[zenpunk]

If the HE-6 was made in Germany and sold through Hi-Fi dealers it would cost probably three times more than the HD800, which makes it a much better headphone that the HD800

 

[Hughkk]

Quote:

If the HE-6 was made in Germany and sold through Hi-Fi dealers it would cost probably three times more than the HD800, which makes it a much better headphone that the HD800

 
u made a point

 

[Audiocrack]

Could anyone tell me wether the HE-6 is as fast paced as HD800 or Grados? I mostly listen to symphonic metal, and fx the Beyer T1 is too slow, and the in my opinion somewhat shoddy construction of the HD800 and grados are turning me off those, so I'm wondering if the HE-6 might be a good choice... I plan to drive it with the adapter and a speaker amp at home, and the ALO Rx Mk3 on the go...

 

[rhythmdevils]

Since you lumped HD800 and Grados together, I'm wondering if you mean actual real driver speed, or if you mean "sparkley" ie bright or peaky treble.

 

[Audiocrack]

Well, basically, lets say you have some really fast paced music, in my case fx. death metal, where a LOT happens all the time. Then the sennheiser and grado manages to make each drum kick have punch, then dead silence, and then the next kick with punch again, i.e. its quick enough it seems, to react to the sound, stop and then start again, so all the sounds in the music are distinguished - in contrast to for example the T1 which seems to blend it more together when so much is happening at once, so there is never really a black background and the drum doesn't really seem to have any impact when its this fast, and in symphonic metal it sort of seems to remove the focus or the energy from the orchestre, resulting in it all just becoming more blended and noisy sounding and less musical. Now wether thats driver speed, I can't tell for sure, but it seems that way...

 

[majkel]

My T1s had similar issues. I heard them with five different headphone amps and it didn't help in any case. So, they're no longer mine.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Well, basically, lets say you have some really fast paced music, in my case fx. death metal, where a LOT happens all the time. Then the sennheiser and grado manages to make each drum kick have punch, then dead silence, and then the next kick with punch again, i.e. its quick enough it seems, to react to the sound, stop and then start again, so all the sounds in the music are distinguished - in contrast to for example the T1 which seems to blend it more together when so much is happening at once, so there is never really a black background and the drum doesn't really seem to have any impact when its this fast, and in symphonic metal it sort of seems to remove the focus or the energy from the orchestre, resulting in it all just becoming more blended and noisy sounding and less musical. Now wether thats driver speed, I can't tell for sure, but it seems that way...

 
HD800 is your phone.  It's driver smokes the T1 and Grados for speed.  If you listen to American Idiot and Take a Look Around, the 800 renders everything precisely without missing a step. Not sure what you mean by shoddy build construction though.  It's far better built than the T1, GRados or Hifimen.  Don't be fooled by the aerospace 'plastic' on the 800.  They aren't like the 5xx/6xx series which are more fragile/

 

[Audiocrack]

 
HD800 is your phone.  It's driver smokes the T1 and Grados for speed.  If you listen to American Idiot and Take a Look Around, the 800 renders everything precisely without missing a step. Not sure what you mean by shoddy build construction though.  It's far better built than the T1, GRados or Hifimen.  Don't be fooled by the aerospace 'plastic' on the 800.  They aren't like the 5xx/6xx series which are more fragile/

 
Well, the grados could do what i described the T1 could not. Even though the princips of the tesla technology suggests otherwise. What I mean by shoddy built quality is that its all plastic, but dont get me wrong, i know why they did it, and it a good quality plastic, but for their one-sided hinge design, its just not durable enough. Sennheiser has a pair on tour here in Denmark, that to my knowledge is only a few months old at most, and one cup already wiggles a bit up and down - the other one seems solid though. This just worries me when compared to my T1 which is all metal and seems like i could beat someone to death with it, and it would give a darn (morbid comparison i know) where as the HD800's hinges would probably give up quit quickly. The main reason for my concern is that i either have them with me or wear my headphones for almost 12 hours a day, every day - I the sort of strange person that plans on having a portable/main rig consisting of Ipod>CLAS>Rx Mk3>HD800 or HE6 and will use this in public no problem...

 

[steve2151]

I agree that the HD 800 has much better build quality than the HE-6. Both are built like tanks, but you can tell that Sennheiser has more money to spend on ergonomics. But if you think that you may need to repair your gear every once in a while, the HE-6 should be much cheaper to fix. Replacement pads are $10-$20 and I'm pretty sure that Fang can sell you a new headband assembly for around $100 since it's the same one on the rest of the HE series headphones. If your HD 800 bites the dust outside of the warranty period, Sennheiser recommends a $750 pre-authorization to begin repairs.
 
HD 800 does pull out more detail from recordings than the HE-6, but the HE-6 has that electrostat-like black background where the music just seems to appear out of nowhere. To me, this makes the HE-6 feel slightly faster. I also think the frequency balance on the HE-6 is better suited for rock and prefer the HD 800 for classical, jazz, and vocals, but ymmv on that one.

 

[Audiocrack]

Of for gods sake, why can't I audition a HE-6 anywhere remotely close to me : / Anyway, a fair point - i can see a new set of pads for the HD800 costs about 120$. But the fact that both the earpads and the pad on the headband are relatively easy (though expensive) to replace is a good thing. And I'd imagine that the Rx Mk3 might amplify the huge sound and the clarity of the HD800 even further. My concern with the HE-6 would mostly be that the soundstage is too small for me, or that it just doesn't sound good enough out of the Rx Mk3 compared to the HD800. I would ofcourse use it with my speaker amp at home, but as mentioned a do a LOT of listening on the go/with my portable rig - so much that I dont actually bother to have a 'real' desktop rig for headphones, i just connect the portable amp to a balanced desktop-dac for my PC... Mike at Headfonia seems to think that the Rx mk3 does very well with the HE-6, and I'm the sort of nutjob that thinks high impedance headphones and even stuff like the K1000 sounds pretty nice straight out of my ipod, so I may not have to be concerned, but i just know for a fact that sonically the HD800 has everything I like about headphones, but sadly also the thing i hate about modern hifi gear, plastic. But I get to borrow a HE-500 tomorrow (its the closest to the HE-6 i could find that i could borrow locally) so that should give me an idea of what the HE-6 is about to some extent...

 

[silversurfer616]

Quote:

If the HE-6 was made in Germany and sold through Hi-Fi dealers it would cost probably three times more than the HD800, which makes it a much better headphone that the HD800

....but the quality control would be also three times better...and being a German I know what I am saying!Trust me!

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

 
Well, the grados could do what i described the T1 could not. Even though the princips of the tesla technology suggests otherwise. What I mean by shoddy built quality is that its all plastic, but dont get me wrong, i know why they did it, and it a good quality plastic, but for their one-sided hinge design, its just not durable enough. Sennheiser has a pair on tour here in Denmark, that to my knowledge is only a few months old at most, and one cup already wiggles a bit up and down - the other one seems solid though. This just worries me when compared to my T1 which is all metal and seems like i could beat someone to death with it, and it would give a darn (morbid comparison i know) where as the HD800's hinges would probably give up quit quickly. The main reason for my concern is that i either have them with me or wear my headphones for almost 12 hours a day, every day - I the sort of strange person that plans on having a portable/main rig consisting of Ipod>CLAS>Rx Mk3>HD800 or HE6 and will use this in public no problem...

I have never ever seen or heard of that 'wiggle' you describe.  Have you seen the hinge?  It's a solid aluminum rod about 6mm thick.  Did somebody sit on the loaner?
 
Metal T1?  Yeah, if you did that the herringbone cup would indent and the cheap black cast pivots on the end of the yokes would snap off and the cups would fly across the room.

 

[nigeljames]

Quote:

Of for gods sake, why can't I audition a HE-6 anywhere remotely close to me : / Anyway, a fair point - i can see a new set of pads for the HD800 costs about 120$. But the fact that both the earpads and the pad on the headband are relatively easy (though expensive) to replace is a good thing. And I'd imagine that the Rx Mk3 might amplify the huge sound and the clarity of the HD800 even further. My concern with the HE-6 would mostly be that the soundstage is too small for me, or that it just doesn't sound good enough out of the Rx Mk3 compared to the HD800. I would ofcourse use it with my speaker amp at home, but as mentioned a do a LOT of listening on the go/with my portable rig - so much that I dont actually bother to have a 'real' desktop rig for headphones, i just connect the portable amp to a balanced desktop-dac for my PC... Mike at Headfonia seems to think that the Rx mk3 does very well with the HE-6, and I'm the sort of nutjob that thinks high impedance headphones and even stuff like the K1000 sounds pretty nice straight out of my ipod, so I may not have to be concerned, but i just know for a fact that sonically the HD800 has everything I like about headphones, but sadly also the thing i hate about modern hifi gear, plastic. But I get to borrow a HE-500 tomorrow (its the closest to the HE-6 i could find that i could borrow locally) so that should give me an idea of what the HE-6 is about to some extent...

 
I can't believe anyone could describe the T1's as slow. I have never heard the HD800's but have heard a few of the older Grados's and consider the T1's to be at least as fast but better controlled than any Grado I have heard (as well as being far better in all other area's).
 
Are you sure your amp(s) can do justice to very high impedance phones?
 
I also listen to symphonic Metal and have absolutely no complaints about speed.

 

[Focker]

Quote:

 
I can't believe anyone could describe the T1's as slow.

 
That's cause they're not
 
And the build quality of the T1s is excellent. Analaxus crusades in nearly every Sennheiser HD800 thread with his anti-T1 comments. 

 

[nigeljames]

Quote:

 
That's cause they're not
 
And the build quality of the T1s is excellent. Analaxus crusades in nearly every Sennheiser HD800 thread with his anti-T1 comments. 

 
Fair enough but it was Audiocrack's comments I was referring to.