I listened to the Vaughan Brothers "Family Style", and I have to say, the HE-R9 presented me with a "level of enjoyment" that was up a notch from my Sony and Denon studio phones. Wearing them, I feel these phones are very lightweight, comfortable, but are a bit large. I cannot say they are $600 phones, but at under $100, they are a bargain. The front end feeding them is important, and a long break in time is required for them to show what they are capable of. A wonderful investment, imo. Always, MrD.
Yes, I ordered a pair.....
So, on May 24th, I received my HIFIMAN HE-R9 through Amazon. I had watched and read every video / review on these, and when they went on sale for a ridiculously low price (another poster here alerted me of this), I figured I had nothing to lose. If I did not like them, I would return them. I have always been a headphone guy, but only about 10% of my listening time were through headphones. I have owned many headphones over the years, including electrostatic phones by Koss and Stax. I owned for a short time, AKG K1000 (on permanent loan from a buddy of mine who was the rep in my area), which were a very interesting sound, but did not excite me (I might be the only one). Just like speakers, amps, dacs, etc., headphones are a personal choice. Choices from open back, closed back, dynamic, planar, on ear, over ear, in ear and so on. Shielding against outside noise, or not, for home / studio use, or portability for travel / on the go. What diversity. And the pricing? All over the place. Not to mention, the pairing of a source / amp to integrate with them, and the listener...in this case, me. Anyway, listening to the HE-R9 for the 1st time, using a highly modified cd player through my Headroom THE MAX, I was very disappointed. With a professional price accommodation, I received my MAX around the same time my comrade Wes Phillips (RIP) completed his Stereophile review, as I trusted his ears, although we were both very different types of listeners. HE-R9 : Bass was in excess....muddy, no detail, and seemed to display this characteristic throughout the midrange. Vocals were hollow sounding and subdued, and the treble.....harsh. Not a performance I wanted. Living alone and owning ss gear makes it possible to have my main system, 24/7, playing recorded music. My Creek OBH-11 is routed through a record out of my preamp, always on. The HIFIMAN were put into "break-in" mode through the Creek, again, 24/7.......until last night. What I can say after a month of waiting, these are a very FUN and enjoyable headphone... using THE MAX....I have listened to several cds I am very familiar with and enjoy "immensely", since my new re-introduction to the R9. As discussed by many, including Paul M., headphones do not give you that visceral feeling in your midsection as when listening through loudspeakers. I love my system for that, a lot. As I was listening to "A Tribute To Jack Johnson", my personal favorite Miles and of which there are many, through the HE-R9, I was hearing details that were not there before, that I did not hear before. There is a spatiality to the HE-R9, that I feel is remarkable. Keep in mind, (1) I listen loud (2) Headphones eliminate the room and its interactions, and I greatly appreciate that (3) I listen for the musicianship, the composition, and of course, hear "everything" involved, for the final take (mic placement, eq, etc). I am enjoying this headphone system, but with anything, I will need more time with them, before I open them up and do a few mods (or just buy a 2nd pair). BTW I am being paid as a seller affiliate for every pair sold through my link (and I have a bridge to sell’ya!). lol My best, MrD.
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@mrdecibel Thank you for the well presented review. Just for break in time clarity if I read correctly you indicate 24 hours a day for a month is what you allowed for the R9? I have a friend with the R9s and I did enjoy listening to his setup, but I never inquired how the initial time went when he first received them. |
@larsman , these really needed break-in, but honestly, in my long career, this break-in time was quite excessive, except for some top end Morrow Audio ICs that needed hundreds and hundreds of hours, to play nice. @drrsutliff Yes, 24/7 for 30 days. I just forgot about them and let them play continuously. I do this break in with power amps quite often, some, taking up to a week to "settle in". My best, MrD. |
@mrdecibel Thank you for clarifying the timeline. I agree about a week or so (approx 150 hours) for my amps to settle in but I find it fascinating that we could be looking at 750 hours for the R9. Excellent insight for those of us considering acquiring these in the future. |
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@jfrost27 They likely broke in way before the 30 days, although I do not know for sure. I will say, they are a very enjoyable listen. |
