Hifiman HE-6

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by Meteora, Nov 13, 2015.

  1. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    That's the Chifiman way, be thankful it doesn't cost 3k ;)
     
  2. Jerry

    Jerry Friend

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    Again...it is ironic (a la schiit vs audio-gd) that Audeze, an American company is the better value. At least audio-gd is well-built.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2018
  3. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    Fang Bian has made it abundantly clear that his pricing model is "whatever the market will bear." Surprised it's not more, actually. Laughable for me, but this market left me behind long ago so...(shrug.)
     
  4. Panohm

    Panohm Friend

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    I'll wait until it's 30-50% off on Adorama.
     
  5. Ray

    Ray Friend

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    I was very interested in these but am very disappointed with the price. Really is a shame Hifiman needs to gouge like this.
     
  6. netforce

    netforce MOT: Headphones.com

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    Really interested in picking up a pair and seeing how it stacks up to my HE-6. Called up Hifiman yesterday and they didn't have that much to say while the primary contact was off in Hong Kong.
     
  7. seersha

    seersha Acquaintance

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    I was very interested in getting the new HE-6SE until I saw the price. I feel the list price is overpriced, I am not a big fan of the new design as well. I was really hoping for them to just re-release the HE-6 with no build changes. As most hifiman products I expect the sale price to drop, I would assume within the next six months this new version will probably be sold from hifiman for around 1250 or so.
     
  8. MrTeaRex

    MrTeaRex His head's not fat, he's my brother!

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    Honestly way more interested in @Garuspik 's planar thread than HiFiMAN marking up the HE6 by 40%.
     
  9. netforce

    netforce MOT: Headphones.com

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    Just got an update from Hifiman, few points on the new HE1Kse and HE-6se. HE1kse is 5db more efficient with a thinner driver.

    HE-6se they are keeping the driver the same and updating the earcup and it has the new headband as folks have seen.

    Biggest point was they are going to do a run of 700 HE-6se.

    Here is a pretty picture of it.

    [​IMG]
     
  10. Thenewerguy009

    Thenewerguy009 Friend

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    One one hand a super limited run should keep its value on the market. On the other hand, it's the same driver as the previous HE-6 (6 screw?) so people aren't as likely to pay the same asking price for just a new earcup/handband.

    It would be great if someone found out which driver it will be, the 4 screw or 6 screw.
     
  11. xsuperxapplex

    xsuperxapplex Acquaintance

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    The horrible pricing reeks of greed. It's both sad and funny that people in China perceive price to be directly related to quality. I've spoken with some dealers that purposefully mark up prices or create "premium" (overpriced) bundles in China to make certain headphones appeal more. Yes, they increase the price to make more people buy it in the Chinese market. I guess it gives the people that can afford this stuff a sense of exclusivity and status or something. Regardless, it's horrible for the overall market and gives the community a bad rep.

    Edit: it's even more egregious HifiMan due to their questionable QC. Check the HE-560v2 thread to see how poorly the new release of the HE-560 went. The price definitely doesn't fit the end product. None of the HFM stuff feels premium compared to competitors that offer more for less.
     
  12. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    LOL ! Do you seriously think it's only happening in China ? This place if full of old timers, who have all seen the prices go from a handful of hundreds for a pair of headphones, to multikilo bucks shit. China is no different from the western world here.

     
  13. xsuperxapplex

    xsuperxapplex Acquaintance

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    Of course not, it's just more hilariously exaggerated in China since this mindset applies to everything they buy, not just headphones. That overall mentality likely feeds into why HFM seems to be even more egregious than other companies for marking up headphones with comparably worse construction. It's a bad trend regardless of the reason, and HFM is taking advantage of the situation to line their pockets more it seems.

    As an example of that, I was chatting with Zach from ZMF and he said that his distributor in China asked him to add in some extra fluff to his Auteur offerings (e.g. a look book, nicer box, etc.) so that they can raise the price of the overall package to have it "compete" better in the Chinese market.

    Edit: note, I am Chinese and have relatives in China that behave in this materialistic way. It can get quite annoying at times.
     
  14. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    I know fairly well how it works there, thank you.

    While it's true that this fits perfectly in China's nowadays materialistic ways, correlation is not causation, and this phenomenon is far from being recent. This is what made hi-fi irrelevant for most people in the 90's. And it's only catching up with headphones recently.
    Is hifiman behaving like a headless chicken at this point ? Absolutely. Are the other manufacturers behaving better ? Absolutely not.
     
  15. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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  16. AstralStorm

    AstralStorm Friend

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    So, are those HE-6se actually the exact same driver as HE-6? Anyone measured it yet?

    If that's it, I feel the ubermodding potential again... Even though the headphone is supposed to cost $1200 not $1800 if it's the same HE-6.

    My own HE-6 mod has given up the ghost 1.5 years ago.

    (Never mind, it's too limited an edition, 700 pieces is not enough.)

    Having a look at it, presuming the cups are built the same as HEK or Sundara ones, they will need filler to not ring. The material might move the ringing up from previous plasticky 8k. The back grille will have to be replaced with something more acoustically transparent since it's exactly the same as past.

    Pads will require tweaking probably the same as HE-6 original though they're allegedly improved.
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2018
  17. weicheheck

    weicheheck Almost "Made"

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    Hey guys sorry about reviving a dead thread but I don't know where else would be a good place to ask this. I currently own a 6 screw he 6 that I use with grills removed, with ether c sheepskin angles earpads with felt on the back of the side facing the driver (I'm not sure I liked this it felt like the headphone was toned down too much, I suspect it was more needed for the 4 screw), and drivers that were replaced in 2017 by hifiman.

    They also hardwired resistors to the driver to protect them from getting blown.

    I am really enjoying them out of my emotiva mini x a 100 and will most likely be cleaning out my headphones and amps collections to be able to fund a substantial amp upgrade.

    I am also considering buying a fully modded (blue tac, vegan pads, felt, open grill he 6 that was posted at a price way above what most he 6s go for.

    I am considering buying it because it has that classic purple tone that seems to be associated with the 4 screw model.

    The seller says he doesn't know for sure that it's the 4 screw though, and he doesn't want to remove the earpads to find out since they're secured pretty tightly.

    Is a purple he 6 a guaranteed 4 screw? Is there a chance that if it got sent to hifiman for repair that they would use the 6 screw driver as replacements?

    I want to see what all the hype is about but would be bummed to end up with another 6 screw in my hands.
     
  18. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    Purple hue was used for both versions. And as far as we know, hifiman doesn't have any drivers left for V1. V2 is still serviceable apparently.
     
  19. skem

    skem Friend

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    I have a near-mint condition 4 screw that I’m willing to sell at the right price. PM me if interested.
     
  20. weicheheck

    weicheheck Almost "Made"

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    Thanks for the replies, the 4 screw is mine! Now I just need to upgrade my amp and I'll be set. There's a pioneer sx 1280 available local to me for $1600, described as in very good condition.

    Should I jump on that? Or would I get a better value from some of the other recommendations I've seen in this thread?
     

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