HE-6 Loaner Program - Page 32

Glad they arrived quickly, Alex.  Looking forward to your impressions!

That picture belongs on Head-Fi's homepage..........

looks like 2 eyes

Nice! I like the Scoutmaster also. :)

Alright, so some very preliminary impressions after having these on for just about an hour of so.

The first thing that comes to mind when comparison to the LCD-2 is the amount of "air" that surrounds everything, but without being distant or uninvolving.  The soundstage isn't necessarily much larger than the LCD-2 but everything has a very pinpoint precision to it and good breathing room between instruments and voices.  For me the HD800s had a large soundstage, but also lacked the intimacy of the LCD-2...and I found them uninvolving on many types of music.  In my opinion, the LCD-2 can sound a little bit dense at times, but the HE-6 seems to strike a pretty good balance between the two.

 As others mentioned, these are definitely brighter headphones than the LCD-2 which can get a little fatiguing at higher volumes (like the HE-5).  Bass packs in quite a punch compared to the HD800 but still doesn't match the LCD-2 in my opinion.  What makes the LCD-2 special in midrange and bass is the texture and decay that notes have (you almost feel them inside you)...which is a little lacking on the HE-6.  I would put the bass decay and depth of the the LCD-2 on par with the O2 (well amped), and the HE-6 below that, followed by HD800s.

Although at first I wasn't super impressed, these are starting to grow on me for their strengths (airiness, seemingly great detail retrieval (maybe due to more treble?), and very pleasing sound signature.  In other words, they are pretty easy headphones to like (with minor quibble of treble at times) and don't have a very strong "house sound" of sorts.

On a side note, my 6F8G Tung Sol tubes didn't do so well with the HE-6 and started getting interference at higher volumes, causing clipping of bass.  I had to switch to my Tung Sol 6SN7GT and the amp delivered in spades, even at uncomfortable listening conditions (btw the WA5 has 10 Watts per channel).

More to come soon....

Quote:

Originally Posted by monsieurguzel 

More to come soon....

I would like to hear more about the differences between the HE-5 and HE-6, thanks!

I think It is better compare HE 5LE and HE 6, what is the benefit of HE 6. If I have right information the HE 6 are discontinued.

I think you mean the HE 5 is discontinued, so it's better to have HE-5LE vs HE-6 comparisons

"Alright, so some very preliminary impressions after having these on for just about an hour of so."

What did you use for an amp with the HE6?

unfortunately I don't have the HE-5 at hand anymore since I wasn't a huge fan of their sonic balance.  The HE-6 are a lot more natural sound and less forward than what I remember of the HE-5.  I have never tried the HE-5LE and have no interest in them.

As for the amp I used, it is a Woo Audio 5 through the speaker output and the K1000 output.  Oddly enough, there is quite a difference in the headphone sound between the speaker out and the K1000 output and am not sure just yet which I preffer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neptius 

I think It is better compare HE 5LE and HE 6, what is the benefit of HE 6. If I have right information the HE 6 are discontinued.

Well I've never heard the HE-5LE, and I don't know if monsieurguzel has either. I own the HE-5 and it sounds like monsieurguzel does as well, so that is the reference I am asking about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by monsieurguzel 
 They'll be hooked up to my WA5 and I'll see how they react differently according to how they are fed (1/4" headphone out, K1000 out, speaker out).

 

-Alex

I spent some time with the HE-6 and the WA5 SE, and was vey pleased with the results. They had great synergy.

I think that if I was in the market right now, and had $5K, I would definitely get a WA5. If not, then a Cary 300SEI.

It's just that with a nice 5.1 speaker set-up, anything with a pre-amp and speaker taps would be a large waste of

money on non-essential components. It the major reason that I didn't but the A-10 or the WES (multiple inputs).
 

I'm very honored to be included in this loaner program. I will treat your headphones with the up most respect.. & make sure they are packaged extremely well when I send to the next member. Thank you in trusting us.. It's companies like yours that headfi MUST support.. & trust in people you don't know doesn't come easy. I, for one, will never betray that trust.. Again.. Thank you for including me.. I'm eating crow cause I never expected to be on the list.. I tried many times before with other programs but was always ignored. Thank you for accepting me into this program. I will write a review & give impressions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nankai 

We are proud to announce our new, top of the line HE-6 Orthodynamic headphone.

Head-Direct would like to allow some qualified members to be able to participate in our demo for our new flagship orthodynamic headphone.

This headphone will come in a housing similar to the HE-5LE but has leather covered earpieces (leather cover and head band will be different color from black HE-5LE) and a superior diaphragm and coating than our previous models. The HE-6 was innovated to try to bring you the finest sound reproduction possible from an Orthodynamic headphone.

Two headphones will be included in this program.  In your request, please include the amp that you will be using, and the other headphones that you have in your collection.

We would like to allow the first 20 eligible people that request a trial for each headphone, and here are the following parameters:

    * You can keep the headphone for up to one week
    * You must agree to ship the headphone and all of it’s accessories to the next person that we give you that is on the waiting list including using insurance and signature confirmation
    * We ask that you include a small review of the headphones in this headphone loaner thread
    * We ask that only people with experience with higher end or Orthodynamic headphones apply
    * The HE-6 needs ample power to exhibit all of its attributes, so we ask that you have an amp that can be used via the speaker outputs, between 5 and 30 w.p.c.  (We will be sending you a cable with tinned terminations on it in order to use a solid state or tubed amps’ speaker outputs)
    * We ask that you treat the HE-6 as if it was your own and take great care in handling and storing the headphone
    * We ask that you have fun and enjoy the loan and share your experience with friends and other Head-Fiers.
    * We reserve the right to deny requests that we feel don’t have the proper amp or experience using high end headphones

Thank You !!!!

Fang @ Head-Direct

 

Updated:

To all head-fiers who want to join the loaner program:

Please edit your post and let us know whether you are in the east or the west, or in Europe. We will use the Mississippi River to divide the country into east and west. I will post loaner ID list then. We will do shipping later this week. Thanks a lot.

 

Updated on July 08

 

Now I am posting the list in US. Our distributor, SievekingSound, will take care of Euro Loaner program. Headfiers in Europe can PM him. I will arrange China (include HK) and Australia loaner program later in the summer.

 

East:

1-Immtbiker        NY

2-baka1969         NJ

3-El_Doug           NJ

4-dannyb            NC

5-Peli_Kan          NC

6-warp08            VA

7-jageur272        VA

8-Frank I            NJ

9-Natural Music    NJ

10-mrarroyo        FL

11-sambones       FL

12-ishcabible       IL

13-digger945      IN

14-fishski13        MN

 

West:

1-HeadphoneAddict  CO

2-Edwood              CA

3-Skylab                   IL

4-monsieurguzel      CA

5-mckinectic           CA

6- rhythmdevils       CA

7-kool bubba ice      CA

8-priyajeet             CA

9-grokit                 PNW

10-kwkarth              OR

11-maxvia             OK

12-momomo6789   TX

13-dBel84               WI

14-MikeLa             AZ