[bagwell359]

Hmm you say 'as does the HS-6SE' - does that mean the HE6SE comes quite close to matching the HE6 in regard to bass slam?

Not in my experience. Others agree, and others don't. I've got 2000 hrs on my SE "v1" and never once did my eyes slam shut on any bass note, on my 60-70 hrs on the 6 screw it did it about 2 times an hour.

Because the HE6 isn't easily obtainable these days (if at all) - so if a reasonable substitute exists in the HE6SE I would go for that - but only if it got within striking distance of matching the bass slam quality...?

I'm sorry, but I cannot guarantee how you will react.

 

[chrismoyer]

Not in my experience. Others agree, and others don't. I've got 2000 hrs on my SE "v1" and never once did my eyes slam shut on any bass note, on my 60-70 hrs on the 6 screw it did it about 2 times an hour.

I'm sorry, but I cannot guarantee how you will react.

I must be doing something wrong with my LP 4-screw OG HE6 with Rag 2. I’ve never really had my eyes slam shut. Got any example tracks I should be looking at?

 

[cactus_farmer]

Isn't the 4 screw meant to have less bass impact than the 6 screw?

Is the difference for bass impact between 4 and 6 screw more or less than the difference between 4 screw and HE6SE?

 

[bagwell359]

I must be doing something wrong with my LP 4-screw OG HE6 with Rag 2. I’ve never really had my eyes slam shut. Got any example tracks I should be looking at?

It's not just a function of the headphones. Have never heard any 4 screw, but some say its better, most say its lesser than the 6 screw. I changed the cable and pads on the 6 screw I borrowed - DCA Ether Angled and Black Dragon v1. Amps are similar, yours is actually got better bass. DAC, vinyl, reel? Pads on the 6's? Fenestrated or fabric tend to soften bass impact. Also, our hearing is likely different.

Cuts: Bass Resonance test Chesky; first :20 seconds or so of "the Sheriff" ELP, Royal March Stravinsky
Pieces: Prokofiev Sympfony 2, Lt. Kije, Cantata for 20th Anniversary October Revolution; Stanley Clarke first solo LP; Chester Thompson/Phil Collins (Genesis)

 

[bagwell359]

Isn't the 4 screw meant to have less bass impact than the 6 screw?

Is the difference for bass impact between 4 and 6 screw more or less than the difference between 4 screw and HE6SE?

The only review I know that looks at various versions of the 4 and 6 screw claim the 4 screw is less punchy than the 6 (I inverted that in an earlier post). This is a fine write up IMO. The piece also goes into the lore a bit. The claims Ive read is the 4 is much better in most ways than the 6, but, its also scarce. If you look at some of the FR tests from the time the 4 screw appears to have more treble - which some hear as detail but at the levels seen- its more like holy crap! Get the fuzzor mod in there, get an EQ on that given my tastes.

https://systematicsound.wordpress.c...e-6-early-4-screw-vs-late-4-screw-vs-6-screw/

 

[chrismoyer]

The only review I know that looks at various versions of the 4 and 6 screw claim the 4 screw is less punchy than the 6 (I inverted that in an earlier post). This is a fine write up IMO. The piece also goes into the lore a bit. The claims Ive read is the 4 is much better in most ways than the 6, but, its also scarce. If you look at some of the FR tests from the time the 4 screw appears to have more treble - which some hear as detail but at the levels seen- its more like holy crap! Get the fuzzor mod in there, get an EQ on that given my tastes.

https://systematicsound.wordpress.c...e-6-early-4-screw-vs-late-4-screw-vs-6-screw/

This is very interesting... I admit that I haven't spent much time taking apart my HE6 knowing how precious it is. (I've taken the grills of my SEV2 and looked at the drivers. The HE6 headband broke shortly after I bought it (used) and it was nerve wracking enough sourcing a replacement from hifiman and removing the stripped screws.

So I finally pulled the pads and grills off. There was no quarter round of foam like I see in the pictures on that web page, but there is a whole circle of foam behind the grill with some (wool?) damping behind the foam. I wonder how this damping/foam affects the sound, and what's the story behind the quarter round piece of foam in the article pics. Any HE6 historians able to understand what I have, and whether I should remove/change anything? I'm not sure how much, if any, changes the original owner(s) made, I was just happy to score an OG.

 

[bagwell359]

Isn't the 4 screw meant to have less bass impact than the 6 screw?

Is the difference for bass impact between 4 and 6 screw more or less than the difference between 4 screw and HE6SE?

Can't say, but I blew up the claim by HFM that the 6 SE was the same as the HE-6 6 screw 11/19: (with edits - some for readability, others because at the time I had very low VAC into my home, so the some comments on mids and highs were changed when I got the same 6 screw in my hands later when the VAC was back).

They are not the same, sibling - sure.
1. Cables are different, the 6SE are trash, the original 6 appears to be prone to oxidation, but was built on a better scale.
2. Pads as supplied different
3. bodies - different, so different resonances.
4. headbands different - more resonances
5. Shape of the ear facing magnets different
6. Also original has the 1/4 flap to cut resonances, and additional damping fluff, 6SE does NOT, nor any "fuzzor" type change to make up for it;
7. more glue used on 6SE
8. Tension on the membrane said to be different, and who is to say the membrane is the same thickness?

From a marketing POV it's much better for HFM to play up "it's the same" angle to connect this product with a legendary one. After all who wants "new Coke" over "original Coke".

On the listening side using the same equipment (Cambridge CXC -> Calrad SPC coax -> Gumby A1 -> XLR -> Rag 1

* Stock HE-6 (felt pads, stock cable, 1/4 flap removed) vs HE6SE (stock pads and cable), the differences are not subtle.

* SE6SE bass faster, HE-6 bass under 40 Hz growls better and holds up to 20 Hz better; sudden "eye shutting" transients frequent on the 6 screw, not present on the SE.

* HE6 has some ringing between 9kHz-11kHz, which draw out the decay of cymbals

* HE-6's sound more aggressive - esp the treble which seems to have too much in the way of odd order harmonics.

6 SE: I've tried Mr Speakers Ether Angled pads and the fuzzor mod on both - wider soundstage and better articulation in the highs for both.

 

[bagwell359]

This is very interesting... I admit that I haven't spent much time taking apart my HE6 knowing how precious it is. (I've taken the grills of my SEV2 and looked at the drivers. The HE6 headband broke shortly after I bought it (used) and it was nerve wracking enough sourcing a replacement from hifiman and removing the stripped screws.

So I finally pulled the pads and grills off. There was no quarter round of foam like I see in the pictures on that web page, but there is a whole circle of foam behind the grill with some (wool?) damping behind the foam. I wonder how this damping/foam affects the sound, and what's the story behind the quarter round piece of foam in the article pics.

The 1/4 round seems clearly put in place to cut down what someone heard as too much treble.

There is an interview somewhere when FB is questioned about the padding and takes it out and I believe liked it better. HE was the designer and one would think decided those measures were needed, I think most owners have removed all of that by now.

 

[Oregonian]

Hmm you say 'as does the HS-6SE' - does that mean the HE6SE comes quite close to matching the HE6 in regard to bass slam?

Because the HE6 isn't easily obtainable these days (if at all) - so if a reasonable substitute exists in the HE6SE I would go for that - but only if it got within striking distance of matching the bass slam quality...?

I'd say "close enough". Hard to remember what the bass slam of the OG HE-6 was after a few years of moving on from it due to not trusting HFM to support the drivers, but I do remember the OG HE-6 was unreal for bass slam/low end. The HE-6SE to my ears now is as good as I'd ever want. Hope that helps clarify.

 

[elwappo99]

Isn't the 4 screw meant to have less bass impact than the 6 screw?

Is the difference for bass impact between 4 and 6 screw more or less than the difference between 4 screw and HE6SE?

I'd say the HE-6se's major deficiency compared to the original is it's lack of bass slam and microdynamics. In comparison the HE-6se (both versions) seemed a bit hazy and grey. The He-500 was a step above both HE-6se versions.

I'd have to sit down and compare both side by side, but the 6 screw has more bass quantity, but it may not have the clarity of the 4 screw. I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I actually think the 6 screw would be more liked by the general audio community if everyone heard them side by side.

 

[bagwell359]

I'd say the HE-6se's major deficiency compared to the original is it's lack of bass slam and microdynamics. In comparison the HE-6se (both versions) seemed a bit hazy and grey. The He-500 was a step above both HE-6se versions.

My alternate take follows:

For sure on bass impact. Microdynamics? Brighter than neutral for sure. But I find the 6 screw mids soundstage to be smaller than the 6 SE (and 500 too), and sometimes etched.

My top two cans in terms of listening for 4 years+, is a 500 and SE v1, and I've got them modded and EQ'd as well as multiple iterations could get me. Can't agree on the 500. The bass is inferior to either 6 SE in everything but that growl it has, but it gets soft under 50 Hz, and is limp under 30 Hz, and its slower and chubbier in the mid/upper bass. The 6 SE is also more technical from top to bottom than the 500. The 500 scores nicely on that lovely mid centric warm but not sloppy thing. The 500 on cymbals shows a lot of too long decay - romantic and harmonic perhaps, but also wrong. This can be minimized by ditching the stock cable, adding the fuzzor mod, and some narrow EQ cuts.

 

[Articnoise]

My alternate take follows:

For sure on bass impact. Microdynamics? Brighter than neutral for sure. But I find the 6 screw mids soundstage to be smaller than the 6 SE (and 500 too), and sometimes etched.

My top two cans in terms of listening for 4 years+, is a 500 and SE v1, and I've got them modded and EQ'd as well as multiple iterations could get me. Can't agree on the 500. The bass is inferior to either 6 SE in everything but that growl it has, but it gets soft under 50 Hz, and is limp under 30 Hz, and its slower and chubbier in the mid/upper bass. The 6 SE is also more technical from top to bottom than the 500. The 500 scores nicely on that lovely mid centric warm but not sloppy thing. The 500 on cymbals shows a lot of too long decay - romantic and harmonic perhaps, but also wrong. This can be minimized by ditching the stock cable, adding the fuzzor mod, and some narrow EQ cuts.

Yes I agree HE 500 is a champion on tonality while HE6 is clearly better on everything else, and especially on realism, dynamics and bass impact.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I'd say the HE-6se's major deficiency compared to the original is it's lack of bass slam and microdynamics. In comparison the HE-6se (both versions) seemed a bit hazy and grey. The He-500 was a step above both HE-6se versions.

I'd have to sit down and compare both side by side, but the 6 screw has more bass quantity, but it may not have the clarity of the 4 screw. I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I actually think the 6 screw would be more liked by the general audio community if everyone heard them side by side.

How similar is the HE-5 to the HE-500? Hifiman has them for 199 USD at times.

 

[bagwell359]

How similar is the HE-5 to the HE-500? Hifiman has them for 199 USD at times.

There is the 5XX and 5SE, which are both in their different ways dismal marketing attempts to cash in on the reputation of the HE-500 or HE-5LE/HE-5.

Anthying they are labeling an HE-5 for that price is likely some ersatz piece of crap. Get a picture of it, and compare with these 4 models I mentioned,

 

[elwappo99]

How similar is the HE-5 to the HE-500? Hifiman has them for 199 USD at times.

The HE-5 on their website is referred to as the "HE-5 reissue", very confusing I know. I've heard them all, so here's my TLDR:

HE-5 (2009-ish) - Hifiman's first commercial release. Has wood rings and a brown headband. Very dynamic and punchy, but also bright. Responds very well to planar mods (jerg, open grills, having enough power.
HE-6 (2010-ish) - Early release (4 screw) carries a lot of similarities with the HE-5. The bass doesn't have the same zinginess that the HE-5 has and the bass and midrange clarity are improved. Treble is a bit less even, but also toned down. Subsequent releases (4 screw late production and 6 screw) progressively make the headphone warmer.
HE-500 (2011) - Really impressive. Maintains a lot of the dynamics of the HE-6 and HE-5 but the frequency response doesn't have as many oddities.
HE-5 Reissue (2017) - I jumped on this hoping to recapture the HE-5 wood headphones, but off of memory they sounded more like the HE-5LE, but more compressed and without the dynamics of the HE-5LE. Hollow sound with strange treble peaks.
HE-5XX (2020) - A Hifiman Deva rebraded with the HE-500 moniker for marketing.