The very first time I looked at the Sineaptic website, I noticed obvious fake reviews and AI-generated images which tried to make this product come off well received despite no one having really listened to it at the time. Thankfully the brand did listen to the experienced PR firm which took them on and things have vastly improved on that end even if there remain some signs from that time. Then there's the part where the headphones shipped in a massive box which had the case suspended by the corners in a clear move to look flashy at the expense of being practical—I am not a fan of the metal clips jutting out the case, for example. These can snag easily inside a backpack assuming that large case will fit in the first place. This is because the headphones are on the larger side of average and yet I don't see a good use of that space either. The headband design is one of the worst on the market with so much empty space and a wing-style support system which ends up being uncomfortable and inconsistent even on the same person, let alone across different users. The tuning is also wonky, although this seems to be a given with ribbon driver headphones these days, and the end result is a sound signature that somewhat works for a few genres but not really for anything else. The onboard EQ mode adds a lot more bass and takes away pretty much every else—not for me but I suppose it does mean there won't be the plausible treble fatigue you can get with the default experience.

This is a real shame because the SE-1 and Sineaptic in general do seem to want to shake up the market. There is nothing else like the SE-1 even before we consider the price point is way more affordable than the feature set could warrant if executed well. These headphones are wireless and have decent battery life, even if the codec support could be better. The materials used make the SE-1 feel premium and solid, the integrated microphone works quite well as do the onboard physical controls. I also like how the ear cups look and of course the nerd in me appreciates that we now have true ribbon driver headphones for a mainstream price. Unfortunately there have been several compromises made to hit this price point and the marketing by Sineaptic doesn't help by trying to position the SE-1 against much better, more expensive headphones. I want Sineaptic to try again, and perhaps even take this back if it's not overly detrimental to the brand, given this is the first impression that many people will have of the brand and it doesn't look to be a positive one. The good news is most of these issues are easy to fix and Sineaptic has made positive changes to the retail unit compared to the pre-retail design with different pads and better bass tuning so time will tell whether we see more from Sineaptic or not. As it stands I am unable to recommend the SE-1 in its current iteration unless you simply want to play around with some ribbon drivers.