[cavedave]

I am using a Emotiva A-100 with a pagea power cable. HRT streame from an Ipad and the sound is amazing with the Edition X best I have heard in all the years of doing this. And I have heard a bunch. Nothing fancy but the sound is amazing.

 

[cavedave]

I have come to a conculsion about this headphone Edition X first generation while they sound good through diffrent amps as in expanded sounstage and the like. They probaly sound all around best or should I say music is most enjoyable through them with the least powerfull sources. Like out of a ipad headphone out. They just sound so balanced and fun just naked so to speak. While they may be a lot of money save your self some and dont use them through an amp. Just some thoughts after a month of use. So as to the post above they do great through the Emotiva A-100 also through other amps I have but in the end I find myself listening just through the out on my ipad. Simple stuff but very nice.

 

[heliosphann]

I have come to a conculsion about this headphone Edition X first generation while they sound good through diffrent amps as in expanded sounstage and the like. They probaly sound all around best or should I say music is most enjoyable through them with the least powerfull sources. Like out of a ipad headphone out. They just sound so balanced and fun just naked so to speak. While they may be a lot of money save your self some and dont use them through an amp. Just some thoughts after a month of use. So as to the post above they do great through the Emotiva A-100 also through other amps I have but in the end I find myself listening just through the out on my ipad. Simple stuff but very nice.

Not being amp dependent is a definite plus for the HEX. Pretty amazing that with a diaphragm that large they can be powered so easily. 

 

[cavedave]

Not being amp dependent is a definite plus for the HEX. Pretty amazing that with a diaphragm that large they can be powered so easily. 

That is a big 10-4 good buddy! And might I add they sound so good for something needind so little power. Like something was hiding in your ipad and it took the HEX to bring it out. Who would have ever thunk it? You are right pretty amazing in fact very amazing.

 

[casper3127]

I have come to a conculsion about this headphone Edition X first generation while they sound good through diffrent amps as in expanded sounstage and the like. They probaly sound all around best or should I say music is most enjoyable through them with the least powerfull sources. Like out of a ipad headphone out. They just sound so balanced and fun just naked so to speak. While they may be a lot of money save your self some and dont use them through an amp. Just some thoughts after a month of use. So as to the post above they do great through the Emotiva A-100 also through other amps I have but in the end I find myself listening just through the out on my ipad. Simple stuff but very nice.

Agree. I run them SE through my X5 III and haven't thought of buying a new TRSS cable to run them balanced. At 70/75 volume level, they sound awesome!
Through my NOS11 from Audio-gd, I could hear the driver moving/crackling in between songs. Too much power for such delicate headphones.

Enviado desde mi H1

 

[Maru10]

   
In my experience, "numbers" and real world performance are often not the same thing. That being said I have not owned the Cayin and only heard it at a meet. Most hard core he6 owners will tell you that a speaker amp with adapters is the best way to drive that headphone. 
 
Also let me say this, I still believe that a used hd800 in good condition (around $750) will be the best value you can get for flagship headphones. Add Sonarworks reference 3 plugin and you'll have a setup that will compete with $3k+ headphones. 

Sorry to ressurect this zombie posting, but maybe someone would be intrerested how I decided at the end.
 
Short story is that I got a sec. hand HE6 for a fraction of the price HEX (heck, the bargain was less than that 750USD). I am listening to it using Cayin IHA6 as the amp, Chord Qute HD as DAC.
 
I have to say I had high hopes towards the phones in comparison to HE560, and oh boy was I positively surprised. Not only the HE6 is sufficiently live with this amp, but my previous favourite the HE560 was blown offin detail, musicality, soundstage and liveliness. HE6 is slightly less sibilant than HE560 (the same problems with some poor masters), the highs are wonderfully zingy, and the voices are sweet. Boy o' boy o' boy, I like what I hear. I even listened to whole Thrilleralbum for testing purposes (I can't stand Jackson's music), and actually liked it for the first time! It is a huge upgrade by any measure, except for comfort - the headband is killing me, and I will probably buy one of those knitted *&%ty cushions to compensate. Weight, on the other hand, is not that huge problem as I was affraid of.
 
The takeout messages being that for my purpose the Cayin IHA-6 is sufficient amp for HE6 to outperform anything I heard yet (HE560, Audeze Sine and Beyer DT880 600ohm being the best I heard so far). I still have to get the adapter and try it with stereo amp (meager Yamaha SA301) to form an opinion on that combo, but for now I am a hapy camper!

 

[supabayes]

  The takeout messages being that for my purpose the Cayin IHA-6 is sufficient amp for HE6 to outperform anything I heard yet (HE560, Audeze Sine and Beyer DT880 600ohm being the best I heard so far). I still have to get the adapter and try it with stereo amp (meager Yamaha SA301) to form an opinion on that combo, but for now I am a hapy camper!

 
At the recent Can Jam Singapore Cayin booth, I heard Andy Kong's HE6 driven with Cayin iHA-6 and the HA-1AMK2. Both Cayin amps were impressive, to say the least. If the HE6 is still available for sale, I will snap it right away and buy either of these Cayin amps.

 

[Barndoor]

Visited the headroom show in London on Friday. This was my first show and first listen to higher end gear. Currently own gear in roughly the £200-£400 range (HE400i, TH-X00, Mojo, Colorfly C4, ....). I don't consider myself to have golden ears, but do tend to appreciate improvements.

Wanted to listen to gear in the £500- £1k range to get an idea of the next possible upgrade for the future but also to get a feel for how my current gear compares to higher end equipment. I was focused on iems slightly more than headphones as work life means they get more listening time.

I got to listen to the Sennheiser Orpheus and Hifiman Shangri-la, so achieved the high end goal!

I also came to the conclusion from what i heard that (to my ears) my gear sounds pretty good and that a step up to the £500- £1k probably didn't justify the marginal improvements they gave.

The HEX just falls out of this range (just) and from the second I put it on I loved it. The signature instantly connected with me and it was like the headphone got out of the way and the music took over. The most surprising and impressive thing was that this was achieved by a DAP.

Tried the HE1k next with a great big amp and after a few minutes that was put back down and I was back on the HEX. It just didn't connected with me like the X did.
Audeze LCD3 out of a Chord Hugo, ok but not blown away.
The focal utopia had a similar effect on me but as the X but at three times the price (Elear didn't do anything for me).

My conclusions from my show visit are that the X will most likely be in my life at some point in the future. My other conclusions are that I'm either not experienced enough or my ears are not good enough to fully appreciate the subtle differences in high end gear. In a show environment it is easy to be influenced by a signature but doesn't really give any brain burn in time to fully appreciate a headphone.

So whether the X is end game for me is to be seen, however it will have to wait as I've ordered a pair of Noble Kaiser Encores that I need to try to explain to the wife.

 

[AudioBear]

You and your wallet would be fortunate if you continue to be unable to hear those subtle differences which may or may not exist, depending on what you are comparing.
 
The HEX is one of those pieces of hardware that many find to have some very favorable audible differences from other phones.  It's probably worth hearing a bunch of different phones to compare but don't be surprised if the HEX keeps coming back on your radar.  I say this even though I prefer my HD800S but that's purely a personal choice.  Take the time to hear a variety of phones in a variety of contexts, systems, and source material.  Even if you buy a HEX at the end of the journey, the experience will be worth it.

 

[shdh]

  Right now, I'm using a Mytek Brooklyn DAC with a Violectric V281 and HEX V2's fed by Black Dragon Balanced V2.  The level of detail and frequency range is spectacular.  Don't underestimate the need to keep the full chain optimized to realize great sound.  I've had varying results through many amps and the V281 is so far the best by far. A good DAC will be circumvented by an amp that can't pass on the detail and so for the cables too.  I Have a full chain of silver Lavricables including USB, balanced interconnect and balanced headphone cables coming and I'll post my results on those as soon as they are here and broken in.

What sort of difference do you think using a silver USB would make?

 

[watchdog507]

I look at the cable equation philosophically.  It's not expensive compared to other enhancements and the upside is improved performance.  The case for improved USB is compelling.  Some audiophile USB's separate the power cable from the data and I add in pure silver cable so its fast.  These design characteristics are present in my Lavricables USB.  This is a tried and true principle in other audiophile designs, the separation of power sources.  At the end of the day. if it doesn't hurt it may help.

 

[elwappo99]

  I look at the cable equation philosophically.  It's not expensive compared to other enhancements and the upside is improved performance.  The case for improved USB is compelling.  Some audiophile USB's separate the power cable from the data and I add in pure silver cable so its fast.  These design characteristics are present in my Lavricables USB.  This is a tried and true principle in other audiophile designs, the separation of power sources.  At the end of the day. if it doesn't hurt it may help.

 
 
Is this a Pascal's wager of the cable business? 
 
I'd say that cables do have a major downside. They cost a lot of money. That Lavricables USB looks like it runs $200. For most people $200 would go a lot farther into upgrading a DAC, amp, new headphones, etc. 

 

[Barndoor]

You and your wallet would be fortunate if you continue to be unable to hear those subtle differences which may or may not exist, depending on what you are comparing.


 


The HEX is one of those pieces of hardware that many find to have some very favorable audible differences from other phones.  It's probably worth hearing a bunch of different phones to compare but don't be surprised if the HEX keeps coming back on your radar.  I say this even though I prefer my HD800S but that's purely a personal choice.  Take the time to hear a variety of phones in a variety of contexts, systems, and source material.  Even if you buy a HEX at the end of the journey, the experience will be worth it.

 


Thanks for the reply. The HD800 and S where a couple of headphones I also tried that didn't leave the lasting impression the HEX did.
I suppose the other option is to not listen to any other headphone ever again, buy the HEX when funds allow, close my head-fi account and be blissfully ignorant! Can't see that happeing though!

 

[Sound Eq]

can i ask how the hex compares to hifiman 560

 

[tuna47]

Hex is more neutral than the 560 not as bright much better sound stage width and depth
More comfortable over all in my I m h o