LFF X6 "Code Sex" (custom modded HE-6)

OK i must admit that I always make fun of Jason because he's a real man and can take all of the feminine cattiness that is inherent to this forum, and I admit I am a drama queen and I like to pile it on. My favorite reality TV show is House Husbands of Arcadia, that should tell you everything. But I did purchase a 4 screw from one of the blasphemers on this forum, and even to a deaf cuck like me the difference is stark. So make fun of the Baba Yaga of the Filipinos all you want, he's never steered my astray when it comes to screw count.

 

Boy that's one hell of a front damping.

 

Anyone ever got the chance to compare Code Sex vs Code X?

 

It's actually surprisingly transparent. Putting stock pads on and taking measurements doesn't show much of a change. My mods, didn't cover as much of the driver but had a greater effect on the treble. Luis knows what he's doing.

 

I should take a picture of my HE-6 damping one of these days. I have a literal pillow of aramid fibers between layers of nylon stocking and felt. In my case I built the pillow into the pad mounting ring.

 

I can see that working for your preference

 

Truly epic measurements. Have you experimented at all with EQ on these? Wondering if a Loki (with it's limited bands of adjustment) would be a nice way to add a touch of bass for when the mood is right.

Luis is working on my HE-6 as we speak. When I get them back I'll be sure to post an A/B with my Code-LEX. If only I had jumped on one of those black friday HE-5's, I could have completed the holy trinity of LFF-modded HFM's.

 

@cskippy is there any chance you could share the distortion measurements vs percentage? Just to make it a bit easier to read. Thanks!

 

Sure, but they are near the limit of the ambient noise.

 

@E_Schaaf It's not letting me edit my original post so here is distortion in percentage.



The grey is the noise floor of either mic or ambient noise creeping in so the distortion is arguably better than my rig can show. As it stands, Code Sex has pretty much the lowest distortion I've seen of a headphone measured on my rig.

 

Code-6 and Code-5LE

I got my pair of modded HE-6 from @LFF yesterday. I’m not sure if the mods on mine are the same as @cskippy ’s (I told Luis I liked a subtly slanted sig), but I was up last night and tonight until 3AM comparing them with the 5LE Luis did for me a few months back (Code-5LE?). I used Luis’ pads on both for the sake of the review.


The chain is the Theta Gen V @Clemmaster is kindly lending me -> Schiit Valhalla 2 for volume control (with Amperex 7308’s) -> Pass Amp Camp Monoblocks (ACA).


I haven’t heard an original HE-5 Code-X to perfectly round out this review but I hope to at the next SoCal meet. That being said, here are some subjective impressions with the two -


Dynamics:

The 6’s dynamic prowess is expectedly more pronounced than that of the LE, but not by a whole lot. I was worried the ACA wouldn’t be up to the task of driving the 6 (and I’m sure they could still perform better with a more powerful amp - will test soon with my GFA-555 v1), but I am not left with much (if any) sense of dynamic compression with this chain. After a while of listening with the LE, the transient presentation just feels like a normal part of the music and doesn’t attract particular attention (despite being excellent). The 6 calls some attention to itself in this regard and definitely maintains “wow-factor” even throughout an extended session. I’d describe the character of the 6 more as “punchy”, and the LE more “snappy”. The 6 has a thicker and beefier feeling to it with a bit more sustain in the bass. The driver on the LE feels like it reaches equilibrium a bit faster in the higher frequencies (hopefully someone with a measurement rig can verify this with CSD’s soon), feeling a bit more zippy. I prefer the 6’s dynamic presentation with electronic music and hip hop and the LE for acoustic instrumentation and vocals.


Spatialization:

The LE definitely stages wider than the 6, and renders an even distribution of sonic information from the extreme left to right of the ear-field. Depth and height are rendered excellently on both headphones. The 6 has a denser amount of information in the center (which adds an additional sense of impact to center-panned instruments like kicks and electronic bass). I would say instrument separation and imaging have clearer definition on the LE, but this might just be a matter of FR in the top octave or two. There’s more cohesion with the 6 but more contrast with the LE. Monophonic recordings and sparse arrangements feel a little more fleshed out with the 6, but material with dense amounts of information across the stereo field have more room to breathe with the LE. I’d generally give the LE the “wow-factor” over the 6 in terms of spatialization on my rig, but the 6 is certainly not lacking. I trust the LE’s spatial rendering so much that I use it as a mix reference for my film work.


Bass:

The 6’s bass is ridiculous. I have always suspected I may be a closeted basshead, and the bass on the 6 certainly leaves absolutely nothing to be desired. The sense of tactility and impact is unprecedented to these ears (at least with headphones), even though I feel the ACA might not be achieving 100% of the possible performance here. Someone lend me a Krell. The LE feels a small bit lighter in the upper bass / lower mids compared to the 6, but extends just as well and has an otherwise similar amount of presence. I’d call the 6’s bass more “solid” or dense in texture, and the LE more “liquid” (for lack of better descriptors). Pitch differentiation is excellent with both. I prefer the 6’s presentation in the bass most of the time, except for jazz upright bass, where I prefer the LE.


Mids:

The 6 retains a lot of its original character in the mids, but with a smaller 1k peak and a more even balance relative to the treble. The LE mids are very smooth though possibly slightly lower in perceived level relative to the treble. The LE’s pre-mod upper-mid suckout feels mitigated with the mods, polished and lifted into a subtle and well-executed “BBC dip”. Neither is shouty nor hollow. Both presentations are excellent.


Treble:

The 6’s treble is fixed compared to pre-mod. No ringing, no fatigue, no sibilance, no sense of brightness whatsoever. If anything I’d call the modded 6 slightly laid back and warm up top. Sweet and lovely on my rig. Maybe lacking a bit of air in the last octave to my young ears (I can hear cleanly up to 19k), but most probably won’t notice or care. The LE, on the other hand, has truly astounding high frequency extension. It has an airy and ethereal quality that is very palpable with the right material to my ears. I sometimes find the LE treble to be fatiguing with poorly mastered material, but I’m not sure if this is due to a small peak in the FR or simply because of the highly revealing treble rendering. Regardless, the extension is generally welcome to my ears, and the touch of extra energy up top compared to the 6 feels like a positive attribute most of the time, and is certainly helpful for critical applications. I never thought I’d call the HE-6’s treble presentation “forgiving” to any extent, but it is (at least a little) compared to the LE. I’d consider that a compliment to both of these modded headphones.

__________________________________

Anyway, I’ll be bringing both of these headphones to any meets in SoCal I attend in the near future, and I wholeheartedly recommend doing the mod if you have a pair of HE-6 or HE-5LE that were never quite right to your ears. Luis practically perfected each of these very capable headphones in my mind - each maintaining its own character to a certain degree… just better across the board of sonic attributes. Luis, as always, is a pleasure to do business with. Thank you Luis.

Can’t wait to audition them with different components and compare to an original Code-X!

 

Just got in a pair of non-perforated ZMF Ori pads (sheepskin). Taped them directly on to the LFF HE-6.

Impressions pretty much echo what others have said here and elsewhere -

Definitely brings some low-end extension and a touch of sparkle (w/ subjectively less 1k glare) vs the LFF pads. A bit less mid-centric than before.

I removed the HFM rings from the LFF pads and it turns out they're actually ovular shaped - not circular. Still uncertain if they're custom or not.

If they are... I wonder why LFF chose an ovular shape - maybe this is indicative of his upcoming designs?

Regardless, these ZMF pads get my endorsement with the HE-6. I prefer them to all of the other pads I've tried - Audeze Vegans + Leathers, HM5 tilted pleathers, LFF pads, HFM velours and pleathers... and a few others I'm forgetting.

(mods can move this post to the HE-6 thread if it seems more relevant there)

 

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Can you expand on the differences between the 3 models or provide an article. I am aware there were revisions but I can't find any info.