[negura]

 
I didn't want to mention any names.  

 
No worries, I always meant to share impressions. Before the HE-9 goes back to be looked at, I will get it very carefully wired as pre-amp on the Theta. I just hope I still have a Theta that works afterwards, lol.
 
On the other DAC the combination of HE-9 preamp and Xindak power amp almost literally floored me. Overkill setup for the HE-6? Hell yes. But unbelievable combination of mesmerizing stage depth, organic detailed sound and driver control, with insane slam.

 

[gjc11028]

No worries, I always meant to share impressions. Before the HE-9 goes back to be looked at, I will get it very carefully wired as pre-amp on the Theta. I just hope I still have a Theta that works afterwards, lol.

On the other DAC the combination of HE-9 preamp and Xindak power amp almost literally floored me. Overkill setup for the HE-6? Hell yes. But unbelievable combination of mesmerizing stage depth, organic detailed sound and driver control, with insane slam.

Problem is that once you get used to it it is hard to go back.

 

[negura]

Problem is that once you get used to it it is hard to go back.

 
 Exactly right.
 
-----
 
Just for reference - I normally have 87dB speakers normally connected to my speaker amplifier. The HE-6 gets the volume dial quite a bit higher. No wonder most headphone amps struggle.

 

[gjc11028]

 Exactly right.

-----

Just for reference - I normally have 87dB speakers normally connected to my speaker amplifier. The HE-6 gets the volume dial quite a bit higher. No wonder most headphone amps struggle.

Similar story. In my set up, I have two amps connected to the preamp. For speakers I turn on the 2a3 monoblocks, about 12 watts per channel. For he-6, I turn on the 150 watt blue circle amp. The volume on the pre has to be much higher for the headphones. Some of it may be the difference in gain but part of it is the efficiency of the headphones I think.

 

[NoxNoctum]

  The adapter box and the DIY adapter cable should not be used together. 
 
Use the DIY cable in-between the amp and the headphones - us the box in-between the amp and the headphones.  With the box you will need some regular speaker cable with spades or bananas on both ends.  
 
DIY Cable:
HE-6 (with 4 pin male XLR) --> DIY Cable (4-pin female XLR on one end, spades or bananas on the other end) --> amp
 
Box:
HE-6 (with 4 pin male XLR) --> Box --> speaker cables (spades or bananas on both ends) --> amp

For the 2nd option, would I want a speaker cable with 2 banana on each end or 4? 

 

[preproman]

  For the 2nd option, would I want a speaker cable with 2 banana on each end or 4? 

For that you would order two speaker cables - each one will have 2 spades or 2 banana plugs on each end.  
 
I'm not sure where you get or got your speaker cables from.  However, I always recommend Blue Jean cables.  Really good and really fast shipping and very cost effective.
 
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm

 

[NoxNoctum]

 
For that you would order two speaker cables - each one will have 2 spades or 2 banana plugs on each end.  
 
I'm not sure where you get or got your speaker cables from.  However, I always recommend Blue Jean cables.  Really good and really fast shipping and very cost effective.
 
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm
 

 
Yeah I got my RCA cables from bluejeans and am very happy with them.
 
Can you recommend a cheap pre-amp that I could lug around fairly easily? I don't want to invest a whole lot in case I end up going with an integrated. Or would something cheap bottleneck the whole set-up to the extent that I couldn't really get a good idea of an amp's sound?
 
Also -- I'm just curious -- why is the adaptor not needed for solid state speaker amps?

 

[preproman]

Ok this is where it might get tricky.  The audio store you go to should have speaker cable and interconnects on hand, pre amps as well.
 
Also, some DACs they may carry will also have a volume control on it.  Ask for one.  
 
The pre amps they recommend to you may cost way to much to even consider.  
 
In any case you'll need RCA or XLR cables to connect the pre amp to the amp and DAC.  
 
Here are a few that don't cost so much from the lower end to the higher end.  These are passive pre amps:
 
The SYS by Schiit:
http://schiit.com/products/sys
 
If you find one of these:
http://www.nhthifi.com/PVC
 
Axion II:
http://luminousaudio.com/axiom2.html
 
Goldpoint:
http://www.goldpt.com/sa1.html
http://www.goldpt.com/sa1x.html
 
Khozmo:
http://www.khozmo.com/stereo_selector.html
 
LDR:
http://www.tortugaaudio.com/finished-preamp-products/
 
The Audio-GD Master 1 is just an idea of how much powered pre amps would cost:
http://www.audio-gd.com/Master/Master-1/Master-1EN.htm
 
A good little Tube pre amp:
http://www.decware.com/newsite/CSP3.html

 

[wuwhere]

Or you can make your own using Slagle Autoformer.

 

[Clemmaster]

I am still comparing the remainder two in this game. To my surprise the HE-9 was no slouch. It has really MEAN bass weight, better than the speaker amplifier. It totally thrashed the Ragnarok, that it was just not worth it to even compile my notes. That was also the case with the HE-9 driving the 3Fs and Focal Spirit Pro, no contest, despite the HE-9 being slightly warmer sounding than the Ragnarok. I did not hear the Master 9, but based on how my friends describe it, the HE-9 sounds quite different.
 

 
That's very interesting. I had the M9 and Ragnarok and the former was definitely brighter and leaner than the Schiit. The Rag was denser in the mids and more believable. Bass is soft on the Rag, that's for sure.
 
The HE-9 seems to be a different sound, indeed.

 

[negura]

As mentioned this sample of HE-9 has some QC issues, so a grain of salt there. It will be a while until I get the next sample around to check how it sounds, but I will still have my speaker amp as reference. I hope the bass slam is retained. Strangely, speaking with my friends owning the M9, the volume dial with the LCD-3Fs on the HE-9 seems to sit surprisingly low. My DAC outputs 3.5V on both XLR and SE and I get a moderate loud listening level on the HE-9 with the 3Fs on low gain at 35-40 volume. With the HE-6 it's high gain, 50 volume. This also doesn't add up as the gain stages are supposedly unchanged.

 

[NoxNoctum]

Reading through this thread I see that some have gone the custom route, is that a good "bang for your buck" option if I want an amp solely for my HE-6? I don't need it to drive any other cans.
 
On the other hand it seems somewhat risky though... ATM I'm playing with the idea of trying a bunch of speaker amps in Austin, then if I don't find something that I absolutely love, taking that experience to try to get something tailor-made for the sound I'm after.
 
The Master 10 is also looking quite nice as an integrated amp... I have to admit that looking through the rather steep cost of some of those pre-amps makes me want to go the integrated route...

 

[preproman]

  Reading through this thread I see that some have gone the custom route, is that a good "bang for your buck" option if I want an amp solely for my HE-6? I don't need it to drive any other cans.
 
On the other hand it seems somewhat risky though... ATM I'm playing with the idea of trying a bunch of speaker amps in Austin, then if I don't find something that I absolutely love, taking that experience to try to get something tailor-made for the sound I'm after.
 
The Master 10 is also looking quite nice as an integrated amp... I have to admit that looking through the rather steep cost of some of those pre-amps makes me want to go the integrated route...

I know what you mean..
 
What custom route are you talking about?  
 
As far as brand new amps go the Master 10 (integrated) is a very good choice, very good.  One thing I forgot the ask is - what sound signature to you like?  

 

[NoxNoctum]

 
I know what you mean..
 
What custom route are you talking about?  
 
As far as brand new amps go the Master 10 (integrated) is a very good choice, very good.  One thing I forgot the ask is - what sound signature to you like?  

I meant custom as in getting an amp custom built for the HE-6-- I've seen recommendations for Blue Circle Audio and Odyssey thrown around in this thread. Just wondering if that's a better value-for-money proposition if I only care about driving the HE-6.
 
Soundwise I tend to favor a full, rich sound, though I already have that in spades with my LCD-2 (which I intend to use mostly for metal and some vocal type stuff where I like the intimate vibe it has)
 
I'm interested in building the HE-6 more around classical music, I still want to avoid a thin sound like the plague, but detail, sound stage and transparency are more the priority rather than getting the lushest sound possible (though I still want it to sound "full"). I would like to take the edge of the treble just slightly off what it is now with the EF-6 as well. That said, I prefer the HE-6 for some rock and metal so I definitely do not want to turn it into an HD800 .
 
That's why the Master 10 was looking quite good as from what I read it errs slightly on the warm side -- which for me, is probably perfect.

 

[preproman]

  I meant custom as in getting an amp custom build. I've seen reccommendations for 
I meant custom as in getting an amp custom built for the HE-6-- I've seen recommendations for Blue Circle Audio and Odyssey thrown around in this thread. Just wondering if that's a better value-for-money proposition if I only care about driving the HE-6.
 
Soundwise I tend to favor a full, rich sound, though I already have that in spades with my LCD-2 (which I intend to use mostly for metal and some vocal type stuff where I like the intimate vibe it has)
 
I'm interested in building the HE-6 more around classical music, I still want to avoid a thin sound like the plague, but detail, sound stage and transparency are more the priority rather than getting the lushest sound possible (though I still want it to sound "full"). I would like to take the edge of the treble just slightly off what it is now with the EF-6 as well. That said, I prefer the HE-6 for some rock and metal so I definitely do not want to turn it into an HD800 .
 
That's why the Master 10 was looking quite good as from what I read it errs slightly on the warm side -- which for me, is probably perfect.

 
Sho nuff on the Master 10.  But for even less money the First Watt M2 is that.  I'd call the First Watt M2 the Master 10 with out the volume control.  
 
I head Blue circle was good as well.  Although a little on the pricey side.    Klaus Bunge at Odyssey is a great guy to deal with, and he could hook you up with an integrated amp for a very attractive price as well.
 
With a good amp, the HE-6 will give you what the LCD-2s are with more treble presence and a tad bit less on the fullness of the bass, but with better bass control and seperation and just more air.  the HE-6 will breath life in the music where the LCD-2 will suffocate it.
 
Flavors:
 
That takes me back to the First Watt line of amps.  He made an amp just for your flavor - what ever it is.  M2, J2, F1J, F2J, F3. F5, F6 - the SIT 2.  A lot to choose from, but one that fits your preference for sure.  All while having the technical prowess of any TOTL amp out there.