The HIFIMAN HE1000 Stealth caught me by surprise in a few different ways. Right from the introduction and the confusing naming scheme, to how this differs from the Arya Stealth/Organic and HE1000se, there were plenty of questions about how exactly this fit in the HIFIMAN headphones lineup. The current sale prices make it all the more relevant given you can get this for $100 more than the new Arya Organic, $400 more than the Arya Stealth, and $600 less than the HE1000se—all of these are heavily discounted. If the prices go back up by the time you see this review, chances are high the HE1000 Stealth will be at $2000, the HE1000se at $3000-3500, and the two Arya models are likely to remain at their current prices. But it is HIFIMAN so we may end up seeing the current sale prices become the new permanent prices themselves! Needless to say then that the HE1000 Stealth at $1400 is easily my recommendation over the HE1000se that is less of an all-rounder, far more fatiguing, and only wins out on detail retrieval and soundstage, but not enough to justify the price hike.

Then there's the part where the HE1000 Stealth actually sounds different from the other HIFIMAN open-back planar sets I've heard by actually being somewhat warm and having decent bass too. It comes off more U-shaped rather than neutral-bright and I can actually see people preferring this sound over even that of the Susvara, thus making this a potential end-game set if you are a fan of the HIFIMAN sound. The excellent comfort also helps and build quality is plenty fine for me, albeit the use of veneer and the clashing colors may not be for everyone. There's also the part where I felt the HE1000 Stealth was better with instrumental music than vocals, thus my music library tends to work nicely but yours may not. Keep these caveats in mind and do read the entire review to get more information about whether or not this set is for you. On my end, especially at the $1400 price, the HE1000 Stealth gets a strong recommendation.