Finally got my HE-6 in the house. Power it up with Ref-7 -> Phoenix -> NAD 216THX. Initially I cannot get used to the soundstage and tonality and felt a little bit disappointed. The bass has good amount but seems to be less solid comparing to T1. The attack and "kick" of the bass in my New Age instrumental music was soft and blurred.
However, after spending some time with my classical music collection, I start to get the soundstage. It is actually quite immense and very natural. Such wide stage and good focus was so life-like that I feel like sitting in the music hall instead of listening to the recording from a small studio. That is quite unique experience and I have not yet heard it from my system. This alone already hooks me up. And the low bass amount was satisfying. I enjoy the overwhelming low bass rumble from my soundtrack collection and Saint Saens' "Organ" Symphony for a long time.
The only complain I had right now was the high/mid quality wasn't top-level crystal clear. It is a little bit diffuse comparing to T1. Such lacking was NOT apparent when HE-6 was directly powered up by Phoenix. However, all the magical soundstage and bass would also disappear. Phoenix along cannot power HE-6 to the level that I would enjoy HE-6 at all.
With NAD, the large scale music is very enjoyable with HE-6 due to its extremely large dynamic range and soundstage. However, I did not find extra magic with small-scale music with solo instrument such as piano. In those music the texture of each sound note is more important. So I guess I need some high quality power amp of integrated amp to improve the bass attack (solidness) and mid/high texture. Any recommendation?
Thanks!
