[dstarr3]

They aren't bass cannons, that's a given (unless you add a silly bass shelf), so they are more about quality of bass over quantity. "Slam" is one of those audiophile words that's nebulous since it can mean different things to different people. For me, it's about the immediacy of the bass hit (and decay), not the volume. That, I think is the HE6se's biggest strength is how "snappy" everything sounds. It starts and stops on a dime which gives it a black background to my ears, if that makes any sense.

"Punch" and "thump" are two more bass descriptor words that can mean different things to different people. To me, both of these are related more to volume than anything else. But I could definitely see someone defining "punch" using my description above instead of "slam" so there's lots of gray area here. Yay, ambiguous audiophile words!

lol Yup. Gotta love language's inability to describe these really abstract things.

But indeed, it's immediately obvious how ultra-detailed and ultra-fast this headphone is. I've still got to spend a lot more time with it, but it's obvious that the detail and speed is unlike anything else within even 3x-4x its price.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

They aren't bass cannons, that's a given (unless you add a silly bass shelf), so they are more about quality of bass over quantity.

That, I was also befuddled by the comments from some members about their bass quantity, to my ears LCD-X 2021 has more of that, and of course, as usual in case of HE6SE, I was immediately blamed for using low wattage amp (Auralic Taurus MKII 4.5W/120Ohm balanced) which never goes beyond 12 o'clock with them.

 

[Philimon]

but it's obvious that the detail and speed is unlike anything else within even 3x-4x its price.

What other headphones have you heard in 3x-4x price range? Surely not all of them.

 

[Flognuts]

How do these compare top the OG HE6 and the Arya

 

[mintshows]

How do these compare top the OG HE6 and the Arya

Completely different presentation than Arya. I'm sure others can use proper audiophile buzzwords than I can, but the Arya V2 are my daily drivers. The Arya are all about the soundstage... I'd describe the Arya as a bubble of sound wrapped around your ears while the HE6 are a wall of sound hitting you in the face. Don't get me wrong, there's still soundstage with the HE6SE, but soundstage is secondary to 'fun'

Each have their moments. I've had the HE6V2 for over a month now and while I think I still prefer the Arya for most daily listening, it's really nice to have both.

 

[Shane D]

Hoo-boy. There's a lot to unpack here. Suffice it to say, I've never had to push my Liquid Platinum past 12 o'clock before.

I'm not sure if I have to try pad- or amp-rolling, but I'm just not getting that bass slam people talk about with this headphone. Well-extended and punchy for sure, but I wouldn't say it slams. But also, it's hard to tell how much of that is my headphone and how much of it is just my experience with totally silly bass cannons like the XB1000 and SZ2000. I was listening to the SZ2000 with a +15db bass shelf a lot last week, so I probably blew out my audio palate for a while. Over the weekend I listened to my EMU Teaks and thought to myself "Huh, the bass is leaner than I remember." If I'm finding the Teak to be a little light on bass, there's definitely something seriously mis-calibrated going on with my ears, lol. Gonna have to spend some time with my AKG K702 or Sony F1 to nudge my ears back in the right direction.

I don't know where all the talk of bass slam comes from. I find that with these, like my T60 Argon's, there is bass in them, but you have to bring it out.
With the LP I turned it to 3:00 at first, but settled on 2:00. But to make it great, I had to add the Schiit Loki to the chain to bring out the bass.

And with my iFi have to use bass boost.

These and the Argon's can be bassy can's but you have to bring it out, with some help, in my experience.

 

[Menkau-ra]

Can this run HE6se?

 

[Delta9K]

I'm just not getting that bass slam people talk about with this headphone. Well-extended and punchy for sure, but I wouldn't say it slams.

From reading your post my first reaction is you may need more of an amplifier than the LP, which is a great amp but not the best for the HE6se v2. I'd rate it doable at best and with expected performance similar to be about as you stated tbh. Also, are you working off the balanced out of the LP? it is much stronger than the SE but I still feel it's just not enough - IME.

Secondly, if what you are after is incredible TOTL slam what you may want to look into is an Abyss 1266 Phi TC and of coarse, the proper source to support it.

Edit: Sometimes a headphone just doesn't work for you, its OK, sell it and move on. I forgot to mention that I really did enjoy a Fostex TH900mk2 with the LP - combined with the Bifrost 2 (og) DAC there was a great deal of slam along with pretty decent technical performance across the board and with the OG BF2 smoothing out the top end - was a pretty awesome punchy setup.

 

[bagwell359]

Can this run HE6se?

Without any real data (9 W @ 8 ohms) for 4 or 8 ohms. Tend to doubt it.

 

[bagwell359]

I don't know where all the talk of bass slam comes from. I find that with these, like my T60 Argon's, there is bass in them, but you have to bring it out.
With the LP I turned it to 3:00 at first, but settled on 2:00. But to make it great, I had to add the Schiit Loki to the chain to bring out the bass.

And with my iFi have to use bass boost.

These and the Argon's can be bassy can's but you have to bring it out, with some help, in my experience.

These have nice well above average bass. Bass heads and people that believe the settings of Oratory will have to make it unnatural for their tastes.

 

[bagwell359]

Completely different presentation than Arya. I'm sure others can use proper audiophile buzzwords than I can, but the Arya V2 are my daily drivers. The Arya are all about the soundstage... I'd describe the Arya as a bubble of sound wrapped around your ears while the HE6 are a wall of sound hitting you in the face. Don't get me wrong, there's still soundstage with the HE6SE, but soundstage is secondary to 'fun'

Each have their moments. I've had the HE6V2 for over a month now and while I think I still prefer the Arya for most daily listening, it's really nice to have both.

Fun? Someone finally used that term. They have meh soundstage its true but better bass impact and they seem to have lots of detail in the treble w/o as much edge. I think the SE's are serious. They do suck in the power. But if you have it they are a better deal.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

For me, slam does have a simple definition. It means what it says on the can. Bass causes your ears and head to feel physical pressure like you got slammed.

Agree TH900MK2 slam, I would add LCD-2C. Not yet sure about HE6SE V2 but I think they qualify.

 

[Philimon]

Bass causes your ears and head to feel physical pressure like you got slammed.

It’s a tactile sensation.

You can add it to some headphones by using pads that have less porosity so as to create that pressurization / vacuum feel but not sure thats the same as “slam”. Possibly this tactile get confused or intertwined with strong bass characteristics like quantity, attack n decay, and low distortion.

An example of slam without eardrum pressurization, anyone? Like, do movie theaters “slam”?

 

[gimmeheadroom]

An example of slam without eardrum pressurization, anyone? Like, do movie theaters “slam”?

Like, does a 1951 Mercury slam? It most certainly cam

 

[Philimon]

Like, does a 1951 Mercury slam? It most certainly cam

Thats yours?