Closer Examination

There's a QC pass badge in the box alongside the three cables provided by HIFIMAN for the HE1000 Unveiled. My review unit of the HE1000se is from a time when the notorious "catheter" cables were a thing, although I understand that comes with the newer cables too now. These are so much better and honestly have reached the point where end users may well be satisfied enough to not bother replacing them. We get a choice of single-ended right-angled 3.5 mm or straight 6.35 mm (1/4") TRS, or balanced full-size 4-pin XLR termination to choose from, depending on your source. The 3.5 mm cable is 1.5 m long, and the other two are 3 m in length. These terminations then lead to a durable sleeved cable which is not memory prone and is even easy to route without kinking. It's still stiffer than I personally prefer, and perhaps a softer sleeving over braided wires would be the next step to take. The cables use a combination of single crystalline (high purity) copper wiring paired with single crystalline silver wiring, incorporate a low profile splitter, and then we see two thinner sections leading to the expected dual 3.5 mm TRS connectors with L/R markings to indicate the channels.


I think anyone familiar with HIFIMAN's HE1000 series of headphones, or even the other ones that use a similar larger oval-shaped ear cup design, will find the HE1000 Unveiled immediately familiar. In fact, this is again the direct analogue to the HE1000se as how the Susvara Unveiled was to the Susvara. The wood veneer on the side of the ear cups we saw on the HE1000se is now replaced by more of the same aluminium used there, making for a clean and arguably more cohesive look. I won't lie though—I liked the aesthetics of the HE1000se more even before we get to the unveiled drivers part. Many will undoubtedly be pleased that the tan colors from the Susvara Unveiled are not present here, and this silver and black color scheme is going to age gracefully. The headband is the same as before, and this is a good thing since it works really well—even if it may look goofy on the head. We see what's effectively a thin piece of sheet metal bent twice and used as a flexible brace the ear cups are attached to, with a cutout in the center reducing mass. This is accompanied by a leather suspension band stretching with the headband to support your head. There are holes in the support band to help prevent hot spots on the top of your head and the stitching is well executed. On the outside we see the HIFIMAN logo and "HE1000" etched above the ear cups, and L/R markings on the inside indicate the left and right channels. Notice how the entire headband assembly is held in place with screws, making this an easy set to disassemble and maintain with available spare parts.


The suspension band on either side terminates in two slider mechanisms that go up or down the steel headband for vertical sizing. There are several punched-out holes which allow for discrete clicky steps, thus allowing both sides to be easily matched up. As with the Susvara Unveiled, I noticed that the sliding mechanism was extremely smooth here, compared to the stiffer movements on any other HIFIMAN product using this headband assembly. This also makes it easier to adjust the headband if you already have the headphones placed on your head. There is a lot of room here to accommodate small or large heads, especially as the suspension band moves with the slider.


There are articulating points where the frame meets the ear cups allowing for nearly 360° of ear cup rotation and swivel alike. This is a departure from the Susvara Unveiled that had deliberate stop points to prevent that set from being able to lay flat on your desk when not in use. I suspect HIFIMAN decided otherwise here given the drivers on the HE1000 Unveiled are less prone to accidental damage, as we will see below. Regardless, the end result is you can basically tilt and rotate the ear cups almost every which way. This, combined with the ample vertical sizing means that the HE1000 Unveiled offers excellent flexibility to help ensure a comfortable, secure seal around your ears.


Now we get to the part that makes this HE1000 an unveiled version. Open-back headphones usually have a grille to help protect the drivers, and many talk about the grilles being acoustically transparent—as does HIFIMAN itself about most of its headphones. However, anything in the pathway of sound waves will still result in some reflection back into the ear cups and these waves are not necessarily going to be in synergy with those being fired the other direction from the drivers into the ear canal. It's not the biggest problem in the world necessarily, and yet we saw the Susvara Unveiled remove the grilles entirely to get that little extra in transparency and staging compared to the original Susvara. With the HE1000 Unveiled, we see a similar concept—the drivers are exposed on the back and this why is why you have the provided magnetic veils for protection when you aren't using these headphones. This is not as scary as with the Susvara Unveiled though, since the HE1000 Unveiled has a lot of space around the centrally placed open drivers to hold the headphones by your hands. Likewise, the diaphragm isn't as exposed either, with the magnets taking up more space here, so there should be fewer mishaps with damaged drivers here. I did note that the exposed section here is smaller than what you see with the likes of the HE1000se too, with the outer space having small holes possibly adding to the design in more ways than one. But I fear those holes might be prime territory for finger oils/dust/extraneous contaminants over time. Also, for those wondering—these veils are held in place by relatively weak magnets in the frame which do not impact the driver functionality. Just don't shake the headphones too much with these on, lest the covers fall off inadvertently!


The teardrop-shaped ear cups come with equivalently shaped ear pads, and here we see a mesh screen adding some protection to the drivers from the inside. HIFIMAN has ditched the window screen to further add to the unveiled concept here, so you should be extra careful about any loose hair or dust getting in there. There are 11 stealth magnets on the outside (with the curved sides) and seven flatter magnets on the inside, making this magnet setup different from the HE1000se. The ear pads are held in place by plastic clips, however it is here that I realized HIFIMAN has changed the ear pad installation mechanism for reasons I don't understand. The previous pads used lower profile plastic clips that were positioned more towards the outside compared to here. This not only means you can't use the older HE1000/Arya pads, but also these have a higher chance of breaking when you try to install them owing to the clips being raised further than the surface of the plastic retainer ring. Needless to say, I am not happy with this change even if HIFIMAN makes replacement pads available at the same price—someone is inevitably going to be upset when it's time to change the pads. For what it's worth, the pads seem to be using the exact same composition as the SerenityPads used before. These are slightly contoured to better conform around the ear and are composed of a polyester and pleather cover with medium-density foam filling.


On the bottom of the ear cups angled towards the front is where we find small cutouts for the cable connectors from before. These have the cable plugs connect easily, naturally directing the cable away from your body and comfortably setting them down at the splitter on your chest. The HIFIMAN HE1000 Unveiled has dual 3.5 mm TRS connectors on the ear cups to increase compatibility with aftermarket cables, which is handy if you don't like the stock cables. With the two wires meeting centrally at the splitter and moving to the source, weight balance is still centrally placed. The cables are 1.5 or 3 m long as mentioned before, with the former working well with a portable DAC/amp or DAP if you wish to use these headphones away from your desk. In case you go for a headphone stand, keep in mind that supporting the HE1000 Unveiled off the suspension band isn't recommended for longevity and I also recommend getting one that does not add pressure on the ear pads such as those omega-shaped stands—something closer to the stand in the photos above is my preference