Audio GD R2R11 and Hifiman He 6

[Junkwisch]

Hey guys

I just got a hifiman he 6 as a present from my dad, however I got no tools to run them. I'm thinking of buying Audio GD R2R11 to run this headphone, I want to know whether it is a good choice? Someone also recommended me a mass drop Cavalli liquid carbon.

Or should I go with pure amplifier like NFB-1AMP or C2?

P.S. Schiit is not available in my country

 

[twsecrest]

I really like my Audio-GD NFB-11.28 DAC/amp
I'm sure the NFB-R2R11 would make the HE6 sound nice.

 

[Veri]

Neither the NFB nor the R2R has enough clean power to drive the HE-6.

Also, both the NFB and the R2R got literally crushingly bad reviews here:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-measurements-of-audio-gd-r2r11-dac-amp.5779/
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...audio-gd-nfb28-28-dac-and-headphone-amp.5147/

To OP, any reason why your first post here, you're asking about a product which already has 9 pages of discussion and a seriously bad review. A simply search would have provided that information... The HE6 is also nefariously difficult to drive. You need a proper amp. The R2R/NFB is not it, the cavalli liquid carbon will not do it justice either. There's hundreds of well reviewed products here on ASR as well as a Master comparison graph on the home page.

@twsecrest I'm "sure" the NFB would run out of juice way before sounding nice. This entire thread is honestly baffling/confusing to me.
Was there an "audio-gd is good" trend recently out of nowhere and did I miss it??

I would suggest getting a balanced XLR cable for the HE6 and using it with the readily available monoprice THX amp:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ements-of-monoprice-thx-desktop-dac-amp.7483/

 

[andreasmaaan]

The R2R-11 has the ignominious distinction of being the second-worst performing DAC/headamp of over 100 measured here. @Veri is right - unless you want audible distortion and inadequate power, I would steer far clear of it.