He6se v2 help me

[BigTy120]

All dacs were connected through a balanced out 4.4mm to xlr cable.
All dacs were tested both ways of volume set to high on the amp first then using them as preamps and vice versa. The Smsl was connected through rca only.
We had a mix of these dongles
Fiio ka13
Ifi go blu
Ifi gryphon
Ifi go bar/kensei
Qudelix 5x
Questyle M15i
None of these dongles tested well with the topping L70. Especially when connected to HE6se v2.
Desktop dacs
Topping d50 iii
Topping d30 pro
Smsl su1
Topping E70
Ifi zen dac v2
Ifi signature finale

 

[BigTy120]

We do. Stick around.

I will. I would love to see an explanation of this situation.

 

[BigTy120]

To me even though I truly prefer the warmer sound signature of the ifi dacs, the M15i with an EQ bass shelf won as my pick. It sounds very Dynamic and powerful. I think the m15i and the fosi make a great pair for the he6se v2.

 

[BigTy120]

However make no mistake that I am greatly looking forward to the findings that you guys will bring to the table. Thank you for all your help

 

[AryaStealth]

Try this EQ (I usually add a High Shelf +1db Q 0.7 at 14000Hz to it to make the sound more balanced when the volume is 55-60db):

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

Stock sound is nothing to write home about (passable), especially if you have a bit of hearing loss. With the EQ above it sounds very pleasant.

I also have a question: would it make sense to lower the EQ preamp futher so I can turn my amplifier volume up to hear more bass? (or the effect would be contrary and I could only loose more bass with lowering EQ preamp?)
It feels like he6se v2 are a bit underpowered, I think maybe Fiio K7 can't deliver enough power to them on quiet volume (I listen probably at 1/3 or 1/4 of its full power in High Gain).

 

[BigTy120]

All I can say is when I listened to the he6se v2 on the topping stack alone, it wasn't impressive at all. But when I added the fosi amp to the topping L70 as a pre amp and the fosi as a power amp it seemed to make a world of difference. I just wanted more bass and when I added the bass shelf... It has been perfect.

 

[BigTy120]

Your high shelf is lower than mine. I add it to 16000hz

 

[BigTy120]

I have owned the he6se v2 since black Fri last year. I have also gotten alot of advice from the internet through forums and posts like this. I learned that I had to listen to things with my own ears and judge what sounded the best to me. With that said......
I went through so many amps. Ifi zen can air and balanced zen can, the ifi black label, signature and signature finale. Not enough power, all of ifi portable devices like go blue and the XCan gryphon, and the go bar kensei didn't work. None of the fiio stuff k11 or any of there dongles, K7 nothing. Then I tested the schiit stacks magni and no, magnus I believe it was, someone hear can correct me, but still no. I then tried the Topping l50, a30 pro and the L70 and it was still a big fat no. However, I tried 3 things since then that have worked. A Sony receiver (old 1 I had lying around and I have to say that worked out the best. The fosi audio za3 another speaker amp sounded amazing and lastly they are currently working on the Topping A70 Pro. There is no way around it, they require a lot of power. Hands down. And man do I mean they need power, However once you give them the power, sit back and enjoy the sound.....
Giving them more power definitely woke them up. The sound was night and day different. All of the dynamics, the highs and the punch and the slam were present. I still prefer them on an receiver than a headphone amp, but I have also read that prolonged receiver use can hurt them so that's why I got the A70 Pro. All and all I just want to say thanks for the advice.
Oh and as a side note I also changed my dac. I no longer use the ifi zen dac signature and I gave my topping d50 iii to a friend of mine. I'm currently using the Fosi audio K7 gaming dac as my source and it's a wonderful combination. So I hope this helps some others out there going down the same audio rabbit hole I went through. Read, ask all the questions you can, and more importantly listen with your own ears and then make your choice. Good luck with your audio journey.

 

[AryaStealth]

Please check how loud you listen with A70 Pro. There is a free app called Decibel X that shows an average volume and SPL peaks, on an iPhone it should be within 2db accuracy.
Did other amplifiers like Fiio K7 sounded compressed to you or just not loud enough? Fiio K7 can reach ear damaging 85-90db(Average) levels with the volume knob around 80% but the dynamic range is probably not as good as A70 Pro's.
If I'm not mistaken you listen to he6se v2 without any EQ, so a large 3.5 kHz to 5.5 kHz peak in the ear gain region (the peak can be up to 6db, twice as loud) doesn't bother you which may indicate some hearing loss in that region, so called noise induced hearing loss, and unfortunately in many cases it comes with lower frequencies hearing loss as well.
Without hearing loss in that region he6se v2 should sound very bright and thin.