For all headphone enthusiasts, we present a review of the large HE-1000 Stealth, also known as V3, from HiFiMan Electronics, a Chinese company founded in 2007 by Dr. Fang Bian. HiFiMan produces hi-fi and hi-end audio products, mainly headphones but also amplifiers and high-performance portable music players. In just a few years, the company has built a solid reputation among enthusiasts thanks to its line of advanced planar magnetic headphones with proprietary technological solutions.
HiFiMan’s high-end headphones are audiophile delights unfortunately not within everyone’s reach, given their very high prices. Among them stands out the brand-new HE1000 with stealth magnets, also known as “HE1000 V3”. This is the latest evolution of the historic HE1000 headphone, introduced in late 2015 to widespread enthusiasm for its sound quality and major innovations in planar magnetic technology derived from nanotechnology, later also used in other HiFiMan headphones. At the time of writing, the model has just reached the market and is still not easy to find in Italian stores (it will arrive soon), but it can already be ordered from the official HiFiMan website.
Prodotti consigliati
Technology
The HE1000 uses a diaphragm with nanoparticle thickness, defined as a “nanoparticle diaphragm”, extremely light and very resistant, ensuring immediate response, low distortion, and superior dynamics. An innovative asymmetrical magnet design further optimizes sound flow for more realistic reproduction, perfectly matching the nanoparticle diaphragm, and the resulting sound is described as “planar magic”.
Another innovation introduced with the HE-1000, later also used in other HiFiMan headphones, is the “Window Shade” system, designed to protect the driver while optimizing the performance of an open-back headphone. Thanks to a specially designed grille, this system avoids distortion and interference caused by rear sound wave reflections, achieving a clearer and more refined sound.
A couple of years later, the HE-1000 was further refined with the release of the V2 version, which improved ergonomics thanks to a lighter and more rigid headband and new asymmetrical earcups, refining the already outstanding performance of the first edition. Both the HE-1000 and the V2 version have received countless enthusiastic reviews and are almost unanimously considered among the best planar magnetic headphones on the market.
Today, eight years after the first version, the HE-1000 has been updated with HiFiMan’s latest driver technology: “stealth” magnets. These magnets are designed to be acoustically transparent, drastically minimizing unwanted sound diffraction and producing crystal-clear sound across all frequencies.
We had the opportunity to test for several weeks the V3 version (with stealth magnets) of this exceptional headphone. As with other HiFiMan headphones, the HE-1000 requires a long burn-in period (at least 150 hours is recommended) before performing at its best. These are open-back headphones that let external sounds pass through without attenuation, so they should be used in quiet environments.
In the box, rather Spartan as per HiFiMan tradition, you will find a 3-meter balanced XLR cable and a 3-meter unbalanced cable with a 6.35mm jack. The cables are thin, very flexible, and not particularly refined in appearance, but they seem to do their job well.
From an aesthetic point of view, we consider the HE-1000 V3 simply stunning. The wooden inserts that match the leather headband, combined with the metal grille and the shiny metal adjustable frame, make these headphones instantly recognizable and visually striking both when placed on a stand or desk and when worn.
Listening impressions
From the very first listen, the HE-1000 proves to be an exceptional headphone, with a magnificent and powerful sound and a wide, well-defined soundstage with great realism. Particularly impressive is the low-frequency performance, often considered a weak point of planar magnetic headphones. After many hours of burn-in, a certain harshness in the high frequencies tends to disappear, and the HE-1000 gains another highly appreciated trait: the ability to reproduce even lower-quality recordings in a pleasant and musical way.
The midrange is rich in detail, extremely balanced, driven by the model’s strong personality, giving every note natural vividness and allowing the listener to enjoy every nuance and vibration, all within a deep, wide, and three-dimensional sound environment. In the high frequencies, the HE1000 V3 is no less impressive. Vocals glue the listener to the chair, almost keeping them in tension, following the vocal performance unfolding in their ears. Once burned in, there are no harsh peaks; the highs are well controlled and finely tuned, delivering great detail with a slightly warm natural timbre, harmoniously integrated with the rest of the frequency spectrum.
A special mention goes to the positioning of instruments and voices in the soundstage, a factor that elevates the HE1000 V3 above almost any other headphone: listeners will immediately notice that instruments are not simply placed in front or to the sides of the listening point; they are angled at different degrees and positioned with exceptional realism not only on the X axis but also on the Y axis. This creates the effect, in some tracks, where the lead singer is not only in front but slightly elevated (like on a small stage), while backing vocals and choruses may appear not only from the sides but also slightly lower. This contributes greatly to the hyper-realistic effect mentioned earlier.
The adoption of stealth magnets has increased the efficiency of the HE-1000, now rated at 32 ohms impedance and 93dB sensitivity. They require a good amplifier with strong power and current delivery to perform at their best, but they are not particularly difficult to drive and can still sound good even with mid-to-low range headphone amplifiers. However, we strongly recommend pairing them with high-quality electronics to fully exploit their extraordinary musical capabilities. Excellent relatively affordable pairings include the HiFiMan EF400 or the Topping A90 paired with a DAC of similar level.
Regarding comfort, the HE-1000 Stealth weighs 458g, which is not light, and for those not used to heavier headphones it may initially feel demanding. However, thanks to careful weight distribution and excellent materials, once properly adjusted they are comfortable even for long listening sessions.
Conclusions
The price of this headphone is currently around 1570 euros. Unfortunately, as all hi-fi enthusiasts know, hi-end audio products come at a high cost, and the HE-1000 is no exception. However, for audiophiles who have already appreciated HiFiMan sound in models such as Sundara, Edition XS, Ananda, and Arya, and who can afford it, we can only strongly recommend purchasing this exceptional headphone, capable of delivering a listening experience that feels like attending a live concert. These are outstanding headphones for listening to any music genre. Aside from the non-negligible but well-balanced weight, we can only find one flaw in the HE1000 V3: they are addictive.
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