I forgot to post but I did some surgery to the HE6. And the headband mod is worth it’s weight in gold.
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Lol I can’t stand that and if I could do something like that with all my cans it’d make me overjoyed.
I own the HE6SE v2 and also a zen dac ifi.
Could I use the zen dac just as a dac to power a thx aaa 789 (drop). Is this a good pairing to get lots of “slam” ?
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Does anyone here have the HE6SEV1 and HE6SEV2? Are there any differences in sound? Enough to own both? I own the V1, but have been offered a good deal on a pair of V2s so I was just wondering.
The V2’s are awfully impressive. I have never heard the V2’s though.
I don’t find the V2’s very bassy, but they take to bass boost/EQ like an Argon!
My favourite headphone is the Focal Clear. To me, the V2’s are like Clear’s on steroids. Of course they need the right amp partner. But if you have a V1 set-up, then I would guess that you already have that covered.
I only have three headphones that I would never sell and the V2’s are one of them.
Of course that is just an opinion… 
I don’t think there’s a difference sonically. At least not a significant one. Certainly not like there is between the OG 4-screw HE-6 and the HE6SE.
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Hey,
Yes the THX 789 can only handle 2.1 volts input before it clips in high gain mode, so that’ll do the job as a DAC. The THX 789 has nice bass dynamics, and in high gain you’ll have headroom to equalize if you want.
I actually own an HE-6 early production six screw as well so it sounds like the V2 wouldn’t add much to my lineup.
Thanks for the feedback guys! 
I just got a used and already-modded pair of HE6SEV2 on eBay, and while I enjoy them there is a slight buzzing/rattle in the left driver from mid to upper-mid frequencies. This has meant most humam voices stimulate this buzzing which is really distracting.
From what I’ve read it doesnt sound like the driver is fully stuck, has anyone experienced something similar and found a solution? Due to the mods I cannot send it in for warranty repair, but maybe paid repair at Hifiman or elsewhere?
Are you sure it’s a stuck diaphragm or could there just be a hair in there? Heard it’s rather common issue
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It might be a hair, it doesn’t seem major enough to be stuck but I’m not exactly sure. Not sure how I’d remove a hair or even check if there is one in there
Getting used to these beasts from my Nighthawks, where is the next appreciable step up? Is it the Arya Organic/TH900/Radiance/Aeolus/HD800s tier, or would it be something in the HE1000se/E3/Verite/Empyrean range? I still plan on dabbling in mid-fi for a bit longer, but just curious.
I’d go with the Gjallarhorn JM Mk2 if you want a similar sound signature and a step up in technicalities at the same time. It’s not gonna be the exact same but the closest I’ve heard so far.
Listening to Infected Mushroom - Part of the Dream flac via I2S from N6iii to iDAC-6 mk2 to iHA-6, this is absolutely incredible. Not sure how it goes up from here for this genre of music!
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The only complaint I have is at times female vocals come in a bit hot, like at various points listening to Distance by Hikaru Utada. I wonder if a tube pre would be sufficient to smooth that out.
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I’d check the pads with your fingers all the way around each to tug a tiny bit and see if one of the clips is loose. They come off by inserting a credit card to release the first couple of clips and then it flops off. If one is loose, just push a credit card in to apply pressure, then push down on the spot on the pad with a finger to snick it into place. Common cause of buzzing.
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I’m listening now, this was an awesome suggestion and I think fixed the issue. The lower clip had come loose since there is not a lot of tolerance especially with Dekoni Hybrids.
I did notice SPL seemed to be lower in left channel but thought it was driver-related since many people have discussed this.
I check for channel balance using a phone decibel meter app and online test tone generator to switch left and right and at least get a rough idea if you have an issue. The way to correct for it would be the APO equalizer and Peace front end. In Peace there’s a hearing test where you run it and it’ll correct for it and build a custom profile just for your hearing with those headphones on. A simpler way is getting a reading with the phone app and adjust the L/R balance that way. If the balance is an issue at different frequencies, then the hearing test will probably be more useful.
I’ve had them several times and great with the Autoeq profile in Peace. Just the power needed to do it gets pretty epic, worth it though.
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Has anyone tried powering the HE6 with the Fossi Audio ZA3? Next time there’s a sale, I’ll pick one up along with the opamp upgrade.
If it doesn’t work well, then it’ll mostly likely at least be an upgrade for my Rega Brio speaker amp