[gikigill]

No apologies for being technical and equipment hungry, the HE6 is not to be taken lightly and needs a certain level of masochism to get right.
Once you've been sucked in, abandon all hope!!

 

[Xenophon]

  Well this is by and far the most technical, high tech, and equipment hungry thread of all the flagship threads on hifi. Interesting.
 
In other news, I just got pwned so hard on my purchase of T1s for retail http://www.head-fi.org/t/508836/the-official-beyerdynamic-t1-owners-club-appreciation-discussion-thread/6900#post_10317060
 
I'm so down. i went from eagerly anticipating my T1s to hating them. I should have gotten an HE6 + an amp.
 
This is really an awful hobby though. All you do is spend your time searching for better and better sound. i know eventually once I have my headphones I'll be buying amps and stuff too. it's like the siren's song in the odyssey, sort of literally, except it's not beautiful women singing its all this cool equipment. i've blown off so much work over the past few weeks too.

Depreciation rates on singing beautiful women are higher than on amps and they're generally higher maintenance so all things being equal, better to stick with the audio gear imo.  The T1 (good headphones provided you like this BD sound sig in the treble, btw) didn't change so it's just a matter of having missed out on a better deal.  It's only money, this thing happens all the time, don't sweat it.  Still would have gotten the HE-6 though.

 

[ag8908]

No apologies for being technical and equipment hungry, the HE6 is not to be taken lightly and needs a certain level of masochism to get right.
Once you've been sucked in, abandon all hope!!

masochism is the word. The problem is that this stuff isn't just in our heads either. if you discover a better way to produce sound, it really does bring you immense pleasure. i used to have bose qc15s, and my jaw dropped the first time I upgraded to a $150 audiophile headphone, and even more when I went to a $300 headphone, and even more when I went to the HD800 (but not at all with the O2 amplifier so not all products make an improvement). so there is a reward for all the torture we put ourselves through to get that perfect setup.
 
it's really a rough hobby though.
 
the biggest problem is that there aren't enough stores where you can sufficiently try everything out before you buy, and the other problem is that it's filled with people ready and willing to spend money, who some merchants take advantage of (not all).

 

[ALRAINBOW]

I live in NYC and there are plenty of stores. Real Hi end
But not for this hobby. We need to do mini meets or the reg meets
As the only way to here some of what's there
Al

 

[musicinmymind]

Craig the new wires e looks cool. . I did a comparison today with the krell and the wa5. For an hour . There is no doubt that the F3 did sound like the stax. With the woo it was a little brighter and less bass and with the krell it was closer to the aragon but not completely. It had more bass than the woo and less soundstage and details. Between the two irs preference . And the aragon I did not try today. . So I guess it can be played with some more tomorrow. . But the F3 does have the most detail hands down. And second is the woo.

Al

 
how was Bass with F3, it should very detailed if sounds like stax...I think that would also mellow down the bass.

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Yes it did mellow it but also brighter
Not sure if that was the correct tone
It is deeper with the woo and has the detail as well

But it seems the more powerfull SS amps
Give it even more bass but then the details suffer
With the krell it a almost perfect
But the woo is perfect for me. At least for now
I want to try comes classical with the big drums to see
If the f3 keeps up.
Al

 

[musicinmymind]

I have same problem now, was using HE-6 with Emo UPA-200 and Lyr as preamp the result was good in a way, high gain both from  with Lyr and Emo resulted in solid bass (something I never heard before), but the sound had it’s own issues… as Lyr is just an preamp with just a passive pot rather than dedicated preamp stage.
 
I got Emo DC-1 dac which has analog preamp, as gain reduced HE-6 sound much thinner and bass lost impact and charm. Not sure what to do, I just put HE-6 in shelf and when back to Lyr->HD650. Till I get preamp that has good Synergy, I will be not be able to use HE-6.
 
 
 

 

[cradon]

how was Bass with F3, it should very detailed if sounds like stax...I think that would also mellow down the bass.

hi

Like you said, very detailed bass but not only there, it was from top to bottom. It was also very balanced and beautifully layered in sound. I could easily focus on any particular part of the music whether in the highs, mids or bass. Being the want it all type I craved more bass presents, but that would probable throw of the balance and details.

 

[potterma]

Yes it did mellow it but also brighter
Not sure if that was the correct tone
It is deeper with the woo and has the detail as well

But it seems the more powerfull SS amps
Give it even more bass but then the details suffer
With the krell it a almost perfect
But the woo is perfect for me. At least for now
I want to try comes classical with the big drums to see
If the f3 keeps up.
Al

Classical drums are challenging for an amp.  Japanese drums are even more challenging!  If you like percussion, check out Heartbeat: Kodo 25th Anniversary CD.  

 

[Xenophon]

  Ooh, maybe PCBs will be openly available soon then. Another First Watt to add to my growing collection 

How do you go about it?  Did you purchase the biggest chassis, built in the power supply etc so you just have to swap out the boards?

 

[StryGR]

Classical drums and big, Kodo-like drums are reproduced by my McCormack with aweness and crystal-clear impact! In fact, playing YIm Hok-man drums, I measured dynamic rms peaks as high as 25 V (!!). I always wonder if such bass qualities with HE-6 have a trade-off over other important aspects, i.e. treble smoothness or effortless musical details. I need to discover with a diy Firstwatt, or may be the new Shiit amp?

 

[preproman]

  Classical drums are challenging for an amp.  Japanese drums are even more challenging!  If you like percussion, check out Heartbeat: Kodo 25th Anniversary CD.  

 
How do you like the bass response on your F1?

 

[ALRAINBOW]

I can add this , and hopefully today meeting up with Craig this will be resolved. I have a speaker rig in my office , and when I campare the two . The is light with what I heard on the headphones. Making me think the F3 is not correctly portraying the music correctly. And the same when compared using the woo wa5. The woo and speaker rig it has more bass .
Al

 

[Xenophon]

Curious to hear your findings after meeting with Craig, Al.

 

[brunk]

  How do you go about it?  Did you purchase the biggest chassis, built in the power supply etc so you just have to swap out the boards?

Yes, I have a huge 4U chassis with a pre-drilled mounting spec for all the DiyAudio boards. It's just enough heatsink for the Aleph J and F4, but not the F5 Turbo. One huge power supply too. I will be going even further by attaching bullet connectors to all the wires, so all I have to do is screw/unscrew the boards and plug 'n play
Maybe 5 minutes total for a swap of the modules.
 
 

Curious to hear your findings after meeting with Craig, Al.

+1 Me too!