[ksorota]

Saga plus was amazing with it. Used the Gilmore lite mk2 for a while which was lacking.

 

[thefitz]

Which amp is the Bryston if you don't mind me asking?

I am in the market for speaker amp for this headphone but speaker stuff are all foreign to me. I can't tell which brands offer good value and craftmanship. Bryston and Nad are the only ones I know but that's just because they are Canadian.

I'm using a 3B ST being fed by the preamp put of a Topping A90. With the low gain setting, you can use the volume properly without going deaf.

I used a Bryston BP-20 as a preamp for a bit, but goddamn you'd go deaf with the volume at 9:00. Imagine.

It also sounded great through a passive Schiit Sys preamp and a 35 year old $50 toroidal 100W power amp too.

Bryston gear can be a great deal if you buy some of the older/out of warranty stuff. Newer pieces are bonkers expensive. But a transferrable 20 year warranty is pretty remarkable.

Anyway, gear aside, I've got the best results feeding it as much power as possible using a preamp with the least gain possible. If I had a Mjolnir 2 (with a gain switch) instead of the 1, I may have used that as my preamp instead of trying the BP-20 and ending on the A90.

 

[KamijoIsMyHero]

I'm using a 3B ST being fed by the preamp put of a Topping A90. With the low gain setting, you can use the volume properly without going deaf.

I used a Bryston BP-20 as a preamp for a bit, but goddamn you'd go deaf with the volume at 9:00. Imagine.

It also sounded great through a passive Schiit Sys preamp and a 35 year old $50 toroidal 100W power amp too.

Bryston gear can be a great deal if you buy some of the older/out of warranty stuff. Newer pieces are bonkers expensive. But a transferrable 20 year warranty is pretty remarkable.

Anyway, gear aside, I've got the best results feeding it as much power as possible using a preamp with the least gain possible. If I had a Mjolnir 2 (with a gain switch) instead of the 1, I may have used that as my preamp instead of trying the BP-20 and ending on the A90.

Thank you, that was very helpful

 

[kid vic]

Sorry if this has been discussed already, but like most recent people here, I'm also considering the Adorama version of these. The question is, how is everyone's opinion on these as either an upgrade or a sidegrade to the HFM Ananda? I have the Ananda's already and can't help but notice that the HE6 is the same exact price I paid for the Ananda. I'm using a Schiit Lyr 3 Multibit as the amp/dac so power shouldn't be an issue.

I would say that the HE6se is decidedly an upgrade. In terms of SQ it has been reviewed as rivaling or bettering the Arya and other headphones in that price range. It's true price is $1800 and it is considered competitive at that price.
I haven't heard the HE6se yet, but I had the Ananda and found it to be inferior (imo) to the HE500 which most people have found to be a step down from the HE6 family.

 

[animefreeks]

I would say that the HE6se is decidedly an upgrade. In terms of SQ it has been reviewed as rivaling or bettering the Arya and other headphones in that price range. It's true price is $1800 and it is considered competitive at that price.
I haven't heard the HE6se yet, but I had the Ananda and found it to be inferior (imo) to the HE500 which most people have found to be a step down from the HE6 family.

Thanks for the insight on this!

I had a Schiit Mjolnir (5W balanced into 50 ohms) and now use a 125W@8 ohms Bryston amp. Even an old-ass $50 stereo power amp I bought off eBay was considerably better than the Mjolnir as far as power is concerned. The HE-6SE is a steely headphone without it.

Going from the effortlessly powerable Ananda to the HE-6SE isn't a wise choice given the amp. But that's my experience.

I'm wondering if the HE6se really does need an actual speaker amp (100w+ per channel) to drive properly - as in there are no headphone desktop amps out there that can drive this. Also noticed that Schiit specifically mentioned the HE-6 on the Lyr 3 product page and said it is capable of driving it.

 

[antdroid]

Repost from a diff place:

Hifiman HE6SE v2 first impressions




Ran ok at 100% volume on my Samsung Galaxy S10e.

My preferred listening volume on Topping A90 was at medium gain and maybe 65% knob or high gain at 50% on balanced.

It ran on Feliks Elise OTL at 60% for me. Sounded a little deeper in subbass and zingy up top with this.

I'll get the Jotunheim 2 in tomorrow.

Vs Arya:
More natural timbre and mids.
Smoother treble. Actually very smooth treble for a hifiman!
Less subbass , but punchier midbass.
Resolution similar.
Much more forward sounding midrange.

To most headphones, this would sound open and large but vs Arya, it sounds more intimate and forward

Arya sounds more diffuse and airier but with more low end rumble.

Weights:
HE6SE v2: 515 grams
Arya: 410 grams

Weight isn’t a big prob surprisingly. My normal weight limit is like 460g. The headband does have a hot weight spot right in the center though.

Pads are kinda itchy. Need to replace asap.

Cable is hilarious.

Ok squiggles:

Taken from a clone 43AG and using a comp file from Crinacle…it has some variance in the upper mids 1-6K by maybe +/- 2 dB from headphone to headphone vs real GRAS.in this area. Also these are smoothed out using psychoacoustic smoothing…




Vs Arya





As you see, less bright and smoother than arya but arya has that canadian subbass that I like.

Ok vs Ant target:






And finally, played around with EQ a little bit:


Red Line is the simulated graph. Gray dashed line is my preference target. Purple dotted line is the original FR.

Ok, so I got Oratory's HE6SE v1, Crinacle's HE6 6-screw raw datas, and plotted them vs my HE6SE v2 data. Just note, I am using the cloned fake GRAS 43AG coupler.... and using a compensation file crin gave me (which has some repeatability issues?), so take with grains of salt.

green = HE6 | purple = HE6se v1 | blue = HE6se v2

 

[kid vic]

Thanks for the insight on this!



I'm wondering if the HE6se really does need an actual speaker amp (100w+ per channel) to drive properly - as in there are no headphone desktop amps out there that can drive this. Also noticed that Schiit specifically mentioned the HE-6 on the Lyr 3 product page and said it is capable of driving it.

You should be fine with the Modius balanced or the Lyr 3. It will likely sound better with a dedicated speaker amp but it's not impossible with newer headphone amps.
When the original HE6 was released most headphone amps were not nearly powerful enough to drive it and someone discovered speaker amps did better (I cant remember if hifiman was making the adapter box from the start); that knowledge has never left even though amps are much more powerful now than before. Suffice to say there are a few amps that push a good enough amount of power and current at a budget that you can drive them at reasonable costs.
Just don't try to be portable.

 

[jaker782]

Repost from a diff place:

Hifiman HE6SE v2 first impressions




Ran ok at 100% volume on my Samsung Galaxy S10e.

My preferred listening volume on Topping A90 was at medium gain and maybe 65% knob or high gain at 50% on balanced.

It ran on Feliks Elise OTL at 60% for me. Sounded a little deeper in subbass and zingy up top with this.

I'll get the Jotunheim 2 in tomorrow.

Vs Arya:
More natural timbre and mids.
Smoother treble. Actually very smooth treble for a hifiman!
Less subbass , but punchier midbass.
Resolution similar.
Much more forward sounding midrange.

To most headphones, this would sound open and large but vs Arya, it sounds more intimate and forward

Arya sounds more diffuse and airier but with more low end rumble.

Weights:
HE6SE v2: 515 grams
Arya: 410 grams

Weight isn’t a big prob surprisingly. My normal weight limit is like 460g. The headband does have a hot weight spot right in the center though.

Pads are kinda itchy. Need to replace asap.

Cable is hilarious.

Ok squiggles:

Taken from a clone 43AG and using a comp file from Crinacle…it has some variance in the upper mids 1-6K by maybe +/- 2 dB from headphone to headphone vs real GRAS.in this area. Also these are smoothed out using psychoacoustic smoothing…




Vs Arya





As you see, less bright and smoother than arya but arya has that canadian subbass that I like.

Ok vs Ant target:






And finally, played around with EQ a little bit:


Red Line is the simulated graph. Gray dashed line is my preference target. Purple dotted line is the original FR.






Ok, so I got Oratory's HE6SE v1, Crinacle's HE6 6-screw raw datas, and plotted them vs my HE6SE v2 data. Just note, I am using the cloned fake GRAS 43AG coupler.... and using a compensation file crin gave me (which has some repeatability issues?), so take with grains of salt.


green = HE6 | purple = HE6se v1 | blue = HE6se v2

Nice impressions and your graphs are very helpful! It looks like the 6se v2 does indeed have a different tuning than the 6se v1... and it actually looks to be more to my liking! Very interested to hear your impressions with the Jot2 when it arrives.

Edit: It looks like you superimposed your v2 measurements with those taken by others, so the differences in frequency response may not be as exaggerated as shown here, particularly with that large dip from 1-2K on the v1 graph. Still a nice comparison!

How is the comfort of the v2 with regards to clamp force and adjustability of the headband? In general, I've found the new headband style to fit too loosely on my head and actually like the increased clamp force from the v1. Thanks!

 

[SilverEars]

Repost from a diff place:

Hifiman HE6SE v2 first impressions




Ran ok at 100% volume on my Samsung Galaxy S10e.

My preferred listening volume on Topping A90 was at medium gain and maybe 65% knob or high gain at 50% on balanced.

It ran on Feliks Elise OTL at 60% for me. Sounded a little deeper in subbass and zingy up top with this.

I'll get the Jotunheim 2 in tomorrow.

Vs Arya:
More natural timbre and mids.
Smoother treble. Actually very smooth treble for a hifiman!
Less subbass , but punchier midbass.
Resolution similar.
Much more forward sounding midrange.

To most headphones, this would sound open and large but vs Arya, it sounds more intimate and forward

Arya sounds more diffuse and airier but with more low end rumble.

Weights:
HE6SE v2: 515 grams
Arya: 410 grams

Weight isn’t a big prob surprisingly. My normal weight limit is like 460g. The headband does have a hot weight spot right in the center though.

Pads are kinda itchy. Need to replace asap.

Cable is hilarious.

Ok squiggles:

Taken from a clone 43AG and using a comp file from Crinacle…it has some variance in the upper mids 1-6K by maybe +/- 2 dB from headphone to headphone vs real GRAS.in this area. Also these are smoothed out using psychoacoustic smoothing…




Vs Arya





As you see, less bright and smoother than arya but arya has that canadian subbass that I like.

Ok vs Ant target:






And finally, played around with EQ a little bit:


Red Line is the simulated graph. Gray dashed line is my preference target. Purple dotted line is the original FR.






Ok, so I got Oratory's HE6SE v1, Crinacle's HE6 6-screw raw datas, and plotted them vs my HE6SE v2 data. Just note, I am using the cloned fake GRAS 43AG coupler.... and using a compensation file crin gave me (which has some repeatability issues?), so take with grains of salt.


green = HE6 | purple = HE6se v1 | blue = HE6se v2

Ok, so same rig, no changes made on compensation, etc.? Looks like they fixed the pads issue of OG HE6SE with the V2? The uppermids dip issue.

 

[patatchod]

Thanks for the insight on this!



I'm wondering if the HE6se really does need an actual speaker amp (100w+ per channel) to drive properly - as in there are no headphone desktop amps out there that can drive this. Also noticed that Schiit specifically mentioned the HE-6 on the Lyr 3 product page and said it is capable of driving it.

I power my HE6SE with two Parasound Zamp V.3 (90W each). I compared with my Schiit Magnius. The HE6SE sounds much better with the parasound. Moreover, the Magnius has to be set to full power (100%) to reach a sufficient volume and the result is much less ample and dynamic than with the Parasound.

To me, yes, the HE6SE really needs a powerful amp that only a monster like Viva 845 can offer. That's why loudspeaker amps are the right solution, with the HE adapter. Without this adapter, the bass is blurred and less accurate. Probably because the loudspeaker amplifier is designed to drive a 50 ohm loudspeaker (degraded damping factor?).

 

[animefreeks]

Repost from a diff place:

Hifiman HE6SE v2 first impressions




Ran ok at 100% volume on my Samsung Galaxy S10e.

My preferred listening volume on Topping A90 was at medium gain and maybe 65% knob or high gain at 50% on balanced.

It ran on Feliks Elise OTL at 60% for me. Sounded a little deeper in subbass and zingy up top with this.

I'll get the Jotunheim 2 in tomorrow.

Vs Arya:
More natural timbre and mids.
Smoother treble. Actually very smooth treble for a hifiman!
Less subbass , but punchier midbass.
Resolution similar.
Much more forward sounding midrange.

To most headphones, this would sound open and large but vs Arya, it sounds more intimate and forward

Arya sounds more diffuse and airier but with more low end rumble.

Weights:
HE6SE v2: 515 grams
Arya: 410 grams

Weight isn’t a big prob surprisingly. My normal weight limit is like 460g. The headband does have a hot weight spot right in the center though.

Pads are kinda itchy. Need to replace asap.

Cable is hilarious.

Ok squiggles:

Taken from a clone 43AG and using a comp file from Crinacle…it has some variance in the upper mids 1-6K by maybe +/- 2 dB from headphone to headphone vs real GRAS.in this area. Also these are smoothed out using psychoacoustic smoothing…




Vs Arya





As you see, less bright and smoother than arya but arya has that canadian subbass that I like.

Ok vs Ant target:






And finally, played around with EQ a little bit:


Red Line is the simulated graph. Gray dashed line is my preference target. Purple dotted line is the original FR.






Ok, so I got Oratory's HE6SE v1, Crinacle's HE6 6-screw raw datas, and plotted them vs my HE6SE v2 data. Just note, I am using the cloned fake GRAS 43AG coupler.... and using a compensation file crin gave me (which has some repeatability issues?), so take with grains of salt.


green = HE6 | purple = HE6se v1 | blue = HE6se v2

First time seeing the frequency curve, and WOW, that treble! I'm not so sure anymore as it appears that the sound profile may not be suited for me personally.

 

[leeperry]

I power my HE6SE with two Parasound Zamp V.3 (90W each). I compared with my Schiit Magnius. The HE6SE sounds much better with the parasound. Moreover, the Magnius has to be set to full power (100%) to reach a sufficient volume and the result is much less ample and dynamic than with the Parasound.

For that matter Magnius runs TPA6120, a $1.3 IC that sounds like trash, it won't drive much of anything well despite what the schiity hype will say

 

[billqs]

To me, yes, the HE6SE really needs a powerful amp that only a monster like Viva 845 can offer. That's why loudspeaker amps are the right solution, with the HE adapter. Without this adapter, the bass is blurred and less accurate. Probably because the loudspeaker amplifier is designed to drive a 50 ohm loudspeaker (degraded damping factor?).

I use the speaker taps on back of my McIntosh MHA100 directly, without the HE Box. I assumed adding resisters would increase the Ohms coming out of the amp which could affect headphone response. Am I hurting my amp tapping directly?

 

[ksorota]

I use the speaker taps on back of my McIntosh MHA100 directly, without the HE Box. I assumed adding resisters would increase the Ohms coming out of the amp which could affect headphone response. Am I hurting my amp tapping directly?

Not at all...no reason to use the adapter box on a SS amp like your MHA100. I run direct from the taps on a couple of power amps and always find it has better control and dynamics that way. While the HE6 does not need a power amp, it certainly sounds better overall with one.

The magni can make the HE6 loud, but its more compressed and diluted sounding. Jotunheim does well with it, but still, more power is more pleasing!

 

[SilverEars]

Not at all...not reason to use the adapter box on a SS amp like your MHA100. I run direct from the taps on a couple of power amps and always find it has better control and dynamics that way. While the HE6 does not need a power amp, it certainly sounds better overall with one.

The magni can make the HE6 loud, but its more compressed and diluted sounding. Jotunheim does well with it, but still, more power is more pleasing!

THX 789 just sounded terrible. It has power, but don't know at 50 Ohms. basX seems to drive properly in comparison. I think it's about the amp being able to provide sufficient immediate current.

I don't ses why anybody would buy a 789 over a magni or magnius. So much hype behind the crappy sounding amp.