HiFiMAN HE-6 Planar Headphone

Now that I have spent time comparing the HE-6, LCD-2, Edition 10, T1, and HD800, I thought the time was right to put down a few thoughts on the HE-6, which are, when properly amped, a TERRIFIC headphone.

The HE-6 have incredibly transparency, and a very wide-bandwidth delivery that is remarkably even and smooth.  While they have just a slightly lively treble, this is more an elevation overall than a single peak, and their treble performance sets them apart from the HD800 and Edition 10, which have more issues in the treble.  The bass is just slightly less in weight and quality than the LCD-2, but nonetheless outstanding.  And the mids are just unbelievably transparent.

While the HE-6 can sound phenomenal, they won't unless they have a lot of power.  The best they ever sounded to me was hooked up to the speaker outputs of my Leben CS300XS, which is a 15 wpc amp.  There is no doubt that the HE-6 like a good strong amp.  But given good, plentiful power, they well deliver an amazing sonic performance for the money. 

To elaborate on the amplification story - the fairly low efficiency really does mean a pretty powerful amp is needed to make them come alive.  The WA6 was insufficient.  The Leben CS300XS was better (from its headphone out), but the Decware Mini-Torri was even better (since using its headphone out is basically 100% the same as using its speaker outs).  Via the Decware, the HE-6 can really be allowed to swing, and swing they do.  I later tried driving the HE-6 from the SPEAKER outs of the Leben, and this was better still.  This gave the HE-6 a better sense of ease and dynamics.

Even later, I used a vintage Marantz 75 wpc Receiver for the HE-6, and this was also excellent.  Much better than any of my other headphone amps except the Leben and Decware, which are really speaker amps themselves.  A speaker amp really is the best choice for the HE-6, and you can get a pretty good one without spending huge amounts of money.

I spent some VERY enjoyable time with the HE-6 played via the Fisher KX-100. For those unfamiliar, the KX-100 is a 60's vintage all tube integrated amp using 7868 pentode power tubes in a push-pull, transformer coupled configuration, and with speakers rated about 25 wpc. The headphone Jack is driven off the output transformer, presumably using a 32 ohm secondary winding, but I am not sure of that.The Fisher is has a classic tube sound - warm, romantic, and lush, with a plump bass and a slightly shelved down treble, with beautiful sounding mids. This works better with some headphones than others, but it was awesome with the HE-6, which are, on their own, very neutral, with just a slight treble tilt. The combination was just gorgeous - surely not the most neutral sound there is, but wonderful to listen to.Power wise it was fine. On the Fisher's own scale of 1-10, I got my normal listening level at 6.5, which is where I typically listen to speakers on the Fisher (which I use primarily as a speaker amp). The results were highly enjoyable.

I also tried the Meier Concerto.  At reasonable levels, the Concerto sounded very, very good with the HE-6.  I also spent some time today with the HE-6 and an inexpensive Class D speaker/headphone amp, which outputs 10W into 8 ohms, and the Concerto was so much better with the HE-6 that it was almost laughable.  I stopped listening to the Class D amp after about 20 minutes.  It really did not sound good, and just slightly above my normal listening levels, it started to distort badly.

For whatever reason, the Concerto does not ever distort.  I get to full rotation of the volume control, in high gain mode, and there is no distortion or clipping, and that is a level quite a bit louder than I would normally listen at, although I know from experience that it is a lower level than some people like (although those people are taking chances with hearing damage). 

So since there was not a problem with clipping or distortion, I tried to listen for other more subtle signs of stress, which at my normal listening levels, I really could not detect.  Overall the sound was quite engaging, smooth, and nicely nuanced.  I got nice punch in the bass, and very natural mids, with less glare in the treble than I have heard with some other amps that I know were straining.  The treble was actually really nice in combination.

I definitely would not recommend that people who own the HE-6 buy a Concerto to use as the main amp for them, as there is no doubt a limit to the Concerto's ability to drive them.  But if your main amp was already a Concerto, and you wanted to get HE-6's with the idea of using them with the Concerto to drive them at least for some not insignificant period of time, I wouldn't hold back.  The combination was certainly serviceable - it was actually quite enjoyable, within its volume limitations.  But the HE-6 definitely sound much better with more power than this, and will reward the listener with even better sound with more power. 

So as you can see, while I preferred some really powerful amps, the HE-6 are a superb headphone even driven by some pretty "normal" headphone amps.  And how much power you really need is also highly dependent on what kind of listening levels you want to achieve.  I realized once again when a friend of mine was over that I listen to headphones at much lower levels than many people do.  The last two people who have come over here to check out headphones listened at levels I personally couldn't stand.  So how much power you need absolutely depends on how much volume you're going to demand.

Of all of the current production high-end headphones I own, only the LCD-2 slightly nudges out the HE-6 overall for me, although for someone who likes a little more treble energy, I am certain they would prefer the HE-6.  And for me the HE-6 are still terrifically good, when powered right.  An impressive headphone.

It's funny - when I got the Beyer T1's, I was thrilled - they were so much better than any of the other headphones I owned.  But then along came the LCD-2, and now the HE-6, and my T1's are not getting very much head time.  The HE-6 are better than the T1, IMO.  They are more open sounding, and seem to put less in between the music and the listener than the T1, which is a good thing.

But in any case, the HE-6 have been really impressive.  With the right amp, they have are highly transparent, have great dynamic capability, and a very wideband neutrality.  I can tell they will be a staple of my collection for a long time to come.

Got a chance to listen to the HE-6s at the recent ChiUniFi meet in Chicago.  They were paired with a new Ray Samuels amp (due out in Dec) and the combo was nothing short of jaw dropping! Properly driven, the HE-6s had incredible presence and imaging.  Standing there, eyes closed, I could place the intsruments and vocals in space around me and the sense of being immersed in the music was unlike any I have experienced. The sound was natural and effortless with excellent articulation, but no grain or harshness in the upper mid and treble areas -- something I find fatiguing in other headphones.  At this same meet were hi-end Stax, Grado, Beyerdynamic and Sennheiser cans; yet the HE-6s stood out from them all.  I highly recommend the HE-6s, particularly with the yet-to-be-released Ray Samuels amp, and this combo now tops my short list to complete my new home rig.  Thanks, HiFiman for making these available!

I have been in search of a headphone that could give me the details and dynamic range of an electrostat with the tonal weight of a reference dynamic. The previous system was a K701 with a Singlepower Extreme. It gave me a pretty good sound but I felt the sound was still inferior to electrostats and bass was lacking compared to other mid fi dynamics.

Last year a headfier introduced us to the HE-5 at the same time as the HD800 and PS1000. While I liked the similarities to the K701, the HD800 still felt a bit thin in presentation. The PS1000 had a bit more sonic weight and I liked them as well. Then I tried the HE-5. I first heard it on the first HiFiMan amp and it sounded ok but didn't have enough juice to "crank it". So I brought them to my rig for a listen and was curiously impressed with the ortho sound.

Well, a fellow headfier let us borrow his LCD-2 headphones for a few weeks last fall. At that time, I was infatuated with the sound. It gave me that speed, detail and impact I was looking for. There were a few things I did notice about the LCD-2 that didn't suit my tastes. One was the laid back presentation, another was the slight recession of the highs in relation to the mids and dominating lows. I also felt the center imaging was a bit fuzzy but being a new technology (for me), I attributed this to my inexperience.

After reading several threads about the new HE-6, I chanced the purchase. I ordered them on the 15th and received them on the 20th of December. To have a headphone come from across the world, through US routing during their holiday season and at my door in 5 days is impressive.

I was happy to see the piano gloss black matched my TV, sub, etc. but the wood of the HE-5 is a piece of art (similar to the LCD-2). The cable that comes with the HE-6 is much better quality than I was expecting. Lightweight, extremely flexible, sturdy connectors & plugs, nice on the eyes.

I plugged them into the SP thinking no burn in time was needed and I had plenty of power because the HE-5 sounded great on it. Wrong on both counts. I couldn't get enough volume to hear vocals without distortion. Any extension from the mids on either end was unbearable. Having heard the burn in of the K701, I knew not to react to initial impressions, so they were left on for a couple days. Coming back to them was a much more pleasurable experience. I could hear beautiful sound. Something didn't sound right but I was having a hard time identifying what it was. For one, I couldn't get enough power for preferred listening. Every time something got me excited, my amp ran out of steam and would distort in the lows. Something I'd not experienced with K340, K701, HD800, RS-1, etc.

The other thing I had a problem with was the center presentation. Both side sounds were clear, in place and localized. When panning, everything tracked through from ear to ear. But playing music sometimes, the center presentation seemed to be out of phase, soft, fuzzy. I noticed this with the LCD-2 so I thought it was perhaps the technology.

Well I kept reading about trying a speaker amp to run them and I had one I could control the volume on the amp (Rotel RMB-1050). After I got the volume pots trimmed for my listening levels, I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. Not only did I hear what I wanted, I heard what I didn't think could be done with a headphone. Deeper bass with better details than any headphone I've heard up to that point and most speakers/subs. The highs were comparable to stats with just a bit less decay and not quite as delicate. Much better than I've heard from any dynamic. The best part was that the center resolution issue disappeared. Seems I just needed more power.

I am a tube convert and wanted to try a tube speaker amp but the only way to control the volume is by the computer (right now). So a fellow headfier offered me an amp to try (GTA SE-40). I have to say, a tube speaker amp with good extension and little roll off is a treat worth the investment and time. I have found my sound and am indeed a very happy camper. Now to get a DAC (Perfectwave maybe) worthy of the setup with a volume control and I can listen to music and not equipment until my ride comes to take me home.

If you like the Sennheiser sound, the LCD-2 are your babies. If you like the AKG sound, the HE-6 will be the ones. For the price of the HE-6 and a nice quality tube speaker amp, you can get a pretty good rig for under the cost of a HD800.

I (of course) agree with Skylab's review of these splendid 'ear-speakers'. I can also emphasize the power requirement in two words: "Speaker terminals".

I drive them from my 13W Ming Da integrated amp speaker terminals. Sublime. (I tried my Audio-gd Phoenix & LD Mk IV - just ok).

So highly recommended -if you have ample amps on tap.