[BournePerfect]

Lol at you HE6 guys.Go team!! It's the same 3-4 spamming the same stuff in every thread around here-regardless if it's on topic or not. Funniest part is-looking at your rigs-none of you have come close to reaching the HD800s ceiling, yet you claim the HE6 scales higher by virtue of...uh...there's more TOTL speaker amps than TOTL HD800-friendly amps?? You guys crack me up. At least listen to the choir of experienced HD800 users and have an ounce of restraint  before making everything seem so cut and dry when it comes to amping either of these flagships. I mean you guys are the ones who have hundreds of pages of HE6 nonsense regarding 300W monoblocks-or-bust posts until reality finally settled in. 

 
Get a clue-it's all subjective anyway.
 
-Daniel

 

[Frank I]

Daniel at the NY meet one of the headfi members put a balanced HD800 into the WA5 XLR jack and man was I surprised . The HD800 jumped up another notch. I was afraid to try it with mine but after listening I will use the balance doable and even Jack Wu was surprised how good it sounded.  The HD800 scale higher.  LOL

 

[Happy Camper]

Sorry...again for being OT, but the best Wilson setup I've ever heard were driven by a McIntosh MC452.

I just was listening to the 452 today with the big Maggies. I also listened to it with the HE-6 and didn't feel it gave as good a depth to the soundstage. It sure is a stud of an amp but don't feel the soundstage is as broad and defined as the big Sim. But I've been told the new Ayre gear is something to listen to on the ML, Maggies and Wilsons. It's impressed Mark enough that they've dropped Sim for the Ayre line. If you're interested Darryl, the new stuff should be in by end of the month for audition.

 

[SHAHZADA123]

I run my HE-6 with a 100wpc solid state amp & the HD800s with the Apex Pinnacle. Same source; Esoteric K01. 
IMO the HD800s are far better.
'nuf said 

 

[Maxvla]

HE-6 = uncomfortable, bassy, poor soundstage, non-intuitive amping. I sold mine pretty fast after getting in the first run when they released at $1000. Now they are much more expensive and nothing's changed.

 

[nigeljames]

HE-6 = uncomfortable, bassy, poor soundstage, non-intuitive amping. I sold mine pretty fast after getting in the first run when they released at $1000. Now they are much more expensive and nothing's changed.

 
uncomfortable = No - but granted not as comfortable as the HD800.
Bassy = No - My HE6's have superb bass IMO the best overall bass of all my phones
poor soundstage = No - Not as wide as the HD800's but which is correct and which is artificial I don't know or care.
non-intuitive amping = hell yes - but many would consider the HD800's a bugger to amp properly as well, especially those who feel you have to use tubes
 
I love both the HE6's and HD800's but at this moment feel a slight preference for the HE6's but both are great phones.

 

[preproman]

The mega watt myth has been debunked a long time ago - get over it.  My amp is only 10W into 8 - so there you go.  Myth gone.  It's funny how people claim that others have not heard a TOTL HD800 rig lol.. The majority of users of HD800s are not using them on TOTL rigs anyway and claiming they are at their best.  My question is - What exactly is a TOTL HD800 rig? (name of amps please) Please don't say the GS-X mk2.  If so, been there done that.  The F1J / HE-6 wipes the floor with it.
 
It's also funny how some people first tried the HE-6 a long time ago on a low level headphone amps like "Little Dots" and dismissed it.  Things have changed, more research has been done.  Those little a$% transformers in headphone amps does the HE-6 no good, they can not tame the highs and control the bass like the ones in speaker amps when it comes to complicated passages, they can't sustain high current peaks.  

 

[philo50]

   
uncomfortable = No - but granted not as comfortable as the HD800.
Bassy = No - My HE6's have superb bass IMO the best overall bass of all my phones
poor soundstage = No - Not as wide as the HD800's but which is correct and which is artificial I don't know or care.
non-intuitive amping = hell yes - but many would consider the HD800's a bugger to amp properly as well, especially those who feel you have to use tubes
 
I love both the HE6's and HD800's but at this moment feel a slight preference for the HE6's but both are great phones.

^+1

 

[LugBug1]

Just curious, when you guys speak of speaker amps with the HE6's.. are you using the speaker terminals or the headphone outs? I'm assuming its the terminals or all that power would be wasted. 
 
I do know the well respected Skylab uses an SX1980 with the HE6's and is a favorite with him. But I'm sure he only uses the headphone out.... (apologies if I'm wrong)
 
But, hes also not a big hd800 fan. And there's nothing wrong with that. 
 
It's a great heavyweight battle this. But as always, its only a matter of taste. 
 
HD800 = Vintage Chardonnay   HE6 = Vintage Bordeaux 
 
(and the award for worst metaphor goes to me!

 

[Frank I]

Guys I am using the WA5 which jus 8-10 watts into 8 ohms and the HE6 sounds fantastic. I rarely have to listen above the 9 mark on the dial and that is even loud. The WA5 drives the HE6 effortlessly with exceptional tone and musicality.  I find the WA5 to be one of the very best amps that I have heard them with. I use my reference recording label Copland which is a torture CD for most amplifiers to drive because of the expanded dynamic range and the WA5 passes the test. It does not clip and has the right headroom to drive the amplifier. The GSX MK11 I have on the house does  drives them, but does not drive them near  as well as the  WA5. The GSX does drive them but tit is not as open as the WA5. The WA5 has more depth and air and a wider and deeper soundstage.   It also a fantastic amplifier for the HD800.  
 
The HD800 has more inner detail and a wider and deeper sound stage with excellent transparency. Plain and simple for me I would not be without either headphone. I love that the HD800 is light and comfortable and is an exceptional listen. I am not sure one is better than the other . Just  different presentations. The HD800 will let you know exactly what is on the recording both good and bad. The HD800 has exceptional midrange and  IMO terrific bass because of the texture of the  presentation.   The GSX MK 11 is also an excellent amplifier for use with the HD800 in the balanced configuration. I really like the musicality that the GSX and the WA5 bring to the the hd800.  I prefer the Wa5 while listening with the hE6.  I stated this when I purchased the WA5 that it would be an endgame amplifier for me personally and nothing has changed since the day it arrived. The HD800 and HE6 are two of my very favorite headphones along with the TH900 and T1. I can't see why this is still a debate over the hE6 and the hD800. Both are outstanding headphones and two that I would not be without. The HD800 and HE6 are both amazing for how well they will scale up with higher end gear. Two exceptional headphones to be proud of.
 
That being said I also liked the hE6 on the SX980 speaker taps when that receiver was here. It had extended range and it was exceptional and did work on the headphone input easily. Rob getting more power with the restored SX 1980 and maybe one day i will get to hear it but its nice to know what there are other solutions to drive them as well and also nice to know that you can use them with amplifier of more power and they will sound fantastic as well.  But in the end there is no better, only different with these two headphones. Both deliver the goods and both are reference quality headphones.  I think this has been debated  for the last few years and it  always end up to which headphone you prefer on any given day. I love them both.  I can also wear the hD800 for more hours and more comfortably.

 

[MacedonianHero]

HE-6 = uncomfortable, bassy, poor soundstage, non-intuitive amping. I sold mine pretty fast after getting in the first run when they released at $1000. Now they are much more expensive and nothing's changed.

+1
 

  Lol at you HE6 guys.Go team!! It's the same 3-4 spamming the same stuff in every thread around here-regardless if it's on topic or not. Funniest part is-looking at your rigs-none of you have come close to reaching the HD800s ceiling, yet you claim the HE6 scales higher by virtue of...uh...there's more TOTL speaker amps than TOTL HD800-friendly amps?? You guys crack me up. At least listen to the choir of experienced HD800 users and have an ounce of restraint  before making everything seem so cut and dry when it comes to amping either of these flagships. I mean you guys are the ones who have hundreds of pages of HE6 nonsense regarding 300W monoblocks-or-bust posts until reality finally settled in. 

 
Get a clue-it's all subjective anyway.
 
-Daniel

 
Well stated Daniel. That was the very myth I was referring to. Glad to see that this is no longer the case with many anymore. 

 

  Daniel at the NY meet one of the headfi members put a balanced HD800 into the WA5 XLR jack and man was I surprised . The HD800 jumped up another notch. I was afraid to try it with mine but after listening I will use the balance doable and even Jack Wu was surprised how good it sounded.  The HD800 scale higher.  LOL

 
Agreed!
 

  ^ Words of time, dedication, and experience right there. That surely counts for something.
 

I would say that your previous quote is also appropriate for Frank's second quote here. 

 

  I run my HE-6 with a 100wpc solid state amp & the HD800s with the Apex Pinnacle. Same source; Esoteric K01. 
IMO the HD800s are far better.
'nuf said 

Bingo!
 

  The mega watt myth has been debunked a long time ago - get over it.  My amp is only 10W into 8 - so there you go.  Myth gone.  It's funny how people claim that others have not heard a TOTL HD800 rig lol.. The majority of users of HD800s are not using them on TOTL rigs anyway and claiming they are at their best.  My question is - What exactly is a TOTL HD800 rig? (name of amps please) Please don't say the GS-X mk2.  If so, been there done that.  The F1J / HE-6 wipes the floor with it.
 
It's also funny how some people first tried the HE-6 a long time ago on a low level headphone amps like "Little Dots" and dismissed it.  Things have changed, more research has been done.  Those little a$% transformers in headphone amps does the HE-6 no good, they can not tame the highs and control the bass like the ones in speaker amps when it comes to complicated passages, they can't sustain high current peaks.  

 
Get over it? It's not my myth. 

 But I think we've embarked down the path of another myth. The magical unicorn amp/synergy myth (or at the very least: a dramatic exaggeration) where only a very select and rare amp can totally change the character of a headphone to make it sound like a brand new headphone. If there was, then I'd reckon that TOTL amp wasn't truly TOTL as it would have to be so coloured to do this. The HE-6s are purely a resistive load (being orthos) so put enough clean current and supply enough voltage and don't drop out of Class A; that is the definition of " good power" as you previously mentioned. Is there another mystical version of power I don't comprehend? Sorry, but I'm not going down that path. I'm very glad to see that the folks on the HE-6 thread no longer require 300W monoblocks to get that unicorn level of power as Daniel pointed out, but there is another unicorn now being touted and I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. 

 
Now another point, when I upgraded my DACs over the years, the HD800s were completely open window into each move (and one of the very best at that I might add), the HE-6s certainly were not anywhere as close.
 
Do the HE-6's image like the HD800s? Nope, Is their bass and defined and textured, nope. Are they as quick and clean, nope. I would even take the HD800s and a WA2 over the HE-6 (on any amp) any day of the week for the reasons I mentioned above. Oh wait....I did. 

 

 

[magiccabbage]

 I would even take the HD800s and a WA2 over the HE-6 (on any amp) any day of the week for the reasons I mentioned above. Oh wait....I did. 

I like the sound of that!

 

[Fearless1]

 I did not mean to open a can of worms, I just wondered if they would be complimentary or similar.....

 

[MacedonianHero]

 

 I did not mean to open a can of worms, I just wondered if they would be complimentary or similar.....

Too similar....the LCD-3s or LCD-X would be a much more "complimentary" headphone to either the HE-6 or HD800s IMO.

 

[preproman]

   
Do the HE-6's image like the HD800s? Nope, Is their bass and defined and textured, nope. Are they as quick and clean, nope. I would even take the HD800s and a WA2 over the HE-6 (on any amp) any day of the week for the reasons I mentioned above. Oh wait....I did. 

 

 
Here again. on the amps you've heard them on maybe not.  However, on the amps I've heard them on many of times side by side and for more than a year together, the one and only thing the HD800 has over the HE-6 is soundstage and TBH the soundstage on the HD800 can sound fake with some music, all music do not require that size of soundstage.  Upper mids, lower mids, mid bass, sub bass all are wins for the HE-6.
 
Also the HE-6 / First Watt F1J / (Master 7, PWD2) blew away the HD800 / GS-X mk2 / (Master 7, PWD2) combo  Oh yeah - isn't the GS-X mk2 your go to TOTL amp for the HD800s?  

    Also I think Soulde sold his HD800 for the LCD-3s because the LCD-3 made his HD800s sound thin..