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emptyvasudevan OP t1_ive6rhe wrote

I heard God and other things.

album compiling few - https://imgur.com/a/oMgbdNV

Never let HE-1 be the first pair to listen while being in an audio expo! I went with this golden rule in my head but couldn't help myself on seeing the booth empty. I didn't know what to expect and I still don't know how to give impressions from my brief moments with it. I forgot time, I stopped thinking. I listened to Florence + the machine's South London Forever and noded to this portion of the lyrics - "There can be nothing better than this". I also got myself till the first part of GY!BE - Storm but had to stop due to time.

On other main cans I got to try, (impressions are very novice plus I got only minutes with all of them).

Hifiman - Shanghri La was a joy. I got to AB it with Susvara and I honestly couldn't figure out any difference. Felt strange, since, in my head they were the HE-1 of Hifiman. I enjoyed the sound of Sundara but the metallic build felt clunky in hands; also, HE1000se was nearby, so I went with it. The closed back wooden HE-R10P looks awesome, but sadly I didn't like the sound of it.

Focal - I absolutely loved Utopia and Celeste, preferred them over Clear mg and Stellia (the only focal I didn't really like), latter preference wasn't expected. Bathys sounded really good for a wireless. All Focals felt very premium.

Audeze - mm150 is the only Audeze I ever got to listen and I don't think its fair to say anything about it as well considering the fact that I went to it from HE-1. Wasn't impressed.

Yamaha - the new flagship YH500SE is the coolest looking thing I have seen. Absolutely loved it. Among the flagships, this was the most comfortable experience of all. I got to try their wireless YHL100A which comes with 3D gimmicks; probably just preset EQs but very fun.

Meze audio - 99 classics were fun and felt luxurious in terms of comfort. I didn't think I would like them but I loved them. Then I heard Empyrean, some of the absolute best of the day.

Final audio - D8000 and D8000 pro were sparkly. I can whine about metallic build being a killjoy but that's just me.

Grado - got to try sr125x and 80x. I don't remember the sound but god those cables are awful. I have been contemplating on getting grados as travel headphones (more like listening at destination than during the route) and the cables killed that for me.

Other Senn - IE600 floored me, the soundstage is good and music felt immersive with really good isolation. I used my own ear tips which might have helped as well. They are also, so fucking tiny. 560s surprised me, bass was good and the stage felt great. I felt I want to own both of them even when I use 600s. I was told that the 560s are made using same drivers as old 700s while angling them or something. Hd800s sounds good; I couldn't help but feel like the pads aren't enough though, also didn't have enough time.

My top 3 other than HE-1 :- YH500se, Utopia and Empyreans

Honourable mention - Sendy Audio peacock; I got to A-B them with my hd600 (both on Feliks audio Euforia evo tubes) and the difference was night and day.

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RB181 t1_ivee3xk wrote

Thanks for the detailed post! This is plenty of useful info for me, who's never experienced summit-fi yet. For reference, what cans do you own or have owned (besides HD600) and what music genres do you listen to?

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emptyvasudevan OP t1_iveiz2k wrote

I run hd600 with cavalli tube hybrid. On iem, I use sony xba N3. On music genre, its mostly post rock. I also listen to a lot of acoustics, rock, metal etc.

I started with 6xx. Moved to 660s out of curiosity and settled on 600 afterwards. I have also owned akg k701 (amazing cans) and porta pros at some point as well.

On iems, the main ones were se215 and er2xr which was replaced by N3. I also keep an oppoty (blon - 03) because Music and Driams!

I hope you get to listen to summit-fi soon! This was my first time.

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Han_Soldlow t1_ivf6shf wrote

How would you compare the 6xx, 600, and 660s?

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emptyvasudevan OP t1_ivfdtmu wrote

I had 6xx and 660s together before so I AB-ed them. I couldn't find much difference, nothing that justifies the cost. Also, I didn't had any amp to drive them to full potential that time. Sold 6xx, felt remorse, bought it again used, then sold 660s.

Then I bought 600 to scratch the itch, AB-ed with 6xx. Similar experience as with 660s. They are more similar but I prefered 600's brightness. Plus I had a dongle dac and balanced cables that time (ibasso dc04) to make a better comparison.

If you are on the fence, go with the cheapest one or the one whose look you like most. They are all similar than different with 6xx and 660s being tad darker. I think if I have to buy one later, I will go for 560s which surprised me during my short interaction with its price to performance ratio.

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flipiip t1_ives9gj wrote

Nice :) I would also really like to go to a headphones event one day. And of course try out the HE-1 xD

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florinandrei t1_ivg39sj wrote

> I heard God

And He was like: "I see here lust and greed, and you're triggering other people's envy. Watch yourself there, buddy!" /s

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Gambinium t1_ivf8pih wrote

Would you be able to give a direct comparison between Shangri-La and HE1? The way you put it in your comment makes it seem like Shangri-La was underwhelming, is that the case?

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emptyvasudevan OP t1_ivfcsie wrote

In the expo HE-1 had its own listening booth. Shangri La was kept like a normal headphone among Susvara, He1000se, Sundara etc. If I hadn't known of the model before, I would have thought of it as a normal hifi pair.

So presentation might have played its part. Also the expo is noisy, and its hard to compare properly there for open backs. You crank the volume and stress your ears. I didn't have a fair base to compare them both to be honest. Its a wonderful headphone but I found Susvara equally wonderful.

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ZappaLlamaGamma t1_ivf33d2 wrote

Would like to hear the HE-1 sometime. Wish I had the kind of money where buying them wouldn’t be a big deal, but alas I don’t need the kinds of problems that lifestyle has. /s

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headphonesex2 t1_ive8qmp wrote

i trust that youd better hear god with that msrp for everybody else, heres what listening to god sounds like https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5NoQg8LdDk

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Qazax1337 t1_iveb1ik wrote

Absolutely fantastic track. I use this to show people my headphones. Fantastically produced.

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headphonesex2 t1_ivebeon wrote

thanks！ cannot get enough from this band as of late. rock is dead, polyphia killed it

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gitartruls01 t1_ivgmjsf wrote

Polyphia tried to destroy the metal, BUT THEY FAILED, as they were smite to the ground.

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Thebombuknow t1_ivgaez4 wrote

Holy shit, this is my first time listening to that band's music (I hadn't even heard of them before now) and I fucking love it. That track sounds incredible on all the headphones I've listened to it on.

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gitartruls01 t1_ivh06kg wrote

Polyphia will sound good on anything really, their style of music/production fits even cheap gear very well. Anything with decent bass response and stereo sound. Not really the best benchmark imo

If you want to give your headphones/speakers a run for their money, try one of these vids

While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Chapman Stick Wide complex stereo image, deep bass, and a very punchy dynamic midrange

A Flock Of Seagulls - I Ran (So Far Away) Lots of synth SFX, massive sound stage in the intro

Maria Mena - I Was Made For Loving You Great quality recording with very little processing, gradually adds instruments

B.B. King - 3 O'Clock Blues No comment, just listen to it. Pure blues

Igorr & Ruby My Dear - Biquette What it'd sound like if Polyphia found and consumed 7 types of drugs at once

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headphonesex2 t1_ivilwpi wrote

letme guess all dacs sound the same？

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gitartruls01 t1_ivin04m wrote

Not at all, I'm not saying you can't hear the difference between a cheap and expensive set of headphones on Polyphia songs, but the difference will be less noticable than on some other songs because of how it's mixed. Polyphia produces more for cheap Bluetooth speakers than hifi setups.

I feel that if you want to test a set of headphones or speakers properly, you shouldn't test them with something that's made to sound good on anything. Find something recorded with high quality gear and mixed with minimal processing and the differences will be much clearer. Bad gear will sound worse, but great gear will sound amazing.

That's the point of hifi, right? Produce sound as transparently as possible, so that each tiny little detail will sound like it's coming from the room, then trust the musicians and mastering engineers to do the rest

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headphonesex2 t1_ivin45p wrote

true, i agree actually lol. good points

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InFortunaWeLust t1_ivlobwv wrote

I agree with his points also

this is the main reason i use my HD-58X for most of the music I listen to, and use HD-8XX when the music is well mastered. The HD-58X make everything sound nice, while my HD-8XX don't like poorly mastered tracks.

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LSG4M3R t1_ivetaul wrote

Damn that must be a joy to ears! Thanks for the detailed review.

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praxis22 t1_ivfb9re wrote

Strangely enough I feel the same way about the Moondrop Chu with the red vinyls from the 7hz Zero, and yes I do know I'm looking at $50k of headphones.

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Millenwagon t1_ivfh3dr wrote

Part of me hopes to never hear the he-1 as I know I’d wanna remortgage my house to buy some

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somsone t1_ivh9ttm wrote

Are those the $60K sennheisers? Damn I can’t even imagine how good those must have sounded.

If I ever win a lottery that’s going to be my second purchase.

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Hungry-Power6850 t1_iveyms9 wrote

That usb cable is “interesting”. I’d be careful of cracking port in laptop.

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Amphiscian t1_ivhf6co wrote

you buy the HE-1s, you don't use cables anymore. You use ropes

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HiFiMAN3878 t1_ivfqs8z wrote

Those Yamaha flagships looks pretty slick, didn't expect to see this level of headphone from Yamaha. Looks like they stole the look of the Utopia a bit though.

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Ok-Pop8065 t1_ivgw3g2 wrote

How does lofi sound with this setup

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nokkynuk t1_ivfz964 wrote

Looks like the glass hotline room in control.

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jpfeif29 t1_ivg1pjl wrote

its pretty impressive isnt it

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scottyh750 t1_ivhjgx9 wrote

Hi Thanks for this post, it is effing awesome,

1 quick questions if you have time....

How do the bathys sound using bt/anc? How do they compare(sound) with utopia and clear(I have clear(non mg)

Thx

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emptyvasudevan OP t1_ivhv59y wrote

I tried with my phone, anc felt good. I didn't check format type so probably was using aac.

Utopia and Clear are much better experiences than Bathys. Bathys also doesn't feel as premium in hand, and is smaller than others as well. Having clear must feel like endgame I hope!

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scottyh750 t1_ivi3rbs wrote

Thx for your reply! I shouldn't really comment on the clears, it wouldn't be fair, i have others that I have been using for waaaay longer that sound better (imo) Could be due to not enough "burn in" time though(lol)

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emptyvasudevan OP t1_ivi50i6 wrote

Could you please share something about the others? I am really curious as I place Clear very high up!

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entivoo t1_ivnpn7m wrote

I heard from Darko Audio that the Bathys is made and assembled in China. The only thing that is France about it is the driver, they are directly sent from France to the assembly factory in China. Perhaps that is why.

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scottyh750 t1_ivi66ev wrote

Mine sound a bit mechanical(don't know how else to explain it)

hoping this changes over time.....

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slktrx t1_ivib29p wrote

Please tell me you also sat in the Eames to complete the experience

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thms0 t1_ivitxcm wrote

Too bad 1 euro == 1 dollar now, would have been the deal of the century for me. (Still is heck of a deal!)

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33erer t1_ivjn4ig wrote

was this the 2022 utopia? you preferred them to the susvara?

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emptyvasudevan OP t1_ivjoxpc wrote

It was 2022 Utopia. Preference is hard to tell as I had them at two different times of the day, far away booths.

Utopia was the best among focals clearly coz I heard them all together. However, I heard Susvara, Shangri La together; couldn't find much difference during my brief time. Maybe that says great things about Susvara.

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entivoo t1_ivnp00m wrote

Man, god certainly charges a very hefty price just to let us hear him talk.

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[deleted] t1_ivedcbx wrote

[deleted]

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Alpintosh t1_ivegysh wrote

Op was in an audio expo. So this is not their equipment. And it's not Spotify.

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emptyvasudevan OP t1_ivei0ty wrote

its Tidal Hifi which is flac

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Aud3o t1_iveify5 wrote

My bad, on mobile it really looks like Windows with a really big Spotify interface. Hope it was even more mind blowing than expected.

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kazuviking t1_iveitjf wrote

Tidal is not lossless lul.

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Lafenear t1_iveqzvk wrote

From Tidal.com:

Allows you to stream audio using the lossless format FLAC, creating a crisp and robust music streaming experience.
−1

jbergens t1_ivez4wn wrote

A system with a laptop as source never sounds good, you must have heard wrong! /j

−8

Crater_Dude t1_iveh216 wrote

It has tubes, so it MUST be better! 🙉 (this is a joke btw... just in case it isn't obvious enough)

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hfcobra t1_ivfsbe0 wrote

Those tubes are individually picked for each he-1 sold. These headphones are as ridiculously meticulously created as the price implies.

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Crater_Dude t1_ivgdyjc wrote

Audioengineer here,

those tubes - no matter how well selected they might be - offer zero advantage over even mediocre transistors regarding measurable sound qualities. People might like them for their sympathetic imperfections aka harmonic distortion or "warmth", but that is a purely subjective impression that can not - under no circumstances - be factually better than transistors in terms of their specifications. You won't find tubes anywhere in monitoring paths at recording or mastering studios led by people who know what they are doing. They are simply not linear enough.

What does make those headphones special, is their ability to maintain their composure during the most complex recordings and difficult instruments like pianos or organs. Factors like membrane compression, distortion and frequency range make a good headphone. Not tubes. Tubes are a selling factor, because they look nice and CAN be what the listener wants. However, this is purely subjective and you don't need a headphone amp THAT expensive to get the same or similar sounding results. This is just a prestigious object to show off or express a certain fascination about all the craftsmanship that went into it. A lot of people fall for the usual marketing strategies and blindly buy into the idea that expensive and shiny equals better. Simply not true. I love Sennheiser products (including their microphones, which I use myself), but the headphones visible in the picture would perform better on a transistor based amp, if linear sound reproduction is what the listener aims for.

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InFortunaWeLust t1_ivlozae wrote

Well couldn't the tubes be used to color the sound sig a certain way? Along with everything else that went into the tuning.

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Crater_Dude t1_ivouxb1 wrote

In sound production this is common practice, because you create what the listener will later hear on their stereo as intended by the artist's and/or producer's vision. That is where the tuning takes place.

In sound reproduction (hi-fi), you want to extract said vision as close to the original as possible. That's the idea.

While being interesting to look at and accompanied by many myths, all a tube really does (if at all) is add harmonic nuances that aren't part of the original recording and thereby distorting the signal. Due to their fanbase and big marketing claims of wider soundstages, superior clarity and what not, they still have a place in the hearts of audiophiles. I also call a pair of old tube monoblocks my own, but I'm fully aware of the technicalities behind them and sleep better, knowing that I don't have to use them to power my speakers in order to enjoy my flac files and records in all their glory.

That being said: they're either status symbols (especially at the given price point), a nod to the earlier days of hi-fi and electronic engineering or - sadly the usual - a sign of how easy people can be tricked into a feeling of imperfection which results in buying ridiculously overpriced gear.

Now excuse me, while I pre-heat my 30 year old tube monoblocks and listen to some Chet Baker 🫡🫣

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InFortunaWeLust t1_ivqu15t wrote

Would you buy the HE-1s if they were the same price as HD-800S? (Given you would spend this much on a set of headphones)

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Crater_Dude t1_ivu0umj wrote

I imagine both headphones would sound quite similar without the marble top tube amp on something like an RME ADI-2 DAC or Lehmann Audio Linear Black Pro, so I would choose based on design and comfort.

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mostlyfecalmatter t1_ivegnlz wrote

Laptop fan noise.

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SB116 t1_ivf9bet wrote

What god awful last century laptop are you using where the fans kick in by playing music?

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Brymlo t1_ivfp0xf wrote

Maybe he’s playing DSD 512 with some high settings.

−1

Parvaty t1_ivfahka wrote

Its not gonna ramp the fans during music playback. And hes at an expo, theres already lots of background noise.

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InFortunaWeLust t1_ivlpfna wrote

looks like hes inside a sound proof booth, the ENT i get my hearing test done at has similar glass booth, looks familiar, but i could be wrong.

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Darth-Memeious t1_ived0b5 wrote

Why do you have a marbled amp??? XDD

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Froztik t1_ivefaho wrote

Because it's part of the HE-1?

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Darth-Memeious t1_ivit9i0 wrote

Gee i guess that pissed of somw people mighty some... i mean, are there actuall benefits to having an amp from marble or is it just for the bling... because stone, what if you need to get inside, it cracks

1