Moon Audio Dragon Cables

[smatsui324]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Looking forward to your impressions!

I've had my HEK v2 for over a week now burning in 24/7. I'm really enjoying this headphone way beyond my expectations. I like the v2 much better than the v1. The issues that I had with the v1 (softness) have been addressed by the v2. Owners of the v1 and v2 report that the v2 is slightly brighter but I don't find the v2 bright at all. In relative terms of brightness of the headphones that I've owned, I think the HD800 is the brightest, followed by the SR-009, Utopia, LCD X, HEK v2, AQ Nighthawk (the NH being too dark). The HEK's soundstage is larger than the Utopia in terms of width and depth. The HEK's bass is the best that I've heard in a headphone. It's well textured, and deeply extended but it doesn't intrude into the midrange. The Utopia's midrange was the best I've heard in a headphone and it still may be but the HEK is no slouch in this area and may be equal (just not sure yet).

Oh and comfort, the HEK v2 is king here. The Utopia is very comfortable but the HEK is even more so. It sounds like I the HEK v2 better than my Utopia and that may be true but it's too soon to make that judgement. In a few months I may add a headphone amp to my main speaker system that will be primarily for the Utopia. Since I like tubes, I may get a tube amp for the Utopia or a slightly dark SS amp. My Luxman P700u that I used for this comparison, has a very expansive soundstage, and neutral signature. I think the P700u is perfect for my HEK. I think the Utopia would mate well with a slightly, but not overly dark sounding amp of high pedigree.

I'm extremely happy with my new HEK v2 and I'm glad I picked it over the LCD4. I've never heard the LCD4 and it may be a great headphone but I'm done with heavy headphones. Even though the carbon fiber headband makes heavy headphones like my LCD X much more tolerable, it doesn't make them much lighter and the heavy weight still detracts from the listening experience. The HEK headphones almost disappear on my head which makes for an enjoyable listening session. For reference, the source that I used was my new Aurender N100H 4TB connected by a Curious USB cable to my new Bryston BDA-3 DAC that is in my basement system.