Congrats, but please try the HiFiman cable balanced out of your LP. The LP, balanced out is amazing. 1/4" is good, but the balanced is better.
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Get about 50hrs on them and that brightness just kinda goes away. Glad the clamp is good for you, it gave me a headache so thatâs why I suggest dekoni pads.
Glad youâre loving them man!!!
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Yessir, you are correct. Balanced is the only way I roll with the LP! To date I havenât even tried the SE output on that amp.
I am excited to hear how these will settle in over time. But geez, if they are this good out of the boxâŠ
And I will definitely look into the Dekoni pads. The stock pads are working well so far, but I do enjoy Dekoni products and will probably pick up a pair in the near future.
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Welcome to the club, love my HEK v2 OG.
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Thank you, Joe, It is great to be here. I never thought it would happen.
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Itâs 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 âHoly shit I spent this much money, they better be goodâ bias, or any other for that matter. And so, the HEK experience begins.
Straightaway, these cans are off the hook amazing. And itâs 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 Iâm enjoying the S/PDIF input more. And after a lot of back and forth, I chose the periapt cable. Happily, the stock cable wasnât 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. Itâs still very early days, man, so Iâm still learning about them. But oh my God. Itâs absolutely mind-blowing how fast and detailed these things are. The stage is huge and very holographic. Imaging is razor-sharp. Itâs 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 itâs 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 donât need much adjustment at all, even for my compromised ears. Itâs absolutely incredible. Bass is wonderful. They wonât 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!
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Thatâs a Hek of a post!
Iâm glad youâre enjoying them. $1400 for that set is bonkers. HiFiMan just outright flexed on the whole open-back market this summer by slashing Arya se to $999, the Hekv2(se) to $1400 and Hekse to $2000. Iâve not heard anyone else on the market offer total packages that can come close to those at those prices.*
Iâm not surprised you didnât go for the warmer cable on that headphone. Itâs already warm and sometimes you can get too much of a good thing. There are some cables out there that will help with that treble presence without the need to monkey with EQ as well.
I will make sure NOT to say that the Hekv2 series scales up really well with source gear. Which means I wonât mention that as good as they sound on your current setup you can squeeze WAY more out of them as you up your chain game. Planting that seed in your head would be really rude to your wallet so I wonât do that. So this is me, definitely NOT saying that the Hekv2 is a great centerpiece to use as you climb the latter on source gear.
Happy listening, my friend.
*the obligatory disclaimer that no one is required to like HiFiManâs products as much as I do. However, after listening to LOTS of stuff out there this is my honest take: HiFiManâs open-backs lead the market right now in all-around performance at several different price points. Youâll find invidual models that do individual things better (some ZMFs have better mid timbre, Audeze, Focal, and Fostex all slam harder, etc.), but when you consider EVERYTHING, tuning, tonality, timbre, resolution, staging, imaging/separation, physical comfort, HiFiMan open backs set the standard right now. Until further notice, the battle is really for second place.
If youâre worried about me being a HiFiMan shill, watch this.
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You wonât?!? What kind of friend are you? Youâre supposed to help everyone see whatâs possible! 
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LOL!! That was actually in the plan. I figured these will scale well. Looking down range my perceived next move will be the amp. It will be a while before I can do that, but I am no hurry, as I am pretty happy with my current amps, and Iâm sure I will have the internal âAmp or DAC nextâ argument a thousand times between now and then! It does give me something to look forward to, though.
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I feel bad for even mentioning this⊠but, if you dig the way they sound now hang on man, just wait until youâve put 150-200 hours or so behind you - they get nothing but better with some time, itâs not in incrementally dramatic bumps but more an over-all added richness to tone, smoothing and opening up of the top end to be a little more airy and less reactive to that hifiman treble peak.
Very much on board with this - the HEKv2 is one of, if not the most comfortable headphones Iâve had.
Epiphany
a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something
It happens to the best of usâŠ
Glad you are digging the HEKv2 - I do have a strong personal bias to that headphone FWIW - But, it really is a very special piece and potential end-game for many.
Well put. During the initial phases of the first session, I did a couple of V-8 head slaps thinking âSo THIS is what they were talking aboutâ. Seriously, there were a couple of moments where a sort of emotional response came over me when certain passages were played. Some of the Hans Zimmerâs âPlanet Earthâ work will send chills down your spine. The second movement of Beethovenâs 5th actually choked me up a little. This is powerful stuff. The way these phones deliver music is game-changing for me.
Iâm pretty sure these are end-game for me as well. Honestly, by the time I cycle through the other parts of the chain, that will be that, so to speak. So, if in fact this is the last headphone, this is a sweet place to land. I feel like this headphone is the upper boundary for the gear I presently have. Not to take anything away from the other sets etc. I have, mind you. I love my stuff! In my opinion the Radiance runs with this set in many areas, but the devil is in the details, and this set delivers the details. It simply gives me a glimpse into what is possible. And when/if the other chain upgrades happen, the HEK will be ready.
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How wonderful!
Hek have been in my cross hairs for a while now. But, having never heard one, and being very happy with my HE-500, Iâm nervous about taking the leap - you guys are doing a fine job of chipping away at that though!
I understand what Iâd gain by upgrading, but, from what I understand, there is a somewhat romantic view of the OG HE-500. They have certainly beaten out every other can Iâve owned. So, I guess my reticence is more, what (if anything) would I be losing by upgrading? Can anyone speak to this?
V2 NMD Custom Pads is the latest configuration using Ice Silk fabric, Extreme comfort for hot weather too.
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@Raptor168 congrats on the hekv2, and will be curious what you end up with chain wise later on for them lol
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Thank you. Itâs going to be interesting indeed! My initial thought process is to do the amp next, but have no clue as to what it will be. Let the research begin. Itâs gonna be a while!
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Burson soloist 3xp seems to be the favorite on head-fi so far. Gotta a buddy that loves his with his oor but I have a feeling thatâll change when his Cayin ha6 comes in.
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Thanks for the insight. The soloist and the Oor are amps I have been looking at, as well as the Vio VHA-V226 and the GSX-Mini. But itâs just looking right now, I wonât be in a position to buy anything for a while (back to saving! 
) I could whip out a credit card, but Iâm not going to do that. Things are just too uncertain out there right now. And who knows, by the time I am ready, the amp landscape could change. So we will see.
I will say that the Liquid Platinum is doing a damned fine job, so I have some time. That said, I tried the HEK on the SA-1 and it was awful. Sometimes I wonder if my SA-1 is starting to fade. I have not tried the SH-9 yet. I am hoping to get to that in a day or two. And just for shits and giggles, I may hook 'em up to the Frankenstein monster rig in the bedroom. Iâm willing to bet the Denon will drive them well and in fact am more anxious to try that than I am the SH-9!
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Definitely save the pennies and Iâd probably shoot for the 3xpGT when the time comes if you go the burson route. Also audio prices are crashing on popular items so Iâd wait for the deal you can live with.
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When you say ha6, do you mean the iHA-6 or the HA-6A?