[ohhgourami]

Okay, I was about to get a Bryston 2B LP, but this remark has brought me right back to my fence-sitting, since I already have two hp DAC/AMP rigs that are apparently not quite cutting the mustard when it comes to driving the He-6 properly.  That said, could you kindly suggest another speaker amp (other than the Bryston) that really gets at the meat and bones of the He-6's performance?

Note:  I am not trying to be sarcastic in this post, although I often find this never-ending quest for appropriate amplification for the He-6 to be frustrating, as I am sure many do.

I am also not looking for an uber expensive rig that will deplete my coffers , but if you have examples of speaker amps or head-amps that can do a much more decent job with the He-6 than the Bryston, please share, and I shall listen.

I'm in no way putting down the performance of the 2B, simply praising how well the HE-6 scales. What I mean is that the 2B gives a good taste of what the HE-6 is capable of - good tonal balance with decently textured bass and dynamics. As you hear better and better gear, improvements come in trs of imaging, texture, dynamics, and separation - not exactly in microdetails. Headphone gear has basically been lacking these capabilities especially at their price points. I've been listening to a high end rig for a long time and this type of performance generally doesn't come as a complete package until you start breaking into $3k power amps at used prices.

What's your budget?

 

[sahmen]

What I mean is that the 2B gives a good taste of what the HE-6 is capable of. As you you hear better and better gear, improvements come in trs of imaging, texture, dynamics, and separation - not exactly in microdetails. Headphone gear has basically been lacking these capabilities especially at their price points. I've been listening to a high end rig for a long time and this type of performance generally doesn't come as a complete package until you start breaking into $3k power amps at used prices.

What's your budget?

I could go within the 3K range for a used amp, but are you talking strictly speaker amps, or would headamps such as the Cavalli Liquid Gold or Liquid Crimson also do fine?

 

[Armaegis]

Basically he's saying it's a good amp and scales up well, competing into the $3k budget range.
 
Now if you're willing to toss that much money around, then you look at one of the monstrous Krells or Pass Labs or the Benchmark AHB2.

 

[sahmen]

  Basically he's saying it's a good amp and scales up well, competing into the $3k budget range.
 
Now if you're willing to toss that much money around, then you look at one of the monstrous Krells or Pass Labs or the Benchmark AHB2.

I am not willing to toss any money around, frankly, and I think I made that clear in my initial post to @Ohhgourami.  I am not sure, however, whether you are on the same page with him on this one, so please bear with me as I retrace my steps.  The post to which I initially responded stated clearly that the Bryston 2B
 
"barely touched the surface of what they (the He-6s) are capable of!"
 
Naturally, I found that to be discouraging, as I want to get to the "meat and bones" of the He-6's performance, and I already have larger sums than I care to admit to myself currently invested in headphone rigs as it is.  That said, I am a little confused about @Ohhgourami's other statement according to which
 
" this type of performance generally doesn't come as a complete package until you start breaking into $3k power amps at used prices"
 
Is he referring to the Bryston 2B's type of performance, or the type of performance that does a decent job getting to the "meat and bones" of what the He-6 can do...  You see where the confusion is?
 
I will obviously not be willing to "break into the $3k used power amps" field if all I am going to wind up with is an amp which
 
"barely touches the surface of what [the He-6 is] capable of"
 
And that also happens to be the very statement about the performance of the Bryston which got me discouraged in the first place...
 
I seem to be going in circles now,  and getting a little dizzy as a result, so let me just stop here.

 

[ohhgourami]

I could go within the 3K range for a used amp, but are you talking strictly speaker amps, or would headamps such as the Cavalli Liquid Gold or Liquid Crimson also do fine?

No Cavalli stuff!

Once you start getting into gear at that price range, preamps start to play a crucial role also so factor that into price. At 3k you won't be able to touch the modern Krell and Pass Labs stuff yet. Yuhengtiger gave a favorable review to the Bemcark AHB2. First Watts are also a good choice if you can DIY one like an F5T.

 

[Hansotek]

I could go within the 3K range for a used amp, but are you talking strictly speaker amps, or would headamps such as the Cavalli Liquid Gold or Liquid Crimson also do fine?

The Gold will work better of the two. The Crimson is a little short on juice to do the HE-6. It's killer with the HD800 and HE1000, though.

 

[Armaegis]

I don't think Sahmen realizes that I'm the guy who first found the synergy of the Brystons with the HE-6.

 

[Armaegis]

Here's my personal pricepoint breakdown for amps based on either personal experience or extensive communication with friends with whom I share common reference points:
 
$100: pick a Topping amp and call it a day
$500: Bryston 2B (or a bit more for a B60)
$3k+: Pass Labs, Krell, Benchmark AHB2

 

[ohhgourami]

I am not willing to toss any money around, frankly, and I think I made that clear in my initial post to @Ohhgourami.  I am not sure, however, whether you are on the same page with him on this one, so please bear with me as I retrace my steps.  The post to which I initially responded stated clearly that the Bryston 2B

"barely touched the surface of what they (the He-6s) are capable of!"

Naturally, I found that to be discouraging, as I want to get to the "meat and bones" of the He-6's performance, and I already have larger sums than I care to admit to myself currently invested in headphone rigs as it is.  That said, I am a little confused about @Ohhgourami's other statement according to which

" this type of performance generally doesn't come as a complete package until you start breaking into $3k power amps at used prices"

Is he referring to the Bryston 2B's type of performance, or the type of performance that does a decent job getting to the "meat and bones" of what the He-6 can do...  You see where the confusion is?

I will obviously not be willing to "break into the $3k used power amps" field if all I am going to wind up with is an amp which

"barely touches the surface of what [the He-6 is] capable of"

And that also happens to be the very statement about the performance of the Bryston which got me discouraged in the first place...

I seem to be going in circles now,  and getting a little dizzy as a result, so let me just stop here.

Seems that you don't understand my terms here. The 2B touching the surface means it's a very acceptable amp unlike most headphone amps. It gives a good introduction of what the HE-6 is capable of.

These $3k+ amps that give you everything are endgame amps. Keep in mind that my experience, standards, and expectation on what a superb amp should sound like are on a different level than you. My definition of acceptable might very well be your first enlightenment.

If I call the 2B amazeballs, what am I supposed to call my Krell which is a way better amp? Worse yet, it might give people the wrong expectations that they perform equally if I describe them the same way.

Stuff that I don't find acceptable, I lump it into the term garbage - which I wouldn't bother recommending.

 

[fccn75]

ohhgourami,
 
Although I rarely post but have been enjoying your mods and like to say a big thank you for what you've provided to the community!
 
I have been revisiting the open grill mod once again for which I had previously completed, i.e., original grill, mesh fabric, and fiber removed.  It was just curiosity that I reinstalled the items back to stock as a reminder of what it sounds like especially for low frequencies, bass tones and etc.
 
This is being driven off directly from a 100watt Adcom GFA-545 via 10 ohm resistor paralleled with the HE-6.
 
As shocking as this may sound, I find the stock form has more mid bass than the open grill probably due to the damping effect of the fiber...I don't know...the only mods I have is the Vegan pad directly on the driver bypassing the ring installation.  
 
I switched back to open grill once again, and sure enough, bass response is lower??
 
Am I totally off here?  Any comments will be appreciated, thanks.

 

[ohhgourami]

ohhgourami,

Although I rarely post but have been enjoying your mods and like to say a big thank you for what you've provided to the community!

I have been revisiting the open grill mod once again for which I had previously completed, i.e., original grill, mesh fabric, and fiber removed.  It was just curiosity that I reinstalled the items back to stock as a reminder of what it sounds like especially for low frequencies, bass tones and etc.

This is being driven off directly from a 100watt Adcom GFA-545 via 10 ohm resistor paralleled with the HE-6.

As shocking as this may sound, I find the stock form has more mid bass than the open grill probably due to the damping effect of the fiber...I don't know...the only mods I have is the Vegan pad directly on the driver bypassing the ring installation.  

I switched back to open grill once again, and sure enough, bass response is lower??

Am I totally off here?  Any comments will be appreciated, thanks.

So more mid bass with grill on and more sub bass with grill off? Or did you mean lighter bass with grill off?

 

[TheGadaffiDuck]

$3000 amp to max out it's power... Eh, I will stick with my SMSL for a while, thanks. More importantly aren't we forgetting that the 2b LP Retails for like $2500, and the fact they are around for used at $500 is a pretty astonishing deal. I don't imagine that spending $3000 on a amp will do you that mucj better. I believe the price tag just swoons people into thinking that it's going to be so much better, when it is only giving deminishing retur. Hell i listened to a $55000 beiermeisterset up at my local audio shop, and seriously was not impressed. The STAX SR-007MK2s i listened to on the same day, through the cheapest Stax Amp, those were impressive. Even the guy said they get better with the higher end amps. Uhhh f@q you it does, you just wanna take my money

 

[fccn75]

So more mid bass with grill on and more sub bass with grill off? Or did you mean lighter bass with grill off?

Exactly, more mid bass with grill on and more sub bass without grill.

 

[ohhgourami]

Exactly, more mid bass with grill on and more sub bass without grill.

Yes, that's consistent with my memory.

 

[DaemonSire]

Since the Bryston 2B has a left/right gain, what should you set that too in order to control the volume with your pre-amp?  Is it just finding a balance of usable range on your pre-amp or are there other benefits?
 
Most power amps I see do not have a gain adjustment so I'm curious what the recommendation/optimal adjustment is when your power amp has gain controls?