[JamieMcC]

6-25 wpc at 50 ohms?

I did that Pass amp with tube/hybrid thing in various combos. Its a winner for so many speakers and cans.

Totally agree it's a great way to go.

6 wpc at 8 ohms for the 300b and 3.5w at 8 ohms when using 2A3 in my Elekit TU-8900 which has a auto detection circuit and can run either tube just plug and play. Fwiw you can also run each tube set with or without negative feedback by moving a simple jumper which makes a surprising amount of difference.

Both 300B and 2A3 drive the HE6 superbly. One of the things I really appreciate with the amp is that it's the first time I've owned a single amp that can run both hd800 and he6 headphones and speakers at a very high level of fedelity. With the Chord Dave front end finding a transparent enough amp to do justice to the Dave can be a bit of a challenge.

 

[bagwell359]

Totally agree it's a great way to go.

6 wpc at 8 ohms for the 300b and 3.5w at 8 ohms when using 2A3 in my Elekit TU-8900 which has a auto detection circuit and can run either tube just plug and play. Fwiw you can also run each tube set with or without negative feedback by moving a simple jumper which makes a surprising amount of difference.

Both 300B and 2A3 drive the HE6 superbly. One of the things I really appreciate with the amp is that it's the first time I've owned a single amp that can run both hd800 and he6 headphones and speakers at a very high level of fedelity. With the Chord Dave front end finding a transparent enough amp to do justice to the Dave can be a bit of a challenge.

Those amps put out a lot more at 50 ohms relative to 8 ohms than SS amps. My Rag 1 puts out 100 wpc @ 4 ohms and 15 @ 50 ohms. Many dont even manage that.

Tube amps have had resurgance in interest a number of times. The 300B Cary mated with horns were big and remain a factor for about 25 years. The 300B also has seen much interest with headphones. The perception of mid range purity can induce awe.

However on my speakers of choice - usually low efficiency panels. They can't handle more than restricted dynamics - like chamber music.

I have heard estat phones with tubes and hybrid tubes and that was quite wonderful. However, never heard any of the HE-6 or any power hungry planars on any of the notable tube amps. When I go for my Raal listening session I'll add one for the Susvara on tubes.

 

[JamieMcC]

Speakers with low watts more often is a area of compromise on physical size verses
how physically large a speaker you are prepared to tolerate living with to get the dynamics. Small single full range options with SET amps can be very beguiling in purity of timbre/tone but if you want dynamics as well you need to go bigger.

The Bastani Mandala open baffles 100db efficient that I use are 5' tall each has two 12" mid drivers and a 15" bass driver and tweeter. Dynamics are good but I'm under considerable pressure from the wife about having two upright coffins in the lounge!

 

[Shazb0t]

I use my HE-6 balanced through a Schitt Magnius. It has more than enough power to get uncomfortably loud, even with parametric EQ. 3.2W RMS per channel into 50 ohms. I used to use and still have an Emotiva mini-x that I would run off speaker taps. There is no difference in slam or anything silly like that. I've had these headphones for 8 years. Take it for what you will.

 

[jerick70]

Something I want to bring up is driving the HE6 and driving them to their full potential are two different things. I called BS when I first heard this. But when I went for the amps that people were recommending it made a HUGE difference. The secret to driving the HE-6 is the current the amp puts out, not wattage.

 

[elwappo99]

Totally agree it's a great way to go.

6 wpc at 8 ohms for the 300b and 3.5w at 8 ohms when using 2A3 in my Elekit TU-8900 which has a auto detection circuit and can run either tube just plug and play. Fwiw you can also run each tube set with or without negative feedback by moving a simple jumper which makes a surprising amount of difference.

Both 300B and 2A3 drive the HE6 superbly. One of the things I really appreciate with the amp is that it's the first time I've owned a single amp that can run both hd800 and he6 headphones and speakers at a very high level of fedelity. With the Chord Dave front end finding a transparent enough amp to do justice to the Dave can be a bit of a challenge.

Another Elekit user here. Best I've heard the HE-6 so far. Thing is incredible for the price.

 

[jerick70]

Another Elekit user here. Best I've heard the HE-6 so far. Thing is incredible for the price.

I’m also an Elekit builder/user. I think Elekit gear is amazing for the price. Hits way above its price point. I think my TU-8200 sounds very close to the Woo Audio WA-5 that I owned before I went on to build amps. The only thing missing is the 300b magic. I need to build an TU-8900 or TU-8600.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Something I want to bring up is driving the HE6 and driving them to their full potential are two different things. I called BS when I first heard this. But when I went for the amps that people were recommending it made a HUGE difference. The secret to driving the HE-6 is the current the amp puts out, not wattage.

I think this is true but I find that it is much less so for planars than it is for high impedance dynamics. With planars, the characteristics of the sound don't get much worse with insufficient power, they just become much less apparent. But with improperly fed dynamics, the sound you get can be of very different character.

All the foregoing based on good amps that just don't have enough drive. For crapamps, all bets are off.

 

[hp4fun]

Got a used Rega Brio-R and swapped to DCA angled pad. I already let go my Adcom 545 but seems I like my current setup better. I also compared to the Rotel 1852 mk2. Rotel has better separation and sound stage but also dry.

Very happy with this <1000 desktop setup (including the he6se, open grilled mod) for both sound quality and size.

 

[freeryder05]

I got to try this with a EC Black Widow 2 and it sounded fantastic. Much better bass quality vs Schiit Magnius XLR. However, I would say the Magnius with the HE6 is sufficient to still make the HE6 a fantastic headphone at the price if you can get one.

 

[Kaere]

I own the Taurus mkii and I wonder if the sound is better on single End than the balanced.
Someone does that test ?

 

[ufospls2]

I own the Taurus mkii and I wonder if the sound is better on single End than the balanced.
Someone does that test ?

Balanced does sound better on the Taurus, but if you are using it with the He6se I would recommend single ended. The Taurus mk2 is kind of weird in that at lower impedances it has way more power single ended.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Taurus has plenty of power to drive them both SE and BAL, with more headroom in BAL, and to my ears BAL has more powerful bass, this is what manufacturer recommended to use with them as well, not sure why, higher impedance perhaps.
https://6moons.com/audioreviews/auralic2/1.html

- Experiment with either mode for different headphones. The largest power transfer does not automatically imply the best sonics. We for example prefer BAL mode for the HifiMan HE6 even though STD delivers more power into their impedance. While the Grado RS1 and PS1000 also operate at 32ohm, with them STD is better as it is with the now discontinued AKG K100. For the Sennheiser HD600 and HD800 meanwhile BAL is much better.

 

[ufospls2]

Taurus has plenty of power to drive them both SE and BAL, with more headroom in BAL, and to my ears BAL has more powerful bass, this is what manufacturer recommended to use with them as well, not sure why, higher impedance perhaps.
https://6moons.com/audioreviews/auralic2/1.html

The Taurus doesn't have more headroom in balanced mode at the impedance of the HE6se. I owned one for a long time(4-5 years.) With the Abyss 1266, it worked better in SE mode, due to the higher power output and more headroom. Balanced will have more headroom/power at high impedance loads.

FWIW, the Taurus isn't that powerful and to make things worse has fairly low gain (with no high gain option either.) I experienced clipping with the 1266, especially in balanced mode. HE6se deserves more power, IMHO.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

The Taurus doesn't have more headroom in balanced mode at the impedance of the HE6se. I owned one for a long time(4-5 years.) With the Abyss 1266, it worked better in SE mode, due to the higher power output and more headroom. Balanced will have more headroom/power at high impedance loads.

FWIW, the Taurus isn't that powerful and to make things worse has fairly low gain (with no high gain option either.) I experienced clipping with the 1266, especially in balanced mode. HE6se deserves more power, IMHO.

I don't know, listening with HE6SE v2 plugged into Taurus MKII right now, 11 o'clock in BAL, and 2PM in SE to yield the same gain.
Literally anything I've tried, including low impedance sensitive IEMs require more volume in SE.
Don't have Abyss, but never experienced clipping with anything I've thrown at it, even with HE6SE there is so much head room it's crazy to think which headphones would require full power from it.