Yeah, I'm hoping to be able to stick with my BTR5 using its balanced output for the extra power and with that in mind and not wanting to have to swap cables too often, it seemed notable that the DX5 doesn't have it.

HD 600 is fine, and if you have more budget you can pick HD 660S too, but yeah both of your choices are safe headphone.

Quick preface...I have the XM3, so I'm hoping the control is the same.

On the headphone, there is a button on the left side labeled NC/Ambient, you can use it to toggle noise canceling (NC) on and off. You can also accomplish this in the Sony App under the "Sound" tab under heading "Ambient Sound Control", where there's a slider to go from Noise Cancelling to Ambient Sound 1.

Good headphones.

Kevin's other OSTs are amazing as well, like the Rising of the Shield Hero's OST, definitely recommend.

mushoku tensei has great music but horribly mastered :( overblown low end that sadly blankets everything and ruins the masterpieces they could've been.

The Audioquest Dragonflies are a bit outdated and overpriced considering what you can buy nowadays, and not much of an upgrade over some onboard solutions (guessing he has a decent mobo since you mentioned he plays competitively).

Put it on hold until you can afford something a bit nicer if he ends up not satisfied with onboard, but also no need to exaggerate with how good entry level dac/amps are nowadays.

Hey, the app is not helping so much.

>If not, just turn off ANC completely unless you really need it.

Do you know how to do it? Because I tried a lot of time and haven't find a way.

Thanks!

Like you've said, while the HD800s etc' really do everything better, they did make me appreciate how stupidly good the HD6xx line is especially with EQ, they're definitely not $1300 apart (bought my HD800 used, just needed earpads replacement).

You're awesome and wish you both a long, happy and healthy life together.

I can't comment on how much DACs influence the HE6se V2 as I only have my one, the Schiit Modius. I think it mostly depends on the amp in your chain. Some amps might not have enough headroom to EQ to headphone if they're only getting a 2V signal from a non-balanced DAC. Similarly, some hybrid amps are Class A through most of their volume range and switch to Class A/B at the top end, and a 4V signal might provide the headroom to keep the amp in its pure Class A range, whereas a non-balanced 2V signal might require pushing the amp into a volume range that means it switching to Class A/B and thus degrading the quality.

So, it's hard to say how important the DAC is without knowing what amp it's being connected to. But the Schiit Modius like I have is a good 4V balanced DAC that can be had for just $200, so again you don't really need to break the bank. You just need to know what to buy.

I don't have any experience with specifically 2-3W amps, my amp collection jumps from 1W to 4W. So maybe there's a 2-3W amp that would make the HE6 shine, but the general consensus from the Head-Fi HE6 community is that you need to start around 4W.

A thing I dislike is that this all can sound very gatekeeper-y and I hate gatekeeping in any hobby, so I am again eager to point out that, while this headphone does seem to benefit from every watt you can give it, you don't have to spend a lot of money to get all those watts. Good +100WPC speaker amps can be found used for around or under $100 very easily and they are a very popular and inexpensive way to get heaps of enjoyment out of this headphone. There's also the Emotiva BasX A2m that's normally $350, currently on sale for $250.

You don't need to spend a lot of money to get the best out of this headphone, you just need to get exactly the right gear.

Op, I believe you enjoy the open soundstage of HE6se V2. Newer Hifimans have more open and larger soundstage. If you really like soundstage, you should try those out.

It is a balance between presence and soundstage. Some headphones like Sennheiser HD6x0 series have forward and present mids/vocals, but small soundstage. Other headphones like newer Hifimans have open and soundstage, but mids/vocals sound lean and recessed.

HE6se V2 is in between. It's vocals are reasonably forward, and soundstage is also average. Nothing wrong with that. Good balance for forwardness and soundstage.

And bass is just separate attribute that really stand out on HE6se V2. Punchy and impactful.

I really love using HD 660S, it's not perfect but it's already good for every music that I listen to. For gaming, I play DOTA2 and CS:GO, yeah I can say it has a really good soundstage but I think cheaper headphone can cover that up too.

Overall, I really recommend this for normies who just want to use it daily, or for audiophile who love to listen details.

I've been so curious about the meze 109, so if you go that route please report back!

Byerdynamic are notorious for extremely bright yet detailed headphone. Own a pair of DT990 Pro, can't listen to it for more than 15 minutes. Though some people really appreciate its clarity. I suggest try em out at a shop before making any purchase. Otherwise, hd600 always is the safer bet.

I also recently got a pair of these and am not even sure what I could possibly upgrade to from here without spending a few times more. The level of detail and separation is fantastic while having a soundstage that isn't so wide it sounds too separate, the sound signature is pretty much exactly what I like (very slight V shape), and they might be the most comfortable headphones I've ever owned. I do find the extreme upper mids/lower treble to be a little muffled due to the disc they have over the drivers, but it's not distracting. It's the first time I've ever not felt that itch you mentioned immediately after getting new headphones.

Great, I don't notice a difference from wired using LHDC.

Balanced or not balanced doesn't inherently matter, balanced is just often an easy way to give much higher power, particularly in small battery powered devices. If a particular device has both, the balanced is often better and usually significantly more powerful. But it's entirely possible to produce a single ended device that outperforms a balanced one. The DX5 would have plenty of power for the Edition XS single ended, it's really in the small portable stuff you benefit more from using the balanced out. Or some desktop amps where the balanced is more powerful, and you have a really hard to drive headphone like the HE6SE.

WDYM "inner"?

"... comparing 1kg of steel and 1kg of feathers" - That's OK, I live in a vacuum. lol. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43-CfukEgs)

TBH I'm not sure what's really driving me to want to try open-back, I'm certainly not dissatisfied with the Dusk in any way. I think it's that the reviews of the XS are just as glowing and impressed as the Dusk were - "This is the device to beat under $500" - so I want to try it, after all I like all kinds of music so why not all kinds of ways of listening to it.

Ideally I want an equivalent to the BTRx that works equally well on the desktop and mobile and with both devices, and definitely one with USB input (I only listen on my PC and phone) so the A50s wouldn't be suitable but any other suggestions would be welcome.

Mushoku Tensei music is good. The way they arrange the strings and wind instruments is very clean. It's like you can feel the air when listening to the album.

I'll take the opportunity to pitch in an album from another Japanese band. ZUTOMAYO's 1st album Hisohiso Banashi has been my go-to for around 2 months now. The way they arrange the instruments is absolute fire and the vocals compliment it very nicely.

Haven’t received a Christmas gift that wasn’t purchased by myself since I was 18. You learn to get use to it lol

It's crazy how much CSM is contributing to my playlist rn yea XD

I've heard of that anime, gonna check it out soon :) If you like instrumental stuff, I'd give the Irisu Syndrome playlist a listen. I recently been on a spree with cheap VNs from Steam and the most recent one I read was "Sound of Drop: Fall Into Poison" and man I love this track and this one. The second one plays at the start of the novel and that shit sucked me in hard lol (I was running a timer to see if I wanted to keep it xD). Love these composers.

I mostly just listen to japanese music and older rock/rap so I agree with you on that last part, don't really like newer artists except for a few (Doja Cat has some nice songs). Like you said, the variedness of japanese music is a big part of that draw, especially these newer songs. Like, I fucking love the dude's voice from one of Chainsaw Man's outros. So damn good. I don't forgive MAPPA for the AOT stuff but this is good lol

I just bought one for myself on my journey to a perfect every day headphone

I really wonder a lot of things about the HE6se V2. I've been reading that the DAC really makes a big difference, specifically balanced ones that can provide between 4-5 volts.

I also wonder quite a bit about the minimum wattage recommendation Hifiman makes at 2 watts into 50 ohms. How close is this to actually maxing out the potential of the HE6se V2? I always see people either compare at the very bottom of the totem pole or at the top and rarely inbetween.

Should 2-3 watts be enough or do we really need to be getting into 4-8 watts to unlock this headphones potential?

I recommend the drop 6xx as its cheap and incredible value