[DeweyCH]

Is that just a bit of drinking straw?

Have you given them a listen with and without the "vent?" I understand why it's important, but I get the feeling that preventing it from generating the kind of air pressure that would cause stuck drivers would also prevent it from generating the kind of air pressure needed for real heavy bass.

It’s a bit of a pipette my wife had for decanting perfume. Thicker than a disposable straw so it doesn’t collapse. Bass is slightly less but not much.

 

[DeweyCH]

enjoying he6se v2 modded and a heddphone. both running off a aliexpress amp 933 deluxe.

Is that a ZMF Atrium BOPP filter you're using as a grille?

 

[bagwell359]

Some hum, but not much with the HE6se v2 without the resistor. But the hum gets smaller when the resistor is there. More hum with other headphones, like the Audezes.

My amp and the resistor box were custom built as a project by a speaker guy.

Yeah, you have been a great reference for sound, buddy. Our tastes will differ here and there. I've always been a fan of Audeze bass. That heft and presence. But I also like different types of sound as well, including the HE6se v2. And of course, I'll always have my trusty HD600.

Back at you. LCD-4 is one of the 3 best bass cans I've heard - HE-6 6 screw and Abyss 1266 Phi. E2 might be next.

$499 for the v2 is if you have the amp and don't have other HE-6 is along with a circa 2015 or so and earlier mint HD-600 the greatest deals in cans I know of.

Except for the Susvara I promised myself no HFM next.... It's been 4 yrs since I bought a can - v1 in '18, and only the BHCs...

Going to start a thread for opinions on next can...

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Some of my crap camera shots of the steel grilles I bought from member @BowWazoo who made them himself. Sadly the pics don't do them justice at all. Perfect fitment and the sound quality on my HE6SE V2 and HE400i is now really open and even more wonderful than stock.

 

[malenak]

I am curious. Had someone here chance to compare HE6se V2 with Ananda Stealth or Editions XS?

 

[screwdriver]

Is that a ZMF Atrium BOPP filter you're using as a grille?

yeah its one of the zmf stuff just to close it a bit

 

[dstarr3]

I got a new toy to play with my HE6.

I found someone selling their Onkyo NR727 for a real good price and I couldn't pass it up. It's rated at 110WPC, but using a digital input, people have measured it putting out more like 150WPC before exhibiting any clipping or distortion. So, yeah, absolute gobs of power on tap. Not only is it ~150WPC, but I snagged it for only $150, as well. I'm using my speaker tap to 4-pin XLR adapter box I built and showed off in this post, and yeah, this headphone is making a lot more sense with that kind of power being pumped into it.

Previously I was listening to it mostly from my Liquid Platinum, and it was certainly pleasant. Very clean, detailed, but still just musical enough. But the way people kept describing this headphone and fun and exciting, I just wasn't getting it. Pleasant, absolutely. Fun and exciting, that was still eluding me.

But now that I'm rocking this amp, yeah, all the claims of fun and exciting are really starting to make a lot of sense. This headphone's a real Jekyll and Hyde, innit.

I've got the Dan Clark Ether angled pads in the mail at the moment, I'll be interested to see what that does for the bass, which is pretty lean for my liking. I've got about two more weeks to decide if I'm keeping this headphone or returning it, and after getting this amp, it's really starting to seem like I'll be keeping it.

 

[dstarr3]

Got the Dan Clark Ether angled pads this morning. Okay, now this headphone has the kind of sub-bass that you can feel in your eyes, lol. Great bass quantity boost without being detrimental to really anything else across the frequency spectrum. Pretty firmly puts this headphone in the Keeper category for me now.

 

[wolfstar76]

I got a new toy to play with my HE6.

I found someone selling their Onkyo NR727 for a real good price and I couldn't pass it up. It's rated at 110WPC, but using a digital input, people have measured it putting out more like 150WPC before exhibiting any clipping or distortion. So, yeah, absolute gobs of power on tap. Not only is it ~150WPC, but I snagged it for only $150, as well. I'm using my speaker tap to 4-pin XLR adapter box I built and showed off in this post, and yeah, this headphone is making a lot more sense with that kind of power being pumped into it.

Previously I was listening to it mostly from my Liquid Platinum, and it was certainly pleasant. Very clean, detailed, but still just musical enough. But the way people kept describing this headphone and fun and exciting, I just wasn't getting it. Pleasant, absolutely. Fun and exciting, that was still eluding me.

But now that I'm rocking this amp, yeah, all the claims of fun and exciting are really starting to make a lot of sense. This headphone's a real Jekyll and Hyde, innit.

I've got the Dan Clark Ether angled pads in the mail at the moment, I'll be interested to see what that does for the bass, which is pretty lean for my liking. I've got about two more weeks to decide if I'm keeping this headphone or returning it, and after getting this amp, it's really starting to seem like I'll be keeping it.

You can use multiple channel receiver for HE6SE?

 

[dstarr3]

You can use multiple channel receiver for HE6SE?

Well, it's still only a stereo signal and the headphones are only connected to FL and FR. But yeah, you can totally run headphones off of speaker amps. It's risky, but you can do it. And in the case of headphones that benefit from some brute force like the HE6 or my AKG Sextett, totally worth it so long as you understand the risks and can mitigate them.

It's a fun rabbit hole to fall down. But there's definitely only a handful of headphones that actually benefit from it. Totally overkill and in no way worth the risk of damage for 99.9999% of the headphones ever sold. The HE6 just happens to be one of the few headphones that does benefit from the extra juice.

 

[Brandfuchs]

I am curious. Had someone here chance to compare HE6se V2 with Ananda Stealth or Editions XS?

Although I haven't yet tried the EditionXS, but as for Ananda Stealth, I think He6se v2 is better (although way much harder to drive). Horizontal soundstage of he6se v2 is slightly better, but the depth of the soundstage is way much better, you can easily notice the improvement in instrument separation, I think this is also the reason why he6se v2 has a more detailed sound.

 

[bagwell359]

Well, it's still only a stereo signal and the headphones are only connected to FL and FR. But yeah, you can totally run headphones off of speaker amps. It's risky, but you can do it. And in the case of headphones that benefit from some brute force like the HE6 or my AKG Sextett, totally worth it so long as you understand the risks and can mitigate them.

It's a fun rabbit hole to fall down. But there's definitely only a handful of headphones that actually benefit from it. Totally overkill and in no way worth the risk of damage for 99.9999% of the headphones ever sold. The HE6 just happens to be one of the few headphones that does benefit from the extra juice.

I continue not to get this mighty Mt. HE6-OMG thing.

On paper all HE-6 types are very close to the same SPL - except the 4 screws are rated at 2-3 db lower - but I've never heard it.

I think the myth comes from several factors.

Basically everybody using most cans (not stats) in 2010 were using "phone out" from int amps or rec's. The onset of low impedance low efficiency ortho-dynamics led by the HE-6 changed that. So instead of 150 or 400 mW low voltage amps that couldn't drive these cans - we have...

So the arms race was on - desktops of sufficient power took some time to flood the market, and folks started using older equipment to do the job. People got freaked - it took WHAT! A hundred watt amp. I know what a Pioneer 1010 puts out into 8 ohms. What it puts out into a headphone is the correct question.

Most vets here know the first Ragnarok as one of early desktops that could do the job. 100 wpc@4 ohms, 10@50 ohms, 1.7@300. It runs lots of loudspeakers very well. IMO on the can side it was meant to run the tough Orthos. It's obvious because it performs with those numbers above balanced and is only 3 wpc@32 ohms max through the 3.3 SE output, and lots of people use them that way.

HFM put out the SE version 1 of the HE-6 in '17 and the v2 I believe in '21 or late '20. Lots of people have them - most have enough power, or get it. It's no longer hard to find enough - yet the myth rolls on. Some of the Astell and Kern DAPs probably can run them. I've run the 6 screw, SE1, and SE2 for over 1k hours total on my Rag 1. Maybe run them into the gain 3 the highest on the Rag for less than 2 hrs - and it was nasty loud. Almost all the rest is Gain 2 which is much milder (I think -14 dbW less) than Gain 3 which is 10 watts max.

Basically if you are running 4 wpc @ 50 ohms you're good. I think you're good at 3 wpc. You can wreck your hearing on many headphones with that sort of juice. For the 6 it's fine. It used to be a lot of juice, not so anymore.

 

[dstarr3]

I continue not to get this mighty Mt. HE6-OMG thing.

On paper all HE-6 types are very close to the same SPL - except the 4 screws are rated at 2-3 db lower - but I've never heard it.

I think the myth comes from several factors.

Basically everybody using most cans (not stats) in 2010 were using "phone out" from int amps or rec's. The onset of low impedance low efficiency ortho-dynamics led by the HE-6 changed that. So instead of 150 or 400 mW low voltage amps that couldn't drive these cans - we have...

So the arms race was on - desktops of sufficient power took some time to flood the market, and folks started using older equipment to do the job. People got freaked - it took WHAT! A hundred watt amp. I know what a Pioneer 1010 puts out into 8 ohms. What it puts out into a headphone is the correct question.

Most vets here know the first Ragnarok as one of early desktops that could do the job. 100 wpc@4 ohms, 10@50 ohms, 1.7@300. It runs lots of loudspeakers very well. IMO on the can side it was meant to run the tough Orthos. It's obvious because it performs with those numbers above balanced and is only 3 wpc@32 ohms max through the 3.3 SE output, and lots of people use them that way.

HFM put out the SE version 1 of the HE-6 in '17 and the v2 I believe in '21 or late '20. Lots of people have them - most have enough power, or get it. It's no longer hard to find enough - yet the myth rolls on. Some of the Astell and Kern DAPs probably can run them. I've run the 6 screw, SE1, and SE2 for over 1k hours total on my Rag 1. Maybe run them into the gain 3 the highest on the Rag for less than 2 hrs - and it was nasty loud. Almost all the rest is Gain 2 which is much milder (I think -14 dbW less) than Gain 3 which is 10 watts max.

Basically if you are running 4 wpc @ 50 ohms you're good. I think you're good at 3 wpc. You can wreck your hearing on many headphones with that sort of juice. For the 6 it's fine. It used to be a lot of juice, not so anymore.

I just do it because it's a cheap, hot-rodding kind of fun. I paid $1 per WPC for my Onkyo AVR. I'm probably having fun with my HE6 just about as inexpensively as possible.

My dissatisfaction with my Liquid Platinum is probably all down to my choice of tubes as opposed to any sort of lack of power, or maybe I just don't like the planars-on-tubes sound altogether, because I'm not terribly fond on my T50rp Argon on it, either. My Singxer, even in high-gain with a balanced input, the HE6 has me pushing the dial near 3 o'clock and it's Class A/B territory up there instead of pure Class A where it performs best. In the future I'm eager to try out the RebelAmp with this headphone and others, which isn't a raw powerhouse by any means, but if it sounds good, it sounds good.

I'm not saying heaps of power out of speaker taps is the only way to get a lot of fun out of this headphone. But it's certainly a very inexpensive-yet-very-effective way. And in my opinion, it's a much better use of time and money than shelling out the fortune for a Bakoon or something.

 

[pongpaktech]

Hi! First time posting on the forums after lurking for a while. I was wondering if this is still a good buy in 2022 and if anyone has any comparisons to the HFM Edition XS.

 

[wolfstar76]

Hi! First time posting on the forums after lurking for a while. I was wondering if this is still a good buy in 2022 and if anyone has any comparisons to the HFM Edition XS.

It depends. If you already have some higher end amps, especailly higher power amps, or already prepare to invest in those amps along with some existing hard-to-drive planar HP, then may be yes.

However, if you don't already have and never prepare for it, then no.

The whole idea of HE6SE V2 is to spend $500 to $600 (depends on the deal and tax) to achieve something on par with $1.6k HPs. However, if you have to spend additional $1k to invest in a good amp to drive the thing, why don't you just spend $1k + $600 for a good HP that is actually easy to drive with your existing DAC/AMP?