I see Oratory produced that preset almost a year ago, and it isn’t included on his list of presets. What prevents him from publishing a preset from its preliminary status?
My customized pair. Printed the grilles from copper colored PLA, and the headband is an old ZMF one I got secondhand. DCA Ether angled sheepskin pads with a small cut of a straw to prevent crinkle.
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One sure sign that a pair of headphones is loved is when it is modded.
Looks great!
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In this case it is because the preset isn’t based on Oratory’s own measurements. I guess “preliminary” is the wrong term, although that is how Oratory named the .pdf. I don’t think the HE6se V2 will be added to the official list of presets until someone sends him one to measure. I was looking into it but Oratory stopped responding to my DMs and I’ve gotten really busy myself.
I tweaked/moderated Oratory’s preset, and it is now my favorite. The midrange tonality is just right to my ears, and the uppermids through treble sounds clean, present, and pleasantly smooth, which is something my 6-band custom preset didn’t get right. That ~4 kHz pull down at work I’m sure.
Here it is for folks:
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Literally the day before I was ready to order these, they go back on backorder at Adorama. Hopefully they’ll get new stock of them before too long.
Question…I’m pretty sure I’ll just wait for them to get back in stock on Adorama, but I did notice Hifiman still has some HE6SE (not V2) in stock for $699: HE6se. Does anyone remember the main differences between HE6SE and HE6SEv2 other than the headband?
Not sure, but @Resolve did mention in his HE-6 shootout video that the HE6se V2 sounds like a different driver than HE6se V1.
I do think the V2 is more susceptible to stuck drivers than the SE.
Not sure it’s strictly the driver (although it could be), but something was clearly very different between the two.
So far and this is about the third time I am just repeating it so hopefully it can save someone time to respond.
My personal opinion mixed with facts.
My HE6se V2 is being fed by flux labs FA-10. At 50 ohms it’s 10.5 watts. So far out of any amp I have used, which isn’t everything available clearly, this is the best for these headphones to shine.
Part 2, the Susvara which is another beast in the headphone community and is another example.
I’ve heard that headphone 4 times now, and the first three times it sounded so bad and even others who had a chance to listen would agree.
I was kind of shocked because it’s a flagship headphone and it’s expensive, the first three times I can say the HE6se is better under proper power requirements.
The fourth time I listened to it on a 20 watt per channel amp I was like good god. This was the HiFiman booth at Axpona 22.
Even the guy said you basically can’t drive these headphones with anything else. Probably hypothetically speaking since maybe 2 or 3 or possibly none deliver that performance.
Also my experience with the HE6se is the less current you provide the further away the sound becomes. If you basically want the front row experience that these headphones provide, which is what all other headphones give you. You must give them crazy juice.
I got the monolith liquid Platinum HA, I use that on occasion to drive the HE6se. At 5 watts per channel and I assume decent current it sounds alright.
As stated by people who are far more experienced than myself. You’re never actually getting 10 watts into your ear with a driver so close otherwise you’d go deaf.
But even on low gain my flux labs amp is operating with no head room. At high gain I am at 1:30. Medium 4. This is amp which should be pushing 10 watts per channel so you would assume at full volume it’s providing that.
Possible that the current requirements are actually depleting the available watts. So overall most these magnetic headphones need juice.
The more you give the better your experience will be.
These are the unfortunate circumstances these headphones face and you will sell yourself short and find them mediocre if you don’t provide proper power.
I am certain you can get away with a lot less using the Ananda or Arya, but must also consider performance comparison.
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The v1 has a worse trough at 1900ish. There is more ringing in the v1. Fuzzor mod on the v1 seems to tame a lot of issues and make it seem more like a brother in the same vein as the v2. The v2 is better. Except the bass impact of the OG, I think both the v1 and v2 are better than the HE-6 - specially in the treble, but also the mids too.
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Arctic Cables are selling HIFIMAN grilles too:
https://www.arcticcables.com/ac-store/AC-Hifiman-Grill-Mod-p461014835
They look more sturdy and durable than the ones found on eBay, decent pricing too, USD$19.90 for one and USD$49.90 for a set of 3:
Also, updated URLs to those on eBay:
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They look pretty great. I wish they offered some sort of acoustic cloth however. I don’t really want to peel off the ones behind the stock grills because I don’t want to ruin my stock grills.
Doesn’t ruin it at all and easy to restore back with a bit of adhesive spray.
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Ordered from ArticCables! Thanks for sharing
would eventually like to do something like this to the V2.
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Official, but as yet unreleased, oratory1990 HE6se V2 preset:
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Just ordered one of those Arctic Cables grilles. Nice.
Sadly, Adorama went out of stock and “backordered” a few weeks ago RIGHT as I was about to purchase. Luckily late last week, I saw they were back in stock and placed my order.
Juts got them in and while I don’t THINK these are a revision, they did come in different packaging. The packaging now matches the brown box that the Arya and maybe Ananda comes in.
Also, are you ready for THIS!?!
They come with this AMAZING styrofoam stand!! 
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After just 24 hours with them and not much burn-in, let me go ahead and say that I’m LOVING these. I have an Arya paired with a Bifrost 2 / Jotunheim 2 and while the Arya is a wonderful headphone, it’s airy-ness/spaciousness can sometimes be more of a distraction from actual enjoyment of the music. I listen to primarily rock/alternative with some good electronic music and jazz mixed in. The HE6SE shines in every respect with the first two. The music is in your face, but completely clear. Soundstage definitely shrunk a good bit from the Arya, but I was both expecting and wanting that. I haven’t heard the LCD-X in a few months, but from my spotty memory, these seem to be more to my taste and don’t require EQ out of the box. The fact a $550 headphone trades punches with the LCD-X and Arya is a great endorsement.
Also, I find the Jotunheim drives them PLENTY well enough. There’s as much bass as I want, lots of slam, and complete clarity. I haven’t touched EQ yet, so maybe if I have to drop gain by -5 or -6db it will be struggling some, but I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything with the Jotunheim.
Headband is a big thumbs down. I have an old 400i and am thinking about using that headband, but not sure I can get the plastic out of the HE6SE holes without taking the driver apart. Not ready to do that just yet 
Anyone on the fence for these should go for it at the $550 price assuming you are willing to take a risk on the stuck driver issue some have reported.
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