[DeafAudiophile]

As much of a skeptic I was, the reviews were right. I didn't know what "neutral" meant until now and boy is it not to my taste. I'm looking for something that is more musical, mainly emphasis on vocals and detail if possible. The headphones I have are He6sev2 and HD660s and with these I have forgotten what bass is although it's nice to have I can't say it's a priority.

Is there somewhere in my chain I can add/replace to get more life in my music? I have a little dot mkiii on the way and some voshkod tubes set to arrive sometime in March due to Chinese New Year to get a taste of tubes. Most posts I see in regards to the D90 they often pair it with a preamp like the Freya but then again they have far more luxurious setups as well so not sure if I should start looking into a Freya.

I listen to a wide variety of music so I can't say what's my main but vocals are a big focus for me.

 

[Bhk1004]

get a warm leaning class A amp with some power? power mainly for your he6se. something cheap to test on your hd660s would be like an Asgard 3. Its actually AB but its a more "musical" presentation. but it has 0 shot at driving your he6se.

 

[silent-circuit]

You can probably just use the Little Dot as a tube buffer. Put it between the D90 and A90 if you need the power of the A90. If not? Use the MK3 as your amp.

 

[Guidostrunk]

Cavalli Liquid Platinum. This amp is exactly what you described. Vocals, detailed and musical. And you can to tune it in with different tubes. I generally see them selling on here for under $400. Maybe $450 or so for a cap modded one.
If you want solid state. Gilmore lite mk2.

As much of a skeptic I was, the reviews were right. I didn't know what "neutral" meant until now and boy is it not to my taste. I'm looking for something that is more musical, mainly emphasis on vocals and detail if possible. The headphones I have are He6sev2 and HD660s and with these I have forgotten what bass is although it's nice to have I can't say it's a priority.

Is there somewhere in my chain I can add/replace to get more life in my music? I have a little dot mkiii on the way and some voshkod tubes set to arrive sometime in March due to Chinese New Year to get a taste of tubes. Most posts I see in regards to the D90 they often pair it with a preamp like the Freya but then again they have far more luxurious setups as well so not sure if I should start looking into a Freya.

I listen to a wide variety of music so I can't say what's my main but vocals are a big focus for me.

 

[Monsterzero]

As much of a skeptic I was, the reviews were right. I didn't know what "neutral" meant until now and boy is it not to my taste. I'm looking for something that is more musical, mainly emphasis on vocals and detail if possible. The headphones I have are He6sev2 and HD660s and with these I have forgotten what bass is although it's nice to have I can't say it's a priority.

HE6= neutral?
Man it sounds to me like theyre being under driven. Granted they can have some excess energy in the highs, but when fed properly, they hit like a freight train!

I listen to a wide variety of music so I can't say what's my main but vocals are a big focus for me.

you want something with great mids.

HD600
HD650
ZMF (pretty much all of em)

 

[silent-circuit]

HE6= neutral?
Man it sounds to me like theyre being under driven. Granted they can have some excess energy in the highs, but when fed properly, they hit like a freight train!

The A90 will drive them just fine. Maybe op wants it really loud but has it on low gain? I don't know.

 

[Monsterzero]

The A90 will drive them just fine. Maybe op wants it really loud but has it on low gain? I don't know.

Understand Ive not heard the Topping A90, but according to specs I found here, the Topping isnt really providing the HE6 with enough power.
Many HE6 owners suggest 5w minimum to drive the HE6 with total authority. A ballpark figure looks like the A90 is providing around 1watt @50 ohms, perhaps slightly more.

When I had the HE6 I used a 110wpc (@8ohms) vintage receiver, with a speaker tap cable attached directly to the rear of the receiver and I do not believe ive ever had a headphone with that much slam. It was absurd! Im not suggesting one needs to give the HE6 that much juice, but the results I heard were quite different than what the OP is hearing.

 

[DeafAudiophile]

Cavalli Liquid Platinum. This amp is exactly what you described. Vocals, detailed and musical. And you can to tune it in with different tubes. I generally see them selling on here for under $400. Maybe $450 or so for a cap modded one.
If you want solid state. Gilmore lite mk2.

Thanks, I'll look out for the CLP but I don't think the Gilmore has enough power for the He6sev2.

The A90 will drive them just fine. Maybe op wants it really loud but has it on low gain? I don't know.

Even at mid gain and at 2 O'clock the amp is plenty loud. At high gain I can hover at 11-12.

Understand Ive not heard the Topping A90, but according to specs I found here, the Topping isnt really providing the HE6 with enough power.
Many HE6 owners suggest 5w minimum to drive the HE6 with total authority. A ballpark figure looks like the A90 is providing around 1watt @50 ohms, perhaps slightly more.

When I had the HE6 I used a 110wpc (@8ohms) vintage receiver, with a speaker tap cable attached directly to the rear of the receiver and I do not believe ive ever had a headphone with that much slam. It was absurd! Im not suggesting one needs to give the HE6 that much juice, but the results I heard were quite different than what the OP is hearing.

I don't think it should be only 1W. With balanced In/Out it's 6400 mW x 2 at 32 Ohms and 1000mW x2 at 300 Ohms.

 

[Monsterzero]

I don't think it should be only 1W. With balanced In/Out it's 6400 mW x 2 at 32 Ohms and 1000mW x2 at 300 Ohms.

I stand corrected. If thats the case you're getting around 2.5w give or take. That should be plenty.

 

[ThanatosVI]

As much of a skeptic I was, the reviews were right. I didn't know what "neutral" meant until now and boy is it not to my taste. I'm looking for something that is more musical, mainly emphasis on vocals and detail if possible. The headphones I have are He6sev2 and HD660s and with these I have forgotten what bass is although it's nice to have I can't say it's a priority.

Is there somewhere in my chain I can add/replace to get more life in my music? I have a little dot mkiii on the way and some voshkod tubes set to arrive sometime in March due to Chinese New Year to get a taste of tubes. Most posts I see in regards to the D90 they often pair it with a preamp like the Freya but then again they have far more luxurious setups as well so not sure if I should start looking into a Freya.

I listen to a wide variety of music so I can't say what's my main but vocals are a big focus for me.

Yes the Topping stack is Pretty neutral and "clinical" however the He6SEv2 shouldn't be.
Also it should have amazing bass if fed by the A90.

A Schiit Jotunheim 2 + Bifrost 2 combo is usually a little warmer and more musical, however also just a sidegrade to the topping stack with different character

A tubeamp might help, maybe a Schiit Lyr3.
Other than that I unfortunately don't know many without breaking the Bank, especially ones being able to drive the He6SE