Fit and Comfort

Seen above is the HIFIMAN HE1000 Unveiled placed on a mannequin head, to help show how these headphones would look on the human head. Note that the head is slightly under average sized, so account for the discrepancies accordingly. As with all headphones, getting a good fit and seal is crucial, so make sure to properly use the available height adjustability of the headband and the swivel/rotation of the ear cups themselves. This section is mostly a summary of the points expanded upon in more detail on the previous page and I will mention here that the HE1000 Unveiled is about average for planar magnetic driver headphones at ~450 g, which is otherwise on the heavier side overall. That said, owing to the larger frame and ear cups, the mass density is not as high as you might think. Secondly, the weight distribution is quite good here courtesy the wide suspension band and I personally had no issues wearing this set for long listening sessions—the HE1000 Unveiled continues to be among the more comfortable headphones for me, as with the rest of HIFIMAN's HE1000 series, thanks to the multiple swivel and pivot options in addition to the roomy and soft ear pads. Clamp force was also near perfect for my average-sized head and, if anything, it's more the size of the ear cups on the side of my head that keeps me self-aware of these than the actual weight and clamp. I do recommend using these in a quiet environment lest others around you get a second-hand listen, or the ambient environment affect your listening experience, and people will certainly gawk at you wearing these in public no matter what you are listening to. Not that I recommend doing so given the exposed drivers on the outside, and remember to use the magnetic veils when taking a break or placing these back in the box or your own third-party case.

Audio Performance

Audio Hardware

Please read the relevant section on this page for a brief introduction on how planar magnetic drivers work if you are unfamiliar with them. To summarize, it involves ultra-thin diaphragms with conductive traces as the effective voice coil. This theoretically allows for lower inertia paired with high magnetic flux fields generated from magnets to move the diaphragm back and forth very quickly for fast transients and increased resolution while lowering distortion. HIFIMAN is using what it calls the nanometer thickness diaphragm, which some have taken to mean a single nanometer thick. I suppose in that regard the marketing has worked, but it's more that the thickness of the diaphragm is less than one micron, and thus in the nanometer range. The HE1000 Unveiled drivers are based off the same excellent drivers used in the HE1000se, although there are changes thanks to them being unveiled. The grilles on the outside are removed to make this a true open-back set, which in turn eliminates unwanted sound wave reflections/refractions, and this is further complemented by the window shade/screen on the inside being replaced by a less restrictive mesh. Add to this HIFIMAN's stealth magnet system, at least on the outside, and this is a planar magnetic set with very little between the drivers and your ears. The magnets on the inside are less stealthy, going for a flatter and slighter larger form factor as with the Susvara Unveiled. These can perhaps help smoothen out the treble peaks based on HIFIMAN product history, as we saw with the new flagship. As with the HE1000se, the HE1000 Unveiled continues to be one of the easier planar magnetic headphones to drive—especially in the premium headphones realm. It has a rated impedance of 28 Ω and sensitivity of 95 db/mW, so a decent desktop amplifier will suffice here. I went solid state, although in hindsight I might choose a warmer chain.

Frequency Response Measurement and Listening

I will mention that I have a general preference for a warm-neutral signature emphasizing a slightly elevated bass and smooth treble range with detailed mids and good tonal separation. I also generally prefer instrumental music over vocals, with favored genres including jazz and classical music.


Our current headphones test setup uses a set of two custom in-ear microphones for the two channels. These microphones closely adhere to the IEC711 class, but have been tweaked to be more reliable in the >10 kHz frequency range, the precise issue with my previous setup, that is otherwise still very good and will continue to be used for IEMs and earphones. Two soft silicone pinnae are installed on the sides, separated by a distance matching my head, and multiple "height" adapters have been 3D-printed for further customization based on fit, head size and shape. Each set of microphones has an XLR output I separately adapted to 3.5 mm. I used a transparent source—the Aune S17 Pro Class A amplifier fed off the Gustard A26 DAC—for measurements and listening after confirming it was not a bottleneck in any way. This artificial head simulator feeds the microphone lines into a reference USB sound card, which in turn goes to a laptop that has ARTA and REW running. I begin with an impulse measurement to test for signal fidelity, calibrate the sound card and channel output, account for floor noise, and finally test the frequency response of each channel separately. Octave smoothing is at the 1/12th setting, netting a good balance of detail and signal-to-noise ratio. The default tuning was used for testing, and no app or program-based EQ settings were chosen, unless specifically mentioned. Each sample of interest is measured at least thrice with separate mounts to account for any fit issues, and an average is taken of the individual measurements for statistical accuracy.


As per usual, you can find my headphone frequency response measurements on VSG.squig.link, along with all the earphone measurements. Scroll to the bottom and choose different targets there, including some from Harman Kardon developed after years of R&D. The Harman 2018 over-ear target in particular, is a reference curve many headphone makers aim for now, but I find it too bass-boosted—especially for open-back sets. As such, I am opting for the Harman 2018 curve with the bass target from the Harman 2013 curve, which is what is referred to as the "Harman Combined" target. Before we get talking about the sound signature of the HIFIMAN HE1000 Unveiled, I want to briefly talk about the measurements themselves and the channel balance achieved here. I think a single look at the measurements above can confirm the excellent driver matching on my set, and this is all the more impressive when you realize this is a randomly chosen retail unit. That said, this is clearly from the first batch and has undergone individual unit frequency response measurements at the factory post assembly. So be aware of this, although I remain optimistic that channel imbalance should not be an issue for the HE1000 Unveiled—not that it should be anyway for a set that costs as much!

Tonally, the HE1000 Unveiled leans more neutral than any other such HIFIMAN oval ear cup set I've listed to. It's easy to look at the graph and say "Oh, yet another HIFIMAN tuning" but honestly this is an improvement in a few different ways, while offering a few different challenges too. Take the bass, for example, where you get basically a ruler-flat response all the way down to 20 Hz (and below). Yet this is not a bassy set in that I find the HE1000se and HE1000 Stealth more engaging here. Some of this could be a result of the drivers being exposed, now resulting in a more open sound. This makes it harder for bass notes to have that guttural impact. The HE1000 Unveiled also isn't as dynamic as I'd like, with quieter notes not being very prominent compared to some others and trailing ends of tones disappearing quickly. On the other hand, this is also the only HE1000 series product, and indeed even pretty much any other HIFIMAN is less expensive than it, which makes the bass notes sound correct—or at least as correct as these can be. A lot of this has to do with the generally smoother frequency response throughout, and certainly the tamer treble too, making for instrumental timbre being noticeably improved. You will notice this with snares and brass instruments in particular. Also, as with pretty much any high-end HIFIMAN planar magnetic set, you can easily add a bass shelf via EQ and get something more engaging. The HE1000 Stealth is a good example of a bassier, warmer-leaning sound that I very much appreciated and the HE1000 Unveiled can easily out-resolve the HE1000 Stealth even with a lot more bass added, so go nuts! It also helps that the resonant frequency is extremely low (~40 Hz) so breaking a seal if you wear glasses, for example, doesn't really change the tonality.

The biggest improvement for me, and what really has the HE1000 Unveiled stand out in this price range, is the vocals reproduction. HIFIMAN isn't typically a set associated with fantastic vocals, often due to that trademark drip in the 1-2 kHz region. The unveiled drivers in the Susvara Unveiled and here both fill out the mids further, now allowing for male and female vocals to be more forward-facing without being too aggressive. I also noticed the driver modes in the midrange were more subtle, further smoothening out vocals and instruments, which is contrary to what you'd think with the exposed drivers being able to move around more freely—could be from the different magnet setup or simply a stiffer diaphragm. To no surprise, transients are quick, layering is handled without issue, and instrument separation is effortlessly rendered. Imaging is extremely precise in a wide cone in front of the head, making it a conducive set for gaming too in case you are masochistic enough to purchase a multi-thousand dollar, fully open-back set for gaming and general media consumption. Soundstage is wide and tall as expected, albeit I didn't get that wider staging as with the Susvara Unveiled. Part of this could be the HE1000 series already had a very wide stage to begin with, and the drivers being unveiled now are countered to an extent by the upper mids being filled out and the treble being less.. special.

The ear gain is prominent as with pretty much any HIFIMAN open-back set, which works nicely for my HRTF and music library. This can be a bit much for many though, although not as much as what happens next. As a result of the mid-treble being more relaxed here—the annoying 6-7 kHz spike from basically every other oval ear cup HIFIMAN is actually gone—there's an emphasized 4-5 kHz region that is especially bothersome to me. Some female vocals got me wincing, and strings + piano keys were also too prominent. This can make the HE1000 Unveiled seem brighter than it actually is, and I immediately toned this down via EQ. That was it honestly, with the mid-treble now being damped down and sounding quite smooth and refined. There's still a lot of upper treble, with the dip beforehand making this more obvious, but I was fine with it. If you are sensitive to the higher frequencies being more energetic then this is something to be aware of too.

Also, it should go without saying but don't use these headphones with the magnetic veils installed unless you want to listen to something terrible sounding.


The obvious comparison to make here would be the HIFIMAN HE1000se that this effectively supplants as the new head of the HE1000 lineup. It's not just a case of the drivers being unveiled, with the drivers also using a different magnet setup similar to the more affordable HE1000 Stealth. Tonally, we get that extra bit of bass extension here, although I do think the HE1000se had more punch—neither are particularly strong here though. The midrange and mid-treble is smoother by a big margin on the HE1000 Unveiled, which makes for a more pleasant and refined listening experience. Vocals in particular, although a lot of instruments also sound more correct in timbre. The more balanced tuning does have some quirks though, even if it's still not as bright as the HE1000se—at least the earlier batches, there's a growing hypothesis among consumers that newer HE1000se units are not as bright in the mid-treble. The two have a similar soundstage width and depth, but now the HE1000 Unveiled feels more filled out with information. I do prefer the aesthetics of the HE1000se and it's also less prone to driver mishaps, but honestly the HE1000 Unveiled is a better all-rounder and certainly what I'd pick between the two.

The ZMF Atrium is closer in pricing to the HE1000 Unveiled, however my (or rather, my partner's) custom Atrium is still not here as of the date I write this review. So expect this comparison in the Atrium's review when it eventually happens. In the meantime, the ZMF Caldera comes in and may well be a more direct comparison owing to both being planar magnetic sets. The Caldera is a more personalized set, coming not only in various stock and limited wood options with customizable frame/headband colors and materials, but also one-off units that people spend a premium on top to get something that is closer to being a collector's item than purely a set of headphones. It also has different ear pads and tuning meshes available to further customize the tonality to your preference, making it hard to do a single direct comparison. Still, the Caldera goes warmer and thicker compared to the HE1000 Unveiled, and is more relaxed in the treble too. It has forward mids thus, although the ear gain is less prominent. While still being highly resolving, the Caldera feels a step below the HE1000 Unveiled in layering and imaging, while also having a narrower soundstage. I'd probably still pick the Caldera over the HE1000 Unveiled out of the box though, simply because it does things you can't easily get with less expensive headphones where HIFIMAN itself has several, more affordable contenders offering a similar, but less refined sound.