Hifiman HE1000 Unveiled Review

Hifiman HE1000 Unveiled

In this review we look at the Hifiman HE1000 Unveiled headphone. It is selling for $2,699 USD at this moment.

 

Disclaimer: Hifiman directly sent us the HE1000 Unveiled for this review in exchange for our honest opinion.

Hifiman

If you’re into personal audio, then you must be familiar with the Hifiman brand. It was founded in 2007 by Dr. Fang in New York to produce high-end personal audio products. Hifiman was the first brand to release a high-end portable audio player, the HM-801, which was like a catalyst for Reference Audio Players that we know today.

One of the many points that make Hifiman stand out is that they are a very innovative company, and they are constantly chasing the better, in every price range. They create different flavoured headphones, warm, neutral, and balanced, for every kind of audiophile out there. We’ve reviewed many Hifiman units in the past, and each time we get excited as if it’s the first time. Just type Hifiman in our search box and discover all of our Hifiman reviews.

Hifiman HE1000 Unveiled

For those of you who’d like to know more about Hifiman and their founder, there’s always this interview we did with him.

In this new Hifiman review, we’re looking at the Hifiman HE1000 Unveiled headphone. We have looked at the Susvara Unveiled and Arya Unveiled before, you can find these reviews here:

Let’s get started!

Hifiman HE1000 Unveiled

After the Susvara, the HE1000 headphone was the next one to get the Unveiled upgrade. The Arya followed right after.

“But what is this Unveiled technology?” I hear you say. “Isn’t the regular HE1000 very good already?” With the Unveiled technology, the fully open-back design of the planar headphone – according to Hifiman – completely eliminates the negative effects of sound wave reflection, removing the last impediment to exceptional sound quality.

The HE1000 Unveiled now shows you all the depth and beauty of your music, hence the “Unveiled” name. Basically it comes down to opening up the driver even more, in order to not get any sound wave reflection. Hifiman uses a window shade design to increase the opening rate, maximizing the grill exposure and reducing the probability of reflection and refraction. The HE1000 Unveiled is using Hifiman’s Stealth tech as well as the nanometer thickness diaphragm.

If you’re not familiar yet with the Unveiled principle, you can find out all about it on the HE1000 Unveiled’s web page here. The Hifiman HE1000 Unveiled is selling for $2,699 USD or €2.959 Euro and you can get it from the well-known Hifiman resellers or from the brand directly.

Hifiman HE1000 Unveiled

Accessories, Box, Specifications

The HE1000 Unveiled arrives in Hifiman’s typical imitation leather box we already know by now. For the HE1000 Unveiled it is a black version. New here on the inside are the protecting pouches for the driver and magnetic covers as you can see in the pictures.

In the center of the box you will find three headphone cables, all featuring a single crystalline copper wire alongside a single crystalline silver wire. We have one 1.5m long cable, terminated with a 3.5mm single ended, a 3 meter long 6.35mm single ended cable and a 3 meter long 4-pin balanced XLR. I actually quite like these cables and have used them myself but you can of course opt for a nice aftermarket boutique cable if that’s your thing.

Inside the box I also found the driver measurement, an owner’s guide, a quality check card, the warranty card and a Stealth tech flyer. It’s a nice package and a nice delivery. With the $8k Susvara I expected a lot more, but for the HE1000 series, this is a nice package.

Hifiman HE1000 Unveiled

Specifications

Frequency Response: : 8Hz – 65kHz
Sensitivity: : 95dB
Impedance: : 28Ω
Net Weight: : 450g (excluding Magnetic Veils and headphone cable)

Build Quality & Design

From a design point of view, the HE1000 Unveiled of course looks very familiar already as it uses Hifiman’s excellent headband system.

With the HE1000 Unveiled we have black ear pads and a grey frame, a combination which I like myself. The outside of the ear cup is of course very different with the new Unveiled technology, but I actually like the look of the window shade design, as Hifiman calls it. I can see why it for some might look like an unfinished headphone or prototype, but I’ve always been into weird designs.

The magnetic covers for the HE1000 are also new but these are only on the headphone when it’s not being used. Due to the magnetic properties of the driver, it is important to cover the ear cups with the Magnetic Veils to avoid unnecessary problems or damage caused by the attraction of magnetic objects when the product is not in use. They fit the headphone nicely, and they give it a unique look. No complaints here from me.

I have no issues whatsoever with the build quality of my review unit, and everything looks and feels perfect as usual from Hifiman.

Comfort, Usability & Isolation

The HE1000 Unveiled still weighs 450g (excluding Magnetic Veils and headphone cable) and that’s more or less in the same ballpark as the other reference orthodynamic headphones on the market. We’re already familiar with Hifiman’s headband, and it again does an excellent job in evenly distributing the weight over the top of your head. Even with 450g, it is a very comfortable headphone and I can use it for hours without any discomfort from the pads or the top band. The sound is also effortlessly produced and this easy sound production doesn’t give you any listening fatigue whatsoever. 

Hifiman HE1000 Unveiled

The Hifiman HE1000 Unveiled sports asymmetric and gently beveled ear pads like on the Susvara Unveiled, and they deliver excellent comfort as well. The inner side of the pads never touch your ears and the side grip/pressure sits just right in order to deliver the best comforts and performance.

With the Unveiled principle, the driver basically is very open an vulnerable. I however don’t see how you could damage the driver if you use the headphone like it is supposed to be used. That said, we have seen images of someone’s Unveiled driver being punctured. I have no idea how that happened there, but as not everyone is as careful, the Unveiled headphone come with magnetic covers. These nicely fit the outside of the ear cup, and this time round the magnetic force is perfect (unlike with the Susvara Unveiled). Anyway, this allows you to safely store the HE1000 Unveiled, without any risk of objects being absorbed by the magnetic driver.

The Hifiman HE1000 Unveiled of course is a fully open headphone and as such a lot of music will leak out and noise will leak in. This is a headphone that’s supposed to be used in optimal (silent) conditions.

Sound – Intro

This normally is the chapter in which we find out how the companies describe their products’ sound. For the HE1000 Unveiled however, no description seems to be available.

Let’s find out how it sounds then!

Sound – General

For the assessment I used a whole series of amplifiers (see later), but mostly the Niimbus US4+, SAEQ PDA-1b and the AudioValve Solaris. The HE1000 Unveiled was always connected in balanced mode, with the R2R Aquarius as DAC. The source is my laptop with ROON and the connection is over USB, using a Chord EPIC Digital cable.

Let’s start off with saying the HE1000 Unveiled is a balanced and more neutral sounding headphone. It has a very natural presentation overall, backed by a natural and realistic amount of weight and body. That said, the fulness of bass and mids is strongly dependent on the amplification used.

The part on sound continues on the second page. Click here or use the jump below.

4.3/5 - (171 votes)
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Lieven is living in Europe and he's the leader of the gang. He's running Headfonia as a side project next to his full time day job in Digital Marketing & Consultancy. He's a big fan of tube amps and custom inear monitors and has published hundreds of product reviews over the years.

9 Comments

  • Reply January 29, 2025

    Fonz Vorselaars

    Thanks for a great review. I have some questions. Would you EQ the headphones in the bass or treble department or do you prefer them the way they are?
    I have a Naim Uniti Atom Headphone edition. Is that a good match for the 1000 Unveiled in your opinion? Cheers Fonz

    • Reply January 29, 2025

      Lieven

      I never EQ. I like the HE1000 U just the way it is, but I do use amps to tune it according to my mood
      The Naim is a very good amp, I think it will work well. Most important is the body/weight for the HE1000 U, and the Neim should be good (though I have not heard the combo myself)

      • Reply January 29, 2025

        Fonz Vorselaars

        Thanks for the quick response.In other review people are complaing a bit about the 4000-6000 area. That is it too much !!! That is why they EQ and that’s why I asked you the question 🙂

        • Reply January 29, 2025

          Lieven

          I don’t find it worrisome, but note that I am in my 40s already

          • Reply January 29, 2025

            Fonz Vorselaars

            I’m 59 !!! I had a Meze Empyrean 2. Great headphone but not without EQ for me in the treble. I now have the 1000 Unveiled and the difference is like you said in your review. I had the Naim already and I think that it is hard to find something else that will beat this all in one for his price or do you have a better option in your mind ? No further questions. Thanks again

  • Reply January 29, 2025

    Christian

    Hello,
    could you give some comments about the synergy with the Nimbus amplifier which you just mentioned above?

    Thank you very much!

    Best regards

    • Reply January 29, 2025

      Lieven

      With the US4+ you have a full sounding HE1000 U, with punchy bass, weighty mids, and softer treble.
      The presentation is warmer and smoother/softer to the ear. It’s very engaging and dynamic, but not the most refined. It’s an excellent amp to even out the treble spikes

  • Reply January 30, 2025

    Mark

    How does it compare to Abyss Diana DZ?
    Thank you.

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