Articnoise
Headphoneus Supremus
I have both Utopia and HE-6. The HE-6 holds up very well. Even if Utopia is indeed amazing, HE-6 continues to blow me away and engages my emotions more forcefully. Hard left-right staging is a feature of all planars but ameliorated with the Vegan pads. I perceive a taller sound and overall larger image the HE-6. Bass is impressive on both but more visceral on HE-6. Resolution and overalll coherence goes to Utopia, so does treble smoothness--no grain, etchiness detectable, unless compared directly to a high-end stat setup. HE-6 can be slightly edgy even with mods, but is overall much better than any of the other HiFiMAN offerings I have heard.
Nice, how is the HE6 doing fast transients and complex music compered to Utopia, and if you have to choose one HP which one would you keep?