[Elysian]

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Elysian,
 
I agree with you 100% on this.  The key points here are "side by side" comparison and the HE-6s scaling ability.

 
Yes, those are the top differentiators I've noted between going from a great headamp to a high quality speaker amp for the HE-6s.  I also forgot to note that the bass becomes much better textured on the speaker amp.  There is plenty of bass from the headamps, but it has that one note quality that the LCD-2s have.
 
When I switch it to the First Watt, there's a very non-subtle change to the character of the bass.  It becomes even more impactful, and there's a lot more discernible detail.  The character of the impact actually becomes fairly non-headphone-esque, and it can sound like you have a pair of speakers on your head at times.
 
Just speaking from memory, I still prefer the HE-6 over the HE-500 over a decent headamp, but a great speaker chain elevates the HE-6 to a level where, to my ears, it's comparable in overall enjoyment to my BHSE->SR007 setup.  The two setups sound very different, so don't read into my post as the two being equal, but rather as both being very enjoyable setups.  I jump between both headphones on a regular basis.

 

[Magick Man]

My HE-6s EQ like nothing else I own. Why would I buy LCD-2s or 3s when I can mimic them perfectly? Despite many Audeze devotees saying "it can't duplicate the LCD-3", the fact is, oh yes it can. Also, don't believe the hype that EQ is "teh devil", it's a tool, and much like any other tool, there are benefits when it's used properly.

Grats on the cans IEM, I thought you'd dig `em. As for the bass, well, it's flat bass. If I listen to bass accentuated headphones for a while and go back to neutral headphones it takes a little time to adjust, but that's only because I'd grown accustomed to my head vibrating.

 

[Silent One]

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FIRST impressions on sound, this is mostly via skimming a random mix of music. No serious full album listening just yet.  I was working for a while rigging up the new amp, moving my gear around, running cables, then finally got a chance to listen.  For those not following, the amp is a Marantz PM6004 over speaker taps (stock cable plugged into a Moon Black Dragon XLR->banana adapter.)  For most of the test I left out tone controls and kept on on the "source direct" bypass of any tone.  The amp does have the "warm Marantz sound."  I would call it "SS in the key of Mullard"....the tonality of Marantz reminds me a lot of my Mullard tubes.  Very bumped in the midrange, very mids centric at the cost of some treble sparkle a bit of rolloff in the low bass region.  That's always been the Marantz sound, and holds true for the headphone jack as well. The tone controls of course could compensate that.
 
 

 
Tone controls rule. 
The bass on my HE-6 is tight and punchy straight out of the HO of my SX-1250, but when I add 2.5 at 50Hz and 2 at 100Hz these headphones come to life. I used to own both the D7k and the D5k (too bloated) and once adjusted just slightly and fed with enough power the HE-6 are far superior in the bass department.
I am not sure if I am giving up any resolution with the tone controls activated (with more sensitive headphones the noise floor and backround is slightly impacted) but I can not hear a negative impact with the HE-6. 

 
I just missed an opportunity!

 
After auditioning the HE-6 for nearly a month, I failed to trial the tone controls on my vintage iron (1980 Pioneer SX-D7000). And shipped them back yesterday. How com IEMCrazy couldn't post 24 hours earlier?!

 

[Silent One]

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My HE-6 has arrived, I'm officially part of the club now!
 
 

 
Enjoyed the write-up over brunch.

 

[IEMCrazy]

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Thanks for the detailed impressions! Very nice read, and the first one about HE6 that I can relate to (since you refer frequently to the HE400s).

 
Thanks for the kudos!  I can certainly get more detailed with HE-400 differences once I live with the can a bit more as well.  This was mostly physical differences since it was only initial listening impressions.  But I know there's not many HE-6 vs HE-400 comparisons out there since most people that already had HE-6 didn't have much interest in HE-400.
 
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Congrats!

 
Thanks!  And before you ask, I still do love HD650 too!

 
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Congrats on your HE-6s   Glad you are enjoying it.  I was listening to my pair all last night, and it still surprises me with how great it is.
 
It's not that the HE-6 sounds bad with a lesser amp.  I've heard it out of a b22 and S7 and I was thinking to myself 'this is pretty good'.  Then, I plug it back into the First Watt and then it's like 'oh, the headamp was nowhere near as resolving as the First Watt'.  It's like all the micro-detail was truncated.  You don't miss it until you've heard it side-by-side.  It's still very listenable and most HFers would be very happy with it, but the HE-6s can be pushed to be more resolving than most people realize.  The HE-6s scale very well with gear.  It's probably the best non-Stat I've heard in that regard, but I haven't heard the TOTL Sonys yet.

 
I think you've got it spot on.  But I think the overreactions about Lyr & HD650 are just that.  It's a good amp power-wise, and I don't think it's under-powering the HE-6 in any way.  I just think the speaker amps most folks are using happen to be better amps overall, pretty much all originally from a different price class.  Or at least are more finely resolving under higher load.  I would expect the same kind of differences in performance for, say HD800 from Lyr to a better amp as well.  It's just that HE-6 can handle the power of speaker taps, and it's cheaper and easier to find really good speaker amps for less money than really good head-amps

 
HE-6 on Lyr is still HE-6.  It's not being electrically under-served I don't think.  It's just a less refined amp in terms of detail performance than other amps may be compared to what HE-6 can resolve.  I suspect other powerful headamps like Mjolnir or above probably do as well as speaker taps or better...but there's a lot of speaker amps that are similar quality to Mjolnir or above for less money, and HE-6 is probably the only current production headphone that can take advantage of that.  Well, maybe HE-5 as well.  But on the up-side I get to hear my various tubes on Lyr without the feeling that I'm under-powering the cans, which is a plus.  It's just that there's better.
 
I could be wrong though, and it could be related to overall power or intended load as well, and maybe speaker taps are still better than even high end headamps.  Point is, Lyr's not a bad amp for HE-6, it's just that HE-6 can take advantage of better in terms of scale, as you said.
 
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Thanks for the impressions, a nice read, and congrats with your new toy. Sounds like the PM6004 is pairing nicely with the HE-6 - Good to know!

 
Definitely.  Like I said a very Mullard kind of warm mid sound.  I don't like that sound with all genreas, but I like it enough to have two sets of Mullards.  With tone controls, bumping the bass and treble just East of center gives a more neutral, less warm sound. The "mids" tone knob on the PM8004 would have been handy, but really, bumping bass and treble up still comparatively makes the mids balanced.  The only thing the third knob gives is more control to make a complex curve.  I'm pleased all in all.  And for those that like it brighter or "less veiled" cranking the treble tone knob gives that "airy and detailed" sound that some may prefer...and the HE-6 seems to handle "airy and detailed" in the HD800 sort of implication very well.  If you like that sort of thing.  That sounded great for some flamenco.  I wouldn't want to hear violin or brass that way

 
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Tone controls rule. 
The bass on my HE-6 is tight and punchy straight out of the HO of my SX-1250, but when I add 2.5 at 50Hz and 2 at 100Hz these headphones come to life. I used to own both the D7k and the D5k (too bloated) and once adjusted just slightly and fed with enough power the HE-6 are far superior in the bass department.
I am not sure if I am giving up any resolution with the tone controls activated (with more sensitive headphones the noise floor and backround is slightly impacted) but I can not hear a negative impact with the HE-6. 

 
Yeah, I'm forming that opinion, myself.  I have D5k, I agree it can be bloated, though on the O2 amp it sounds great.  On the Marantz it picks up more bloat, but for the handful of albums that fall into genres I'd use them with it's a good sound.  Those genres want uncontrolled bass

 
HE-6 bass still reminds me of K702 but with better extension.  Which isn't a bad thing.  I always liked K702 bass, it just lacked the extension I wanted.  It's just that recently I've been listening to a lot of HD650, HE-400 and D5k which emphasize it enough that it felt a little odd going back to natural bass.  But it still is a wierd pairing for electronic type things IMO.  HE-6 is far more refined with natural instruments than electronics. 
 
I agree with you in worrying about resolution with tone control activated, but I do like the idea of playing with the tone enough to consider leaving it enabled.  The idea that HE-6 responds so well to tone adjustment without the oddness that happens on more peaky cans is really nice.
 
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Yes, those are the top differentiators I've noted between going from a great headamp to a high quality speaker amp for the HE-6s.  I also forgot to note that the bass becomes much better textured on the speaker amp.  There is plenty of bass from the headamps, but it has that one note quality that the LCD-2s have.
 
When I switch it to the First Watt, there's a very non-subtle change to the character of the bass.  It becomes even more impactful, and there's a lot more discernible detail.  The character of the impact actually becomes fairly non-headphone-esque, and it can sound like you have a pair of speakers on your head at times.
 
Just speaking from memory, I still prefer the HE-6 over the HE-500 over a decent headamp, but a great speaker chain elevates the HE-6 to a level where, to my ears, it's comparable in overall enjoyment to my BHSE->SR007 setup.  The two setups sound very different, so don't read into my post as the two being equal, but rather as both being very enjoyable setups.  I jump between both headphones on a regular basis.

 
I didn't compare textured bass from Lyr to the Marantz but I agree at least from the Marantz side, the textured bass is amazing.  There's a LOT of nuiance that can be picked up down in the low registers.  One thing I like about the Marantz is that it doesn't sound like an SS amp in the traditional sense.  It's warmer, a bit softer, so it has a lot of tube characteristics that I find desirable.  Without actual tube distortion of course.  IMO that pairs really well with HE-6, and a lot of that midbass texture really shines that way
 
The soundstage was very impressive for some tracks.  Indeed very speaker-like overall.  Speakers in a well damped listening room!  It's not a K70x soundstage, but it's impressive all the same.  Very open feeling.   And the cups are actually a little more isolating than HE-400

 

[sluker]

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However, I intend to remove this nice, comfy superior pad as soon as I can, despite that I'll probably never get to try it again due to that horrendous pad mounting system these old ones had.  yeah, it has the clear tabs.  On one hand I want to keep it as long as I can since I'll never get to have it again.  On the other hand, I don't want to get used to my HE-6 with a pad that I'll never get to hear again, I want to get used to it with the way I'll normally get to hear it!

 
 

You should not have to destroy the original velours when taking them off. I got them on and off on my old pair of HE5-LE's a number of times. Go slow and use something (a plastic butter knife works well) to pry them gently from the cup.

 

[Happy Camper]

I believe your break in will cure some of your tweaks. More power will give you a harder punch in the bass region, opens the soundstage wider and the dynamic prowess is hypnotizing.

I've gotten a vendor locally to give preproman and myself access to some of their amps to determine if it's the amount of power or the quality of it that scales these cans better. Macs, Naim, Moon, Krell and a few others with more than one or two models. I'm caught between recapping my Rotels or selling them and buying a better amp. These little monoblocks have served me well with stats and are providing grins with the HE-6. This visit will help me determine which is better.

 

[sluker]

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I believe your break in will cure some of your tweaks. More power will give you a harder punch in the bass region, opens the soundstage wider and the dynamic prowess is hypnotizing.
I've gotten a vendor locally to give preproman and myself access to some of their amps to determine if it's the amount of power or the quality of it that scales these cans better. Macs, Naim, Moon, Krell and a few others with more than one or two models. I'm caught between recapping my Rotels or selling them and buying a better amp. These little monoblocks have served me well with stats and are providing grins with the HE-6. This visit will help me determine which is better.

 

[wuwhere]

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I believe your break in will cure some of your tweaks. More power will give you a harder punch in the bass region, opens the soundstage wider and the dynamic prowess is hypnotizing.
I've gotten a vendor locally to give preproman and myself access to some of their amps to determine if it's the amount of power or the quality of it that scales these cans better. Macs, Naim, Moon, Krell and a few others with more than one or two models. I'm caught between recapping my Rotels or selling them and buying a better amp. These little monoblocks have served me well with stats and are providing grins with the HE-6. This visit will help me determine which is better.

 
Probably both power and quality. I have another tube amp coming, its input sensitivity is higher (1.5v vs. 0.8v on my current amp) so I can increase my Oppo 95 output.

 

[sphinxvc]

Officially in the market for an HE-6 now.  =]  
 
Question for you guys:
 

1. Is there some place to source the older velour pads or must I hunt down an older pair of HE-6?

 

[grokit]

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Congrats on your HE-6s   Glad you are enjoying it.  I was listening to my pair all last night, and it still surprises me with how great it is.
 
It's not that the HE-6 sounds bad with a lesser amp.  I've heard it out of a b22 and S7 and I was thinking to myself 'this is pretty good'.  Then, I plug it back into the First Watt and then it's like 'oh, the headamp was nowhere near as resolving as the First Watt'.  It's like all the micro-detail was truncated.  You don't miss it until you've heard it side-by-side.  It's still very listenable and most HFers would be very happy with it, but the HE-6s can be pushed to be more resolving than most people realize.  The HE-6s scale very well with gear.  It's probably the best non-Stat I've heard in that regard, but I haven't heard the TOTL Sonys yet.

 
I think you've got it spot on.  But I think the overreactions about Lyr & HD650 are just that.  It's a good amp power-wise, and I don't think it's under-powering the HE-6 in any way.  I just think the speaker amps most folks are using happen to be better amps overall, pretty much all originally from a different price class.  Or at least are more finely resolving under higher load.  I would expect the same kind of differences in performance for, say HD800 from Lyr to a better amp as well.  It's just that HE-6 can handle the power of speaker taps, and it's cheaper and easier to find really good speaker amps for less money than really good head-amps

 
HE-6 on Lyr is still HE-6.  It's not being electrically under-served I don't think.  It's just a less refined amp in terms of detail performance than other amps may be compared to what HE-6 can resolve.  I suspect other powerful headamps like Mjolnir or above probably do as well as speaker taps or better...but there's a lot of speaker amps that are similar quality to Mjolnir or above for less money, and HE-6 is probably the only current production headphone that can take advantage of that.  Well, maybe HE-5 as well.  But on the up-side I get to hear my various tubes on Lyr without the feeling that I'm under-powering the cans, which is a plus.  It's just that there's better.
 
I could be wrong though, and it could be related to overall power or intended load as well, and maybe speaker taps are still better than even high end headamps.  Point is, Lyr's not a bad amp for HE-6, it's just that HE-6 can take advantage of better in terms of scale, as you said.

 
I tried the HE6 with the Lyr, a WA22 with upgraded, max power tubes, and a $175 pro audio speaker amp, and it was no contest; the speaker amp won by a longshot. I do think the Lyr as well as the WA22 was underpowered for the HE6, and the difference to my ears was enormous.
 
 
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I believe your break in will cure some of your tweaks. More power will give you a harder punch in the bass region, opens the soundstage wider and the dynamic prowess is hypnotizing.

I've gotten a vendor locally to give preproman and myself access to some of their amps to determine if it's the amount of power or the quality of it that scales these cans better. Macs, Naim, Moon, Krell and a few others with more than one or two models. I'm caught between recapping my Rotels or selling them and buying a better amp. These little monoblocks have served me well with stats and are providing grins with the HE-6. This visit will help me determine which is better.

 
This. On the second bolded part, I think is a little bit of both but mostly power as long as it's clean. Now that I'm using the WA22 as a preamp I have noticed very subtle improvement, but nowhere near the improvement that I refer to above.
 
 
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Officially in the market for an HE-6 now.  =]  
 
Question for you guys:
 

1. Is there some place to source the older velour pads or must I hunt down an older pair of HE-6?

 
The reason the pads got upgraded was because the attachment tabs were fragile and prone to breakage, and inconsistency with the padding. So it will be very difficult to source a well-matched, intact pair.

 

[IEMCrazy]

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My HE-6s EQ like nothing else I own. Why would I buy LCD-2s or 3s when I can mimic them perfectly? Despite many Audeze devotees saying "it can't duplicate the LCD-3", the fact is, oh yes it can.

Also, don't believe the hype that EQ is "teh devil", it's a tool, and much like any other tool, there are benefits when it's used properly.
Grats on the cans IEM, I thought you'd dig `em. As for the bass, well, it's flat bass. If I listen to bass accentuated headphones for a while and go back to neutral headphones it takes a little time to adjust, but that's only because I'd grown accustomed to my head vibrating.

 
Yeah, I'm highly impressed with the EQ-ability of HE-6.  I haven't seen a lot of headphones that are so adept at being EQ'd without getting really strange in the process.  I've never seen one that cranking the tone controls really naturally affects the FR as though it's the native tonality other than the K702 which does so very well with that.   If I crank the treble ALL the way to max (like I said, I like to call it "activating full HD800 mode!" It picks up that ultra-over-detailed wide-staged airy sound that the high end dynamics tend to showcase, yet manages not to become too thin.  It sounds starkly "veiled" in ways that badly amping an HD650 could only dream of if after doing so and getting all that "air" and "detal" (heh) I put it back to normal....even if it sounded fine prior, etc. There are some recordings where that's actually desirable.  On most it's just ear piercing but on some it works very well.   There are a few recordings that bumping the treble a bit gave the "high end headphone" brightness that one would expect them to sound like (and they handled it with all the detail one would expect), and there were several recordings I toned back the treble a bit to relax the high end and made it easy to listen to with a very warm sound.  HD650-like or, as you say, LCD-like perhaps.  And cranking both tone controls to a deep V makes them very great for low volume listening, though I can't imagine actually pulling out the HE-6 for low volume...it's the statement piece for sitting down for a miniature live show, I'll leave the relaxed listening to HD650 and HE-400.  Maybe it's the warm Marantz sound, but I have no idea how Tyll managed to measure them as so treble peaky...maybe it was the older revisions.  It doesn't sound treble peaky at all to me.  And I'm highly treble fatigue prone. K702 drives me nuts after 20 minutes, and that's not the most treble happy thing around.
 
I would think the LCD-3 would be a hard one to replicate though without some advanced parametric curves.  And of course the Audeze leather pads  
 
What are you using for your EQ?  I'm not running from PC so the tone controls are my "EQ" for now.  I'd have to get an actual console EQ unit for any more complex GEQ or PEQ type configurations, not that I feel an immediate need for it.  It's just that HE-6 makes EQ fun!

 
And thanks for the congrats!  For everyone else, Magick and also Paradoxper are the two voices in my head that whispered for me to decide on HE-6.  I'm certainly glad I let them talk me into it instead of LCD-2, LCD-3, or T1!  I'd been on the fence about HE-6 for a while periodically considering it, then leaving it for various reasons.  Paradoxper re-tweaked my interested in it, and Magick sealed the deal and pointed me to the amp

 
 
Also, you're right about getting used to natural bass after bass extended cans.  When I went from HD650 to K702 to HE-400 I experienced similar chains.  HE-400 does have a bit of a bumped bass, but not extraordinarily so.  I think there were some pad and burn-in issues going on too (more below.)
 
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I just missed an opportunity!

 
After auditioning the HE-6 for nearly a month, I failed to trial the tone controls on my vintage iron (1980 Pioneer SX-D7000). And shipped them back yesterday. How com IEMCrazy couldn't post 24 hours earlier?!

 
LOL, sorry about that!

  If you'd spent more time on the non-summit forums you'd know it would be impossible for me not to write a 300 page analysis sooner rather than later!

 
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You should not have to destroy the original velours when taking them off. I got them on and off on my old pair of HE5-LE's a number of times. Go slow and use something (a plastic butter knife works well) to pry them gently from the cup.

 
You're right, I've heard so many horror stories from the HE-500 crowd about how horrible the old pads were to take off without breaking that I assumed the worst.  I got both off quickly and easily without using tools entirely in tact.  However, I'm not certain I ever desire to reattach them with those tabs!

 
I will say, definitively, mounting mechanism aside, I think the new velour pads are a downgrade in almost every way from the old ones.  They're not as thick, not as squishy, and the velour material is the stiffer, more itchy type instead of the soft fuzzy velour of the old ones.  I'm not sure what they were thinking, however I do suspect some of it was an SQ decision.  I have a feeling the fuzzier ones were damping more than was desired and it was impacting the bass  which may be part of the design change.  Fang's MO seems to to be SQ first, tack everything else on later!  If replacing the pads with a bed of nails improved the detail retrieveal and bass response I'm certain he'd discontinue cushions entirely

 
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I believe your break in will cure some of your tweaks. More power will give you a harder punch in the bass region, opens the soundstage wider and the dynamic prowess is hypnotizing.
I've gotten a vendor locally to give preproman and myself access to some of their amps to determine if it's the amount of power or the quality of it that scales these cans better. Macs, Naim, Moon, Krell and a few others with more than one or two models. I'm caught between recapping my Rotels or selling them and buying a better amp. These little monoblocks have served me well with stats and are providing grins with the HE-6. This visit will help me determine which is better.

 
As an owner of two HE-400's I'm very familiar with HFM burn-in....and yes, you are right, the bass, already, has started solidifying and impact has been increased as well.  And the overall frequency response has, to my ears, filled out a bit.  Same as with HE-400, I think the midrange is the stiff part on the drivers, they tend to be more congested out of the box, but a few hours of motion seems to really clarify it.  It's been the same for me on all 3 HFM cans I have.  In this case the bass also really came into its own (or maybe, more appropriately, the almost non-existant midbass finally formed with some burn-in.)
 
Also I tossed some Audeze vegans on.  Of course it ruins the all sleek black look of HE- 6

   Those pads I believe do have an effect on increasing the bass response by giving some more room in the pad, but also I think it's HRTF related, I think my ears smash too close in on the HFM pads (especially the new velours) but I think my treble sensitivity forces me to keep the volume down to a level with flat pads where I can't drive all the power that's needed for good bass, where the thicker angled pads keep my ears away from the driver a bit, keep the treble at bay, and let me put it a little higher for the bass response without fatigue.  The prettiest pad around would be Audeze leathers, but I'm sticking with velours for tone naturality, as much as I'd love to look at them on the stand with the leather

  I did leave the "quarter damping" pad in there, which I'm not actually certain is damping related and may really be just some sponge to prevent earlobe pain when it touches the driver cage.  IT would certainly help HE-400, and I found with the stock pads these were very comfortable due to that pad.  Soundstage is also more center-focused with the angle, but that is still very HRTF related...  So far I haven't noticed any midrange grain or distortion that some have found...but we'll see.  I could more easily use the new velours on the HE-6 due to the "quarter damping" for comfort than I can on HE-400.  It's hard to compare them to stock, sound-wise, since they're very different.  More distance between ear and driver, the angle changes the soundstage and separation.  There's a lot of subtle differences going on there. 
 
One thing that surprised me is I can feel the weight of the cans more easily with the thicker, spongier Audeze pads.  Does anyone actually USE the adjustable struts on HFM cans?  On all of my HFM pairs, keeping the adjusters all the way at the bottom is JUST small enough for my head, any bigger would be huge and I'd have the headband down to my forehead.  And I have a relatively slightly large head!

 
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Officially in the market for an HE-6 now.  =]  
 
Question for you guys:
 

1. Is there some place to source the older velour pads or must I hunt down an older pair of HE-6?

 
LOL, I've started a monster! 

 
AFAIK there's no way to easily or reliably get the old pads.  Thye've been discontinued for months now, and most of the ones out there in service probably have broken tabs.  Since everyone hated those pad mounts, not many are really in demand.  Even though I think they're the better pad, mount aside (and bass aside, perhaps.) If you're getting HE-6 new, Drew probably has more with the older pad.  Though mine only came with the one velour and one pleather, not two velour and one pleather like they seem to say it comes with.  I have plenty of HFM pads around, most being disassembled to try with other pads, so I didn't mind.
 
I can't overstate how horrendous those  old pad mounts are

  The new ones are no picnic (though I still like them more than HD650's "friction-fit snap-in-frame" pads.)  But those old ones are made out of the same material those clear plastic "eggs" are in the quarter machines (are they $.50 machines now?) in the exit area of supermarkets, with edges that look like they were cut by having wild gerbils chew on the ends

  Great pad, horriffic mounting. The new mounts are far nicer, but the velour went cheap and there's less padding.  Though I don't doubt they were designed for sound, not comfort. I'd gladly give up a little microdetail in exchange for a headphone I can keep on my head for a whole album! Another fun trick is take the foam rubber "spacer" out from the pleather pads, and slip it into the new velour pads.  It makes the pads AKG-hard or harder, but it makes them nicely thicker!  People were complaining about how hard it made them over in the HE-400 thread though. I still like my idea

 
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I tried the HE6 with the Lyr, a WA22 with upgraded, max power tubes, and a $175 pro audio speaker amp, and it was no contest; the speaker amp won by a longshot. I do think the Lyr as well as the WA22 was underpowered for the HE6, and the difference to my ears was enormous.
 
 
 
This. On the second bolded part, I think is a little bit of both but mostly power as long as it's clean. Now that I'm using the WA22 as a preamp I have noticed very subtle improvement, but nowhere near the improvement that I refer to above.
 
 
 
The reason the pads got upgraded was because the attachment tabs were fragile and prone to breakage, and inconsistency with the padding. So it will be very difficult to source a well-matched, intact pair.

 
Interesting results.  What tubes in the Lyr?  I wonder if the HE-6 just reveals the flaws of those stock GE TV tubes more easily?  No contest the Marantz has more detail than the Lyr with them, but I didn't attribute that to a power shortage.  Both seemed to drive the can with authority, but the speaker amp had more finesse. Thyough it could certainly be power related as well. 
 
Any more power on this amp and the volume control wouldn't have the ability to control volume smoothly

  I do wonder if some difference in experience could relate to how strong or weak the input signal is.  The Squeezebox Touch locked at 100% (which SHOULD be bit perfect but seems to output much louder output than any other digital source which makes me wonder if it's still doing digital gain even though it shouldn't.  Maybe it's related to it working entirely in 24-bit space.), into Bifrost (~2VRMS) seems to require any amp to not only not strain, but barely get off the volume floor.  Lyr, O2, the Marantz, with any can running out of that setup barely gets off the ground on the volume knob maxing out at 9:00 or less.  I swear the squeezebox output levels are turning the DAC into a preamp

  But maybe the Lyr performs exceptionally well when it's practically being fed preamp level signals

 
The pads...yeah, the ring upgrade was definitely worth it, but I wish they'd stuck to the original materials and thickness!

 

[sridhar3]

God, now we have to put up with IEMCrazy's longwindeus supremus posts in the HE-6 thread too?
 

 

[sphinxvc]

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God, now we have to put up with IEMCrazy's longwindeus supremus posts in the HE-6 thread too?
 

 
^ Lol.  

---

Looks like I might have a local trade worked out for a 5 hour old HE-6  for my LCD-2s.

 

[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

God, now we have to put up with IEMCrazy's longwindeus supremus posts in the HE-6 thread too?
 

I'm afraid so!
 
Poor SilentOne didn't know to expect it...

 
But if you want some REAL fun check out my "Which Summit" thread....if you thought I was longwindeus, imagine what a barrage of banter between me and obobskovich is like!

  H-F may require additional storage space soon!