Hey itās possible thereās issue with the power, but it seems like thereās a lot of headroom on the 789 before hitting max on its highest gain. That being said, I prefer the sound on the less powerful TA-30. So Iām not sure how much power is directly involved with the quality of the headphones.
It may be possible that the differences in qualities may be more amp specific, than power specific. Every amp sounds different after all.
EDIT: Buy hey, maybe one day I can get access to the big expensive tube amps someday. That would be cool! Some really sexy looking gear out there.
Oh and I tried the HE6SE off my speaker amp for my surround system, but it sounded worse than the 789. Plenty of power, but not a good amp apparently for headphone quality.
Regarding that comparative video - was there any thoughts to the different iterations/style of magnets utilized in these drivers causing some recording variance? I know that you were demonstrative that these cans sounded to your ear as they were recorded, but I wondered if that may have played a role. Iām unfamiliar in the world of doing āsound demosā, but I know there has been discussion in that world about accurately recording planars.
Hmm yeah I guess - I donāt know what to conclude of this then. But well, I feel happier with my 400i+4XX out of that group.
I still canāt get over how really expensive it is - few of the things Iāve not been able to comprehend in the industry - includes prices of many Grados and Ultrasones (again, very personal opinion) and then the price of these so similar looking round cupped Hifiman 400/500/560/6SEs. Wasnāt much impressed with the original 500s either when I heard em once at a meet. Even now, I see the new (current) 560 priced over the XS.
Anyhow - no issues there. Keeps me unimpressed with the price/performance still - nothing to complain about for me.
Very curious about what really must go on in those drivers though.
Yea Iāve heard, from a Zeos video once, that planar magnetics could mess with mics or something. I honestly donāt know enough about the subject though to say if that was the culprit to what happened in my demos - could be.
The 6sev1|2 needs at least 8 wpc at 50 ohms to get the bass right. 500 needs 2 wpc at 38 ohms,
I have a 4XX with mods/EQ and its a pile of junk next to my HE-500 or my 6v1. Anyone thinks any HFM 4**, toss in the 560 too (not including 400se which I have not heard) is a match for either has them on the wrong amp, or a defective 500 or 6se.
I see the 4th person dissing the 500 in the past 4 years. The first 3 had amps under 1 wpc, which makes the bass and mids flat.
Hmmm, the magnets (to me) seem to be strong in all of them, donāt they? Almost slipped a tool in a planar once - and then many other unsung heroes out there have successfully totaled their driversā¦
Hmmmā¦ I see. Yeah could be a bad unit or amp, the one I tried years ago, but an old one (OG He-500).
I wonder now though - you may or may not really be impressed with the XS then.
Itās not miles ahead of the 4XX/400i to me - but is more open, goes lower in the bass, and feels much taller. But from what I gather - I wonder if it will leave you wanting for moreā¦
If the XS is close to either the HEX v2 or XX I wonāt like it. Iāve had the v2 for 4 years and know the XX well. Iāll throw the Ananda in as well (I dislike that more than either of the others).
Iāve got mods/EQ for my 6v1 and its a rough equiv with the Arya v1. The XS better be good to beat that.
I do not like the order situation on the XS at this point.
Holy moly - I see. Yeah I guess thatās right, though I do see the XS being the only one really āwarming upā my ifi micro DSD in my collection. Even the Senn 6XX and the amp would act cooler than a freezer. Am yet to try it balanced - Iāve settled with the SMSL SH-9 for that - will try once reunited with it. So far, so good single-ended.
ouchā¦ I always look at exposed planar driver arrays asā¦ radioactive substance, thatās how Iāve been treating them ever since. Just interact with it as much as is necessary and not a millimeter closer.
HE-5LE (needs lots of mods to keep up)
HE-400i (in its day, not bad)
HE-4XX (meh at best)
HE-5se (hunk of junk)
HE-500 (fuzzor, cable, Ether Angled Lamb Pads, no screens, dynamat to get correct Q on bass, parametric EQ ) - rather listen to it then Clear, E1, Arya, 800 S
HE-6sev1 - some mods/EQ better technicals than 500 but lacks the mids
HE-HEX v2 - mods and EQ, still a soft lower treble and lacking impact in bass.
Thatās on a Ragnarok 1, Gumby, LG v40, Qobuz - balanced as much as possible.
Also run a BHCs with about $500 of caps/tubes for my HD-600 which is quite excellent.
Iām selling the HEX and HE-6se to get a NIB Susvara - unless the XS or new Arya stop me. If so then an iFi no DAC streamer.
yeah the XS arenāt super power hungry and are pretty forgiving when it comes to source gear while the he6se v2 is easily the single pickiest headphone iāve heard in my life and i donāt think a single amp under $1000 does it justice.
Been thinking and these might replace the ananda, like the 400se did for the 400i, hifiman direct has a discount coupon for them (the ananda) on my local amazon for the first time ever, they might be trying to offload inventory before selling the XS globallyā¦
