[Tripswitch123]

I've been looking at several amplifiers, but it's hard to say if they are powerful enough for the HE-6. I've been looking at Schiit Asgard 2 and Atrox V2 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Atrox-V2-2x...645180?hash=item1ec98f85bc:g:XzMAAOSwFqNZRR6g), but will the Asgard suffice? The Atrox seems powerful enough, but I found almost no information about it online. Are there any other amps in the same price range that will do a good enough job with the HE-6?

 

[Guidostrunk]

Emotiva basx a-100! Run your cans on speaker taps.
https://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/100

 

[serman005]

What have you tried to drive your HE6 with and what were the results?

 

[Monsterzero]

Emotiva basx a-100! Run your cans on speaker taps.
https://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/100

+1 on using speaker taps for HE-6...you literally cannot feed them enough power,and they just keep getting better the more power I offer them.

Currently using a 125wpc Kenwood Eleven GX from 1979 to drive mine....beastly combo!

 

[Oscar-HiFi]

Just get a vintage intergrated amp and drive them from the speaker terminals, I ran my HE-500 out the speaker taps of my Marantz PM5005 but my old vintage PM-44 MKII SE had less background noise and was cheaper.

 

[Tripswitch123]

I have a space requirement as well, I can't fit a full size amplifier. The emotiva amp seems nice enough, but I still think it's quite big. I read that the HE6 might require as much as 5W per channel during peaks, are there no modestly sized 2x5W amplifiers out there for the job?

A friend of mine is offering me the HE6, but I didn't want to buy them until I had found an amp. If I'm going to have to pay 1000USD for a headphone amp I think I'd rather get a different pair of headphones.

 

[Monsterzero]

The HE6 is the hardest HP on the planet to drive,bar none.There are only a few HPs out there that require a system to be built around it,and the HE-6 is one of them.
You are also going to need a special cable made to drive them from speaker taps,so factor in another 1-200.00 dollars into the equation,that is unless your friend is including a tap cable in the deal.

There is absolutely zero reason to buy them if you cannot afford a proper beast mode amp or fit a vintage receiver/amp into your space.It simply sounds horrid when under-driven,but rewards owners with great clarity,lightning fast speed and really heavy slam(which is a very rare combo)when fed the proper amount of juice.

I stayed away from the HE-6 for years because of all the stuff I read about its power requirements,and its all true,but im glad I finally trusted my 40 year old receivers to do the job....Its worth it.

 

[Tripswitch123]

I understand that these headphones are really power hungry, but not hungry enough to be needed a full sized 2x50W amplifier? That would surely make the headphones melt? I'll look around for other smaller sized medium powered amps and see what I can find, if I can't find anything I think I'll go for the Atrox V2.

 

[Monsterzero]

Im getting about 20-22watts into 50 ohms...yeah i have tons of headroom and no distortion and great slam,but I understand that not everyone can fit an aircraft carrier sized amp on their desktop.
Ive never heard of that Atrox amp before,it might work...let us know.

 

[Tripswitch123]

I just got the Atrox amp. I've tested it with HE-6 and compared it to the old Marantz receiver that my friend has been using and I have to say that this sounds absolutely amazing! With a gain of 10 it seems to deliver plenty of power for me at least, the sound is crystal clear even if I crank it up quite a bit. I've compared it a little bit to the Marantz receiver, but I can't immediately tell any huge difference other than the Atrox sounding a tiny bit 'darker' or more mellow if that is a term to be used. The Atrox does get quite hot though, don't think I can place anything on top of it.

 

[Drrizzt]

No need to spend thousands of bucks for a amp. Something like a marantz pm6010 ose, less than 100$ used has stunning dynamics, transparancy and slam. Very very impressive giving the total cost. I dont think it would be possible to find any other combo that is better for less than 1k.