Quote:Wellllll, all I am trying to do express to other members that the WA6 will not work with the HE6 or not well enough to warrant the price of the HE6, the HE6 is a waist of money with the WA6 simple as that.
Matter of fact I know one member that is disappointed driving the HE6 with his EC ZDT.
I didn't say the WA6 sucked, I said my trick out WA6SE sucked when I tried the HE6, and as I am sure you know the WA6SE is a better amp and more powerful than the WA6.
The simple fact with the HE6 is they are a great and unique headphone if properly paired with other gears, and the WA6 is not a good match.
You are very good at writing long articles expressing your opinion, but when you start off writing about the WA6 being ok with the HE6 I stop reading because I find that to be a bit misleading. That said I am guessing that you didn't intend to mislead but simple miss worded what you your trying saying.
Maybe you are missing my point, the HE6 is not about how much volume you can pump into them its about power and being able to drive them properly.
Update, as you requested and out of courtesy to you I skimmed over part two.of your opinion. Some of your opinion I can't comment on because I don't have it. That said I do have the HD-800s (cardas cable) and I wouldn't use it as a comparison to the HE6s.
!st, most amp will power the HD-800s, most head amps will not properly power the HE6.
2nd, the HD-800 is a high imp, the HE6 is a low imp.
3rd, the HD-800s do not have the dynamic range of the HE6 or the speed or the clarity or the precise sound-stage of the HE6.
4Th, the HE6 has a different build design.
5Th, I find the bass to be equal to the mids and highs, very well balanced headphone. Now there maybe a few reasons why we differ about the bass. One being you do have to have well over 48 hours on the HE6 before it starts to come together. And it is very possible that the low volume level you like and the two head amps you use will not fully bring out the bass. Example, you use a Princes 274B in you WA6 and that is known to favor the mids and highs, probably not the best match for the HE6.
Also keep in mind that I am running a trick out WA5LE with a nos matched pair of WE300Bs (26/56), a nos matched pair of TSRP's CTL 6SN7GT ( 08/42 tested twice by the USN) and a pair of new designed EML 5U4G's. So what this means is that the combo of tubes i am using will bring out the best in the HE6. My point here is maybe the systems you are using are not optimizing the HE6, therefore make a headphone like the HD-800 a closer match for what you are hearing. Plus for M/C audio I am running that though my SVS Realiser using a copy of AIX's sound room with all there reference equipment.
However I guess we can both agree that the HE6 is a real winner.
I compared the HE-6 to HD800 because people want to know how they compare, but I too prefer the HE-6, even under-amped. I'll address your 5 points, in my defense.
(1) I will not argue with point #1 that the HD800 are much easier to drive, and that you need a lot of power to reach the full potential of the HE-6. My point is that with sub-optimal amplification I still preferred the HE-6 by a small margin vs a well amped HD800. I would not tell someone with an HE-6 to go out buy a WA6 for them, but based on what I am hearing I would not tell a WA6 owner that they shouldn't buy and use the HE-6 while they save up for a better amp. If they say they'll never upgrade the amp then sure, I'd tell them to pick another phone.
But I have the HE-6 on my head right now as I type this, feeding them with Apogee mini-DAC > maxed WA6 (sophia princess 274b/Sylvania VT-231). I have rested my ears for about 5-6 hours with no listening tonight, and I currently only have the volume knob at 12-1 o'clock for normal volumes. I turned it up briefly to 5 o'clock and the sound remains clean, non-distorted and at moderately loud levels that I would not listen to for extended periods. 2 o'clock is about as loud as I want to go at this late hour. In the past when I had been listening for long periods and had over-done the volume levels a bit, then 5 o'clock on the WA6 seemed too low as my ears clamped down and needed more volume. Usually that is a warning sign that you are listening too loudly. Ignoring the volume which is low but acceptable, the sound of the HE-6 with my WA6 is simply wonderful right now - I hear all the nuances and subtle details, with nice deep and full bass, rich mids, and sparkly treble, without having to crank the volume up to extract that from them. If I want to rock out and blast, then the WA6 is inadequate.
As for where my maxed WA6 stands vs other amps that are better - I previously compared my WA6 to a WA22 that I had on loan for 2 weeks, and the sound signature was quite similar and both were very good. Where they differed the most was that (1) the WA22 had both a wider and deeper soundstage, and (2) quite a bit more power (Sylvania 7236 tubes). With my K1000 the ZDT was still a little more powerful than the WA22, and the ZDT had audibly better control over my low impedance LA7000. So, I agree the WA6 is underpowered - the WA6 is the minimum that I would use to drive the HE-6 to normal volumes. I'll get out my dB meter this weekend and see what I get out of this rig after I cut out a new cardboard baffle to seal the meter to the earcups.
(2) I assume that the implication in point #2 is that the difference in impedance will mean that each phone has different amplification needs, where the HD800 benefit from higher voltage swing and the HE-6 benefit from more current delivery. I have no argument about that, but you can't be telling me that I can't compare a high impedance phone to a low impedance phone. There are many amps that work well with both, such as my ZDT, SAC, EF5, and HDP. The EHHA was another one, although I only had one on loan for 3 weeks. My WA6 works well with both hi and low impedance, assuming that the phones are not horribly inefficient like the K1000 and HE-6. The K1000 and HE-6 prototypes were a joke on the WA6, making the amp and phones useless.
(3) On the 3rd point I would say it's my opinion that the HD800 are still very fast for a dynamic and they have good dynamic range, with a very enjoyable soundstage outside of the head. The HE-6 imaging is more pinpoint and precise but smaller, although I'm willing to live with it because the HE-6 are less fatiguing and more extended, balanced, and transparent sounding, especially at low volumes.
(4) In terms of point #4, does that mean we can only compare the HE-6 to other orthos, and Stax only to other stats, etc?
(5) As for the 5th point, I actually said the HE-6 "can be delicate with finesse and good detail at low volumes, without losing the bass presence or fullness and extension". It was the HD800 and Senn HE-60 that I felt don't have full bass at low volumes, while the HE-6 do. It appears we are in agreement in this area, and maybe you misread what I said.
In my WA6 the Sophia 274b is not bass-lite at all, and what I love from the tube is a much bigger soundstage than I had with my Amperex Bugle Boy GZ34 or Mullard Metal Base GZ34 - those did have slightly better bass and midrange presence and fullness or warmth, at the expense of a more closed in soundstage with less sparkle in the highs. The Sovtek 5U4G that came with my WA6 had a decent soundstage, but with artificial sounding mids and highs. I do plan to try an EML rectifier some day, and maybe a nicer NOS 5U4G or 5V4G than a cheap Russian model, as I would like to see if that helps the HD800 bass any. For now I have to use the HD800 with the ZDT to really enjoy them.
