[Monsterzero]

They don't hit quite as hard as the Atrium,

Hook them up to speaker taps of a monster vintage receiver and then see if you still feel that way. When I had my HE6 (OG) I ran them off of a 1977 Kenwood Eleven Deluxe, 125 vintage real watts, and the HE6 rattled my teeth, something the Atrium will never do.

Typing this with the Atrium on my skull.

 

[erics75]

Hook them up to speaker taps of a monster vintage receiver and then see if you still feel that way. When I had my HE6 (OG) I ran them off of a 1977 Kenwood Eleven Deluxe, 125 vintage real watts, and the HE6 rattled my teeth, something the Atrium will never do.

Typing this with the Atrium on my skull.

I've been thinking about picking up a vintage receiver, they're pretty cheap and I think it would be fun to try. Plus I can use it for a secondary 2ch system as well. What i'm finding with the HE6SE is the transient attack/leading edge is stronger than the Atrium, but the Atrium moves more air and slower, giving it more girth and weight, which creates more overall pressure on my ears. But that's running the Atrium on tubes which add heft. For fun I did plug my Atrium in the Jot but it was a bit too clean and sterile for my tastes. ZMF and tubes just work. The HE6 on my tube amps was not good, slow, bloated, and VERY underpowered. I wish I had a tube amp that had the current pushing capability the HE6 needs. I have a DNA Stratus in the final build stages but from what I've read, that's also not a good HE6 amp, you need the Stellaris for it. Overall though I'm really happy with the HE6, much more than I expected.

 

[Monsterzero]

I've been thinking about picking up a vintage receiver, they're pretty cheap and I think it would be fun to try. Plus I can use it for a secondary 2ch system as well. What i'm finding with the HE6SE is the transient attack/leading edge is stronger than the Atrium, but the Atrium moves more air and slower, giving it more girth and weight, which creates more overall pressure on my ears. But that's running the Atrium on tubes which add heft. For fun I did plug my Atrium in the Jot but it was a bit too clean and sterile for my tastes. ZMF and tubes just work. The HE6 on my tube amps was not good, slow, bloated, and VERY underpowered. I wish I had a tube amp that had the current pushing capability the HE6 needs. I have a DNA Stratus in the final build stages but from what I've read, that's also not a good HE6 amp, you need the Stellaris for it. Overall though I'm really happy with the HE6, much more than I expected.

L0rdgwyn's Aegis drove the hell out of the Susvara, which is pretty similar in power demands to the HE6. That being said, for me personally I like tubes for dynamic drivers and SS for planars.


Tubes tend to slow down the transients of planars and thats one aspect of planars I love, the blinding speed.

 

[D00M]

Just got my HE6se V2 yesterday. Me likey, a lot! Punchy and dynamic.

I'm driving it with Drop THX AAA One. Only 2.7W @ 32ohm (SE). Since I don't have comparison, I cannot say if it is sufficient (or enough to bring out the max performance). I have no issue with volume, and it sounds way better than other $300-400 headphones as-is.

I'm tempted to try speaker tap. My father has old Sansui and Marantz from 1970's that I have easy access to. But I am not keen on spending $100 for speaker tap. What is the easiest or cheapest way for speaker tap setup just to test out?

HE6se V2 is much more enjoyable than Sundara. Vocals are not at HD660S level. But that is fine. I listen to Alternative and Pop, so vocals are not emphasis. I just don't like recess vocals. And HE6se V2 is definitely more forward and less recessed than other mid-tier Hifiman headphones.

Comfort is decent and better than I expected. I have the Deva. I find Deva clamp force way too lose and the headphone slides around a lot. Clamp force is still too low on HE6se V2. But I do find HE6se V2 better fit than Deva. Maybe it is newer and tighter; I hope it doesn't loosen up over time. The weight is also a factor; HE6se V2 is heavier and just does not slide around as much. Also, HE6se V2 earcups are circular and holds onto my ears better, whereas Deva earcups are slightly larger and oval.

 

[wolfstar76]

I am always curious about Senneheiser headphones since I never own or even heard any mid tier or higher one. I was about to buy 6xx for the vocal/mids, but then lots of people mentioned that Sundara is suprior in almost every aspects. Now that I have HE6SE V2 and ZMF Atrium, I guess 6xx or 660s (frequently poped up at very low price sales) are not a good buy for me.

​

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I am always curious about Senneheiser headphones since I never own or even heard any mid tier or higher one. I was about to buy 6xx for the vocal/mids, but then lots of people mentioned that Sundara is suprior in almost every aspects. Now that I have HE6SE V2 and ZMF Atrium, I guess 6xx or 660s (frequently poped up at very low price sales) are not a good buy for me.

I haven't heard the Sundara but the HD 600 (not necessarily 650 or 6XX) is hard to beat for most vocals. But you need a healthy amp for them, you don't for the Sundara. 660 is a completely different headphone from the 600/650/6XX. Although the number is higher, it does not mean it is better. Sennheiser has a bit weird model numbering.

Anyway, I guess the Atrium out of a good amp is considerably better than the HD 600/650/6XX.

I don't know what your musical taste is but I find the HE6SE V2 is killer on Sinatra.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Just got my HE6se V2 yesterday. Me likey, a lot! Punchy and dynamic.

I'm driving it with Drop THX AAA One. Only 2.7W @ 32ohm (SE). Since I don't have comparison, I cannot say if it is sufficient (or enough to bring out the max performance). I have no issue with volume, and it sounds way better than other $300-400 headphones as-is.

I'm tempted to try speaker tap. My father has old Sansui and Marantz from 1970's that I have easy access to. But I am not keen on spending $100 for speaker tap. What is the easiest or cheapest way for speaker tap setup just to test out?

HE6se V2 is much more enjoyable than Sundara. Vocals are not at HD660S level. But that is fine. I listen to Alternative and Pop, so focals are not emphasis. I just don't like recess vocals. And HE6se V2 is definitely more forward and less recessed than other mid-tier Hifiman headphones.

Comfort is decent and better than I expected. I have the Deva. I find Deva clamp force way too lose and the headphone slides around a lot. Clamp force is still too low on HE6se V2. But I do find HE6se V2 better fit than Deva. Maybe it is newer and tighter; I hope it doesn't loosen up over time. The weight is also a factor; HE6se V2 is heavier and just does not slide around as much. Also, HE6se V2 earcups are circular and holds onto my ears better, whereas Deva earcups are slightly larger and oval.

You don't need the speaker adapter box, you just need a cable you're willing to chop up. Each earcup has + and - leads, so you run each of the + to each + speaker terminal, and each of the - to the - speaker terminal.

 

[Guipnox]

Just got my HE6se V2 yesterday. Me likey, a lot! Punchy and dynamic.

I'm driving it with Drop THX AAA One. Only 2.7W @ 32ohm (SE). Since I don't have comparison, I cannot say if it is sufficient (or enough to bring out the max performance). I have no issue with volume, and it sounds way better than other $300-400 headphones as-is.

I'm tempted to try speaker tap. My father has old Sansui and Marantz from 1970's that I have easy access to. But I am not keen on spending $100 for speaker tap. What is the easiest or cheapest way for speaker tap setup just to test out?

HE6se V2 is much more enjoyable than Sundara. Vocals are not at HD660S level. But that is fine. I listen to Alternative and Pop, so focals are not emphasis. I just don't like recess vocals. And HE6se V2 is definitely more forward and less recessed than other mid-tier Hifiman headphones.

Comfort is decent and better than I expected. I have the Deva. I find Deva clamp force way too lose and the headphone slides around a lot. Clamp force is still too low on HE6se V2. But I do find HE6se V2 better fit than Deva. Maybe it is newer and tighter; I hope it doesn't loosen up over time. The weight is also a factor; HE6se V2 is heavier and just does not slide around as much. Also, HE6se V2 earcups are circular and holds onto my ears better, whereas Deva earcups are slightly larger and oval.

Nice!
To be already better than Sundara for you, using THX ONE, is a bold claim.
Imagine how much it's gonna scale.
Prepare yourself for a wild ride.

Here's a XLR female to bananas male adapter:

R$ 64,23 40%de desconto | Audiocrast occ prata chapeado xlr fêmea 4pin para deluxe 4mm banana plug áudio cabo alto-falante amplificador
https://a.aliexpress.com/_msXXy3i

 

[NascentAP]

I'm tempted to try speaker tap. My father has old Sansui and Marantz from 1970's that I have easy access to. But I am not keen on spending $100 for speaker tap. What is the easiest or cheapest way for speaker tap setup just to test out?

You only need to spend ~$40 USD if you have access to amazon. Just need these two items:

4 Pin XLR to RCA Silver Plated Audio Headphone Adapter C... https://a.co/d/9Xj1wPG

Coupled with….

CESS-023-6i Banana Plugs to RCA Cable 6-inch, Phono Bana... https://a.co/d/c4RjtTI

Works fine with my set up.

 

[wolfstar76]

I haven't heard the Sundara but the HD 600 (not necessarily 650 or 6XX) is hard to beat for most vocals. But you need a healthy amp for them, you don't for the Sundara. 660 is a completely different headphone from the 600/650/6XX. Although the number is higher, it does not mean it is better. Sennheiser has a bit weird model numbering.

Anyway, I guess the Atrium out of a good amp is considerably better than the HD 600/650/6XX.

I don't know what your musical taste is but I find the HE6SE V2 is killer on Sinatra.

I like Sinatra as well, Ry Cooder more recently. With vocal and guitar, I still find Atrium is more enjoyable even though HE6SE has better reach to the sub-bass and more texture in bass as a whole, better treble performance as well. But the weight on the note from the Atrium is just fatastic. I now not everyone like full bodied notes as compared to the more airy and clean ones.

 

[MeetYourMaker]

As far as headphone amps within the reach of mere mortals, the Schiit Jotunheim or Monoprice Liquid Platinum are popular pairings with this headphone.

I've heard some promising things about the Emotiva BasX A2m with the jumper mod, but not a lot here have tried it yet. I might soon.

If you want to save money, you'll want to get a good used +100WPC home theatre receiver and drive this headphone straight off the speaker taps. Tons of people have gotten good results this way for very little money compared to what *could* be spent on amping this headphone.

Thanks man for the info. I looked up local receivers for sale and this one came up (https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...wse_serp:77518adc-7176-48c8-9be2-467081873b42) is this too much overkill? Because it seems very heavy, I messaged the seller can can pick it up anytime. Thank you.

 

[dstarr3]

Thanks man for the info. I looked up local receivers for sale and this one came up (https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/4036227376601802/?hoisted=false&ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp:77518adc-7176-48c8-9be2-467081873b42) is this too much overkill? Because it seems very heavy, I messaged the seller can can pick it up anytime. Thank you.

Heavy is a good sign. Probably has a monster of a transformer inside

 

[MeetYourMaker]

Heavy is a good sign. Probably has a monster of a transformer inside

Do you know if 100 watts into 8 ohms is something that I should be worried about?

 

[Guipnox]

Do you know if 100 watts into 8 ohms is something that I should be worried about?

No.
I use 110W @ 8 Ohm easily.
Just use a preamp and always check for volume.
Always 0 after using.
Unplug headphones.
Turn off the unit.
Turn on without the headphones plugged.
I let my amps volume fixed and just use preamp to increase/decrease volume.

 

[dstarr3]

Do you know if 100 watts into 8 ohms is something that I should be worried about?

The Onkyo I use is good for 150WPC, so you're fine. The rules when powering headphones from speaker taps are:

MOST IMPORTANTLY, DISCONNECT YOUR HEADPHONES WHENEVER NOT LISTENING

When starting your listening session, follow these steps:
Turn on the amp
Turn the volume all the way down
Begin playing music
Connect headphones
Slowly turn up the volume to your preferred volume
Party on

When finishing your session, follow these steps:
Keep music playing
Slowly turn the volume all the way back down
Disconnect headphones
Stop music
Power off amp