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Bass Extension - The bass goes quite deep on these headphones.

Bass Impact – This is the main weakness of the HE90s in my opinion. While the quality and extension of the bass are quite good with this headphone I feel they lack the impact that a good dynamic headphone can provide.

Bass Quality – The Bass quality on these headphones is very tight and detailed as with most electrostatic headphones.

Mids Quality – This is one of the stars of the show for this headphone. Only the Sony MDR-R10 can beat it in this area.

Highs Quality - The highs are quite extended but can seem a bit too soft with some music.

Soundstage – Quite a large soundstage with very good imaging.

Detail – These are very detailed but can also be quite forgiving. Even on bad recordings these headphones are very inoffensive.

Portability – N/A, these were not designed to be portable at all

Isolation – N/A

Comfort – I find them to be quite comfortabel although I feel the headband should be a little wider.

Durability – These headphones are built very well.

Improvement With Amplification - These headphones require an electrostaic amp to function hence the N/A rating.

Value for money - They are the most expensive headphones I know of and due to the fact that I actually prefer the Sony R10 which is actually a couple thousand bucks cheaper I cannot justify a higher rating. Also the excellent sound you can get under a grand with K1000s makes me dock a few more points in this area.

the best headphone I've owned so far. powered by a HeadAmp Blue Hawaii amplifier the sound simply exists and the equipment goes away, delivering you the sound and nothing else.

there's a reason these still go for several grand.

being electrostatic headphones, the sound changes as the headphone charges up. my impressions were done after the HE90 was continuously powered and charged for at least a week.

I was able to audition this headphone with a fellow Head-fi member for many hours. My impressions were formed along side the Stax SR-007, utilizing a KGSS.

The HE90 are visually quite striking. They are very expensive, and they look the part. Solid wood, supple leather, lots of metal. They earcups are very large, and the HE90 itself is rather heavy. I consider the general comfort to be about average. It is slightly less comfortable than a set of HD600.

The sound is very interesting. Listening to a very well recorded opera, I was completely taken. It was a revelatory experience. It sounded completely real. The soundstaging, timbre, the "human" in the voice. It was all there.

Where the HE90's suffer however, is when asked to accurately convey music that is more "complex". That is, the sound of a live rock concert. The sound of an orhestra playing with ferver. The HE90 tend to slur the notes together somewhat. They also lacked the impact necessary for a satisfying rock experience. Although, this tends to be characteristic of electrostatics in general.

All considered, for what they do, they do it the best. They are very special.