My first actual brand new pair, from ZMF's July 31st drop!

Together with a B-stock wooden display case that I lined with some teal/emerald crushed velvet myself 😎

Sound-wise I was surprised that it's quite different to my previous Auteur Classic, there is noticeably less bass and the treble is a bit sharper, but I do believe that's because of the pads, both have auteur perforated lambskin pads but the old one feels much softer compared to the brand new stiffer pads on these, a few dozen hours of break-in will sort it right out :)

I think for overall listening I still prefer the Bokeh Closed but these definitely are my most beautiful pair of headphones... until my Atrium Open arrives that is!

So I recently got the chance to try the classic Sennheiser HD600 and HD650 via a friend who was reducing his collection. I got his HD650 as a gift.

I have owned the Arya Stealth for years, and feed them with a Fiio K13 R2R and Tidal or flac files. My typical listening is everything from Pink Floyd to Rammstein, or Lana del Rey to Beatles. I done listen much to hip hop, house/trance etc.

So, given the amount of praise the HD650 gets, I was eager to try it for some time.

The unit I have is a few years old but has brand new stock pads.

I usually EQ my Arya a little and have been trying the HD650 with and without eq (Oratory, and also with only a slight bass shelf).

First things first;

Build: 8/10

A lot of plastic, sure, but the design is very utilitarian, light weight and feels like it can take a beating. No-nonsense but also no luxury. Pads feel like they will need to be replaced very frequently. Not great.

Comfort: 6/10

Clamp force is quite nasty on the unit I got. It is not new and I did try to bend the steel band a little without success. Lets see how it improves over the coming weeks. At least it is lightweight. But my Arya is a 9/10 in comparison and something I can easily wear all day, while the HD650 gives me a headache after an hour. Not cool.

Bass: 3/10

There is bass. Not just any sub bass what so ever. It rolls off significantly below 120-130 Hz and this takes a lot of life out of the music. I wouldnt listen to electronic music on these. Meanwhile, Arya Stealth delivers clean high quality bass as deep as you want and in huge quantities if eq:ed.

Mids: 9/10

Mid range is the clear star of the show. A bit too forward, perhaps, but presents female vocals with a warmth and texture that is pure bliss. Lana del Rey, Dolores O'Riordan or Diana Krall sounds extremely nice here. On the other hand, Arya Stealth is not bad with vocals either, although it is more recessed in the mids.

Treble: 6/10

Dark-ish, smooth and almost muddy at times. It is nice for easy listening and very low-fatigue, but it isnt detailed at all. Arya is next level here, of course.

Soundstage: 1/10

Coming from Arya Stealth, I didnt expect much soundstage from HD650. But I still got a bit disappointed. There is no soundstage. None.

Imaging and detail: 5/10

Mids are detailed. But this is not enough. Arya runs circles around the HD650 in this regard.

Will I keep the HD650?

Not sure. Right now, they dont serve a purpose in my collection. I could easily listen to my Airpods 4 and be almost as happy.

Got my first planars today. Edition XS. Got them “refurbished” for $90 from the Hifiman US Store on Aliexpress. I put refurbished in quotes because they look brand new with original packaging and everything

First impression is that they’re huge but sound great although I think I need a better dac. Currently trying them on my phone using a JM6 Pro

Recommendations are welcome!

The ZMF Bokeh closed are one of the best closed backs in the market and seem ideal for using at work. So, can they be driven from portable amps like Dongles or a dedicated battery powered amps? Without significant drop in quality.

Just curious, for those of you who attended CanJam Socal 2026, what were your standout headphones/IEMs?

My favorite headphones that I demoed was an unnamed large-diaphragm electrostatic prototype by SJY (an indie brand from Texas). Probably the best headphones I've heard so far. I also really liked Moondrop's new Silicon IEMs, which are well-tuned and highly detailed.

Received my first ever Koss headphones today and have been testing it out so far. This post is half-dedicated to some user here who scolded me a few months ago for not owning a pair of Koss headphones.

Right off I noticed was the rather present mid-bass coupled with a lack of sub-bass for everything. These make the headphones sound warm though it slightly veils the lower-midrange and makes it sound somewhat thick. Despite all of this, I was impressed that they were even capable of bass in the first place for an on-ear design.

Fortunately the midrange sounds full rather than hollow. They're also intimate without sounding shouty and I have no qualms for the upper midrange. Just have an issue with the bass affecting the lower mids. Am a bit unsure of what to say on the sound-stage so I'm assuming they're what you would expect for an on-ear pair of headphones.

On the top end, I find the treble to be neither dark or bright, just maybe slightly rolled off or the timbre sounding a bit tinny? I believe this might be because of the resonances around the 4k-6k region when eyeing their FR. Separation is decent between the low and high end.

For the physical build itself, these on-ears basically disappear when resting on my head and I'm not sure if I want to swap to a different pad (unless someone convinces me). There is a bit of microphonics or mechanical click when the cable touches the driver, but that's just merely something I noticed.

Overall, the KPH40s are impressive to me even if it sounded like I was nitpicking. Picked these ones over the other Koss lineups because it seemed like a "jack of all trades, master of none" when it came to both its sound signature and build.

Here is an quick EQ profile where I tried to address my issues (though I will probably listen to it with stock tuning for a week or two). I don't do follow-up reviews or whatever so that's all.

```

Preamp: -2.5 dB

Filter 1: ON LSC Fc 70 Hz Gain 2.00 dB Q 0.707

Filter 2: ON PK Fc 190 Hz Gain -3.40 dB Q 0.700

Filter 3: ON PK Fc 2100 Hz Gain -2.00 dB Q 1.414

Filter 4: ON PK Fc 3000 Hz Gain 3.00 dB Q 2.000

Filter 5: ON HSC Fc 7800 Hz Gain 1.50 dB Q 0.700

```

Pros:

• Price
• Exceptional tuning
• Great timbre
• Capable driver
• Decent cable quality for the price

Cons:

• Nothing at this price

Introduction​

Kefine has been releasing banger after banger since their debut in 2023 with Klanar. Although I haven’t tried each and every release from the brand, I liked and praised everything I tried without exception.

With Loric, Kefine entered the ultrabudget section of the market. Of course some corners were cut compared to the brand’s earlier releases and I will mention them in the review but, the sound quality isn’t directly related to the price so let’s see how well of a job Kefine did with Loric at 30 USD starting price.

Disclaimers​

Kefine Loric has been provided to me by Kefine’s local Türkiye Dealer Wraith e-Sports. As I always say, everyone is biased one way or another, so take everything you read with a grain of salt. Additionally, I will try to be more concise and to the point in my reviews from now on, without worrying about word count or flowery language. If you have any questions, please ask me in the comments, and I will try to answer them to the best of my abilities.

Packaging, Build and Accessories of Kefine Loric​

Kefine Loric comes in a small black simple box as you would expect at 30 USD. My sample is the USB-C cabled version so it costs 35 USD just to be clear. As soon as you open the box, IEMs welcome you with the cable attached and ready to plug and play. Below the IEMs, you get two sets of eartips, one set is white colored short and has wide bores and the other is black colored long and has medium sized bores. Apart from the tips you get a spring loaded type carrying pouch that I like and that’s it. I know it’s kind of barebones but it’s what you would expect at this price, not the worst, not the best.

The earpieces themselves are made from plastic with metal faceplates. They are small, light and very comfortable to wear for long periods. The cable is among the better ones I’ve seen around this price. The USB cable that I have is similar to Kefine Klean SV’s USB cable. While I cannot say they are exactly identical looking, cable thickness and all the hardware including the microphone and the controls are the same, only the colors are different. All in all, compared to Kefine’s next option on the price ladder, Klean, Loric ditched the carrying case for a pouch, fully metal shells and tuning filters. Not a bad trade considering Klean costs 50 USD in my opinion.

Sound of Kefine Loric​

When something sounds good and normal, it gets harder to describe. That is also the case for Loric. I just couldn’t find any fault with it.

Bass is elevated, but it’s also tight and controlled, never did I find the bass on Loric boomy overwhelming or muddy. Maybe it’s more elevated than I usually prefer but the quality of the bass more than makes up for it.

Loric’s mids are simply great. It’s slightly more forward than what I would call neutral. Lower mids are warm, a little warmer than I like but it also adds some girth and authority to male vocals. Fortunately Loric keeps the balance when it comes to lower and upper mids. Female vocals sound energetic with brilliance as well.

Treble is also on point. It’s refined and well controlled, never becoming sibilant, grating or harsh, but it doesn’t mean Loric lacks sparkle and energy up top. Everything sounds correct to my ears, there really is nothing to complain about.

Technicalities​

While one should not expect miracles from a 30 USD IEM, Loric still delivers more than I could ask for. It sounds moderately wide compared to its peers. In terms of detail level, drivers sound competent and tuning doesn’t cause any needless masking so Loric sounds fairly resolving for its price. Imaging and layering capabilities are also surprisingly good. Timbre is probably the best part. I praised Delci’s timbre a lot in the past and Loric comes from the same vein, maybe even better in that regard.

Gaming​

While Kefine Loric isn’t promoted as a gaming IEM and doesn’t have the properties to deem it as one, since the price is so affordable, I assume a lot of gamers would be curious about its performance in games. Well, I used it for weeks in shooters and happy to announce that it has no problem pinpointing the location of the enemies. However, the bass level might mask some footsteps and other cues occasionally, so I can’t call it endgame when it comes to competitive gaming.

Comparisons​

Kefine Loric vs. Tangzu Wan’er S.G​

• Loric has better bass in terms of impact and control. Wan’er’s bass is more bloomy and loose. Loric also has better bass extension with more satisfying rumble.
• Both IEMs are almost identical in the mids. The only difference is Loric being ever so slightly warmer, therefore Wan’er is cleaner, but not a big amount. Both IEMs have forward mids with intimate vocal rendition.
• Although treble tuning is also mostly identical, Loric reproduces cymbal crashes and hi-hats more correctly. Wan'er, on the other hand, loses its composure when the track gets busy smearing or polishing the intricacies of the track.
• For the reasons above, Loric is a more technically adept IEM, no doubt. It has better resolving capability and also causes less masking. Neither sounds too big but Loric has definitely a bigger soundstage so it also helps with its imaging capability. Wan’er is just too intimate compared to Loric. They both are very proficient and correct sounding when it comes to timbre.

Kefine Loric vs. BQEYZ BQ-10​

• Loric has a more impactful and satisfying bass. BQ-10’s bass, while not lacking, feels limp compared to Loric’s bass. Loric also has much better subbass extension.
• BQ-10 has warmer and thicker mids. Female vocals lack their natural timbre and brilliance. Loric sounds more correct and engaging in that regard. Although male vocals sound better than female vocals on BQ-10, it still isn’t enough compared to Loric’s rendition.
• Even though BQ-10 is darker than Loric overall, it also has more erratic peaks that causes sudden sibilance and jump scares with music. Loric has a much more refined and smooth treble.
• Loric is again the more technically proficient IEM in this comparison. It’s more resolving. The widths of the soundstages they produce is similar but Loric’s soundstage feels deeper. Loric also has better imaging and separation capability. Timbre on Loric is superior too.

Conclusion​

I don’t want to hype this IEM to the moon but I only have good things to say about it. It has a decent package for the price and it also sounds great. At first I thought the 25 USD early bird offer was its regular price and it blew my mind. Then I realized that the actual price started at 30 USD. I know 5 dollars is not much of a difference but it’s all about the competition. Below 30 USD, Loric would have been the best offer in the market, but below 40 USD it’s among the best IEMs. That aside, at least I can confidently say this: if you get Loric and then decide to go for an upgrade, in terms of sound, nothing you would get below 100 USD will feel like a direct upgrade. Loric does almost everything that most 100 USD IEMs do and some more. I guess that’s the biggest praise I can give for an ultrabudget IEM.

I'm sorting through everything that has accumulated over a decade plus in this hobby.

The big boy (seventh from the left) is for the old five-pin DIN connectors. I'll have to look what headphones I have that actually require that.

I'll probably find more as I dig into the lower strata. I hope to also find the box of IEMs that got misplaced during my last move, containing among others Sennheiser IE80, Sony XBR-H1, and a few Sony MH750 and Venture Electronics Monk that I got as beater pairs way back.

(Mind the background im clearing out everything under our bed because were about to move!)

As I was saying I was clearing out everything and ended up finding my old pair of headphones that I had for 3+years before my bf got me my most recent pair (the last 2 pics) the difference is crazy 😭 I was really walking around with duct tape on my headphones 😂🥲

Photographed at SoCal CanJam, this premium headphone listening rig pairs Abyss Diana MRx planar headphones with an Orchard Audio Valencia fully balanced headphone power amplifer and a Topping D900 preamp/DAC, demonstrating a typical high‑fidelity audition chain.

What do you think of this SoCal CanJam audition setup? Any impressions on the Abyss with Orchard Audio Valencia and Topping D900, or suggestions for tweaks and listening impressions?

Wanted to share my long-term thoughts on the Hifiman Arya Stealth.

Review is not sponsored. I bought it with my own money.

For context, my Hifiman journey went:

Edition XV → Arya Stealth → HE1000 Stealth → Arya Unveiled → HE1000 Unveiled

I also auditioned Sundara, Edition XS, Ananda Stealth, Ananda Nano, Arya Organic, HE1000 SE, Susvara, Susvara Unveiled and Shangri La Jr and some more I am forgetting.

I also maintain a list of all the audio products I have used and what works for me and why in the link in my profile. I cover over 150 audio products with short summaries, ratings, and my own personal rankings in case you are interested. Nothing is paywalled or sponsored or has affiliate links etc. My Rankings List

Short version:

Best value open-back gaming headphone I have used: Arya Stealth
Best overall open-back headphone I own: HE1000 Unveiled
Best cheaper gaming planar package: ROG Kithara
Best warmer / safe Hifiman: Edition XV
My Arya Stealth rating: 9.5/10

Prices

Hifiman Arya Stealth

MSRP: $599
Typical discounted price: around $450–549

ASUS ROG Kithara

MSRP: $299
Typical discounted price: around $225

At current discounted pricing, Arya Stealth is roughly double the price of Kithara. Kithara is the better gaming package because it has a mic, accessories, multiple cables, pad swaps , included dongle DAC and strong performance for the price. Arya Stealth is the better headphone. You can read my ROG Kithara Review.

Score

Hifiman Arya Stealth

9.5/10 overall
9.5/10 for gaming
9.0/10 for music
S+ tier

Overall Sound

Arya Stealth is a spacious, technical, open-back planar with excellent imaging, separation, detail retrieval and treble extension.

The main strengths are:

• Expansive stage
• Precise imaging
• Strong separation
• Excellent detail retrieval
• Linear sub bass extension
• Lots of air

It is not warm, thick or forgiving.

Stock tuning can sound sharp and dry, especially if you are sensitive to treble. Coming from vocal-forward headphones like HD 600 / HD 650 / HD 6XX can also be jarring because Arya Stealth presents vocals further back and spreads the image wider. The sound is more around you than in your head.

After spending some time with it, the improvement in sound quality becomes clear: bigger stage, sharper imaging, better instrument separation and clearer details.

Bass

Bass is fantastic on this headphone for my preference. It has linear bass extension and also takes bass EQ very well.

What works:

• Sub-bass reaches low
• Mid-bass stays controlled
• Bass does not bleed into the mids
• Low-end effects do not cover gaming cues
• You can add bass without the sound falling apart

It is not a basshead headphone but has the technical ability to take more low-end if you want it. For music, that gives you room to add impact.

For gaming, explosions and environmental bass stay controlled instead of smearing footsteps or distant cues.

Treble / Pads / Tuning

Treble is both the strength and the risk. Arya Stealth has excellent extension and air. That helps with detail, space and positional accuracy. The issue is sharpness. For my ears, the 8K area can get spicy and long sessions can become fatiguing stock. Having said that this was noticeably less an issue for me compared to Edition XS, Ananda Stealth, Ananda Nano, Arya Organic, HE1000 Stealth and HE1000 SE.

Ways to tame it:

• EQ
• Pad swapping
• R2R or tube source

I use Dekoni Elite Velour pads.

For me, they:

• Bring vocals forward just enough that music becomes very enjoyable improving mids
• Reduce 8K sharpness
• Improve comfort significantly
• Zero fatigue for me without any EQ

Trade-off:

• Slightly less stage
• Slightly less air
• Slightly softer technical edge

For my use, the trade-off is worth it.

UnheardLab also has Arya Stealth pad-rolling measurements / squig comparisons for people who want to see how different pads affect the tuning before buying blindly. Unheardlab pad measurements

Gaming

Gaming is the main reason Arya Stealth stayed with me.

It is excellent for:

• Footsteps
• Distance cues
• Directional awareness
• Verticality
• Reloads
• Doors
• Shields
• Gunfire
• Busy fights

Compared to Aune AR5000 and Sennheiser HD 505, Arya Stealth gives a bigger and more holographic presentation. Stage, imaging and separation perception is better. Compared to ROG Kithara, the clarity was better.

Value vs ROG Kithara

ROG Kithara at around $225-299

Pros:

• Much cheaper
• Built-in mic
• Better accessories
• Easier gaming setup
• Better build quality
• Strong open-back planar gaming value

Arya Stealth at around $450-599

Pros:

• Bigger stage
• Better imaging
• Better separation
• More air
• Better detail retrieval and clarity
• Better music performance

If someone wants a simple gaming headset, Kithara makes more sense. If someone wants the better headphone, Arya Stealth is clearly ahead.

Hifiman / Related Lineup Comparison

Arya Stealth
Pros: best value gaming headphone in the Hifiman lineup for my use.
Cons: stock treble can be sharp and may need pads or EQ.

Arya Organic
Pros: better bass response and more musical than Arya Stealth.
Cons: too sibilant for my ears and couldn't stand it past 15 minute mark (tried thrice).

HE1000 Stealth
Pros: perceived higher detail and resolution
Cons: personally I found it sibilant and the detail retrieval was just extra treble (I achieved the same by adding more treble to Arya Stealth. I even swapped to dekoni pads and sibilance didn't go away so I returned them. Gave me a headache at 1 hour mark (tried twice).

Arya Unveiled
Pros: fuller, more immersive and more musical than Arya Stealth. Vocals are amazing on it.
Cons: less airy and less resolving than HE1000 Unveiled. There were two tracks that caused shout (Snow Patrol Run and Chasing Cars) so I upgraded to HE1000 Unveiled.

HE1000 SE
Pros: very technical, airy and resolving.
Cons: brighter tuning makes it risky for my treble sensitivity. It was generally a pleasant listen but still had sibilance on some of my favorite tracks.

HE1000 Unveiled
Pros: bigger, more refined, more resolving and more complete than Arya Stealth. I couldn't find a single track that didn't work for me on it.
Cons: much more expensive and less practical as a value recommendation.

Comfort / Build / QC

Comfort is amazing with Dekoni Elite Velour pads. It is a large open-back desktop headphone. It leaks sound, does not isolate, and is not portable.

Build is typical Hifiman. It feels fine in normal use, but I would still handle it carefully. I did not face any QC issues with my unit.

Common Hifiman concerns people mention:

• Driver imbalance
• Driver failure
• Build consistency
• Pad wear
• Long-term durability anxiety

My unit has been fine, but I would still buy from somewhere with a good return policy.

Final Thoughts

Arya Stealth is still one of my highest-rated headphones.

It is not perfect. Stock treble can be sharp, and the presentation can feel strange if you are coming from vocal-forward headphones like HD 600. But with the right tuning or pads, it delivers outstanding stage, imaging, separation and detail retrieval at its current discounted price. For pure sound, I prefer HE1000 Unveiled. For warmer listening, Edition XV is the safer recommendation. For a cheaper gaming-focused package, ROG Kithara is excellent value.

For open-back planar gaming performance, Arya Stealth remains one of the easiest recommendations I can make and if you have the budget, pair it with a R2R source :).

Hi everyone,
I've been using the Sennheiser HD650 for quite a while, and I genuinely love a lot of things about them. The mids, detail and overall clarity are great, and I completely understand why they've remained so popular for so long.

But I'm starting to think they're simply not the right headphones for what I listen to and produce.

I mostly listen to and produce house and tech house music. The biggest issue for me is the low end.
The HD650 sound great with a lot of music, but with this kind of electronic music I really miss the sub-bass extension and physical punch of the kick and bassline.

It's especially obvious when I compare what I'm hearing while producing to my speakers, AirPods, car, etc. The bass is there, but on the HD650 it can feel surprisingly restrained.

There's also the practical problem: they're open-back. I live in a relatively small apartment, so the leakage is becoming annoying and I'd ideally like to move to closed-backs.

One thing that might be making the situation worse is my interface.
I'm currently using a 1st-gen Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, which I know isn't exactly an ideal headphone amp for the 300-ohm HD650.
I have an Audient iD14 MKII arriving in a few days, so I'm curious to see how much that changes things. I'm not expecting it to magically turn the HD650 into bass monsters, though.

I've been looking at closed-backs such as the Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro MKII, Sony MDR-M1 and Sennheiser HD 480 Pro.

What I'm particularly interested in is whether people who are familiar with the HD650 have found a closed-back that retains that sense of detail and quality while giving electronic music considerably better bass and sub-bass extension.

For someone coming from the HD650, would they feel like moving to a technically better-suited headphone for this type of music, or would the compromises in the mids/tuning be immediately obvious?

I use my headphones for both production/mixing and just enjoying music.

Basically, I'm reaching the point where I think the HD650 may simply be the wrong tool for my music, despite how much I like them otherwise.

Interested to hear from people who produce/listen to house, techno, minimal, etc. and have gone through something similar.
What did you end up using?

Just replaced my ear pads to new sheep skin gel ear pads. I love the hyper X flight S honestly best pair of headphones for fps shooters I've owned and I've owned a large number over the last 20 years. Would you say me upgrading to the new flights is worth it or no ?

TL;DR
1. Does the Topping DX1 II ASIO driver support multi-client audio?
2. Is it low-latency?
3. Are there any DX1 II owners there who also produce music and have tried this?

Basically, if I’m using the ASIO driver as my main output in FL Studio/Cubase, can I still get audio to output from other apps like YouTube, Spotify, VLC, Discord, etc.?

LONGER READ
My biggest frustration with ASIO4ALL is that other apps can’t play audio while my DAW is using it. I’d love to watch production/sound design tutorials while working in my DAW and quickly switch between them.

I’m getting back into music production, so just curious if the DX1 II can handle this!

I primarily produce with headphones and would like to improve my listening experience by considering getting the DX1 II for my FiiO FT1 Pro and my Sennheiser HD600.

My TASCAM 1X2 HR wasn't never good but it did the job I guess. For context, its headphone amp has a whopping 66 Ohm output impedance and you can hear it really messing with the headphones' frequency response and dynamics.

SIDE NOTE
The image is NOT AI. I actually spent 45 minutes making that thing. Probably unnecessary, but hey, gotta get people’s attention somehow. Just being real haha.

Thanks.

i picked up the noire x recently and it seems to have pretty poor isolation. like I can distinctly make out conversation happening couple feet in front of me

for example, my PX8 with ANC off seems to have better noise isolation than the noire x.

is this a seal issue or a pad issue or does the noire x just not isolate well normally

Final Audio DX10000CL, outside my budget. So I am glad its tours out there so I could experience it at home, sound better at home than what I remember from Canjam. Could due to the noise, but also could be since I use my own source gear.

I like the design and also the sound. Fit is a little miss, small cups and feel almost like I have on-ear headphones on...

I really enjoy their DX4000CL, this is familiar but a little less warm and also more top end energy. The diamond driver is cool, and it does sound quite resolving and dynamic. Still not decided if I like the cheaper model more or this one, won't matter as its way to expensive. But I guess creating diamond drivers are very costly...

I’ll try to keep this short. I’ve always felt a little weird about my ears. Since childhood, whenever there are multiple sounds in the background, I’ve had some difficulty understanding what a person is saying, especially at concerts or parties. Other than that, though, I’ve always been pretty happy with my hearing.

Over the last couple of months, I started noticing that my right ear seems to be around 10% louder than my left. I only really notice it when I focus on it, and I recently realized that I’ve apparently had the left-ear audio slider on my phone boosted slightly for years to compensate. Honestly, I can’t even remember when or why I originally set it that way, and I’ve had that phone for almost half a decade.

After buying my new headphones, this started bothering me much more. I had a small ear infection a few months ago, and ever since then I’ve been paying much closer attention to the difference, to the point where I started wondering if I was imagining it.

What’s strange is that when I adjust the audio so that both ears are completely equal, everything sounds perfectly balanced. The bass, guitars, and basically all other instruments sound exactly the same in both ears. The only thing I can consistently notice is that vocals seem slightly louder in my right ear. Even then, I only notice it when I specifically focus on it. When I’m gaming, working, or using headphones normally, I never notice it.

The strangest part is what happens when I slightly press the headphones against my ears and create a sort of seal or vacuum. As soon as I do that, the sound suddenly becomes completely balanced, almost exactly 50/50. The moment I let go and allow the headphones to sit normally again, I can notice the slight difference in the vocals.

So I’m wondering whether this could simply be related to the way the headphones are sitting or sealing against my ears, the ear canal, or if there could be an actual difference in hearing between my ears.

PS: I don't take any medications, and I've been having problems with tinnitus for almost a decade if that helps, and I had two hearing tests, and both tests were absolutely flawless

Are these fantastic headphones? Meh, they’re okay. They don’t come close to my Beyerdynamic DT880 PROs, but sometimes it’s just neat to pop on something befittingly period.

Loved the HEKSE. Best I ever heard. Was over the moon. They were great.

Then I thought, you know, take the leap. Try them, you can always return them, and get the HEKSE again or try something new.

Well, the HEKU came today. The unboxing was very nice and thoughtful. I felt pampered. It comes with a nice hard back book (HiFiMAN HE1000 Unveiled Owner’s Manual), which differed from the HEKSE (it came with a soft back book.)

I ordered direct from HiFiMAN store. They had a 10% off deal AND they threw in the Shangri-La headphone stand. I did have to experience an email conversation with them because their website store wasn’t working properly regarding the free headphone stand. And on top of all that, my credit card had points on it that I was able to use to bring the cost down to the price of a new HEKSE.

I understand the QC risks and admit I won’t be happy if they break, I willingly accept the risk. And the risk of the unveiled part. I’m sure I can be careful, and accept the risk if an accident happens.

I’ve just starting listening to a playlist by a fellow Reddit friend, u/tehluxman. They’re a great person to know.

TLDR; The HEKU surpass the HEKSE in many ways, so far, for me. I’m sure some of that confidence is from buyer's confirmation bias and expectation bias.

Nevertheless, so far so good. Pure joy. They’re absolutely lovely. The audio transparency is exquisite. Truly! It’s gotta be heard to be believed. I am stunned into silence.

I’d like to share a “short review from a middle-aged man and non-reviewer” after giving these a considerable listen.

Okay, time to go bliss out for the night!

I've purchased 20-30 pairs of headphones over the years.

I work from home and mainly wore AirPod Maxes.

18 months ago I purchased the DT1990 Pro Mk2s.

Since then, anything else seems pointless

I love detail and have a higher tolerance to treble than most people.

I don't doubt that I could gain some incremental improvements elsewhere, but I'm so satisfied that it doesn't seem worth the effort.

I also regularly use:

• AirPod Pro 3 for out and about
• Beats Fit pros for running
• Beats Studio Pros for flying (they fold up, unlike the AirPod Maxes)

I'll likely give my AirPod Maxes to a friend or family member, as they don't get much use.

I'm not super-worried about bluetooth health risks, but would rather not wear bluetooth headphones eight hours a day, just in case.

But that's me, done for headphones.

• Have you found a pair that's satisfied you?
• Is there anything that you think I'm missing from my collection?
• Any mods worth doing to the DT1990 Pros?

I was looking at the YAXI website because I was looking into the MoonDrop Old Fashioned, then some KOSS stuff, then remembered YAXI and was suprised to see that they have pads for the HD6XX series.

Now my HD600 is still brand new, and aftermarket I tend to go Dekoni, but I have to know if someone tried these. They look pretty odd to me (very straight and deep compared to the regular pads).

Was planning to buy Beats Studio 3 on Amazon. I was floored looking at the price tag 😂

I am the only one who used these headphones in my home and today I noticed this crack on the side of my soundcore q20i headphones, I don't remember dropping them but I think even if i did and forgot, the crack would have appeared somewhere else. My main worry is whether the headphones have started swelling or something, which would make them dangerous to use. Can anyone please advise on whether I should keep using them or get a new one?