[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

 


I should of done that w/ mine it has a balanced cable :/

I never had tried it until  the NY meet but it suorised me and Jack Wu as well . It really sounded excellent.. I am waiting for a nee moon balanced cable to play with it. i do have a Norse cable that I will use this weekend balanced.

 

[MacedonianHero]

The HE6's sound thin?

Seriously mine sound almost as full bodied as the LCD2.2's. The HD800's, while not thin sounding either, are clearly 'thinner' sounding than the HE6's in my system.

I think you definitely had an issue with amp synergy if you found the HE6's thin and especially if you found them 'thinner' than the HD800's.

Yes, thin. And definitely thin next to any Audeze headphone. Too much treble up top (though not peaky, just too much of it), throw in only moderate detail retrieval, and moderate imaging; I sold them.

As I mentioned, no mythical speaker amp could fix all that without being extremely coloured (and magical).

 

[nigeljames]

I got a headache just from wearing them, and the soundstage actually sounded BETTER by wearing them backwards...

 

 

[preproman]

Well, I would say the HD800s are among the top 2 dynamic headphones ever. The HE-6s are in the top 7. And I'm done talking about unicorns.

And measurements ARE certainly more odjective than myths.

 
In this case I refer the HD800 as a dynamic and the HE-6 as a planarmagnictic ie.. other technologies 

   It's funny how you keep saying no amp can fix this and fix that, but yet you say you need a special amp for the HD800s, the HD800s are so amp picky and so on

  Really?  This sounds like a contradiction...  So why can't the HE-6 be amp picky as well?

 

[nigeljames]

Yes, thin. And definitely thin next to any Audeze headphone. Too much treble up top (though not peaky, just too much of it), throw in only moderate detail retrieval, and moderate imaging; I sold them.

As I mentioned, no mythical speaker amp could fix all that without being extremely coloured (and magical).

 
To be fair I don't have ANY of the issues you had and I don't use a speaker amp and my amp is very neutral.
 
Also my cabling, interconnection's and phone cables, are pure silver or silver/gold. They don't even have too much treble, again the HD800's are brighter (but not too bright), even with the silver cables.

 

[MacedonianHero]

In this case I refer the HD800 as a dynamic and the HE-6 as a planarmagnictic ie.. other technologies :blink:    It's funny how you keep saying no amp can fix this and fix that, but yet you say you need a special amp for the HD800s, the HD800s are so amp picky and so on:blink:   Really?  This sounds like a contradiction...  So why can't the HE-6 be amp picky as well?

Because I love the hd800s out of a Schiit Valhalla and the GS-X MK2 is the best I've heard them. But they always sounded very much like hd800. The he-6s have had issues with all of the amps I've tried them with. No amp I've ever heard could change headphone A into an entirely different product.

 

[MacedonianHero]

To be fair I don't have ANY of the issues you had and I don't use a speaker amp and my amp is very neutral.

Also my cabling, interconnection's and phone cables, are pure silver or silver/gold. They don't even have too much treble, again the HD800's are brighter (but not too bright), even with the silver cables.

Cables are yet another myth and any effects are dramatically over stated IME.

 

[Sorrodje]

 Macedonian Hero = Unicorns hunter 

 

[MacedonianHero]

 Macedonian Hero = Unicorns hunter 

There are plenty of them with these headphones.

 

[Sorrodje]

Plenty of Unicorn hunters with HD800 ? 

 

[LugBug1]

Cables are yet another myth and any effects are dramatically over stated IME.

Thats something that I've realised over the years as well. Agreed. No cable is going to alter a headphones sound sig. 
 
This has been great reading guys, but its friday... Maybe in a few drinks time it may all get out of hand. And the HE6's are a lot heavier than the HD800's.... Wouldn't want anyone to get hurt. Especially if bloody mono blocks start getting thrown around as well hahah 
 
Both great headphones. But the HD800's are the greatest headphone in the world at the mo. I proved this not long ago buy giving them the award. It's documented on this thread. So its true. 
 
Group hug? 

 

[Sorrodje]

LugBug1: +1  ... 

 

 

[preproman]

Because I love the hd800s out of a Schiit Valhalla and the GS-X MK2 is the best I've heard them. But they always sounded very much like hd800.

The he-6s have had issues with all of the amps I've tried them with. No amp I've ever heard could change headphone A into an entirely different product.

As far as I can tell it's only been "you" talking about changing a headphone into an entirely different product.  I haven't seen that said by no one else but "you"  Ha ha ha   I see how myths and rumors get started.
 
The truth is - and the same holds true for both the HD800 and the HE-6.  Different amps have different effects on the headphones.  Some amps can tame the treble better than others, some amps can control the bass better than others.  From my experience that's just a fact not a myth or a rumor..
 
By the way.  saying you loved the HD800 on the Valhalla and you also love them on the GS-X mk2 does not jive to well with scaling.  Just saying

 

[nigeljames]

Cables are yet another myth and any effects are dramatically over stated IME.

 
Overstated relative to cost I can relate too most of the time, but being a myth I can't.
 
I have heard clear differences made by better cables. In fact my HE6's were my 3rd best phone, did not have the HD800's at the time else they would of been 4th best, until I tried the Toxic Silver Poison and they them suddenly became my favorite.
 
I have even been blind tested with the stock cable and another manufacturers cable and have always been able to tell the difference and pick out my preferred cable every time.

 

[MacedonianHero]

  As far as I can tell it's only been "you" talking about changing a headphone into an entirely different product.  I haven't seen that said by no one else but "you"  Ha ha ha   I see how myths and rumors get started.
 
The truth is - and the same holds true for both the HD800 and the HE-6.  Different amps have different effects on the headphones.  Some amps can tame the treble better than others, some amps can control the bass better than others.  From my experience that's just a fact not a myth or a rumor..
 
By the way.  saying you loved the HD800 on the Valhalla and you also love them on the GS-X mk2 does not jive to well with scaling.  Just saying

As far as I can tell is this is the HD800 Appreciation thread and it was you who posted this right out of the blue and started all of this. I've been good and bit my tongue when these statements are made as fact on the HE-6 thread, but this is not the place:
 

   
That would be correct IMO.  I've heard the HD800 and the HE-6 on "tons" of rigs lol..  Yup the HD800s got sold.  They just don't have the weight to the music the planars have.  At times and with some music the HD800s can sound "thin" compared to some planars.  
 
I'll get a TOTL tube amp and another pair of HD800s to see if I can pull it's weight up - I got a order in for the EC 445, lets see if that will do the trick.  Using the HE-6 on headphone amps is just a wastes of time IMO.  The HD800 is tricky and will need the right amp / dac combo.  But get this.  There's lots of good combo's out there for the HD800s.  
 
rawrster said "The HD800 sounds better from less" I think he hit the nail on the head.  You have to be willing to put in more work to get the HE-6 right compared to getting the HD800s right.  The HD800s scales pretty damn good.  However, the HE-6 scales higher.  
 

Which is simply not true based on my first hand experiences after owning it for over a year. And yes, the HD800s scale like almost no other, but they never stop being the HD800s. They sound great out of a Valhalla, better out of a WA2/WA22 and even better out of a GS-X. Nice try though. 

 But just as the previous fallacy of 300W monoblocks with the HE-6s, this newer one is still just as untrue IME. The HE-6s are so far behind the HD800s that no amp could bring them up to that level. The HE-6s were certainly not my "go to" headphones for evaluating DACs...that was reserved for my HD800s. That is my point. Just sayin'. 

 
 
I've said the HE-6s are pretty far behind the HD800s and all I used to get back was "you need a powerful Class A speaker amp"....so I tried and was left unimpressed. Now I get a slightly different version of that. 

 
 
Maybe these discussions of HE-6s and amping requirements are better suited on the fairy tail thread that is for the HE-6s?