HifiMAN HE-6 Planar Magnetic Headphone - Page 166

Got my HE-6 today 

 

I haven't done much A/B'ing with the HE-5LE though.  One reason is that the sensitivity is quite different, so it's very hard to make sure they are at the same volume.

 

That said, the HE-6 are sounding great on their own.  One of the things I seem to notice is that the bass seems even better than on the HE-5LE.  Also, the HE-6's lower sensitivity makes them less prone to the subtle hiss/noise I can hear out of my Pioneer A-35R speaker amp on the HE-5LE.  The amp is rated at  45 watts per channel RMS into 8 ohms and 65 watts per channel into 4 ohms, and I get a nicely loud, balanced sound with the HE-6 right around 9 o'clock on the volume dial.  I'm running them off of the speaker taps with an XLR-to-bare-wire adapter I bought from a great DIY'er (custom.hifi.cables@gmail.com).

 

I don't have a very stable "repertoire" of songs I listen to, so it's hard to give responsible impressions without taking the time to do careful A/B'ing.  Maybe someday... ;)

 

The build quality feels very nice, with everything being a bit stiffer (i.e. less loose in a good way).  The hinge that holds the cups certainly feels sturdier and has less "play".  I did notice a couple of imperfections on the metal rings that hold the cups, but it's nothing I would bother to return them for.

 

As others mentioned, the metallic finish on the cups is reminiscent of the Ultrasone Edition 9.  That said, they don't seem to pick up fingerprints nearly as much as my Edition 9's used to.  I hope that their finish is more resistant to flaking/chipping off than that of the Edition 9.

 

The headband is a bit thicker, so the cans fit my head better.  The HE-5LE were *a bit* loose on my small-ish head even on the shortest position, and the HE-5 even more so.  The headband's material is better than on the HE-5LE, feeling more like leather than vinyl.  It also wraps around all the way, whereas the HE-5LE only has it on the top.

 

The inside of the HE-6's cups is a bit more complex than on the HE-5LE.  There is a quarter-circle of foam behind the cloth, together with a metallic ridge that runs across their diameter.

 

The cable looks very cool and it's extremely flexible and non-microphonic.  

 

As I have written this post, I have listened to a few more songs and the general impression I get is one of great clarity coupled with deep, satisfying bass.  So far, no regrets!  Based on memory (which is a *very* tricky thing to rely on in audio), I would say that they take the HE-5's sparkling highs and combine them with the HE-6's non-fatiguing nature and deeper bass.  Do keep in mind that I sold my HE-5 months ago and I have only listened to the HE-6 for a couple hours.

 

I'll let you know if I get another audiophilic epiphany ;)  1:35AM, time to go to bed...

 

Silly sally, do you remember how long it took for you to receive your Warren Audio cable from the time you ordered it?

 

Took over 3 weeks +++ and many E-Mails. Stay away from this guy.

Edited by sillysally - 5/3/11 at 3:31am

 

I am still awaiting any kind of communication. So far Ms T has been very helpful but I don't think that I have made any progress since ordering on the 13th. Fingers crossed by next Friday. I will have to live vicariously through your glowing praise and eargasms.

 

 

 As requested, Treasure's, stock cable and 2Ch stereo red book CD's.

 

Bottom line I would be hard pressed to tell the difference in a A/B blind test between H/L imp. I would have to use this combo for a few days before I could tell a diffidence in a blind test.

What I would say is that using the low imp is a little better because it seems a little smother for the most part, therefor the music flows a little more evenly.

 

The surprise for me was that the X-10 cable didn't make much of a change from the stock cable as were it does when I am using my complete system.The one thing I didn't do was swap back in my WE300B's and compare, not the best thing for my front line tubes to heat up and then cool down then heat back up.

 

I must say that I understand better now what you guys are hearing, however you can do better that's how good the HE6's and your WA5/LE really are. The comparison is like if you where using some nice MP3's (128 bit) then went to some nice SACD's. That said the HE6 does really sound very good but a little less like a Electrostatic Stax headphone and more like a dynamic headphone using the setup you requested.

Please don't shoot the messenger i am just saying it like I hear it.

Secret sauce-- secret source...good one.

 

@sillysally. When you are quoting multiple people, please make sure to use the multi quote button. It helps keep the thread neater and doesn't falsely inflate your post count.

thanks for the tip, I needed it too. Strangely I never noticed the "multi" button

@ Immtbiker, I did mean to use "secret source" but I did think about sauce.

 

I am not trying to inflate my post count, but the multi quote button sucks and imo messes up thread and adds a lot of extra clutter particularly when pictures are involved. At AVS I always use the multi quote button.

Anyway the proof of me not trying to inflate my post count is I don't start posting about the economy and then keep posting about it.

 

All that said, I will do as you requested but I think you should do some work on the M/Q button so we don't make a real mess of these threads.

Here's what messes you up (it happened to me). Hit multi-quote for all of the posts that you are going to respond to, until the last one. On the last one, hit "Reply", and all of your multi-quotes will come out in ascending order, leaving you room to respond to each post. Also, for some strange Huddler reason, you get sent into dark paradise (the very bottom of the thread). Just like when you are using the "insert image" button, you have to scroll up and you will find your box. It's really ridiculous the way it's done, because you think that it didn't copy your threads, or won't allow you to add an image or a smiley ,it puts you into Land of the Lost, but you can, as long as you scroll up.

I don't know why it's that way, but since the change over from vBulletin, there are a lot of strange inexplicable happenings. You just have to go with the flow and find what works.

 

Another weird thing that happens when you quote somebody, is that it won't let you type under the quote, only on top. I have no idea why...the Mods have brought it up to Huddler, but alas, to no avail.

 

By the way, I wasn't accusing you of falsely inflating your post count, I was just pointing out that it won't. In my eyes, you are a model poster and I enjoy reading your posts (only after 4 Tequila shots, of course..no...I keed, I keed.)  ).

Well at least you have a excuse for miss splling, you drink. I don't even drink and look at how I butcher the English languish.

Yes I know about the single quoit button at the end, so I don't have any excuses for what it said or then again maybe I mean what I say.

 

btw; please remover this post from my post count, that would be most apreaceated. Oops I did it again.

 

Peace and love, and give the Ex wife the what for

Thanks for the replay and experiment SillySally. That's interesting.

I really like the Zeus cable. It did wonders in my T1. I did not like them much with the stuck cable and I love them with the Zeus plus Robert really treats me very good.

 

I just received an update from DHL saying that they are out for delivery...yeah!!! Wow! that was fast. Just last night I received the notification of shipment.
 

Actually, that isn't true...as is evidenced by my typing below your quote

 I have never tried the Phoenix but in last week's meet I tried them withthe Fun and it was need to go about 3/4 of the volume knob to have a decent level.

I also tried them with my Rudistor RP010B and in single ended mode it was marginal.I was needing to go just after 12 O'clock. We did not have a balance cable to try but I expect it will do better in balanced mode.

I don't know if this is pertinent to the amps used in the thread discussions, but the volume control position is rarely linear, as many amps use logarithmic taper controls.  This would result in only about 25% of the amp's rated output being delivered at the 12:00 position of the volume control.  Not all amps use log taper, but most do, I believe.   Of course, rated output doesn't really factor in amplifier headroom or lack thereof, so even if your amp is delivering only a part of its rated output, high-energy transients can easily exceed the headroom and result in distortion or clipping. 

It only happens some of the time, just as Interstate 90 backing up by O'Hare. This is what drives me nuts.