[nahpungnome]

I think the less clamp on the V2 headband affects the sound/FR slightly, which could make it less hot and also less suck out in the mids. I didnt like the V2 headband at first, but it seems to have settled-in/broken-in a bit over time and now is pretty comfortable. I actually made my own comfort suspension strap for it. Bought a piece of leather from Michael's and cut it down, and punched two small holes on the ends, and used twisty ties to secure it to the headband, and it works wonderfully.

Sweet, might look into that. BTW did you get sorted out on your dead driver? Sorry, havent looked through the posts in a while.

 

[antdroid]

Sweet, might look into that. BTW did you get sorted out on your dead driver? Sorry, havent looked through the posts in a while.

Yea I just returned my old one and ordered a new one. Pretty painless actually.

New one works well so far. No unit variance from unit to unit (they measure similarly within 1dB or so)

 

[jaker782]

Curious gents...............the available headband that is the same as version 1 is available from HFM for $125. Would consider putting it on the V2 HE-6SE but when I look at the attachments to the cups what I see is a (forgive my description) a knurled stainless steel screw/bolt. Anyone done this swap and what did you use to loosen screw/bolt? Not a lot of meat to grab on to - wish it was a Phillips or straight blade screwdriver-type but HFM once again makes things interesting...................

I also successfully swapped out my headband for the v1 style, but I used an HE560 v2 headband purchased from Adorama, which looks to be the same headband sold on Hifiman.com without the 560 branding. The swap was not difficult at all. Just use a pair of pliers with a cloth or some padding of some sort between the pliers and screw so you don't scratch/damage the screw. I too prefer the v1 style headband with strap as it is both more comfortable and has a much tighter clamp, which works best for my smaller head.

 

[kamifushou]

I also successfully swapped out my headband for the v1 style, but I used an HE560 v2 headband purchased from Adorama, which looks to be the same headband sold on Hifiman.com without the 560 branding. The swap was not difficult at all. Just use a pair of pliers with a cloth or some padding of some sort between the pliers and screw so you don't scratch/damage the screw. I too prefer the v1 style headband with strap as it is both more comfortable and has a much tighter clamp, which works best for my smaller head.

I heard about that one too but when I searched for it on adorama the v1 headband shows up. I even bought it thinking the pic was just wrong but they sent me the other one which does not fit an is uncomfortable to boot. That one was listed for $40 even which it's a shame it wasn't right. Pic of the item below

 

[jaker782]

I heard about that one too but when I searched for it on adorama the v1 headband shows up. I even bought it thinking the pic was just wrong but they sent me the other one which does not fit an is uncomfortable to boot. That one was listed for $40 even which it's a shame it wasn't right. Pic of the item below

Yeah that one has the plastic "bolts" that are not compatible with the 6se v2. Adorama likely sold their stock of the 560 v2 headband and started sending the ones in your pic instead.

 

[ostewart]

New amp for the HE6se

I will have to A/B against my topping A90 and see whether it's worth keepin, but so far the AX-555 is sounding great. The GM-Circuit is helplful as you can set it to -12dB and have more play in terms of the volume knob position.

Running straight off the speaker taps of course.

 

[thefitz]

The GM-Circuit is helplful as you can set it to -12dB and have more play in terms of the volume knob position.

In my experience, running the HE-6 through a power amp with the lowest gain possible is the way to go. Besides the volume knob range being more reasonable, I find that the upper mids are a lot less intense and the bottom end stands out more.

This actually applies to all headphones run through a speaker amp, but I find the HE-6SE benefits from it most.

 

[Oregonian]

Posted this on the original HE-6 thread but see the relevance for the SE versions below.............

I owned both the 4 and 6 screw OG HE-6, and now have both the HE-6SE V1 and V2.

Disclaimer - audio memory is not accurate and I know it. I remember the OG HE-6 as having an incredible soundstage that was more "speaker like" than anything I'd heard before and even now but again, memories tend to get romanticized. That said, the absolutely visceral bass was what got me hooked on the HE-6. I've always had the same system feeding all the 4 "generations" so nothing has really changed in that regard. Feed them with a 1978 Pioneer Spec 1 preamp/Spec 2 amp system straight from the speaker taps - highly sought after and one of the top of the line separates available at the time and has been recapped.

The reason I got rid of the final HE-6 was product support - or lack thereof. I was concerned HFM would not have sufficient stock of drivers/parts for the HE-6 and the reality is they don't have them now. So after reading about all the blown drivers back in the day, I kept looking for the next HE-6 clone - and never really found it. Yeah, I own a number of excellent headphones and have owned/auditioned over 60 headphones from various manufacturers but something about the HE-6 always kept me yearning for the same. And when the HE-6SE came out, with the hype of it being a HE-6 in a different package, I was on it. When I got the V1, it was a quick pad swap to the Audeze Vegans I bought a few years back and had not used, and removed the grills. And I fell in love with it again - though it didn't seem to be quite as mind-blowing as the OG HE-6.

18 months later I am still loving it but here's where the story diverts a bit................made a big mistake last week. I had the V1 in the rotation and had music playing at a relatively low volume, had to answer the door and my wonderful grandson (2 years old), who is truly my little buddy, came into the room and, loving the shiny Spec equipment and all the cool knobs, turned the volume knob up.............quite a bit. Ended up blowing both drivers on my V1. My mistake totally and I own it. But here's the thing - reaching out to HFM Customer Service, they are telling me they cannot repair it/replace the drivers. Back to the reason I got out of the HE-6 worship society...............so it seems. Said it is discontinued for a while now and would I take an Arya in trade (at the cost of $1299 PLUS my blown V1 HE-6SE). Asked them if they could replace it with another V2 and they seem open to it but won't know till after Chinese New Year. So in a week or so I will find out if I can get another V2 (the Adorama version) and at what cost.

I much prefer the V1 headband (suspension systems on all headphones are my preference) so not sure what I'll do - probably sell the V2 and try to find a V1 or maybe an HE-6 again (tempting fate) or HE-500 after reading about how great they sound. Soundwise I think the V1 and V2 are so close it's hard to say for sure, especially since when I A/B the two versions (when they both were working) the pads being used are different (Vegan's on the V1, Dekoni's on the V2). I still love the HE-6SE V2 but don't love the headband. Might make a Lohb-style suspension strap (like referenced above) for it or try the swap to the $125 HFM headband as a couple of you have done.

 

[nahpungnome]

Yea I just returned my old one and ordered a new one. Pretty painless actually.

New one works well so far. No unit variance from unit to unit (they measure similarly within 1dB or so)

Good to hear, wonder what went wrong specifically with your original pair.

 

[nahpungnome]

Really wish I could get the bass to sound when normally wearing them as they do when I slightly move the cups away from my head...the bass is unreal then

 

[antdroid]

Really wish I could get the bass to sound when normally wearing them as they do when I slightly move the cups away from my head...the bass is unreal then

Crinacle did this. I think he used the AKG K1000 headband. I saw a photo of this at one point too. Haha. It works with a lot of planars, and is even more drastic with the Arya/HE1000 style teardrop shaped ones

.

 

[JWahl]

I received an HE6-SE V2 about a week ago, having owned an original HE-6 back around 2013. I was discussing it a bit in the thread for my amp, but I figured I'd move it here so it's more on topic. I was a little underwhelmed at first, but it's started to grow on me and I think I'm going to keep it for awhile. I also ordered a new cable because the stock one feels pretty terrible. I also noticed the odd behavior of the low bass where it dramatically increases when moving the cups away from the head. It almost seems a little counter-intuitive. I'm currently in transition for sources to see what fits well. My amp probably isn't a perfect tonal match, but I think it's power is sufficient to drive it. I like the amp too much to part with it right now, though. I'm using a Schiit Modius as a DAC right now. I was going to try the Bifrost 2, but it needs replacement as the one I recently received was defective. I tried the iFi Neo iDSD, which I liked with the HD-650, but I thought it was a poorer tonal match with the HE-6SE. It exaggerates some of the thinness. The HE-6SE seems like it can be a little pickier of the equipment ahead of it (even sources) than I'm used to.

I may also experiment with some light modding or pad swaps in the future. I tried it with the rear grills removed but it sounded just a little to loose for my tastes. I feel like the platform has some potential at the discounted price, but I could use some more low-bass extension and some more meat on the mids. The area between vocals and trumpets sounds a little recessed maybe? But then trumpets and similar sounds can be a little forward and shouty. Some tracks sound downright amazing, depending on the mixing, but it can be quite unforgiving with others with too much energy in the sibilance region. I think because I naturally want to turn it up more for meatier mids and midbass, and then a trumpet or similar comes in a blasts my eardrums. This is probably a consequence of being adapted to the HD-650 for so long now. It's almost like there's a little too much dynamic range at times. I think if the lowest bass region was more filled out, the overall perception would seem more balanced. I wouldn't have paid $1,800 for it, though. I'm overall satisfied at the discount price. I'm also hoping that the Schiit Multibit tonality will be a good pairing with it as well.

 

[elwappo99]

So many HE 6 versions. HE-6 4 screw, 2 HE-6 6 screw, HE-6 SE and HE-6 SE V2. Really don't know what to buy now. Is there anyone who listened to all of those versions? Or any link? I know a comparison of all the old HE-6 but this doesn't include the 2 new ones.

Sorry for the late reply - I'm not on head-fi much these days.

I've had all over these except the HE-6SEV2 (and I probably won't end up purchasing one).

The 6 screw and 4 screw are much more alike than the HE-6SE was. Every time Hifiman has "rereleased" one of their classic headphones it's always sounded different. The HE-6se is probably the closest to the HE-6 when comparing the other "rereleased" Hifiman headphones. It captures a lot of the similar sparkle, but I suspect they did some of their diaphragm thinning.

Major differences between the original HE-6 and HE-6se:
-HE-6se is notably easier to drive.
-HE-6se has more bass and it tends to linger more (mostly midbass, not subbass)
-HE-6se has more treble overall and it starts peaking earlier
-HE-6 has better bass control
-HE-6 is more detailed
-HE-6 has a blacker background which gives it more attack/decay detail
-HE-6 is faster
-HE-6 has more midrange and less of a "U" shape emphasis

With the HE-6se I think a starting point to alleviate the treble emphasis is grill mod and changing out those stock pali pads.

 

[antdroid]

Sorry for the late reply - I'm not on head-fi much these days.

I've had all over these except the HE-6SEV2 (and I probably won't end up purchasing one).

The 6 screw and 4 screw are much more alike than the HE-6SE was. Every time Hifiman has "rereleased" one of their classic headphones it's always sounded different. The HE-6se is probably the closest to the HE-6 when comparing the other "rereleased" Hifiman headphones. It captures a lot of the similar sparkle, but I suspect they did some of their diaphragm thinning.

Major differences between the original HE-6 and HE-6se:
-HE-6se is notably easier to drive.
-HE-6se has more bass and it tends to linger more (mostly midbass, not subbass)
-HE-6se has more treble overall and it starts peaking earlier
-HE-6 has better bass control
-HE-6 is more detailed
-HE-6 has a blacker background which gives it more attack/decay detail
-HE-6 is faster
-HE-6 has more midrange and less of a "U" shape emphasis

With the HE-6se I think a starting point to alleviate the treble emphasis is grill mod and changing out those stock pali pads.

Nice update! Did you try using the same pads? The old Velour pads and the new Pali pads probably contribute to some big changes.

 

[elwappo99]

Nice update! Did you try using the same pads? The old Velour pads and the new Pali pads probably contribute to some big changes.

These were from some ago. I had to dig up my notes from the comparison. Comparisons would have been apples to apples with identical pads and grill mods on both pairs. I don't have the HE-6se anymore, so anything else I have is from memory. I might have posted additional comments on other websites.