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!
