[Shane D]

It's more than adequate by average standards, enough to enjoy and pick individual instruments out, just not as large as others especially if contrasting against.
But Focal Clear MG even less spacious. Guess with HD800 soundstage standards grew, remember a while back HD650 sounded so open, but their soundstage same if not smaller size than HE6SE.

I never thought of my Elex's as being narrow or having a small sound stage. And then I compared them to my iBasso SR2's and was Very surprised.

I learn something new every single week.

 

[malenak]

With mods (grill and pad change), HE6seV2, properly amped, is superior imo.

What amp do you have with them? Btw, I am probably in minority, but I don't like grill mod. I think, that they sounds better with original grill. Without it, I feel like they are grainy and less resolving.

 

[Menkau-ra]

You haven't properly amped it then.
The stage increases a lot with power.
To even say LCD-X 2021 has bigger stage lol

I agree with you

 

[bagwell359]

What amp do you have with them? Btw, I am probably in minority, but I don't like grill mod. I think, that they sounds better with original grill. Without it, I feel like they are grainy and less resolving.

Not here. The mesh increases amusical reverberations that arrive at the ear late enough that details are smudged. With no mesh there is also less cancellations. Get a copy of "Grandma's Hands" by James Taylor on Chesky and listen to the finger snaps mesh on and off. Pretty clear what's correct. It goes well beyond that case.

Bass is decreased with screens off - and closed cans that are not very well tuned have increased bass. Increased yes but what about amusical reverb and cancellations? Most of our hearing perception on topics such as speed, clarity, detail is about how clear and un-molested the leading edge of the note is. Planar ringing which is prevalent (because they don't damp down nearly as fast as ribbons, estats, AMT's, and even most capable dynamics) is down in amplitude enough to not to be perceived as an issue - but it is in areas such as 3-4khz. But cancellations and early reflections and reverb are heard as molesting the leading edge. HFM with the HEK v2 and Susvara has overcome enough of these issues that they don't sound poorly vs top estats - which is a notablevt thing.

HFM round cups also suffer from reverberations and cancellations due to the size and locations of the stators. The large population of mooders and the recent stealth improvements address those issues. It's a bigger issue than the mesh.

 

[Guipnox]

What amp do you have with them? Btw, I am probably in minority, but I don't like grill mod. I think, that they sounds better with original grill. Without it, I feel like they are grainy and less resolving.

I'm using 2x Crown D-75A as monoblocks, an old studio beefy amp, with 40W @ 8 Ohm in stereo.
In mono mode, 110W @ 8 Ohm.
I found them for about 1k BRL (the currency here in Brazil), so about ~$200 USD each.
Very good value as I feel I don't need any other amps now.
I'm improving my chain (DDC, cables, player, etc).
But actually waiting for a HE6seV2 with DCA Ether Angled Earpads to arrive.
Gonna sell the other stuff I have here to keep things rolling.
I have a few grills coming (I think they'll arrive by Monday) that I'm gonna test, hopefully between the stock and with open grills (I have 2x HE6seV2 here).

 

[bagwell359]

It's more than adequate by average standards, enough to enjoy and pick individual instruments out, just not as large as others especially if contrasting against.
But Focal Clear MG even less spacious. Guess with HD800 soundstage standards grew, remember a while back HD650 sounded so open, but their soundstage same if not smaller size than HE6SE.

The major flaw with the 600 and 650 is the 3 blob soundstage*. Timbre of the 600 is right near the top available. The HE6 SE has a better stage/image but it's not as good as the HE-500 never mind the really great ones.

*with my BHCs it's 5 blobs.

 

[bagwell359]

I'm using 2x Crown D-75A as monoblocks, an old studio beefy amp, with 40W @ 8 Ohm in stereo.
In mono mode, 110W @ 8 Ohm.
I found them for about 1k BRL (the currency here in Brazil), so about ~$200 USD each.
Very good value as I feel I don't need any other amps now.
I'm improving my chain (DDC, cables, player, etc).
But actually waiting for a HE6seV2 with DCA Ether Angled Earpads to arrive.
Gonna sell the other stuff I have here to keep things rolling.
I have a few grills coming (I think they'll arrive by Monday) that I'm gonna test, hopefully between the stock and with open grills (I have 2x HE6seV2 here).

You scored with the Crowns. Everybody is wise to them now. The non working junk on eBay right now at prices as high as clean units 2-3 yrs ago is proof.

 

[Guipnox]

Hifiman HE6seV2 with open grills
Gonna compare to stock grills soon.
I can't remove them off my head right now though lol insane!

Is this bass good?
LOL

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Did you go for white scheme intentionally or that was the only color available?
Keep in mind that drivers have very strong magnets so there is a pretty substantial risk of them pulling some metal things in through these huge openings and damaging internals. You can try to transfer mesh from stock grill to new one for extra protection, something like 3M spray adhesive to glue them works the best.

 

[FYFL]

Looks good to me. Where did you get those grills btw?

 

[Guipnox]

Did you go for white scheme intentionally or that was the only color available?
Keep in mind that drivers have very strong magnets so there is a pretty substantial risk of them pulling some metal things in through these huge openings and damaging internals. You can try to transfer mesh from stock grill to new one for extra protection, something like 3M spray adhesive to glue them works the best.

I chose white.
Thanks for the tips.

Looks good to me. Where did you get those grills btw?

Thanks.
A friend made them for me here in Brazil using a free STL design + 3d printer.

 

[bagwell359]

Hifiman HE6seV2 with open grills
Gonna compare to stock grills soon.
I can't remove them off my head right now though lol insane!



Is this bass good?
LOL

Based on my prior work this should sound indistinguishable from no screen.

The comment on the strong magnets is true. One could put on some shard of a nylon stocking or whatever to keep out small objects. However air borne smoke and oils won't be stopped by those measures.

I have never seen a Mylar speaker audibly damaged by little objects but I have seen a number of them audibly damaged by smoke and oils.

I keep them in a closed container when not in use. No not the box they come in. - causes resale issues due to excess wear.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I chose white.
Thanks for the tips.

Thanks.
A friend made them for me here in Brazil using a free STL design + 3d printer.

When people see FL or DE I think they see Florida or Germany

But since you are a Brasilian, I guess you mean Florianopolis or ...?

 

[Guipnox]

When people see FL or DE I think they see Florida or Germany

But since you are a Brasilian, I guess you mean Florianopolis or ...?

Florida or Delaware.
The US states I ship stuff to to send to Brazil.
And yeah, I live in a beautiful island called Florianópolis.

Back to topic: today a friend will test all headphones I have here (HE500, HE560V4, Edition XS, HE6seV2, Arya SE, HE1000V2, HE1000SE, RS2x and Elegia).
I'll let you guys know what he thinks about them all.
Hint: open grilled HE6seV2 will be top 3 for sure JK but I believe!

 

[Guipnox]

Florida or Delaware.
The US states I ship stuff to to send to Brazil.
And yeah, I live in a beautiful island called Florianópolis.

Back to topic: today a friend will test all headphones I have here (HE500, HE560V4, Edition XS, HE6seV2, Arya SE, HE1000V2, HE1000SE, RS2x and Elegia).
I'll let you guys know what he thinks about them all.
Hint: open grilled HE6seV2 will be top 3 for sure JK but I believe!

His detailed impressions are here: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/xm31cr/impressions_he1000se_arya_se_ananda_edition_xs/

HE6seV2 for US$449 right now:
https://www.adorama.com/hmhe6sev2.html?emailprice=t

It's actually insane how many times Adorama has lowered their price.
From $699 ~1year ago, to $449 now.
Best value in audio, and my personal endgame (I listen to electronic music 99,99% of my time, so keep that in mind), only buying a HE-6 OG for its infamous bass slam, but I'm in no rush.

Today I compared an open grill HE6seV2 (still waiting for a HE6seV2 with DCA Ether Angled Earpads, that is gonna be mine) to Arya SE and HEKV2 and:

Soundstage: HEKV2 >> Arya SE > HE6seV2
Resolution: HEKV2 > Arya SE >= HE6seV2
Bass slam: HE6seV2 > HEKV2 > Arya SE
Rumble: HEKV2 > Arya SE > HE6seV2
Treble (less harsh): HE6seV2 > HEKV2 > Arya SE

Some comments:

For EDM, I prefer the kick drum more at the level of my eyes than floating my forehead.
Arya SE and HEKV2 are too airy for me.
HE6seV2 provides a holografic soundstage with just enough length of each axis.

Resolution is more effortless on HEKV2 and, to a lesser extent, Arya SE, I think mostly because of their airy presentation, with elevated treble.
HE6seV2 has similar level of details, without being fatiguing.

Even though HE6seV2 doesn't rumble like the others, I think they have sufficient feel of it.
Bass slam is hard to define.
For me it's just the way the bassline comes and goes away, with an apparent extension of it, like it gets more physical.
HE6seV2, properly amped, has plenty of slam, with HEKV2 having less but more rumble, and Arya SE having more rumble than slam.

Treble seems well extended on all of them, although HEKV2 has the upper hand when it comes to details.
For me though, I prefer a detailed albeit slightly smoother presentation.

The end