My main interest in wanting to try out the HE-6se is due it being such a natural pairing for use with speaker amps. I drove them using a Pass Labs X150.8 (150 watts, 26 dB gain), which is as my preferred amp for drivingall three of my other headphones (Susvara, RAAL SR1a, and Utopia). The amp is fed by an M-Scaler/DAVE.
To my ears, the HE-6se has two salient, differentiating characteristics. First and foremost, for me, is its liveliness.
IMO, planars tend to have a smooth timbre and an almost "softened" presentation (in terms of their treatment of transients); this is definitely how I think of the Susvara, for instance. The HE-6se goes in the other direction in a way that differentiates it from the planar stereotype. So that's interesting, and offers something different. And so, when properly driven, this quality creates a positive first impression. Bass is punchy, and macrodynamics in general are very good. Bass extension is good, though noticeably less so than that of current-gen planar flagships.
However, although it sounds lively, it also paradoxically sounds slightly over-damped to my ears. Reverb and air that I expect to fill in the soundstage is slightly attenuated, sustains are a little short, and decays are a little too quick, leading to a slightly dry sound.
The second main characteristic that stands out to me is its emphasized midrange/upper-midrange. For me personally, this is a big watch-out, though everyone has their own preference and different perception of tonality when using headphones. The forward mids lend a sense of excitement by accentuating the energy of transients like percussion. But for me, I found some acoustic instruments to sound slightly off. Eg, pianos in the middle register had a hint of nasality.
Nevertheless, I thought the 6se sounded pretty good for its price class, with a fun sound signature. Thanks much to HifiMan for putting the effort into organizing this tour.
To my ears, the HE-6se has two salient, differentiating characteristics. First and foremost, for me, is its liveliness.
IMO, planars tend to have a smooth timbre and an almost "softened" presentation (in terms of their treatment of transients); this is definitely how I think of the Susvara, for instance. The HE-6se goes in the other direction in a way that differentiates it from the planar stereotype. So that's interesting, and offers something different. And so, when properly driven, this quality creates a positive first impression. Bass is punchy, and macrodynamics in general are very good. Bass extension is good, though noticeably less so than that of current-gen planar flagships.
However, although it sounds lively, it also paradoxically sounds slightly over-damped to my ears. Reverb and air that I expect to fill in the soundstage is slightly attenuated, sustains are a little short, and decays are a little too quick, leading to a slightly dry sound.
The second main characteristic that stands out to me is its emphasized midrange/upper-midrange. For me personally, this is a big watch-out, though everyone has their own preference and different perception of tonality when using headphones. The forward mids lend a sense of excitement by accentuating the energy of transients like percussion. But for me, I found some acoustic instruments to sound slightly off. Eg, pianos in the middle register had a hint of nasality.
Nevertheless, I thought the 6se sounded pretty good for its price class, with a fun sound signature. Thanks much to HifiMan for putting the effort into organizing this tour.
