[TheWuss]

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So far it seems to be a tie between the Leben and the WA5 for best HE-6 amp. Has anyone had a chance to compare them directly?

I would definitely add the Luxman SQ-N100 to that list.  The N100/HE-6 combination off the Luxman's speaker taps is phenominal.   This combination blows away anything else that I've ever heard.   The HE-6 is extremely well balanced across the entire frequency spectrum.  Its transparency and speed are incredible and in its own league compared to the T1, and HD800.  The soundstage is wide and deep and imaging is spot on.  The HE-6's level of clarity in the midrange is a real eye opener.  It achieve's this level of clarity without leaning out the midrange or emphasizing the highs.  The bass is deep, tight and powerful but again not overemphasized.  For reference, I also currently own the LCD2, LA7000, T1 and HD800.  My latest purchase is the LCD2 with the Silver Dragon cable and I like it a lot but it's too new to for me to make a judgement.  I've made some quick comparisons between the HE-6 and LCD2 and my preference is the HE-6.  However, my experience tells me that quick "A to B" judgements are not always the best.   I once purchased the Edition 9's based on a brief listening session and that turned out to be one of my worst headphone puchasing decisions ever.  

l

great post and great comments, Steve.
i am loving my HE-6.
when i did a quick "shoot out" with my other phones - including T1 and LCD-2 - it came out on top.
 
however, i've always been more a believer in those lengthier impressions formed by living with a headphone. 
becaues when i A/B or when i listen to the LCD-2 and HE-6 within a close timeframe, it messes with my brain.  the one headphone colors my perception of the other.
but, this is fairly common.  and why i usually avoid A/B'ing.
 
when i listen to only one for a day, they both tend to sound state-of-the-art.

 

[SteveM324]

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So far it seems to be a tie between the Leben and the WA5 for best HE-6 amp. Has anyone had a chance to compare them directly?

I would definitely add the Luxman SQ-N100 to that list.  The N100/HE-6 combination off the Luxman's speaker taps is phenominal.   This combination blows away anything else that I've ever heard.   The HE-6 is extremely well balanced across the entire frequency spectrum.  Its transparency and speed are incredible and in its own league compared to the T1, and HD800.  The soundstage is wide and deep and imaging is spot on.  The HE-6's level of clarity in the midrange is a real eye opener.  It achieve's this level of clarity without leaning out the midrange or emphasizing the highs.  The bass is deep, tight and powerful but again not overemphasized.  For reference, I also currently own the LCD2, LA7000, T1 and HD800.  My latest purchase is the LCD2 with the Silver Dragon cable and I like it a lot but it's too new to for me to make a judgement.  I've made some quick comparisons between the HE-6 and LCD2 and my preference is the HE-6.  However, my experience tells me that quick "A to B" judgements are not always the best.   I once purchased the Edition 9's based on a brief listening session and that turned out to be one of my worst headphone puchasing decisions ever.  

l

great post and great comments, Steve.
i am loving my HE-6.
when i did a quick "shoot out" with my other phones - including T1 and LCD-2 - it came out on top.
 
however, i've always been more a believer in those lengthier impressions formed by living with a headphone. 
becaues when i A/B or when i listen to the LCD-2 and HE-6 within a close timeframe, it messes with my brain.  the one headphone colors my perception of the other.
but, this is fairly common.  and why i usually avoid A/B'ing.
 
when i listen to only one for a day, they both tend to sound state-of-the-art.

I totally agree with everything you said.
 

 

[Angaria]

A combination of a headphone amp and an F4 might be an excellent combination for low noise-floor and sufficient drive for the he6... no need for than with my he5, but someone might want to give it a try.

 

[csholtmeier]

I'm noticing an issue with my HE-6. I'm running them balanced with an Alesis RA-150. It seems like it takes an extra step of volume on the left channel to balance the stereo image. This is my first fully-balanced rig. I don't know if this is normal, or an issue I should be worried about.

 

[grokit]

Another RA150 user! I would say that it could be in your head, or it could be in your amp or source just as easily as your headphones, but if you're able to get a balanced sound then I wouldn't worry about it unless it gets progressively worse. If you can substitute your source and headphones out this will help in isolating the issue. What do you think of the combo otherwise?

 

[immtbiker]

Last night I was re-arranging my bedroom and living room shelves to run The Harbeths off of the 545 100 w.p.c Adcom 545i amp which I was taking turns between the speakers and the HE-6 using banana connectors and I profoundly found out that the HE-6's sound better though the 13 w.p.c Dared mono 300B tube amps than the 100 w.p.c S/S Adcom.
 
The warmth and tonality of the tube amp could not be beat even though I was adding 85 more watts. So, it goes to show that it's not necessarily power as long as you meet the minimum power requirements.
 
The Sophia 300B's seem to have better synergy with the HE-6 using 12au7's as input tubes.

 

[csholtmeier]

Another RA150 user! I would say that it could be in your head, or it could be in your amp or source just as easily as your headphones, but if you're able to get a balanced sound then I wouldn't worry about it unless it gets progressively worse. If you can substitute your source and headphones out this will help in isolating the issue. What do you think of the combo otherwise?

 


I'm using a DAC19 as the source. I was previously using a C2 as the HP amp, in comparison the RA150 sounds better in every measurable way. The mids are more fleshed out, bass quantity and quality improved significantly.

I tried using the C2 as a preamp, but it imparted a grainy quality to the sound, and removed the extremely black background these headphones are capable of.

The issue with the volume imbalance was not present at first. I can easily tell which channel is quieter, even when putting the cans on without looking at the L/R markings.

 

[grokit]

 
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Last night I was re-arranging my bedroom and living room shelves to run The Harbeths off of the 545 100 w.p.c Adcom 545i amp which I was taking turns between the speakers and the HE-6 using banana connectors and I profoundly found out that the HE-6's sound better though the 13 w.p.c Dared mono 300B tube amps than the 100 w.p.c S/S Adcom.
 
The warmth and tonality of the tube amp could not be beat even though I was adding 85 more watts. So, it goes to show that it's not necessarily power as long as you meet the minimum power requirements.
 
The Sophia 300B's seem to have better synergy with the HE-6 using 12au7's as input tubes.

 
Your Dared setup must have hit the impedance sweet spot for the HE-6, as well as meeting the power/current requirements. When you have an impedance match with a good tube amp they cannot be beat, but solid state amps typically are not as fickle as tube amps in regards to impedance matching. That could help explain why you had such good results with the tube amp and didn't see any improvement when more power was applied. A comparison between your Dareds and the taps of a more powerful, impedance-matched high end tube amp (DV-845?) would be interesting anyways IMO.
 
 
 
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I'm using a DAC19 as the source. I was previously using a C2 as the HP amp, in comparison the RA150 sounds better in every measurable way. The mids are more fleshed out, bass quantity and quality improved significantly. I tried using the C2 as a preamp, but it imparted a grainy quality to the sound, and removed the extremely black background these headphones are capable of. The issue with the volume imbalance was not present at first. I can easily tell which channel is quieter, even when putting the cans on without looking at the L/R markings.

 
But power is still a key element obviously 

 

[jamato8]

Realizing the cups on these phones are plastic, which I am not crazy about, how do they feel in hand? Do they feel quality and appearance in person. I haven't seen many images up close. I wouldn't mind getting a pair but I do know from a friend in China that the phones are doubled in price from what they could sell for in China. 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

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Realizing the cups on these phones are plastic, which I am not crazy about, how do they feel in hand? Do they feel quality and appearance in person. I haven't seen many images up close. I wouldn't mind getting a pair but I do know from a friend in China that the phones are doubled in price from what they could sell for in China. 

I'll answer a question with a questions - the Edition 9 cups are made of plastic, how did they feel in quality and appearance?
 
I think the HE-6 cups feel and look just fine.  I actually like them better than the leather covered prototype, although less than the wood on my original HE-5.

 

[grokit]

 
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Realizing the cups on these phones are plastic, which I am not crazy about, how do they feel in hand? Do they feel quality and appearance in person. I haven't seen many images up close. I wouldn't mind getting a pair but I do know from a friend in China that the phones are doubled in price from what they could sell for in China. 

I'll answer a question with a questions - the Edition 9 cups are made of plastic, how did they feel in quality and appearance?
 
I think the HE-6 cups feel and look just fine.  I actually like them better than the leather covered prototype, although less than the wood on my original HE-5.

 

X2. I just sold off my HE-5 but I could see re-acquiring a blown but cosmetically perfect HE-5 in a few years (after the HE-6 warranty expires) and doing some transplant surgery.

 

[jamato8]

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Realizing the cups on these phones are plastic, which I am not crazy about, how do they feel in hand? Do they feel quality and appearance in person. I haven't seen many images up close. I wouldn't mind getting a pair but I do know from a friend in China that the phones are doubled in price from what they could sell for in China. 

I'll answer a question with a questions - the Edition 9 cups are made of plastic, how did they feel in quality and appearance?
 
I think the HE-6 cups feel and look just fine.  I actually like them better than the leather covered prototype, although less than the wood on my original HE-5.

The Ed. 9 are ok but they are plastic and for the 1100 I paid, an insult, regardless that there are some other expensive phones with plastic cups. Having said that, the headband of the Ed. 9 is even more of an insult. The same one as used on the 780. 
 
I see some nice looking phones in the sub 1000 dollar range that have wood cups. 
 
If they look and feel fine, that is what I wanted to know. Gracias 
 

 

[Mad Dude]

*deep sigh*
 
After two weeks, my love for the HE-6 has faded... It's hard to admit, but I have been enjoying my music more with the HD600 than with the HE-6.
I have been thinking about getting a better amp for them and a better DAC. But honestly I think I'd better change my system completely to something different...
 
Technically, the HE-6 is close to perfection, that's for sure, but IMO it is simply too revealing. There are very few recordings which sound flawless. Even in some excellent classical recordings I can easily pick out flaws with the HE-6 - people in the audience sniffing, moving on their chairs, and so on. Other recordings sound dull or flat, mostly due to the large soundstage.
Another thing I noticed is the very hard left/right separation with the HE-6. This makes it very easy to detect even the slightest channel imbalance, and some recordings (especially those from the early days of stereo) completely unlistenable. The HD600 and even the quite revealing K701 suffer a lot less from this problem.
 
Sure, there are recordings which sound absolutely amazing with the HE-6, but these are few, and so I've spent most of the past two weeks analyzing the music rather than enjoying it. Also, wearing comfort is simply nonexistent... Too heavy and too much clamping force.
 
Of course this is just my opinion and others may disagree. But after all it's about enjoying the music, and so I'm going to "downgrade" my system. Perhaps the T1? Anyway, the HE-6 has to go.

 

[Skylab]

I agree the HE-6 look and feel like excellent headphones, but I preferred the leather-clad look of the prototype, myself.  I do agree also that the original HE-5 woodies looked great, but of course the wood had some well documented issues. 

 

[csholtmeier]

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Technically, the HE-6 is close to perfection, that's for sure, but IMO it is simply too revealing. There are very few recordings which sound flawless.

I agree, to some extent, with this. The flipside to this argument is that less revealing/more colored headphones will also not work with all recordings. The level of detail retrieval and coloration will work with some recordings, but sound terrible with others.