Oh my that really is fantastic. With the lights down low it must be some spectacle.
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And they heat the room up nicely too.
PrimaLuna EVO100 DAC, PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium HP Integrated amp, Dennis Had Inspire Bottle Rocket KT150 (running KT77s) SEP amp, and Dennis Had Inspire LP2 preamp.
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So who is Dennis and why did he have the Inspire amps?
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Dennis Had was the founder of Cary Audio. When he retired, he started handmaking amps and preamps under the “Inspire” name that he sells direct to prior customers or through his eBay account. Moon Audio also partnered with him to have him build a headphone amp and some monoblocks that they sell exclusively.
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The pinkish LEDs under the tubes are a little corny, but this is such a great little amp! It sounds excellent with my new Auteur on the high-Z output. I haven’t even had the urge to turn on my Quicksilver tonight. That’s quite the compliment in my book.
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Right now this is the only tube amp I’m interested in.
Finally loving my worst headphone. Took her long enough to put out!
Absolutely hated the sound from the Massdrop HD6XX on EVERY solid state amp. Rolled some tubes and now Massdrop HD6XX is becoming one of my favorite headphones. Little Dot MKIII and Darkvoice 336SE are fun and decent. The Ray Samuels Emmeline II The Raptor is heavenly (with the right tubes).
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Out of interest, what was the problem with the 6XX that the new tubes helped to fix?
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Pretty much everything. I really do not enjoy the sound of HD6XX on solid state. They sound as if someone placed a piece of cardboard between the driver and each of my ears. I know it is not the headphones, because most people praise the HD6XX like it is endgame.
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So, my problem when playing them on tubes was I finally got decent, but not amazing when I played them on the Darkvoice 336SE. However, the bass was lacking definition and mids were absent. I have since rolled a bunch of tubes and have settle on Raytheon for my driver tube and it is now very fun. On my best tube amp The Raptor, I had been very let down as the pairing was just as awful as my solid state amplifiers. However, recently I have been going on a tube buying spree and the Tung Sol 5687 were switched in replacing my old RCA 5687. Suddenly, the stage opened wide and clarity appeared. I am absolutely floored by this new heightened performance level! I also put in a Mullard ECC82 into the 12AU7 socket and the heavens have now opened their gates. St. Peter said it is not my time to go, so as I returned to Earth yelled back, “What else could I possibly achieve beyond this?”
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While your language is colorful, I really was hoping for a sort of dry and highly detailed explanation to @PaisleyUnderground 's question. What is “clarity appeared”? I can appreciate increased soundstage. But clarity? What, exactly do you think changed and could it be simulated by EQ? I have some 6XXs and they are OK. Like you, I’ve not heard them sound exciting on most solid state, but again I have limited quality in solid state (I could try them on the Sansui at work, with it’s class A pre-amp and vintage 1979 headphone out).
I run them using my Lyr3 with Treasure Globe tube. People talk about a “Sennheiser veil” at I do think there is little air and some treble attenuation compared to say my Hifiman HE-560. Somewhere there was a frequency chart that showed frequency and how to talk about them - what the ranges were. @TylersEclectic, do you recall where that was and can you point to it?
Please, try and do a nice, boring description for me. 
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Sorry pennstac. When I say that someone put cardboard between my ear and the driver of the HD6XX, I am not exaggerating too much. The HD6XX is the worst popular mass produced headphone that I have ever heard. That is of course on solid state WITH EQ. Most people worship this headphone. I am in the minority. I hear dull muffled sound. The perceived sound stage is stuck in the middle with momentary sound that barely goes left then right. To my ears, I am hearing sound that I would pay $10 or less for because any of my cheap Koss headphones walk all over the HD6XX.
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In steps tubes. $200 Darkvoice 336SE with Novosibirsk 6H8C $5 and Svetlana 6N5S $15 which creates a fun sound on my headphones but lacking defined bass and recessed mids. This has been my go to combination for most of my tube listening since Summer. However with the HD6XX it does sound fun with the same lacking defined bass and same recessed mids, however the HD58X Jubilee and the HD560S both sound WAY better so there is no point bringing out the HD6XX when it has a fraction of the fun factor of the HD58X and HD560.
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The Raptor with RCA 5687. It sucked with the HD6XX but sounded wonderful with all of my other headphones. I didn’t think to roll the tubes since I thought they were just wonderful with everything else. But, OMG, I was so wrong. The Tung Sol 5687 and Mullard ECC82 combination does exactly what my ears want. The cardboard disappears. The muffled sound is gone. I am hearing everything I can hear with my Beyerdynamic DT880 without the offending treble. The perceived soundstage is UNREAL. I am now in the middle of the room and Adele and her group are surrounding me within the performance. Not “good planar” envelopment, but excellent nonetheless. Sort of like what you might get on some really good closed headphones.
I have not made any direct comparisons with my other headphones yet. However, I am certain that I prefer this setup over the other Sennheiser headphones that I own; HD58X HD560S HD280(2013) HD280-OG since I played them next to the HD6XX because I could not believe what my ears were hearing. The HD58X HD560S are fun sounding on the Darkvoice, and I prefer to pair them with it over trying to get high performance from The Raptor, as they cannot.
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There is probably more that I still may not have made clear. Please let me know if I can address anything else in particular that I may have left out.
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I threw on some $400 Focal Elegia on some tubes vs $180 HD6XX on The Raptor tube setup. Short to the point the Elegia are better as they should be at their price point. More detailed, warmer, more enveloping. However, the HD6XX at 45% of the price performed perhaps 80% of the Elegia’s performance. However, when the cost of the amp and tubes come into play it negates the value. So, I have moved HD6XX from my worst headphone to my favorite Sennheiser. I don’t own any Sennheiser 800 series.
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I hope that clarifies some of the performance that the tube combo is achieving with the HD6XX.
I largely agree with @hottyson’s assessment of the HD 6XX, but have a different explanation for what’s going on.
Solid state amps: The 6XX has elevated, insistent, forced mid-bass and thin, weak treble. I think some people love being pushed along by the bass, but it’s not neutral nor technically as good as the HD 600. Some 6XX fans may not distinguish between mid bass and deep bass, nor between nuanced and tight versus vague and boomy bass. The 6XX is an inexpensive entry point into serious audio, so some fans likely have little experience at this or higher quality tiers.
Tube amps: Most tube amps add harmonics or resonances to a greater or lesser degree. The 6XX improves – to my ears – because the harmonics cancel out some of the excessive bass and simultaneously generate perceived spaciousness (which actually is NOT detail because this is not present in the source). Faint tube-induced fluctuations (aka distortion) reproduce the echoing characteristics of a cave or auditorium. This is also added to many if not most vocals and electric guitar recordings through tubes or other forms of processing.
I recently purchased an HD 800 S – it is better. It’s technically superior to the Clear, per better extension, a broader soundstage, and sounding generally more at-ease. As typical for a Sennheiser it’s very amp dependent, and I’ve found that I like it on my HD 600 setups. As with the 600, it thickens on tubes and the treble cleans up on a balanced amp.
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What a superb explanation! I lack the verbal skills and knowledge to post well. @generic This is not the first time that you have been able to put to words a better explanation of what I am hearing, along with a deeper technical clarification. Many of my headphone heroes of two decades ago from this hobby (mostly amp designers) are no longer around or have left the forums. From this forum, you and Resolve have been able to restore some of that which has gone. Thank you for eloquently sharing your knowledge and experience here on this amazing forum. I owe a debt of gratitude to a handful of like minded/eared folks here in this forum that add depth, meaning, and joy to our hobby. Happy holidays to everyone, and may your new year be a great one. To quote Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, “God bless us every one! Except Topping!” - Tiny Tim
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