I have to admit, I wasn’t too eager to try these headphones at first. Having kids around made me wary of the “naked driver” design, even though I do have a separate office to reduce the risk. My friend Sandu from Soundnews urged me to give them a listen—and when Sandu says that, you don’t ask questions; you just listen. I’m glad I did.
If you’ve read my Solitaire P review, you’ll know I criticized Hifiman for raising the Susvara Unveiled from $6,000 to $8,000 while shifting some design risks onto customers. Thankfully, that’s not the story this time. With the HE-1000 Unveiled, Hifiman kept—actually slightly lowered—the price around $2,600 compared to the original HE-1000, and I’m delighted to report the sound is significantly better. So, what’s not to like? You’re getting much-improved audio at a lower cost, which helps justify the risk of having an exposed driver.
Video Review here
Specifications
You can find tall the details here.
Will leave a few notes below:
The fully open-back design of the HE1000 UNVEILED planar headphone
eliminates the negative effects of sound wave reflection, an obstacle that
impairs sound quality.
The model is named UNVEILED because the depth and inherent beauty of
the music are unveiled to the listener. The technology is based on the
cutting-edge innovation and heritage of HIFIMAN’s flagship headphones,
SUSVARA UNVEILED. Since the nanometer thickness diaphragm is sensitive
to reflected sound waves, it is necessary to further increase the openness of
the back of the headphone. This was the inspiration for the HE1000
UNVEILED’s removable back panel.
Technical DataFrequency Response: 8Hz-65kHz
Impedance: 28Ω
Sensitivity: 95dB
Weight: 450g (excluding Magnetic Veils and headphone cable)
Package Contents
(1) Pair of headphones
(1) 3m headphone cable (4-pin XLR plug)
(1) 3m headphone cable (6.35mm plug)
(1) 1.5m headphone cable (3.5mm plug)
(1) Pair of Magnetic Veils
(1) Pair of ear pads (mounted on headphone)
(1) Owner’s Guide
Listening Impressions and Tests
Before getting into more details, let’s give a few details of the system used. My setup was: PC-> Matrix Element H powered by the Keces P8 linear power supply -> Audioquest Diamond USB -> Denafrips Gaia -> (i2s Audioquest Diamond) || Or directly Network Cable-> Rockna Wavedream Reference Signature -> Holo Bliss KTE -> Hifiman HE-1000 || T+A Solitaire P Headphones.
Summer 3- The New 4 Seasons – Recomposed by Max Richter
Listening through the new HE1000 Unveiled, Richter’s modern reimagining of Vivaldi is rendered with extraordinary openness and precision. Summer 3 (2022) is particularly striking: the headphones present a captivatingly expansive soundstage with layers of rich detail. The strings are vibrant and lifelike, delivered with a graceful treble extension that reveals their complexity without ever crossing into harshness. This transparency allows the listener to appreciate not just the superb clarity of individual instruments, but also the subtle interplay and emotional depth woven throughout the performance.
Rodrigo Y Gabriela TerraCentric
With the HE1000 Unveiled, “Terracentric” is a spectacular showcase of speed, dynamic energy, and transient precision. Every note emerges with electrifying clarity—sharp, defined, and bursting with immediacy, highlighting the headphone’s superb transient response. The percussive hits—actually Gabriela’s rhythmic hand slaps against her guitar—deliver remarkable low-end impact, textured and deep, underscoring the track’s energetic pace with authority. Guitar plucks are wonderfully tactile and playful, creating an immersive and vividly lifelike presentation. The HE1000 Unveiled brings this track’s vibrant energy front and center, making the listening experience both thrilling and engaging.
Infected Mushroom- Spitfire
Oh man. It is interesting, as I wouldn’t have mentioned soundstage for this song, but the intro into the song is just grand on these headphones. It puts you into an epic concert hall, preparing you to enter a thriller like, grand experience. Then the bass hits. Loved every second of it. It wiped the floor me. It hits hard, it has wonderful control and it goes very deep. This happens while all the other electronic sounds jump around around you in all directions. I felt part of the song being thrown in all directions with the music. The HE1000 Unveiled masterfully captures the track’s dynamic energy, speed, and intricate detail, making you feel as though you’re physically placed within the music itself.
2 Cellos – Mombasa
Mombasa proves once again just how thrilling a listening session with the HE1000 Unveiled can be. The cello strings burst to life with vibrant energy, delivering textures and resonances in extraordinary detail. The headphones showcase an impressively expansive soundstage, allowing the music to breathe and envelop you fully. Bass notes possess addictive presence and control, combining seamlessly with pace, rhythm, and timing (PRaT) that compels you to keep listening. The overall combination of clarity, dynamics, and depth makes this track irresistibly captivating and a true highlight of the headphone’s capabilities.
Johnny Cash – I Hung My Head
Listening to Johnny Cash’s voice through the HE1000 Unveiled was genuinely captivating. It surprised me how natural, textured, and vividly present his vocals sounded compared to the original HE1000—almost as if Cash himself was right there in the room. The guitars complemented this beautifully, rendered with remarkable tactility, clarity, and realism. But the standout was undoubtedly the transparent, nuanced portrayal of Cash’s voice, rich with detail and emotional depth, delivering an intimacy that made it feel as if he were singing directly beside me.
Earth Melodies – Ekaterina Shelehova
“Earth Melodies” is a particularly revealing track, perfect for evaluating the tonal accuracy and dynamic range of any headphone or system. Ekaterina’s powerful vocal extension into the higher registers often exposes harshness or brightness due to pronounced upper-midrange emphasis on lesser systems. While the original HE1000SE sometimes edged toward harshness in these challenging moments, the HE1000 Unveiled notably improves upon this aspect. Her voice was rendered more naturally and gracefully, maintaining impressive extension without any excessive sharpness or shoutiness. The Unveiled headphones allowed for a smoother, more organic portrayal of her vocal timbre, significantly enhancing the overall listening experience.
Futha – Svanrand
“Svanrand” appeared unexpectedly after “Earth Melodies” and completely caught me off guard—especially with the HE1000SE Unveiled. The powerful drums delivered a startlingly physical sensation, their impactful strikes genuinely felt as if they were resonating through my body. The headphones effortlessly conveyed an expansive, almost cavernous soundstage, giving extraordinary presence to the haunting chorus, which enveloped me entirely. The chant-like vocals, intensely immersive and slightly unsettling, became genuinely gripping thanks to the superb spatial presentation and precise layering. This track was not just listened to; it was experienced, immersive, visceral, and undeniably unforgettable.
Summary
Bass
The bass performance is superb. It delivers an impressively hard-hitting impact, excellent control, and outstanding extension, clearly fuller compared to the original HE-1000SE. If previously the Susvara surpassed the older HE-1000SE in bass impact and depth, the HE-1000SE Unveiled has now confidently resolved this, offering richer, deeper, and more impactful bass.
Midrange
The midrange presents incredible detail and remarkable textural richness. It successfully addresses the upper midrange issues of the original HE-1000SE, which tended to sound somewhat shouty. The HE-1000SE Unveiled delivers a more transparent, natural listening experience, thanks to improved balance in the critical 1–2 kHz area and a reduction of the previous peak around 3–4 kHz. Vocals, in particular, have better presence, enhanced transparency, and a wonderfully natural texture. Overall, the midrange now feels more consistent, detailed, textured, and lifelike.
Treble
Treble performance has notably improved on the HE-1000SE Unveiled. The original HE-1000SE had sharp, fast, and detailed highs, but occasionally became overly bright, especially around the 7–8 kHz range, causing listener fatigue on certain tracks. This brightness has been effectively mitigated in the Unveiled version. The treble now offers a more natural, smoother presentation while retaining excellent detail and presence, balanced in a way that’s enjoyable rather than tiresome.
Soundstage
The soundstage of the HE-1000SE Unveiled is truly addictive. It effortlessly expands every song played through it, creating an expansive, seemingly limitless stage—particularly noticeable in epic tracks such as Viking-themed music. Beyond its impressive size, the stage offers remarkable holographic imaging and precise instrument placement, delivering an exceptionally immersive listening experience.
Dynamics/Speed
This was already a domain where the HE-1000SE excelled, renowned for its pinpoint precision, sharp attack, and quick decay when paired with suitable gear. The HE-1000SE Unveiled maintains these impressive traits, featuring exceptional transient response, explosive dynamics, rapid attack, and precise decay. This results in world-class macro and micro-dynamics, along with precise imaging capabilities.
Tonality
As noted in the midrange discussion, tonality is significantly improved compared to the older HE-1000SE. The Unveiled edition presents a smoother and more balanced frequency response with fewer pronounced peaks and dips. Consequently, this achieves better transparency, more consistent sound, and a considerably more natural tonal character.
Details
The HE-1000SE Unveiled delivers an abundance of detail, clearly qualifying as world-class in this area. Details are abundantly present yet well integrated, enriching the overall musical experience without becoming distracting.
Measurements
As you can see, the bass linearity is superb in the fr measurements. Also the distortion measurements is top notch.
Compared to HE-1000SE
The green measurements is for the HE-1000SE. As you can see, the Unveiled has a considerably more linear frequency response and it very apparent in the listening experience as well.
The distortions were already very low on the HE-1000SE. Now, let’s not forget that my mini dsp ears is not a professional grade measuring tool, so I am not sure how accurate is the comparison here, but while he-1000se already had low distortion, with the unveiled this was basically cut un half.
Comparison to T+A Solitaire P
As you might now, those are my favorite headphones for the moment. Read the whole review here.
The red curve represents the T+A Solitaire P headphones. As illustrated, the HE-1000SE Unveiled offers a more linear frequency response overall, including in the sub-bass region. Both headphones exhibit impressively low distortion, with the Solitaire P possibly edging ahead slightly due to a notable peak between 3–4 kHz observed on the HE-1000SE Unveiled.
Right away, it’s clear the Solitaire P has a darker and warmer sound signature compared to the HE-1000SE Unveiled. The midrange is notably more linear on the Hifiman headphones, resulting in a more upfront and prominent presentation of instruments. However, subjectively, the Solitaire P creates an intriguing soundstage effect, subtly pushing instruments slightly further back into the scene, yet preserving excellent details and textures. This somehow creates a more holographic, natural soundstage experience, as with HE-1000SE Unveiled it sometimes feel that everything is coming to you at once in comparison.
In the bass region fr measurement (~40 Hz to 200 Hz), the Solitaire P clearly has a more pronounced response, offering greater impact and warmth. This aligns with my listening experience—the Solitaire P’s bass is punchier, more engaging, and more enjoyable overall, while the HE-1000SE Unveiled presents a more technically accurate and more linear bass performance.
The Solitaire P shows a considerable dip between 3 kHz and 6 kHz, translating into a smoother and somewhat laid-back upper midrange. This is especially noticeable with female vocals, which have greater clarity and presence on the HE-1000 Unveiled. However, the Solitaire P still delivers a highly appealing vocal presentation: male voices have a captivating, visceral presence, and while female vocals are less emphasized in the upper mids, they remain natural, detailed, and richly textured. Vocals overall seem more natural and transparent to my ears on Solitaire P. That being said, I love the presentation from the HE-1000 Unveiled as well.
Treble on the HE-1000SE Unveiled appears more detailed and consistent. It’s worth mentioning, though, that I did not personally perceive the measured treble peak on the Solitaire P; this anomaly may be attributed to the difficulty in achieving ideal headphone placement on the Mini DSP EARS due to Solitaire P’s clamping force. While the Solitaire P’s treble is slightly more relaxed, it integrates seamlessly into the overall frequency response and provides a balanced listening experience.
Regarding soundstage, both headphones excel remarkably. The Solitaire P offers an impressively natural and spacious presentation, yet the HE-1000 Unveiled manages an even larger perceived soundstage overall. Solitaire P’s soundstage sounds a bit more natural and holographic to my ears, while the HE-1000SE sounds sometimes a bit too amplified and because it is more linear, I feel like sometimes all sounds come at you in a wall of sound. This being said, both are great here.
Let’s talk about dynamics and tactility. While HE-1000SE unveiled is great, the Solitaire P still win in ultimate tactility and dynamics. Let’s take guitar plucks or strings in general, they offer a stronger attack and body on Solitaire P. They just sound more visceral, have more detail and offer a more tactile, physical experience. The HE-1000SE is still great here and offers incredible precision in the leading edges. I would say that with Solitaire P the strings and guitar plucks move more air, have more impact in the attack and are more visceral, while the HE-1000SE unveiled is still very tactile and offer a bit more “zzzing” energy in the upper midrange.
Both the Solitaire P and the HE-1000SE Unveiled are superb headphones. The HE-1000SE Unveiled is notably more linear, while the Solitaire P has a warmer and more colored tonal balance. Despite the technical differences, the Solitaire P’s bass performance, PRAT, visceral impact and mesmerizing vocals remain compelling. Personally, the Solitaire P still sounds slightly more natural and realistic to my ears, though this impression is inherently subjective. For example, in the Solitaire P interview I mentioned I was startled by the sounds because they sounded so natural, I felt like the sound was originating from my room. And while to some degree, this happened with other headphones, the sensation was short enough for the brain to quickly understand is coming from the headphones. With the solitaire p, the sensation is longer and I actually need to look around.
Both are great in the transparency department, but I would say that the Solitaire P has an edge here. When I refer to transparency, I refer to how easy you are transported within the music.
Personally, I still prefer the Solitaire P, but ultimately, aside from potential risky design issues with the HE-1000SE Unveiled, the choice between these headphones will largely depend on individual preferences and budget considerations. Also, from a comfort perspective, the headband from he1000se offers better comfort than the Solitaire P for longer listening sessions.
Conclusions
Initially, I approached these headphones with some skepticism, but I must admit that the HE-1000 Unveiled truly impressed me. Unlike the Susvara Unveiled, where Hifiman transferred potential risks to consumers while increasing the price(from 6000 to 8000$), the HE-1000Unveiled is actually priced lower than the original HE-1000SE, while significantly enhancing sound quality.
From a purely technical standpoint, these headphones are extremely challenging to surpass at any price point. Their performance genuinely places them among the very best available today.
Pros
- Exceptional bass response featuring superb impact, precise control, and rich detail.
- Highly detailed and richly textured midrange with improved linearity; upper midrange harshness from the older HE-1000SE has been effectively addressed.
- Crisp, detailed treble with the problematic peak from the older HE-1000SE now eliminated.
- Remarkable precision, clarity, and definition in transient responses.
- Outstanding dynamics, pace, rhythm, and timing (PRaT).
- Immersive and expansive soundstage.
- Significantly improved overall tonality compared to the older HE-1000SE.
Cons
- The clamping mechanism and protective plates are not ideally implemented. The plates, secured magnetically, are somewhat loose, requiring careful handling each time they’re removed or reattached to avoid potential damage to the drivers. For users with children or without a dedicated listening space, it’s advisable to store the headphones in their protective case after each session.
- While the headphones’ linear frequency response is a significant strength, it may lead to listening fatigue during extended listening sessions.
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