[arielext]

Yeah, email the support address. They will respond during what I assume are working hours in China. It was always in the middle of the night for me on the East Coast, US.

Just a heads up: they did ask to see both an invoice from Adorama, and the serial numbers (which are stuck to the inside of the driver -- take off the earpads to see the numbers). I was lucky that the previous owner for my first pair still had an invoice when I asked him. I hope the same is true for you.

Yes I bought the headphones only cause they came with almost 2 years warranty left. Thx for the tip about the serial number.

You are giving me back some confidence in this matter.

 

[thefitz]

Isn't what you just described an HEK variant?

Well, the HEK precedes the Susvara. Word on the street is that the Arya has an HE1000-based driver in a cheaper housing, available for half the price. I'd love to see a similarly difficult-to-drive Susvara-based driver in a cheaper housing as well.

 

[arielext]

I'm getting mixed feelings now ... I applied Crin's measurement in autoeq to this (https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/Au...ras_43ag-7_harman_over-ear_2018/HIFIMAN HE6se) headphone and that mega correction at 1.8khz makes a lot of difference. With my normal 3db shelf at 70hz as exception and following Crin's measurements I get a sound that is *a lot* closer to the expected. With this EQ I actually do not feel that the headphone is broken anymore ...
It's open. airy. actually giving the feeling to be speakers in a room which is a lot bigger then my head; that's not something the Clear is capable of.

I'm starting to doubt if my pair is actually broken or not ...

@OkPsychology you received new HE6SE's right? How do they sound without EQ? Did you try this EQ for the faulty one(s)?

 

[arielext]

Reading back the thread. Getting the feeling my HE6SE is actually behaving according to design.
- EQ the peaks
- Swap cable and pads
- Let is all settle in a bit (both brain and drivers); this set has seen less then 10 hours of play time so far
- ...
- Profit!

edit
- Send back for repair / replacement
- Wait
- Profit!

 

[OkPsychology]

I'm getting mixed feelings now ... I applied Crin's measurement in autoeq to this (https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/crinacle/gras_43ag-7_harman_over-ear_2018/HIFIMAN HE6se) headphone and that mega correction at 1.8khz makes a lot of difference. With my normal 3db shelf at 70hz as exception and following Crin's measurements I get a sound that is *a lot* closer to the expected. With this EQ I actually do not feel that the headphone is broken anymore ...
It's open. airy. actually giving the feeling to be speakers in a room which is a lot bigger then my head; that's not something the Clear is capable of.

I'm starting to doubt if my pair is actually broken or not ...

@OkPsychology you received new HE6SE's right? How do they sound without EQ? Did you try this EQ for the faulty one(s)?

I have a few things to say about all this.

Trust that if you can see the stuck diaphragm, you should return the headphone. It is broken, and not sounding as intended. EQ is an extremely powerful tool in my opinion, and our brains are super malleable when it comes to "accepting" a sound signature that's flawed, especially if we've deceived ourselves that what we are hearing is "correct". I literally just went through this experience myself with the HE6se, and was so in-need of an auditory "compass" that I spent an additional 600 bucks on a second set of these things just so I could be damned sure my set was 100% functional. It wasn't. But I was second guessing my own ability to tell, and with the proper EQ I too was getting a sound signature that was pretty darned good. It was spacious, and the imaging was really, really good. I also have a Clear, and I know exactly what you're saying about the staging comparison.

But, when I got my replacements back I was absolutely blown away by the difference in sound. With stuck drivers it is possible to get a workable sound with (mandatory) EQ, but with functional drivers this headphone is totally EQ optional, and sounds fantastic. The bass is rich and deep and well extended right out of the box. This was the most obvious difference to me. You won't second guess yourself once you've heard a working HE6se. You'll know it when you hear it.

Package 'em up and send 'em back! Trust me on this. You won't regret it.

 

[OkPsychology]

Reading back the thread. Getting the feeling my HE6SE is actually behaving according to design.
- EQ the peaks
- Swap cable and pads
- Let is all settle in a bit (both brain and drivers); this set has seen less then 10 hours of play time so far
- ...
- Profit!

I strongly disagree. See my last post, lol

 

[arielext]

I have a few things to say about all this.

Trust that if you can see the stuck diaphragm, you should return the headphone. It is broken, and not sounding as intended. EQ is an extremely powerful tool in my opinion, and our brains are super malleable when it comes to "accepting" a sound signature that's flawed, especially if we've deceived ourselves that what we are hearing is "correct". I literally just went through this experience myself with the HE6se, and was so in-need of an auditory "compass" that I spent an additional 600 bucks on a second set of these things just so I could be damned sure my set was 100% functional. It wasn't. But I was second guessing my own ability to tell, and with the proper EQ I too was getting a sound signature that was pretty darned good. It was spacious, and the imaging was really, really good. I also have a Clear, and I know exactly what you're saying about the staging comparison.

But, when I got my replacements back I was absolutely blown away by the difference in sound. With stuck drivers it is possible to get a workable sound with (mandatory) EQ, but with functional drivers this headphone is totally EQ optional, and sounds fantastic. The bass is rich and deep and well extended right out of the box. This was the most obvious difference to me. You won't second guess yourself once you've heard a working HE6se. You'll know it when you hear it.

Package 'em up and send 'em back! Trust me on this. You won't regret it.

That's why it's good that:
- we have members who have actually had the same experience
- we have members that heard these monsters as they should
- we share our experiences with each other

 

[theangelboy]

Reading back the thread. Getting the feeling my HE6SE is actually behaving according to design.
- EQ the peaks
- Swap cable and pads
- Let is all settle in a bit (both brain and drivers); this set has seen less then 10 hours of play time so far
- ...
- Profit!

So your drivers aren't stuck? The gap between the magnets and the diaphragm should actually be pretty big. Shadows can be a little deceiving, so just to be sure, you should be able to just see the zig zag edge of the gold under the magnets when looking at an extreme angle on a healthy pair. It's a bad picture, but it's the best my phone would do. Hopefully you can see what I'm talking about.

 

[arielext]

So your drivers aren't stuck? The gap between the magnets and the diaphragm should actually be pretty big. Shadows can be a little deceiving, so just to be sure, you should be able to just see the zig zag edge of the gold under the magnets when looking at an extreme angle on a healthy pair. It's a bad picture, but it's the best my phone would do. Hopefully you can see what I'm talking about.

I am certain I do not see a shadow in the centre of the membrane. and it's surely nothing like your picture.
They are faulty and will go back. A wonder that EQ can help out this far but no I am convinced by the evidence that it's a faulty pair.

 

[JoeTho]

Just received a pair of the HE6se (v2) today. An open box pair for $600. I immediately swapped out the grills for the honeycomb grills, grabbed my original Arya cable with the 1/4 inch single end, and plugged them into the headphone jack of my vintage Sanyo JCX 2900K (140 WPC). I have a Denafrips Ares II DAC feeding it. I've been at it for about an hour now and my only question is, who in the hell tried these, put them back in the box, and returned them?

 

[arielext]

Here is a picture of mine: borken

 

[OkPsychology]

Here is a picture of mine: borken

Yes, I concur

Send them back
Receive warranty replacement
Profit!

 

[luizffgarcia]

Here is a picture of mine: borken

Yep that is why you thought the bass is non existent for sure.

See how you liked its sound with some EQ even with a broken driver? Wait until you hear the real thing, you are in for a treat!

I sold all my sets after i paired the HE6 with the Burson Soloist 3X, only kept the HE6 and the Kennerton Gjallarhorn, THE planar and THE dynamic no need for anything else.

 

[arielext]

I sent it back today. Hoping to get it sorted in January

 

[EternalChampion]

HE6se V1 suddenly out of stock....Could that be a "RIP" declaration for this headphone?

I got mine in time!

Or am I the reason it ran out?