I didn't say or imply that one is better than the other, what I'm saying is that it's best practice to keep it all either one way or the other. There's a lot of high quality gear out there. Some are SE, and others are balanced. If you reread my response, you'll see that I'm not trying to sell anyone into one or the other.
In the late 80's I owned a Yamaha C-80 preamp and m-80 amp, Sony CD player (wired remote was optional), Nakamichi tape deck and Boston Acoustics speakers, and it was all SE connections. I did not miss a thing, since they were all designed for that type of connection.
Sorry, I wasn't having a go at you, and I didn't mean to imply that you did say balanced was superior.
There are however a lot of people here who, by design or ignorance, propagate the view that SE equipment is an inferior option to balanced, which is misleading to the uninformed.
I didn't say or imply that one is better than the other, what I'm saying is that it's best practice to keep it all either one way or the other. There's a lot of high quality gear out there. Some are SE, and others are balanced. If you reread my response, you'll see that I'm not trying to sell anyone into one or the other.
In the late 80's I owned a Yamaha C-80 preamp and m-80 amp, Sony CD player (wired remote was optional), Nakamichi tape deck and Boston Acoustics speakers, and it was all SE connections. I did not miss a thing, since they were all designed for that type of connection.
Sorry, I wasn't having a go at you, and I didn't mean to imply that you did say balanced was superior.
There are however a lot of people here who, by design or ignorance, propagate the view that SE equipment is an inferior option to balanced, which is misleading to the uninformed.
Has anyone tried the HEK with the Woo Audio WES? http://www.wooaudio.com/products/wes.html http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue54/woo_audio.htm Seems in terms of its specs like it could be a good match for HEK but haven't personally heard it. Thanks, sg
I have heard the He1000 over a variety of amps. Other than the TOTL SE amps, The HE1000 sounds better with balanced mid or mid-low level amps. My initial complain about he1000 was the flatness in soundstage depth, it's like 2D if compared to the likes of HD800 and LCD-X. With balanced outputs, I heard better layering and depth, and snap in images. With HD800, I like SE tubeamps more. As the hd800 sound less hollow with SE. I still standby my experience that, mid level amps, I much prefer balanced for He1000.
Has anyone tried the HEK with the Woo Audio WES? http://www.wooaudio.com/products/wes.html http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue54/woo_audio.htm Seems in terms of its specs like it could be a good match for HEK but haven't personally heard it. Thanks, sg
You're right, the WES and GES are both electrostatic amplifiers and AFAIK can only be used to drive electrostatic headphones such as Stax headphones. Conversely, electrostatic headphones can only be driven by electrostatic amplifiers and regular amplifiers will not work. They use a 5 pin connector.
It's why I bought the Mjolnir ... as its balanced all the way thru.
But, I never expected it to exceed my McIntosh MHA-100 I already had which has balanced in but single ended all the way thru. ...and I was not disappointed!
With that said.... I almost exclusively drive the HE-1000 from the speaker taps of the MHA-100 now. Which 'simulates' driving it with a balanced feed. Sorta. Lol. I don't care it's really not balanced. I do care it grabs the HE1K by the balls and bends the planar to its every whim with extreme prejudice... What a pairing.
About 400 hours – best with loud (and bassy) music. And you need a better cable than the ones that came with it to unleash its full potential (your Silver Dragon is fine). – Moreover the HE1000 benefits a lot from equalizing, but I guess most people have some irresistible reservation against it.
About 400 hours – best with loud (and bassy) music. And you need a better cable than the ones that came with it to unleash its full potential (your Silver Dragon is fine). – Moreover the HE1000 benefits a lot from equalizing, but I guess most people have some irresistible reservation against it.
About 400 hours – best with loud (and bassy) music. And you need a better cable than the ones that came with it to unleash its full potential (your Silver Dragon is fine). – Moreover the HE1000 benefits a lot from equalizing, but I guess most people have some irresistible reservation against it.
I thought that I am half way done of suggested 150 hours in the document.
I don't want to run it over night unattended. so it is kind of long run for me.
I'm wondering for other HifiMan HEK owners out there what AMPs they have landed on to drive these cans. I've tried the burson Conductor (found it a little thin/lean and too bright) and the King Amp from Audeze and also thought it lacked punch/warmth bass, too. I've tried with multiple sources including Sony HAP-Z1ES, and Tidal
Having browsed this forum a bit it seems the following amps come up with some regularity as a good match, but I'm interested in knowing updates on what's been working best/consistently as I prioritize finding a good match:
• Chord Hugo TT
• Chord Dave (beyond my budget here but listing b/c it's come up a lot here)
• ALO Studio Six
• Schiit Yggdrasil/Mjolnir Combo
Are there any favorites for folks beyond this list? I'm looking for something up to $5k
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What a pairing.
