HifiMAN HE-6 Planar Magnetic Headphone
Jun 4, 2019 at 5:06 AM Post #20,836 of 21,860
I have a 4-screw version as well, and currently trying to find the best pads in order to improve the tonal balance.
Imo the stock velour pads are the best to reproduce openness with nice air and treble behavior above 10khz. However the low-treble, especially 4-7khz, is very forward and too much for my likings.
I would like to know if there are 4 screw owners who use alternative pads. I tried a bunch of pads and liked the Dekoni TH900 Sheepskin as they are one of the most relaxed around 4-7khz, but the overall presentation is a bit more closed-in compared to stock velour pads.
 
Jun 4, 2019 at 12:02 PM Post #20,837 of 21,860
I have a 4-screw version as well, and currently trying to find the best pads in order to improve the tonal balance.
Imo the stock velour pads are the best to reproduce openness with nice air and treble behavior above 10khz. However the low-treble, especially 4-7khz, is very forward and too much for my likings.
I would like to know if there are 4 screw owners who use alternative pads. I tried a bunch of pads and liked the Dekoni TH900 Sheepskin as they are one of the most relaxed around 4-7khz, but the overall presentation is a bit more closed-in compared to stock velour pads.
What amp are you using?
 
Jun 4, 2019 at 12:23 PM Post #20,838 of 21,860
I have a 4-screw version as well, and currently trying to find the best pads in order to improve the tonal balance.
Imo the stock velour pads are the best to reproduce openness with nice air and treble behavior above 10khz. However the low-treble, especially 4-7khz, is very forward and too much for my likings.
I would like to know if there are 4 screw owners who use alternative pads. I tried a bunch of pads and liked the Dekoni TH900 Sheepskin as they are one of the most relaxed around 4-7khz, but the overall presentation is a bit more closed-in compared to stock velour pads.

I like the memory foam pads from the AKG AnniversaryK702/712. It ticks all of my boxes and mutes that low treble a bit.
 
Jun 4, 2019 at 4:52 PM Post #20,839 of 21,860
I use a Marantz PM6006 speaker amp.

I tried a bunch of pads, surprisingly I like the TH900 (stock) pads a lot (while I find them too harsh on the TH900). Still a bit bright to me but requires less EQ than velour hfm pads.
The opening of the TH900 pads is huge so the soundstage is improved a lot, very wide.
 
Jun 4, 2019 at 5:12 PM Post #20,840 of 21,860
I use a Marantz PM6006 speaker amp.

I tried a bunch of pads, surprisingly I like the TH900 (stock) pads a lot (while I find them too harsh on the TH900). Still a bit bright to me but requires less EQ than velour hfm pads.
The opening of the TH900 pads is huge so the soundstage is improved a lot, very wide.
Do you connect the HE-6 to the PM6006 directly with speaker taps or do you need to add resistors? I'm not a techie but my friend says that I would need to add some resistors and that the amount of resistors would differ for each headphone because I want to try connecting to a speaker amp with the K1000 and maybe HD800 too.

And how is the synergy between the PM6006 and the HE-6?


Thanks
 
Jun 4, 2019 at 6:20 PM Post #20,841 of 21,860
I use the speaker taps, but also used resistors with a balanced cable + HE Adaptor (also used my LCD2.2 and HE500/HE5LE with the HE Box).

Imo the PM6006 handles well the HE6. As good as some top tier headphone amps like the Beta22 ? Maybe not. I didnt have the chance to hear those kind of amps.
Bass is a bit more controlled with the Marantz compared to the THX 789 (which can easily drive the HE6 to hearing damage level).
 
Jun 4, 2019 at 6:57 PM Post #20,842 of 21,860
I use the speaker taps, but also used resistors with a balanced cable + HE Adaptor (also used my LCD2.2 and HE500/HE5LE with the HE Box).

Imo the PM6006 handles well the HE6. As good as some top tier headphone amps like the Beta22 ? Maybe not. I didnt have the chance to hear those kind of amps.
Bass is a bit more controlled with the Marantz compared to the THX 789 (which can easily drive the HE6 to hearing damage level).
Since you have the HE5LE, can you comment on their bass performance vs the HE6?
 
Jun 4, 2019 at 7:08 PM Post #20,843 of 21,860
I had them until recently
The HE5LE have very nice bass, perceived impact/slam similar to the 4 screw HE6, but bass presentation is a bit wooly next to the 6.
The HE5LE also dont have the good midrange tone of the HE500/HE6.
I still think it's a good buy, used around 300-400 (paid 330 for my pair).

I really want to try the HE4 or HE5 one day, even if I already have the HE6.
 
Jun 4, 2019 at 7:15 PM Post #20,844 of 21,860
I had them until recently
The HE5LE have very nice bass, perceived impact/slam similar to the 4 screw HE6, but bass presentation is a bit wooly next to the 6.
The HE5LE also dont have the good midrange tone of the HE500/HE6.
I still think it's a good buy, used around 300-400 (paid 330 for my pair).

I really want to try the HE4 or HE5 one day, even if I already have the HE6.
Thanks a lot for the reply! Does the HE5LE have several versions like the HE6 or does it only come with one version?
 
Jun 4, 2019 at 10:10 PM Post #20,846 of 21,860
I have a 4-screw version as well, and currently trying to find the best pads in order to improve the tonal balance.
Imo the stock velour pads are the best to reproduce openness with nice air and treble behavior above 10khz. However the low-treble, especially 4-7khz, is very forward and too much for my likings.
I would like to know if there are 4 screw owners who use alternative pads. I tried a bunch of pads and liked the Dekoni TH900 Sheepskin as they are one of the most relaxed around 4-7khz, but the overall presentation is a bit more closed-in compared to stock velour pads.

I've got modded 4-Screws and my favorite pads I've found so far (tried A LOT) are the Dekoni HiFiman Hybrids.

5 hours left from Drop.com on sale https://drop.com/buy/dekoni-premium-ear-pads-for-hifiman-he-series
 
Jun 5, 2019 at 2:32 AM Post #20,847 of 21,860
I've been using the J$Money pads for a while and they sound amazing to me. One of the best pads I've heard.
 
Jun 5, 2019 at 1:49 PM Post #20,848 of 21,860
Finished swapping out the headband strap a couple of days ago. I had the HE-6 drivers in an HE560 for a while now but found the stock headstrap a bit uncomfortable. The new headstrap actually distributes weight a lot better.

The new headstrap is an HE-1000SE headstrap. I was able to order one straight from Hifiman and it got to me really quickly from China (to the US).

1.jpg 2.jpg 3.jpg 4.jpg 5.jpg
 
Jun 14, 2019 at 8:37 PM Post #20,849 of 21,860
Ah, what's a boombox?
My speakers were Apogee Scintilla, like this. What are yours?

Which welding machine amp did you use to drive these 1 ohm beasts?

Ugh, once again, I'm looking for an upgrade for my he560 (wish the vocals weren't so thin, and wish the bass was harder hitting)

Rhamnetin had suggested Oris, but then the he6se came out and are now reselling used at okay prices... But then I read the last 50 pages of this thread ...
ZMF Zack suggested eikons for me when I asked about Oris (he didn't have a pair on display, and eventually, I do want an auteur...)

Also, why do I need resistors for a tube amp? The zmf pendant only has an 8ohm and a 300ohm output? The modwright ha300b only has a 8ohm out. I should be fine on the 16ohm taps of my audio note quest clone, right? (8 watts into 8ohms like every 6sn7 driven 300b)
 
Jun 29, 2019 at 9:31 PM Post #20,850 of 21,860
Which welding machine amp did you use to drive these 1 ohm beasts?

Ugh, once again, I'm looking for an upgrade for my he560 (wish the vocals weren't so thin, and wish the bass was harder hitting)

Rhamnetin had suggested Oris, but then the he6se came out and are now reselling used at okay prices... But then I read the last 50 pages of this thread ...
ZMF Zack suggested eikons for me when I asked about Oris (he didn't have a pair on display, and eventually, I do want an auteur...)

Also, why do I need resistors for a tube amp? The zmf pendant only has an 8ohm and a 300ohm output? The modwright ha300b only has a 8ohm out. I should be fine on the 16ohm taps of my audio note quest clone, right? (8 watts into 8ohms like every 6sn7 driven 300b)
 

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