Hifiman HE6se Review (Headphone)

[Luke Lemke]

I bought the Adorama / Hifiman HE6SE V2 during the last shipment "discount" in January 2021, paid $699, and I couldn't be happier

I recently wrote a long post sharing my experience with the HE6SE V2 + accessories on head-fi, please check it out here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-deals-discussion-thread-read-the-first-post.692119/post-16456024

There is also a long HE6SE thread on head-fi which will likely liven up now that Adorama has the new shipment in stock, and on discount
Hifiman HE6-SE | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org
Here are my posts there: Search results | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

Thanks a lot, I'll check it out. Any thoughts about driving them with the Magni Heresy?

 

[raistlin65]

Thanks for heads up. Is Adorama reliable? I don't understand how this can be so cheap compared to the original price. I guess I will buy them.

Yes. I've bought a couple headphones from them.

 

[raistlin65]

Thanks a lot for the detailed response. I also own a Focal Clear MG (the brown "home" version), which I love. I've heard great things about the ZMF Auteur but never had the chance to try them. I agree with you that, at a certain level of headphone performance, the law of diminishing returns kicks in strongly. One problem that I face is that my "strongest" amp is the Magni Heresy, it probably won't be powerful enough for the HE6se, which seems to be very hard to drive. When it comes to the cable, I can search for some aftermarket cable options. Anyway, I'll give it some thought and decide in the coming days.

Yes, they are some of the more difficult to drive headphones. However, they don't necessarily need a speaker amp, as something people seem to suggest. And you have a very powerful amp.

Use this headphone power calculator.

https://www.headphonesty.com/headphone-power-calculator/

 

[Robbo99999]

Yes, I'm happy with the HE6se (depending upon what I'm listening to...my headphone choice will differ on my mood, whether I'm listening while working or doing critical listening in my music chair later in the evening...my choice also depends upon whether the music is jazz, rock, vocal oriented, classical, acoustic, etc and the musical instruments...e.g. whether piano, alto sax, guitar or vocals etc are more pronounced). The HE6se competently handles anything I throw at it.

My HiFiMan HE-500 (arguably state of the art when purchased circa 2011) doesn't get much use anymore (preferring the HE6se). Depending upon what I'm streaming, I also listen to my Focal Clear MG Professionals (the new for 2021 version). I have ZMF Auteur headphones that are in the final stages of production....it will be interesting to see where these fall in my headphone preferences.

Similarly to what others have concluded, at a certain level of headphone performance I'm not sure if something is truly better or worse....it's just different to me as each headphone I have will involve some compromise in sound reproduction (maybe if I used my Roon equalization I could dial each in a bit more, further minimizing the differences between each...or making one much better than the others). I'm pairing the HE6se with RME ADI-2 DAC FS or a Benchmark DAC3 B and a Monolith THX AAA 887 or Schiit Mjolnir 2 headphone amplifier. I stream via a Roon Nucleus or a Lumin U1 Mini. Given my upstream gear (and it's ability to drive this headphone), I figure if I don't like what I'm hearing the difference (or reason) is in the headphone....overall I really enjoy my HE6se. I cannot speak to selling the Sundara, but I can provide encouragement to try the HE6se.

Oh, and one last thing. The headphone cable that comes with the HE6se is cosmetically awful....it looks, feels, and is cheap...the worst I've ever seen....plus the cheap sausage skinned sleeve developed some kinks because of how it was packed in the box. I didn't even give it a listen, swapping it out for a longer Moon Audio cable I had laying around (I needed a few more feet to get from my gear to chair).

You could try out a Harman Curve EQ if you haven't already done so at some point. Oratory on reddit, or Amir here provides them.

 

[Luke Lemke]

Thanks! The Magni 2 seems to be able to drive the HE-6 according to the calculator. I assume the Magni heresy is at least as powerful as the Magni 2. Have you been able to compare the HE-6 with the Sundaras?

 

[raistlin65]

Thanks! The Magni 2 seems to be able to drive the HE-6 according to the calculator. I assume the Magni heresy is at least as powerful as the Magni 2. Have you been able to compare the HE-6 with the Sundaras?

More powerful. Check the specs.

I have not tried the HE-6.

 

[Shazb0t]

Thanks! The Magni 2 seems to be able to drive the HE-6 according to the calculator. I assume the Magni heresy is at least as powerful as the Magni 2. Have you been able to compare the HE-6 with the Sundaras?

If you're set on Schiit with the He-6 then I wouldn't go any lower power than the Magnius in balanced output.

 

[raistlin65]

If you're set on Schiit with the He-6 then I wouldn't go any lower power than the Magnius in balanced output.

Based on what objective data? The headphone power calculations indicate he should be fine with the heresy

https://www.headphonesty.com/headphone-power-calculator/

 

[AVKS]

If you're set on Schiit with the He-6 then I wouldn't go any lower power than the Magnius in balanced output.

The extra power would only be around another 3 db headroom and I don't think he has XLR balanced inputs, so the Magnius seems like unnecessary expense and may actually be less power. If he was going to go with something bigger from Schiit the Asgard may be the better option since it doesn't require balanced in o get full power and is only 1.5 db or so lower than the Magnius (though also only 1.5 db above the Heresy).

 

[Shazb0t]

Based on what objective data? The headphone power calculations indicate he should be fine with the heresy

https://www.headphonesty.com/headphone-power-calculator/

The link you posted appears to disagree with recommending the Magni 2. So I guess we agree? Lol

I'm not a crazy person who believes you need a speaker amp or something, but you should have some power available for these to account for EQ and dynamic peaks when listening to music at louder levels. I don't think that the Heresy is an ideal choice after taking those factors into account. In my opinion there are better choices.

 

[Explorer]

All this nonsense of them needing power. I use them out of my iPhone at nighttime when laying in bed, and they sound great with 1 volume click to spare

They sound exactly the same as through my L30, SMSL SP400 and iPhone.

 

[Luke Lemke]

The link you posted appears to disagree with recommending the Magni 2. So I guess we agree? Lol

I'm not a crazy person who believes you need a speaker amp or something, but you should have some power available for these to account for EQ and dynamic peaks when listening to music at louder levels. I don't think that the Heresy is an ideal choice after taking those factors into account. In my opinion there are better choices.

You have probably selected the HE-6 from the dropdown list which reveals the magni 2 can't drive them (it's probably the specs of the original HE-6). That being said, when you type 50 ohms and 83.5 sensitivity in the list (specs of the HE-6 V2), you can see the magni 2 gets green. It's kind of confusing. Anyway, it's just an estimation I guess, not perfect. My magni heresy is more powerful than the magni 2, so I guess I will be ok. I have just bought the HE-6 from Adorama, I couldn't resist.

 

[Luke Lemke]

All this nonsense of them needing power. I use them out of my iPhone at nighttime when laying in bed, and they sound great with 1 volume click to spare

They sound exactly the same as through my L30, SMSL SP400 and iPhone.

I'm usually the guy who thinks headphone amps are overrated and so on. However, it's hard to believe you can get the best out of your HE-6 driving them with an Iphone. You'll get a lot more slam and punch driving any cans with a decent headphone amp compared to an Iphone.

 

[Shazb0t]

You have probably selected the HE-6 from the dropdown list which reveals the magni 2 can't drive them (it's probably the specs of the original HE-6). That being said, when you type 50 ohms and 83.5 sensitivity in the list (specs of the HE-6 V2), you can see the magni 2 gets green. It's kind of confusing. Anyway, it's just an estimation I guess, not perfect. My magni heresy is more powerful than the magni 2, so I guess I will be ok. I have just bought the HE-6 from Adorama, I couldn't resist.

Based on Amir's review here of the SE, in comparison to the original He-6 the SE is even less efficient. So it should be the other way around from what you said. The driver did not measure 50 ohms. How much amp headroom do you think you loose when you account for a good parametric EQ with Harman curve bass? What's an acceptable dynamic peak range for your music? I think what I've laid out makes sense.

 

[Luke Lemke]

Based on Amir's review here of the SE versus the original He-6, the SE is even less efficient. So it should be the other way around from what you said. The driver did not measure 50 ohms. How much amp headroom do you think you loose when you EQ? What's an acceptable dynamic peak range for music? I think what I've laid out makes sense.

Well, you're correct, but when I type the V2 specs in the calculator, the Magni 2 gets green. What can I say? Maybe a bug in the calculator. I guess we can agree that the Magni Heresy would do a decent job driving them?

 

[Explorer]

I'm usually the guy who thinks headphone amps are overrated and so on. However, it's hard to believe you can get the best out of your HE-6 driving them with an Iphone. You'll get a lot more slam and punch driving any cans with a decent headphone amp compared to an Iphone.

The iPhone is audibly transparent. My HE-6se sounds exactly the same through my iPhone, as through my way more powerful Topping L30 and SMSL SP400. Let’s not turn this into a subjectivist discussion please with nonsensical terms like “slam” and “punch”

 

[Luke Lemke]

The iPhone is audibly transparent. My HE-6se sounds exactly the same through my iPhone, as through my way more powerful Topping L30 and SMSL SP400. Let’s not turn this into a subjectivist discussion please with nonsensical terms like “slam” and “punch”

Ok, you make me feel good about my purchase then. May I ask why you own a Topping L30 or any amp if they sound as good as your iphone?

 

[Shazb0t]

All this nonsense of them needing power. I use them out of my iPhone at nighttime when laying in bed, and they sound great with 1 volume click to spare

They sound exactly the same as through my L30, SMSL SP400 and iPhone.

The iPhone is audibly transparent. My HE-6se sounds exactly the same through my iPhone, as through my way more powerful Topping L30 and SMSL SP400. Let’s not turn this into a subjectivist discussion please with nonsensical terms like “slam” and “punch”

You've overcorrected too far from the speaker power amp camp. There's no way your iPhone has enough output to drive an He-6 to loud volumes with proper dynamic peaks. That's without taking into account any sort of EQ which would boost the power requirements even higher. But hey, if it works for you do it.

 

[raistlin65]

The link you posted appears to disagree with recommending the Magni 2. So I guess we agree? Lol

Not from what I can see. What sensitivity numbers are you using?

My understanding is that H6SE sensitivity is 83db/mw at 50 ohms. According to the headphone power calculator, the Magni 2 should handle 114db dynamic peaks.

I'm not a crazy person who believes you need a speaker amp or something, but you should have some power available for these to account for EQ and dynamic peaks when listening to music at louder levels. I don't think that the Heresy is an ideal choice after taking those factors into account. In my opinion there are better choices.

This sounds too much like the "more power is better" myth, which I believe often results because people are guessing how much power they need.

We don't need to guess. Let's use actual numbers. Let's do the math instead by using the headphone power calculator.

How much EQ do you want to add? Use your preamp offset to calculate the additional power need for EQ. What listening level and dynamic peaks?

 

[frogmeat69]

The Heresy should be fine at normal listening levels. Seems people listen at levels that they shouldn't be if they want to keep hearing, .