[Keithpgdrb]

Anyway to hook a HE-6 to a tube amp & not worry about problems or sound degradation?
Even if the tube amp is in the 20 watt range.

Not that I know of. Its not about how powerful the amp is. doesnt matter actually. the adapter should be used on a tube amp because of the design of the amp. I was tried a tube amp around 35 Watts, but ended up not liking the sound as much, so I just went another route. it was easier for me. But anyway, the adapter protects your headphones on a tube amp.

Also, make sure you do the math to figure out if your getting the right Watts into Ohms ratio. on a 20 watt tube amp, your not likely getting the recommended ratio. most people dont think of this.

 

[Keithpgdrb]

This math is not correct, but its close enough for the layman. if your amp pushes 20 watts into 8 ohms. at 16 ohms, its about 10 watts. at 32 ohms, about 5 watts. you can see that the number of watts basically splits in half when you double the ohms. (no, this is not exactly right) The HE6 impedance is 50 ohms.

So if you jump one more from my "general" example. at 64ohms, your pushing around 3 watts. not enough to do it right.

 

[wuwhere]

Anyway to hook a HE-6 to a tube amp & not worry about problems or sound degradation?
Even if the tube amp is in the 20 watt range.

If your amp has output transformers the adapter will protect the output transformers from the impedance mismatch. You don't turn on and leave a tube amp on with output transformers without a load, 4, 8 or 16Ohms resistors.

 

[Thenewguy007]

If the tube amp does have 4, 8 or 16 Ohms speaker taps at the back, would that be o.k. to use?

 

[wuwhere]

If the tube amp does have 4, 8 or 16 Ohms speaker taps at the back, would that be o.k. to use?

On the 8Ohm tap I use 10Ohms resistors in parallel with the 50Ohm HE-6.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

I ran my HE-6 from a 250wpc vintage amp................just start with the volume down to the minimum.

Thank you for the information Oregonian. Much appreciated.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

This information on the internet regarding the connection of headphones direct to amp speaker connections. Interesting read. https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/tutorials/power-amp-adapter/

According to this information the HE6 (50 ohms) should only be connected to an amp with max 50W / channel into 4 ohms and 25W / channel into 8 ohms with 4W going into the HE6's (within green watt ratings) up to a maximum of 80W / channel into 4 ohms and 40W / channel into 8 ohms with 6.4W going into the HE6's (within orange watt ratings) ! (see information & table below)


"Most of the newer Planar magnetic (Ortho dynamic) headphones can handle MUCH more power than normal headphones because of the way they are built. Most of them can be connected to power amps directly and will play beautifully on them. Headphones like the HiFiman HE5 and HE6 are best driven directly from power amps even. Belowthe table for 3W to 6W rated headphones."

"It’s easy to see these headphones are not easily blown up but it should be noted most planar magnetic drivers are somewhere between 32Ω and 60Ω in general. This means these headphones can be connected directly to amplifiers up to 40W but I would not recommend to connect them directly to higher power amplifiers."

 

[LarsHP]

Please note that - while the best sound is obtained without the adapter box and many have driven HE-6 with quite powerful solid state amps - practically all those who have blown their HE-6 drivers have exactly this in common. (I might not be aware of one or two who has blow their HE-6 drivers under other conditions - like blowing it while modding the headphone etc.)

In the official HiFiMan HE-6 manual the recommended max speaker amp power without using the adapter box is 70W (in 8 Ohm). In other words, your 140W amp is well above that.

I had a 12W Leben tube amp and used a 10 Ohm resistor across the terminals. That gave me 2W of effective power into HE-6, which is the recommended minimum power (according to the manual.)

 

[lawrence2357]

Please note that - while the best sound is obtained without the adapter box and many have driven HE-6 with quite powerful solid state amps - practically all those who have blown their HE-6 drivers have exactly this in common. (I might not be aware of one or two who has blow their HE-6 drivers under other conditions - like blowing it while modding the headphone etc.)

In the official HiFiMan HE-6 manual the recommended max speaker amp power without using the adapter box is 70W (in 8 Ohm). In other words, your 140W amp is well above that.

I had a 12W Leben tube amp and used a 10 Ohm resistor across the terminals. That gave me 2W of effective power into HE-6, which is the recommended minimum power (according to the manual.)

On the other hand, I accidentally ran my Zero dac in line out rather than pre out mode for a few seconds into my HE6 via a 1000wpc (4ohm) ice power amp and they survived unscathed much to my relief.

 

[wuwhere]

Of all the HFM HPs, the HE-6 has the most followers. He should have continued making them and lowered the price.

 

[Luke Thomas]

With the new hifiman 6se coming. Is this worth waiting for, or would you buy the Ed x ?

 

[Rhamnetin]

With the new hifiman 6se coming. Is this worth waiting for, or would you buy the Ed x ?

The Edition X v1 sounded like a $500 headphone to me.

 

[Luke Thomas]

The Edition X v1 sounded like a $500 headphone to me.

Not with a violectric 280 amp

 

[Rhamnetin]

Not with a violectric 280 amp

Maybe. For reference I used it with a HiFiMan EF1000 or whatever it's called.

 

[Keithpgdrb]

With the new hifiman 6se coming. Is this worth waiting for, or would you buy the Ed x ?

Wait.