As I have noted many times, I am a Focal fanboy. But the other day I took off my V2âs and put on my Clearâs and I was immediately underwhelmed.
Shortly after, I was loving my Clearâs as usual, but the V2âs really are something special. A long time ago I referred to these as an Elex on steroids. I still stand by that. A very wide range of sound.
I love me some Focal as well. The only thing that Focal has on my v2 are the punch/dynamics, but not by a lot and it doesnât make up for everything else.
I still regret getting rid of my Clear Mg and will probably pick them up again one day, but yeah the HE6SE v2 are just⊠damn theyâre just solid.
So not to be pushy or anything, but I never heard the HE6 slam until the Parasound A21+ that M0N recommended I try. They slam substantially harder off that amp than the Clears. The macrodynamics of the HE6 off of an insanely good amp is like going from an Asgard 3 to a Ragnarok all over again, its like not subtle at all. Diminishing returns on the dynamics of the HE6 are absurdly high up and even with all the people out there pushing speaker amps on them I personally still think are kinda understated. The problem is that people see the high power numbers and think it must be enough but thereâs a lot of things at play that make the magic happen. I was looking at damping factor figures recently and saw the A21+ has a damping factor of 1100 which I have to assume is relevant but it doesnât say at what ohm, though figures are pretty much identical on 4 and 8 on the A21+ and then saw that the Ragnarok has a stated damping factor of over 80 and a loooot of speaker amps with any measure of damping factor even at 8 ohms is almost ALWAYS under 500. Anyone that knows amps really well care to help me look into the reason? Almost every single headphone amp or speaker amp Iâve tried had nowhere near the dynamics and precision that the Parasound one has and I really donât understand where the massive difference would come from. Iâve found out that they have massively higher than advertised power figures but when it comes down to it, Iâm just not using that power on headphonesâŠI donât get why the dynamic swings are so much harder and more articulate.
Also I tried a lot of speaker amps and really none of them were really anything special and maybe its that the A21+ just has really low signal to noise ratio for a speaker amp and matched with really low output impedance and a huge amount of current availability of 60 amps per channel it just ends up working out really well on a light load compared to speakers. Idk, I canât figure it out.
I had recently got a good deal on the Ferrum Oor and Hypsos stack. I have been really enjoying them. Just tonight though I changed up my source to run the Oor in bypass mode as a power amplifier with my Topping A90 Discrete as the pre-amp and wow, what an improvement. Increased dynamics, improvement to soundstage, gives a bit more air between instruments. I also own the Arya Stealth edition as well and with this change I had moments where I forgot it was the HE6se V2 cause it is pretty damn close now in soundstage performance.
My question is @Pokrog have tried the Ferrum Oor + Hypsos with the HE6se V2? If so, would be interested to hear your thoughts.
My source chain: Gustard R26 Dac > A90 Discrete as a pre-amp > Ferrum Oor amp + Hypsos
Yeah the stage depth especially can be so incredibly deep when the driver is under control.
Quick question, do you have any experience with the Pontus II? Iâve been hearing good things about the R26 and was hoping for any sort of comparison and I donât have much experience with R2R DACs but I have a Pontus II and a ton of DS DACs now.
So I had the Pontus II before I purchased the Gustard R26. The Pontus II just seem underwhelming for me personally, especially in the low end. I liked that the Gustard R26 had the wider sound stage, better low end performance, a built-in streamer, which that sounds really good btw, and comes with a remote. The Pontus doesnât have any of that and will not come with a power plug which you will have to purchase as well. I know they just released a newer 12th anniversary edition of the Pontus II, but I have not heard that one.
Another suggestion is to checkout the Schiit Bifrost 2/64. It does a real good job with depth and layering of the sound. It is kind of the gateway into that R2R sound 
Thereâs a Yggy A2 Gen 5 for sale and from what Iâve heard, coax and optical can both be better than the UnisonâąÂź so with a DDC it can be a solid buy, especially for the $1050 it isâŠ
Now thatâs something I havenât tried. Sounds like I need to pick up a nice pre-amp and give that a listen myself.
There is some discussion about it on the Head-fi forum. One individual mentions using a passive pre-amplifier and was shocked with the results. He has the same setup as myself. I considered purchasing what he had bought but then thought, wait⊠I have this Topping amp, let me try that and yea⊠was a real improvement.
Bedside table setup finally done! Hifiman he6se v2 custom painted purple with Nan-6 headband and zmf pads. Topping L70,Geshelli Labs J2, and SMSL C100 for Bluetooth. I love how my Hifiman turned out! Hope you enjoy!
I just upgraded my stack to the Topping E70 Velvet and the L70. Definitely more soundstage, and a little richer bass. But not a huge difference between the A30 pro. Still happy enough thatâll Iâll keep it.
I agree with the difference in sound. I previously owned the a30 pro as well. I enjoy the controls much more on the l70 and the dial. But both are great! 
Hmm, but does that mean theyâre discontinued? I feel like it said the same thing at various times on the HE560 v2 and v4 pages, but then they came back in stock. Not sure thoughâŠ
It seems like Adorama is no longer a Hifiman dealer.
Woah 
Thatâs a BIG change, huh?
Can I ask where you heard that Adorama is no longer a Hifiman authorized dealer? Both the Hifiman website and the Adorama website still list them as one so I was just wondering.
I believe they still are. I got an email from them on Friday letting me know the Hifiman headband was back in stock.
Search on Adorama âhifimanâ. I only had 2 headphones, both Closeout.
I see that, but Adoramaâs Hifiman options and stocks often fluctuate greatly. I think they operate as a bit of a clearinghouse for some models with Hifiman (and other vendors) rather than as a normal dealer like you might find with some other audio vendors. Iâm not saying youâre necessarily wrong, BTW. Just that neither Adorama or Hifiman are saying that as of yet.
