[Armaegis]

After modding, mine are literally louder on the outside 

 

[Happy Camper]

Yes, they are a nearfield monitor. I use them as desktops for a break.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

After modding, mine are literally louder on the outside 

Yep, Hifiman headphones are all about minimizing back-damping and maximizing front-damping for optimal performance.

 

[Helstar]

Quote:

To say that these cans leak is an understatement. If u wonna know how much the will leak turn up any cans u have to your listening level and keeping the drivers apart set them down and then stand where u would expect a bystander to stand. Whatever u hear there is what another person will hear when u have the he6 on.

Thx for your reply. I was afraid it would sound like that. Guess my quest for a new HP continues.

 

[ericfarrell85]

Just got my replacement HE6 (unfortunately with pleather pads) and for the first time connected it to my Odyssey Stratos Plus. I'm using a Decware CSP2+ as preamp and an XLR midcable to the speaker posts. What would be the safest manner of disconnecting the headphones? Can I simply detach the XLR midcable, with the amp on, leaving the speaker wires on the posts?
 
Incidentally I don't know if this setup is as good as my Marantz 2285 (needs repairs so can't currently compare) but the soundstage, details and dynamics out of this amp are out of this world. The Marantz is certainly warmer and more forgiving and likely a bit rolled off in the upper registers, which lends itself very well to this headphone, but definitely cannot match it for raw extraction of detail. 

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Just got my replacement HE6 (unfortunately with pleather pads) and for the first time connected it to my Odyssey Stratos Plus. I'm using a Decware CSP2+ as preamp and an XLR midcable to the speaker posts. What would be the safest manner of disconnecting the headphones? Can I simply detach the XLR midcable, with the amp on, leaving the speaker wires on the posts?
 
Incidentally I don't know if this setup is as good as my Marantz 2285 (needs repairs so can't currently compare) but the soundstage, details and dynamics out of this amp are out of this world. The Marantz is certainly warmer and more forgiving and likely a bit rolled off in the upper registers, which lends itself very well to this headphone, but definitely cannot match it for raw extraction of detail. 

 
Umm..  You got any pictures of this.  What's a XLR midcable?

 

[sphinxvc]

Quote:

Just got my replacement HE6 (unfortunately with pleather pads) and for the first time connected it to my Odyssey Stratos Plus. I'm using a Decware CSP2+ as preamp and an XLR midcable to the speaker posts. What would be the safest manner of disconnecting the headphones? Can I simply detach the XLR midcable, with the amp on, leaving the speaker wires on the posts?
 
Incidentally I don't know if this setup is as good as my Marantz 2285 (needs repairs so can't currently compare) but the soundstage, details and dynamics out of this amp are out of this world. The Marantz is certainly warmer and more forgiving and likely a bit rolled off in the upper registers, which lends itself very well to this headphone, but definitely cannot match it for raw extraction of detail. 

 
Hey!  Glad to see the amp's working out for you.  The safest manner of disconnecting the headphones is to turn the amp off in the back, then unplug the XLR M from F.  Leave the bindings connected unless you're looking to hook up something else, speakers maybe, another speaker tap adapter, etc.

 

[Happy Camper]

Though they work, the mid fi receivers I've tried weren't as impressive as component amps but do a decent job. The Marrantz 55 watt receiver we tried at the A/V store was the least of the units tried that day. Of course the cost was more for the other 3 units but we all know cost doesn't mean anything.......... It went up against two Simaudio integrateds and a Primaluna Prologue. The soundstage was flat with very little depth, the body full but over done (lack of finesse) for the HE. The bass was not as detailed and damping not as strong, making for a boomy presentation. The other amps were more refined and presented a better soundstage and more space between instruments. Must of been that pixie dust they use on the higher priced units. We are supposed to go back for a second round with Naim, MacIntosh, Cambridge and any other brands the store wants us to try but it's been a while. Our interests are in DACs at the present.

The source was laptop flac through a Wavelength Proton via USB.

I disconnect mine now after listening is done. I turn down the DAC and disconnect before turning off. Firing up/shutting down can create a energy surge (click, pop, etc) even with volume all the way down so I'm taking no more chances when using speaker amps.

 

[rdaneel]

Hi folks - 
 
First post in the HE-6 thread (or anywhere in Summit-Fi, for that matter).  I currently enjoy a pair of HE-400s that I drive with a Burson Soloist SL or Schiit Lyr.  I was planning on getting HE-500s, but now have the chance to pick up a relative's used HE-6s for about what new HE-500s would cost me.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to demo either the -500s or -6s before making up my mind.
 
My initial reaction was "you'd have to be crazy to pick the -500s over the -6s given equal cost."  Does anyone disagree?  I'm not going to have the funds for a new amp for the time being, and it seems from my reading that the Lyr might end up being the limiting factor.  I'm still thinking that the Lyr/6s combo will beat the Lyr/500s combo hands down, right?  I should be pretty darn happy with it while I save pennies for an EF-6, Schiit statement amp or whatever else presents itself down the road.
 
Thanks for any advice.  I just want to do a gut check before making a final decision.
 
Thanks!

 

[khaine1711]

I'm gonna have some quality times with the He-6. I've always wondered how the popular Emotiva X-100 competes with other budget amp; finally asked my dealer for a demo and brought the 6kg box to my room.
 
You may also noticed the Ap1 and the Chord QuteHD 

.
 
 
 
Quote:

My initial reaction was "you'd have to be crazy to pick the -500s over the -6s given equal cost." Does anyone disagree? I'm not going to have the funds for a new amp for the time being, and it seems from my reading that the Lyr might end up being the limiting factor. I'm still thinking that the Lyr/6s combo will beat the Lyr/500s combo hands down, right? I should be pretty darn happy with it while I save pennies for an EF-6, Schiit statement amp or whatever else presents itself down the road.

 
Unless you like extremely dark signature (hd650/lcd2/darth beyer), the He-6 is far better than the He-500. Amping wise just grab a speaker amp - cheap and effective. I'd pick the 6 over the 500 at retail price even (US retail, not UK retail price 

)
 

 

[rdaneel]

Thanks, khaine.
 
I'm always a bit surprised by the love for speaker amps with these headphones.  Head-Fiers, of all people, place audio quality above most other things, especially price.  The advice seems to be "get a cheap speaker amp, that is better than an expensive dedicated HP amp."  To me, that seems to be placing quantity of power above amp quality.  I'm an Emotiva fan (and own multiple Emo products), but no one exactly accused the X-100 of being an audiophile amp.  It was designed to be a second zone amp or to power a secondary system - not places that sound quality are that important.  I mean, isn't a well designed class A amp like the EF-6 going to offer a much better quality amplification?  Or are the HE-6s playing by different rules, where giving them tons of juice is more important than the quality?  Just curious...

 

[khaine1711]

Quote:

Thanks, khaine.
 
I'm always a bit surprised by the love for speaker amps with these headphones.  Head-Fiers, of all people, place audio quality above most other things, especially price.  The advice seems to be "get a cheap speaker amp, that is better than an expensive dedicated HP amp."  To me, that seems to be placing quantity of power above amp quality.  I'm an Emotiva fan (and own multiple Emo products), but no one exactly accused the X-100 of being an audiophile amp.  It was designed to be a second zone amp or to power a secondary system - not places that sound quality are that important.  I mean, isn't a well designed class A amp like the EF-6 going to offer a much better quality amplification?  Or are the HE-6s playing by different rules, where giving them tons of juice is more important than the quality?  Just curious...

I can assure you, we place audio quality above most things. That's why we don't recommend any HT receiver or any speaker amps for that matter. However, amplification is not rocket science; anything the headphone amplifier market is doing, has likely been overdone many times by the speaker amplifier market. The main strength of the He-6 for me is that it plays well with speaker amp. The speaker amp market is huge and you should take advantage of that. 
 
I'm not suggesting the X-100 will be better than the Ef-6; in fact I don't even like it atm =p. I do think it's better than many headphone amps for the He-6, and is an excellent buy if you're on a budget.
 
Also if you got 1200 bucks to blow on the Ef-6; you should check out the speaker amp market too. However well designed the Ef6 is, I doubt the quality can be on par with Ayre/Prima Luna/Nelson Pass/Accuphase/McIntosh to name a few. Besides that gave you a nice amp for your stereo setup too, it's a win-win =p.

 

[Cante Ista]

Quote:

I can assure you, we place audio quality above most things. That's why we don't recommend any HT receiver or any speaker amps for that matter. However, amplification is not rocket science; anything the headphone amplifier market is doing, has likely been overdone many times by the speaker amplifier market. The main strength of the He-6 for me is that it plays well with speaker amp. The speaker amp market is huge and you should take advantage of that. 
 
I'm not suggesting the X-100 will be better than the Ef-6; in fact I don't even like it atm =p. I do think it's better than many headphone amps for the He-6, and is an excellent buy if you're on a budget.
 
Also if you got 1200 bucks to blow on the Ef-6; you should check out the speaker amp market too. However well designed the Ef6 is, I doubt the quality can be on par with Ayre/Prima Luna/Nelson Pass/Accuphase/McIntosh to name a few. Besides that gave you a nice amp for your stereo setup too, it's a win-win =p.

I second that.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Thanks, khaine.
 
I'm always a bit surprised by the love for speaker amps with these headphones.  Head-Fiers, of all people, place audio quality above most other things, especially price.  The advice seems to be "get a cheap speaker amp, that is better than an expensive dedicated HP amp."  To me, that seems to be placing quantity of power above amp quality.  I'm an Emotiva fan (and own multiple Emo products), but no one exactly accused the X-100 of being an audiophile amp.  It was designed to be a second zone amp or to power a secondary system - not places that sound quality are that important.  I mean, isn't a well designed class A amp like the EF-6 going to offer a much better quality amplification?  Or are the HE-6s playing by different rules, where giving them tons of juice is more important than the quality?  Just curious...

 
This is an interesting train of thought.  
 
I'll take a stab at it.
 
I'm not sure how high of quality the EF-6 or the Dark Star is when compared to the a-100.  Sure they cost more but lot of that cost for the Dark Star as you know, goes into the fancy enclosure.  As for the EF-6, I have no experience with it or what parts are used. 
 
What I can tell you is this.  The a-100 is a great entry level speaker amp @ $200 for the HE-6.  Nobody ever said the a-100 was of high quality.  It was always stated "for the price of $200" this is a good amp for the HE-6.  Yes there are better amps out there of-course,  However, for the price of a Lyr or a Burson Soloist I'll bet my Dollar to your Dime the a-100 will out perform both on the HE-6.
 
When you start talking about the price of a EF-6 @ $1500 or the Dark Star @ $3500.  Why go there when you can get some of Nelson Pass amps or others at that price or lower than the Dark Star?
 
You may not like the HE-6 on many of these headphone amps while the HE-500 would shine on the same headphone amp.  The HE-6 will play down to it's partner, it will also play up and scale as high as your gear will.  The HE-500 has a celling.  
 
There's a few other low priced speaker amps out there at or around the price of the a-100 that are also pretty good - like the Trends amp.
 
The a-100 was always just a suggestion of a pretty good capable entry level speaker amp to pair with the HE-6.  It just happened to sound pretty good with it.

 

[rdaneel]

I really appreciate all the thoughtful replies!  I'm glad to stimulate some interesting discussion.
 
I guess my real question should be whether there are limits on what you can use for amplification.  I have a new Emerald Physics EP100.2SE amp for my speaker setup that I never thought could play with headphones.  It's a great class D speaker amp, but I have no idea how it would play with a 50ohm load.  Is there a general guideline?  It seems like a wide variety of amps are being used.  If I had the cables I needed, I could try it against the Lyr.
 
I guess the other dumb question is how I make a cable to work with the amp, and whether I would need to swap the connections at the binding posts every time I wanted to switch between mains and headphones.  That would be a major pain.  I've been reading this thread (started back at page 400), so maybe I find these answers as I catch up...