[Empyah]

It's not the headphones fault, nor is it my amp, it's your attitude. I don't want to hurt my ears. I also said I live in a small space, and value convenience. Most amps don't color the sound, nor are they designed to do so.

What is the main purpose of an amp? The answer to that question was the premise for the video. I've watched Resolve and all the guys from the headphone show talk about this, and these headphones in particular. Comparing headphones, especially these particular headphones, to a full size speaker array is ridiculous.

You are being ridiculous. Ridiculous cringe. But keep going, this is great stuff.
Teach us more please.

 

[mudguardiain]

If your headphones can’t scale, why buy them?

Headphones definitely scale in my experience & amplifiers can & do improve performance. My experience with the Stealths has been interesting, I believe they need careful matching to sound their best. I have found they are very revealing of source, more so than other headphones I have had. I have settled on a tube amp and I am very pleased with the results, best & most engaging experience I have had so far with my headphones journey.

 

[Archlize]

Headphones definitely scale in my experience & amplifiers can & do improve performance. My experience with the Stealths has been interesting, I believe they need careful matching to sound their best. I have found they are very revealing of source, more so than other headphones I have had. I have settled on a tube amp and I am very pleased with the results, best & most engaging experience I have had so far with my headphones journey.

It really does. I was a skeptic too until like 4 days ago lol, and thought that dac and amp is just a waste of money. Ooo boy I was wrong.

 

[mudguardiain]

Everyone has different views but I believe source gear is more important the headphones. I spent a while trying various DAC's & eventually ended up with the Spring 3 which for me is very natural sounding. I am also an advocate of ensuring good mains power. I use a dedicated spur & the Puritan PSM136, to me this was a significant part of building my system & gave me improvements that outweighs any of the costs incurred. The benefits to me are the spatial awareness & sense of environment that can be heard on recordings, subtle cues that bring the music to life & make it believable.

 

[etroze86]

The most famous audio critic and one of the biggest influencers in growing the personal audio space is Crinacle, and he recommends the Apple dongle. That dongle costs 12 dollars and my THX Onyx costs 200 dollars, and the THX is much more powerful and technically advanced. Also, the focal and stealth hifiman are widely known to be easy to drive, so I could drive them to uncomfortable volume with virtually any source. As new to audio as I am, I know enough to not be shaken by your comment.

Except planars need high current to sound their best which nothing crin says about the apple dongle applies.

 

[etroze86]

It can extract massive hearing loss. They don't require alot of power so I'm not gonna throw any more at them. The Onyx is one of the most powerful portable amps on the market, and drives them plenty loud enough to cause fatigue.

Also far from true, plenty more powerful better sounding units on the market. It measures well but lacks musicality.

 

[Yeahnahrighto]

It really does. I was a skeptic too until like 4 days ago lol, and thought that dac and amp is just a waste of money. Ooo boy I was wrong.

Agreed, I was also a big skeptic of the whole amp/dac scaling conversation. Until I heard the chord mojo 2 and it blew me away. Amazing piece of kit that outperforms
anything i've heard before.

 

[Archlize]

Agreed, I was also a big skeptic of the whole amp/dac scaling conversation. Until I heard the chord mojo 2 and it blew me away. Amazing piece of kit that outperforms
anything i've heard before.

yeah the mojo is amazing especially with how portable it is too! But yeah I couldn't believe the amount of improvement I heard lool. Although for IEMS maybe not so much improvement. But as for headphone I feel like it's a bit source/amp dependent.

 

[Tada]

What is the main purpose of an amp? The answer to that question was the premise for the video. I've watched Resolve and all the guys from the headphone show talk about this, and these headphones in particular. Comparing headphones, especially these particular headphones, to a full size speaker array is ridiculous.

Actually the driver size of headphones are much closer to speaker drivers in size than to any IEM driver. So bringing up Crinacle's reference to driving IEM's with Apple dongles is a bit more ridiculous.

 

[Yeahnahrighto]

Would anyone mind giving their v2(non stealth) vs SE comparisons? Tossing up between the two and won't be able to demo the v2 (non stealth) unfortunately.

 

[Tada]

V2 Non-Stealth - fuller and smoother signature, bigger soundstage
SE - more dynamic, better technically, brighter

 

[Archlize]

Would anyone mind giving their v2(non stealth) vs SE comparisons? Tossing up between the two and won't be able to demo the v2 (non stealth) unfortunately.

If you go to page 806, I think boodi actually wrote alot of V2, V2s and SE comparison a lot. I can only wrote from my experience, SE is amazing it's very resolving, the amount of detail you'll get is probably the best headphones I ever heard. The bass is much punchier, however this came in the cost of the soundstage compared to the V2. For me I chose the V2 in the end, because I have a treble sensitive right ear, I can't listen to more than 45 mins on a bright headphone. To me the SE is very bright, the stealth is even brighter to my ears. But they have very good dynamics, maybe just a tiny bit better than the SE for me?

I can definitely see how V2S is a Mini HEKSE. It has similar tuning, but maybe slightly inferior driver. Can't write much because I only got 1 hour to demo the three of these in the store haha.

EDIT : You can read from page 806 till recent, Boodi wrote a lot of comparison with the SE and why he ended up selling the V2S in the end.

 

[mudguardiain]

Agreed, I was also a big skeptic of the whole amp/dac scaling conversation. Until I heard the chord mojo 2 and it blew me away. Amazing piece of kit that outperforms
anything i've heard before.

The Mojo is great, I have owned the 2Qute & Qutest as well as the Hugo TT2 which was exceptional but the Holo Spring with a tube amp blows them all away in my opinion, the emotional impact of the music sends shivers down my spine, vocals are just incredible, almost unnerving at times.

 

[boodi]

Would anyone mind giving their v2(non stealth) vs SE comparisons? Tossing up between the two and won't be able to demo the v2 (non stealth) unfortunately.

Simply put : depending on your tastes you could favor the one or the other .. The v2 is superior to the hekse for timbral fidelity and mids but inferior to the hekse for bass , extension , air , stage , an higher standard for precision and layering and greater ranges for dynamics . Still it gains some preference depending on the day mood , the chain , and the songs i listen.
There 's no dubt which one of the two I'd choose if i had to though.

 

[boodi]

Couldn’t resist an irresistible offer from A2A in Melbourne( thanks Jesse)and bought the HEKse…again. My third pair and only really sold the previous ones to try other stuff. Easily my favourite headphone and for me much more enjoyable than Susvara.

So how do you find them much more enjoyable then Susvara ?