Having just reviewed the extremely impressive HiFiMAN Arya Unveiled which have become one of my favorite headphones below $1,500, we reached out to the manufacturer to see if they would be amenable to an in-depth look at the new HiFiMAN HE1000 Unveiled which retail for substantially more money. At $2,699 USD, they are one of the more expensive planar models available and not without some controversy.
The open design which leaves the fragile planar drivers exposed has created some concern in the Head-Fi community. Seemingly sacrificing long-term durability for improvements in sound quality is a valid concern.
HiFiMAN does provide covers for the ear cups when you are not listening, so it’s really a question of treating your headphones with care. Plus, we suspect that most people spending between $1,000 and $3,000 on a pair of headphones are not tossing them onto the couch next to the dog and a pile of remotes.
Some common sense has to prevail.
Just how do the HiFiMAN HE1000 Unveiled perform for $2,699 USD?
The proof is always in the listening.
Technology
Sporting some of the largest planar magnetic drivers in the headphone category at around 160 millimeters in height, the HE1000 Unveiled also features several unique technological advancements, all in an effort to maximize sonic performance.
First of all, they use a Nanometer Thickness Diaphragm. This equates to the substrate of the driver being less than one millionth of a meter in thickness, making it weigh in the microgram range which HiFiMAN say contributes, along with the use of double-sided magnets, to improved dynamics as well as more pronounced attack and decay characteristics.
As with many of HiFiMAN’s recent headphones, the HE1000 Unveiled uses the Stealth Magnet Design. Rounded magnets responsible for moving the diaphragm reduce air turbulence, minimising its own effect on resultant sound waves for an unobstructed listening experience (again, paraphrased from HiFiMAN’s own marketing).
Finally, as the name of the headphones suggest, Unveiled technology has been implemented. This is merely the removal of any coverings on the back of the drivers which can reflect sound waves back into the headphones, adversely affecting sound quality. By removing the covering, this difficult-to-control variable has been removed.
The removable back panel is called a Magnetic Veil. When not in use, it simply acts as a protective shield.
Design & Comfort
The HE1000 Unveiled comes in at around 450 grams, slightly heavier than the Arya series of headphones in HiFiMAN’s collection. This is because the latter uses more plastic in its build.
Various metals are used extensively in the build, including stainless steel for the headband and aluminium for the yokes and cups. This is to be expected for a pair of headphones costing multiple thousands of dollars though.
Despite the increased heft, the weight was distributed evenly across my entire head along with a perfect level of clamping force. Even with the additional weight, these unorthodox looking planar magnetic headphones were very comfortable during long listening sessions.
The Arya Unveiled’s padded head strap has been replaced with a thinner faux-suede solution, though this didn’t impact comfort whatsoever. I can imagine the HE1000 Unveiled will be the more comfortable of the two during hot summer days, as the holes on the strap help with ventilation.
The hybrid pads in use on the majority of Arya and HE1000 variants are present on the HE1000 Unveiled, and I have no complaints. They are of course very tall, and plenty deep enough to prevent your ears from touching the drivers. Comfy too; they seem to be made of some sort of memory foam.
An important PSA for people with small heads however: these headphones may be too big for you, with the smallest headband setting not being small enough for particularly miniscule craniums. This could result in a broken seal, affecting the frequency response.
Overall, the HiFiMAN HE1000 Unveiled are built really well and feel premium — which should be considered mandatory at their price point. While not exactly evoking a sense of luxury, they have an all-metal build with tight tolerances and not even a hint of creaking or scratching anywhere.
Finally, you get the added bonus of a fancy display box, complete with individual cloth bags for the veils and cups as well as a hardcover owner’s guide and three decently pliable cables included.
Said cables use a mixture of copper and silver in their construction, and each cable has a different connection (3.5mm, quarter-inch, 4-pin XLR). Unfortunately there’s no 4.4mm balanced option in the box, but I assume many of you would buy or already have a fancier dual-3.5mm entry cable to use with the HE1000 Unveiled anyway.
Do I think you should be worried about the exposed drivers? In my specific use case, it was not a major concern. I don’t live in a super dusty environment and don’t have small magnetic bits and pieces lying around on my desk. I think the vast majority of potential customers fall under the same category as me, so there’s nothing to worry about in my opinion.
I would not leave these exposed around pets who might be curious or extremely prone to shed everywhere.
Listening
The HiFiMAN HE1000 Unveiled was tested on both desktop and mobile listening setups, to get a good idea of its power requirements and scalability.
At home, the headphones were plugged into the Aune S17 Pro amplifier, which was connected via 3-pin XLR to the SMSL DO400 DAC. Data was fed to the stack by a laptop, which played a mixture of FLAC files and Spotify streams.
In the office, the HE1000 Unveiled was hooked up to the iFi GO link Max DAC/amp dongle, which was plugged into a mobile phone via USB-C purely playing Spotify music.
So, how does the flagship egg-shaped HiFiMAN sound? In short, really excellent across the board. Let’s get into the details though.
Bass
The HE1000 Unveiled proved to be rather surprising in the bass range. There is no question that bass information is well defined and articulate but headphones like the Abyss Diana series and Final Audio D7000 surpass the HiFiMAN in the $3,000 range when it comes to overall impact and quantity.
It goes without saying, the bass extends deep below the human audible range, and has a fast and superbly textured characters which has a marked impact on the outstanding timbral qualities of the headphones — but bass monsters these are not.
The bass grabs your attention but remains neutral with little to no added emphasis, allowing the rest of the track to shine through. Macrodynamic impact is a lot stronger on the HE1000 Unveiled compared to the Arya Unveiled for example, despite the latter having a warmer overall tone.
“Still D.R.E” by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg is a surprisingly well-recorded tune, I recommend giving it a little test on your headphones if you haven’t already. It’s also a great test of bass, with a deep rumble playing on loop throughout the entire song. On the HE1000 Unveiled it hit like a freight train with immaculate attack and decay qualities, but didn’t overpower Dr. Dre’s vocals in the slightest.
Midrange
A common theme with the Unveiled series has been the emphasis in the midrange and that’s certainly the case with the HE1000 Unveiled. Will some find it to be too much emphasis? I think it will depend on the source gear and amplifier on the other end and one would be best advised to steer clear of components that are overly dark or warm sounding. Neutral sounding Dongle DACs or desktop amplifiers with enough power would make more sense.
The midrange here is most certainly on the smoother side with a lot of detail and some rather audible warmth from the lower midrange through to the lower treble. Some might not like the romanticised version of events but that would be an accurate description of it. Clarity is never an issue, but instruments exhibited an added layer of texture which is great for presence but these are anything but incisive sounding headphones.
Both male and female vocals were clear and pushed slightly forward with the additional emphasis. I found this especially noticeable with Alina Baraz’ “Fantasy,” the artist’s ethereal and breathy vocals filling out the entire soundscape but at the same time grabbing my attention with its fullness. A killer combination.
Treble
The treble on the HE1000 Unveiled is certainly more balanced than older HE1000 versions. This slightly toned down upper frequency response seems to be a new direction for HiFiMAN, as seen with the Arya Unveiled as well.
For example, I found the HE1000se to introduce listening fatigue after a couple hours of continuous listening due to its slightly elevated treble, but had no such issues with the Unveiled.
Despite the treble being pared back, they maintain a supremely high level of clarity and detail, which goes to show just how well made the planar magnetic drivers are.
Providing a non-fatiguing listen for all except the most treble-sensitive, the upper frequencies are smooth but snappy where they need to be. The hi-hats and cymbals which punctuate “Never Catch Me” by Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar were well defined but never became piercing to the ear.
Imaging & Soundstage
I have seen some audiophiles describe the soundstaging on the HE1000 Unveiled as being better than that of the $8,000 Susvara Unveiled. While I haven’t heard the Susvara myself, the staging capabilities of the HE1000 Unveiled is definitely the best I’ve heard from a pair of headphones.
The holography is nothing short of outstanding, the imaging is pinpoint precise thanks to a well-defined central image, and the soundstage seems to have limitless width, depth and height courtesy of the sheer size of the planar magnetic drivers.
Steven Wilson’s “Luminol” showcased the HE1000 Unveiled’s top-of-the-range layering abilities, with each instrument having plenty of space to breathe and its own clearly defined space in the mix. You can just tell that the album was recorded in a medium-sized studio by the way each instrument reverberates in space.
Drivability
With an impedance of 28 Ohms and a sensitivity of 95dB/mW, the HE1000 Unveiled should be relatively easy to drive.
As expected though, simply plugging the headphones into the headphone jack on my phone or laptop wasn’t quite enough. It sounded good but dynamics were somewhat blunted and the soundstage was noticeably shrunken.
Moving up to the iFi GO link Max, I found it to pair really well with the HiFiMAN, providing more than enough power with no noticeable degradations in sound quality.
But the best sonic experience was with the Aune S17 Pro amplifier ($649 at Amazon) and SMSL DO400 DAC ($499 at Amazon) stack. The Class A amplifier imparts a hint of warmth to music and expands the soundstage even more.
So the HE1000 Unveiled only really needs a few hundred milliwatts of power to sound its best, but it does scale nicely with better source equipment.
The Bottom Line
I really can’t fault the HiFiMAN HE1000 Unveiled. They have upped their game yet again with their Unveiled series of headphones, if you can look past the fragile nature of the exposed drivers.
Their new Arya Unveiled was a success thanks to its improved tuning. The HE1000 Unveiled has continued this new tuning direction while providing class-leading dynamics and staging which trumps headphones costing thousands of dollars more. Hopefully HiFiMAN will continue to implement this warmer tuning on their upcoming releases.
Pros:
- Faultless tuning, with a toned down treble compared to predecessors
- Comfortable to wear for long hours
- One of the best staging headphones I’ve heard
Cons:
- Too large for smaller heads
- Exposed drivers could worry some
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