knorris908
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2014
- Posts
- 530
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- 442
Hi Josh,
Congrats!! You've got a seriously nice sounding iem in the Mest MkII. You're setting the bar pretty high from the onset. As for the he6se v2, I believe I warned you that you might run into this situation with the sources you're using throttling their capabilities... First, the easiest mod is to remove the screens. You can pick any of the mod screens others have mentioned earlier for long-term protection so the drivers aren't exposed. The 2nd is pad rolling. I like the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads that I settled on, but others have had success with different ones. 3rd is cable. I was fine with the SOUND of the stock one, but did pick up a replacement from Periapt, and am quite happy with it. Did nothing for improving sound (To MY ears), but made them more enjoyable to use... 4th is power and made the largest improvement in my experience. I have iFi Micro iDSD original, black label, iCAN, and xCAN, and while they all could POWER the he6se v2 to loud enough levels, they never made the cans "sing". Zen Can v2, Asgard 2, SMSL sp200, Topping a90 were each incrementally "better" than the previous in the list (read as louder), but not enjoyable. Going to the Burson Soloist 3Xp was the first "Ah!" moment that I realized how special they could sound. Picking up a cheap, vintage HK-870 and powering them off that has made them my favorite, even over my HEDDPhone, which is quite a feat. I "suspect" that upgrading my HK-870 to a quality, "modern" power amp like the Benchmark AHB2 "might" push them even a little further, but I'm quite happy for now. The fact that I NEVER noticed Mick Jagger in the background of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" before running them off the HK-870 was all the proof that I needed that I was at a decent place in my personal he6se upgrade adventure. Everything is just "there" on display for you to experience and hone-in on if you choose to, or just listen if you want. Not a HUGE soundstage like the HD800 does, but everything inside is well-placed and clearly defined. Bass isn't just a "whump" with these. It's a pluck, resonance, ringing, reflections of walls/objects, and decay. And these GIVE you all that when you finally get to this level. They didn't do that so distinctly when even the a90 was powering them, and less-so with the others. The only exception was my Denafrips Artemis amp, which started to showcase this ability, but the volume only ever got to about 70% of where I would choose to listen to even moderately loud tracks at while turned up to almost max volume.
Hope this encourages you to not give up! There's so much more for you than what I imagine you can find in ANY headphone short of $2500. It just takes a little investment, but you can customize how you want to get there. All in one jump with a Ragnarok, Go nuts with a WA33 or Blue Hawaii class high-end amp, or simply find a GOOD vintage, build a "kit amp" (First Watt & the like), or a solid modern power amp (AHB2 & the like) and use your current amp(s) as pre-amp/get a dedicated pre-amp).
Let us know how you choose! I'm interested to hear about your journey.
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