HiFiman HE-500 (HE as in High End) Proving to be an enjoyable experience in listening. | Page 1180 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

skyline315 · Apr 21, 2016 at 9:08 AM

john q lin said:
I have a few questions

So with if I want to upgrade to the he-6, will I need something like project ember to drive it? m9xx will not do?

How does the m9xx compare to project ember, I have a hifiman he500 just wandering if I need to buy project ember to bring out the best in he500.

project ember vs m9xx powering the he500, which one is better?

Thanks

Look up the power numbers for the m9xx. I don't know what they are.

The Ember will feed just over 2W into a 50 ohm headphone.

It looks like the Lyr 2 can go up to 4W.

I haven't heard the HE-6 from the Lyr 2, so can't really comment on the pairing.

Hansotek · Apr 21, 2016 at 9:18 AM

skyline315 said:
john q lin said:

I have a few questions

So with if I want to upgrade to the he-6, will I need something like project ember to drive it? m9xx will not do?

How does the m9xx compare to project ember, I have a hifiman he500 just wandering if I need to buy project ember to bring out the best in he500.

project ember vs m9xx powering the he500, which one is better?

Thanks

Click to expand...

Look up the power numbers for the m9xx. I don't know what they are.

The Ember will feed just over 2W into a 50 ohm headphone.

It looks like the Lyr 2 can go up to 4W.

I haven't heard the HE-6 from the Lyr 2, so can't really comment on the pairing.

I have the Lyr 1. Definitely doesn't drive the HE-6 to it's potential.

thefitz · Apr 21, 2016 at 11:13 AM

hansotek said:
I have the Lyr 1. Definitely doesn't drive the HE-6 to it's potential.

Interesting, the below suggest it's a great pairing:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/schiit/12.html
http://www.cnet.com/news/schiits-muscular-lyr-headphone-amplifier/

Hansotek · Apr 21, 2016 at 12:01 PM

thefitz said:
Interesting, the below suggest it's a great pairing:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/schiit/12.html
http://www.cnet.com/news/schiits-muscular-lyr-headphone-amplifier/

Steve and Srajan are entitled to to their opinions. Though keep in mind, those reviews are both fairly old and published at a time (just a couple of years ago!) where big power wasn't readily available. The written word in a rapidly evolving field such as personal audio tends to become anachronistic rather quickly.

Go ask about the Lyr on the HE-6 thread and see what kind of replies you get.

thefitz · Apr 21, 2016 at 12:17 PM

hansotek said:
Steve and Srajan are entitled to to their opinions. Though keep in mind, those reviews are both fairly old and published at a time (just a couple of years ago!) where big power wasn't readily available. The written word in a rapidly evolving field such as personal audio tends to become anachronistic rather quickly.

Go ask about the Lyr on the HE-6 thread and see what kind of replies you get.

Interesting, especially considering the amplifier HiFiMAN made to be used with the HE-6 is "just" and extra watt. Granted that's a 25% increase.

skyline315 · Apr 21, 2016 at 12:19 PM

It's all relative.

Perhaps the Lyr 2 doesn't get the HE-6 all the way there, but I'm betting it gets you 90-95%. And, with the HE-6, that's going to sound pretty amazing.

At least that was my experience with the Ember II which has half the power of the Lyr.

Hansotek · Apr 21, 2016 at 12:36 PM

thefitz said:
Interesting, especially considering the amplifier HiFiMAN made to be used with the HE-6 is "just" and extra watt. Granted that's a 25% increase.

FWIW, I don't think Hifiman's EF-6 is very good, either.

Hansotek · Apr 21, 2016 at 12:48 PM

skyline315 said:
It's all relative.

Perhaps the Lyr 2 doesn't get the HE-6 all the way there, but I'm betting it gets you 90-95%. And, with the HE-6, that's going to sound pretty amazing.

At least that was my experience with the Ember II which has half the power of the Lyr.

I haven't heard the Ember, so I can't speak to that. Some tubes offer these crazy peak-to-peak voltage swings that make the power output measurements somewhat irrelevant when it comes to the HE-6.

My point being, I don't discount what you are saying. But how the Ember sounds with the HE-6 has absolutely nothing to do with the Lyr.

The HE-6 has it's own thread with some very knowledgeable who can assist with amp pairings, should anyone wish to continue the discussion there.

Fearless1 · Apr 21, 2016 at 4:29 PM

thefitz said:
Interesting, especially considering the amplifier HiFiMAN made to be used with the HE-6 is "just" and extra watt. Granted that's a 25% increase.

The EF-6 is not a good pairing with the HE-6. It drives it, but not with the finesse and speed of a quality speaker amp.

skyline315 said:
It's all relative.

Perhaps the Lyr 2 doesn't get the HE-6 all the way there, but I'm betting it gets you 90-95%. And, with the HE-6, that's going to sound pretty amazing.

At least that was my experience with the Ember II which has half the power of the Lyr.

If you liked the HE-6 with the Ember, then a speaker amp would floor you. I would say based on my experience with the Ember(great amp BTW) it is about 65% of my Firstwatt amp.

Both amps sound great with the HE-500/560, the HE-6 is a unique beast.

thefitz · Apr 21, 2016 at 4:53 PM

I'm enamored by the HE-6... it seems like such a pain in the ass with an almost stupid design, yet people swear by it. It MUST be worth it.

raybone0566 · Apr 21, 2016 at 5:02 PM

thefitz said:
I'm enamored by the HE-6... it seems like such a pain in the ass with an almost stupid design, yet people swear by it. It MUST be worth it.

With the he-6, you have go all in. If your not going to get the right gear. Stay where your at.

Hansotek · Apr 21, 2016 at 8:09 PM

raybone0566 said:
With the he-6, you have go all in. If your not going to get the right gear. Stay where your at.

Agreed. It is a pain in the butt! But if you drive it well, it can do things no other headphone does, save the Abyss (which has similar challenges, but is at a price point where heavy investment in amplification is more expected).

Hansotek · Apr 21, 2016 at 8:17 PM

thefitz said:
I'm enamored by the HE-6... it seems like such a pain in the ass with an almost stupid design, yet people swear by it. It MUST be worth it.

The common misconception is that it needs a lot of current because the sensitivity is so low. In reality, it is precisely the opposite. The sensitivity is set so low because it needs a lot of current to do what it does. If the sensitivity were any higher, you'd have to damage your hearing to get the headphone to perform properly. Occasionally, I wish it was even lower. The design is pretty unique, yes, but once you hear one at it's full potential, it makes a heck of a lot more sense.

elwappo99 · Apr 21, 2016 at 10:38 PM

thefitz said:
hansotek said:

I have the Lyr 1. Definitely doesn't drive the HE-6 to it's potential.

Click to expand...

Interesting, the below suggest it's a great pairing:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/schiit/12.html
http://www.cnet.com/news/schiits-muscular-lyr-headphone-amplifier/

I'd group 6moons into a group with headfonia. Not very technical or analytical understanding of headphones. I wouldn't make any decisions off their site.

hansotek said:
thefitz said:

Interesting, especially considering the amplifier HiFiMAN made to be used with the HE-6 is "just" and extra watt. Granted that's a 25% increase.

Click to expand...

FWIW, I don't think Hifiman's EF-6 is very good, either.

Agreed. EF-6 was pretty mediocre with the HE-6. Wonder if it fairs better with the HE-500?

thefitz · Apr 23, 2016 at 4:24 PM

Wild how HiFiMAN would sell themselves short like that.

Latest Thread Images

skyline315

1000+ Head-Fier

Hansotek

These waters flow with our liquid mids.

thefitz

Headphoneus Supremus

Hansotek

These waters flow with our liquid mids.

thefitz

Headphoneus Supremus

skyline315

1000+ Head-Fier

Hansotek

These waters flow with our liquid mids.

Hansotek

These waters flow with our liquid mids.

Fearless1

Headphoneus Supremus

thefitz

Headphoneus Supremus

raybone0566

Headphoneus Supremus

Hansotek

These waters flow with our liquid mids.

Hansotek

These waters flow with our liquid mids.

elwappo99

Master Blower

thefitz

Headphoneus Supremus

Users who are viewing this thread