarb]

So Josh, HE-1 or Arya on your #1 spot now?

[@fitchyyboi]

Yeah, I'll be using these with my galaxy s3. All jokes aside, excellent review of an utterly absurd product.

[@Adoozy]

You may want to add "Orpheus" somewhere because this video doesn't show up when I search "Sennheiser Orpheus"

[@alexwhite1624]

Search "Sennheiser HE-1". That's their technical name

[@Watamel0n]

I really want to know the production costs of these headphones. I mean, considering you can buy high class cars for this price, I doubt the profit margin isn't absurdly huge. I bet the high price tag is just a marketing move to show the value of the brand. I don't doubt the quality of these headphones, don't get me wrong, but for this price tag? Come on guys :D

[@MyAmazingUsername]

My educated guess is the production cost is around $5000 and that includes the wasteful fact that they fly you to their factory to pick out the slab of material you want. If you remove all the pompous fluff, the cost would be around $1000 for the components.

[@ugur3527]

They're taking 10k deposit and if you cancel the production they're not giving it back. So I guess 10k is enough to build these.

[@Terra101]

If you wanna listen to this headphone you can do it here kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoi8oKB6lsataNU

[@tomas_m]

The soundstaging description seems a lot like SR-009S to me. Which please do review too for reference.

[@hal9xxx321]

The reaal question is, how does it compare to my 200$ HD6XX?

[@yourself88xbl]

🤣 I listen to my hd598 and I'm in love. I can't even imagine trying something like this.

[@sathishrao7926]

Or to my $200 Sennheiser Momentum True “Wireless” buds which sound incredible to me !

[@albertweedsteinthethuggeni7797]

@@sathishrao7926 I have those too

[@AlbinoTigerBarb]

Drop version will be $500?

[@Firenmage433]

Yea, people will complain it's a knock off because of hd800 housing though

[@HaIsKuL]

Capacitive Reactance is the way a capacitor impedes charge flow like a resistor does. In fact, it is dimensionally the same as Resistance with respect to Voltage. Smaller capacitive reactance is better at reducing drop in voltage for lower frequencies. At least as I try to recall material from my introductory physics class.

[@CallanElliott]

Now, I think the more pertinent question is: does this actually affect sound quality in a significant fashion, or were Sennheiser just being excessively German about this?

[@trillium9992]

Just bought a pair of Focal Clears from Definitive Audio yesterday (couldn’t afford this bad boy). Thanks for the heads up that their Seattle store sells headphones. I let them know that your video took me there. Thanks again.