[Policar]

I have some thoughts on your predicament, but two disclaimers before I go on.

Spoiler: Disclaimers

First, I don't listen to any headphones above 75-80db, ever. Any louder than that is very unpleasant for me, so my experience I'm pretty sure that's going to be different from someone who routinely drives headphones to 90+db.

Second, I love the sound of my HE6se V2 using almost any amp that I have. However, my favorite pairing (even compared to the 3 different speaker amps I've tried) is Leaf Audio CMD-23 Balanced DAC > THX-789 > XLR out and I know lots of people said that the THX amps sound terrible with this headphone, so I guess I completely disagree. Take that for what you will.

I don't think these stuck drivers are a durability issue, per se, I think it's a manufacturing flaw. Everyone that's posted here about it seems to either have problems right out of the box or shortly after (well within your return window). If this was an issue of blown drivers this would have been a bigger problem for the HE-6 since the OG days and these stuck drivers seems to be exclusively a problem for the V2. I have hundreds of hours on my pair, I swapped pads dozens of times, have custom grilles, have run them off of some speaker amps, and haven't ever had any problems. However, that being said, it's a lot of money for a headphone and if you don't want to deal with (or worry) about it, I totally understand.

But, having tried my HE6se V2 on a speaker amp, you do need to be very careful if you are going to drive it with one. The headphones don't actually take that much power (a few hundred mW is going to be ear-damagingly loud) so you don't have a lot of room on most speaker amp volume knobs. If you are planning on running them off of a cheaper speaker amp (and don't have any other headphone amps), that would be another reason to consider returning them, since it's counter productive. I tried them on a cheap JVC 5.1 HT amp (100 watts per channel @ 8ohms, though), the sound was terrible and there was so much hissing that it was unlistenable. Granted, that's an extreme example, but power ≠ good sound, so that's something to keep in mind.

Lastly, I know I'm biased because I love the planar sound (just look at my sig... ), but I don't care for the 6XX/650 (yes, even with tubes) and would take pretty much any planar in my collection over it. So, the HE6se V2 (the best planar I have heard), even not driven optimally (i.e. cheap & good headphone amp), is going to beat the pants off of the Senn driven by a "decent" laptop headphone jack, IMO. It's not close.

Obviously, the choice is yours whether you return them or not, but I hope these incoherent ramblings will help you decide.

Thanks, and they're not incoherent at all.

My amp would be a cheap Onkyo receiver from some years ago – I also have a cheap Onkyo CD deck with it and it has a Wolfson DAC that has a really nice sound imo. I figure this is the cheapest way to get into something more hi fidelity, but I just sold a pair of Koss ESP-950s I loved over concerns about longevity and durability. (Live in a dusty area so I worry about the drivers on those.)

Were you using the HE-Adapter? I ordered mine a few weeks back last time they were $549 (I think they are again) so I need to figure out what my return/repair window is.

Starting to think I should just return all this stuff and go with a closed back. I travel between relatively noisy areas and listen really loud, probably in part to drown out sound.

 

[theangelboy]

My amp would be a cheap Onkyo receiver from some years ago

Yeah, based on my experience with cheap receivers and the HE6se V2, I don't think you are going to have a good time. Those cheaper amps have such a high noise floor it's distracting.

Were you using the HE-Adapter? I ordered mine a few weeks back last time they were $549 (I think they are again) so I need to figure out what my return/repair window is.

I wasn't using the HE-adaptor, I just had it wired directly to the speaker terminals. But I have also used it on headphone jack of the Emotiva A-100 BasX both in low gain and full power modes (I was unable to tell a SQ difference between the two modes, BTW).

On warranty, the Hifiman website states that the V1 has a warranty of 2 years, but lower end models have a 1 year warranty. They don't explicitly list the V2 so I'm not sure if it would be 1 or 2 years, you would have to ask them to be sure. Adorama has a 30 day return policy.

Starting to think I should just return all this stuff and go with a closed back. I travel between relatively noisy areas and listen really loud, probably in part to drown out sound.

You certainly will have better sound isolation with a closed back. Hifiman headphones are O P E N to an extreme, even compared to other open-backs.

 

[Policar]

Yeah, based on my experience with cheap receivers and the HE6se V2, I don't think you are going to have a good time. Those cheaper amps have such a high noise floor it's distracting.


I wasn't using the HE-adaptor, I just had it wired directly to the speaker terminals. But I have also used it on headphone jack of the Emotiva A-100 BasX both in low gain and full power modes (I was unable to tell a SQ difference between the two modes, BTW).

On warranty, the Hifiman website states that the V1 has a warranty of 2 years, but lower end models have a 1 year warranty. They don't explicitly list the V2 so I'm not sure if it would be 1 or 2 years, you would have to ask them to be sure. Adorama has a 30 day return policy.


You certainly will have better sound isolation with a closed back. Hifiman headphones are O P E N to an extreme, even compared to other open-backs.

Not 100% sure but I have read that the HE-Adapter (which I'm not sure if I can order in time to keep everything in the 30 day return window) has resistors, which would in theory fix both these problems?

But I've read mixed things. Can anyone confirm or deny?

 

[Policar]

I just did a little research and it seems like the HE-Adapter DOES have resistors in it, which hopefully would solve the noise floor issue. I had some triple-fi IEMS that sounded much better (and MUCH cleaner) with a resistor:

https://www.hifiman.com/products/detail/84

 

[sennfan83261]

.... If this was an issue of blown drivers this would have been a bigger problem for the HE-6 since the OG days and these stuck drivers seems to be exclusively a problem for the V2. I have hundreds of hours on my pair, I swapped pads dozens of times, have custom grilles, have run them off of some speaker amps, and haven't ever had any problems. However, that being said, it's a lot of money for a headphone and if you don't want to deal with (or worry) about it, I totally understand.
....

The OG HE-6's had a mesh screen (see photo courtesy of @Svstem) between the driver and the magnet array that not only acted as a dust screen but also may have prevented the drivers from getting stuck to the magnets. Whether the mesh was installed for the latter reason, I don't know. I do know that the HE6se (v1's and v2's) and the pre-production prototype HE-6's lacked the same mesh screen.

Link to @Svstem's HE-6 article: https://systematicsound.wordpress.c...e-6-early-4-screw-vs-late-4-screw-vs-6-screw/

 

[theangelboy]

The OG HE-6's had a mesh screen (see photo courtesy of @Svstem) between the driver and the magnet array that not only acted as a dust screen but also may have prevented the drivers from getting stuck to the magnets. Whether the mesh was installed for the latter reason, I don't know. I do know that the HE6se (v1's and v2's) and the pre-production prototype HE-6's lacked the same mesh screen.

Link to @Svstem's HE-6 article: https://systematicsound.wordpress.c...e-6-early-4-screw-vs-late-4-screw-vs-6-screw/

Interesting read, thanks for sharing.

 

[sennfan83261]

Interesting read, thanks for sharing.

My pleasure. Yeah, that HE-6 article is a good one

 

[OkPsychology]

@theangelboy Warranty on the v2 is one year according to the person I dealt with at hifiman regarding my returns

 

[arielext]

I got my he6se today and am a bit underwhelmed. Bass is next to non-existing and a strong emphasis on the treble. The thing is. The headphones were in transit for over 4 days and it's near the freezing point outside. I am leaving them play some music now and I hope it's just the cold that firmed up the membranes.
I compare these to the focal clear and it's night and day from the same amp. The amp should be powerful enough for these (Audio-gd Master 19). What do you think? Previous owner states he only used them for a few hours.

 

[OkPsychology]

I got my he6se today and am a bit underwhelmed. Bass is next to non-existing and a strong emphasis on the treble. The thing is. The headphones were in transit for over 4 days and it's near the freezing point outside. I am leaving them play some music now and I hope it's just the cold that firmed up the membranes.
I compare these to the focal clear and it's night and day from the same amp. The amp should be powerful enough for these (Audio-gd Master 19). What do you think? Previous owner states he only used them for a few hours.

You really need to check the drivers for stuck diaphragms. What you're describing sounds exactly like the effect the stuck driver has on the sound. Congested, lacking bass, huge resonance in the upper mids. Open the back grills and have a look.

 

[arielext]

Using this picture as a reference I can safely say mine look like this:

My set was bought directly from hifiman so I will contact them for an RMA

 

[OkPsychology]

Using this picture as a reference I can safely say mine look like this:


My set was bought directly from hifiman so I will contact them for an RMA

I just went through the process with 2 of mine. I'm here if you need support, lol. It can be a little frustrating at times, but I have no doubt they'll make you whole. Good luck!

 

[arielext]

I just went through the process with 2 of mine. I'm here if you need support, lol. It can be a little frustrating at times, but I have no doubt they'll make you whole. Good luck!

Thx! Morale support always helps
Previous owner said he enjoyed them a lot but wanted to sell them due to comfort. I find them very comfortable but noticed something was very off with the sound.
I just hope customer support can help me out and that I end up with a fully working HE6SE in the end.

Best way to contact them is by mail, right?

 

[hp4fun]

Thx! Morale support always helps
Previous owner said he enjoyed them a lot but wanted to sell them due to comfort. I find them very comfortable but noticed something was very off with the sound.
I just hope customer support can help me out and that I end up with a fully working HE6SE in the end.

Best way to contact them is by mail, right?

I had some good experiences with hifiman through email communication. Expect they reply you at night.

 

[OkPsychology]

Thx! Morale support always helps
Previous owner said he enjoyed them a lot but wanted to sell them due to comfort. I find them very comfortable but noticed something was very off with the sound.
I just hope customer support can help me out and that I end up with a fully working HE6SE in the end.

Best way to contact them is by mail, right?

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.