I usually use a Burson Soloist 3xp for gaming and general use (something about the soloist just sharpens imaging on the HE6se v2 really really well and I still have no idea why that is), but if Iām just listening to music, I turn the Soloist into preamp mode feeding my Parasound A21+ and listen to them there. I had to ask M0N for help and if I remember correctly, he recommended a couple amps along with the A21 and I did a little research and just wound up getting the A21+ for a good deal. No idea if the non + model is a better match, but I absolutely love the magic the A21+ pulls out of the HE6se v2. The spatial presentation has an absolute size, no guessing, everything is exactly where it seems it should be, no further, no closer, and the bass slam is something that you really donāt think can exist on a planar until you hear it in a combo like this. Iāve heard people say the 1266 is the planar slam king, but I really doubt it can slam like an HE6 on a serious speaker amp and pads are the second biggest reason I think people give up on the HE6se v2 because the current gen hifiman circle pads are just not made for the dynamics the HE6se v2 puts out and are a complete disservice to the headphone itself as are ALL hifiman branded pads. Grills can significantly increase the amount of sub bass if coupled with a proper pad setup but itās more about the spatial presentation and tightness and precision than the overall bass lift that I think is important about the grills. I tried a bunch of the stupid powerful headphone amps out there like the FA-10, FA-10 Pro, got a Flux Volot on loan for a short time and it didnāt do what I wanted, Schiit Ragnarok 2, Jot 2, GS-X mk2, GS-X Mini, all the Emotiva amps with headphone outs, just so many I canāt remember them all. It was ridiculous. M0N saved me with a single rec, and the others he recommended could have even been better, but Iāll never know, because I quit lol. Not amp hunting for that stupid headphone anymoreā¦I hopeā¦
Curious to know if you use EQ with any of these amps? Or if these monster amps are used with the intent to get the bass slam without EQ / mods?
I have a lowly Schiit Jotunheim 2 and it does seem to have enough current for a pair of OG HE-6 4-screws - even with a slight low shelf. Albeit, I wonāt know what I am missing but curious to see if upgrading my amp will be earth shattering.
I did try them all with some EQ but it was never what the testing was centered around, everything I was evaluating was without EQ. You can do some serious gains with EQ, but none of it comes even remotely close to just driving them well. The bass slam is something of mythology and isnāt something Iāve heard elsewhere. I bought the 6 screw and 4 screw variants and had them all at the same time and there was (with serious amping) a considerable amount more refinement with the HE6se v2 (pads on the og models were velour and allowed for an air gap for cup resonance and packed a sight amount more into the cup bracing resulting in significantly more bass, sub bass, and amount of bass that translates to your head for psychoacoustic BS that really adds to the effect) and I did try them on lower sources and it drastically narrowed the gap between them but with pads, grills, and a tiny bit of cup bracing and felt tape for cup resonance, the HE6se v2 weāre very clearly the winners for me. I know Iāll piss some people off saying that but mods are what make the HE6se v2 what the og HE6 can be. Period. They arenāt some sub standard model (though QC is nightmare on them. Iāve owned 6, 4 have died on me. Am currently working with a fully modded one with a BNIB one sitting and waiting for itās turn) and in my opinion, they are an upgrade in most ways to the original HE6 4 and 6 screw models but they arenāt comparable bone stock. Itās just a different generation of damping and build and the og variants had driver bracing in the form of a bar that ran horizontally across the driver and it can be compensated with cup bracing to the driver on the HE6se v2 and accomplish everything and more. Theyāre a modders dream of you have the amp to drive them. Just a crazy competent headphone and at $500 itās worth every penny to dump into a seriously manly amp to make it do itās thing. Endgame potential for a lot of people but in stock form on a mid range amp, itās nothing special. Biggest catch 22 the audio game by a longshot.
What about Oor amp, AH-B2 or HA-6A? I was looking to buy one of them for the HE6se.
That would be a question for @M0N most likely. I donāt know that thereās any headphone amps capable of doing what the Parasound does, but if there is, Iād love to know as well.
hi yāall. do you know if asgard is enough to power these headphones?
I think thatās a no.
Itās not. Lake People G111 is cheapest I know of that is OK. Hifimanās own EF400 has been handling them quite well.
Have you by chance had the opportunity to try them on a speaker amp? Iād love to hear your take on how much the dynamics improve with gobs of power.
Briefly on an Adcom GFA-555ii. Not terrible but not as good as my Vio V281 drives em.
Hmmmā¦gonna figure out shipping charges on a 75lb ampā¦
That poor ponyā¦ 
I emailed hifiman and asked them to price match. They asked what country Iām from, told them Canada. They replied and said they couldnāt price match it lol
That sucks. Maybe they just wonāt match for anybody?
That would be a hell of a price! $100.00 less than I paid. Would have covered the new grills plus. 
I finally got one!
Setup:
Laptop > Douk u2 pro (USB ) > BF2 (Coax) > Soloist 3xp (Balanced ) > HE6SE (Balanced Beyerdynamic cable).
So far:
- Headband generates a hot spot at the center after 30min of use (This is a deal-breaker right now, added some cushion, and trying headband covers. Seen people adding nuggets to the side).
- These things are heavy. Not a concern though.
Not impressed with the sound so far. Donāt get me wrong. Iām not comparing planar vs dynamic. I have been using Beyers since I got into the hobby. I think I have high expectations when people mention headphones with crazy bass slam like the HE6SE and Clear OG/MG.
Additional info:
The Beyerdynamic Balanced cable does not properly work with the HE6SE. Changed my cable to Hart audio and now it sounds right.
EDIT:
Additional info.
Pads pads pads! Also the nan-6 headband is like $40 and itās the suspension style. Gotta buy it on taobao though
I donāt understand where the bass slam idea came from.
It is like the T60 Argon in that aspect, for me. Both need and benefit big time from bass boost on my iFi. To me they are both bass inclined, but need help to go deep.
A serious amount of it is pads and to a lesser but still very meaningful degree, grills. When the drivers can move freely without resistance from pads and grill mesh, it significantly improves their overall dynamics (as in like doubles the dynamics). Original HE6 had velour pads. Completely velour, no leather outside. It brought out the resonance frequency of the driver and bumped up the slam really hard but you can accomplish the same thing with a pad that has enough inner volume and squish to accomplish the same thing as a seal break without sacrificing the tonality that comes with it like a treble bump (that I personally think is why a lot of people find them more detailed) and a really low end sub bass drop that the seal break creates instead of a flat bass extension. Iāve toyed around with literally dozens of pads and itās wild how much you can change the capabilities of the HE6se v2 with a well matched pad. They change character with pad swaps like a beyer does.
@rottentreats Thanks for posting this headband cover for the Hifiman HE-R9. I have problems with the same headband for the HE6SE. Purchased one to try out!
Posting them here for anyone interested.
I tried one of those with some Hifimanāsā¦ even at max extension canāt wear them with it on, it presses my ears against the bottom of the pads, shame because it does seem more comfortable than their headband