[gurus]

Quote:

What resistance would you recommend for 250W @8ohm? So approx 40W @50ohm.
If my math is correct, adding a 50ohm resistor to each channel should lower the power to 20wcp. Maybe I should aim for that? I want to push the HE-6 more than most have ever tried yet stay kinda safe.

 
Doesn't adding high impedance value resistors drop the current further that is delivered to the HE-6 - the very thing that you need to drive  planar speakers and HE-6 sound good? 
 
Kind of defeats the purpose..................................................??? Got to think about that.

 

[ohhgourami]

I think I just won't use any resistor.

 

[ohhgourami]

oops double post

 

[wuwhere]

With an ss amp you don't need the resistors. They do offer some protection though.

 

[gurus]

Quote:

With an ss amp you don't need the resistors. They do offer some protection though.

Agree.
 
But re tube amps- I talked to quite a few manufacturers of tube equipment and the consensus is that if the tube amplifier has auto bias there is no/less chance of any damage to the tubes or the transformer while driving a 50 ohm load like the HE-6 while for a fixed bias amp it is totally another story- shortened tube life and possible transformer failure.
 
None of them were too keen on adding a resistor to the speaker taps to drop the power. The circuit was not optimized for that extra resistance.
 
Once again it is all about current delivery.

 

[wuwhere]

I bias my tube amps manually. The 10 ohm resistors in parallel are for impedance matching the load impedance to the output transformer's 8 ohm tap. The HE-6 impedance is about 50 ohms throughout the audio band and mostly resistance which is good. Now a speaker's impedance nominally maybe rated at 8 ohms but it varies throughout the audio band. A well designed and constructed output transformer should be able to handle that impedance variation. In a tube audio amp its important to have a really good output transformer.

 

[gurus]

Quote:

 In a tube audio amp its important to have a really good output transformer.

 
that has secondary impedance that matches the load of the speaker. In tube amps generally you cannot go below the secondary impedance of the transformer and on the higher side double the impedance. So at the 8 ohm tap speakers with 8-16 impedance would work best and at the 4 ohm tap 4-8 ohms. Unlike SS amps because of the use of (impedance -say in this case 8 ohms) matched output transformers to the speaker load in a tube amp you can get more power into a 8 ohm load than 4 ohms with less distortion and also the power does not half into a 16 ohm load. With SS amps we know power doubles when impedance is halved and vice versa if the power transformer is upto it.

 

[wuwhere]

True. Generally you can experiment which sounds the best to you. SS amps that double their power with halving of impedance are current amps. They tend to be big with huge heatsinks for the output devices.

 

[ohhgourami]

I just saw this deal: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00026BQJ6/?t=slickdeals&tag=slickdeals
 
Is this amp any good? I'm thinking about getting a temporary amp (sell my Icon2 too), while I'm saving for a Master-10.

 

[wuwhere]

^^ Read the 1 star reviews. Its a fire hazard.

 

[eddie75]

Hey,
 

it's my first post here in this forum.

I've been looking for some advice.
Yesterday I compared the HE-6 and the LCD-2 driven by a Lehmann Black Cube Linear in a german hifi-shop. The Source was a tube-CD player. Although the Lehmann isn't an ideal amp for the HE-6 I liked the performance of the Hifiman. It has a well extended and punchy bass like the LCD-2 and I liked that ist has less of it than the Audeze. I prefered the the brighter presentation of the HE-6 by a small margin. I think it hat a very neutral und natural tone. But when I heard the HE-6 out of a Lehmann Rhinelander, considering my budget, it sounded thinner, brighter and sibilant.
So what do you think is the best "low budget" amp that can drive a HE-6 well? Or should I go with the LCD-2 (which I also found really stunning, only different)?

 

[ohhgourami]

Seems like the Emotiva mini-x a100 seems to be. We can get it for $180 shipped here in the US. I think the prices are a bit higher in Germany. What do you consider "budget"?

 

[eddie75]

I thought of a headphone amp.

I'm not sure, but I think 600 €.

 

[conquerator2]

^ Depends on wht you want to use. For HE-6 speaker amps and/or receivers. This can prove to be much cheaper. You can get a good speaker amp for $200-currently the Emotiva Mini-X is the black horse for starters
With LCDs almost any headphone amp will do but the better the amp the better the results (this also applies wuth the HE-6)

My recommendation would be the HE-6 as I prefer it's presentation.
Highs are extended and crisp. Mids are full and balanced. Lows are extended and textured.
Its also a flagship model while the LCD-2s are not.
If you plan to own the HE-6 only then it is the perfect HP bur due to its power hungry nature you won't be able to use the speaker amp for instance with most other HP.

 

[SpudHarris]

Please excuse me if this has been asked already. Has anyone compared the Mini x with the Topping TP60?

Thanks in advance....