Digital Trends

Pioneer SE-A1000 May 14th, 2007 | by Jason Tomczak

Setup and Use

Setting up the Pioneer SE-A1000 headphones is quite easy, though you'll need a box cutter or very sharp scissors to open the thick, armor-like plastic enclosure. Be VERY careful when opening the enclosure so as to prevent physical injury. That thick plastic can be as sharp as a knife.

Once the package is open, unwind enough cord to hook into your audio source. The extra long cord may prove unwieldy for close-proximity use, but for folks who will use the SE-A1000 headset with a home theater system across a room, the cord length is just right. Depending on whether your components use a 1/8" or 1/4" audio jack, the SE-A1000 headset will adjust accordingly thanks to the 1/4" adapter provided. Pioneer also included a nice, felty-soft draw-string carrying bag for the SE-A1000s.

Adjust the headset on your head. Everyone's noggin is sized and shaped differently, so each experience will vary. For me, the headphones naturally settle about 1/4" too low, pressing the tops of my ears against my head. I have to wiggle and coax the headset into just the right position to prevent an awkward feel. Once they're properly situated and media is playing, my attention goes 100% to the excellent sounds produced.

As any true audiophile will tell you, sound quality and aural pleasure are distinctly subjective. What may sound beautiful to one person may be unimpressive or unbearable to another. Some people like to hear music, while others prefer to feel it coursing and vibrating through the very core of their body and soul. Anyone offering opinions as to sound quality will inevitably satisfy and aggravate an equal number of people. So with that caveat made, I'll tell you what I found while listening to the SE-A1000 headphones. 

Sources used for testing:

• Apple iPod 5G 30GB (AAC, MP3)
• MacBook Pro (DVD, CD, AAC, MP3, Lossless)
• Denon AVR987 receiver with Denon DVD757 player (DVD, CD)

Music tested:

• Bjork Homogenic (AAC)
• Tori Amos Tales of a Librarian (CD, AAC & MP3)
• INXS Welcome To Wherever You Are (AAC & Lossless)
• Mozart Requiem (AAC)
• This Ascension Sever (MP3)
• Switchblade Symphony Wicked (MP3)
• Akvarium Zoom Zoom Zoom (CD & AAC)

Movies tested:

• Ray (DVD)
• Chronicles of Narnia (DVD)
• Batman Begins (DVD)

I tested the SE-A1000's using a wide range of media as listed above, both before and after a 60 hour burn-in. With each of the songs and movies I listened to (over and over), I found that I was hearing new notes that I'd never heard or noticed before. These surprise notes were mostly in the mid and high ranges, especially in the early tests. After 24 hours of constant play, the drivers began to develop more bass range. After 70 hours of alternating play and rest, the lowest frequencies really began to individualize. In my own experience, I found that the SE-A1000's rendered bass in a new way for me. Lower frequencies seemed to feel wider and and have more physical dimension. At the same time, the mids and highs seemed to open up a bit, becoming clearer and easier to distinguish.

One thing I noticed with the SE-A1000 headphones is that the bass never overpowers or obfuscates the mids and highs, and vice versa. None of the frequencies along the wide 10Hz-30kHz spectrum seemed to interfere with each other like they do on so many consumer-grade headphones.

In certain audio recordings, like Akvarium's Mertvie Matrosi ne Spyat and Bjork's Jóga and most especially in DVDs like Batman Begins, the SE-A1000s produces a feeling of being directly in the center of the soundstage. Listening to Akvarium, it felt like I was standing at arms length from Boris Grebenshchikov's microphone. Flute, guitar and drums seemed to wrap widely around me. Bjork's music gave a slightly different impression. While listening to Jóga, I felt as though the music was much closer to me. Even though I was able to distinctly identify individual instruments, voices and effects dropping away in the distance, the soundstage still felt tight. Classical music like Mozart's Requiem sounded clean and powerful, but it had a rather two-dimensional quality to it, like the vocalists and instruments were somehow arranged single file. It could very well be a matter of the original recording and not the SE-A1000s.

While playing Batman Begins, I discovered how diverse the soundstage could feel. During moments of dialogue, the audio felt close up, like I was being spoken to directly, albeit loudly. I could still hear things way in the background, like bodies in motion, sounds of automobiles, etc. Moments later, when action sequences picked up, the soundstage seemed to widen dramatically. While I still felt like I was dead center in the action, things like explosions and shattering glass would make 360-degree trips around the stage, forcing my attention to shoot outward. The SE-A1000's wide frequency range made it seem possible to pinpoint individual shards of glass as they hit the ground around me while still feeling the low percussion of a dying explosion.

Of course, these results change slightly depending on what audio source is being used and whether different EQ presets are chosen. The Denon AVR987 receiver produced the best results with and without audio presets. At roughly $950 USD for the receiver alone, one would clearly expect near-perfect results. But the SE-A1000's sounded awesome even when used on a MacBook Pro and a 5G iPod. It's important to note that the SE-A1000s drain an iPod's battery rather quickly. No surprises there - the SE-A1000s are much larger and way more powerful than Apple's stock earbuds.

As one can imagine, hearing new notes in familiar audio is always a pleasant surprise. It gives one a new opportunity to rediscover his or her favorite music and movies. Based on this reviewer's experiences, the SE-A1000's seem to turn music into a sensuous experience.

Image Courtesy of Pioneer