He6se V2 Best General Setups

[Tijask]

So here I am 6 months after I bought the He6se V2. I decided to connect it to a Topping A 30 Pro and Topping D10B and my PC. Honestly the Topping can push it quite good. Only at ear bleeding levels you get too much noise. Still I have the feeling that I lack Bass and that the Headphones sound too bright, even with EQ. So I am searching where I could do a meaningful upgrade. Is it the DAC or is it the amp? Right now you can get an EF400 for 350 bucks, but while many love it, many do dislike it as well. Do you have any recommendations?

 

[ZolaIII]

Which EQ? Rather hard to drive.

Hifiman HE6se Review (Headphone)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Hifiman HE6se planar magnetic headphone. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $1,800. I had previously reviewed the now discontinued Hifiman HE6 so great to see how the replacement performs. The HE6se distinguishes itself with new...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Remember that amount of bass also depends on how loud you use to listen to.
Best word be to go to:

DIY-Audio-Heaven

Enjoy music through headphones on a low budget

diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com

And read carefully. Do try Amir's EQ. Have a nice time.

 

[Tijask]

Which EQ? Rather hard to drive.

Hifiman HE6se Review (Headphone)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Hifiman HE6se planar magnetic headphone. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $1,800. I had previously reviewed the now discontinued Hifiman HE6 so great to see how the replacement performs. The HE6se distinguishes itself with new...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Remember that amount of bass also depends on how loud you use to listen to.
Best word be to go to:

DIY-Audio-Heaven

Enjoy music through headphones on a low budget

diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com

And read carefully. Do try Amir's EQ. Have a nice time.

I used Oratory1990s EQ settings. Yeah I know that its hard to drive but I get my HE6Se loud enough, with plenty room available. I think here the D10B does a good Job thats why my doubt where I could do meaningful adjustments. So in your opinion it should be the EQ?

 

[ZolaIII]

I used Oratory1990s EQ settings. Yeah I know that its hard to drive but I get my HE6Se loud enough, with plenty room available. I think here the D10B does a good Job thats why my doubt where I could do meaningful adjustments. So in your opinion it should be the EQ?

It can be to your desired SPL. Lover it is you want more bass. It's called equal loudness normalisation. I find his (Oratory) EQ's usually good.

 

[Dunring]

The two best EQ profiles I've used with them is Asmirm's here for the review, and the Autoeq profile built into APO/Peace (first one). I use an A30 Pro with an E50 DAC currently, and had the he6se several times for the business.
The biggest problem is the preamp reduction needed and quiet recordings. At -6.7db to avoid distortion on some profiles they feel like a bottomless pit of power required. The extended version of Tonight, tonight, tonight by Genesis is the hardest song to get the quiet parts loud.

 

[Tijask]

The two best EQ profiles I've used with them is Asmirm's here for the review, and the Autoeq profile built into APO/Peace (first one). I use an A30 Pro with an E50 DAC currently, and had the he6se several times for the business.
The biggest problem is the preamp reduction needed and quiet recordings. At -6.7db to avoid distortion on some profiles they feel like a bottomless pit of power required. The extended version of Tonight, tonight, tonight by Genesis is the hardest song to get the quiet parts loud.

Well thats why I Had the Idea to upgrade to the new A70Pro. Still I am not convinced. Some write that a warmer DAC is very good on the He6se, thats why the EF400 is a good fit dispite the high disortion at higher gains. Also I am worried about the greed to drive the He6se to new levels, popping the magnets, like many do. From an engineering standpoint maybe you might improve from low impendance cables. Normally I would say it would not matter especially at this distance, but with those headphones who knows? So far I am using only stock cables, this could be another option.

 

[Dunring]

Well thats why I Had the Idea to upgrade to the new A70Pro. Still I am not convinced. Some write that a warmer DAC is very good on the He6se, thats why the EF400 is a good fit dispite the high disortion at higher gains. Also I am worried about the greed to drive the He6se to new levels, popping the magnets, like many do. From an engineering standpoint maybe you might improve from low impendance cables. Normally I would say it would not matter especially at this distance, but with those headphones who knows? So far I am using only stock cables, this could be another option.

I just put together an A70 Pro / D70 Octo stack and it's what they really need. DAC filters don't change that much except on the ones with an early treble rolloff. Cables were measured here, and if they're not defective it's all an illusion people hear of difference. I've had the HE6se and they need EQ and with a -6db preamp reduction and pre-volume war recordings you need a lot more than most people think. Just stock a lot of amplifiers can power them fine though. I put Worlds Best Cables on them, and did a blind test with some others and no audible change. I think the star quad design only helps in areas like a professional environment with racks and tons of things going on. Asmirm did a test with a cable sitting on a wireless charging pad and it made no difference in shielding. That's pretty much the worst you can expect in a home environment, so wouldn't put any money into cables. With that combo, upgrading ever again isn't a concern, there's nothing left to hear when it comes to silent noise floor and on balanced the sensation of unlimited power.

 

[Tijask]

I just put together an A70 Pro / D70 Octo stack and it's what they really need. DAC filters don't change that much except on the ones with an early treble rolloff. Cables were measured here, and if they're not defective it's all an illusion people hear of difference. I've had the HE6se and they need EQ and with a -6db preamp reduction and pre-volume war recordings you need a lot more than most people think. Just stock a lot of amplifiers can power them fine though. I put Worlds Best Cables on them, and did a blind test with some others and no audible change. I think the star quad design only helps in areas like a professional environment with racks and tons of things going on. Asmirm did a test with a cable sitting on a wireless charging pad and it made no difference in shielding. That's pretty much the worst you can expect in a home environment, so wouldn't put any money into cables. With that combo, upgrading ever again isn't a concern, there's nothing left to hear when it comes to silent noise floor and on balanced the sensation of unlimited power.

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Great to read that I am not the only one who had this thought. Well to be honest isolation in cables go both ways, ofc the Impact would be minimal. Especially since it is radius depended. So I guess thats what I am going to save up for. You can get up to almost 10% in better impendance in the cable If you have (extremly pure) silver cables, so If we have to juice up the power to the max it could be helpful. I am not talking about cleaner sound, just about the resistance the cable has itself. So it looks like the A70Pro is the new goal, then I will be thinking about a new DAC.

 

[Tijask]

I just put together an A70 Pro / D70 Octo stack and it's what they really need. DAC filters don't change that much except on the ones with an early treble rolloff. Cables were measured here, and if they're not defective it's all an illusion people hear of difference. I've had the HE6se and they need EQ and with a -6db preamp reduction and pre-volume war recordings you need a lot more than most people think. Just stock a lot of amplifiers can power them fine though. I put Worlds Best Cables on them, and did a blind test with some others and no audible change. I think the star quad design only helps in areas like a professional environment with racks and tons of things going on. Asmirm did a test with a cable sitting on a wireless charging pad and it made no difference in shielding. That's pretty much the worst you can expect in a home environment, so wouldn't put any money into cables. With that combo, upgrading ever again isn't a concern, there's nothing left to hear when it comes to silent noise floor and on balanced the sensation of unlimited power.

View attachment 348327

for those who are interessted: I decided to pair it up with an Aune S17pro. The sound truly is incredible. While The Topping A30pro is a good budget Amp (for those headphones) the S17 really brings it to another level. With the same DAC (Topping D10B), it drove it to the next level. The disortion and harshness is gone that you had with topping a 30 pro at high gain. It leaves you a lot more room for EQ. Ofc its also double the price. I think while you might be able to drive the He6se to good enough levels with a budget amp you would benefit from simply saving a bit longer for a better amp or simply not buying them at all.