@M0N are the v2 any good? the whole 3 screw 4 screw thing has my brain cross-eared, LoL.
If only they didnt need a power plant to run them 
well I didn’t notice a difference between a Topping A90 and Flux Labs FA10 powering them so ymmv
Oh I was more talking about volume because my setup is just loud enough to run the HE-500 or HD800 fine which are cans that should be noticeably louder than the HE6SE.
Looks like an awesome deal - I’d like to try them but I’m worried my Singxer SA-1 doesn’t have enough power for them…
@MrAyrit Did you feel the SA-1 was enough to power these?
firm no. not even remotely close.
probably because neither of them have what it takes to drive the he6.
1 Like
Yeah - so while it looks like a great deal it doesn’t really consider that you’re also gonna need a big amp upgrade which kinda negates it for me haha
Yeah, it’s actually the reason I fell into an amp rabbit hole. So many people were saying how great they were and when I first bought them I had a 789, moved up to an a90, tried about 30 speaker amps up through around $3000, tried a dozen headphone amps up through around $2000 and still didn’t understand why people thought they were so great. Asked M0N about a speaker amp rec and took his advice and got a Parasound A21+ and had my mind thoroughly blown. Eventually ended up getting a Burson Soloist 3xp and it does a very very good job of driving them, but the A21+ has some secret sauce that just makes them sing. They’re my daily drivers even over my HE1000se and they were both worth the journey and also a really good test to help me understand amplifier capabilities. Cool learning experience, but holy shit it was expensive. Was like a $40,000 rabbit hole for a “$500” pair of headphones. I’d do it all over again if I had to lol.
5 Likes
I enjoyed it on the SA1, but switching to the Soloist or V281 was a noticeable improvement. I’m thinking about buying another set to try with my Mjolnir, because I think it will make them sing.
1 Like
The V2’s are indeed awesome! They are very amp dependent though. They need some good clean power. Luckily for me, I am a quiet listener. I ended up very happy with the iFi Pro iCAN and I only use it in mid-gain at about 12:00. Almost as important as the power is the bass boost! I also like the 3D sound effect with these.
But I can see how some people could be underwhelmed. My Violectric V220 could not do a thing with them. Even my beloved Liquid Platinum was unimpressive. When I added the Schiit Loki to the chain it was better, But then the iFi just blew me away.
I can definitely see being disappointed though. A lot of people buying headphones at this price point will simply not want to buy a big boy amp.
2 Likes
I think LA90 might drive HE6se properly
Maybe, but I also went through literally 30 speaker amps that had much higher power specs and much bigger transformers in them and all but one sucked. I’d like to see how the A90D performs with planars as well, since I was thoroughly let down the the A90, but the discrete variant might be worth checking out, but I wouldn’t bank on it. The LA90 based on it’s rated output of 110w into 4ohm works out to around a little under 7 watts at 64ohm so there’s plenty of headphone amps out there with more power and those advertised specs were tested to be very overstated. In reality it pushes about 56 watts into 4 ohm which is about 3.5 watts into 64ohm, which is quite a bit less than a lot of headphone amps these days. Advertised specs are almost always a huge letdown in the chi-fi stuff.
Z just had a really interesting review on LA90 and he said that it’s good for Argons which are power hungry too.
I like Zeos, honestly love his review style (it brought me here), think he’s genuine most of the time and like that he has no filter, but he really doesn’t have the best ears. I think he just loves different flavors of audio gear too much to be too harsh on things that are plenty good enough for the masses, but lack the refinement that they should have at the price they are and I don’t believe he would shill total garbage. Most of the stuff he loves does have very real redeeming qualities, just not the whole package all at once. It’s probably just fine for most people, but if you’re wanting to get the $1700 MSRP worth out of those headphones, I really really doubt a Topping product is ever going to come along and pull it off. I would totally admit it if I’m wrong for doubting them, but as it stands, I guarantee the A90D is the best chance they have at it currently…maybe dual monoblock LA90s, but I still doubt it.
2 Likes
Are you saying that A90D should be better than LA90 with HE6se?
Power specs are higher technically. And the discrete amp topology is probably more geared towards driving them, but I still REALLY doubt it’s gonna pull it off.
Funny you mention the Argons. I use my T60 Argons on the iFi amp also. They are noticeable easier to drive well than the HE6se V2’s, but even more dependent on the bass boost. I run them in mid gain and can’t go past 10:00, unless it is really old music.
But if you are a loud listener, all bets are off. I never go above 75Db’s (at peak). I read about people on here peaking at 95 Db’s!! That seems crazy to me, but if you are one of those, you are going to be really limited in amp options.
2 Likes
Put a little list together of some Prime Day deals. Not a ton of great audio deals, but there are a few that I think are decent.
Here’s the Google Doc that I’m updating (those are affiliate links):
5 Likes
Just used code JULY22 on top of drop’s sale prices for 20% off over $100.
If that’s true, a $319 DCA Aeon Closed X is pretty irresistible. As is a $63 HFM R7DX. $79 HE-X4. $159 6xx.
1 Like