[svo360]

Did you just get HE6 ? I had the same problem, I email hifidirect and got a replacement for free.

Ok no worries I'll try that had them no more than 3 months what are my chances! Didn't notice when I got them.

 

[melikeheadphone]

Is there a mod for a longer/extended gimbal slider/yoke rods? 

 

[Armaegis]

Here's some thoughts on speaker amps vs headphone amps vs general electrical knowledge.
 
- The input signal doesn't just go into an amplifying device and magically become larger and output everything that the transducer needs in a perfect manner. It attempts to come out larger, but with varying levels of distortion and variations etc because nothing is perfect.
- A device can only output as much voltage that it's internal power supply gives it. It doesn't matter if you set the gain on the amp higher, if you're ramming into the voltage rails of the power supply, you ain't getting any more and will clip your output (that's some nasty distortion right there). Also, many output devices can't actually operate all the way up to the supply rails and will have increasing distortion when you get too close, so you have to account for that. It's not so simple to just increase the supply rails either, as the devices have limits on how much they can handle, and many operate better when not pushed to their limits (there's usually a sweet spot for voltage supply).
- A device can only output a certain amount of current. In the simplest form, this is how many electrons it can actually move. Think of it like water flowing through a hose, with all the turbulence and such associated. There are certain flow rates that are optimal for the lowest turbulence (distortion), and this is dependent on both the pressure (voltage) and size of the hose (impedance of the attached load... simplified). Again, there's a sweet spot for current flow with minimal bad mojo. Think of it like producing a smooth clear laminar flow from the hose, instead of a dribble or messy spray.
 
- Traditional headphone amps: optimized for low to moderate voltage, low current
- Traditional speaker amps: optimized for high voltage and high current
 
- An HE-6 ideally wants to be sort of in between, with a medium/high voltage output and medium current (compared to a speaker).
 
- Most older headphone amps simply were not designed to pump out that much power. Early patchwork designs simply tried ramping up gain and power supplies, but then you started hitting the device limits and they didn't sound so good.
- Speaker amps have the headroom (particularly in current where we don't even come close to the limits) but you may not be operating in the sweet spot. Plus now you're also paying for it with a huge amount of desk space. Speaker amps also have a much higher gain than headphone amps, so noise is a valid concern. The HE-6 mitigates this somewhat due to its low sensitivity, but other headphones may not fare so well.
 
- Nowadays we have a lot more dedicated headamp options that are powerful enough to drive the HE-6, hooray.
- Nothing wrong with speaker amps, they provide the juice necessary for the HE-6, but at the cost of size, weight, noise, etc.
 
 
 
TL/DR
- Whatever.

 

[Armaegis]

  Is there a mod for a longer/extended gimbal slider/yoke rods? 

 
Short of shaving your head, none that I'm aware of.

 

[melikeheadphone]

That's the price I have to pay to have the HE-6 fit better? :/
 
And I'm heavily considering it; these just sound so amazing. 

 

[Tobes]

Yesterday I made up an extension cable to allow the connection of the He-6 to my Odyssey Khartago speaker amp.
 
I used Kimber Kable 4VS as this seemed a decent quality (but not too expensive) and it had a form factor that was useful for my purpose.
4VS is constructed of 8 insulated strands braided together (4 grey, 4 black, each containing varying gauges of copper wire). I used 2 each of the grey and black strands for the +ve and -ve of each channel.
At the moment the cable uses bare wire at the speaker end and terminated in a female Neutrik xlr for the he-6.

 
Internals of the Odyssey Khartago below - its rated at 130wpc/8ohms, which gives around 20wpc/50ohms. This amp has the extra Capacitors, parts upgrade, black board, wiring upgrade - and subsequent to this photo has also had the WBT silver Nextgen binding posts fitted. Used with my Harbeth speakers, its a very nice sounding amp.
 

 
Anyway, I've had a chance to do some preliminary listening comparing to my Violectric v281.
Preamp used with the Khartago was the Jeff Rowland Capri S2.
Source was mostly hi-res music from my NAS>Mac Mini>Ifi usb power>Grace m903 DAC.
 
Bear in mind the new extension cable only has a few hours on it - not sure if I expect much change though.
I set levels by ear. This was hit and miss - sometimes I'd change the level and my preference would change.
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but perhaps something miraculous after all the postings on using speaker amps.
That didn't really happen.
 
The Khartago sounds fine enough, but it certainly doesn't blow away the 4Wpc/50ohms v281. The Khartago does have a somewhat more powerful bass and an overall slightly warmer, weightier sound. The v281 actually may have the edge in clarity - perhaps partly due to its balance, its slightly less robust but not in any way lightweight. 
To check out soundstaging and space reproduction I listened to some of the Chesky recordings: Amber Rubarth - Sessions from the 17th Ward, CC Colletti - Bring it on home, David Chesky - New York Rags. Not much in it and I actually preferred the sound of the v281.
Sometimes I'd think the Khartago was preferable and then I'd switch to the v281 and my preference would change - often it was a toss up.
 
One thing I can say though - the Violectric has the quieter/blacker background, which may be another reason why it seemed to have the edge in clarity.
This is not to say the Khartago is noisy - its almost dead quiet - but I can hear a faint hiss between tracks, though this is swamped by the background noise of most recordings. The difference here is the gain - Khartago is fairly high at 31dB, while the v281 was designed with low gain to avoid any noise.
 
My preliminary assessment is that I prefer the v281.
Yes, I know this can not be interpreted as any blanket statement about speaker amps.
Yes, some will diss the Khartago because of its high gain and give any number of reasons why this amp is inappropriate for this application.
 
EDIT: I debated whether to put this here or in a new post, but probably better to keep my impressions in one place.
I don't know what to make of this, but my preference has shifted from the v281 to the Khartago.
People who think 'burn-in' happens in the brain will scoff - but, during continued comparisons, I believe the mids and lower highs with the 4VS cable have become less veiled and more articulate. The relative balance difference remains between the Khartago and the V281, but with the opening up of the mids the Khartago has shrugged off a bit of (uncharacteristic) blandness and it moves ahead. The v281 perhaps sounds more focused with more upper frequency 'pop' to the sound - though this is not always a good thing.
 
EDIT: Hmm. Further listening to varied material and I can't say my preference is clear cut. The v281 maintains its more focussed, immediate sound, cooler, slightly tilted to the upper frequencies (by comparison) - often I will feel like its the clearer more articulate presentation - but still with great punch and definition in the lows. (btw the balanced connection of the v281 is quite different to the SE outputs - which are warmer, less spacious/clear/detailed and less definition in the lows…a bit drab with the he6).
Sometimes the he6 sounds a bit hyper-detailed with the v281 on very up front material - on this type of recording the Khartago setup can be preferable. 

 

[Armaegis]

  That's the price I have to pay to have the HE-6 fit better? :/
 
And I'm heavily considering it; these just sound so amazing. 

 
Is the headband simply not large enough for you? or is it a comfort issue?

 

[melikeheadphone]

Is the headband simply not large enough for you? or is it a comfort issue?

I have a larger head. I have to fully extend the rods to fit my head. The thing is, I ordered a mod by Loebh (sorry can't remember the person's name!) and it requires there is a bit of rod sticking out so it can latch onto it.

 

[NZtechfreak]

That's the price I have to pay to have the HE-6 fit better? :/

And I'm heavily considering it; these just sound so amazing. 

Modding *yourself*, now that's commitment.

 

[melikeheadphone]

Modding *yourself*, now that's commitment.

I could barely assemble IKEA furniture without throwing them off the balcony from rage.

Haha. But yea that'd be "interesting" to watch me struggle with the mod.

 

[preproman]

  Yesterday I made up an extension cable to allow the connection of the He-6 to my Odyssey Khartago speaker amp.
 
I used Kimber Kable 4VS as this seemed a decent quality (but not too expensive) and it had a form factor that was useful for my purpose.
4VS is constructed of 8 insulated strands braided together (4 grey, 4 black, each containing varying gauges of copper wire). I used 2 each of the grey and black strands for the +ve and -ve of each channel.
At the moment the cable uses bare wire at the speaker end and terminated in a female Neutrik xlr for the he-6.

 
Internals of the Odyssey Khartago below - its rated at 130wpc/8ohms, which gives around 20wpc/50ohms. This amp has the extra Capacitors, parts upgrade, black board, wiring upgrade - and subsequent to this photo has also had the WBT silver Nextgen binding posts fitted. Used with my Harbeth speakers, its a very nice sounding amp.
 

 
Anyway, I've had a chance to do some preliminary listening comparing to my Violectric v281.
Preamp used with the Khartago was the Jeff Rowland Capri S2.
Source was mostly hi-res music from my NAS>Mac Mini>Ifi usb power>Grace m903 DAC.
 
Bear in mind the new extension cable only has a few hours on it - not sure if I expect much change though.
I set levels by ear. This was hit and miss - sometimes I'd change the level and my preference would change.
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but perhaps something miraculous after all the postings on using speaker amps.
That didn't really happen.
 
The Khartago sounds fine enough, but it certainly doesn't blow away the 4Wpc/50ohms v281. The Khartago does have a somewhat more powerful bass and an overall slightly warmer, weightier sound. The v281 actually may have the edge in clarity - perhaps partly due to its balance, its slightly less robust but not in any way lightweight. 
To check out soundstaging and space reproduction I listened to some of the Chesky recordings: Amber Rubarth - Sessions from the 17th Ward, CC Colletti - Bring it on home, David Chesky - New York Rags. Not much in it and I actually preferred the sound of the v281.
Sometimes I'd think the Khartago was preferable and then I'd switch to the v281 and my preference would change - often it was a toss up.
 
One thing I can say though - the Violectric has the quieter/blacker background, which may be another reason why it seemed to have the edge in clarity.
This is not to say the Khartago is noisy - its almost dead quiet - but I can hear a faint hiss between tracks, though this is swamped by the background noise of most recordings. The difference here is the gain - Khartago is fairly high at 31dB, while the v281 was designed with low gain to avoid any noise.
 
My preliminary assessment is that I prefer the v281.
Yes, I know this can not be interpreted as any blanket statement about speaker amps.
Yes, some will diss the Khartago because of its high gain and give any number of reasons why this amp is inappropriate for this application.

Nice write up and some really good information about the Khartago.
 

 

[Tobes]

  Nice write up and some really good information about the Khartago.
 

 
Thanks, I've put a further 15hrs on the extension cable and my impression is pretty much the same. 
Still, while the v281 offers more clarity, the balance using the Khartago can be more relaxing for some recordings.
 
I'm wondering how much influence the type of speaker cable I've used is having - the extension is 3 metres in length.
Having now heard the balance I'm getting, I wish I had of gone for the more expensive Kimber 4TC which is similar to the 4VS but uses Teflon insulation. Its said to have better high frequency clarity. Knowing what the Khartago is capable of - and the he6 - I just don't feel I'm getting the best from it.
I'm tempted to buy some 4TC and make a second cable. What are other people using?

 

[musicinmymind]

 

  Nice write up and some really good information about the Khartago.
 

 
Thanks, I've put a further 15hrs on the extension cable and my impression is pretty much the same. 
Still, while the v281 offers more clarity, the balance using the Khartago can be more relaxing for some recordings.
 
I'm wondering how much influence the type of speaker cable I've used is having - the extension is 3 metres in length.
Having now heard the balance I'm getting, I wish I had of gone for the more expensive Kimber 4TC which is similar to the 4VS but uses Teflon insulation. Its said to have better high frequency clarity. Knowing what the Khartago is capable of - and the he6 - I just don't feel I'm getting the best from it.
I'm tempted to buy some 4TC and make a second cable. What are other people using?

 
Thanks for sharing the info, it was a very good read. From my experience those 3 meters effects the sound a lot, It made me believer from a Non-believer. High gauge wire makes HE-6 lightweight sounding compared to stock cable. 
 
I cut the terminating end of XLR to 6.5mm stock cable and used that for connecting to speaker amp. That should better reference cable, then Kimber.

 

[gurus]

I had good results with Mundorf Gold/Silver wire, 24 awg. (5mm).

 

[musicinmymind]

  I had good results with Mundorf Gold/Silver wire, 24 awg. (5mm).

 
you mean bare wire like this?
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/171505596664?lpid=82&chn=ps