[svo360]

Thanks for replies Im trying to keep my budget under 2 grand for amp & cd player.
 
Audiolab 8200a inter 1200-1400 cd player s/hand 799 3year old or 1200 new (can get a 8000a old interamp for 400 with year warranty)
 
Quad Elite stuff is on special 999 for inter amp, CDP with preamp 1300 CDS 900
 
Cambridge 851A bargain at 1400 (new) retail 2500 , 851CD player s/hand 900 (this is class XD what ever that means)
 
also been reading about Creek EVO 50a 1300new 
 
in all honestly i have been trying to find class A amps cant find any when i googled to get prices in Australia.

 

[NoxNoctum]

So I've been listening to the F1J/HE-6 combo a whole lot the last few weeks and loving it. I'm just using the SYS pre-amp at the moment as a stop-gap but I've ordered another passive to try and will probably give an active a shot in the very near future too. The detail is freaky, and on the better recorded stuff it pretty much always sounds like I'm in the recording studio. Honestly though even badly recorded music sounds great (the only exceptions are remedied by just plugging in my LCD-2/3s instead)
 
My only issue is this: with some recordings, I find myself missing the excessive treble energy of the EF-6. For a lot of my stuff it was just way too much, but a few of my favorite albums tend to the treble-deficient side of things and I got almost a "high" off of that extra treble. I find myself spending about 80% of my time using the HE-6 over my other headphones so I don't mind owning multiple amps just for it (though the F1J plays really nice with my Audeze cans as well) just so I can have every part of the spectrum covered. 
 
I'm tempted to just... go back to the EF-6, but everyone in here seems to think it's really subpar for the money so... what other options are there? I kind of feel like it's a really delicate balance though because there's a certain point where things quickly go from "Ok this is too bright for most of my stuff but it really brings out this album" to just sounding super thin and grating on everything. I'm still scarred by a few of the $200-300 Hifiman IEMs I got a while back (before I got to over-ears... believe it or not this expensive little trip I've taken over the last few months was originally just going to be me "upgrading my earbuds to use at work") that were extremely bright.

 

[svo360]

Very difficult to say something useful except read about the sound on the net and try one out. I would go for a used / second hand unit and then sell it if you don't like it. The HE-6 is extremely transparent, so any slight veil in the chain will be audible. A class A or high biased solid state amp would be a good start IMO.

how many watts am i looking for in a A class amp? and recommendations in high biased SS amps google is not being helpful!

 

[LarsHP]

Well, 25W (in 8 Ohm) or so should be enough.

 

[svo360]

  Well, 25W (in 8 Ohm) or so should be enough.

i  found this one last night local too! which im thinking is to good to be true?  what do u think? too much power or?
 

Shanling SLM-A40 MKIII Stereo Amplifier  $800AUD
Has probably had about 50 hours run time over the years I've had it, immaculate condition

50w x2 Class A  

http://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&u=http://www.shanling.com/cn/product-detail-107.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3DShanling%2BSLM-A40%2BMKIII%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3Djef%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GBfficial%26channel%3Dsb

 

[preproman]

Definitely not too much power.

 

[negura]

This is a recurring question. So here is some guidance. When one looks at the rated power, keep in mind that is the maximum power the amp can give, theoretically. As long as there is a way to control the volume (pre-amp or integrated amp), the actual delivered power for normal listening is much less than the maximum.
 
Hence there are only two concerns in that respect:
-  background noise level. Powerful speaker amps have high gain, and that can lead to audible background pink noise on headphones (and more efficient speakers). If the gain is adjustable much less of a concern. This is more of an issue with more efficient headphones like the LCD-3Fs. The HE-6s are VERY inefficient so this is rarely a problem.
-  available volume range. Very powerful amps with high gain will lead to much less available volume control range for normal listening levels. However this is not dissimilar with similarly efficient speakers. Life between 7am and 8am volume range for all headphones listening levels isn't particularly fun.
 
Warnings:
- tube amps don't like high impedance loads. Use resistors or HFM resistor box.
- don't mess with cables/etc on a powered high power amp while the HE-6s are connected. High risk of blowing drivers.
 
All that said, for the HE-6s, more important is how the speaker amp sounds (i.e.: is it any good?), than whether it's too powerful. Experienced members feel free to chime in.

 

[preproman]

All good points.  That's why I like the Pass Labs / First Watt amps.  Most of them are low powered with very low gain as well.  
 
I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but the INT-150 and INT-30A both automatically returns the volume level to 0 after each and every power up.  This is a really safe feature when dealing with headphones.

 

[LarsHP]

  i  found this one last night local too! which im thinking is to good to be true?  what do u think? too much power or?
 
http://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&u=http://www.shanling.com/cn/product-detail-107.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3DShanling%2BSLM-A40%2BMKIII%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3Djef%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GBfficial%26channel%3Dsb

I actually found a short Norwegian review of the Shanling SLM-A40 MkII here (from May 2005):
http://www.audiophile.no/omtaler/integrerte-forsterkere/item/91-shanling-slm-a40mkii
 
A few translated excerpts about the amp (which includes a DAC). Note that he uses a few Norwegian audiophile terms that are difficult to translate.:
 
"SLM-A40 MkII impressed me during the entire test period. It played varmly, dynamically and detailed. An amplifier you can easily become fond of. In addition the build quality seems well above average."
 
"... dual mono construction ... class A ... quite warm ... surface temperature around 40-50 degrees." (Celsius)
 
"In normal analog use the amp delivered a big, varm and generally soft sound stage/image, but with a relatively firm bass. The Polk's (Lsi9) was with abundant of american weight/bolster, but I didn't get the impression that the Shanling made bad worse compared to my Bryston reference set concerning the bass. It was a little more rounded in the treble than the Bryston, but had a very resolved and fine midrange."
 
"The Shanling DAC sounded a notch better than the (Denon) DVD3910 in my opinion. Digitally feeded the bass became tighter and the sound was slightly airier and brighter." (this was with optical connection, coaxial should allegedly be even better, this was not tested)
 
"Bottom line this is a very good buy. (...) Hereby awarded the high ranked audiophile.no Best Buy mark."
 
-----
 
In short, it seems worthwhile to check out! Especially if it's second hand price.

 

[Silent One]

  All good points.  That's why I like the Pass Labs / First Watt amps.  Most of them are low powered with very low gain as well.  
 
I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but the INT-150 and INT-30A both automatically returns the volume level to 0 after each and every power up.  This is a really safe feature when dealing with headphones.

Features: 

 what a luxury! 

 

[punit]

   
I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but the INT-150 and INT-30A both automatically returns the volume level to 0 after each and every power up.  This is a really safe feature when dealing with headphones.

Even Master 9 has this feature (you can choose between return to 0 volume or remember last volume)

 

[session76]

Can the headroom max drive the he6?

 

[NoxNoctum]

So in listening to my F1J I've noticed that certain poorly produced albums have this weird effect of feeling like the instruments are off in the distance. They're very clear, but it's like I'm at one end of a big room and they're at the other. There doesn't seem to be any consistency though because it only kicks in on some poorly produced albums, not all. Any idea what's going on here? Is it possible to have too much soundstage for a given recording?
 
I get the same effect I if I switch out the HE-6 for LCD-2 or LCD-3 as well (though it's slightly less apparent)

 

[preproman]

Just maybe how the track was recorded.  

 

[NZtechfreak]

Just maybe how the track was recorded.  

I think this is likely the answer, like how some Beatles albums have L and R channels separated too far causing listening fatigue. With those albums crossfeed is useful, possibly with yours too Nox, if that is available to you. I suspect the effect is most pronounced on the 6 since it had the best soundstage amongst those headphones.