I know that “watts are watts” but the Rebel sounds more powerful in practical use than the THX AAA 789. My 789 currently collects dust in the box, and the box is stacked in a Jenga pile in my storage room.
Have I? I have driven my HiFiMan He6se V2 from my RebelAmp more than any of my other headphone amplifiers. Rated specifications will deter some from pairing them. However, real life listening reveals HiFiMan HE6se V2 driven by Rebel Audio RebelAmp is on par with my Questyle CMA Twelve and my HeadAmp GS-X Mini.
.
Concerning performance when pairing other models of headphones with the RebelAmp, the Twelve and the GS-X Mini can oftentimes outperform the RebelAmp.
Thanks. I’m still planning to pick up a RebelAmp at some point regardless. Too many people seem to really dig it for the money.
In the same spirit of full disclosure, I was listening to Riverside: Friend Or Foe through my HE6se V2 this past weekend on the Monoprice THX AAA as well as a couple of other amps rated with 2wpc or more @ 50ohms. Whereas before (and with other music) I could not hear a difference, this time the snare drum hits had more snap on the THX AAA. Being able to hear this quality of a recording is the primary reason why I choose to listen through the HE6se V2 when I do. So now the THX AAA is my preferred pairing. Admittedly I did not try my Emotiva BASX A100 again as it is currently powering some speakers.
I did try Beyer pads as @pwjazz suggested and wow, bass got wild. I have some measurments, but keep in mind that this is random $40 micro with no pinna and minimal skill in doing graphs. Velour pads is Hifiman’s cheap stuff. I can’t do avg’s for Velour since I butchered them in order to use Beyers. As you can see Velour and Beyer are sharing a lot of similarities, but Beyer has a bass boost (number is inconsistent, but I’m pretty sure it’s at least 4-5dB shelf). Both of them are better than stock, and Beyer is just better than Velour in every single way outside of accoustics.
You got my brain thinking and second guessing myself on my THX headphone amplifiers. So I hooked up the old trusty SMSL SP200 and my Drop AAA 789. I purposefully kept the Rebel Audio RebelAmp off for the start to hear if I liked either THX over the other.
SMSL SP200 paired with Hifiman HE6se V2
Intimate closed in sound stage, bass heavy warm enveloping fullness. Could I live with this, if I didn’t know what else was out there?
Drop AAA 789 paired with Hifiman HE6se V2
Treble focused, creating a sense of detail, but uncomfortable shouty-ness that I am not able to tolerate for long. Not bad, but not good enough for me.
If I were to pick out of these two THX amps for the HE6se V2, the SMSL SP200 does not sound that bad at all. Especially at its low price. I think I saw one of these for sale used for $140.
Then… I Powered on the RebelAmp.
Rebel Audio RebelAmp paired with Hifiman HE6se V2
Stage opened up, a plethora of micro reverberations filled the air creating a sense of Adele’s performance hall like atmosphere that was not there with either THX amplifier. Refined treble put a smirk on my face as I muttered in my best British accent, “Qual-uh-ee.” My inner being relaxed listening to my familiar old Ukrainian friend.
Took mine from DT 990 Edition that was lying around, they’re pretty fresh. So it’s DT 990 Silver Pads, just like yours. I don’t use filters from Beyers, so that might be a part of the reason why I have bass boost. I did try other filter and it killed bass boost.
I recently purchased these headphones. . I got this set of cans for $499 and find them extremely bright and hollow compared to my anandas and sundaras. I almost feel like something may be wrong with this unit, although both drivers sound identical, yet this headphone sounds terrible without EQ. I have to roll off the treble at about 8k, dip 5k, and place an ample 8db shelf at about 90hz to get this thing sounding correct, even then there is an occasional shout at around 9k that rears its ugly head from time to time.
In comparison, even worth the boost in Bass, these do not extend as low as the Sundara and are very hollow in the mids. Again, with EQ it becomes a decent headphone, But I feel I should not have to roll the entire treble frequency off and put 8 db of bass shelf to make a headphone sound correct.
I have tried both a k9 pro, and the EF 400. Both give me plenty of volume and I can get about 8 DB of bass boost before the EF400 struggles at loud volumes. Treble detail is exceptional, and imaging is great, but the out of box tuning is rotten on this pair.
Hey all, I’m new to this community but saw the HE6se thread and just had to jump in and heap praise on this giant killer of a headphone. Got a V2 from Adorama back when they were going for ~$600. Ended up having a driver issues, but luckily Hifiman has great customer service. Sent it in and swapped mine for a V1 for the price of the headband. Installed grill mod and some wire/felt behind the driver for damping, of sorts.
Anyway, on to the important stuff. The HE6se is arguably my favorite headphone and competes with much more expensive cans, in my opinion. Bass is great with high detail, endless extension, and impressive slam for a planar. Mids are sweet and linear with natural vocal presentation, never shouty or lacking. To my ear, the treble is the best I’ve ever heard on any headphone. I can be a bit sensitive to strident treble and a lot of great headphones unfortunately try to show off their resolution and detail with painfully peaky highs. Otherwise, dynamics and imaging are great but not spectacular. Soundstage is wide without being immense. Height is not great for whatever reason and depth is average, probably due to how linear the FR is. Overall, it’s highly listenable and dynamic yet unfatiguing. I love it!
It sounds as good or better than much more expensive headphones in a lot of respects. For example, I liked it way better than a Focal Utopia or Meze Empyrean, and thought it competed with them in a lot of technical respects. There are other headphones I love for… reasons, like TH900 and Verite Closed, but not because they’re necessarily better sounding. I have to add that these are all just my opinions and that I only run the HE6se with high powered amps. If the HE6se V2 wasn’t built like one of those cheap off-brand Christmas toys that one friggin uncle used to give you every year, I think it would actually sell for 1800-2500.
Well, this is kinda the point, they are great if you want tinker with them. Stock is pretty bad.
In comparison, even worth the boost in Bass, these do not extend as low as the Sundara and are very hollow in the mids.
Mids are recessed, so that’s expected, you can change pads (to Velour, for example) to fix this (for the most part). Bass, however, is strange. I saw other guy complaining about that, but in my experience (and experience of most of the owners) bass in HE6SEv2 is definitely better extended, so it’s either a bad unit or some weird resonances are going on. I’d suggest to measure both of them if you have a decent micro, or just return/RMA.
It appears that Adorama may be severing business ties with HiFiMan. Adorama currently only lists two HiFiMan headphones, and each is listed as “CLOSEOUT.”
Hey Bugworm, thanks for the reply… I found the solution, it is called the topping a30 pro lol, It is a great pairing. I am relatively new to this hobby, I have dabbled in a bunch of headphones but am just now learning about amps. This headphone is night and day better with 6 watts pushing it, the “out of the box” tuning is not as strident, I can dial the Bass in nicely, It hits with authority in the sub and mid-bass and is not as “pingy” in the upper mids. .
