Nice review. Thanks!

I run these with a Bottlehead S.E.X. 2W SET tube amp. I listen fairly loud, and that's enough power to get them moving properly. Without a whole bunch of headroom with lower-level recordings, but I've never run out of gain. Sweet combo.

I bought these, and after experimentation with cables concluded that supplied cable provides more wide bandwidth than other cables. I agree that the headband can create a sensation point on top of head sometimes, it's a ROUND ear cup, I just tilt the phones forward or backward. I suspect amps that have discreet output devices will probably be OK to drive phones. I'm not a reviewer so I don't have all the different amps to compare. I ordered mine straight from HIMAN with offered discount, they arrived at house within just a few days.

@bradhuskers

Жыл бұрын

Question. I just bought the new hifiman edition xs, and they literally blow away the sundaras. That being said, do I need to buy these online from adorama? They currently have them for sale at the ridiculously low price of $500. What would you do? I realize that I must buy an amp/dac with power, at least 4-5 watts from what I've heard. Are these as good as my new hifiman edition xs headphones?

My HE6se V2 runs and sounds great on my Samsung S22 Ultra via Autoengine DAC3 USB Amp using stock Sundara-CB cable.

Initially, with stock grills, pads and cable, no joy. But Arctic grills and low priced but good sounding FAAEAL Replacement Cable for Hifiman SUNDARA (amazon) and Verum 1 fenestrated pads made these headphones emit a joyful noise for me. If you can't afford a TOTL amp, the SMSL HO200 may tide you over. After the panning this amp received by the guy at PFS and others, you may be able to pick up a pre-owned one at a good price.

The Questyle DAC amps like the CMA-400i also work great with them. I thought I'll have to buy another amp for these but turned out CMA-400i could drive them with great dynamics and controlled treble and I don't even need to push the volume past 12 o'clock

@bradhuskers

Жыл бұрын

Question. I just bought the new hifiman edition xs headphones. They blow away the sundaras. So right now, adorama has these he6se v 2 at the ridiculous price of just $500. Are these as great as my new edition xs headphones? What should I do? I realize that I will have to buy an amp that puts out at least 4-5 watts just to drive them properly. Help me on this confusing situation. Regards. Brad

@bobsope4284

3 ай бұрын

Hi Brad, I am in the same situation. After 10 hours of research. It does seem worth it to upgrade if you have the cash for both the more expensive headphone and the new AMP + DAC​@@bradhuskers

I can vouch for the Cayin IHA-6. My Singxer SA-1 has to run high gain, full tilt to drive my balanced 990 600 Ohm loud. My Master 19 runs high gain at near full volume for those cans. My Cayin though is too loud approaching 12 o'clock, high gain. Great control over the high end on that headphone. The Cayin even makes my 990 and 560s punch!

@petercraig389

2 жыл бұрын

Something wrong with your source if you need to run your M19 at near full volume.

@iComment87

2 жыл бұрын

@@petercraig389 you think? If I run my other amps side by side, my source seems consistent. Have you tried to run 990 600 Ohm cans?

I can confirm that burson conductor 3x Performance powers it well 🙂👍

Some people say the he6se is a top-level headphone which can compete with hekse，but it needs a huge power so it should be pair with a Speaker amplifier. In fact, its packaging box comes with an adapter cable for speaker amplifier，so interesting😏

Very much agree with your review. Just sold mine and enjoyed it. Indeed had sharp sibilant treble that initially turned me off, but then I paired it with the Auris Nirvana and it completely tamed it. I think a transformer-coupled tube amp is the way to go here, as you need the power, so your experience with the Cayin makes a lot of sense. Eventually I sold it because it wasn’t the best, but it was very good. Excellent for the price.

@x32i77

2 жыл бұрын

What are your current plans ? Which headphone you will use in future with your beautiful auris nirvana ? And was the Auris nirvana powerful enough to drive the He6Se V2 ? It's only 6.5 watts afterall

@bradhuskers

Жыл бұрын

I'm guessing that my new hifiman edition xs headphones are better. Although, adorama has the he6se v 2. At the ridiculous low price of just $500. I'm confused.

I would be interested to see if the HE6SEv2 scales with no only more power but better power. Singxer SA-1, Wells Milo (base), Flux FA-10, Cayin iha6, Burson Soloist 3XP, Ifi ican-pro, and Audio-gd master 9 would all be interesting MidFi amps to pair this with. I know the Susvara is harder to drive but the 1266 Phi TC is a bish to drive well. Not just from a volume perspective but to get proper dynamics/slam requires mucho current.

@Thundermonk99

Жыл бұрын

I use this headphone with an iha-6 and it’s great. Really detailed and quick. IMO the HE6SE-v2 and IHA-6 are a great bang-for-buck combo, especially given the deep sales on the headphones. I got mine for $450 USD, definitely worth it.

I just bought one. Waiting for it to arrive. Looking forward to giving it a run on my setups. Both setups can work my Susvara so I should be fine for the HE6sev2. Since I'm not trying to make it into something its not I think I'm going to leave it stock except for cable - though later I may look at one of the grills from Arctic but that's probably as far as it will go. We'll see if it fits my ears first, lol.

The amp for the HE-6se V2 is the Burson Soloist 3X. And this Burson is one of the best for HD800s also. The Soloist 3X is a monster and with a linear power supply is delicious. Add an Ares II and you are done.

@JTB--

2 жыл бұрын

Soloist 3XP is also really good with the Arya Stealth Magnet. It's good with everything really. Great Class A Amp

@nikolaygramchev

2 жыл бұрын

@@JTB-- Fully agree. Cheers!

@x32i77

2 жыл бұрын

Don't forget about questyle cma 12 master amp/DAC ,🙂👍

@Koopagamelouda

Жыл бұрын

Linear power supply with the Soloist?? Do tell more! I thought people were just using the Supercharger 3a for a psu upgrade.

@nikolaygramchev

Жыл бұрын

@@Koopagamelouda yep, I am having in mind the Supercharger. Sorry that I put it in a misleading way. The Supercharger deserves any penny for how it changes the Burson Soloist 3XP

I have the he-6se, not the v2, and I find that the best pairing is the Hifiman EF6 amp, great slam , soft bass, lots of texture. First I thought the tt2 was better for the he6se, but no....the EF6 was made specially for the he6, and it is just ridiculous good....

@bradhuskers

Жыл бұрын

I just bought the new hifiman edition xs. So I'm so confused about these. Adorama currently has the he6se v 2. At the ridiculous price of only $500. But if they don't beat my new hifiman edition xs, what's the point?

Yep, like others have mentioned, I got mine for $549. It seems like you need the right link. In other words, it will always sell for $1,799 unless you have the secret sale link. I found my link in the forums.

@gabyrod916

2 жыл бұрын

Same here

@trh4388

Жыл бұрын

just got one for 400usd december 2022, this was the lowest I've seen this, but I think it will go even lower around year end

Are these really that hard to drive? I have a shanling m6 pro 21 would that drive it? Or a fiio m15? I'm a novice at this and just like great sound . Finally what reasonably priced amp would I need to drive these if needed? God bless you Noel

@pppppppp2146

Жыл бұрын

Hifiman ef-1000

Unpopular opinion here. The Corpse Cable likely sounds cleaner than stock. I had a Corpse Cable with my RAD-0 which sounded cleaner than the stock cable. I have a Norne cable for my HE6SE V2 and that also sounds cleaner than stock FWIW.

how does the HE6sev2 compare to the HE1000v2 stealth? would it more of a side or downgrade?

I don't know what happened but I think my comment is deleted probably because I shared the link to 549$ adorama. That's right. HE6sev2 is right now on sale for 549$ but finding the correct link might be tricky, I don't know why.

@MWeston2

2 жыл бұрын

You can only tell people to add this to the link and then it shows up: ?emailprice=t

Burson soloist 3x should be very good right?

Adorama has recently been selling these for $449 BRAND NEW recently.

549$ and 90% of Susvara sound is nice to have 😃

Hi man... realise this is an old vid but have u tried the Topping A30 Pro on these? I have that amp and was wondering if its enough for these cans?

@wavetheorysound

7 ай бұрын

I reviewed the A30Pro. I may or may not have answered that. Can't remember tbh. But fair earning I'm not a big Topping fan and if you watch you'll pick that up.

The edition xs will sound better than the v2? I have the edition xs and plan to buy the v2.. what is your adivice pls? Else I used the funds for some other upgrades. Thanks

@wavetheorysound

Жыл бұрын

XS will only sound better if the amp used cannot handle HE6sev2. Properly powered the HE6sev2 is the superior can.

Just recently got an Adorama deal where I picked these up new for $449.

@wavetheorysound

Жыл бұрын

Nice score. It seems every time they run this sale they shave another $50 off the price lol. There are good deals, great deals, and then this one. This deal needs a different adjective Hahaha.

@t0nyxgq

Жыл бұрын

@@wavetheorysound a steal?

@wavetheorysound

Жыл бұрын

@@t0nyxgq that works! Enjoy it.

Hey man. What’s the best way of having a conversation with you? What’s your HeadFi handle?

@wavetheorysound

2 жыл бұрын

Hi! My head-fi handle is @WaveTheory

@bradhuskers

Жыл бұрын

@@wavetheorysound Ok. Could you verify if the ifi dsd signature dac, is sufficient to drive the he6se v 2. I think that dac puts out 4 watts at peak power. And I believe that hifiman says that these headphones require at least 2 watts. Adorama currently has both these headphones and the ifi signature dac. Your thoughts?

The EF400 amp could pair it .. 🤔

he6 og vs he6sev2?

So, I posted the $549 link, but it got taken down within minutes. Look in the forums.

Can my Parasound P5 preamp drive it>?

Anybody knows if Topping L50 will be able to drive it?

I have the Schiit Jotenheim and the Schiit Bifrost and would like to know if you think this will power the He6se v2 properly??

@wavetheorysound

2 жыл бұрын

I have not tried the combo so I really can't say. On paper it certainly looks like the Jot2 would have the power, but it's more about power delivery than the raw number, and Jot2 is still *only* a $400 amp. Jot2 will certainly make the Arya (any version) sing. If you're US-based, I don't see any harm in picking up the HE6sev2 for the $550 Adorama price and trying it on the Jot2. If it doesn't work, flip it for $450 or $500 and get the Arya. You balance the chance to save $750 on a headphone vs losing a net of $100-150 on top of price of Arya if you end up with Arya, plus you learn a lot about matching amps to headphones in the process. Just a thought. Good luck!

@pppppppp2146

Жыл бұрын

No. Only wells audio Head trip, Hifiman ef-1000 and ef-6

I'm curious if the HE6seV2 would be a good pairing with the Schiit Jotunheim 2?

@daniluzzu

Жыл бұрын

Did you find out? I've been using an he6sev2 with a Bifrost 2/64 + Jotunheim 2. I never heard these headphones from different gear, so I can't really say much in term of "how" they are being driven. The Jot is more than enough as far as volume, the headphones already sound loud with the volume between 11am and 12, but I'm not sure about the sound. The thing is, I find these headphones EXCRUCIATINGLY bright! It confuses me to read that several reviewers call them neutral, or on the warm side... (what?!). So either my Schiit stack is not ideal to drive them sound-wise (though it sounds fantastic with other things, like Arya stealth, HE1000se, HE400se, etc..), or I'm getting deaf, or the reviewers are getting deaf, or a bit of all this...

@JTB--

Жыл бұрын

@@daniluzzu This post was a while ago. I ended up selling my HE6seV2. I have the HE1000V2(V3) Stealth Magnet now which are giving me my HIFIMAN Planar fix and I'm really digging them.

@c34webb

9 ай бұрын

@@JTB-- How much better do you think they are over the he6se?

@JTB--

9 ай бұрын

@@c34webb I think for the money the HE1000 Stealth Magnet is the best bang for the buck in the Hifiman lineup. HE6seV2 is good... but I never liked the headband and the frustration of trying to power/drive it properly is not worth the aggravation. HEK Stealth is easy to drive and is a great all rounder HP.

I have a magni/modi stack and it powers it plenty loud for me. Why do people say this needs more powerful amps?

@patrickzhao9072

Жыл бұрын

same setup, yes it's loud, sound good, but I guess if you want the best detailed sound? you will want a better amp, but I personally don't think a crazy good amp will make a lot of differences

@brianp1052

Жыл бұрын

@@patrickzhao9072 I ended up getting a Jotunheim II because I am a sucker. The one thing I did notice was that using a Peace equalizer I was able to prevent clipping since I have more power to provide. I figured hopefully the Jotenheim will be the last amp I'll ever need.

will he6se v2 slam harder than many dynamics drivers out there? more punchier?

@pppppppp2146

Жыл бұрын

Yes. Hifiman ef-1000 and ef-6.

I was thinking dragonfly cobalt as amp? Will it be ok

@wavetheorysound

Жыл бұрын

Very unlikely.

Some people say this headphone makes the lcdx irrelevant. How do you say the he6se v2 compare to the lcdx ?

@wavetheorysound

Жыл бұрын

HE6se v2 has a more relaxed and natural midrange presentation and a higher overall performance ceiling. The difficulty is unlocking that. The lcdx is so easy to drive and much more pairing friendly.

@pppppppp2146

Жыл бұрын

Hifiman he 6 se v2 =Hifiman susvara. He 6 se v2 better than lcd-x 500%

The ifi dsd signature dac has 4 watts at full power. Hifiman says you must have at least 2 watts.. So that being said, can anyone verify that this ifi dac will be sufficient? I can buy both at adorama

@wavetheorysound

Жыл бұрын

The HE6 series will show you that it's not about the number of watts, the ability to DELIVER the power as its needed is far more important. Unfortunately, good power delivery is something you pay for, more often than not. I think HiFiMan's own EF400 is new the minimum entry point for an HE6 headphone.

@megadoodoo5088

Жыл бұрын

@@wavetheorysound how would u compare the arya v3 to he6se on EF400?

is topping dx7 pro will be good to amp those?

@wavetheorysound

Жыл бұрын

No

Can the THX 789 drive this properly

@hartyewh1

2 жыл бұрын

I'm driving it with that and though people keep saying I need to plug it directly into a Dyson sphere I find that it works very as is. The bass is tight and punchy and there's good headroom to get high volume even when using EQ.

Damping factor. The HE6 loses bass if it’s over-damped by very low output impedance amplifiers. My 1-watt zero-feedback triode headphone amplifiers drive the HE6 extremely well. Not super-loud, but excellent dynamics, fullness and fast hard-hitting bass with excellent extension. There is such a thing as ‘a critical damping’ point, where going lower in output impedance actually *decreases* bass response. This seems counterintuitive, but is very true. With many loudspeakers the situation is opposite, in that the woofers do require very low impedance amplifiers to achieve good bass control. However, in drivers of certain T&S parameters, they can become overdamped when fed with too low of an output resistance from an amplifier. Amplifier design guru Nelson Pass has written quite a bit about the critical damping here and there on his ‘Pass DIY’ website and elsewhere. It’s definitely worth looking into.

Amp acting as an eq for bright headphones 😂

XS vs this ?

@wavetheorysound

2 жыл бұрын

I address that in my XS review

@musicxxa6678

2 жыл бұрын

@@wavetheorysound I checked that out thanks. My amp is zen can which does 1W for 16 ohm XS and 2W for 50 ohm HE6. Do you think HE6 can still beat XS in this condition ? I actually have the XS but it seems defective. The sub bass is weird. Coming from Ananda, i like the XS overall better but the sub bass felt like a significant downgrade. XS stiff, Ananda swifty and more detailed down low, more alive. XS overall have more punchy sound though but missing that sub bass detail is so jarring.

@wavetheorysound

2 жыл бұрын

Ah, that's good info. I doubt your XS is defective. The issue is likely the Zen CAN. Unfortunately, that amp has a very limited power supply and flat runs out of gas for medium-to-low efficiency loads. The XS is a medium efficiency planar and is likely trying to pull more current than the CAN is able to deliver. You'll notice that first in the bass where the driver simply has to move more to create good sound. The Ananda is a very efficient headphone and is not stressing the amp nearly as much. This also means that no, the HE6 (of any flavor) will not sound like it's supposed to.

@musicxxa6678

2 жыл бұрын

@@wavetheorysound That makes sense. I was suspecting that. Zen Can do good voltage swing but current delivery seem problematic. I guess it's designed 300 ohm Sennheiser's in mind. But still i'm getting quite a bit of channel imbalance in the bass. I tested it with tone generator. While the XS sitting on my desk, the right cup is noticeably louder. I also measured it with my smartphone which is not very reliable but it shows 5-6db differences. The weird part is that i don't notice this channel imbalance as much when i wear the headphones. I don't listen too loud but when i tried a loud bassy track, right cup made a very annoying buzz/rattling.

Hah!! You're speaking so loudly!! Too much of high volume for your ears!! xD

Do not buy this if you do not have Class A. Class AB like Jotunheim 2 or Lyr 3 really won't cut it with this.

@TheJonazas

10 ай бұрын

What about the Mjolnir 2? 8w each channel...

@Reeeepicheep

10 ай бұрын

@@TheJonazas good question, I no longer have this headphone but I do have a Mjolnir 2 lol. I did NOT have a Mjolnir 2 when I had this headphone. I only had the headphone for like a day over a year ago and returned it immediately. The tuning on it sounded muddy and well I don't have anything more powerful than class AB to power this stupidly inefficient headphone.