[srkbear]

This!

There's really no substitute for direct comparisons from your system listening to your music.

And thank you @srkbear. It was quite interesting to read about your 'quest'. I frequently skim longer posts seeking 'nuggets' -- yours got my full attention.

I am curious about one point. You clearly value good/impactful bass -- of the cans you're keeping, which do you find has the most satisfying bass, ignoring other aspects of the sound signature.

Thank you sir! That’s gratifying to hear, truly, especially given how long I rambled on and all the melodrama.

To your question, the ones with the most satisfying bass to me were the ones I chose. The Arya SE for sheer quantity, depth and power, and the HEKse for maybe 75% of the impact but with more precision and emphasis in the mid bass, which for me provides warmth.

The Edition XS performs so close to the Arya SE that on many tracks I would struggle to discern the difference, but on particularly bass-intensive songs the Arya is audibly more adept at separating rhythmic instruments in the mix—the bass drum and toms hit with a tactile thwack and disperse out on their own plane, in a way that sounds natural and live. And the HEKse takes that to the next level with a nice, smooth hump in what sounds like the 150-300hz range, offering a bit more fullness and size.

That’s what my 52 year old ears heard, anyway. I notice that you own an HE6xx model—what’s your take on its performance and assets compared to the others in your enviable collection?

 

[srkbear]

What a great great report !

Thank you kindly.

 

[LCMusicLover]

… how long I rambled on ...

For me, rambling on about music and my gear is 9% of the joy of this hobby for me, so … Excused!

… I notice that you own an HE6xx model—what’s your take on its performance and assets compared to the others in your enviable collection?

Well, the common tag for 6XX is doesn’t do anything poorly. And I think that’s accurate but also a bit unfair. Seems like a complaint, but really signifies a lack of major stuff to criticize.

By the time I got it (third or fourth big Drop IIRC) I already owned Auteur, Utopia, EFO & HEKv2. As you might expect, I was under-whelmed.

But over time my opinion has evolved. The first change happened when I got my Liquid Platinum. Two biggest weaknesses I was hearing initially were ‘Sennheiser veil’ and weak bass. LP w/ bright/airy Brimar tubes ==> 6XX helped some with the ‘veil. But LP w/ Siemens CCa really improved the bass.

Since then, I’ve come to appreciate them more — they are sort of the ‘anti-Utopia’ for evaluating gear. It’s like Utopia is dragged down by flaws and weaknesses in the chain, while 6XX is raised up by strengths.

I originally got them partly out of curiosity and because so many reviews use them as a comparison, but also to have a good set I could travel with, and that’s been a good role for them. Plus I’ve loaned them to friends who wanted to listen to something they could imagine buying vs other gear — let’s face it, most sane people aren’t going to listen to something like HEKse first time, hear the price and say ‘Sure, I’ll pick one up tomorrow.’ But when I lend out 6XX or Hifiman HE-560 with DAPs which can drive them and tell them the price I hook ‘em about 50% of the time

So … gateway drug?

< see what I mean about rambling >

 

[srkbear]

For me, rambling on about music and my gear is 9% of the joy of this hobby for me, so … Excused!

Well, the common tag for 6XX is doesn’t do anything poorly. And I think that’s accurate but also a bit unfair. Seems like a complaint, but really signifies a lack of major stuff to criticize.

By the time I got it (third or fourth big Drop IIRC) I already owned Auteur, Utopia, EFO & HEKv2. As you might expect, I was under-whelmed.

But over time my opinion has evolved. The first change happened when I got my Liquid Platinum. Two biggest weaknesses I was hearing initially were ‘Sennheiser veil’ and weak bass. LP w/ bright/airy Brimar tubes ==> 6XX helped some with the ‘veil. But LP w/ Siemens CCa really improved the bass.

Since then, I’ve come to appreciate them more — they are sort of the ‘anti-Utopia’ for evaluating gear. It’s like Utopia is dragged down by flaws and weaknesses in the chain, while 6XX is raised up by strengths.

I originally got them partly out of curiosity and because so many reviews use them as a comparison, but also to have a good set I could travel with, and that’s been a good role for them. Plus I’ve loaned them to friends who wanted to listen to something they could imagine buying vs other gear — let’s face it, most sane people aren’t going to listen to something like HEKse first time, hear the price and say ‘Sure, I’ll pick one up tomorrow.’ But when I lend out 6XX or Hifiman HE-560 with DAPs which can drive them and tell them the price I hook ‘em about 50% of the time

So … gateway drug?

< see what I mean about rambling >

Ramble more, that was extraordinarily cogent and well-stated. It’s very hard to convey the experiential qualities of a headphone in general, but your explanation gave me the clearest mental image of its essence I could hope for without listening to it myself.

My only experience with Sennheiser (besides a Momentum wireless series I gifted my nephew a few years ago) is with the HD800s, which I auditioned at the same time I landed on my Utopia. I found its soundstage, detail and precision to be out of this world, but otherwise the only analogy I think aptly describes the experience is that it was like listening to a massively high-performance set of floor speakers with the woofers disconnected.

It further reinforced my suspicion that at least prior to the wider adoption of the Harman Curve, some of these high end audio manufacturers perceived the typical audiophile to be an arch purist solely interested in classical or jazz genres. It’s the only explanation I could summon for why so many revered headphones (especially electrostatics) were so coveted despite such sharp roll offs in the low end. That and perhaps a presumption that they were mostly listening to LP masters?

I acquiesced to the Utopias despite them being only marginally better in these areas, and I’ve now experienced it again with the Susvaras. I can’t imagine how any of these could be enjoyed without added PEQ.

I remain at a loss for this, although I’m certainly glad to see the tides turning a bit over the last couple of years. If you have any of your own theories, rambling would be welcomed…

 

[LCMusicLover]

… why so many revered headphones (especially electrostatics) were so coveted despite such sharp roll offs in the low end.
.
.
.
… If you have any of your own theories, rambling would be welcomed…

I always assumed that early headphones’ bass response was limited by technology (as it still is today to an extent which is debatable) and that the ‘signature’ had achieved the status of a standard by the time better bass became possible. Plus, to be fair, most audiophile equipment was, for many years, aimed at the classical and (to a lesser degree) jazz listener. And I think that bias persisted longest in the headphone world.

All hail @zach915m

JMHO and speculation of course.

 

[S Crowther]

Ramble more, that was extraordinarily cogent and well-stated. It’s very hard to convey the experiential qualities of a headphone in general, but your explanation gave me the clearest mental image of its essence I could hope for without listening to it myself.

My only experience with Sennheiser (besides a Momentum wireless series I gifted my nephew a few years ago) is with the HD800s, which I auditioned at the same time I landed on my Utopia. I found its soundstage, detail and precision to be out of this world, but otherwise the only analogy I think aptly describes the experience is that it was like listening to a massively high-performance set of floor speakers with the woofers disconnected.

It further reinforced my suspicion that at least prior to the wider adoption of the Harman Curve, some of these high end audio manufacturers perceived the typical audiophile to be an arch purist solely interested in classical or jazz genres. It’s the only explanation I could summon for why so many revered headphones (especially electrostatics) were so coveted despite such sharp roll offs in the low end. That and perhaps a presumption that they were mostly listening to LP masters?

I acquiesced to the Utopias despite them being only marginally better in these areas, and I’ve now experienced it again with the Susvaras. I can’t imagine how any of these could be enjoyed without added PEQ.

I remain at a loss for this, although I’m certainly glad to see the tides turning a bit over the last couple of years. If you have any of your own theories, rambling would be welcomed…

Well you may be right. I have HD800s and HEKSE and listen to them happily without EQ and I only listen to classical music.

 

[srkbear]

Well you may be right. I have HD800s and HEKSE and listen to them happily without EQ and I only listen to classical music.

And I think that’s terrific! Nothing makes me happier than hearing folks are pleased with their gear and enjoying their music. The HEKse is a great headphone for any genre, and as I hope I conveyed in my original review a page or so back, I believe headphones with their ranges of tunings all have something to offer folks with their own unique preferences and needs.

 

[srkbear]

Acknowledging that this story is starting not to age well, I discovered that I have until February 1st of 2023 to return these HEKV2/HEKse options—so I’m embarrassed to say that the Meze Elites are on the way. Although I’m securely sold on the Arya Stealths, I’m still torn between the unrivaled level of detail retrieval with these two flagships vs their brightness and potential fatigue factor.

Although I won’t name names, someone on here planted a bug in my brain about this Meze option. You know who you are…it’s clearly your fault!

 

[Slim1970]

Acknowledging that this story is starting not to age well, I discovered that I have until February 1st of 2023 to return these HEKV2/HEKse options—so I’m embarrassed to say that the Meze Elites are on the way. Although I’m securely sold on the Arya Stealths, I’m still torn between the unrivaled level of detail retrieval with these two flagships vs their brightness and potential fatigue factor.

Although I won’t name names, someone on here planted a bug in my brain about this Meze option. You know who you are…it’s clearly your fault!

It’s good that you are trying all these headphones for yourself. It‘s the best way to decide what’s the best headphone for you. Dispel all the rumors, negate all hype, and let YOUR ears be the deciding factor. I like reading your decision making process, so keep posting

 

[srkbear]

It’s good that you are trying all these headphones for yourself. It‘s the best way to decide what’s the best headphone for you. Dispel all the rumors, negate all hype, and let YOUR ears be the deciding factor. I like reading your decision making process, so keep posting

That’s really gratifying, thank you. It’s my nature to assume I’m being a pest. I’ll do my best to share my subjective thoughts in hope that it may be of use to someone out there.

 

[Arcamera]

Although I won’t name names, someone on here planted a bug in my brain about this Meze option. You know who you are…it’s clearly your fault!

Lol

Meze seems to polarize around these parts. But I think the Elite is pretty excellent. It's a really well balanced headphone, that's easy to listen to/low fatigue, yet still brings good amounts of the usual audiophile sound virtues...Glad you'll be checking them out yourself!

Now perversely you got me wanting to try out the Arya Stealth...

 

[srkbear]

Lol

Meze seems to polarize around these parts. But I think the Elite is pretty excellent. It's a really well balanced headphone, that's easy to listen to/low fatigue, yet still brings good amounts of the usual audiophile sound virtues...Glad you'll be checking them out yourself!

Now perversely you got me wanting to try out the Arya Stealth...

You DEFINITELY should try out the Arya Stealth.

 

[Guipnox]

Lol

Meze seems to polarize around these parts. But I think the Elite is pretty excellent. It's a really well balanced headphone, that's easy to listen to/low fatigue, yet still brings good amounts of the usual audiophile sound virtues...Glad you'll be checking them out yourself!

Now perversely you got me wanting to try out the Arya Stealth...

You should buy a Hifiman HE6seV2 for 449 USD new or 429 open box: https://www.adorama.com/hmhe6sev2.html?emailprice=t
Much more engaging and dynamic than Arya SE, albeit slightly less detailed and smaller stage, but with more natural tonality.
But it needs a beefier amp and some mods (mainy open grills and new pads, I recommend DCA Ether Angled).
I reckon it'd bring a unique sound for your collection.

 

[cfranchi]

You should buy a Hifiman HE6seV2 for 449 USD new or 429 open box: https://www.adorama.com/hmhe6sev2.html?emailprice=t
Much more engaging and dynamic than Arya SE, albeit slightly less detailed and smaller stage, but with more natural tonality.
But it needs a beefier amp and some mods (mainy open grills and new pads, I recommend DCA Ether Angled).
I reckon it'd bring a unique sound for your collection.

Yes HE6se is a beast, imaging is crazy and sound is the most natural / neutral I have experienced BUT you need to fight the dip in the mids by changing the pads : dekoni elite velour for me, it also improve the comfort greatly (I recommend v1 over v2 for comfort, otherwise drivers are the same)

 

[srkbear]

Yes HE6se is a beast, imaging is crazy and sound is the most natural / neutral I have experienced BUT you need to fight the dip in the mids by changing the pads : dekoni elite velour for me, it also improve the comfort greatly (I recommend v1 over v2 for comfort, otherwise drivers are the same)

I’m curious about the HE6, but I think I’ve come to the conclusion that super-low sensitivity headphones are not for me. I’m steering clear of DCA’s Stealth and Expanse for similar reasons, although I haven’t fully abandoned the Stealth, as the only closed back option I currently have on board is a lowly Sony 1AM2–I sold my Z1R’s last week.

At least the Stealth isn’t in the Susvara (or HE6) sensitivity range, although at 87 it ain’t amp-friendly by any means. I auditioned the Stellia when I got my Utopia and wasn’t excited about it at all at the time.

I will say that after using eBay to unload my Z1Rs and sacrificing 15%+ of my sale price, I might opt for Reverb next time—their fee is only 5%.

I’ve also now auditioned six of HFM’s current offerings in one sitting, and I feel like I’ve derived the essence of their sound signatures—plus I’ve already added at least two to my collection. Before I add a third I thought I’d try out the offering from another brand first that seems to fall into my preferred FRC. I figure that if I end up with either the HEKse or the Meze Elite I won’t be in bad shape either way.

It’s been awhile since HFM refreshed their flagship—their four TOTLs are all over four years old. Given that Focal, Audeze, DCA and Meze have all brought new players to the field in the last year, I can’t shake the suspicion that HFM have something exciting coming down the pipeline in the not-too-distant future. This brings a note of hesitation to all of this, to be honest.

Knowing my luck I’ll settle down with the HEKse and a week after the return window, they’ll release a new Susvara that has an improved Stealth magnet, better sensitivity and a beefier low end. Tell me I’m being cynical—I betcha can’t!