[Dr. Roberts]

Quote:

For those of you using speaker amps with multiple sources, which preamp do you use?  Are there any preferred ones with the HE-6?

 
I pair the Aesthetix Calypso linestage rolled with (2) NOS Mullard CV4004 and (2) NOS Philips Holland SQ E188CC/7308 with a BAT VK-55SE (stock,so far) and have listened, enraptured, to the HE-6 for hours. Spinning the discs with the oh so musical presentation of the Marantz SA-7S1 SACD player completes the chain. This is my preferred rig and I listen to it much more often than the LCD-3 through the Bakoon AMP-11R and the ATW3000ANV plugged into the EAR HP4, both of which are able to make the magic on their own accord.
 
I think I have finally reached the stage where the HE-6 is fully broken in and they are addicting. My favorite can!

 

[Happy Camper]

Hi Doc!

They are fun aren't they.

 

[Dr. Roberts]

Quote:

Hi Doc!

They are fun aren't they.

 
 
I'm havin' a blast with them HC. Been listening to the new Doors SACD's and have the entire Steppenwolf catalogue due be released in about two weeks on SHM-CD ordered from Japan. Yeah, the yen/dollar conversion rate sucks but the Japanese manufacture amazing sounding CD's.

 

[givemevinyl]

Cool, thanks.  I was beginning to lean towards a Simaudio integrated to make it simpler, but I just received a Cavalli Liquid Glass and its 6w/50ohm is able to drive the HE-6 quite well so I may not need a separate speaker amp after all.  And I didn't know this when ordered the LG, but it turns out it has pre-outs so if I do go the speaker amp route I could get a separate amp and not settle for an integrated. 

 

[Utopia]

I'm thinking more and more that HE-6 would be the best headphone for me. I have the HE-500 and find them almost perfect, musical and grain-free, but still I would like a little bit more openness and detail in the treble. I'm currently trying out Beyerdynamic T1s, which probably take the treble too far for me. They sound a bit too lean, a bit too similar to the K701 IMHO, almost with a touch of grain compared to the HE-500, but at the same time they are very lively, detailed, and spacious-sounding. Sometimes they are perfect, sometimes harsh, depending on the source material. To sum it up, I feel that the HE-500s are more musical, and the T1s probably more technically correct, which, in the end, I may not care about (all of this is with an Audio GD SA-31 - powerful, a little warm, but maybe not warm enough for the T1). 
 
Would the HE-6 combine the strengths of the HE-500 and the T1? Body, warmth, musicality, and detailed highs?

 

[Clemmaster]

Did you change the warmth setting of the SA-31?

 

[wink]

He sat the amp on a hotplate....

 

[Utopia]

LOL 

 
The SA-31 has two different settings for extra "warmth". With the HE-500 I prefer to have none, and with the T1 I prefer 2. To make it easy to swap headphones, I've settled on 1 for now.

 

[Clemmaster]

Quote:

LOL 

 
The SA-31 has two different settings for extra "warmth". With the HE-500 I prefer to have none, and with the T1 I prefer 2. To make it easy to swap headphones, I've settled on 1 for now.

 
That might be the issue with the T1. My HE-4 also is a tad too bright with 1, perfect with 2.

 

[Utopia]

Thank you, Clemmaster. You're right, setting 2 is definitely better with the T1. I also think my T1s weren't very burned-in (open box from store), because they're very different today compared to a couple of days ago - and of course I'm getting used to them. 
 
Still curious about the HE-6, though! 

 

[wuwhere]

Quote:

 
I pair the Aesthetix Calypso linestage rolled with (2) NOS Mullard CV4004 and (2) NOS Philips Holland SQ E188CC/7308 with a BAT VK-55SE (stock,so far) and have listened, enraptured, to the HE-6 for hours. Spinning the discs with the oh so musical presentation of the Marantz SA-7S1 SACD player completes the chain. This is my preferred rig and I listen to it much more often than the LCD-3 through the Bakoon AMP-11R and the ATW3000ANV plugged into the EAR HP4, both of which are able to make the magic on their own accord.
 
I think I have finally reached the stage where the HE-6 is fully broken in and they are addicting. My favorite can!

 
I just swapped the 4 JJ 12AX7 with 4 old Mullards 12AX7 VOM (voice of music) in my tube amp and man these tubes are nice. Makes the HE-6 sound even more refined. These Mullards are great with vocals, females specially.

 

[Clemmaster]

Quote:

Thank you, Clemmaster. You're right, setting 2 is definitely better with the T1. I also think my T1s weren't very burned-in (open box from store), because they're very different today compared to a couple of days ago - and of course I'm getting used to them. 
 
Still curious about the HE-6, though! 

 
Tell me about it...

 

[Dr. Roberts]

Quote:

 
I just swapped the 4 JJ 12AX7 with 4 old Mullards 12AX7 VOM (voice of music) in my tube amp and man these tubes are nice. Makes the HE-6 sound even more refined. These Mullards are great with vocals, females specially.

 
Pretty sweet wuwhere! You have a vintage amp rated at 50W @ 8 ohms do you not? What model amp are you using?
 
From my favorite tube dealer's site....."Like a warm British jacket of the finest tweed, these glorious tubes have an attractive sweet warmth in their midrange and lower regions. The top end is silky and pleasant, without being rolled-off. The best of these tubes retain a fine sense of "air" at the top, and the upper midrange is smooth and liquid. These tubes reproduce the human voice, especially female voices, with haunting realism."

 

[rdaneel]

I'm very excited - I just received my HE-6s today and can't wait to give them a listen.  I'll be using the Lyr for now, but plan to experiment with the Soloist SL (to see if 2 wpc really is too little for these beasts), and will get the parts necessary to build some speaker taps for my 125wpc speaker amp.

 

[preproman]

2 wpc  -  Good luck,  report back with your findings..