Hifiman HE1000 WiFi Review – Headfonia

Today, we are taking a look at the Hifiman HE1000 WiFi wireless headphones. It’s selling for $2,699 USD.

Disclaimer: Hifiman sent us the HE1000 WiFi for this review, free of charge. As always, I am here to share my honest opinion with you.

Hifiman

If you have been reading Headfonia for any length of time, you already know Hifiman well. Dr. Fang Bian’s famous company has been a steady presence in my audiophile life for over ten years, and I have been covering them here at Headfonia for more than five. That kind of long-term acquaintance is a double-edged sword: I have high expectations and notice when something genuinely stands out.

In recent years, three products have done exactly that: the HE1000 Stealth, the Arya Unveiled, and the Ananda Nano. Each reminded me why Hifiman remains one of the few companies operating across multiple price points without losing sight of what makes a planar headphone special. The HE1000 WiFi picks up right where those left off, and then takes a sharp left turn into territory nobody else has explored quite like this.

Hifiman also has a WiFi version of their popular Arya, you can find our review of that headphone here:

Hifiman Arya Wifi Review

Let’s check out the HE1000 WiFi!

Hifiman HE1000 WiFi

The HE1000 WiFi is Hifiman’s answer to a question the industry has been circling for years: what does a truly high-end wireless headphone look like when you refuse to compromise? For years, “wireless” and “high-end open-back” occupied entirely separate universes. Can you really have it all? Is it time?

Back in 2024, the Ananda-BT R2R did wink at us about what was coming, but most expected an improved Bluetooth module paired with a better Hymalaya DAC. The WiFi side of things blindsided many, including me.

Hifiman took their already solid HE1000 platform and designed a new egg-shaped PCB that sits around the driver, while still leaving the unveiled window intact. Not only that, they built an entire wireless system into the earcups themselves. The result is a genuine all-in-one: no dongle, no desktop stack, no cables required.

Inside, you get the new Hymalaya Mini R-2R DAC running a discrete ladder architecture in each channel, a Class-A headphone amplifier, a WiFi streaming module supporting lossless playback, and Bluetooth 5.1 with LDAC, aptX HD, AAC, and SBC on the codec side.

The planar driver itself uses Hifiman’s flagship Nanometer Thickness Diaphragm, paired with the Enhanced Magnet design and Stealth Magnets. The headband is the new Gen.2 composite design, constructed from steel, composite polymer, and microfiber. There is also a USB-C input for wired digital audio, though, as we will get into later, the internal DAC and amp are always in the signal path regardless of input mode.

No doubt this is a product aimed at a specific kind of listener: someone who wants reference-class sound at home without the accompanying chain of big steel boxes and thick braided wires, and who values the freedom to move around untethered during a listening session. At $2699 USD, it is a serious ask, but then again, it is also a serious headphone, aiming to deliver the best wire-free experience. Let’s dive deeper.

Packaging & Accessories

The HE1000 WiFi arrives in a big, luxurious black leatherette presentation box, finished with a brushed metal model nameplate on the lid and a chrome metal clasp at the front. Unbuckle it and lift the lid, and you will first find thick foam protective pads. Underneath them, the champagne-colored headphones rest in an elegant cradle lined with black satin fabric. Wonderful first impression. Sadly, all ends here.

Aside from the manual, which is chicly printed on glossy paper, the only accessory included is a standard USB-C cable. No rugged carry case, not even a velour pouch with champagne lettering. For a $2,699 USD wireless headphone built around the concept of freedom of movement, the absence of any protective carrying solution is interesting. It feels like Hifiman quietly acknowledging that the HE1000 WiFi is a stay-at-home listener.

Perhaps they have a point, but a hard-shell case like the one bundled with the Ananda Nano would have gone a long way for those of us who move between multiple residences.

Design & Build Quality

Since luxury is the theme, Hifiman went with a timeless champagne color combined with coffee brown. I agree, it does kinda say “I’m the wireless top-dog” but I can also picture the community splitting down the middle over the colorway. It is a warm, luxurious combination that I personally like. However, a second colorway would have been a smart move on Hifiman’s part, perhaps their classic silver or even something experimental.

As for build quality, it is a mixed bag, just like all the other Hifimans I own and have seen. It is a hybrid of sandblasted metal and sandblasted polymer. The skeleton is metal and feels rigid in the hand. The earcups are where I have to give Hifiman genuine credit. Before the HE1000 WiFi arrived, I braced myself for something resembling the Isvarna: deep, chunky, and almost comically oversized to accommodate all the electronics.

What I got was a cup only marginally thicker than what you find on the standard egg-shaped Hifimans. That is an engineering achievement worth pointing out, because fitting a discrete R2R DAC, a Class-A amplifier, a streaming module, and a battery into that form factor while preserving the open-back window is not an easy problem to solve. Kudos to the Hifiman engineers. They also revised the design of the driver window, adding a fine honeycomb metal grille that protects the diaphragm while keeping the open-back character intact.

The HE1000 WiFi’s Gen.2 headband is genuinely good, both aesthetically and functionally, and the new design gives the whole headphone an unusually clean, almost consumer-facing look. The control buttons and USB-C port sit on the left cup, nearly flush with the housing, alongside two LED indicators integrated within the multi-function buttons, a hidden reset pinhole, and a small dot where the microphone is located.

Comfort-wise, the Gen.2 composite headband is a broad arc with a perforated microfiber suspension strap that does its job quietly and very well. At 450g, this headphone houses a DAC, amplifier, streaming module, battery, and power circuitry inside the earcups, and yet it sits comfortably on the head.

The suspension design distributes the weight effectively enough that you stop thinking about it fairly quickly, which is the only metric that truly matters. I find most egg-shaped Hifimans comfortable, though it is usually linked to how good the headband is. The Edition XS, for instance, was a solid price-to-performance proposition but had a poor headband that made pressure hotspots almost inevitable over time.

Overall, the HE1000 WiFi is an aesthetically appealing headphone that’s as comfortable as flagships get. Nicely done.

Sound Impressions

General

Let me set the scene first. My daily rig these days is the Topping DX9 Discrete paired with the FiiO’s Flagship Planar FT7, which is a very detail-forward and revealing combination. I also still use my Chord Hugo 2 regularly, so I am not exactly coming into the HE1000 WiFi from a forgiving baseline. Because of that, I approached this headphone with realistic expectations.

I have heard most of Hifiman’s range over the years, and while there are a few models I genuinely rate highly, I have not loved everything they put out. On top of that, the HE1000 WiFi is a wireless, all-in-one headphone, and this category usually prioritizes convenience over sound quality. I was wrong. I was completely taken off guard by how good the HE1000 WiFi is.

It has an overall balanced signature with a musical and natural timbre, a genuine hi-fi tuning in the truest sense of that phrase. It is surprisingly weighty in the low end, too. The bass has a nice impact that translates into good weight, the midbass is tidy and neat with good extension that blooms naturally into the lower midrange, while the midrange itself is linear with a touch of warmth that keeps instruments grounded and realistic.

The upper midrange and lower treble are tuned musically; there is a good amount of energy here, but it stays on the conservative side, with no unnecessary contrasty peaks or dips. I really like the highs; they are airy and delicate without introducing unnecessary energy into the rendition.

Thanks to this well-balanced tuning, instruments sound realistic and natural, free of harsh bite and brittle upper highs. The highs maintain an excellent proportion with the mids and lows, presenting a well-rounded, cohesive sound. In some ways, it reminds me of the HE1000 Stealth and in others, the HE1000 SE. It feels like a hybrid of the two, which came as a very pleasant surprise.

Bass

The bass has a very nice impact and plenty of oomph, giving the presentation proper weight. The HE1000 WiFi is controlled and impactful. This is where it resembles the HE1000 Stealth. There is a welcome sense of body here, and that extra touch of warmth helps give the headphone a more organic overall character.

What I particularly like is how tidy the mid-bass is. It is neat, tight, and well-controlled. Bass notes hit with good definition, and the low end carries itself with the kind of discipline I expect from a flagship planar.

This also makes it a very versatile listen. Whether I was listening to jazz, metal, electronic music, or more vocal-forward acoustic, the bass never felt out of place. It adds a realistic presence to keep things engaging.

Midrange

The midrange is linear, natural, and very easy to listen to. There is a slight touch of warmth running through it, which helps instruments and vocals sound more lifelike and natural. Vocals sit at a realistic distance, present and articulate without being pushed forward.

The upper midrange is deliberately kept polite and reserved, avoiding the forward presence energy where some Hifiman models can get a little hot or overly contrasty, but that is not the case here. The HE1000 WiFi keeps this region slightly more reserved in terms of presence, and I think that decision pays off. It makes the headphones easier to listen to over long sessions.

The touch of warmth from the bass carries over, and in combination with the slightly conservative lower treble tuning, results in instruments having genuine body and timbral accuracy. Acoustic guitar, piano, and strings feel grounded and realistic.

This is one of the reasons I ended up enjoying it so much across genres. It is an excellent all-rounder, and I threw a lot at it; it never felt like a headphone that only came alive with a single type of music. It always stayed coherent, natural, and musically convincing. The detail level was really impressive too, satisfying the detail fiend inside me that lives off my daily driver U12t.

Treble

The treble is airy and extended, but also smoother than I expected, probably the most surprising aspect of the HE1000 WiFi’s tuning, given its lineage. If you are familiar with some of Hifiman’s earlier Stealth Magnet tunings, you might have expected an elevated upper treble presentation.

The HE1000 WiFi does not go in that direction. Instead, the highs are better behaved, more balanced, and less eager to draw attention to themselves. I would say it is a hybrid sitting in the middle ground between the HE1000 Stealth and the HE1000 SE.

That does not mean it sounds muted or closed in. There is still plenty of air, openness, and fine detail. Crashes have excellent definition and natural dispersion. The headphone sounds spacious and refined up top. The difference is that it avoids harshness and brittleness; it gives you all the treble information without making the whole presentation hinge on abundant treble presence.

More importantly, the highs maintain an excellent proportion with the mids and lows. Nothing feels disconnected. The whole frequency range sounds coherent, well-rounded, and properly integrated, which is a big part of why the HE1000 WiFi comes across as such a balanced and complete headphone.

Technical Capability

The resolution was the biggest surprise. Coming from a rig built around detail retrieval, I expected to feel the absence of my usual chain. I did not, or at least not to the degree I anticipated. I can easily label the HE1000 WiFi a detailed headphone with excellent resolution.

The FT7 and Ananda Nano are both brighter and more contrasty through the upper midrange, lower treble, and upper treble. The HE1000 WiFi, while delivering similar detail retrieval, is simply easier and more enjoyable to listen to over time. That combination, better resolution and better musicality simultaneously, is not something you encounter often.

Soundstage width sits slightly behind my recollection of the HE1000 Stealth, and more or less in the same ballpark as the FiiO FT7 in overall width. Depth, however, is very nice, and the spatial presentation feels more accurate and natural than either of those two to my ears. Imaging is precise, separation is very impressive, and the three-dimensional presentation feels coherent and convincing throughout.

I suspect a lot of that comes from the tuning itself: the more balanced, grounded character of the HE1000 WiFi allows the stage to breathe rather than pushing certain frequencies to the foreground. This is one of the best-sounding headphones I have heard.

The review continues on the next page. Click here or use the jump below.