[daveDerek]

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Is the retail version start shipping yet?
I am waiting for some more reviews before I decide on it and Lcd-2

yes, go back through this thread (and look at some others too) and you'll find a bunch of people who have received the production units and have posted initial impressions, some of them compared to the lcd-2. of course those are the findings of some folks whose tastes & opinions may or may not align with yours. buy both and see for yourself. you may find you want both, one, or neither, in which case you can sell none, one, or two of them. or buy one and see whether or not you like it. just keep in mind system synergy and make sure you have appropriate source and amp in front of the cans.
 
 
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People are just freaking out. One person says something and its like scaring an animal and watching a stampede start.
The HE6 takes about 1/4 the voltage of a k1k and a little more than half the current. Its 1/8 the power needed to drive a k1k.
 
K1000 101 db  512mW 120 ohm 7.84V 65mA
HE6   101.5db 64mW  50 ohm  1.79V 36mA
 
k1000 110 db  4.1W 120 ohm 22.2V 185mA
HE6   110.5db 512mW 50 ohm 5.06V 101mA
 
I would hope the sensitivity is given in rms. If that is the case, you would multiply the voltage by 1.414 to get the peak value. For 110.5 db it comes out to about 7.2 volts, which bumps the current to 144mA and power to 1.03W.  Thats still not even 4 watts into 8 ohms on an amp.

nice post!
 
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Quote:Originally Posted by grokit "I agree that a 40 wpc speaker amp would be adequate, my 50 wpc was more than enough with the protos -- the HE-6 sounded great around 11 am. But if the Winsome is a T-amp then it won't be near as good, I tried a 20 wpc Cityspot T-amp with the protos and it was a fail -- it distorted/clipped when I would try for high volume. The 45 wpc Parasound's Zamp v.3 that I mentioned earlier is pretty compact, and I wonder how Nuforce's Icon speaker amp would fare for about half the price as it's rated at 24 wpc."


I didn't state it required 100 watts. I was just commenting what I was reading about amps used. I also agree that a 40 watt amp would be enough as that's what I used on the prototype. I don't have that amp anymore. That said, I'm not sure I'd be satisfied with an inexpensive amp that may not make them sound their absolute best. We Head-Fi'ers agonize over which amps to get that pair well with our precious headphones. I doubt a cheap amp is going to make the HE-6 sound world class. Isn't the point of this hobby to make our gear sound as close to perfection as possible? Aren't there endless threads as to which amp works best with what headphone? So I'm to believe that after spending decent money on the HE-6 that is supposed to compete with the top-tier headphones, that the solution is either a full sized amp or a cheap compact speaker amp? When I had the prototype HE-6 I said it deserved to be mentioned in the same league as the other top offerings. I (as well as many others) also said one of it's drawbacks was it's need for lots of power that made is less versatile than some other headphones. Fang attempts to address this issue by making it more efficient. But still requiring a speaker amp for best results. And that's what I'd want BEST results not almost best results or adequate sound. I'm sure that the HE-6 sounds amazing. If I was assured that my amp would properly drive it to it's full potential I would be quite interested. Having a separate large amp just for the HE-6 isn't practical for me. It's easier to find a space for a headphone than it is for an amp. LoL I also have a similar issue with a Stax system. The O2, for example, requires a dedicated system. But that's another thread. LoL

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If only a solid state EF6 would come out soon... 

i spoke to Fang of Head Direct yesterday at the NY area meet. iirc he says that the HE6s need current rather than watts. he's working on a solid state amp, the EF6, that will have no problem running these cans or any other dynamic headphone, including k1000s, it will have power output in the single digits of watts. it should sell for well under $1000, and will be available ~spring 2011. that potentially could be a one stop solution for a lot of headphone collectors as something that is relatively affordable, usable with a wide variety of cans (adjustable gain), and it should fit on your desktop. neat, huh!

 

[wuwhere]

I'm getting a small mosfet (class-a) desktop amp [size=10pt]with a peak voltage of 11.84v @ 55 ohms, 215ma, which is 2.5w. Should be enough to drive these cans.[/size]

 

[daveDerek]

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I'm getting a small mosfet (class-a) desktop amp [size=10pt]with a peak voltage of 11.84v @ 55 ohms, 215ma, which is 2.5w. Should be enough to drive these cans.[/size]

hopefully it does the trick, but keep in mind it's more about current capability (per a conversation i had with Fang yesterday. sorry, i've no numbers here) than about wattage. 
here's a quote from Fang (in this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/521226/he-6-headphones-are-available-now/30)
 
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/img/forum/go_quote.gif
We recommend headphone amp which can provide 1.5 to 2w per channel at 32 ohm.

 

[wuwhere]

 
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Quote:

I'm getting a small mosfet (class-a) desktop amp [size=10pt]with a peak voltage of 11.84v @ 55 ohms, 215ma, which is 2.5w. Should be enough to drive these cans.[/size]

hopefully it does the trick, but keep in mind it's more about current capability (per a conversation i had with Fang yesterday. sorry, i've no numbers here) than about wattage. 
here's a quote from Fang (in this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/521226/he-6-headphones-are-available-now/30)
 
Quote:

/img/forum/go_quote.gif
We recommend headphone amp which can provide 1.5 to 2w per channel at 32 ohm.

215mA is plenty of current to drive a pair of headphones. That's why he measured the current and voltage at 55ohms because I told him that the load is 50 ohms, nominal.

 

[MacedonianHero]

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.... But still requiring a speaker amp for best results. And that's what I'd want BEST results not almost best results or adequate sound. I'm sure that the HE-6 sounds amazing

Exactly my sentiments! Well stated Ross.

 

[Jian]

Don't know why but I just don't like any manufacture saying 'this amp is the one stop solution for all your phones'.

 

[daveDerek]

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Don't know why but I just don't like any manufacture saying 'this amp is the one stop solution for all your phones'.

it won't be for everyone, but for some folks they may feel lucky if that pans out!

 

[MacedonianHero]

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Don't know why but I just don't like any manufacture saying 'this amp is the one stop solution for all your phones'.

it won't be for everyone, but for some folks they may feel lucky if that pans out!

Not if they still hang out here. Head-fi can be a very insidious place that way.

 

[daveDerek]

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Don't know why but I just don't like any manufacture saying 'this amp is the one stop solution for all your phones'.

it won't be for everyone, but for some folks they may feel lucky if that pans out!

Not if they still hang out here. Head-fi can be a very insidious place that way.

that's one reason some folks stop coming here - it can be a dangerous place! 

 

[DavidMahler]

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Quote:

.... But still requiring a speaker amp for best results. And that's what I'd want BEST results not almost best results or adequate sound. I'm sure that the HE-6 sounds amazing

Exactly my sentiments! Well stated Ross.

I'm not sure this speaker amp sentiment is something I can agree with.....but I have not heard it on a speaker amp so I don't know for sure, but my HE-6 sound pretty much brilliant right out of my 307a.  I don't think a more powerful amp is going to make it better.....I can drive it to very loud levels without any clipping and the sound feels well balanced and the soundstage feels very real.

 

[DavidMahler]

Just curious, what is going on under the hood of the HE-6.  What I mean is what is the line which appears to have dampening cloth or something of that nature in the top half of the earcups?  I'm wondering if that's what keeps touching my ears.

 

[Jimmyz]

 
I picked these guys up on Saturday at the meet in White Plains:
 
HiFiMAN HE-6 Headphones
 



 
HiFiMAN HM-801 Music Player
 


 
HiFiMAN EF5 Amp
 


 
I love em all!

 

[wuwhere]

^^^ Nice! That EF5 is small.

 

[immtbiker]

Why is everyone so obsessed with buying an amp for the HE-6's? I can understand when the inefficient protos were going around, Yes they necessitated a speaker amp. But the new production models do just fine with any decent home amp. It seems that the Protos ingrained the necessity for spending money (that could be otherwise used in a different direction).
 
I was at the NYC Local meet yesterday, and there were five or six 6's floating around, and everyone was quite happy with just using the common, modern day amps, that are on the market.
IMO, just get the 6's if you like them, and then next year, if you want to be involved in the law of diminishing gains, get yourself a quality speaker amp that output 10-30 high quality watts. It will be like Christmas (or Hanukkah) in May. The way I see it, buying an amp before getting the phones or right after you get them, is like re-cabling a pair of T-1's or HD-800's without even giving the decent stock cable, a try first.
When you do get an amp, spend you money on a high-end, top quality 10-30 watt nice addition to your system.
 
So much effort is being spent on posts about getting a hi-end amp. Just get the 6's and enjoy them. I re-designated my speaker amp (Dared 300B quasi-monos) in my bedroom, to driving a nice pair of nearfield Harbeths P3ESR's using my quality CDP and some nice quality interconnects and power chord. I use my HE-6's with my Luxman and my Headroom Desktop without any feelings of "settling".
 
Enjoy the 6's for what they're worth and then, do a nice upgrade further on down the line. 
 
As always...IMHO!

 

[MrSpenkelink]

^ That's eminently sensible of you. Now go post somewhere else.