TLDR: Several folks asked me for details. If you're after the best sound quality flagship for the money, get the HE-6s or the HD800s, but be aware of caveats: amplification and/or system matching.
Meet comments:
The HE-560 are great headphones. I did not hear them on my rig before and I did like them when heard on Saturday. Thanks for the opportunity all!
I was also impressed how far the HD600s, and to a slightly lesser extent the HD650s scale since I last heard them on my rig, which at that time was at a different level of performance. Aside from the low-end response, they are certainly impressive headphones in how far they can go for what they cost.
Intro:
Since I found through undisclosed channels the HE-6s are about to be retired, perhaps a bit late in the game, I finally decided to get myself a pair. That was several months ago, which was also sufficient time for me to mod them a little bit. At the time I still had a SR-009 rig, so it gave me the chance to compare these directly and at length.
It is not by accident I chose to bring the HE-6s and HD800s to the meet. As of lately the newly released flagship headphones prices only seem to go one way with each new release, and that is up. That's fine as new research and more advanced technology costs a lot. But the questions I always go back to, is what are the new releases actually offering in terms of sheer sound quality, compared to the existing offerings. Comfort to me comes a distant second, but the Abyss certainly don't win any prizes at that.
HE-6s and HD800s:
My personal conclusion, and one of the reasons I decided to bring those two particular headphones, is that out of all the flagships, I consider the (modded) HE-6s and HD800s, easily, offer the best sound quality for the price. That is one reason I left the LCD-3Fs at home. Not to mention the former two have been around a while now and can be purchased used for an even more ridiculous price/performance balance.
The caveats: Neither is easy to amp and/or match well, which is also a reason why there are so many of them on the used market.
Going a bit more in depth:
HE-6s:
- having done my research prior, these went straight away on a 55kg dual mono class A speaker amp (60 watts pure A, 160 watts AB in 8ohms). And blow after blow no solid state headphones amps, no matter how powerful, could match. The Audio GD HE-9 beast was perhaps the closest. Then the Moon 430HA and then some distance the Schiit Ragnarok. None of the latter three was quite as good as the speaker amp though, in control power, detail or transparency.
- there comes along a wee powered 6 watts Eddie Current, that I had purchased "obviously" not for the HE-6s. More as a joke I eventually connected the HE-6s to it. I was very surprised to say the least and since then my speaker amp gets significantly less use for headphones. Please don't ask me to explain how this is possible - I have no idea. Even more surprising I am actually using the Eddie Current for my full range speakers too - and no they are not efficient at 89dB.
- the latter is an exception and perhaps a bit of a "freak" experience. I would recommend a good solid state speaker amp for the HE-6s.
- I think the HE-6s are some if not the best genre master flagship headphones. There is not one genre the HE-6s cannot do exceptionally well. Can other headphones do one or another genre a bit better - sure. But I never feel the need to swap the HE-6s for any other headphones, just because I have changed my playlist.
HD800s:
- there seem to be two schools of thought with these. "Synergy" vs "strengthening the strengths". I see a lot of people matching some of the warmer gear around, so it offers the HD800s a match made in heaven and a very pleasant experience and perhaps matching better with a wider range of genres. The counter school of thought can go towards all the way the opposite: More clarity, more articulated transients, details, sound stage. An example at the high-end is using something like the Eddie Current 4x45, which is a valve known for clarity and detail, excellent sound stage and little but very tight bass response, with superb direct heated triode sound added to the technical prowess. I have not had the pleasure to hear the EC445, so this is through many discussions with owners and some extrapolation to my own 2A3MK4. Perhaps one day when one makes it to the UK.
- if one is in the first school of thought, and I did go that way a couple of times with these in the past, the HD800s can be magnificently pleasing and still very technical sounding. There will however be a few other headphones that will in my experience be (more than) a match in technical prowess AND offer an even more pleasing sound on a wider range of genres, in a different setup. Those include the HE-6s, SR-009s, SR-007s MKI, even some Audeze (modded).
- however if one ventures in the more exhilirating and completely crazy adventure of trying to get the last inch of performance out of the HD800s, a monster is unleashed. Nothing I have heard in headphones can match the combination of detail, clarity and transients attack of the modded HD800s on a clear and very transparent amp and a good source. The SR-009s are some of the closest and do very well at it, but cannot match it (that is on either the KGSSHV, KGST or BHSE). The HE-6s are close too, but still no. The Abyss and Audeze 3Fs - no not really. Others are not close to compete in my humble experience. The biggest downside is that it becomes a bit of a niche headphones, for the genres they excel at to begin with. Classical or acoustic music lovers will probably know what I mean.
In my opinion the finest tier of the headphones on the market right now are (in no particular order): Hifiman HE-6s, Stax SR-009, Sennheiser HD800, Audeze LCD-3F, JPS Labs Abyss.
Gear used I am basing this on:
Amplifiers: Schiit Ragnarok, Audio GD HE-9, Moon 430HA, Eddie Current 2A3 MK4, speaker amp: Xindak A600E MK2 dual mono class A
DACs: Theta Gen V, Theta Gen V A, PS Audio PWD2
Cables: Audioquest SKY, Acrolink power cables, Toxic Cables
Other: LAN streamer: SOTM SMS-100, IFI Gemini cables, linear regulated PSUs etc.
