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First Listen: HiFiMAN HE1000 planar magnetic headphones

First Listen: HiFiMAN HE1000 planar magnetic headphones

Prototypes of HiFiMAN’s new flagship HE1000 planar magnetic headphones first appeared at the CES 2015 event in Las Vegas at the beginning of this year and from the very start these headphones showed extraordinary sonic promise. Like many of you, I have long regarded the iconic, flagship Stax SR-009 electrostatic headphones as a gold standard, of sort, against which most other top-tier headphones should be measured. At the same time, however, I wondered if we would ever see or hear a headphone that might equal or surpass the performance of the Stax in nearly every respect. To state things simply, I think there is a very good chance that HiFiMAN’s HE1000 is that very headphone—a headphone that is ready to take on all comers for bragging rights as the ‘king of the headphone hill.’

, First Listen: HiFiMAN HE1000 planar magnetic headphones

The Stax SR-009 does many things exceptionally well: it offers reasonably neutral tonal balance, can play at reasonably high levels without much in the way of evident distortion or distress, it is beautifully made and exudes self-evident build quality, it is fairly comfortable to wear, it offers blazingly fast transient speeds, and—above all it offers deep, profound, and seemingly limitless transparency to the source.  In other words, the notion of equalling or surpassing the Stax is a very, very tall order, and that’s putting it mildly.

, First Listen: HiFiMAN HE1000 planar magnetic headphones

About the only drawbacks to the Stax involve the fact that first, it requires a purpose-built and typically very costly electrostatic amplifier (the Stax cannot be driven by conventional headphone amplifiers), second, it requires exceedingly careful amplifier matching (the sound can tend toward a certain analytical brightness with the wrong amplifier choice), and third, its dynamic envelope, though reasonably wide, is not as broad as some might wish—especially when playing loud, low frequencies (and some would say, when playing loudly, period).

, First Listen: HiFiMAN HE1000 planar magnetic headphones

Now let’s compare and contrast to the HE1000. In pursuit of Stax-grade sonic transparency (or better), HiFiMAN has given the HE1000 what is said to be the world’s first nanometre-thickness diaphragm—a diaphragm so thin that if viewed on edge it would be invisible to the naked eye. Compared to the thickness of this diaphragm material, then, a human hair would probably look like one of those massive cables used to support the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

 

Next the HE1000 uses a very powerful but also—and this is important—sonically transparent ‘double-sided, asymmetrical magnetic circuit’. The stated goal was to achieve ‘the optimum balance between high-driver efficiency and high sound quality.” The foregoing statement makes it sound as if design compromises were made, but that really isn’t the case. In fact, HiFiMAN had constructed relatively early-generation HE1000 prototypes whose sound fully met the company’s lofty performance goals, but in pursuit of higher efficiency the designers actually discovered a means of increasing efficiency while—get this—simultaneously improving both perceived sound quality and measured performance.

, First Listen: HiFiMAN HE1000 planar magnetic headphones

In a recent conversation, HiFiMAN’s founder Dr Fang Bian shared with Hi-Fi+ some before/after HE1000 performance test charts, which confirmed that the higher-efficiency version of the HE1000 not only offers smoother but also more extended frequency response than the earlier prototypes did. This is, quite simply, one of those rare moments of audio serendipity, where designers chase one goal, only to find that they’ve also made good progress toward another—the ultimate win/win design scenario. The upshot of this is that the HE1000 is surprisingly easy to drive by HiFiMAN standards, yet extremely revealing (and thus, also quite sensitive to amplifier quality).

, First Listen: HiFiMAN HE1000 planar magnetic headphones

The cosmetics of the HE1000 design, too, have evolved en route to production. The HE1000 is an open-back design with a heavy emphasis on, well, openness. To this end, the headphone features a largely open-air metal grille that provides thin, widely spaced metal ribs or spars to protect the driver’s magnet assembly and diaphragm. In the early HE1000 prototypes, these protective ribs ran vertically, but in the final production model the ribs run horizontally—a change said to yield greater rigidity and better driver protection, yet with no decrease in openness. Over time, the fit and finish of the wood-wrapped ear cups and of the metal grille frames have continued to get better, meaning the HE1000 is by far the most refined and polished looking of all HiFiMAN headphones—as is only proper for a headphone that is meant to vie for top honours on a worldwide stage.

, First Listen: HiFiMAN HE1000 planar magnetic headphones

Unlike any other HiFiMAN headphone, the HE1000 uses a loosely ear-shaped (or perhaps teardrop shaped) ear cup design that is said to provide a comfortable and roomy fit for ears of virtually any size or shape. The HE1000 ear pads, not unlike those used on other HiFiMAN headphones, are beveled so that the pads are thicker at the rear for a fit that more naturally conforms to the shape of most listeners’ heads. Moreover, the entire HE1000 is very light in weight (just 480g), meaning the headphone feels like a real featherweight in practice—and especially so in contrast with most other planar magnetic or electrostatic designs.

 

Contributing to the overall comfort factor is the clever and functional Carol Catalano-designed headband frame and suspended headband support strap that first debuted on HiFiMAN’s HE560 and HE400i headphones. In the HE1000, though, the overall fit, finish, and execution of the design are appropriately raised to a higher level. One thing I particularly like is the way the broad support strap wraps over the top of one’s head like a form-fitted skullcap that gently distributes the weight of the headphone over a large surface area, fostering an impression of overall lightness.

, First Listen: HiFiMAN HE1000 planar magnetic headphones

In a break with past tradition, the HE1000 introduces a new plug-fitted cable system that is vastly easier to use than HiFiMAN’s old screw-on cable fittings. The headphone comes with three sets of cables, one set terminated in a 4-pin XLR balanced connector, one set terminated in a ¼-inch/6.35mm plug, and one set terminated in a 3.5mm mini-plug. The conductors are special, too, using a combination of ‘crystalline copper and crystalline silver wire custom designed for wide frequency range, low signal loss, and enhanced emphasis on the low end for quality audio reproduction.’

I’m going to save most of my comments on the HiFiMAN’s sound for an upcoming Hi-Fi+ review, but thought I would provide a few initial impressions here.

, First Listen: HiFiMAN HE1000 planar magnetic headphones

Transparency: I would say the HE1000’s transparency is certainly competitive with that of the Stax SR-009, though I’m not (yet) prepared to declare it to be superior to the Stax. The reason for this qualification is that the headphone has already shown me that it is going to need a good bit of run-in time, which is a process that’s not yet complete for our review sample. But even now, in these first 15-30 hours of operation, the HE1000 has made significant strides, showing noticeable increases in nuance and low-level resolution almost by the hour. While the headphone is exceptional already, I can’t yet say how much better it is going to get. Stay tuned.

Dynamics: The HE1000 is already showing signs of ‘ceilings unlimited-grade’ macrodynamics and a sure, delicate, and deft touch with microdynamics. I can’t wait to see how much better the headphone might get with additional run-in time, but even if its dynamics have reached their zenith (and I don’t think they have), they have landed in a very, very good place.Bass and treble extension: In terms of extension at the frequency extremes the HiFiMAN sounds to me as if it is at least a match for the Stax SR-009, and possibly better in two key respects. Up high, the HE1000 sounds effortlessly extended, but also sounds—to my ears—intrinsically smoother than the electrostatic headphone, meaning there is little if any tendency toward a slightly too ‘shiny and bright’ presentation up on top. Down low, the HE1000 shows deep, forceful extension with a kind of granite-like solidity and gravitas that, quite frankly, Stax’s SR-009 almost but not quite delivers.

, First Listen: HiFiMAN HE1000 planar magnetic headphones

In short, the HE1000 has shown us a great deal of performance already and promises even more yet to come. Watch for our upcoming full-length review, which is slated to appear in Hi-Fi+ Issue 126.

Until then, happy listening.

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