It’s been 32 hours since these cans arrived. They have been on my head 12 of those 31 hours, so I feel like I have a good general impression of them now. I want to be careful and not fall into the trap of confirmation bias or “Holy shit I spent this much money, they better be good” bias, or any other for that matter. And so, the HEK experience begins.
Straightaway, these cans are off the hook amazing. And it’s not all about the sound, either. Headphones are a physical interface to your music, so how you interact with them (and they you) is a big part of the overall experience in my opinion. Using and interacting with these cans is a joy. They have such a wonderful look to them; I appreciate the design. Unlike the XS, the build on these cans is excellent. They have a premium and solid feel to them, and they make no noise when I manipulate them. So picking them up and having them in your hands feels really nice. To me these feel very light, and when I put them on, they wrap around my head nicely, making them extremely comfortable. Overall, the user experience in this regard is excellent. In fact, here is a shot of them in action!
Of course, I had to get a few things sorted, such as signal path and which cable to use. Critical considerations for me to be sure, but going through the process was enjoyable, and you get to build your knowledgebase. I have decided on the DDC - S/PDIF path to the Frost over the Unison USB. I know that may be contrary to popular logic as it pertains to this DAC, but to my ear I’m enjoying the S/PDIF input more. And after a lot of back and forth, I chose the periapt cable. Happily, the stock cable wasn’t bad at all. In fact, I put it on the XS. The Tripowin was really great and a slightly warmer cable than the Periapt, which surprised me a little. I thought it would go the other way. But the Periapt got the nod by a nose, so the Tripowin went over to the Radiance, which is a striking look for that already sexy set!
Which leads us to the sound portion. It’s still very early days, man, so I’m still learning about them. But oh my God. It’s absolutely mind-blowing how fast and detailed these things are. The stage is huge and very holographic. Imaging is razor-sharp. It’s like nothing I have experienced before. As an example, When I hear a xylophone, I can hear the hit of the percussion stick AND the note it produces! Vocals, guitars and acoustic work in general is sublime on these. You can get a sense of the soundbox on a piano and hear the hammer as it strikes the string. Cymbal work from a master drummer is enthralling. I can hear every little roll and fill. I was a little concerned about the extra energy up top, but it’s not an issue at all for me. In fact, I embrace it. Turns out if there is a recording that is a little too spicy up top, I can take that edge right out with just a small EQ adjustment. Amazingly, these don’t need much adjustment at all, even for my compromised ears. It’s absolutely incredible. Bass is wonderful. They won’t appease the Bass Gods, but there is a good amount of beautiful, impactful and well controlled bass that does punch well and can even rumble.
So these are the things I have learned so far. The overall music experience has elevated to a new level. The world melts away when you have them on. Much more to come, I am sure, and I am looking forward to it. What a headphone!