[LugBug1]

Quote:

 
I can skip HE500 then, thank you for saving me few $$$

Nooooo!

 
I would give them a try, as has been stated, it's different flavours. Also it's nice to have a headphone that isn't so picky with amps, you can plug these into most headphone amps and they shine.

 

[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

Another way to say HE500 bass is more bloated is that HE6 bass is more lean. All relative, compared to the vast majority of other cans these differences are pretty minor. Honestly when I auditioned these head-to-head ANY difference in bass was overshadowed by the wildly different midrange/treble tonalities of these 2 cans.

 
"bloated bass" is also relative and amp synergy related.  In my EQ evaluation in the HE-6 thread I pointed out that after tweaking the stereo image in processing, and combined with the midbass-hump prone Marantz amp I was getting a booming, bloated midbass on HE-6 (note that amp also can create a booming midbass with HD650 too.)  A simple -1.5dB EQ tweak down for 1/3 oct around 67Hz, and it's flat and clean again.  On another amp I doubt that would have been an issue.
 
HE-400's bloat on that amp is monstrous.  But that's the famed "Marantz sound", and the sound is indeed good as long as all things are equal. It's all synergy.

 

[dleblanc343]

I'll be getting my HE-6 in a few hours, and I still haven't sold off my HE-500's. So expect some comparisons to come!
 
I decided to go for the upgrade because after hearing the HE-6 well amped versus the HE-500, it's evident they're a level above. It's not just sound preference, they're technically better as in they resolve more information and have better tonal balance across the spectrum.
 
Don't get me wrong, I've had the HE-500's for over a year, I find them amazing for what they costed, but then I got HD800's and the 500's became obsolete. Then when I heard the HE-6 well amped at a recent meet (5th hearing before finally hearing its potential), I felt they outclassed my HD800's in most areas.

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

I'll be getting my HE-6 in a few hours, and I still haven't sold off my HE-500's. So expect some comparisons to come!
 
I decided to go for the upgrade because after hearing the HE-6 well amped versus the HE-500, it's evident they're a level above. It's not just sound preference, they're technically better as in they resolve more information and have better tonal balance across the spectrum.
 
Don't get me wrong, I've had the HE-500's for over a year, I find them amazing for what they costed, but then I got HD800's and the 500's became obsolete. Then when I heard the HE-6 well amped at a recent meet (5th hearing before finally hearing its potential), I felt they outclassed my HD800's in most areas.

I dread to think what your face will be like with the HE6's .. if better than your HD800 (avatar)

 

[dleblanc343]

Quote:

I dread to think what your face will be like with the HE6's .. if better than your HD800 (avatar)

Rofl! I don't think I have time to take any more stupid photos 

 

[preproman]

.

 

[Lappy27]

Quote:

I'll be getting my HE-6 in a few hours, and I still haven't sold off my HE-500's. So expect some comparisons to come!
 
I decided to go for the upgrade because after hearing the HE-6 well amped versus the HE-500, it's evident they're a level above. It's not just sound preference, they're technically better as in they resolve more information and have better tonal balance across the spectrum.
 
Don't get me wrong, I've had the HE-500's for over a year, I find them amazing for what they costed, but then I got HD800's and the 500's became obsolete. Then when I heard the HE-6 well amped at a recent meet (5th hearing before finally hearing its potential), I felt they outclassed my HD800's in most areas.

I was at that meet and the HE-6 were driven by a Bryston BHA-1. Everybody who heard the HE-6 were truly impressed. I certainly was. The owner of the HE-6 said he finally heard the real potential of these headphones. He was considering selling the HE-6 before the meet and keep his LCD-3 but now he's considering buying a more powerful amp and keep the HE-6.
 
But keep in mind that the Bryston has to be pushed to his limits sometime to get decent level. I think I prefered the HE-6 to the LCD-3 by a nose. Realism was the superiority of the HE-6 in comparaison to the other cans. But I have to give them more listening time with my own music collection. That should be done by friday as we have a mini-meet with my Bryston, a Mjolnir, B22 and lots of good phones. HD-800, HE-500, HE-6, LCD-3, LCD-2r.2 and T1. 

 

[flaming_june]

Wow that's great to hear. 

 

[nigeljames]

Quote:

I was at that meet and the HE-6 were driven by a Bryston BHA-1. Everybody who heard the HE-6 were truly impressed. I certainly was. The owner of the HE-6 said he finally heard the real potential of these headphones. He was considering selling the HE-6 before the meet and keep his LCD-3 but now he's considering buying a more powerful amp and keep the HE-6.
 
But keep in mind that the Bryston has to be pushed to his limits sometime to get decent level. I think I prefered the HE-6 to the LCD-3 by a nose. Realism was the superiority of the HE-6 in comparaison to the other cans. But I have to give them more listening time with my own music collection. That should be done by friday as we have a mini-meet with my Bryston, a Mjolnir, B22 and lots of good phones. HD-800, HE-500, HE-6, LCD-3, LCD-2r.2 and T1. 

 
Looking forward to your impressions.
 
I have the Master-6 which also does a superb job with the HE6's but I have noticed that even with 7wpc I still have a couple of CD's ,out of about 2000, that need the volume cranked way up, say 60-65 out of 70, to get the volume I want. But even at that level there is still absolutely no sign of stress on the amp.
Considering adding the upcoming statement Schiit amp in the future so the Mjolnir will be a good benchmark as to how well the statement amp will perform with the HE6's, LCD2.2 and T1's.

 

[Canadian411]

Bryston BHA-1 or Cavalli Liquid Fire or Wood Audio WA22 ?
I am going to get HE6 and need one powerful   

 

[nigeljames]

Quote:

Bryston BHA-1 or Cavalli Liquid Fire or Wood Audio WA22 ?
I am going to get HE6 and need one powerful   

 
If its for the HE-6 you can rule out at least 2 of those amp straight away.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Bryston BHA-1 or Cavalli Liquid Fire or Wood Audio WA22 ?
I am going to get HE6 and need one powerful   

 
 
You really should rule out all 3 of those.  
 
If you really want a headphone amp to drive the HE-6 at a reasonable price I would go with the Audio-gd Master 8.  If you have money to spend and still want a headphone amp then go with the Dark Star.  
 
Now if you want to get the best of what the HE-6 has to offer I would say do some research on a heavy biased into class A speaker Amp.

 

[Canadian411]

thanks guys !

 

[dleblanc343]

I just shipped out my HE-500's this morning to a new owner who surely will love them for what they cost. That being said, the HE-6 are, on a whole, quite a bit better than the HE-500's to me.
 
Most noticeably is the tightness and more detailed bass. The HE-500 have more of a bass bloom, which is enjoyable with some pieces, but less enjoyable with most music out there. The midrange is more transparent/less warm on the HE-6 but still very musical with a very natural timbre (better suited for multiple genres). And the highs are more prevalent, yet never peaky and less splashy in comparison to the HE-500.
 
Then you've got micro dynamics and a larger/ more proportional soundstage width and depth where the HE-6 simply kill it. It seems even better than my HD800's in terms of micro-detailing across the spectrum, but not ever too harsh up high (I think I will be using them much more than my HD800's from now on).
 
Is the jump from the HE-500 to the HE-6 worth it? To me it is, and it's currently not even being driven "properly" (using a denon receiver). Then again, at 700-800$, I don't think there's anything out there better than the HE-500 (SRH1840 don't compare at all imo)

 

[jsplice]

I had the chance to demo both the HE-6 and HE-500 for a 2 week period, both powered by my Lyr.  I was told by many others that the HE-6 really need a speaker amp to drive them to their full potential, but as I think it's a bit ridiculous to have to drive a pair of headphones with a speaker amp, I did not entertain this idea (also because I didn't have any adapters to do this during my demo period).  So listening to both the HE-500 and HE-6 through the Lyr, I did find the HE-6 to be better, but honestly I liked neither headphone.  The HE-6 were definitely more even across the board, with better extension in both the treble and bass, and had perhaps a bit more microdynamic detail and nuance.  Do I think they are worth almost double the price? Not at all.  My opinion of the HE-6 may not be "optimal"  because I haven't listened to the HE-6 through a speaker amp, so if you intend to do this yourself, I suggest you try and obtain both pairs for a demo and make the decision yourself.  But for me, the impractical nature of the HE-6 combined with its price tag put them off of my wanted list.  Plus, I just found the sound of the LCD-2s to be a lot more to my liking, and a great match with the Lyr.