Alright. Sit rep.
I thought I would have to burn the Helios for 50 hours before it corrected itself. Failing that, I got a dud pair. Thankfully none of that applies. There was a marked change in sound signature even after 3-4 hours of playtime, I still left it to burn for 12 hours.
So sound post burn-in. The richness is still there, but the veil is somehow lifted and the mids and highs come in clearly now. The muted detail I experienced before has been replaced with micro details I enjoy when picking out those little things in songs. I still feel that vocals are a bit recessed, especially since the highs can be sharp.
I really like that it’s got a good separation and soundstage. Imaging is alright, but it’s not terrible. There is a decent amount of low end that hits you when need and adds to the richness, however I’m not a bass head and I’m coming off using planars as my mains so this opinion is probably biased.
If there was a choice of pads, I would go between Yaxi TH900 pads and ZMF Ori suedes. The Yaxi ones bring the highs up to a level I like, while the ZMF Ori smooths everything especially if you’re sensitive to highs. I feel as though a perforated hybrid would be great if people want the highs without making things sibilant.
There is a certain clamp around the temple region that increases with time, especially when you’re wearing the Ori pads. I suspect this will go away with time, but for now it’s a little annoyance I have to put up with.
I’m liking the Helios better, especially when I bought it for $130. It can easily pass off as something in the $200-300 range. More so given how it looks. I’m not writing this off as a bad purchase like I did the Vokyls, so yeah I’m definitely keeping these in my collection.
Addendum: I finally got what the Helios sounds like, the dynamic drive version of the Hifiman HE5SE, with a touch more on the highs