Is the Hifiman HE-6 clearly a league above the Hifiman HE-500? - Page 5

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Originally Posted by IEMCrazy 

Fixed it

I'm so glad I've got you to look out for me. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by dleblanc343 

Hey Lappy, I wasn't bashing the lcd2 itself, but rather the uneducated buyers who run them with horrible sources/amps (I've been seeing a few these days at Layton). To me it's a headphone that goes to waste.

 

Hell, your Bryston/ LCD2 sounded better than the HD800/HE-6 with the same amp and I can attest to that; and with the mjolnir I'd say the same from the little meet we did. It's especially good with the type of music you listen to. The synergy is pretty much spot on.

 

Also, Nico and I thought it would be cool if we can do (yes I know..) another small meet and finally get benjamin over; but not only that, also compare rattesp's burned in mjolnir vs the one I will have with zero burn in. Also by then the He-6 will have burned in as well (they only have about 6 hours as of now).

I'm in Dan if the LCD-3 are there!

Let me know.

Steve

i aint buying anything heavy...hungry,  until the dust settles.....on a tiny headfone amp tat can float these giantcans. :P

Quote:

Originally Posted by robm321 

I think you and Calaf are saying the same thing. HE-6, technically better - HE-500 more musical or possibly more enjoyeable but not quite as good technically?

The HE-6 is better technically no doubt, and to me more enjoyable and just as musical. There are absolutely no treble spikes unlike my HD-800's and imaging is a step up in terms of realism vs HE-500; you don't feel "boxed" in. Something that sounds smooth and relaxed is often the main description of "musical"; but I feel that the more detail retrieved from the song, without it being aggressive in any way, is simply level above in terms of listening experience.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dleblanc343 

The HE-6 is better technically no doubt, and to me more enjoyable and just as musical. There are absolutely no treble spikes unlike my HD-800's and imaging is a step up in terms of realism vs HE-500; you don't feel "boxed" in. Something that sounds smooth and relaxed is often the main description of "musical"; but I feel that the more detail retrieved from the song, without it being aggressive in any way, is simply level above in terms of listening experience.

You've definately got your point across. But you are also an HD800 fan and those are peaky headphones. Theres been too many comments made about the agressive treble with the HE6's to ignore. Even IEMcrazy bought an equalizer to sort it. "Technically better" in musical terms especially in sound reproduction is a none starter imo, especially when describing details in music that are either being emphasized with some phones or naturally reproduced. Infact smoothed over details can be technically what the manufacturer wanted and who are we to argue otherwise. Some peeps just like a more "easy on the ears" headphone and this is defo the HE500. I've said this before, once you get used to aggressive or peaky treble, flatter headphones can sound boring and indeed boxy. Classic example is the HD800 vs LCD2 both outstanding headphones but if you come from one you may well not like the other.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by LugBug1 

You've definately got your point across. But you are also an HD800 fan and those are peaky headphones. Theres been too many comments made about the agressive treble with the HE6's to ignore. Even IEMcrazy bought an equalizer to sort it. "Technically better" in musical terms especially in sound reproduction is a none starter imo, especially when describing details in music that are either being emphasized with some phones or naturally reproduced. Infact smoothed over details can be technically what the manufacturer wanted and who are we to argue otherwise. Some peeps just like a more "easy on the ears" headphone and this is defo the HE500. I've said this before, once you get used to aggressive or peaky treble, flatter headphones can sound boring and indeed boxy. Classic example is the HD800 vs LCD2 both outstanding headphones but if you come from one you may well not like the other.  

I have heard my HE6's on various amps,most of which where underpowered which is supposed to increase any treble aggression, and have never felt that the HE6's have any untoward agression or peaks.

Infact I have always felt they could do with more top end energy hence the reason I recently purchased the Toxic Cable Silver Poison cable (which has made a big difference compared to stock cable).

So unless I have a unique HE6 I can only assume the HE6's transparency and resolution is showing up treble defects further up the chain.

Under optimal circumstances (speaker taps), I'd say the HE-6 has more detail, a wider soundstage and is generally a bit more neutral. The HE-500 is more musical with more bass slam and a little bit more warmth (though less bass detail) and has a seemingly more controlled treble. I'm very prone to sibilence and the HE-500s manage to have sparkle while avoiding it, the HE-6 highs seem more agressive by extent.

Are the HE-6s a "league" above? Well, they are certainly a league above in price and a league above in power requirements. It should come as no surprise they would sound subjectively better. IMO they don't sound better enough to justify the additional expenditure and having to expunge my amp collection to run on speaker taps (without which, it's questionable whether they sound better at ALL). For others this is different, your mileage may vary.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nigeljames 

 

I have heard my HE6's on various amps,most of which where underpowered which is supposed to increase any treble aggression, and have never felt that the HE6's have any untoward agression or peaks.

Infact I have always felt they could do with more top end energy hence the reason I recently purchased the Toxic Cable Silver Poison cable (which has made a big difference compared to stock cable).

 

So unless I have a unique HE6 I can only assume the HE6's transparency and resolution is showing up treble defects further up the chain.

Fair comment, but headphones that are underpowered won't be more aggressive in any of the FR.. quite the opposite. The treble will appear more prominant only because it is harder to balance the lower frequencies with less power.

Still a case of different flavors, I chose the HE500 because they suited my taste and I didn't want a headphone that was going to be high maintenance and hard to please (I have a wife for that) 

While i have not heard the HE-500s yet, I intend to very soon.  However, I'm speaking solly on the HE-6.  

Note:  I run my HE-6s on two 300 watt mono blocks.  So being run properly I think I''m safe to say mine are being run to it's highest level (power) wise.  Now, there are certainly other speaker amps out there that are of higher quality than mine so I expect - NO - I no the HE-6 can sound even better that the rig I have them in.  I along with Happy Camper witnessed this first hand.  

One of the things that has to be noticed is the scalability of the HE-6  - I think this very positive attribute of the HE-6 is really being ignored.  

First question can the HE-500 scale to higher power and higher quality gear like the HE-6 can?  This is in it self can make the HE-6 a "league" above the HE-500s.  

Lets put price aside for right now and just go on pure performance.  If we do that and If I can have the best gear possible to run either on.  I'll "suspect" the HE-6 will out shine the HE-500 on scalability alone.  Getting better and better as the gear get better and better.  Where I "suspect" the HE-500 will top out sooner than later.

This IMHO take the HE-6 a "league" above not only the HE-500 but other high end headphones as well.

I'm talking about competing with some of the top Stax gear out there.  This I know first hand from a meet at in DC where I herd the HE-6 on a speaker go toe to toe with a SR007.

X2

I had the HE-6, which I replaced with the HE500 because I didn't have the right amplification and had issues with the peaky treble. I am now back to a HE-6 with a powerful amp and I found them very smooth and slightly dark. I was at the UK meet and compared my HE-6 combo to a Blue Hawai amp with SR007 and I was surpised that  my HE-6 wasn't that far behind. People might balk at such claims but that how I felt and it felt good. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by zenpunk 

X2

I had the HE-6, which I replaced with the HE500 because I didn't have the right amplification and had issues with the peaky treble. I am now back to a HE-6 with a powerful amp and I found them very smooth and slightly dark. I was at the UK meet and compared my HE-6 combo to a Blue Hawai amp with SR007 and I was surpised that the my HE-6 wasn't that far behind. People might balk at such claims but that how I felt and it felt good. 

Which amp are you using now for the HE-6 ?

Little Dot MK6+ fitted with Tung-Sol 5998, those tubes are hard to find and quite expensive but they transformed the amp, boosting gain and transparency considerably. Most modern recordings require just   9-10 o'clock on the volume and  quieter classical ones get very loud at 12.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dleblanc343 

The HE-6 is better technically no doubt, and to me more enjoyable and just as musical. There are absolutely no treble spikes unlike my HD-800's and imaging is a step up in terms of realism vs HE-500; you don't feel "boxed" in. Something that sounds smooth and relaxed is often the main description of "musical"; but I feel that the more detail retrieved from the song, without it being aggressive in any way, is simply level above in terms of listening experience.

Thanks, that renews my interest in the HE-6. The Senn HD800 is a good phone technically, but it sounded artificial or unnatural to me. So, hoping the HE-6 is a different beast.

 I really want to hear these headphones because I heard they smoke the LCD-2/LCD-3 easily except for the bass.