[brunk]

  Finished doing the mod! It's what I was expecting! Removing the cotton and foam and using felt works!!!
 
The bass goes deeper and became tighter. The mids are more forward, but it didn't loose that signature treble!. Soundstage seems to have increased a bit more and has more airiness. Overall the tonality hasn't changed but certain aspects improved.

I'm a bit confused on exactly what you did. Would you mind posting some pics?

 

[Silent One]

Excited, he must be under the cans. 

 I did ask for a single-post summary.

 

[ohhgourami]

I don't really want to type all this up...but for the sake of science...

 
+
 

 
Line the magnets of the driver with adhesive felt (Creatology sticky felt from Michael's) then pop open the grill in the back, and take out the cotton and foam pad.
 
The felt is supposed to absorb reflections that come off the ear to minimize destructive and constructive interference. Without removing the cotton and foam in the back, I got slightly forwarded mids, but a dip in the treble. Also felt soundstage got smaller. So one tiny improvement, but two big negatives. I had given up on this point. This ruined female vocals - 阿娇's sweet voice sounded dull. Then Armaegis pointed out removing the rear grill added a ton of airiness and gave better upper mids.  hmmmm
 
So I tore off all the felt lined on the driver, then removed the cotton in the back. BOOM! So much air! Pushed the highs a bit too far for my liking - too light. But it did push the mids forward a bit too.
 
Now what if I combined both?! Best of both worlds really. The mids are right up front, soundstage is larger than what I began with, treble hasn't changed (maybe got better too), and bass seems to go deeper with more tightness. Overall, the overall tonality of the HE-6 has not changed, simply positions have shifted - for the better.
 
The HE-6 was already damn close to perfect, but this has made it much closer especially with the addition of Audeze "Vegan" pads.
 
All credit goes to jerg though! He is the one to post on his mod (or was it purrin?)! Also a big thanks to Armaegis for getting me to open up the rear grill so I can give this mod another try!

 

[Silent One]

Great contribution, you really know how to look out for your fellow members!

 

[brunk]

Thanks for posting the mod! I know it was probably a pain to open it back up, but you did us all a great favor  
 
The adhesive felt you mention, is it this kind?

 

[Moonhead]

Hi guys. 
 
What speaker amp are you using for your HE6 ? 
I now have Mjolnir/Gungnir and it is a poor match.

 

[ohhgourami]

  Great contribution, you really know how to look out for your fellow members!

 

 
Quote:

  Thanks for posting the mod! I know it was probably a pain to open it back up, but you did us all a great favor  
 
The adhesive felt you mention, is it this kind?

I recycled the first picture and the 2nd one with the rear popped off only took me 30 secs

Popping the rear off only takes like 5 secs. There are tabs in the 2, 4, 8, and 10 oclock positions. All you gotta do is shove your fingernail from the outer part of the ring and give it a soft push inward and a tab will just pop off. DO NOT PUSH FROM THE INNER CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE RING!
 
Just give it a quick try and you'll hear an immediate difference!
 
Yup, that's the felt! It only cost a buck and some change! Cost me more to drive to Michael's than buy that...

 

[songmic]

  Hi guys. 
 
What speaker amp are you using for your HE6 ? 
I now have Mjolnir/Gungnir and it is a poor match.

 
Many folks here use speaker amps rather than dedicated headphone amps for their HE-6, myself included. Not saying headphone amps are bad; there are some headphone amps that supposedly work nicely with HE-6 (e.g. Hifiman's own EF-6, RSA Dark Star, or Dr. Cavalli's LAu), but most headphone amps don't have what it takes to deliver sufficient power to HE-6, and those that can drive the HE-6 well are usually expensive and you can achieve equal if not better performance with speaker amps that cost less.
 
On paper, the Mjolnir has enough power for HE-6, but I agree that it is still not a good match with HE-6. HE-6 is a tad brighter than neutral, and a bright amp like Mjolnir isn't great (a dark-sounding headphone like LCD-3, on the other hand, is exceptional when paired with Mjolnir). Plenty of power is mandatory for HE-6, but it isn't everything. There are certain speaker amps that only output around 10W per channel at 8 ohms (not 50 ohms), and yet they are considered some of the best amps for HE-6 in their price league. I personally found Schiit Lyr to have a better synergy with HE-6, perhaps thanks to Lyr's warm tone, but it is not enough. I still consider Lyr the most affordable headphone amp for HE-6, though.
 
If you really want a dedicated headphone amp, I'd say start out with EF-6. It was designed by Hifiman with HE-6 specifically in mind, so you can't go wrong. However, I strongly recommend you look for a speaker amp if the HE-6 is going to be your primary headphone. It is for me, and I own other flagship headphones such as LCD-3, TH900, HD800 and SR-009 so I guess that's saying it a lot. Having a decent speaker amp will make your transition from head-fi to speaker-fi easier in the future, should that ever happen to you. Or you could enjoy both, why not?
 
Although I don't have a lot of experience with various speaker amps, I can easily vouch my Pathos Classic One MKIII as one of the best amps I've heard for the HE-6, which gets even better with proper tube-rolling. Another favorite of the members in this thread are FirstWatt amps designed by Mr. Nelson Pass. If you're rolling in cash, I remember one member - Preproman, was it? - saying that an expensive Simaudio amp was the best he's heard with HE-6. The ones I've personally liked besides those are Eximus S1, McIntosh MC275, and several offerings of Plinius and Mark Levinson. It was also great with a particular Allnic integrated amp, but I can't remember exactly which model it was.
 
The quest for finding the ideal amp with HE-6 could be endless, since no one has heard HE-6's ceiling yet and god knows how many speaker amps are out there.

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Good reading , I see you did not mention the woo WA 5. Why, most threads with broad strokes of amp suggestions include this amp..??

Just wondering. As I do agree with your post completely

Al D

 

[songmic]

Good reading , I see you did not mention the woo WA 5. Why, most threads with broad strokes of amp suggestions include this amp..??

Just wondering. As I do agree with your post completely

Al D

 
It didn't occur to me, for some reason I haven't read a lot about WA5. But I do remember that David Solomon loved it with HE-6, while Mike Ting (of Headfonia) was disappointed. In both cases, HE-6 was used with WA5's 4-pin XLR output, so I guess it has its share of mixed opinions. Personally, though, I don't agree with everything David or Mike says in their reviews.
 
A Korean headphile in Seoul whom I know enjoys his HE-6 with WA5 and CAD 300 SEI, but I have yet to try out either one of them.

 

[Moonhead]

   
Many folks here use speaker amps rather than dedicated headphone amps for their HE-6, myself included. Not saying headphone amps are bad; there are some headphone amps that supposedly work nicely with HE-6 (e.g. Hifiman's own EF-6, RSA Dark Star, or Dr. Cavalli's LAu), but most headphone amps don't have what it takes to deliver sufficient power to HE-6, and those that can drive the HE-6 well are usually expensive and you can achieve equal if not better performance with speaker amps that cost less.
 
On paper, the Mjolnir has enough power for HE-6, but I agree that it is still not a good match with HE-6. HE-6 is a tad brighter than neutral, and a bright amp like Mjolnir isn't great (a dark-sounding headphone like LCD-3, on the other hand, is exceptional when paired with Mjolnir). Plenty of power is mandatory for HE-6, but it isn't everything. There are certain speaker amps that only output around 10W per channel at 8 ohms (not 50 ohms), and yet they are considered some of the best amps for HE-6 in their price league. I personally found Schiit Lyr to have a better synergy with HE-6, perhaps thanks to Lyr's warm tone, but it is not enough. I still consider Lyr the most affordable headphone amp for HE-6, though.
 
If you really want a dedicated headphone amp, I'd say start out with EF-6. It was designed by Hifiman with HE-6 specifically in mind, so you can't go wrong. However, I strongly recommend you look for a speaker amp if the HE-6 is going to be your primary headphone. It is for me, and I own other flagship headphones such as LCD-3, TH900, HD800 and SR-009 so I guess that's saying it a lot. Having a decent speaker amp will make your transition from head-fi to speaker-fi easier in the future, should that ever happen to you. Or you could enjoy both, why not?
 
Although I don't have a lot of experience with various speaker amps, I can easily vouch my Pathos Classic One MKIII as one of the best amps I've heard for the HE-6, which gets even better with proper tube-rolling. Another favorite of the members in this thread are FirstWatt amps designed by Mr. Nelson Pass. If you're rolling in cash, I remember one member - Preproman, was it? - saying that an expensive Simaudio amp was the best he's heard with HE-6. The ones I've personally liked besides those are Eximus S1, McIntosh MC275, and several offerings of Plinius and Mark Levinson. It was also great with a particular Allnic integrated amp, but I can't remember exactly which model it was.
 
The quest for finding the ideal amp with HE-6 could be endless, since no one has heard HE-6's ceiling yet and god knows how many speaker amps are out there.

Sonigmic, thanks for your reply always very usefull. 
 
Since we both agree that the HE6 is too bright go Mjolnir, what a your thoughts on HD800 with the Mjolnir ? 
Before i use one Cayin 265AI which worked way better, but sold it, because my son kept playing with it, hence my apartment is small.
 
The thing is that my home stereo are some big active floor standing speakers, so the only thing i would need a speaker amp 
for will be the HE6, but I'm almost considering selling them and get HD800 and some Audeze, just not 100% yet!! 
Some say HD800 is too bright with Mjolnir as some people say HE6 is a good match with Mjolnir and others like us says its way too bright!
But Audeze should be a superior match with Mjolnir, thats why Im steering at the LCD3 & LCD X & maybe HD800 .. I'm a little greedy. 

 

[songmic]

  Sonigmic, thanks for your reply always very usefull. 
 
Since we both agree that the HE6 is too bright go Mjolnir, what a your thoughts on HD800 with the Mjolnir ? 
Before i use one Cayin 265AI which worked way better, but sold it, because my son kept playing with it, hence my apartment is small.
 
The thing is that my home stereo are some big active floor standing speakers, so the only thing i would need a speaker amp 
for will be the HE6, but I'm almost considering selling them and get HD800 and some Audeze, just not 100% yet!! 
Some say HD800 is too bright with Mjolnir as some people say HE6 is a good match with Mjolnir and others like us says its way too bright!
But Audeze should be a superior match with Mjolnir, thats why Im steering at the LCD3 & LCD X & maybe HD800 .. I'm a little greedy. 

 
The Mjolnir was also a poor choice for HD800, too. I would recommend Mjolnir with LCD-2/3 and HE-500, but definitely not HD800. Some folks say that LCD-X is also a good match.
 
It isn't easy to find one amp that can drive LCD-3, HD800, and HE-6 well. The GS-X mk2 supposedly does a very good job with LCD-3 and HD800, but not as well with HE-6. The Dark Star is said to be a superb headphone amp for LCD-3 and HE-6, but I'm not so sure about HD800. Maybe EC 2A3 or DNA Stratus? I don't know...
 
The reason is because HE-6 and HD800 are very difficult headphones to drive well, but for completely different reasons. If you really want to keep the Mjolnir, I suggest you sell your HE-6 and make LCD-3 or LCD-X your primary headphone. It really depends on your musical preferences: LCD-3 for mainstream pop/rock, HD800 for classic/jazz, and HE-6 if you listen to everything.

 

[Moonhead]

Thanks again you help is much appreciated!! 
 
Well I listen to almost everything, i guess i will be needing both Audeze and some brighter cans like HD800(+another amp) or HE500. 
I love everything from Dave Brubeck to Nine Inch Nails. classic rock, CASH etc. etc.

 

[brunk]

   
 
Yup, that's the felt! It only cost a buck and some change! Cost me more to drive to Michael's than buy that...

Thanks for confirming. I went ahead and snagged some royal blue that was $5 shipped on ebay, not worth the gas and time from where I live lol.

 

[hawkhead]

Might get a bit expensive to fly over for some felt - could you tell me roughly how thick the felt is ?
 
Quote:

Line the magnets of the driver with adhesive felt (Creatology sticky felt from Michael's)