[SoupRKnowva]

I never said no headphone amp can drive the he6. I was speaking about the liquid fire that I've heard for myself. I haven't heard the amp you are referring to and I doubt you have either. But if it doesn't put out the necessary requirements to drive the he6 properly, it will also fall short. If it does, then I'm sure it will sound amazing driving it. But anyway, my comments were about the lf, and not all headphone amps. I'm aware of a couple that can properly drive it. In fact, the best I ever heard them was from a darkstar(a dedicated headphone amp). Although there are a couple of amps that can drive it, that only accounts for about 95% of amps out there(probably a bigger percentage than that) which is why many use speaker amps, and I'm not aware of many cases of people blowing up their he6 either.

And here I thought the he6 sounded terribl out of the dark star, it sounded amazing being driven straight off the speaker taps of the B24 though

 

[moodyrn]

lol, as been said so many times, we all hear things differently. But that's the first I heard that though..

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Well you did quote me, and made contradictory responses to my quote. If you were merely making a contribution to the thread and not responding to my quote then why quote me.

 
 
Man look - I said I didn't mean anything by it  - now take it as that and move on.  

 

[moodyrn]

Huh? Seems you are the one who needs to move on. You are the one who's started and continue to quote me. Please let it go. We have move on to another topic.

 

[preproman]

Carry on..

 

[grokit]

Quote:

And here I thought the he6 sounded terribl out of the dark star, it sounded amazing being driven straight off the speaker taps of the B24 though

 
That is the first time I have read anything along those lines, please explain the sonic differences that you are hearing when you say terrible and amazing.
 
 
Quote:

lol, as been said so many times, we all hear things differently. But that's the first I heard that though..

 
x2

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

 
That is the first time I have read anything along those lines, please explain the sonic differences that you are hearing when you say terrible and amazing.
 
 
 
x2

 
I found the dark star to be rather harsh in the highs, and lacking bass weight and impact, whereas the B24 filled out the bass sound considerably, and the high were not harsh at all.

 

[mikiphile]

Nice thread..
 
From the headphones discussed here.. Ive heard the HE-6, LCD-2 and SR-009 (driven from a very high end tube amp, and the SR-009 was driven from a Blue Hawaii I think). I have to say.. my favourite ones were the HE-6. I heard them even from my Schiit Lyr and it was a rather satisfactory result. It sounded noticeably better from the better amp, however it wasnt a night and day difference. I dont remember exactly how it sounded.. but i believe it was very detailed and very balanced. Excellent bass texture without too much bass slam. I remember listening to familiar songs and discovering a new world of sounds within them, very revealing.
 
The Stax was brilliant, but it didnt leave such an impression on me as other cans did.
 
I haven't heard the LCD-3, but from what Im reading.. I suppose they aren't really worth the difference in price between them and the LCD-2. Everyone keeps saying that they arent that much different. Also, I didnt really like the sound signature of the LCD-2. Not only were they too dark for my taste, their midrange was too recessed.
 
Now... these cans are still out of my league for two reasons. I have other financial priorities since im still a student and its impossible for me to safely transport that much gear as I have to move every 6 months. However, I decided to look into a pair of HE-500.. how do you guys think it will pair with the Lyr?

 

[Loevhagen]

"...Everyone keeps saying that they arent that much different..."
 
Some, yes. Everyone; far from it.
 
"...LCD-2. Not only were they too dark for my taste, their midrange was too recessed..."
 
LCD-2 having recessed midrange? Hm. "Everyone" says the opposite. The LCD-3, compared to the LCD-2, has a more distant midrange. 
 
From what you say, I think the HE-500 is actually a headphone you would like. 

 

[mikiphile]

Quote:

"...Everyone keeps saying that they arent that much different..."
 
Some, yes. Everyone; far from it.
 
"...LCD-2. Not only were they too dark for my taste, their midrange was too recessed..."
 
LCD-2 having recessed midrange? Hm. "Everyone" says the opposite. The LCD-3, compared to the LCD-2, has a more distant midrange. 
 
From what you say, I think the HE-500 is actually a headphone you would like. 

 
Well what I meant is that the LCD-2 have a more recessed midrange than headphones that I prefer. However, its good that you said this cos now Im not exactly sure about the mids of the LCD-2... they might not be "that recessed" actually". It was a long time ago when I heard them.
 
I would still like to hear the LCD-3..  Audeze have always intrigued me.
 
Well its about time I move for something more serious than an "excuse for AKG"...I really got tired of them, even though my Lyr + K701 combo is 3 weeks old. (Ive had the K242 HD 1 year solid and the K701 around 7 months now). The Bifrost and Lyr are new (second hand but new).
 
I think Audeze and Hifiman sit above the rest of the mid-fi companies such as AKG, Sennheiser (obvious exceptions are: HD800, HD600/650, HD-700, Orpheus), Denon.
 
I will give my K701 a few months before I can comfortably go for a pair of HE-500. Might decide to sell them, but still not sure.

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

 
Well what I meant is that the LCD-2 have a more recessed midrange than headphones that I prefer. However, its good that you said this cos now Im not exactly sure about the mids of the LCD-2... they might not be "that recessed" actually". It was a long time ago when I heard them.
 
I would still like to hear the LCD-3..  Audeze have always intrigued me.
 
Well its about time I move for something more serious than an "excuse for AKG"...I really got tired of them, even though my Lyr + K701 combo is 3 weeks old. (Ive had the K242 HD 1 year solid and the K701 around 7 months now). The Bifrost and Lyr are new (second hand but new).
 
I think Audeze and Hifiman sit above the rest of the mid-fi companies such as AKG, Sennheiser (obvious exceptions are: HD800, HD600/650, HD-700, Orpheus), Denon.
 
I will give my K701 a few months before I can comfortably go for a pair of HE-500. Might decide to sell them, but still not sure.

For me the only thing recessed with the LCD-2 is treble, but IMO, that's a good thing. Comparatively the LCD-3 does everything 
better than the LCD-2 with the exception of bass, more balanced but less enjoyable, again IMO.
 
If the Audeze is out of your budget then I think the HE-500 is definitely a good option. I can definitely see how some may even
prefer the 500 to say the LCD-2. This would vary on your preference. 

 

[Happy Camper]

"...Everyone keeps saying that they arent that much different..."


Some, yes. Everyone; far from it.

"...LCD-2. Not only were they too dark for my taste, their midrange was too recessed..."


LCD-2 having recessed midrange? Hm. "Everyone" says the opposite. The LCD-3, compared to the LCD-2, has a more distant midrange. 


From what you say, I think the HE-500 is actually a headphone you would like. 

This guy (Loevhagen) is an ortho fan and has them all in his sig. I think he has a handle on it.

I agree that the 500 is his choice. Keep an eye open in the headphone sale forum. They come through from time to time. I'd really like to have a listen to the 3s though.

 

[Elysian]

Quote:

Well what I meant is that the LCD-2 have a more recessed midrange than headphones that I prefer. However, its good that you said this cos now Im not exactly sure about the mids of the LCD-2... they might not be "that recessed" actually". It was a long time ago when I heard them.

 
I wouldn't second-guess your memory too much, though it's always good to keep demoing headphones on different amps.  The Audeze and Hifiman headphones have appreciably different signatures, and it's not uncommon for people to like one signature and not care too much for the other.  The 500s are a nice headphone and are more forgiving about amping than the 6, but a well-driven 6 is pretty special.
 
You can drive a 6 off of a Trends TA-10.2SE speaker amp (about $239 or so) if you can DIY or buy an XLR to 4-pin speaker tap adapter, and it sounds better than the $1500-2500 headphone amps I've heard with the HE-6.  The Trends even has a volume knob.  If you don't mind buying used headphones, you can score a used HE-6 for approximately the same price as a used LCD-2.  If you buy a used HE-6 and a new TA-10.2SE, you'll be hard pressed to find a better sounding $1k combo.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Nice thread..
 
From the headphones discussed here.. Ive heard the HE-6, LCD-2 and SR-009 (driven from a very high end tube amp, and the SR-009 was driven from a Blue Hawaii I think). I have to say.. my favourite ones were the HE-6. I heard them even from my Schiit Lyr and it was a rather satisfactory result. It sounded noticeably better from the better amp, however it wasnt a night and day difference. I dont remember exactly how it sounded.. but i believe it was very detailed and very balanced. Excellent bass texture without too much bass slam. I remember listening to familiar songs and discovering a new world of sounds within them, very revealing.
 
The Stax was brilliant, but it didnt leave such an impression on me as other cans did.
 
I haven't heard the LCD-3, but from what Im reading.. I suppose they aren't really worth the difference in price between them and the LCD-2. Everyone keeps saying that they arent that much different. Also, I didnt really like the sound signature of the LCD-2. Not only were they too dark for my taste, their midrange was too recessed.
 
Now... these cans are still out of my league for two reasons. I have other financial priorities since im still a student and its impossible for me to safely transport that much gear as I have to move every 6 months. However, I decided to look into a pair of HE-500.. how do you guys think it will pair with the Lyr?

 
Here's my thoughts between the LCD-2s and LCD-3s:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/a/comparisons-of-the-lcd-3-and-the-lcd-2-rev-2
 
The LCD-3s just do everything better than the LCD-2s and are basically my TOTL headphone. Are they 2x better? Nope, but the LCD-2s are fantastic headphones and in this range there is no linearity with performance / pricing. Trust me, I know we Macedonians can be quite cheap, but IMO the LCD-3s were totally worth it (for me anyway). 

 

[Magick Man]

I wouldn't second-guess your memory too much, though it's always good to keep demoing headphones on different amps.  The Audeze and Hifiman headphones have appreciably different signatures, and it's not uncommon for people to like one signature and not care too much for the other.  The 500s are a nice headphone and are more forgiving about amping than the 6, but a well-driven 6 is pretty special.

You can drive a 6 off of a Trends TA-10.2SE speaker amp (about $239 or so) if you can DIY or buy an XLR to 4-pin speaker tap adapter, and it sounds better than the $1500-2500 headphone amps I've heard with the HE-6.  The Trends even has a volume knob.  If you don't mind buying used headphones, you can score a used HE-6 for approximately the same price as a used LCD-2.  If you buy a used HE-6 and a new TA-10.2SE, you'll be hard pressed to find a better sounding $1k combo.

This, all of it. You don't need a special $2000 headphone amp to drive the HE-6s, in fact I recommend that people shouldn't do that. Get a nice used HE-6 and a decent low-noise 2ch 50-60 watt stereo amp and run right off the speaker taps. Another option is a good used IA or receiver. Something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NAD-Stereo-Integrated-Amplifier-Model-3150-Used-/170867607530

You'd have a jack for your other `phones and run the HE-6s off the back, for $180. That's pretty serious for such a small amount of cash.

Edit: In fact, someone should probably jump on that before I do. that's a very good deal for that amp.