[gzbaga]

Did your headphones ever arrive? What are your impressions of them?

Yep they did! Just turned up yesterday. Will post initial impressions and some pics tomorrow or so. Thanks for following up.

 

[jasswolf]

Yep they did! Just turned up yesterday. Will post initial impressions and some pics tomorrow or so. Thanks for following up.

Looking forward to your opinion on the technical performance in the treble.

Modded HE-6 sound or pleasant surprise?

 

[wstgr]

Picture of my set (using for a month): https://www.reddit.com/user/Impossi...7vem/470_nan6_planar_headphone_made_in_china/

The headphones sell for $470 in China. One thing I can guarantee is that the headphones are definitely worth the price, with few drawbacks other than the soundstage which is not that big. There is nothing wrong with the tuning, and the sound texture can be as good as he6. It is like a child of susvara and he6 with the trend of susvara but soundstage and quality of he6. The overall design of the speaker is based on he6 but using diaphragm similar to susvara's and some other little adjustments are applied. You will need powerful amplifier to drive this headphone, since driving is as hard as HE6 and HE6se.

Because of the "not big" soundstage, which is similar to he6, and some other factors, it is completely different from susvara and I prefer to put it at the level of he6 and 6se. If you already have he6 and 6se, nan 6 is just a cheaper choice with little improvement.

Btw, these headphones will take at least a week to achieve a steady and relaxed sound due to the high initial stress in the diaphragms. The low-end will be tight and strong at first (a strange feeling) and it will be loosed after a period time of using. I am now using a class D power amplifier to drive it, similar to the he6.

 

[tutetibiimperes]

Picture of my set (using for a month): https://www.reddit.com/user/Impossi...7vem/470_nan6_planar_headphone_made_in_china/

The headphones sell for $470 in China. One thing I can guarantee is that the headphones are definitely worth the price, with few drawbacks other than the soundstage which is not that big. There is nothing wrong with the tuning, and the sound texture can be as good as he6. It is like a child of sundara and he6 with the trend of sundara but soundstage and quality of he6. The overall design of the speaker is based on he6 but using diaphragm similar to sundara's and some other little adjustments are applied. You will need powerful amplifier to drive this headphone, since driving is as hard as HE6 and HE6se.

How would you go about buying them from China in the US? I didn’t see them on AliExpress.

Are the cups/pads larger than the HE6? I love my HE6se other than the cups and pads are maybe 15% smaller in diameter than I’d like.

 

[wstgr]

How would you go about buying them from China in the US? I didn’t see them on AliExpress.

Are the cups/pads larger than the HE6? I love my HE6se other than the cups and pads are maybe 15% smaller in diameter than I’d like.

I am now in China haha. Nan 6 is not sold on AliExpress because it unavoidably used some tech from Hifiman and may cause patent disputes. Thus, It is sold directly by the manufacturer on a second-hand trading platform in China called "Xianyu". I don't know how foreigner can buy this, but I can promise that your he6 is already good enough, nan 6 won't be better but only cost less money. You can enjoy your he6 Btw, the cups' size is as same as he6.

 

[thefitz]

Nan 6 is not sold on AliExpress because it unavoidably used some tech from Hifiman and may cause patent disputes

I find that hilarious given how many counterfeit watches are happily sold on AliExpress, and after HiFiMAN's R-10P/D stunt.

 

[wstgr]

I find that hilarious given how many counterfeit watches are happily sold on AliExpress, and after HiFiMAN's R-10P/D stunt.

What I can say is that this manufacturer developed most of his technologies on his own, but it inevitably overlapped with some of the technologies from large companies. I am familiar with him and I know that his production process is different from Hifiman and even achieves better quality control. The texture of the diaphragm circuit under bright light is totally diferent from he6's. Only circuit shape is copied from he6, but the spacing of the magnet, the distance from the diaphragm, the stress in the diaphragm and the thickness of the diaphragm are all different from hifiman's. That's why it looks like he6 but has the curve of susvara, but sounds totally diferent with susvara.
The manufacturer is one person. He called his work as DIY and do not decide to put it into mass production, that's also a reason that it is not sold on formal platforms like AliExpress but just want to share his work with other music lovers.
So, if you are interested and want to buy a pair, you may need some friends in China or just buy it from secondhand sellers out of China. Maybe one day, some private agents will do the mailing services.

 

[muths66]

I heard my friend nan6 the soundstage is very amazing.Rest of the sound is nice only thing is some part have some sharpness sound in vocal and intruments.It is said that it need enough current to drive if not the upper mid will tend to sound too bright. Is rencomend using speaker amp to drive.
I only can try it on my cayin ha1a mk2.

 

[gzbaga]

Alright guys here they are. First impressions are very positive.

Comparing to the HE6SE V2, to me the NAN6 sounds slightly fuller in the mids, with a more linear and tamed treble than both the HE6SE V2 and HE1000 V2. The graphs are right - the susvara has a smooth treble and so is the NAN6. I really like vocals on the NAN6, they have body and is pleasantly authentic. Due to the short amount of time I've had on them I can't speak with certainty on the technicalities, but I can feel that they are very capable as well, certainly on the level to trade blows with the HE6SE V2. One of the highlight among first listening was macrodynamics - how dynamic and punchy the NAN-6 is. This may have to do with how the driver diaphragm of NAN6 is specially tuned as @wstgr mentioned above. I will need more time before in depth comparisons though. All in all very impressed by them.

note: this is only some quick first impressions without serious comparisons, and the opinion from one guy.

 

[muths66]

Alright guys here they are. First impressions are very positive.

Comparing to the HE6SE V2, to me the NAN6 sounds slightly fuller in the mids, with a more linear and tamed treble than both the HE6SE V2 and HE1000 V2. The graphs are right - the susvara has a smooth treble and so is the NAN6. I really like vocals on the NAN6, they have body and is pleasantly authentic. Due to the short amount of time I've had on them I can't speak with certainty on the technicalities, but I can feel that they are very capable as well, certainly on the level to trade blows with the HE6SE V2. One of the highlight among first listening was macrodynamics - how dynamic and punchy the NAN-6 is. This may have to do with how the driver diaphragm of NAN6 is specially tuned as @wstgr mentioned above. I will need more time before in depth comparisons though. All in all very impressed by them.

note: this is only some quick first impressions without serious comparisons, and the opinion from one guy.

what amp u use?

 

[gzbaga]

what amp u use?

I have a custom solid state amp that delivers 8 watts into 50 ohms, but I mainly evaluated the NAN6 with the Topping A30pro, on which I use mid gain and around 10am for 70-75db averag listening level. In fact with 3.4 watts into 50 ohms the A30pro is already powerful enough to provide ample current and swing for the HE6SE or NAN6 to get sufficiently loud for my listening volume.

On top of amp pairing, IMHO what’s more important are pad choice and the included velcro mod. My first impressions were with the default hybrid pads and without the velcro tape mod. By intentionally introducing a mild air gap the velcro mod adds pressure release conditions to the NAN6 and would therefore change how they sound. Basically there'd be more mid-bass and treble extension in the air regions, the latter which may cause slight harshness/sharpness. Although I shoud note that perception of treble extension varies a lot person to person and to age.

For the squiggles lovers, I will upload some measurements of my unit later. But the TL;DR is they measure basically the same as the pair Crinacle got.

 

[muths66]

I have a custom solid state amp that delivers 5.5 watts into 50 ohms, but I mainly evaluated the NAN6 with the Topping A30pro, on which I use mid gain and around 10am for 70-75db averag listening level. In fact with 3.4 watts into 50 ohms the A30pro is already powerful enough to provide ample current and swing for the HE6SE or NAN6 to get sufficiently loud for my listening volume.

On top of amp pairing, IMHO what’s more important are pad choice and the included velcro mod. My first impressions were with the default hybrid pads and without the velcro tape mod. By intentionally introducing a mild air gap the velcro mod adds pressure release conditions to the NAN6 and would therefore change how they sound. Basically there'd be more mid-bass and treble extension in the air regions, the latter which may cause slight harshness/sharpness. Although I shoud note that perception of treble extension varies a lot person to person and to age.

For the wiggle lovers, I will upload some measurements of my unit later. But the TL;DR is they measure basically the same as the pair Crinacle got.

So you saying a30pro is driving full for nan6??

 

[gzbaga]

So you saying a30pro is driving full for nan6??

No I didn't intend to mean that. I am neither implying they are the optimal pairing option or the A30pro can 'drive full for' NAN6, if I may borrow your words. I use the A30pro mainly because it is a good reference making both my subjective impressions and objective measurements easily repeatable by another listener.

 

[muths66]

I have a custom solid state amp that delivers 8 watts into 50 ohms, but I mainly evaluated the NAN6 with the Topping A30pro, on which I use mid gain and around 10am for 70-75db averag listening level. In fact with 3.4 watts into 50 ohms the A30pro is already powerful enough to provide ample current and swing for the HE6SE or NAN6 to get sufficiently loud for my listening volume.

On top of amp pairing, IMHO what’s more important are pad choice and the included velcro mod. My first impressions were with the default hybrid pads and without the velcro tape mod. By intentionally introducing a mild air gap the velcro mod adds pressure release conditions to the NAN6 and would therefore change how they sound. Basically there'd be more mid-bass and treble extension in the air regions, the latter which may cause slight harshness/sharpness. Although I shoud note that perception of treble extension varies a lot person to person and to age.

For the wiggle lovers, I will upload some measurements of my unit later. But the TL;DR is they measure basically the same as the pair Crinacle got.

You saying some sharpness due to the air gap of the earpad?

 

[jasswolf]

Interested in comparisons to the HIFIMAN Edition XS if anyone has them.

Seems they're both high value planars with good tonality and dynamics, with XS having the soundstage and imaging edge, and the Nan-6 having better separation and detail... but how much?