[TheGadaffiDuck]

Hell i might even buy a second Bryston for some JBL Studio 530s if i can ever find one used for a good deal and not $1000

 

[HiFiGuy528]

  I like the TH-900 on my HE-6's.  Very comfortable...

 
Interesting... I'll have to try how TH900 pads effects the sound. 
 
Anyone tried Denon D7000 pads? I like these pads on Fostex TH600/900.

 

[Silent One]

I'm using Lawton Audio TH900 leather pads on my HE-6.

 

[Andykong]

If you have any part of the tour coming through Canada, then I'd be interested.

Mr Grandberg can vouch for my credentials.

Sorry, we only plan for contiguous United States at this moment, have to minimize logistic cost, turn around time and custom/tax consequence. So far we have received two queries from Canada (including bigfatpaulie), In fact if there is enough interest in the combo, I can swing the iDAC-6 and iHA-6 to Canada after the US trip, but that will be 2-3 months from now.

Wander if there is any HeadFi meet in Canada that I should look out for? Maybe we can bundle a tour and a meet attendance together.

 

[Andykong]

I had already auditioned the iHA-6 while in Shanghaiand wasn't impressed with my HE1000. However, I have been fooled more than once by in shop conditions, sources, and music files, so I'd be more than happy to join a product tour and do a real, at home audition. Especially after reading positive reviews on it that were so much against my own impressions.

If there's a leg of the tour in China, I'dbe happy to join.

We had a iDAC-6 and iHA-6 tour in Mainland China recently but unfortunately then event has completed and we do not have a plan to re-run the tour in near future.

Shows is a good place to explore new products but not necessarily the ideal location to formulate a final judgement on the audio performance. Shop audition actually can be better, especially when are dealing with the more reputable shops who knows what they are doing, and home audition is always the most reliable path, that is if home audition is a feasible option.

 

[kernel8888]

<$100: SMSL SA50, as cheap as i would ever go. I have the SA-98e, which is okay but its highs can distort

$100: Something from Topping or a NuForce amp if you can even find one

$200: Emotiva Mini X100 (or BasX when it comes out). I dont care what some people here say, i tried it with my HE500s once, and was killer. I'm sure the HE6 fares well with this.

$300: iFi Micro iDsD. Best Small big power amp ive ever heard of. I dont own this, but a portable amp, with 4Watt power output? Sign me up.

My dad has a Pioneer SA7700 amp, but one of the channels was blown. Pluged into the single ended connection up front and it was fine. I saw a few for $300 used condition, otherwise the odd audio store that still actually has one of these, you're looking at$700 for one (the Spinners audio store in my town had one.)

$400-$500: Bryston 2B or 2B LP. My endgame speaker amplifier for the HE6. Mine is a 2BLP, fully balanced, dual power supplied amplifier, which granted has individual volume knobs so you'll need a passive preamp like Schiit SyS, or an Emotiva Control freak as volume control. Oh, and because the LP was made for PRO use only... No power button, so you are now required to spend an extra 10 dollars on an outlet accessory to switch the power on and off. This is a $2000 amp new, but since you can only buy it used, be wary. At least with the LP version, you are almost guarenteed to buy one from a sound engineer of some kind. Mine was owned by a Sound Engineer for the CBC, whs been using nothing but Bryston amps for 30 years

 
 
Great! thanks for that info! 2 votes for the ifi micro, 2 for the bryston 2b. No comments on the Nelson Pass Amp Camp Amp? not the most common amp but seems like a giant killer for the price...

 

[Armaegis]

Sorry, we only plan for contiguous United States at this moment, have to minimize logistic cost, turn around time and custom/tax consequence. So far we have received two queries from Canada (including bigfatpaulie), In fact if there is enough interest in the combo, I can swing the iDAC-6 and iHA-6 to Canada after the US trip, but that will be 2-3 months from now.

Wander if there is any HeadFi meet in Canada that I should look out for? Maybe we can bundle a tour and a meet attendance together.

 
I am in fact the local meet organizer, and there are at least three of us in town with the HE-6 powered by various crazy gear like the Schiit Rag/Yggy, Moon 430HA, Violectric V281, PSaudio PWDmk2, I've got some big Bryston gear, etc. The other two guys don't do much for reviewing, but I would put together a mini-meet exclusively to compare vs all our other gear if you manage to put together a Canadian side of the tour.
 
I can sympathize with the annoying logistics of bringing gear into Canada though. If it comes through this way, do NOT send to me first since the customs office in Winnipeg is quite literally the worst one in Canada (according to conversations that I have had with both the FedEx and UPS offices).
 
Browsing the meets subforum, it looks like Calgary has one coming up September 25th: http://www.head-fi.org/t/813313/13th-calgary-head-fi-meet-september-25-sunday
Send a message to @hakushondaimao to get in touch with the Calgary folks. You already have bigfatpaulie for Toronto. Winnipeg has a meet next weekend, which is too soon obviously, but as I said earlier I would organize a mini-meet just for this.

 

[sahmen]

   
I am in fact the local meet organizer, and there are at least three of us in town with the HE-6 powered by various crazy gear like the Schiit Rag/Yggy, Moon 430HA, Violectric V281, PSaudio PWDmk2, I've got some big Bryston gear, etc. The other two guys don't do much for reviewing, but I would put together a mini-meet exclusively to compare vs all our other gear if you manage to put together a Canadian side of the tour.
 
I can sympathize with the annoying logistics of bringing gear into Canada though. If it comes through this way, do NOT send to me first since the customs office in Winnipeg is quite literally the worst one in Canada (according to conversations that I have had with both the FedEx and UPS offices).
 
Browsing the meets subforum, it looks like Calgary has one coming up September 25th: http://www.head-fi.org/t/813313/13th-calgary-head-fi-meet-september-25-sunday
Send a message to @hakushondaimao to get in touch with the Calgary folks. You already have bigfatpaulie for Toronto. Winnipeg has a meet next weekend, which is too soon obviously, but as I said earlier I would organize a mini-meet just for this.

I would be very keen to hear your impressions if you ever get to do the comparisons...  I just acquired the Yggy and the Violectric 281, which may well be endgame for me, and all my cans, including the He-6, although I know there are probably some more expensive speaker amps that may work even better with the He-6 than the Violectric V281.  One of the things I would like cleared up from the comparative evaluation is whether the Bryston 2B LP is worth pursuing even with my Violectric V281 in the mix...The problem with most of the used Bryston 2Bs and 2B LPs I have found online so far is that they are often so old (i.e. "vintage") that I am not sure if they can satisfactorily perform as they are, or if they'll need to be sent back to Bryston for some refurbishment before they can perform optimally with the He-6s.

 

[Armaegis]

  I would be very keen to hear your impressions if you ever get to do the comparisons...  I just acquired the Yggy and the Violectric 281, which may well be endgame for me, and all my cans, including the He-6, although I know there are probably some more expensive speaker amps that may work even better with the He-6 than the Violectric V281.  One of the things I would like cleared up from the comparative evaluation is whether the Bryston 2B LP is worth pursuing even with my Violectric V281 in the mix...The problem with most of the used Bryston 2Bs and 2B LPs I have found online so far is that they are often so old (i.e. "vintage") that I am not sure if they can satisfactorily perform as they are, or if they'll need to be sent back to Bryston for some refurbishment before they can perform optimally with the He-6s.

 
The V281 is a very nice amp. I have no complaints sonically... but I feel it leans a bit more on the expensive side of the price/performance ratio. Going by memory, both have a similar warm tonality, with the Vio perhaps a bit tighter in the bottom but less engaging mids.
 
It's true that buying a used 2B comes with the caveat that most are quite old now, though Bryston builds their stuff like tanks (the only company around with a 20 year warranty). I personally sent mine into Bryston for servicing and upgraded to newer output devices while I was at it. There's similar services that you can find on ebay as well.

 

[sahmen]

   
The V281 is a very nice amp. I have no complaints sonically... but I feel it leans a bit more on the expensive side of the price/performance ratio. Going by memory, both have a similar warm tonality, with the Vio perhaps a bit tighter in the bottom but less engaging mids.
 
It's true that buying a used 2B comes with the caveat that most are quite old now, though Bryston builds their stuff like tanks (the only company around with a 20 year warranty). I personally sent mine into Bryston for servicing and upgraded to newer output devices while I was at it. There's similar services that you can find on ebay as well.

I can relate to your concerns about the "price/performance" ratio of the v281, but the idea behind that was to find an amp that would pair well with all my cans (the HD800, the HD 700, the He-500, the He-6, and possibly the He-1000 [if I ever get around to buying one], the Beyerdynamic T1, etc. etc.), which it does very well, according to the research I have done, unlike the Bryston 2b LP, which would be exclusively tied to the He-6, were I to acquire it.   I'm honestly not sure what direction my search (or my "audiophilia nervosa) is going to take now, but I could still be tempted by the Bryston 2B LP if it siignificantly outperforms the V281, and that was the reason behind my question.  Thanks for your your response.
 
P.

 

[Armaegis]

Oh absolutely the V281 is far more versatile as a headamp than the 2B. Then again, if you ever veer into speakers then the 2B becomes more attractive. Tomayto tomahto.
 
Right now I've got B60 which is basically the 2B but with volume control, and mine also has a remote and built-in dac.

 

[Andykong]

I am in fact the local meet organizer, and there are at least three of us in town with the HE-6 powered by various crazy gear like the Schiit Rag/Yggy, Moon 430HA, Violectric V281, PSaudio PWDmk2, I've got some big Bryston gear, etc. The other two guys don't do much for reviewing, but I would put together a mini-meet exclusively to compare vs all our other gear if you manage to put together a Canadian side of the tour.

I can sympathize with the annoying logistics of bringing gear into Canada though. If it comes through this way, do NOT send to me first since the customs office in Winnipeg is quite literally the worst one in Canada (according to conversations that I have had with both the FedEx and UPS offices).

Browsing the meets subforum, it looks like Calgary has one coming up September 25th: http://www.head-fi.org/t/813313/13th-calgary-head-fi-meet-september-25-sunday
Send a message to @hakushondaimao to get in touch with the Calgary folks. You already have bigfatpaulie for Toronto. Winnipeg has a meet next weekend, which is too soon obviously, but as I said earlier I would organize a mini-meet just for this.

Thanks for the lead, this is very helpful.

I'll finalize the US Tour schedule within this week, but looks like end of September is very tight, hakushondaimao is a friend of Cayin, he is the thread starter of our N5 DAP, I have no problem to work with him. bigfatpaulie is very helpful as well and we have a very fruitful exchanges on how to get start in Canada.

Looks like the Canada tour is going to happen for sure, it's just a matter of when and where will be the starting point. Once I had a confirmed US Tour schedule, we'll start to plan for Canada.

 

[Armaegis]

Thanks for the lead, this is very helpful.

I'll finalize the US Tour schedule within this week, but looks like end of September is very tight, hakushondaimao is a friend of Cayin, he is the thread starter of our N5 DAP, I have no problem to work with him. bigfatpaulie is very helpful as well and we have a very fruitful exchanges on how to get start in Canada.

Looks like the Canada tour is going to happen for sure, it's just a matter of when and where will be the starting point. Once I had a confirmed US Tour schedule, we'll start to plan for Canada.

 
If we get anyone speaking up from Vancouver or Victoria, BC, then having the last US stop in Seattle is an obvious choice and it could practically be driven over. If starting in Toronto or Montreal, then perhaps Detroit or New York is the best connection. I'm just pointing out the more common crossover points at the busy postal centres.
 
The easiest way to get products into Canada is to label them as either gift <$60 CAD, or list it as a product demo/sample with low commercal value (again <$60 CAD). Providing an invoice in the box somewhere declaring such value is also helpful. Unfortunately, doing so affords no insurance crossing the border. Cayin could also ship a unit directly to Canada and bluntly absorb costs their end (possibly the simplest method, but unknown how you'll deal with the border)
 
The long convoluted way is that the receiver must declare at face value, pay all the relevant taxes and import fees (which can be quite high), then prove that the item has been returned and apply for reimbursement for the governement which is no guarantee that he'll actually get it... and considering that the tour unit will be bouncing around, this choice may be unfeasible.

 

[Andykong]

I can relate to your concerns about the "price/performance" ratio of the v281, but the idea behind that was to find an amp that would pair well with all my cans (the HD800, the HD 700, the He-500, the He-6, and possibly the He-1000 [if I ever get around to buying one], the Beyerdynamic T1, etc. etc.), which it does very well, according to the research I have done, unlike the Bryston 2b LP, which would be exclusively tied to the He-6, were I to acquire it.   I'm honestly not sure what direction my search (or my "audiophilia nervosa) is going to take now, but I could still be tempted by the Bryston 2B LP if it siignificantly outperforms the V281, and that was the reason behind my question.  Thanks for your your response.

P.

I have been through the HE-6 or HE1000 game before, my advice is if you really love your HE-6, please audition the HE1000 carefully before you jump on board, the HE1000 is definitely a step up from HE-6 in many aspects, but it is not an upgrade from HE-6 because it changes the music presentation significantly. I compared the HE-6 and HE1000 in several home rig and pull the plug with HE-6. Recently I have acquired the Kennerton Odin, I can loosly describe this as a HE-6 upgrade so if you like the HE-6 and have sent up your system around that, maybe the Kennerton Odin is an alternative choice for your, only problem is the Kennerton Odin is rated at 104db, it is the most sensitivity full size planar I came across, so probably work well with your V281 but not a Bryston 2B.

 

[Andykong]

If we get anyone speaking up from Vancouver or Victoria, BC, then having the last US stop in Seattle is an obvious choice and it could practically be driven over. If starting in Toronto or Montreal, then perhaps Detroit or New York is the best connection. I'm just pointing out the more common crossover points at the busy postal centres.

The easiest way to get products into Canada is to label them as either gift <$60 CAD, or list it as a product demo/sample with low commercal value (again <$60 CAD). Providing an invoice in the box somewhere declaring such value is also helpful. Unfortunately, doing so affords no insurance crossing the border. Cayin could also ship a unit directly to Canada and bluntly absorb costs their end (possibly the simplest method, but unknown how you'll deal with the border)

The long convoluted way is that the receiver must declare at face value, pay all the relevant taxes and import fees (which can be quite high), then prove that the item has been returned and apply for reimbursement for the governement which is no guarantee that he'll actually get it... and considering that the tour unit will be bouncing around, this choice may be unfeasible.

The tour unit is in Seattle right now and is likely travel across US from West to East, after discussion with bigfatpaulie , I probably planned the US Tour so that that the Tour units will return to New York and wait for the best timing to Toronto. Our traditional HiFi distributor is resided in New York so that can be a convenient stop.