Yeah this experience has forced me to downgrade my impression of Hifiman and their products a bit. Customer service will eventually rectify my issues, I’m sure, but thinking that buying a brand new product from them carries the uncertainty of it being broken from day one is disheartening, and makes me much less likely to buy again. Oh, and this isn’t my first time around, but my 5th Hifiman headphone now (2 x HE6se, Ananda, Arya, and a 4XX). I am still super intrigued by the Susvara, but I also have a hard time believing it’s that much better than my STAX, which are still a fraction of the price of the Sus.
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I did several of those audio tests and they all sound pretty good to me. No major imbalance. Bass sounds fine. I might just be a bit paranoid but the Quality “Bass shaker” test track pulses a little on the very low low end. Although I think that’s normal for anything below 30hz? I think I’ll be keeping mines and just be happy with it. Hope it works out for all of you. Thanks again for all the help!
Only thing I am considering is swapping out the headband to something like this for more comfort: https://www.adorama.com/hmhb560.html
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AFAIK that style headband won’t fit, owing to the snap on (rather than screw on) yokes.
What’s worse is that these quality control issues are long-standing and, apparently, chronic. It’s even worse that they’re dragging their feet with the RMA. Good luck, I hope you get it sorted.
The HE 6 has long been appealing, and at a price below $600, it’s a tempting purchase. As for the Susvara, the prospect of forking out thousands of dollars for a headphone with questionable durability and only a three-year warranty (see here) would be pretty worrisome, for me.
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There’s also the YouTube version of that Ultimate Headphones test:
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Well, my HE6Se V2 and I have moved on to the stage of our relationship where we’re experimenting with EQ. That’s not to take anything away from its already great qualities, but the stock tuning does leave a little room for improvement.
Tuning aside, this is a great pair of headphones. The ability to effortlessly reproduce low bass even without a perfect seal is its standout quality, but the relatively smooth treble doesn’t hurt either.
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FWIW Here are my EQ presets based on Resolve’s measurements and the Harman Target:
PK 24.00 Hz Gain -1.30 dB Q 2.000
LS 105.0 Hz Gain 5.50 dB
PK 1100 Hz Gain -2.60 dB Q 1.866
PK 2000 Hz Gain 6.60 dB Q 1.000
PK 3200 Hz Gain -3.50 dB Q 1.469
PK 6400 Hz Gain 1.80 dB Q 2.000
Adjust low shelf @ 105 Hz to taste
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Here’s what I came up with by ear.
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I have paired my HE6se with RME and they sound great after I did some research in the manual and found a way to increase loudness on the RME.
Just wanted to say thanks to those on this thread that shared pictures and discricption of the the faulty V2s from Adorama. I just bought one Open Box from Adorama ($550!), and pretty quickly noticed a channel imbalance on the left cup in the sub-bass region… sure enough, opened it up and the left side looked just like the photos above with the magnets touching the diaphragms. Right side looked great. So I would stay away from the Open Box units as I don’t think they are checking them before being sent back out. Loved the the headphones and just bought a pair of V1s off of Hifiman’s website instead.
PS… Thought I would make this my first post!
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That is a bummer, I actually was considering one of those open boxes deals, too bad, I hope you still can return them.
Yeah I was able to. They come with a 30-day return policy.
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My HifiMan HD6SE V2 is probably my favorite headphone at the moment. I stated that I would never buy one again since the purchase is a lottery if you are getting a dud or a winner.
However, I must state that the return process was painless and Adorama was VERY GOOD to deal with and EXTREMELY FAST at refunding my money. If one is okay dealing with returns and sending products back, it couldn’t be any easier than this. Kudos to Adorama for providing such great service. If only all companies were this good.
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Just in case you or someone you know was looking to get a pair of these while on sale… They have them on sale for $549 over at Adorama… its strange as you will need to search a couple times and the price will show up as the sale price… not sure why their website works that way… I got mine yesterday and mated it with the ifi Diablo and the match is perfect… the Diablo is $999 and the HE6se V2 is $549 so for both at $1549 is a good deal… these headphones sound fantastic… don’t think you can use these without a strong amp… they won’t sound right… the Diablo was made for this… I put the gain switch on the middle selection and you can put the volume at 2 oclock pos and it is plenty loud … great dynamics and slam… for the price these are amazing
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I posted this link earlier in this thread but this should take you directly into the $550 pricing. Helluva deal!
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Somewhat to my surprise, I’ve been enjoying the below EQ. It keeps the 4KHz peak at its original level but brings up everything around it, plus adds a sub-bass focused boost. This seems to improve vocal presence and clarity, and together with the bass boost allows me to enjoy the HE6SE at slightly lower volumes.
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I tried your EQ, but it seems that the bass is less punchy compared to the EQ suggested by ASR, though the bass is probably what it should be in your EQ.
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I LOVE these headphones, but they really are amp-picky. My results were:
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Violectric V220 just couldn’t run them.
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Liquid Platinum could get them plenty loud, but they didn’t grab me at all. With that amp I likely would have sold them after a few months.
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Third time was the winner. The iFi Pro iCAN with bass boost and 3D engaged is a little magical. I only need mid-gain and rarely go past 12:00. Of course I am a quiet listener.
I am now waiting for delivery of my honey comb grills. Stock pads are great to me. I did have to use two Nuggets on the headband. Very comfy now.
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Whose got the winning EQ setup for me?
I’ve boosted the 1.5khz area about 3.5db, and a 4db bass shelf.
Stilllll not quite right.