Hifiman HE-6SE

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by purr1n, Aug 22, 2018.

  1. luximal

    luximal Made things right

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    When I tried the he-6 (which was a 4 screw) stock, I also thought the bass quantity was a tad lacking. The blu tak mod definitely improves bass response by a good margin. Bass extension, clarity and texture all gets better.
     
  2. ufospls2

    ufospls2 Friend

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    Hey Guys,

    I was able to get my hands on an HE-Adapter to try running the HE6se from a speaker amp. I realise its still not an ideal set up. I have an adapter coming that I purchased which will allow me to go straight from the speaker taps, as supposedly the HE-Adapter degrades sound quality. Whether or not that is true, I’m not sure. I guess I will find out.

    Now. Lets get the initial concern out of the way. Price. $1800 is too expensive, but if you can find a deal, these headphones are worth consideration. If the HE6se is indeed the same as the original HE6, which Hifiman has told me the drivers are, trying to find a used pair in good condition is *definitely* worth checking out. $800(ish) for this sound quality is a good deal in todays market. $800+cheap receiver from thrift shop+SDAC or similar=“budget” TOTL heaven? I think it might. For under $1000USD you could have a set up competitive with the best out there. Is it as good as the Susvara on a TOTL set up? No….but it wouldn’t be *miles* off. Diminishing returns are real in this hobby, and I think the HE6se, or a used HE6, makes an argument for being some of the best sound out there for the money. At least that I have heard.

    As I said, the set up I’m using isn’t ideal. Currently it is Chord DAVE->Cheapo Marantz receiver I had lying around->HE-Adapter->HE6se. Would some high roller speaker amp be better, sure, probably, but I’m happy for the time being :)

    The HE6se sound *so* much better with some proper behind them. Even just a cheap A/V receiver. I was getting some distortion with the DAVE as these things are so tough to power. I’m super glad I decided to give the receiver a try. Everything across the board sounds better. I didn’t expect such a profound change.

    The bass, whilst not the most in terms of quantity, is surprisingly good in terms of quality. Does it slam as hard as, and is it as visceral as the Abyss Phi or Susvara? No. But it is still super. It digs down fairly deep. Putting power behind the HE6se has made the bass come alive. It isn’t as weak and limp sounding. I listen to lots of electronica with fast complicated bass patterns, and the HE6se doesn’t struggle at all with them. Its defined, fast, and has decent detail retrieval. Sub bass is a bit rolled off I think. Not too bad, but you can tell there isn’t as much sub bass as some headphones.

    The mids aren’t what I would call warm and present, like an Audeze LCD-2 or something similar in sound to that. Its a colder sounding headphone. Thats not to say the mids are super sucked out and recessed, they aren’t. I wouldn’t say this is a V-Shaped sounding headphone. I don’t hear any weird hardcore spikes in the mids.

    Ok here is the weird part. I wasn’t sure I really liked the treble before trying these with a speaker amp. I thought it was a bit rough, and raspy. Now, while it is still elevated sounding, it is smoother sounding, and less raspy. It just sounds very clean and clear. However, if you like darker headphones, these are not the headphones for you. I could see the treble being problematic in terms of quantity for some people. I don’t mind it, but some definitely might.

    Detail retrieval on a whole is impressive. Not as good as the Susvara, it doesn’t dig as hard and deep into the recording to bring out those tiny details, but compared to the Sundara it is a *lot* better. I can see why the HE6 was the flagship. Imaging is pretty good, not amazing though. I think this is a product of the soundstage not being that large and expansive. It isn’t an “out of your head” type of sound. It is totally acceptable, better than the Focal Utopia in terms of soundstage, but not imaging. The soundstage isn’t super deep and natural sounding like the Susvara.

    All in all, with some proper power behind them, these headphones are great. I was a bit luke warm on them until I heard them with the speaker amp. If you have $800 to spend on a pair of headphones and can find a good condition pair of used HE6, and don’t mind running them from a cheap receiver with a budget DAC, that would be a heck of a good set up for the money. Are these worth $1800? I’m not so sure. They are certainly a great sounding headphone, but that extra $1000 on top of what you would pay for a used pair of HE6 is difficult to reconcile. However, *if* you can find like $600 off, and again you don’t mind going the budget route for source gear then boom. That would be a great set up for less than an LCD-3, and it sounds better (to me and my ears.) These headphones are a bit of a conundrum. If Fang hadn’t gone full potato with regards to pricing, I think I could say these are some of the best value out there, with one or two caveats. As it stands? Buy a used pair of HE6, or haggle hard.
     
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    ^ This
     
  4. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    It's a well known fact that straight off the taps > HE-adapter.

    I didn't purchase a banana plug adapter for mine, I just took the stock HE-6 4-pin XLR -> 1/4" adapter that came with the headphones, cut the termination and stripped the wires, and screwed on some cheapo banana terminations. Works like a charm, and now I can use any speaker amp with any XLR-terminated headphone in a pinch.

    Don't be paranoid about high power spec (on a SS speaker amp) with the HE-6, as long as you follow the start-up protocols set out by @cskippy in the HE-6 thread.

    Edit - if you don't have enough play with the volume pot, consider adding a SYS. EZ PZ
     
  5. dubharmonic

    dubharmonic Friend

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    The product description claims that the HE-6se comes with the adapter, though I didn’t receive one either.

    I’m currently using a McIntosh MHA150 headphone out, which sounds strong and clear at 30% volume. I’m dying to hear it from the speaker taps. The bass is still surprisingly deep and strong from the 1 watt headphone out, yet everything I read says this is a shadow of its potential. Thanks for the suggestion on avoiding the adapter, @E_Schaaf

    It’s only been a day, but my reactions are similar to those posted already. I’m usually listening to the HEKV2, which is softer and far more detailed.

    [​IMG]
     
  6. Jozurr

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    Interesting impressions. I didn't think the Susvaras hit as hard as the HE-6. I wonder if there's a big difference between the HE-6 and HE-6se.
     
  7. ufospls2

    ufospls2 Friend

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    I'm going off of memory for these comparisons. I could definitely be remembering wrongly, and am 100% incorrect. Take my impressions with a grain of salt I guess.
     
  8. dubharmonic

    dubharmonic Friend

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    Finally got my hands on an HE adapter, and I think the HE6 sounds almost exactly the same from the headphone out and the speaker out of the McIntosh MHA150. Does the HE6 need a more powerful amp than 50 watts / channel into 8 ohms?
     
  9. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Nope. If it sounds good and doesn't feel like it's straining during the dynamic passages, then get off the crazy power train and just enjoy it.
     
  10. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    HE adapter? Don't use it. Your amp is solid state, plug right into the taps with no resistor box. Unless you meant XLR > speaker plug adapter (banana, spades, etc).

    Quantity of power comes second to quality of amplification. Don't chase higher numbers just for the sake of it! Basically what's stated above.
     
  11. AstralStorm

    AstralStorm Friend

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    I was overwhelmed by the temporary insanity ;) and bought these new. Seems like HE-6 original used just dried up everywhere. Plus I was really not a fan of the original headband and shell to the point I made my own.

    We'll see how they go, I expect having to replace the grille with nylon stocking and fill the cups with cotton. Potentially also use my SuperHero Pads for HE-6.
    (They're actually made of spandex with medium silicone open cell foam inside. It is an excellent material sonically, main drawback is static electricity.)

    We'll see which of EC Super 5 w/ magic stuff (Marv knows which one), ECP Torpedo III modded, magicized w/ secret old russian tubes; or Schiit Jotunheim gives the best results. Torpedo does the best on HD 650 mod and HE500 mod, tied with Jot is also super great but in another way.
     
  12. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    Never heard of SuperHero pads but am thoroughly intrigued. A quick google search didn't show me a place to read more about them or purchase - where do you get them?

    Also I don't think any of your amps will really give you a complete taste of what the HE-6 is capable of. It'll sound decent on the Jot but you'll just get a glimpse of the possible performance, especially in terms of dynamic contrast and bass texture.

    I'm not a power chaser but FWIW all of the speaker amps I've heard with the 6 sound better than headphone amps. Probably comes down to the current delivery capacity and power supplies. But I'm no electrical engineer, I just know what my ears tell me.

    Don't have to spend a fortune to get a decent speaker amp for the 6 either. Feel free to read the other HE-6 thread.
     
  13. AstralStorm

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    That is a thoroughly custom headphone pad set made by me. They just look... off white and thick. Slightly thinner than ohhgourami pads / Audeze Vegans. The foam is of 30A hardness silicone foam kind, open and partially open cell, very fine grained. The smooth surface of the mold was cut off with a knife to leave it actually open. It's almost like a memory foam but not quite. Similar foam is used in Brainwavz HM5 angled pads. Mine are not angled, less thick and use a different cover material from their velours.

    Ahem, I had HE-6 before. I know exactly how power hungry they are - and no, no speaker amp I have tried has the required control to make these shine.

    The most powerful of headphone amps can though. But only these. Including transformer ECP Black Diamond clone - but that wasn't mine. EC Super 7 qualified for sure - it is a small speaker amp if you prefer. ECP Torpedo 3 should be strong enough as well, especially with those russian 6N4P, which have higher gain than most 12AY7 while being better sonically due to lower Rp. The problem is they're hard to get, unless you go to... Eastern Europe. Where I'm at. :D
    The common part of these amplifiers is they're transformer drive so can handle high current really well.

    We'll see how strong Jotunheim is, it might lack.
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2018
  14. AstralStorm

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    Off more expensive amps on Zach's side, I bet ZMF Pendant can also drive HE-6 (and se) admirably, probably A&S Mogwai will do too, but the Decware CSP and A&S Encore will be too weak.

    Can't speak about sonics though, there I think Pendant will do the best based on what an interesting blend of tubes it uses.
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2018
  15. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    For what it's worth, I was not a fan of the Jotunheim with original HE-6. It reached acceptable volume levels at least, but the overall Jot sound wasn't my thing even with other headphones.
     
  16. AstralStorm

    AstralStorm Friend

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    I'm not so sure, it plays well to accurate headphones or even very well. Something about it makes any tonal remaining flaws of the headphone show up.

    Especially well paired with Paradox, ok with HD650 mod, not as great with the old HE500 mod (ear drillingly so) or with IEMs - too noisy.
    I fully expect it to be ear drilling terrible with unmodded HE-6.
     
  17. rrwwss52

    rrwwss52 New

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    Received my HE-6se today. Supplied with HiFiMan HE Speaker box adapter and an extra set of velour pads.
     
  18. Jozurr

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    It's so strange that some sets come with the adapter box and others don't. Talk about consistency in limited 700 units.
     
  19. rrwwss52

    rrwwss52 New

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    Added Schiit Lyr3 today. Drives HE-6se single ended with plenty of volume.
     
  20. taisserroots

    taisserroots Friend

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    If the two part massive OTC amp hifiman were using at canjam werentw enough to power the more sensitive susvara without the susvara clipping it.
    I highly doubt the lyr 3 is even pushing the he6se well.

    Imo the most important aspect of these headphones are the dynamic range and staging qualities.
     

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