[Andrew_WOT]

Is there anything about Arya SE that it does better than the other two to make you keep it?
I tend to accumulate phones, only get rid of those that I really dislike.

 

[Guipnox]

Is there anything about Arya SE that it does better than the other two to make you keep it?
I tend to accumulate phones, only get rid of those that I really dislike.

I can't afford and it'd make no sense for me.
I mean. It's a bigger stage, slightly more detailed sound than HE6seV2.
But too much money.
And I hope DCA Ether Angled Earpads deliver what I'm thinking: increased stage & more clarity, without becoming unnatural (for me) + keeping the slammy & textured bass from HE6seV2.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

And I hope DCA Ether Angled Earpads deliver what I'm thinking

Watch for driver "crinkle", it's quite common with solid leather pads and there are some unverified claims that it can actually lead to stuck membrane.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Found this article from Audeze on driver "crinkle", interesting that I've never experienced it with LCD-X 2021 with solid or fenestrated pads, on HE6SE I had slight crinkle with stock pads and pretty bad one with solid leather ones, fenestrated though has zero of that.

 

[hgb1652]

The HE6SEV2 is indeed amazing. Really love the Bass slam, but it's so hard to drive them properly.
Personally, I think the minimum amp requirement to drive the he6sev2 properly is Schiit's Jotunheim 2.

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

 

[PlanarBunny]

Question! Been looking at the he6sev2 for a while and I'm glad I've held off on it because it's much cheaper now. Would a Topping L50 be able to handle it? Or would I have to grab something more powerful like, idk Schit Jotun or something? (I just saw the post above me but I'm still curious what others would suggest for me).

 

[bagwell359]

I can't afford and it'd make no sense for me.
I mean. It's a bigger stage, slightly more detailed sound than HE6seV2.
But too much money.
And I hope DCA Ether Angled Earpads deliver what I'm thinking: increased stage & more clarity, without becoming unnatural (for me) + keeping the slammy & textured bass from HE6seV2.

Hi. Are the screens off, or very open screen - of the v2? The Ether Angled do not max out if it's stock screens IMO.

 

[Guipnox]

Hi. Are the screens off, or very open screen - of the v2? The Ether Angled do not max out if it's stock screens IMO.

Hi.

I'm still waiting for my HE6seV2 with Ether Angled Earpads.
It's gonna arrive here, hopefully, by Wednesday.

I'll, for sure, use open grills.
I'm gonna compare stock/open grills to DCA/open grills.
I have a lot of stuff here to test.
Gonna use this as DAC/preamp to my monoblocks.
And grills I'm using.

 

[bagwell359]

Question! Been looking at the he6sev2 for a while and I'm glad I've held off on it because it's much cheaper now. Would a Topping L50 be able to handle it? Or would I have to grab something more powerful like, idk Schit Jotun or something? (I just saw the post above me but I'm still curious what others would suggest for me).

3 WPC @ 50 ohms min. I think Schitt amps match the v2 better than Topping.

At $449 with enough juice it crushes the XS, Ananda, and outpoints the the first two Aryas, LCD-2, and a whole pile of stuff under $1500. The D8000, Susvara, HEK v2, Voce, OG LCD-4, - if you feed them superior input they will outpace the v2. For the Voce including the can it's about $11k for the amp and the DAC. That's some expensive superiority.

 

[Menkau-ra]

Question! Been looking at the he6sev2 for a while and I'm glad I've held off on it because it's much cheaper now. Would a Topping L50 be able to handle it? Or would I have to grab something more powerful like, idk Schit Jotun or something? (I just saw the post above me but I'm still curious what others would suggest for me).

you probably won't enjoy HE6se unless you have a speaker amp or something like Oor or ifi Pro iCan.

 

[theangelboy]

Question! Been looking at the he6sev2 for a while and I'm glad I've held off on it because it's much cheaper now. Would a Topping L50 be able to handle it? Or would I have to grab something more powerful like, idk Schit Jotun or something? (I just saw the post above me but I'm still curious what others would suggest for me).

You are going to get answers all over the place since everyone has an opinion on how to "properly drive" an HE6se (including me!) and people rarely agree on this topic in particular.

Amp opinions aside, it financially doesn't make the most sense to blind-buy an amp before doing at least some serious listening to the headphone unless you were already considering buying said amp anyway. Because what if there is some deal breaker or you need to return the headphones for some reason like weight, build, stuck drivers, etc.? You don't want to be stuck with an amp that you don't want/need anymore.

 

[PlanarBunny]

You are going to get answers all over the place since everyone has an opinion on how to "properly drive" an HE6se (including me!) and people rarely agree on this topic in particular.

Amp opinions aside, it financially doesn't make the most sense to blind-buy an amp before doing at least some serious listening to the headphone unless you were already considering buying said amp anyway. Because what if there is some deal breaker or you need to return the headphones for some reason like weight, build, stuck drivers, etc.? You don't want to be stuck with an amp that you don't want/need anymore.

Yeah makes sense. Tbh I'd rather stick to what I have and either keep enjoying my 560 v4 or check out another Hifiman planar to grab. I have an L50 and an Asgard 3 but it's having static in the right ear. Sent it in to get repaired but they didn't notice static. Probably bc it doesn't come through till hours later and they sent it back unrepaired so I'm kinda upset. Gonna try to get a refund or in store credit towards Jotun maybe

 

[hgb1652]

Question! Been looking at the he6sev2 for a while and I'm glad I've held off on it because it's much cheaper now. Would a Topping L50 be able to handle it? Or would I have to grab something more powerful like, idk Schit Jotun or something? (I just saw the post above me but I'm still curious what others would suggest for me).

I would personally get the schiit Jotunheim 2. I pairee my he6sev2 with Jot 2 and it was a great experience

 

[bagwell359]

The whole speaker amp thing that sprouted up in the 2010-2015 time frame re the HE-6 was due to the paucity of few headphone amps available in 2010 that could put out 5 wpc at 50 ohms. I can't name them, but it's possible you would not even be able to name 5 - forget 10.

How many headphone amps does Schitt make that can today? Like 4? Toss in all the Lake People stuff etc and the number might be 40 or more.

The issue with pre 1985 electronics is leaking caps, outputs not designed or tested for 50 or 600 ohms. Under designed power supplies esp in recievers. If you are a collector or tinkerer - fine. But if you just want to plug and play - just get the latest Jot or Lyr+ and forget it.

Outside of that look for Class A amps that are 100% A or sliding bias A. Contrary to the ABX crowd the HE-6 SE v2 is resolving enough to hear the notch from AB amps.

 

[theangelboy]

Yeah makes sense. Tbh I'd rather stick to what I have and either keep enjoying my 560 v4 or check out another Hifiman planar to grab. I have an L50 and an Asgard 3 but it's having static in the right ear. Sent it in to get repaired but they didn't notice static. Probably bc it doesn't come through till hours later and they sent it back unrepaired so I'm kinda upset. Gonna try to get a refund or in store credit towards Jotun maybe

That sucks about your Asgard. Having something malfunction like that and they refuse to fix it is beyond frustrating, I'm sorry. Fingers crossed you can get it sorted!

I'll throw this out there because I own both, but since you already own and enjoy a 560v4, you should be aware it's like the little brother to the He6se v2. It has a Very similar sound signature with the same pads.

The 6se is more technical in a lot of ways (tighter, more articulate sound, better bass slam, imaging, and detail) but the difference is not representative of the price gap (although it is easily noticeable in an A/B comparison). Because of this I tend to use my 560v4 when I can't give full attention to the sound (like listening to music while working) and save the 6se for critical listening time when I can appreciate all the details.

So, the 6se is a great direct upgrade to the 560v4, but if you are looking for something with a distinctly different sound, you might want to consider something else.