Resolve here - I just wanted to comment that by no means were the original HE6 and HE500 the first planars, that tech had been done in headphones much earlier. But those, along with the LCD-2 definitely popularized planar tech in ways it previously hadn't been. Also, I got the pricing wrong - the HE6se versions are around $1800 not $1700 full price.
It's actually pretty insane how the company just decided to randomly drop the comfortable headband on V1 and replace it with another version which is just worse in every possible department on a V2.
Just wanted to say, I highly appreciate how you said that your opinion is only one person's opinion, I feel like that that's something alot of people forget, they think that a single person's opinion is the end all be all and if you don't agree you're deaf, which I think is extremely closed minded. So yeah thanks for saying that :)
Technically planars existed way before the HE6/LCD2 era, but in many ways HE6 is the first of its kind. Instead of aluminum traces it uses gold ones which has never been done on a headphone before. Gold is non-reactive, it hardly reacts to anything which makes it corrosion-resistant. It has excellent malleability which means it can be made extremely thin. And it adheres to a PET film much better than aluminum. Aluminum deteriorates over time, cannot be made nearly as thin as gold and will disintegrate from a PET film overtime. These are all undesirable qualities that makes aluminum inherently inferior as a trace material. They are however, much cheaper and much more feasible for mass production. On top of all the gold advantages, HE6 has an insanely low f0 allowing it to hit some insane excursions, which results in a very dynamic, very intense listen.
@@TheHEADPHONEShow OMG. The he6se v 2. Is now selling on adorama for $500. IS THAT POSSIBLE? Originally, these were $1700 headphones, so how can they be discounted this much? My other question is this. I recently bought the new hifiman edition xs, and I am in love with them. So that being said, would you say that the he6se v 2 is a much better headphone overall? Or are they so close that I should just stay with the edition xs?
@@TheHEADPHONEShowpro tip guys: in science, if a theory fails to explain an observation, it's the theory that's wrong, not the observation. The simple and absolute fact of the matter is that the measurements that are currently employed across the head-fi community are wholly inadequate for describing and predicting sound.
Seriously dude, HE-6 / HE-500 / HE-400 were all legendary headphones. HiFiMan needs to do a limited edition or special edition run of the HE-6 with the exact same sound one last time for the fans. I want one so bad. I only heard the 400 & 500 and those were world-class.
@@woopygoman Not going to happen. Hifiman's tooling is geared towards manufacturing the thinner diaphragms. Supposedly, they no longer have the tooling to make the old, thicker diaphragms of the past HE line. Too bad though.
the less said about estats the better as it just makes to many jump on board the endgame train and pushes up the prices, let them play with their planer headphones lol.
I still have an original HE6 I bought new in 2012. For what it does well, I have yet to hear anything at any price which betters it. For my taste, it is, overall, the most engaging and entertaining headphone I've tried. The presentation is exceptionally punchy and dynamic, with a sense of solidity and ease with all music types. Very visceral presentation, yet notably clean and uncongested. The HE6 does not have a wide soundstage, but depth and layering are superb. Besides, I also have the HD800S for times when I desire expansive soundstage width. Absolutely positively the HE6 requires robust amplification to bring out it's virtues. Even a good 1 to 2 Watt tube amplifier is sufficient, but it needs to be a good tube amplifier. When using the HE6 with Solid state amplifiers, a rated output power of 4 or 5 Watts should be sufficient --assuming a high-quality amplifier, of course.
I was blown away by how tight the bass was for an open back on a powerful enough amp. I haven't heard the LCD series, but ever since I heard the HE6 they have been my dream headphone other than a modified HD600 I heard at the same meet.
Nice review resolve :) I own the he6se v1 myself. I think on the used market the he6 is an incredible deal for the performance you get from them. I use the dekoni hybrid elite pads on them and prefer them over the pads they come with. Also I think that while the hifiman manual recommends at least 2 watts at the specified impedance, they do mention you could try a speaker amp. Personally I can power them with a thx 789 at 6 watts and be just fine, but to me it is an ordinary headphone presentation. I prefer the emotiva bassx a100, and I use an ampsandsound black box to use the speaker out. Hearing the he6 from a speaker amp does not lead to a more detailed experience, but the benefit to my ears is a much grander presentation. Everything sounds bigger and slams harder. It has this added tactility that reminds me of speakers. Its not a massive difference when compared to a headphone amp but enough that when I hear the 789 it has my attention and sounds just fine, but on a speaker amp I have a big grin on my face because I enjoy what these small but noticeable differences result in. So anyone watching this video I'll say while you don't need a speaker amp, you may want to consider one depending how you prefer to hear it. Now the akg k1000 that I also have needs way more power. At a minimum you'll need at least 8 to 10 watts or more. A thx 789 cannot power them properly and it results in a sound that is a closed in mess, but thats a conversation for another video I guess.
After seeing this I came to think that bass slamm could maybe be associated with smaller drivers. I am not sure if the original has smaller drivers than the newer ones, but I think it’s striking that headphones which are famed for bass slamm tend to have smaller drivers. Focal are famed for this and use 40 millimeter driver units. Abyss uses driver in the 60 millimeters range (small by planar standard). If there’s anything to this it seems counterintuitive to me because with loudspeakers it seems to be the opposite. Just a thought. Greetings from Denmark
I wish I could get the OG HE-6 more easily. I recently bought the HE-6se v2 and it's great. I think it's the best overall headphone I have heard, but the left driver died after 4 months. So while waiting on Hifiman to replace it I tried the LCD-X 2021 and I hated it. It just feels very lifeless compared to it. Maybe I got a dud unit because your review of the LCD-X is one reason why I bought them but I think I will have to return them. I wish there was more reasonable alternative to the HE-6 at around 2k or under.
I've had the OG HE6 for 7 years now and bought the HE6V2 on sale on adorama. Let me tell you it's not even close. The OG HE6 bettered the V2 in every way and did so with higher efficiency. I don't know why but somehow the V2 requires even more power than the OG HE6. On the same amp I have to dial the volume knob further, and compared to the OG HE6, the V2 sounds dull, colorless and lackluster. Not a small difference. I sold the V2.
I'm still sad about missing the previous Adorama sale on the V2... that was one hell of a deal; hopefully another one will come by (when I actually have the funds for it!)
For fun, one day you should check out the original He-400. It has some of the best bass slam there is. It's all it has, but my goodness for the $150 they go for, nothing comes close.
Havent heard og he6 (it's one of my bucketlist to try), but it's true that for he6-se v1 you dont need a speaker amp I used to think that you need speaker amp, but when i tried it for real, i found out that current modern headphone amp can drive it properly.
HE6SE V2 has gone on sale many times for about $600 and can be gotten $500 open box. That's how I got mine. The HE6 OG has the crappy original headband. HE6se V1 has the Sundara band. HE6se V2 has the Deva band. A lot of people hate on the Deva band but personally I like it very much. The Sundara band is way too stiff for the style of cups and the OG headband loves to break just like the original comfort band. The Edition XS also uses the Deva band. Though I prefer the upgraded comfort band on the Arya, I actually prefer the tuning of the Edition XS more. A little bit dark and smooth and relaxed with thumpy bass. The Edition XS would be great with the upgraded comfort band but the Deva band is fine.
Lucky me. I bought a new pair of the original HE-6 maybe 10 or 12 years ago. $1299 as I recall. I was emailing directly with Dr. Bang or Fang or what his name was. Nice guy. He sent me -for free- an amp boost module when I complained I wasn't getting ample volume. Nowadays I just use a Denon PMA 110 Anniversary amp. after yanking out the stereo cables. The sound carries me away (with a good recording). Punch and slam - ridiculous!
You are lucky, i have them both :) Ananda have tall (as all egg-shaped hifimans) and bigger soundstage, better tone balance, much easier to drive and it is lighter (about 400g and bigger cups so weight is better distributed over your head). OG He-6 is more resolving, soundstage is not as big but more natural, overall level of sound is next step from Ananda. (in any other direction than big soundstage and may be tone balance) With he-6 you will finally understand why you bought this powerfull headamp! :)
Great review, leaving out the issue of comfort between the original HE6 and the Meze I would be curious to know how you would compare them in terms of dynamics and detail, I own an original 6-screw HE6, with the fazor mob, grilled mob and the angle pads from dekoni. I can tell you that the headphone improves a lot, I even find a more correct representation in the mid-highs than the susvara which will probably have more detail, but I find it definitely too pushed on the highs, which I also found in the HE1000 V2 (even more)...
Sept 18 2022. Thanks for the info. If I had to do over, as I went to Adorama before watching, and bought He6se v2 $599. I might have gone elsewhere for something totally different as the challenge to drive this thing with under $1k combo DAC/ Headphone amp to connect to my system. A few choices only at this level. Space, electric outlets are also limited.
Was also considering these from Adorama... Not worth it?? $450 now. I figured a heck of a deal. But if they really are that far apart from the original and don't have any kind of bass slam or physicality or dynamic to them...meh. I don't need another Hifiman that's anemic and lacking bass. I'm getting convinced Hifiman doesn't know what bass is.
@@stevenj2380 D10b and a magnius would give you plenty of power for it all, all for under 400 or 300 if you're patient. Maybe go a speaker amp route instead? that'd be 200+DAC
@@lain2236ad one more question .I like Monolith Liquid gold headphone Cavalli amp and DAC has the features but maybe barely enough power? Similar but lower power from Fiio K9 pro. I would like combo if possible. Otherwise I'd go with a Schitt stack
I run HE6seV2 on $1000 Soloist 3X headphone amp and $200 Emotiva A100 speaker amp. Both can drive them well with plenty of headroom left. But I like it better on the A100. So what gives? More bass (but not necessarily snappier) and more relaxed treble on the A100. Staging seems to be better also, but imaging less precise than 3X. Details about the same, may be more on 3X but it's also brighter in the highs so hard to tell. Yes you don't NEED speaker amp to drive them well, but you might want to try and see.
Hi May I ask how much you enjoy your V2 version in general..? you can get them for $549 right now and I really consider these at this price. (I have the Fostex-00 from drop and would expect these to be better)
I have the He6se V2 and can drive them with a Chord Mojo (which maxes out at 720mW @ 8Ohm). Also I want to mention that they aren't as Open back as other Planar Open Backs that i've tried (Ananda, Verum 1) - The whole diaphragm/ magnet array seems to block some of the sound attempting to leave out the back of the headphone.
Thanks for this comparison - so I got that the OG is the best, but does the SEv2 that you can actually buy between 600 and 1000$ make sense from value perspective in 2022/23? - when the likes of XS, Venus, Wraith etc. exist?…and how does it fare compared to the Ananda and Arya?…
Original HE6 was a former flagship, the funder of Hifiman Dr Fang Bian was trying to mimicking the sound signature of 1st Gen Orpheus HE-90 in his mind when desiging this headphone, that's why it sound really good when powered properly*
Aren't you confusing the HE-6 for the HE Audio Jade? The HE Audio Jade predated Hifiman I think. It was Binwu He and Fang Bian's attempt to make an estat that takes on the HE-90. Some say they succeeded. Binwu He was the project lead for the early Hifimans like the HE-6 and HE-500.
Can you elaborate on difference between Susvara vs Sundara pads??? More ear gain means exactly what? I bought V2 and I’m contemplating if new pads are worthy upgrade or not…. Thanks. Great comparison. Btw I own LCDX 2020 and without EQ, I think that I enjoy more natural and dynamic presentation of V2. Comfort is better as well.
I do hear from others that they prefer the sound coming from the speaker amp compared to the headphone amp (even if the headphone amp can already drive them)... It may be worth it to try to test them with the former
@@daretobe957 Go back 10 years and find people debating the he-6 vs lcd3 it seems more people preferred the lcd-3 but back then using a speaker amps to drive the he-6 was uncommon. Lcd-3 moderate to drive(low gain), Lcd-4 hard to drive (mid gain), He-6 very hard to drive (high gain) on a powerful amp.
@@woopygoman Lol Agreed, I have the LCD X and after spending 6 months with it I decided to fork out for an Arya. I haven't touched the LCD X for over a year now.
ive owned lcd 3 x and he-6 (4 and 6 screw). he-6 when proper drive beats easily despite the audeze having some merits of its own (clarity in mids, deep bass)
@@TheHEADPHONEShow yeah he began Susvara'S reviews by talking that it's an old headphone, as old as the HD800... and there I thought he is mistaking it with the HE6 THERE.
In this case I am merely stating a simple fact of power requirements. You really only need around 2-3w, and maybe have it be a high current amp. Now, I've tried the he500 and the he6 off speaker amps in the past (in 2012), and if I were to speculate, I imagine what you get from a speaker amp would be the high current aspect. But these days you can get that in headphone amps anyway. So really, you very obviously don't NEED a speaker amp, but you may want one.
@@scottl8089 I have the arya and I know it has really thin diaphragm, is it really that much more detailed than the HE6 original diaphragms? Do they do the nanometer stuff for mainly marketing? I just wonder why everyone likes the thicker diaphragm HE6 so much better
I've been considering the HE6SE v2, LCD 2 and LCD X and I'd love to hear your thoughts and comparison between them! Interested in the slam, separation detail qualities, and how big of a difference it is between those headphones. Thank you!
I haven't heard the HE6SE v2, but I can say that the OG HE-6 (off speaker taps) is noticeably better than my LCD-2 and LCD-3 in slam and dynamics. Then, again my HE-6 chain is probably more optimized than the LCD-2/LCD-3 chain (the Audeze cans amped by a THX AAA 789).
@@mikehunt873 oh... Interesting, may I know what music do you use to test slam and dynamics? And what to you is slam and dynamics? I'm relatively new to this and dont really know what to look out for as I don't really know what punch, slam and dynamics are. Thank you.
at 11:16 did you mean the measured freq response is with sundara pads? how does the HE6SE v2 sound with default pads then? do you have a frequency response graph with default pads?
No you don't. Currently listening to my HE6seV2 on an ifi Micro signature, and it powers them just fine on it's 'normal' power output. Probably around 850mW @ 50 ohm's. sounds great, even with a -5db pre-amp gain for an EQ.
@@josephhahn3453 Yeah I ordered a Heresy and was even then worried based on what I'd been reading... Still waiting on the Heresy and tried them on my O2... I'm getting to ear bleeding levels at 3pm on the O2. I'm left wondering if the v2 is easier to drive then v1 SE????
@@josephhahn3453 Im running my HE6's with my niece's "Leap Frog Learning Tablet". There's even a child hearing safety system in place, but I can play max volume and ACTUALLY hear noises sometimes. Mainly T's, and S's, not much else. But those Ts and Ss sound great, not a hint of sibilance.
There is something about the proportions of that headphone that I find very appealing. With that grill mod it looks like a superconductor wafer inside.
Any amp can power a headphone. That doesn't mean it's going to sound the best. For HE6SE to sound best they need high power for a headphone? These headphones made amp manufacturing companies create new designs to have enough power to drive the HE6SE properly? Before headphone amp makers did that, a speaker amp was the solution?
Punch and slam is about the speed and strength of the membrane,and so magnets. And yes,the old "He" flagship was good for that. Do you think there is a lot of diffrences between the He-6 old and the He-500 you owned?
There’s some speculation that the HE-500 is a modified HE-6 driver, they made it more sensitive and changed the gold traces to aluminum or some other metal. I have the HE-500, and the slam and impact is already great enough.
@@divinecurrent9053 Yep,i know all of that,i am an owner of the He-500 too and i agree with you. :) But i have never been able to compare them face to face.
@@vainxler Nice, they’re awesome headphones, especially with pad and headband swapping! I also haven’t had the chance to compare the two, too bad the HE-6 is very hard to find.
@@divinecurrent9053 I have swapped the pads too,no complain about the headband,some are worst then that (LCD-2,grado..). Hard to find,hard to drive,but like the DT880 low and high impedance,the He-6 properly drived are probably better then the He-500. I have heard one briefly,and it's "seemed" like they have a treble more extended and a bit more defined everywhere.
yes he-5le is 70-80% there. he-5le is slightly dryer in the bass and mids with a zingy treble peak and less detail than the he-6, however it is also less hot sounding in the highs overall than the he-6 and is many times easier to drive while still being close to he-6. having owned he-5le, he-6, and he500. i still own the he-6 but did enjoy my time with the other 2. keep your he-5le it is rare and very hard to find now. oh and the he-5le is great for jazz!
An original HE-5 would be much closer to the HE-6 vs the HE500. I had both for several years and it was also an amazing headphone. Not quite as technically good as the 6, but the HE-5's tuning was slightly different and it was easier to drive. The 500 is still a legend though. I owned 3 different pairs over the years and it will always be a favorite of mine.
I just bought the edition xs. I love everything about them. So can anyone verify that the he6se v 2 would be better? Because if not, there's no reason to buy them.
Yes sidegrades but different flavor. I actually like the midrange of XS more than that of arya se. It has a slight warm tilt which makes the vocals somewhat organic. Arya SE is better overall though but its not a night and day difference. If you want another headphone to complement XS, get the 6XX/650
Hi Resolve, would really appreciate if you can do a comparison versus the Arya/HEKv2 considering the HE6SEv2 is supposedly around $1800 but goes on sale for less than $600. Wondering about their techs versus one another.
I highly recommend to run this Headphones with a +500€ Amplifier..., otherwise U get only 50% of their Potential, i can confirm that for 100% I am using actually an Audio-GD Master 19 and this Amp is a Gun*
I personally wouldn't for the either of the HE6se V1 or V2. They have better slam but not much for soundstage. Now the original HE6... that's a different story.
Can you elaborate on difference between Susvara vs Sundara pads??? More ear gain means exactly what? I bought V2 and I’m contemplating if new pads are worthy upgrade or not…. Thanks. Great comparison. Btw I own LCDX 2020 and without EQ, I think that I enjoy more natural and dynamic presentation of V2. Comfort is better as well.
It's actually pretty insane how the company just decided to randomly drop the comfortable headband on V1 and replace it with another version which is just worse in every possible department on a V2.
