[Happy Camper]

I am sorry, but that looks absolutely dreadful and  incredibly impractical..yuck!   

And just realised they didn't even bother with strain relief at the headphone's exit point. I feel sorry for whoever that can belongs to.

Yup.

 

[Clemmaster]

Could someone give me some inputs on hardwired HE-6:
- Who actually sell such a mod?
- Can one find hardwired HE-6 for sale?

I might take the plunge on the 6s (just sold the Concero + Quad) but I'm used to Darryl's hardwired HE-5LE and don't want to ever go back to the standard Hifiman cable...

I would like to avoid multiple shipping between France and the US ( hence the "already hardwired" HE-6)

Thanks

 

[Clemmaster]

Could someone give me some inputs on hardwired HE-6:
- Who actually sell such a mod?
- Can one find hardwired HE-6 for sale?

I might take the plunge on the 6s (just sold the Concero + Quad) but I'm used to Darryl's hardwired HE-5LE and don't want to ever go back to the standard Hifiman cable...

I would like to avoid multiple shipping between France and the US ( hence the "already hardwired" HE-6)

Thanks

 

[khaine1711]

Quote:

Could someone give me some inputs on hardwired HE-6:
- Who actually sell such a mod?
- Can one find hardwired HE-6 for sale?

I might take the plunge on the 6s (just sold the Concero + Quad) but I'm used to Darryl's hardwired HE-5LE and don't want to ever go back to the standard Hifiman cable...

I would like to avoid multiple shipping between France and the US ( hence the "already hardwired" HE-6)

Thanks

You can check, I remember Robert can sell you already-hardwired He-6 (but you gotta pay full MSRP - he's a dealer). IIRC you can even contact him to arrange buying a 2nd He-6 from the US to ship to his address for hardwiring.
 
Trevor at Norse cable offers hardwiring too, although he does not do it himself - ima guess it's from Robert too.
 
EU wise I think I saw a company in France - can't remember the name, offering hardwiring with a cable that looks "suspiciously" like an OEM cable from Q/Robert (too long to remember the details). There's also Frank (toxic) in the UK, but the turn around time for normal cable is quite long already - I dared not ask about ordering a cable AND hardwiring.'
 
Once I've finished trial the last 3 dacs that caught my interest (hilo/dac2/vega), I'd probably going to hardwire with Frank anyway. Though the wait time is atrociously long, I'm not sure I want to ship back and forth to the States. His gold injected silver cable is quite reasonably priced also.
 
On head-fi I think there were only one or two hardwired He-6 made it to the classified (one was with Norn 2 cable).

 

[rawrster]

Quote:

Could someone give me some inputs on hardwired HE-6:
- Who actually sell such a mod?
- Can one find hardwired HE-6 for sale?

I might take the plunge on the 6s (just sold the Concero + Quad) but I'm used to Darryl's hardwired HE-5LE and don't want to ever go back to the standard Hifiman cable...

I would like to avoid multiple shipping between France and the US ( hence the "already hardwired" HE-6)

Thanks

 
You can get it hardwired at just about any place that offers customized cables. Most of them can also do hardwires but there are some exceptions. You can see if there's any place that does that in France since I'm not familiar with any companies there.
 
As for buying a hardwired HE6 it would pretty much be the FS forums to see if anything shows up.

 

[wuwhere]

Quote:

If you can accept a lessor gain than the AX, try an AY. I was rolling some AX7s through my tube output DAC and was suggested to try a RCA command series 5 star. The clarity was better with a bit more top end sparkle without sacrificing bass. Lots cheaper than premium AXs.

 
I had Raytheon 12AU7s in my Copland 504 before I changed them to 12AX7.
Here's the different gain factor of this family of tubes.
 
http://www.thetubestore.com/Gain-Factor

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Could someone give me some inputs on hardwired HE-6:
- Who actually sell such a mod?
- Can one find hardwired HE-6 for sale?

I might take the plunge on the 6s (just sold the Concero + Quad) but I'm used to Darryl's hardwired HE-5LE and don't want to ever go back to the standard Hifiman cable...

I would like to avoid multiple shipping between France and the US ( hence the "already hardwired" HE-6)

Thanks

 
 
Well I'm not selling mine buddy

 
But PM me we may can work something out..
 
Trevor does not get his hardwired from Robert.
 
You can get a Q cable and have Brian @ BTG hardwire it.    I can be your go between for shipping so you wont have to ship multiple times to and from France if you want..

 

[khaine1711]

So, about that amp off
 

 
Setup is
 
Lampizator -> Passive pre -> Copland (2x Mills resistor)/Kenwood (I'll explain later)
Lampizator -> Topping Tp60
 
Both SS amps don't have any resistor attached; I've even ordered extra pair of resistor and try some a/bing - no difference, so I bag the resistor and run bareback. Music consists of mostly progressive rock,baroque and some speedy metal.
 
Topping Tp60: a seriously built T-amp; TA2024 with 2x Toroidal transformer, not as sweet mids as the TA2020 counter part, but more linear at both ends of the spectrum. The amp got plenty of power (volume ~ 9 o'clock). Quite transparent, slightly lacking in refinement (human voice, guitar string resonating in the air, cello's texture) - nothing I can't live with for 160 quids. Soundstage isn't well-defined, neither is imaging - oh well ...
 
Kenwood KA 9100: I think this is one of the flagship receiver of Kenwood back in the day. It's among the first to have a stepped alps too. Some minor quibbles: it's old, it has sexy meter, high gain is a bit too much for the He-6 (occasional crackling). Also sometimes there's volume imbalance between Left and Right, cranking it up cure this - so I think the stepped alps isn't "restored" as claimed - I turn the volume up max - basically bypass the stepped, and use my own passive preamp.
 
The sound is interesting. Without the passive pre it's a bit harsh and dry - again I'm blaming the 30 years old stepped alps. With the passive it's much better. The bass is like holy crap, the impact is the best among three amp. Spacious sounding, not closed in like the Tp60 or the Emotiva I had previously. Treble is grainy - strangely pushing the High pass filter fix this, however that puts a veil over the sound.
 
The fun stuff is the loudness button, when flipped on, it practically turns the He-6 into a LCD2-like presentation, without the butter mid of course. Maybe good for late night low listening volume, but I can't cope with the squashed soundstage.
 
If I had found this before the Copland, I think I could have lived with it, as the sq for the price is hard to beat - 2 speakers terminals too!. 
 
Copland CTA 505 with ancient crappy tubes. Well what can I say? Good! Best! Epic win! The most refined sounding of the trio. The funny thing is I don't know what Copland did to this amp, but Ultralinear and Triode mode sounds 99% the same - even same volume too (triode = 35W; linear = 70W). I guess that's why there's no such knob on the 5k CTA 506. Back to the sound, let's just say it's natural and involving - very linear too, nothing roll off/muddy/rose-tinted here, although bass is a bit softer than the KA 9100. Treble is really nice, you can literally feel the plucking and the resonance of the guitar string. Also it's dead silent, even with the passive pre turned to max. However, as with all passive pre - cable longer than 1m cause microphonic/noise, and dynamic is reduced.
 
I guess the Tp60, while being my trusty companion for awhile, will have to go. I really dig the p/p and the value - it evens got 2 input to A/B dac to boot!. But having 3 amps is excessive and not missus-friendly.
 
I'm still lukewarm about the Kenwood 9100. I really dig the meter, but the minor annoyance of a 30 years old receiver gets to me sometimes. Now if I can just borrow a Hd800 to test the headphone out - I may be convinced to keep it. The Copland will be with me for a long time - as I plan to acquire some 2A3/845/300B/211 SET to try and compare 

. Still if you can find a monster receiver with no flaw (and low/adjustable gain), that could be the best cost effective solution for the He-6, much more aesthetically pleasing than anything modern also. Wonder what happened to all the perfect Pioneer Sx-1980/Sansui dual mono in the UK :<
 
Coming up next in a month would be Lynx Hilo vs Benchmark Dac2 vs Lampizator with the He-6. Now? back to work I guess.
 
The bottom line is if anyone is looking for a budget, compact amp to drive the He-6, feel free to contact me 

. I'll put the Tp60 up for sale next week when I got the time. Quite the bang for your buck if you're not willing to deal with 25kg scratchy vintage receiver.

 

[Clemmaster]

Quote:

 
 
Well I'm not selling mine buddy

 
But PM me we may can work something out..
 
Trevor does not get his hardwired from Robert.
 
You can get a Q cable and have Brian @ BTG hardwire it.    I can be your go between for shipping so you wont have to ship multiple times to and from France if you want..

 
I really appreciate the offer 

Couldn't you get the Norse Audio cables for the HE-6?
 
I might wait till I come to the US, would be much easier. I have the working permit starting October 1st and I definitely can wait a bit with the 5LEs for now
I messed up my NFB-27 setup again (new ultrabook), I need to fix it back to the way it sounds off my other laptop (I have no idea what USB drivers are on this one, I don't even have the VIA control panel... 

. Yet, it sounds wonderful, when the new ultrabook sound almost lifeless :sadface

 

[ALRAINBOW]

HELLO ALL
 
 I presently have on order a WA5 and a set of HE 6 . all from our friend. jack wu..  
 
  I own a REF 10.32   by AUDIO G D. I do not have my HE-6  as yet but the rating on the amp is 8 watts for the headphones. so has anyone reading have one or does anybody know of someone that has heard them on the AUDIO GD.
 
any info much appreciated.
ty
AL.D.

 

[gikigill]

Welcome to Hotel Hifiman HE6 ALRAINBOW.

You can checkout but never leave.

 

[szanella]

Hi all!
 
Just pulled the trigger on a HE-6 (finally!)!
 
Currently, I've been using as main rig a HE500 with the couple Audio-GD NFB 6 (amp) and NFB 17 (dac).
Now, I'm seriously thinking about ordering an Audio-GD Reference 10 to use with the new toy.
 
What do you think of this Amp+DAC?
Is it a great match for the HE-6 at the $1,850 range? Is there any better choice around this price range?
 
I'm honestly lost in the middle of many options, and was aiming at the Ref 10 because I've had a good experience with the NFBs.
 
Help me choose my new path, please! hehehe
 
Cheers from Brazil
Stefano

 

[philo50]

Quote:

Welcome to Hotel Hifiman HE6 ALRAINBOW.

You can checkout but never leave.

 

 

[Happy Camper]

Welcome Stefano.

You can get as good as or better sound with a decent (under 1k) DAC and a quality speaker amp (used). But us gear sluts like new toys so I'll not sway you .

 

[nigeljames]

Quote:

HELLO ALL
 
 I presently have on order a WA5 and a set of HE 6 . all from our friend. jack wu..  
 
  I own a REF 10.32   by AUDIO G D. I do not have my HE-6  as yet but the rating on the amp is 8 watts for the headphones. so has anyone reading have one or does anybody know of someone that has heard them on the AUDIO GD.
 
any info much appreciated.
ty
AL.D.

 
I use the Audio-gd Master-6 amp which 'only' has 7 wpc into 50 ohms.
It does a great job with the HE6's assuming your source is good enough and you replace the crappy stock cable ASAP. Replacing my cable with a Toxic Silver Poison cable literally made a massive difference. I have just bought the Silver Widow cable and hoping for even better.