[rawrster]

I think my mind has been blown lately by these. I think I'm starting to like the HE6 more for musical enjoyment than the HD800 which really is something. They just sound so smooth and amazing.

 

[mikek200]

"I've learned not to trust those people anymore."
 
Yes,I totally agree .
There are some people on head-fi,who give opinions/impressions,on phones they've never owner,or even used.

 

[Elysian]

I saw one person who owns both the Trends and the Emotiva mini-X put their mini-X up for sale.  In addition, based on past posts on the mini-X and my knowledge of Emotiva gear, the Trends is probably better for the HE6.
 
Not sure why the second-guessing something that works well, and has been shown off at multiple meets to positive commentary.

 

[preproman]

Elysian,
 
That's not what i'm getting at, at all.
 
I'm just saying the Trends amp is not the only amp that would be consider adequate.  Knowing good and well what we're looking for is optimal.  
 
There's many amps that fall in the adequate category - not just the Trends..

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

Elysian,
 
That's not what i'm getting at, at all.
 
I'm just saying the Trends amp is not the only amp that would be consider adequate.  Knowing good and well what we're looking for is optimal.  
 
There's many amps that fall in the adequate category - not just the Trends..

LOL
 
Elysian, have you heard the HE-6 and Lyr?

 

[Elysian]

Quote:

Elysian, have you heard the HE-6 and Lyr?

 
Nope.  My friend who owns the Trends also owns two Lyrs and he was not complimentary about the HE6+Lyr pairing.  He said it wasn't worth it for me to listen to, so I didn't bother with the comparison.  The First Watt is the best we've heard it with, followed by the Trends and vintage receivers.  The First Watt, with a good preamp, is noticeably better than the Trends and receivers.

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

 
Nope.  My friend who owns the Trends also owns two Lyrs and he was not complimentary about the HE6+Lyr pairing.  He said it wasn't worth it for me to listen to, so I didn't bother with the comparison.  The First Watt is the best we've heard it with, followed by the Trends and vintage receivers.

Ah gotcha. How about a headamp and HE-6 that you enjoyed?

 

[Elysian]

I've only heard the HE6 out of a handful of headphone amps.  The better ones are the beta22, WA5-LE, and Super 7.  It was nice and definitely listenable, but not nearly as resolving as the First Watt.  There was noticeable clipping during bass heavy passages with the WA5-LE.  The Super 7 handled it the best, but if I had a S7, I'd recommend the HD800 over the HE6.
 
The thing about the HE6 is that it's the most speaker-like headphone I've ever heard.  It sounds ok out of a lot of headamps, but you don't know what you're missing until you've heard it through a well designed speaker amp, and then the differences are pretty conspicuous.  For example, the HE6 is capable of LCD-2.2 and LCD-3 caliber impact, and has superior bass (the LCD bass sounds one note to me, after having spent a lot of time with the 007 and 009), as the HE6 bass actually has great detail and definition.  I've tried the HE6 out of inadequate headamps and computer sound cards, and that bass and impact is sucked right out, as well the really fine micro-level detail.  An underamped HE6 ends up sounding like a HE500 gone terribly wrong.
 
If someone here is getting one of Justin's revised GS-X amps, that would be an interesting comparison against something like an Aleph 3, Threshold T50, or First Watt J2/M2/F5.  I'm sure there are other quality low noise designs aside from Nelson Pass amps that drive the HE6 well, but I didn't think it's worth the effort given that Pass designs are built like tanks and hold resale value well.  A KG Dynamite would also be a good test.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

I've only heard the HE6 out of a handful of headphone amps.  The better ones are the beta22, WA5-LE, and Super 7.  It was nice and definitely listenable, but not nearly as resolving as the First Watt.  There was noticeable clipping during bass heavy passages with the WA5-LE.  The Super 7 handled it the best, but if I had a S7, I'd recommend the HD800 over the HE6.
 
The thing about the HE6 is that it's the most speaker-like headphone I've ever heard.  It sounds ok out of a lot of headamps, but you don't know what you're missing until you've heard it through a well designed speaker amp, and then the differences are pretty conspicuous.  For example, the HE6 is capable of LCD-2.2 and LCD-3 caliber impact, and has superior bass (the LCD bass sounds one note to me, after having spent a lot of time with the 007 and 009), as the HE6 bass actually has great detail and definition.  I've tried the HE6 out of inadequate headamps and computer sound cards, and that bass and impact is sucked right out, as well the really fine micro-level detail.  An underamped HE6 ends up sounding like a HE500 gone terribly wrong.
 
If someone here is getting one of Justin's revised GS-X amps, that would be an interesting comparison against something like an Aleph 3, Threshold T50, or First Watt J2/M2/F5.  I'm sure there are other quality low noise designs aside from Nelson Pass amps that drive the HE6 well, but I didn't think it's worth the effort given that Pass designs are built like tanks and hold resale value well.  A KG Dynamite would also be a good test.

 
 
+1  good post Elysian..
 
I got the GS-X coming.  Also got a balanced Dynahi (Dynamite) in the works..   SoupRKnowva got a F1 recently,  can't wait to get a good listen to that.   I just missed the bid on a Ta300 on ebay.  It's a T400 on Audiogon up for sale as well for 2K.  Also thinking about a Pure Class A B24.  And the Master 3 still looks promising.  So many choices.  

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

Originally Posted by Elysian /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I've only heard the HE6 out of a handful of headphone amps.  The better ones are the beta22, WA5-LE, and Super 7.  It was nice and definitely listenable, but not nearly as resolving as the First Watt.  There was noticeable clipping during bass heavy passages with the WA5-LE.  The Super 7 handled it the best, but if I had a S7, I'd recommend the HD800 over the HE6.
 
The thing about the HE6 is that it's the most speaker-like headphone I've ever heard.  It sounds ok out of a lot of headamps, but you don't know what you're missing until you've heard it through a well designed speaker amp, and then the differences are pretty conspicuous.  For example, the HE6 is capable of LCD-2.2 and LCD-3 caliber impact, and has superior bass (the LCD bass sounds one note to me, after having spent a lot of time with the 007 and 009), as the HE6 bass actually has great detail and definition.  I've tried the HE6 out of inadequate headamps and computer sound cards, and that bass and impact is sucked right out, as well the really fine micro-level detail.  An underamped HE6 ends up sounding like a HE500 gone terribly wrong.
 
If someone here is getting one of Justin's revised GS-X amps, that would be an interesting comparison against something like an Aleph 3, Threshold T50, or First Watt J2/M2/F5.  I'm sure there are other quality low noise designs aside from Nelson Pass amps that drive the HE6 well, but I didn't think it's worth the effort given that Pass designs are built like tanks and hold resale value well.  A KG Dynamite would also be a good test.
 
 
 
 

 

 
Well, there aren't many better than the First Watt. Not even the clones get up to snuff. I have some major interest in the S7 though.
Mostly for HD800, but possibly even for the HE-6.
 
GS-X is also very interesting, however I am skeptical that it would offer more than the Mjolnir.
 
I've heard the HE-6 off a J2 and since off many others including a few monoblocks, for some reason none
have really taken me like my experience with the J2. But that damn price is steep. I haven't tried the Threshold amp though,
so I'm sure there are many, many other good options yet experienced. Thanks for your input.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

 
 
+1  good post Elysian..
 
I got the GS-X coming.  Also got a balanced Dynahi (Dynamite) in the works..   SoupRKnowva got a F1 recently,  can't wait to get a good listen to that.   I just missed the bid on a Ta300 on ebay.  It's a T400 on Audiogon up for sale as well for 2K.  Also thinking about a Pure Class A B24.  And the Master 3 still looks promising.  So many choices.  

 
haha and word to the wise on that front, never accidentally stub your toe on the heatsinks of the F1...they are wicked and will slice you up in multiple spots on the top and bottom of your foot ( this just happened to me while i was moving it around)
 
And ill be able to get back with impressions hopefully tomorrow evening after i can get Happy Camper's set of HE-6s from him tomorrow to test out for a while

 

[Elysian]

Yeah, the S7 is a good choice if your preferred headphones are Sennheisers, but it wouldn't be on my list for an HE6.  Try the S7 with a HD600 and HD800.  It's a good late-night listening pairing based on the tubes I've heard, especially with vocals.
 
The first impressions others have written about the Mjolnir seem pretty positive, so it would be interesting to see how close it is to the GS-X at a fraction of the price.  I'm not too familiar with Schiit gear, but it seems like people like their products a lot.  I'm hoping to listen to a Bifrost.
 
If you liked the J2 with the HE6, it gets even better with a quality preamp.  Mellows out a bit of the hardness without taking away the detail.  I don't recommend DAC volume control.  I'm hoping to give a 4-pin terminated HD800 another shot with my current J2 chain someday, as well as a LCD3.
 
Luckily the J2 doesn't have that many sharp edges, so I haven't injured myself on it   Reno Hifi has good deals on used and demo J2 units, and they do a full quality inspection and offer a renewed warranty.  It's a great amp to have around when graduating to speakers.  I have a feeling the J2 will outlive all my other gear.

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

Yeah, the S7 is a good choice if your preferred headphones are Sennheisers, but it wouldn't be on my list for an HE6.  Try the S7 with a HD600 and HD800.  It's a good late-night listening pairing based on the tubes I've heard, especially with vocals.
 
The first impressions others have written about the Mjolnir seem pretty positive, so it would be interesting to see how close it is to the GS-X at a fraction of the price.  I'm not too familiar with Schiit gear, but it seems like people like their products a lot.  I'm hoping to listen to a Bifrost.
 
If you liked the J2 with the HE6, it gets even better with a quality preamp.  Mellows out a bit of the hardness without taking away the detail.  I don't recommend DAC volume control.  I'm hoping to give a 4-pin terminated HD800 another shot with my current J2 chain someday, as well as a LCD3.
 
Luckily the J2 doesn't have that many sharp edges, so I haven't injured myself on it   Reno Hifi has good deals on used and demo J2 units, and they do a full quality inspection and offer a renewed warranty.  It's a great amp to have around when graduating to speakers.  I have a feeling the J2 will outlive all my other gear.

They're not. But I have the LCD-3 on Mjolnir and the S7 would be used for HD800. I haven't been able to commit myself to the J2 and
so I figured I'd take the opportunity to try out other options perhaps more viable for me. And each time I've been let down,
some stuff like the Emotiva monoblocks and the Trends they just didn't do it for me. Not to take anything away from these amps,
they were nice and sounded good. But I've been chasing the dragon.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

But I've been chasing the dragon.

 
 
 
Me too.

 

[rawrster]

who isnt?