Yes to all of your questions. I have used both modes on the Emotiva, it āfeelsā like they get better bottom end direct off the speaker taps, but I honestly have NOT bothered to do critical and detailed listening to them on the Emotiva. Iāll play a few songs on them when I donāt have time enough to wait for my big amps to warm up, so Iām really not particularly doing critical listening. Pull the jumpers off the emotiva and put it into beast mode, there will be some very low end hiss that you will NOT hear when playing music at volume. Enjoy the amp and use it with any headphones you have, i like it, it has a nice warm sound!
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Who had two thumbs and had his dac in Windows set to 75 volume? Iām not saying the Aune X7s can push these but it did make a difference. Curious about the Jot and A-100 nowā¦
Why are so many people direct driving it if you can get an adapter like the one that comes with the HE6? It seems like a lot of work for the same result, am I missing something?
What exactly do you mean by this? Do you mean like a custom cable instead of the adapter? Some feel that the hifiman adapter degrades the quality of sound, but personally I have tested a direct adapter vs the hifiman box and on my setup there really wasnāt a quality difference
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I will say that you are very helpful on this forum and I personally appreciate it. Not just for my own knowledge but as a true helpful ambassador of hifi. Thereās always something to learn in this lifestyle so your time to respond to people is impressive.
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Thanks 
, all of this is brought to you by sheer boredom at work lol. Although tomorrow I will be driving and unable to respond to anyone
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No I meant using direct drive on the A-100 for the HE6SE (taking the jumpers out and pushing all watts to the quarter inch) instead of the adapter.
Have you used the adapter with other thirsty headphones like Senn HD 600/650/800 or Argons?
Ah, mostly convince sake, since you are essentially doing the same thing when you remove the jumpers, getting a direct connection to the speaker amp. I have used other headphones with the adapter yes, although only power hungry ones like the he560v1 or older he500, argons, or some select others benefit compared to a similarly priced headphone amp. Most of the time a headphone amp will sound better because itās designed to drive headphones and will be more proficient at that compared to a speaker amp. I will say I have tried some stupid stuff on there for shits and giggles lol. Tin P1ās were interesting to say the least lol. I have tried all my headphones that are able to be balanced I have on the setup just to see, but none really benefit like the he6se does
So a few things:
These cans are pretty awesome. Iām impressed. Seriously. They just came alive.
I used the Emotiva with the HE Adapter and the Jot and basically went back and forth for about two hours. I honestly couldnāt tell the difference. I didnāt want to remove the jumpers either as I had to return it to Amazon.
I decided to keep the Jot, on high gain I canāt get past 1 oāclock without it being too loud. And they are popping. The A-100 would get louder but I wasnāt getting anything else and for the money and size I felt I wasnāt gaining enough. I feel the A-100 is kinda over-priced for what you get which is convenient size but I do like their signature a lot. Reminded me of old hi-fis.
Anyway I definitely think the Jot drives them into $1000 cans. Iām sure if I popped them into an even better speaker amp theyād pop more but thatās something to look forward to when I start my journey for monitors and a an amp. A few of the Cambridge you can get into for $100 more than the A-100 and get way more.
Anyway I know Schiits are divisive and split the community but I really like The Jot. Also the Guitar Center knew nothing of this because they priced it at $349 at āgoodā but only because there was no box or cables and thought it was only an amp. Itās immaculate and a 2019 model with the multibit! I had a 50/50 chance of the balanced or multibit dac since the guy was like uh thereās no USB cable with this headphone amp lol. So uh, not too bad a deal. And itās black with the silver knob which looks sharp.
Anyway it does drive these cans, Iām convinced the 3 watts ample as itās very very dynamic compared to what th e X7 was doing. that extra power makes a difference.
In the end Jude was right!
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There was a question at one point on the quality of the HE6se vs original HE6. As M0N has repeatedly stated these need clean and powerful amplification, more usually dedicated to speaker systems and even then it should be quality. Here is a link to a head-fi post from our own Bagwell who has posted here too with an update to how his own HE6se is performing now that certain source chain issues have been sorted. Itās all positive statements basically.
Unfortunate that he wasnāt able to try a first run, because it was damn close to the older he6 6 screw, but I agree the new current ones are most likely not as good (but I guess thatās what you get from buying from that camera store lol)
Actually he mentioned them as being currently the best headphones in his collection. A bit different from the originals but top performers and worth their money. Either way, it is as you say, they need power to perform.
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They are not the first headphone I reach for, but I have absolutely zero issues with the 6SE. I still feel like I got a very good price for the performance, but I also havenāt heard the original. At one point I thought I may want an Arya, but after being able to compare the two I find the 6SE way more my style. Iām among the first ones here to shit on Hifiman, but I must have gotten lucky with this purchase for a change if everyone else is having issues with it. I wouldnāt be so complimentary of it if I had to drive it from my standard headphone amps vs using the Marantz. I think most of the complaints people have come from not properly powering them. Especially the talk of sibilance. I only think these are treble hot from my portables, 789 and ZDT Jr, and none of them are meant for the 6SE anyway.
I sold my Arya after I got the 6se lol
Correct, at this point just be willing to by a large heavy high quality speaker amp lol, otherwise look for something else, if you donāt have the amp I think you will be better off with another hifiman
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Would Hifimanās own EF100 be a decent pairing? I saw a deal for the combo, but thought it looked a little off based on reading this thread
Actually imo no lol, itās a good speaker amp or go home imo for this headphone
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Is the EF100 good for the ānormalā headphone? Compared to something like CTH? If so, the deal might be worth it even if not used together
Hmmm how much can you get it for?
$1199 for the pair
With the he6se?
Yeah, both HE6SE and EF100