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Hifiman HE6se Review (Headphone)
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oleg87
Addicted to Fun and Learning
As always, it's a question of how much volume/EQ headroom you need.
With the balanced output, you'd get something like 100dB SPL, which just about covers my needs, but may be marginal or insufficient if you prefer louder volumes and/or regularly listen to sources with very low average volume. If it's a compromise you don't *need* to make, I'd probably avoid it.
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Bow_Wazoo
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Definitely no.
The 5K is severely underpowered. Especially with EQ.
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Not if you want to listen loud, no.
The HE6se has very low sensitivity values, about 96 dB/V according to their specifications, though amir's measurements show even less (91.3 dB/V)
The Qudelix 5K can provide 2V on its 3.5mm output, which yields 97 dB peak levels.
On the 2.5mm output it can provide twice as much voltage, so 103 dB peak levels with this headphone (assuming 91.3 dB/V)
Depending on what average volume you want to achieve, and depending on the crest factor of your music, and also depending on how much headroom you need for applying EQ, this may not be sufficient.
It does not fulfill the general "rule of thumb" of a system that's capable of 110 dB peaks (85 dB average SPL, 20 dB crest factor, 5 dB headroom for EQ)
Bow_Wazoo
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What is your opinion of the HE6SE?
Do you also consider this model to be an absolutely exceptional product?
After owning almost every high-end model out there, this Hifiman has really emerged as my number one, regardless of the price.
But the real sensation is the current price of around €400.
I don't consider anything that came after the HE6SE to be technical progress.
What headphones boast such distortion?!
Where is the proof that these stealth magnets,
or an even thinner diaphragm, reduce distortion?! And where is the technical progress proven by measurements?! It seems to me that this is limited to reducing power consumption. As I said, I don't consider anything that came onto the market after the HE6SE to be progressive...
My opinion is reinforced by the current Unveiled models. Where is the technological progress?
It seems to me as if HifiMan has taken up some modders' idea of removing the grills.
This is now being sold to us as technological progress?!
Do you also consider this model to be an absolutely exceptional product?
After owning almost every high-end model out there, this Hifiman has really emerged as my number one, regardless of the price.
But the real sensation is the current price of around €400.
I don't consider anything that came after the HE6SE to be technical progress.
What headphones boast such distortion?!
Where is the proof that these stealth magnets,
or an even thinner diaphragm, reduce distortion?! And where is the technical progress proven by measurements?! It seems to me that this is limited to reducing power consumption. As I said, I don't consider anything that came onto the market after the HE6SE to be progressive...
My opinion is reinforced by the current Unveiled models. Where is the technological progress?
It seems to me as if HifiMan has taken up some modders' idea of removing the grills.
This is now being sold to us as technological progress?!
solderdude
Grand Contributor
IMO the only one doing technological improvements with magneto planar drivers is @Dan Clark.
Rinaro is trying too with isodyamics combined with planar magnetic where the isodynamic part is pointing to the ear entrance. Seems more gimmicky than real progress though.
If only he could get the efficiency up but reckon it is restricted by the driver-coil distance.
The rest of them is doing small variations on the same theme (magnets and configurations/shapes, trace shapes etc) and they all damp their drivers poorly as people tend to think peaking treble 'sounds so highly detailed'.
IMO the early HE-6 is the best one they did. It was cheap too. Seems like a money grab now with every new model and then dumping the previous line (their stock)
Rinaro is trying too with isodyamics combined with planar magnetic where the isodynamic part is pointing to the ear entrance. Seems more gimmicky than real progress though.
If only he could get the efficiency up but reckon it is restricted by the driver-coil distance.
The rest of them is doing small variations on the same theme (magnets and configurations/shapes, trace shapes etc) and they all damp their drivers poorly as people tend to think peaking treble 'sounds so highly detailed'.
IMO the early HE-6 is the best one they did. It was cheap too. Seems like a money grab now with every new model and then dumping the previous line (their stock)
AryaStealth
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It looks like it works only for some people who hear large 4khz peaks similarly to GRAS so you can EQ it out to some degree. For me it was extremely uncomfortable (compared to he6se v2 with a capraaudio comfort strap) and unpleasant/inaccurate/unbalanced sound. I tried EQ from Amir and from Oratory and still experienced a massive ear fatigue (I suspect some narrow 4k resonances may be more than 10db). He6se v2 sounds great to me after EQ with in ear mics, however on my head they have at least 5db dip around 6khz, and GRAS shows that area as a peak (on my head I think this peak is between 7 and 8khz)
Perhaps after the Unveiled there will be the Unveiled 2026 edition with some new fancy ear pads on glue. Unveiled probably reduced the usual Hifiman 5-6db treble boost/peaks to more sensible 2-3db.
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Curupira
Addicted to Fun and Learning
And the only one with tangible innovations as well, vs. undamping the driver even further, hoping it'd better, or just hoping that it'd make sense to customers.
ModHouse also seems interesting with their new planar, but I'm thrown out by the difficult-to-drive aura around it, that heavily appeals to audiophile folklore, and the high price tag, that besides being a barrier itself, also appeals to the "high-end" aura for people who don't know about the concept of economies of scale in manufacturing.
I just got an HE6se. It's a piece of art. Here's a tear down of the driver:
Some people complain about poor QA due to channel imbalance. Here's my L and R channel balance (Please ignore the actual frequency response curve as the measuring system is not calibrated).
The driver impedance is 56 Ohm on both channels.
Some people complain about poor QA due to channel imbalance. Here's my L and R channel balance (Please ignore the actual frequency response curve as the measuring system is not calibrated).
The driver impedance is 56 Ohm on both channels.
staticV3
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Trace Arithmetic -> A/B will show only the difference between left and right, making channel imbalance much easier to readSome people complain about poor QA due to channel imbalance. Here's my L and R channel balance (Please ignore the actual frequency response curve as the measuring system is not calibrated).
Curupira
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Check this out
HE600
<p><img src="https://hifiman.com/attachments/image/20250815/20250815053904_26605.jpg" alt="" /></p>store.hifiman.com
Early buyers will pay 800 USD, but if you wait some months, see the reviews and measurements and then check their site again, you'll probably get them for 400 USD, just like the 6SEs, which they completely left out of the marketing material for some "odd" reason.
Also, good that they stopped using the bratwurst headband: I have yet to meet a person who liked it on their heavier headphones. It seems that we did lose swivel (again) for this new tiara, though.
RichieSuganda
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I do believe that the low distortion number in the HE-6 series is due to their heavier diaphragm (why it harder to drive). If the new HE-600 uses their nanometer diaphragm, the distortion might go up like their other oval cups. Maybe someone can tear their diaphragm and calculate the density lol.
solderdude
Grand Contributor
I measured the successor of the HE-6SE named HE-6SE v2. It has a different headband construction (actually the same as HE-400SE) and a different color for the cups (dark blue).
diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com
It was kindly sent in by an E.U. ASR member for testing.
HE-6SE v2
back to HIFIMAN back to measurements home published: Aug-22-2025 NO SMOOTHING is applied to the shown plots. Most measurement sites have some smoothing applied which ‘irons flat’ sharp peaks and ‘…
diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com
It was kindly sent in by an E.U. ASR member for testing.
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so it sounds like susvara, with same amplification requirement and much lower distortion, and costs only 1/10 of the price.I measured the successor of the HE-6SE named HE-6SE v2. It has a different headband construction (actually the same as HE-400SE) and a different color for the cups (dark blue).
HE-6SE v2
back to HIFIMAN back to measurements home published: Aug-22-2025 NO SMOOTHING is applied to the shown plots. Most measurement sites have some smoothing applied which ‘irons flat’ sharp peaks and ‘…
It was kindly sent in by an E.U. ASR member for testing.
Don't quite understand why it's not recommended more than the susvara.
BTW, you're one of the few reviewers (the other notable reviewer is oratory1990) that shows similar frequency response between HE6se and susvara.
In all other objective measurements (such as amir and crinacle), they differ a lot.
crinacle highly praised susvara because it's close to the target curve, while ditching the he6se due to its midrange dip.
thecoolerplayer
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Hi all,
Long time lurker/reader of this forum and first time poster! I recently got a pair of HE6SE V2 off the used market with the grill mod already in place, and I'm now trying to figure what the most cost effective option will be to power them to their full extent.
For some background, I am coming from an Audeze Maxwell, but I recently sold it after just about a year as I missed the wide soundstage of my prior setup (HE400i ver. 2020 with a Sonata HD Pro and xDuoo MT-602).
I currently have an A2049 Apple dongle which I use primarily with my Hexa. I also have a Topping G5 which I intend to use as a DAC with an amp (most likely THX 789 as of now). I simply want the most transparent sounding audio chain which can properly power the HE6SE and let me play with some EQ. Now, here's my questions:
Firstly, will the Topping G5 be sufficient to get the most out of the HE6SE? Most people say no, so I can purchase a separate amp or replace the G5 with a dac-amp combo if really needed. I listen at volumes between 80-95dB, and do intend to use EQ on these headphones.
Second: If I volume match the G5 and the Apple dongle, and connect both to the amp - how different, if at all, will the sound quality be? I do intend to test this out myself in a couple of weeks or so and get back, but just curious to see if someone has already tried something similar. If the difference is going to be inaudible, then I'd much rather sell off the G5 and simply stick to using the Apple dongle for a DAC
Lastly, would a DX5 II be a better choice over the Topping G5/Apple dongle + THX 789 combo? The G5+THX combo costs me about $200, and the DX 5 II is another $100. Is it worth the premium in terms of sound quality/transparency/output power? I do like the screen and features, but also want a durable, long lasting product as I intend to have this setup for the next several years and don't wish to spend anymore than is necessary.
I don't necessarily need portability, although that would be nice but only if I am able to power them adequately with just the G5. I anyway intend to use them only at my desk. Thank you for reading!
Long time lurker/reader of this forum and first time poster! I recently got a pair of HE6SE V2 off the used market with the grill mod already in place, and I'm now trying to figure what the most cost effective option will be to power them to their full extent.
For some background, I am coming from an Audeze Maxwell, but I recently sold it after just about a year as I missed the wide soundstage of my prior setup (HE400i ver. 2020 with a Sonata HD Pro and xDuoo MT-602).
I currently have an A2049 Apple dongle which I use primarily with my Hexa. I also have a Topping G5 which I intend to use as a DAC with an amp (most likely THX 789 as of now). I simply want the most transparent sounding audio chain which can properly power the HE6SE and let me play with some EQ. Now, here's my questions:
Firstly, will the Topping G5 be sufficient to get the most out of the HE6SE? Most people say no, so I can purchase a separate amp or replace the G5 with a dac-amp combo if really needed. I listen at volumes between 80-95dB, and do intend to use EQ on these headphones.
Second: If I volume match the G5 and the Apple dongle, and connect both to the amp - how different, if at all, will the sound quality be? I do intend to test this out myself in a couple of weeks or so and get back, but just curious to see if someone has already tried something similar. If the difference is going to be inaudible, then I'd much rather sell off the G5 and simply stick to using the Apple dongle for a DAC
Lastly, would a DX5 II be a better choice over the Topping G5/Apple dongle + THX 789 combo? The G5+THX combo costs me about $200, and the DX 5 II is another $100. Is it worth the premium in terms of sound quality/transparency/output power? I do like the screen and features, but also want a durable, long lasting product as I intend to have this setup for the next several years and don't wish to spend anymore than is necessary.
I don't necessarily need portability, although that would be nice but only if I am able to power them adequately with just the G5. I anyway intend to use them only at my desk. Thank you for reading!
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Topping G5 can output at least 5-6V without clipping to 50Ohm according to ASR review. (according to L7Audio it's beyond 6V).Hi all,
Long time lurker/reader of this forum and first time poster! I recently got a pair of HE6SE V2 off the used market with the grill mod already in place, and I'm now trying to figure what the most cost effective option will be to power them to their full extent.
For some background, I am coming from an Audeze Maxwell, but I recently sold it after just about a year as I missed the wide soundstage of my prior setup (HE400i ver. 2020 with a Sonata HD Pro and xDuoo MT-602).
I currently have an A2049 Apple dongle which I use primarily with my Hexa. I also have a Topping G5 which I intend to use as a DAC with an amp (most likely THX 789 as of now). I simply want the most transparent sounding audio chain which can properly power the HE6SE and let me play with some EQ. Now, here's my questions:
Firstly, will the Topping G5 be sufficient to get the most out of the HE6SE? Most people say no, so I can purchase a separate amp or replace the G5 with a dac-amp combo if really needed. I listen at volumes between 80-95dB, and do intend to use EQ on these headphones.
Second: If I volume match the G5 and the Apple dongle, and connect both to the amp - how different, if at all, will the sound quality be? I do intend to test this out myself in a couple of weeks or so and get back, but just curious to see if someone has already tried something similar. If the difference is going to be inaudible, then I'd much rather sell off the G5 and simply stick to using the Apple dongle for a DAC
Lastly, would a DX5 II be a better choice over the Topping G5/Apple dongle + THX 789 combo? The G5+THX combo costs me about $200, and the DX 5 II is another $100. Is it worth the premium in terms of sound quality/transparency/output power? I do like the screen and features, but also want a durable, long lasting product as I intend to have this setup for the next several years.
I don't necessarily need portability, although that would be nice but only if I am able to power them adequately with just the G5. I anyway intend to use them only at my desk. Thank you for reading!
HE6SE V2's sensitivity is 91dB/V. So even 4V output can give you 91 + 2 * 6 = 103dB.
You mentioned you listen at 95 dB at most so 103dB gives you 8 dB headroom for EQ, which is far more than usually needed.
Again, all the above numbers above are very conservative. G5 can drive your headphone way beyond that.
Conclusion: just use G5. no need for anything else.
When audiophiles are talking about things are "hard to drive", they want to drive it to 120dB+ with headrooms left...
most people actually don't need that.
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