[Elysian]

Quote:

That's not what I was saying either, otherwise I'd recommend an amp from Crown. 

Not to be super nitpicky, but you said:
 
"A good SS or tube power amp with at least 100 watts will do a better job.  I'm more than happy with the speaker output of a Wyred 4 Sound mINT powering HE-6's, but I wouldn't mind hearing them on one of Wyred's more powerful amps or a Pass amp."
 
I'd dispute that 'at least 100 watts' requirement.  So far I've only had one person who owns the HE6 and powerful vintage receivers compare my Placette->First Watt chain against his receivers (which put out many, many more watts), and he says my First Watt is better in every regard.  My J2 is only 25wpc at 8ohms, and it's already really loud at just 4 out of 127 steps on the Placette's volume attentuation, and 54 out of 60 on the Berkeley DAC.
 
It'll also be interesting hearing how the HE6 does out of the GS-X with the upgraded amp modules vs. the Dark Star.
 
Not pointing fingers at you, but at this general thread... I'm really perplexed where this '100 watts' recommendation keeps coming up.  What makes a lot more sense is a good Class A speaker amp implementation that puts out more power than a typical headamp.

 

[Skylab]

Quality of amplification definitely matters with the HE-6, no doubt. It's just that with most headphones, that's ALL that matters, since they can be happy with a handful of milliwatts. The HE-6 won't. What the exact figure required is will probably always be a matter of conjecture, but I am quite confident that they don't need more than 5 watts per channel INTO THEIR 50 OHM IMPEDANCE. As I think pretty much everyone knows, an amp that outputs 100 wpc into 8 ohms is not outputting anywhere near that into 50 ohms, unless it has some circuitry designed specifically to compensate for that much higher impedance (like a matching transformer).

 

[wuwhere]

It doesn't need a mucho macho amp. I'm using a 50wpc from 2 pairs of GE6550s tube amp and it sounds full, dimensional, no harsh at all. I listen all the time in triode mode.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

I got to hear an EF-6  today at the LA meet. I thought it was pretty capable amp for driving the HE-6. Very light, airy and transparent. Really liked the detail it could bring out. However, at that price point, there were a few other amps that did very well, IMO. 

 
 
Are you able to compare it to the Emotiva?

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Not to be super nitpicky, but you said:
 
"A good SS or tube power amp with at least 100 watts will do a better job.  I'm more than happy with the speaker output of a Wyred 4 Sound mINT powering HE-6's, but I wouldn't mind hearing them on one of Wyred's more powerful amps or a Pass amp."
 
I'd dispute that 'at least 100 watts' requirement.  So far I've only had one person who owns the HE6 and powerful vintage receivers compare my Placette->First Watt chain against his receivers (which put out many, many more watts), and he says my First Watt is better in every regard.  My J2 is only 25wpc at 8ohms, and it's already really loud at just 4 out of 127 steps on the Placette's volume attentuation, and 54 out of 60 on the Berkeley DAC.
 
It'll also be interesting hearing how the HE6 does out of the GS-X with the upgraded amp modules vs. the Dark Star.
 
Not pointing fingers at you, but at this general thread... I'm really perplexed where this '100 watts' recommendation keeps coming up.  What makes a lot more sense is a good Class A speaker amp implementation that puts out more power than a typical headamp.

 
 
All the Wyred amps are the Ice Class D technology - correct?  How do they compare to Class A amps?

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

 
 
Are you able to compare it to the Emotiva?

 
 
EF-6 is definitely a clearer and crisper amp. However, I thought the sound was a little thin. This was especially the case in the bass range. There were a lot of other amps that really outperformed the EF-6 at the meet. 

 

[wuwhere]

Quote:

 
EF-6 is definitely a clearer and crisper amp. However, I thought the sound was a little thin. This was especially the case in the bass range. There were a lot of other amps that really outperformed the EF-6 at the meet. 

 
Is that with HE-6 and other HPs?

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

 
Is that with HE-6 and other HPs?

 
I only gave it a listen with the HE-6. Guess I didn't think about other cans 

 

[sphinxvc]

I'm indebted to some of you in this thread that steered me in the direction of Class A speaker amps.  The DIY First Watt F3 was too weak for the K1K & didn't mesh particularly well with the LCD-2, but the HD800 is a different story.  The two sound awesome together.  =]  

 

[wuwhere]

Quote:

 
I only gave it a listen with the HE-6. Guess I didn't think about other cans 

 
I thought it was primarily designed for the HE-6 anyway. But others have said that it pairs well with the HE-6.
 
I still believe that a tube amp with KT88 or 6550 tubes is the ideal amp for the HE-6, IMHO.
These tubes just grabs these orthos drivers and guides them the way they should be.

 

[Happy Camper]

I thought it was primarily designed for the HE-6 anyway. But others have said that it pairs well with the HE-6.

I still believe that a tube amp with KT88 or 6550 tubes is the ideal amp for the HE-6, IMHO.
These tubes just grabs these orthos drivers and guides them the way they should be.

Would love to hear it.

 

[wuwhere]

Quote:

Would love to hear it.

 
Go your local audio store, bring a pair of 10ohm resistors, and the following xlr to speaker adapters and ask to listen to their tube amps.

 

 

[Elysian]

Quote:

All the Wyred amps are the Ice Class D technology - correct?  How do they compare to Class A amps?

 
Yes, the Wyred amps are all Class D (ICEpower from Bang & Olufsen).  I've only heard the Wyred DAC2, not the amp, but I've heard a Class T (Tripath) amp (Trends TA-10.2SE) several times with the HE-6 and it's not bad.  It's better than the $1500-3000 headamps I've heard with the HE6, and it's $239 MSRP.  The sound isn't quite as musical as the tube headamps, but it lacks distortion, has a nice full sound, and the bass comes out pretty well.  It's also a tiny amp, has a built-in volume knob, and barely gets warm to the touch.  I've had distortion issues with the HE6 through most headamps I've heard it through, and distortion really bothers me.
 
In general, the advantage of Class D over Class A is that the Class D amps consume a fraction of the power, are far smaller and lighter, emit a negligible amount of heat, and have a great watts-per-dollar ratio.  The newer Class Ds are a significant improvement over the early implementations, which had a lot of problems with edgy sound, unnatural sounding bass, and issues with instruments that are challenging to resolve (horns, cymbals, etc.).
 
The thing, though, is that if you want no compromises performance in terms of low noise, good resolution, etc., there's still no substitute for a good Class A design.
 
For casual listening, a Class D or Class T amp would be fine.  Both designs have advanced quite a bit, and honestly most listeners probably wouldn't notice much of a difference, if any.  It depends on how critical you are about listening, how good your hearing is, and how resolving you want your HE6 to be.
 
Quote:

I'm indebted to some of you in this thread that steered me in the direction of Class A speaker amps.  The DIY First Watt F3 was too weak for the K1K & didn't mesh particularly well with the LCD-2, but the HD800 is a different story.  The two sound awesome together.  =]  

I liked the HD800 out of my J2, though I think the Balancing Act does it better.  I've read that the DIY First Watts are generally inferior to the ones made by Nelson Pass himself.

 

[wuwhere]

I also have a class T amp, a Dayton Audio DTA-100. I bought it refurbished for really cheap. It can power the HE-6 and it sounds really good with it, very good bass and warmth.

 

[Loko-Pillo]

Quote:

... However, I thought the sound was a little thin. This was especially the case in the bass range. There were a lot of other amps that really outperformed the EF-6 at the meet. 

Like what?
 
Because I'm shopping for an amp (for the HE-6, mainly) and I was almost going to go with the EF-6!
 
 

I still believe that a tube amp with KT88 or 6550 tubes is the ideal amp for the HE-6, IMHO.
 

 
What tube amps could power the HE-6?
 
 
And, is the WA5 LE, better than the EF-6?
 
 
Got carried away there ... if anyone knows the answer to any of those questions it would be very helpful.