My Adorama HE6SE arrived today, put them on - driven by a TA-20 and the HE6SE sounds great. It takes a high spot on the volume dial - just like my 600-ohm Beyerdynamic DT-880/DT-990 headphones - 70-85 out of 95.
I received my first HD660s yesterday, and that was a revelation in itself, but the HE6SE is a whole new level again. The HD660s has enough power with what I have to fully show its tricks, but the HE6SE needs more power than I can hook up right now.
The HE6SE puts of a helluva lot of detail. The HE6SE has a weighty presence in the sound it delivers - I've not heard before in a planar headphone; it is very exciting.
The TA-20 is putting out 2w @ 32 ohms, so it is right there at the entry point for power to light up the HE6E. The A90 puts out 6.4w @ 32ohm, a bit of a step up, I'll wire that up later - the TA-20 is doing fine for now.
I'm on the lookout for cables and a power amp to connect through the Hifiman HE-Adapter, but I'm on a budget. I'm hoping for a cable around $1t50 and an amp around $250.
But, there is no rush, as even though the Hifiman cable looks like it came off of a Rocky Horror Picture Show operating slab, it sounds fine - no reference though, it might be crap in comparison to a nice 50/50 Copper OCC / Silver cable.
I can feel the HE6SE has more to show with more power, but even with entry-level power the HE6SE breaks through often enough with impressive sound, it is very enjoyable.
The HE6SE fit and comfort are great, and to me the headphone is light - so much so I thought Adorama's box was way too light to be headphones! - not as light as the HD600s but that's all plastic - the HE6SE is solid built. Fortunately, the headband's easy adjustment fits fine and is very comfortable for me. I may change my tune after wearing it for 8-12 hours. I'll update later.
Adorama did a great job packing and shipping the HE6SE, and their package arrived here clean and intact, and it arrived pandemic fast - 4 days from order to delivery. Thanks to the UPS delivery guy for the mask-safe hand-off at the door!
I'll update after I've had a chance to connect to the Topping A90, and have spent longer quality time with the HE6SE.
Note: I've never experienced what I'm about to describe. Listening to Sound Demo's for headphones that Zeos does is often fun and interesting - but this time the synergy was "Powerful" sound when I listened to the
HE6SE (V1) Demo through the Adorama HE6SE V2.
The clarity for me was like nothing I've heard before - even though I listened to that same demo with other headphones recently. This HE6E V2 lit up in such a way I can only describe it as Powerful, Clean, and very enjoyable - 80 volume on the TA-20 was enough.
And, when I tried listening to other Demo's, like the
Buckhart A500 and
STAX009 - it sounded "tinny" - or "weak", "wimpy" - the
HE500 /
HE560 were just bad recordings, but I think that had more to do with Zeos's early recording setup.
The newer Sennheiser DT1990 Redux Demo had some good moments through the Adorama HE6SE V2. The
GL2000 Demo sounded whispy/weak through the HE6SE V2 to me too.
Don't get me wrong, those other headphones were loud, were detailed, and had a "Hifi" sound, but not like the HE6SE V1 + HE6SE V2.
The Sympatico reaction of listening to the HE6SE V1 through the Adorama HE6SE V2 was never so exciting for me as with any other pairing so far. And of course, youtube quality, but still it was a powerful engaging combo to experience.
And, I'm enjoying bringing up Tidal / AMHD playlists and hearing them again for the first time, still on the Xduoo TA-20.
