Gizmolovers, if you have IDR 700 million (USD 60000), what about the money? Someone may answer buying a house, a car, paying off debts, investing, traveling. But does anyone think of spending that much money to buy a head unit Sennheiser HE 1?
Yes, you did not misread. Sennheiser HE 1 can already be ordered in Indonesia at a price that may not be the affordable reason, IDR 792 million or for € 55,000 in Germany which is the land of this birth. The world’s most expensive headphones were launched in Southeast Asia in June 2016 ago. It is also the second most premium collection from Sennheiser after presenting Sennheiser Orpheus in 1991.
Curious to know what the best headphones in the world are like? Luckily, Gizmologi got a chance from Sennheiser to try it directly when the Sennheiser HE 1 headphones came to Indonesia as part of a Southeast Asia tour that began in March 2017. Indonesia became the second country after Thailand with the final destination to Sennheiser headquarters located in Hannover, Germany.
Martin Low, Managing Director of Sennheiser Electronic Asia, said the product is in line with Sennheiser’s vision to design high-end headphones that can make audiophiles seem to be inside a concert hall with acoustic capabilities beyond the limit. Sennheiser HE 1 brings innovative technology, luxury materials, and best quality workmanship.
Sure enough, when I first saw it, I was immediately stunned that this is not an ordinary headphone, but a masterpiece. I did not expect Sennheiser to design it in great detail. These headphones are packed very well, complete with special amplifiers.
The body of the amplifier feels quite heavy and solid because it uses a Carrara Italian type of material is white with ash with blackish streaks, complete with tubes and transistors wrapped in the glass as well as some setting buttons. According to Kuan Wee Hong, Product Marketing Manager of Sennheiser Asia, HE 1 headphones use only the finest materials, in which the same marble material used by Michaelangelo in making sculptures.
The purpose of the use of materials is not only in terms of aesthetics but also in terms of functionality. Because the marble can protect the core amplifier and optics optimally. To create beautiful designs for viewing, the control dial is carefully crafted with high quality. Each dial consists of one piece of brass before being coated by chrome.
A total of 6,000 carefully selected components supports the acoustic advantage of Sennheiser HE 1. Sennheiser audio specialists use exclusive components such as gold-vaporized ceramic electrodes and platinum-vaporized diaphragms. The amplifier is equipped with 8 internal DACs and four parallel-mounted channels to improve accuracy and reduce distortion and noise levels.
Due to its extremely premium design, Sennheiser HE 1 uses a special connector called XLA that delivers the best sound quality as it has a frequency range ranging from 8 Hz – 200 kHz. Sennheiser also claimed that these headphones are able to change the music of something being heard, into something that can be felt.
When turned on by pressing the largest Power button that also acts as a volume knob, the HE 1 amplifier is transformed. Slowly, parts of the amplifiers such as function buttons, glass tube amplifiers, and glass headphone unit cover itself appear slowly.
The headphones look very sumptuous with the specially-made ear cups of sturdy aluminum, using the best hand-made leather earpads with soft micro fiber construction and allergy free.
Honestly, the author is not audiophiles who are so obsessed with high-quality audio. But once installed the headphones, I immediately stunned. The sound that came out was really awesome. I just had the chance to listen to three songs with different genres ranging from classics, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran are popular with “Shape of You”.
While listening to classical music, a voice that sounds so detailed with a magnificent sound stage seemed to be in the concert hall. Likewise, when pop rock music is playing, the beat are strong. The voice sounded very natural. Indeed the impression is excessive, but the experience that I get feels fantastic. Listening to music from HE 1 headphones makes me eargasm, the climactic sensation of listening to dramatic music.
These headphones offer a unique audio experience. Sound reproduction with perfect precision, extraordinary spatiality, and frequency response far beyond the reach of human hearing ability. Martin Low explained that HE 1 can produce sound as low as 8Hz which is only heard by elephants, to as high as 100kHz which is only heard by bats. Where the human ear can only hear frequencies as low as 20Hz and maximum 20 kHz. This makes the audio quality of Sennheiser HE 1 perfect, well above average.
As a premium product of great quality, the production of Sennheiser HE 1 is very limited. This company only produces one unit of HE 1 per day. And within a year, it can only produce about 250 units. In Indonesia, interested Gizmolovers can order it at Astrindo Senayasa who is the official distributor of Sennheiser in Indonesia.
