Atrium VS HE1000V2..?

Can anyone compare & contrast these?

I would assume Atrium has less detail, but more bass, and more natural sound. HE1000V2 is probably lighter, more comfortable, worse stock cable, faster, lighter bass.

I can’t compare and contrast the HE1000v2’s for you and that may not help you, but I do own a pair of Atrium’s. I may be able to lead you in the right direction with the Atrium’s…I will start with the weight of them…They aren’t that bad for as heavy as they are…I have had quiet a few two or three hour listening sessions…They never made my neck tired or head hurt…They are actually really comfortable.

I listen to them primarily on my Woo Audio WA6 tube amp and my Asgard3 for when I use solid state…I primarily listen to rock, classic rock, 90’s R&B and late 80’s to mid 90’s rap.

As for the sound of the Atrium’s they are amazing…I am not the best at describing the sound but here goes nothing…The sound stage is wide, deep,airy, and almost holographic…When you listen to a well recorded live concert, it feels like you are sitting a few rows back center stage and you are in the middle of everything from the music to the crowd…

The upper treble is a little bit rolled off, but it has gotten a lot better over time during the burn in process…It has been said many times it takes between 100-150 hours to get them burned in…

The bass is tight and punchy…It has a good kick to it…The Atrium’s may produce the most real sounding drum you will hear…The sub bass is there it isn’t overly strong, but you can definitely feel it…It is more than enough for me…

The star of the Atrium is the mid range…The mids are clear, crisp and detailed…They really shine on male and female vocals, acoustic and rock.

Pad rolling with the ZMF’s is a thing also…I left the stock pads on for the first 125 hours or so to get used to them…I using the BE2 hybrids with them.

Customer service with ZMF is really good also…If you have any questions or problems and e-mail them they respond promptly and are really helpful.

I don’t know if you have ever listened to the Atrium’s or not…If you haven’t I would suggest that you do…That is the only way you will really know if you like them or not. When I bought mine it was between them and the Focal Utopia’s(2022). While I really enjoyed the Utopia’s, to me they didn’t meet all of my likes that the Atrium’s did…There have been multiple times that got lost in the music I was listening to and just had a big smile on my face listening to it. As I said earlier I am not the best at describing everything when it comes to the sound but I tried my best…I don’t see myself selling my Atrium any time soon or ever for that matter. Just my 2 cents…YMMV

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Thanks so much, man! :slight_smile: I owe you a Coke or something!

I had not considered the weight between these 2… I have always wondered if the ZMFs could be made of simple metal or plastic instead of wood, and still sound the same, and be lighter. It’s too hard to choose between any of these, without hearing them #_#

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@WaveTheory did do a review on the atrium and did have both a hek and hek se, so he should be a save choice for reliable info :wink:

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I do have reviews up for each. I’ll link below. IMO dollar-for-dollar no one is out-resolving HiFiMan right now. They’re a little more subtle about their detail retrieval so it doesn’t always stand out as such. Where it really shows up is when music gets busy, like the finale of 1812 Overture or Duel of the Fates kind of busy. Where most headphones freak out a bit at that much simultaneous info, those huge planar drivers hold their instrument and vocal separation and their spatial coherence together noticeably better than anyone else right now. The next best is Utopia and LCD-5, but those don’t bring the grandiose scale that the big egg-shaped HiFiMans bring either. It trails off from there. I also think HiFiMan is strong in timbre through the whole frequency range. You’ll find some other brands (like ZMF) that might do mid-timbre or treble timbre better, but they’re hard to beat over the whole 20Hz-20KHz range. There can definitely be some treble sharpness on the wrong signal chains, too, so that is something anyone considering one needs to be aware of. The Atrium has more physicality with more bass impact than the HiFiMans and has a savory timbre to it where it excels at a narrow range of music genres. If you’re into those genres, it’s amazing. Outside of that it’s a bit meh and has a bit of mid-range glare to it that I found fatiguing. But OMG is it beautiful in build, and also sonically when you listen to music in its wheelhouse. More details in the videos:

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Okay so I have had the HE1000se and Atrium at the same time. I agree with what @WaveTheory said, though I don’t think that the music greatness of the Atrium is really all that narrow in scope. Let me preface this next part by saying I haven’t heard the 1Kv2 so I don’t know how similarly I would feel about them so take into account that this references the 1Kse, but I would think there would be a lot of similarity there especially with what I’m about to say.

If I was deciding between the 1Kse and the Atriums a big part of that decision would come down to how you prefer do most of your music listening. The 1Kse has a very detailed, very grandiose presentation that is much more suited for active or even critical listening. Not that it’s obtrusive or negative in any way, it’s just that when a headphone is sending that much info at you it demands the attention of the listener.

OTOH, the Atrium create a pretty relaxed mood for me. They provide a good amount of detail, but in a relaxed, musically enveloping way that gives you the option to be absolutely engrossed in the music or to kick back and cruise the internet, tuning in and out as you please. You can essentially be as involved as you want.

I, personally, like to have both kinds of headphones. If I was deciding between two pairs of high calibre headphones that are I’m likely to enjoy, then Inwould prioritize which type of listening I do most or am looking for a headphone to accomodate/support and factor that into my decision. The first time I acquired the 1Kse, I was burnt out and stressed out and was doing FAR more relaxed listening than anything critical or overly involved. Even though I REALLY enjoyed their presentation, I just didn’t end up using them much and I don’t know about you, but I can’t afford to keep $3k tied up in a pair of headphones that I’m not using. I ended up selling them and then over a year later buying them again and, because I was in a different place with different demands, they become my most used headphone.

I know that probably seems like a very obvious piece of advice, but as someone who has failed to take my needs into account more than once, I figured I would say something. The greatest headphone in the world isn’t worth much in my collection if I’m never using it. Both of these headphones are great on paper and in reality. Just make sure you consider which one fits YOUR reality.

Happy hunting! And make sure you let me/us know which you pick and how it works out. :+1::sunglasses:

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Great stuff, TYVM!

I wonder if we can compare these headphones to IEMs… I love how Hook-X sounds; zero fatigue, relaxed treble, with a beautiful & uniquely lush, non-dry, shimmering, silky sound quality, and solid bass backbone. Contrary to something like Tin T3 with a darker, metallic tone, or HD600/DT880 with an obvious, dry tone. I don’t know if a dynamic driver can sound lush & vivid like Hook-X, or what specific kind of dynamic driver(berrilyum?) is able to. I would like the sound to be noticeably different/better, and NOT typical dynamic dry or planar metallic, from HD600/DT880/NDH 30/etc, HEwhatever/etc. Some obvious statements/thoughts, I suppose.

Okay, so the 1Kse is actually a pretty full and lush planar sound but I don’t think the treble is as conservative as the HookX. It’s certainly better extended, but I also don’t find it fatiguing, peaky, overly bright, or otherwise offensive. The Atriums are an even more lush and cushy sound that is very far away from anything dry like my HD800S. Of the two, I think the HE1Kse more closely resembles the HookX, but it’s still quite different. I have always found it difficult to compare IEMs and over ears though so take that with a grain of salt.

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