[jerick70]

Any comment on First Watt J2 or any Pass Labs X models? How will you rank them among the list above?

Thank you.

I ran the HE-6 with the J2. I really liked it. Someone was saying that the F7 was a better match. I think you can't go wrong with Pass labs power amps and integrateds.

 

[jerick70]

A few amps that I want to add to the list to choose from. Some of my recommendations have already been mentioned like the AHB2.

1) I've heard Krell is awesome with the HE-6.
2) Woo Audio WA5 pairs extremely well with the HE-6
3) iFi Diablo. I have it right now and it would run the HE-6 nicely.
4) Elekit TU-8200R. The 300B Elekit would probably be a killer amp too.

 

[Hellhammer]

A few amps that I want to add to the list to choose from. Some of my recommendations have already been mentioned like the AHB2.

1) I've heard Krell is awesome with the HE-6.
2) Woo Audio WA5 pairs extremely well with the HE-6
3) iFi Diablo. I have it right now and it would run the HE-6 nicely.
4) Elekit TU-8200R. The 300B Elekit would probably be a killer amp too.

At those prices, to be fair I'm now more curious about the Cayin HA-300 MK2

 

[jerick70]

At those prices, to be fair I'm now more curious about the Cayin HA-300 MK2

You can pickup a WA5 for about the same price. The Elekit 300b is about $2000. iFi Diablo is $999 new.

Krell on the other hand is massively expensive.

 

[slazhx]

I ran the HE-6 with the J2. I really liked it. Someone was saying that the F7 was a better match. I think you can't go wrong with Pass labs power amps and integrateds.

A few amps that I want to add to the list to choose from. Some of my recommendations have already been mentioned like the AHB2.

1) I've heard Krell is awesome with the HE-6.
2) Woo Audio WA5 pairs extremely well with the HE-6
3) iFi Diablo. I have it right now and it would run the HE-6 nicely.
4) Elekit TU-8200R. The 300B Elekit would probably be a killer amp too.

Which would be the top three of your list for HE6 mainly with heavy metal kind of music?

I am interested in J2 since some head-fiers suggested AHB2 might be too boring and clean for my type. I am also open to all advices including F7 and others. Please do share your comments.

Thank you.

 

[MadSounds]

Any comment on First Watt J2 or any Pass Labs X models? How will you rank them among the list above?

Thank you.

I see audio GD gear in your picture so this may be helpful. I drive my heavily modded he-6 (lff code-6) with a J2 using a NOS 11 as a source. The NOS 11 definitely can drive the headphones on its own, but I was still amazed how much the sound improved when I added the J2. I spent ~1800$ expecting some modest improvements in the very low end. There definitely is some improvement in slam and sub base, but I wasn't expecting the entire frequency range to become much more organic. To my ear it gives all the detail of a top tier solid state amp with a degree of natural effortlessness I typically associate with tubes.

I've brought my code-6 to a few headphone meets and IMO J2 is still the very best combo I've heard, but I might be biased. Also, I can't really get a good impression of an open back headphone in a noisy room.

 

[MadSounds]

Which would be the top three of your list for HE6 mainly with heavy metal kind of music?

J2 also has great attack, leading edge of hard sounds like sticks hitting the rim of a drum sounds very agressive. Does great with synthic sub-bass where notes start and stop impossibly fast.

definatly not metal but i use the Radiohead track 'all i need' from In Rainbows as my genetic test for this kind of sound. Theres a deep synthetic bass part that starts and stops like someones messing with the conection to a speaker. I think doing this type of cut cleanly is a great test of how a system will handle metal.

I've also heard Krell can be amazing with he-6, but they have a reputation for sounding sterile. Never heard one myself.

I've had some time with WA5 and found it not to my liking, nothing wrong with it just a flavor preference. Too much added warmth.

Ifi Diablo was shockingly good for such a small package, this might be a top choice in a warmer climate. I rarely run my desk rig in the summer and I'm in a temperate area. However I'm not sure how it compares directly with an Audio-gd amp, might not be worth it.

 

[jerick70]

Which would be the top three of your list for HE6 mainly with heavy metal kind of music?

I am interested in J2 since some head-fiers suggested AHB2 might be too boring and clean for my type. I am also open to all advices including F7 and others. Please do share your comments.

Thank you.

Out of the amps I’ve personally used with the HE-6, I would say the J2 is my favorite. These match really nicely. If you buy from Reno Hifi they will let you try amps and switch out if you don’t like the amp you buy. You need to pay the difference between the amps. They have really good pricing on demo units and carry Firstwatt and Passlabs. I think some of the entry to midline amps by pass labs would sound incredible.

https://renohifi.com/FirstInStock.htm

 

[slazhx]

@MadSounds @jerick70

Thank you for such profound comments, especially with the direct Audio-GD experience. They are really helpful and I am now more like "take-my-money-now phobia"

One good thing for J2 is it has a balanced input which I can use HE-9 as a preamp.

The NOS 11 definitely can drive the headphones on its own, but I was still amazed how much the sound improved when I added the J2.

I know this question is subjective but still need to see your comment. According to the spec of NOS 11, it is like having Master 9 inside which has quite the same amount of Watt as my HE9. Do you think J2 is worth the investment in terms of price/performance jumping from such headamp? Also, if I get J2, it will be planned for 1266 TC or Susvara in the future. Have you ever had a chance to try this combo? Not sure J2 is also a good match with those phones.

J2 also has great attack, leading edge of hard sounds like sticks hitting the rim of a drum sounds very agressive.

I used to play drum and know how you describe this rimshot on the snare. ahhhh .... so tempting.

Out of the amps I’ve personally used with the HE-6, I would say the J2 is my favorite. These match really nicely.

The J2 demo unit price is very good. Unfortunately, they are mostly 110VAC units. I now moved back to Bangkok which is 220VAC. I might need to ask Mark to alter the circuit for 220V if I pull the trigger. Shouldn't be pricey though.

My noobie question, does J2 have enough power to drive speakers in general? Let's assume general size of speakers mostly used at home. I have never stepped into the speaker world, just headphones. I wish it is a futureproof buy for speakers too.

Thank you for your time.

 

[jerick70]

@MadSounds @jerick70

Thank you for such profound comments, especially with the direct Audio-GD experience. They are really helpful and I am now more like "take-my-money-now phobia"

One good thing for J2 is it has a balanced input which I can use HE-9 as a preamp.


I know this question is subjective but still need to see your comment. According to the spec of NOS 11, it is like having Master 9 inside which has quite the same amount of Watt as my HE9. Do you think J2 is worth the investment in terms of price/performance jumping from such headamp? Also, if I get J2, it will be planned for 1266 TC or Susvara in the future. Have you ever had a chance to try this combo? Not sure J2 is also a good match with those phones.



I used to play drum and know how you describe this rimshot on the snare. ahhhh .... so tempting.



The J2 demo unit price is very good. Unfortunately, they are mostly 110VAC units. I now moved back to Bangkok which is 220VAC. I might need to ask Mark to alter the circuit for 220V if I pull the trigger. Shouldn't be pricey though.

My noobie question, does J2 have enough power to drive speakers in general? Let's assume general size of speakers mostly used at home. I have never stepped into the speaker world, just headphones. I wish it is a futureproof buy for speakers too.

Thank you for your time.

Call Mark. He has new units coming in all the time. The website isn’t always up to date.

 

[Benny-x]

I would love to try a J2 to try another FirstWatt flavour. I have my HE-6 4-screw with a FirstWatt F1J and that's a beautiful combo. Unfortunately, I haven't put ears on it in a long while due to a very extended move.

 

[slazhx]

Sorry to duplicate my questions. Anyone have experience with J2/1266 TC combo? Is it a nice pairing? I am looking a all-rounder speaker amp for HE6 and TC.

 

[MadSounds]

I know this question is subjective but still need to see your comment. According to the spec of NOS 11, it is like having Master 9 inside which has quite the same amount of Watt as my HE9. Do you think J2 is worth the investment in terms of price/performance jumping from such headamp? Also, if I get J2, it will be planned for 1266 TC or Susvara in the future. Have you ever had a chance to try this combo? Not sure J2 is also a good match with those phones.

If you plan on other low efficiency headphones or high efficiency speakers in the future you really can't go wrong with the J2. The improvement was substantial. I would consider the difference similar to a different pair of headphones, and i normally consider the headphone an order of magnitude more impact than the upstream gear. And it wasn't just a change in 'flavor' where the sound is presented differently, but a definite Improvement in overall quality.

That being said I can't rule out that the improvement I experienced is from less stress on the DAC portion of my NOS 11. DACs can be very sensitive to less then perfectly stable power and it could be reducing the load on my combo unit helped the DAC perform at its best. This entire thread is in love with speaker amps for the he-6, I say trust your own ears.

I'm sure this will offend someone but Susvara is basically an He-6 with a waveguide (contour shape that directs sound smoothly past the magnet array). With regards to amp pairing i think anything true of the he-6 will be true of susvara. My He-6 has a 3d printed waveguide that corrects a flaw in the treble of the standard he-6. I think my 'code-6' sounds closer to Susvara than standard he-6. That's based on owning a standard he-6 also and later having compared my code-6 to susvara in a less than ideal setting.

I don't know much about 1266 TC. Don't think it will benefit from a very high power amp as much as he-6, but it's probably power hungry enough you wont run into noise floor issues with a good speaker amp.

 

[bagwell359]

A few amps that I want to add to the list to choose from. Some of my recommendations have already been mentioned like the AHB2.

1) I've heard Krell is awesome with the HE-6.
2) Woo Audio WA5 pairs extremely well with the HE-6
3) iFi Diablo. I have it right now and it would run the HE-6 nicely.
4) Elekit TU-8200R. The 300B Elekit would probably be a killer amp too.

I like the early KSA series Krells the 50 and 100 wpc into 8 ohm models. They are the only ones that broke my 40 yr addiction (for a bit) to Pass amps - to drive Apogee ribbons.

 

[musicinmymind]

I like krell kav 400xi also with HE-6, it is 200 wpc and need careful handling of vol knob.