[Not available to Australia] Hifiman HE6se V2 Planar Headphones US$457.95 (~A$677) Delivered @ Adorama

puzzles2 on 05/12/2022 - 09:10
Last edited 06/12/2022 - 15:03 by 2 other users

Moved to Forum: Original Link

Reason: Merchant does not ship products to Australia, citing taxation issues. See comments

Original deal description as follows:

Seems to be a good price, just bought one. Beware that these need a strong amp to drive them. Would advise paying with PayPal as Hifimans QC is not known to be the best.

Currently retailing for $2299 at Addicted to Audio:
https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/products/hifiman-he-6se-plana…

Beware that Australia is not in the list of shipping countries. The shipping calculator doesn't have Australia as an option but once you've created an account and added to cart shopping is $58 US.

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Comments

  • revhedted on 05/12/2022 - 09:21
    +1

    Hi, good deal. am i missing something…i can't see australia in the shipping country list. it has nz even

    • puzzles2 on 05/12/2022 - 09:28
      +2

      Yea for some reason it doesn't have Australia in the shipping calculator. If you create an account it'll show up as postage to Australia for US$58

      • jasswolf on 05/12/2022 - 11:21

        Shipping is $27 USD via MyUS, though I'd imagine it impacts your return process.

  • ThymeTraveller on 05/12/2022 - 09:27

    Audio Science Review

  • Lovely Jubbly on 05/12/2022 - 09:38
    +1

    I purchased one last year, they are excellent headphones, just be cautions, they do need a lot of power. Not just to sound laud, but to get full sound of them (not to be bass light).

    • Bob Lou on 05/12/2022 - 10:20

      What Amp do you use?

      • Lovely Jubbly on 06/12/2022 - 19:37

        Few of them, Cayin iHA-6, Burson Soloist 3X (with sparkos opamps at imput) and as of recently Topping A90D and it sounds pretty good. I would not recommend original A90, it was not pushing HE6seV2 that well.

  • UnnecessarySpendings on 05/12/2022 - 10:29

    Can my PC motherboard, ASRock B550 Steel Legend, with “NE5532 Premium Headset Amplifier for Front Panel Audio Connector (Supports up to 600 Ohm headsets)” power this sufficiently?

    • bruc3 on 05/12/2022 - 11:06
      +1

      If you going to buy this headphone, I would say as minimum you want a dedicated external amp for it. Even a o2/odac may be good enough.

      I would think a motherboard soundcard won't do it justice.

      • UnnecessarySpendings on 05/12/2022 - 16:30
        +1

        I’ve been doing a little research and read that the $239 Topping L30ii will be sufficient for this. Amir from Audio Science Review called the Topping “engineering at its ultimate best”.

        Sounds like the total package, including amp, would cost just over $916. I’m going to do more research but this sounds like a fantastic deal!

    • jasswolf on 05/12/2022 - 11:27
      +3

      You need at least 3W at 50 Ohms to handle the current demands of this consistently, and the cheapest way to that would be a quality 2nd hand or DIY speaker amp that you carefully wire this into, but that's also a means through which you can easily fry a headphone if you give it too much power.

      Headphone amp wise, you might be looking at something like a Schiit Jotunheim 2, or maybe the Drop THX-789 via balanced output.

      • cactusjuice on 05/12/2022 - 15:31

        How would the IFI Zen CAN balanced output fare?

      • UnnecessarySpendings on 05/12/2022 - 16:31

        What about the $239 Topping L30ii? I haven’t had time to do my due diligence and research but I think that would be sufficient!

        • jasswolf on 05/12/2022 - 16:34

          No, the bass would sound anaemic, as that's when the current demand spikes.

          Would otherwise be a listenable volume, but it would sound much brighter than intended.

    • jake93s on 05/12/2022 - 18:38

      really recommend you buy a dedicated dac and amp. I've owned some really high end motherboards. z590 formula, Aorus master, z690 strix, etc. all have very lack luster audio. Probably not for a lack of trying by the manufacturers, but because its a really electronically noisy place being inside a PC.

  • NBSales on 05/12/2022 - 10:39

    I'm getting stuck on shipping as default to USA and won't accept local postcode. Ideas? What am I missing here pls?

    • NBSales on 05/12/2022 - 10:41

      Weirdly after refreshing a few times it switched to AU.

      • maverickjohn on 05/12/2022 - 11:32
        +1

        If you make an account and add address to your address book. It works against your address

        • NBSales on 05/12/2022 - 11:54

          Yeah, thanks. Was able to get through and purchase. Make sure payment is made via PP as paid in USD not AUD as PP was changing more.

  • ellave on 05/12/2022 - 11:31

    I really liked the Ananda but they seemed so cheap. As I understand it these are a step up from the Ananda in sound quality but still have that hifiman budget build quality but for less then the Ananda? I have a mojo 2 which i dont think would be enough to power these?

    Mojo 2 specs

    Distortion and noise 0.0003% at 2.5 V 300 ohms
    Power output 1 % distortion:
    90 mW 300 ohms (5.2 V RMS)
    600 mW 30 ohms (4.2 V RMS)
    0.06 ohms output impedance
    118 dB stereo separation 1 kHz 300 ohms 2.5 V

    • jasswolf on 05/12/2022 - 12:02

      Probably not, but you're not going to find a better headphone than this until you hit $1200 out of China, or $2000 in HIFIMAN's lineup, so there's room for a new amp.

      You'll know pretty quickly because there'll be no weight to the bass.

    • Lovely Jubbly on 06/12/2022 - 19:39

      Mojo 2 cannot drive these…I tried it. Otherwise Mojo 2 is great, you just need something less demanding.

  • drprox on 05/12/2022 - 12:38

    Is the build quality on these actually as poor as it looks?

  • henr on 05/12/2022 - 12:48

    Was considering these phones but found a few negative opinions on design and comfort. Check this review before pulling the trigger:
    https://www.soundphilereview.com/reviews/hifiman-he6se-v2-re…

  • Pesty on 05/12/2022 - 13:08

    Hmmm any difference to an Hifiman Arya (new stealth magnets) ? At this price almost willing to take a punt.

    • jasswolf on 05/12/2022 - 16:17
      +4

      Significant differences, but this is the superior headphone in most respects. The Arya is from HIFIMAN's egg-shaped line-up (Ananda, Edition X, HE-1000), which tend to have a wider and taller soundstage, and a more airy tuning. The Stealth Magnet will also add a 12kHz peak and some upper treble and bass to the mix. The HE6 line-up was HIFIMAN's last major R&D attempt with their older HE5/HE4 design.

      Here's some notable strengths and weaknesses up against each other:

      HE6SE strengths: bass with slam, macro contrast, soundstage depth (front to back)
      Arya strengths: soundstage width (height to a lesser extent, but these are well imaged now)
      HE6SE weaknesses: possibly more of a 1-2kHz dip, but pad change tends to be recommended
      Arya weaknesses: tonally bright

      Both have great detail and imaging, both have great timbre for a planar. If you have the amp for it, this is one of the best deals in mid-fi or high-fi - arguably in audio - and it probably shades the Arya for overall technical performance, it's just not the same kind of presentation and key spatial characteristics.

      Extending beyond the price level of the Sennheiser HD 6XX ($300) and the HIFIMAN Edition XS ($550), I would say there are only 3 headphones that compete for value, depending on your use case:

      • Sennheiser HD800S ($1500): basically why the Arya was made, speaker-like presentation with a lot of detail, especially for a dynamic driver
      • Mr Anan's Nan-6 ($750ish from Taobao, if it hasn't been discontinued): an engineering and DIY homage to the original HIFIMAN HE-6, complete with the same massive amp requirements, but this trades some of the soundstage depth for a little extra width and a cleaned up tonal balance
      • Mr Anan's Nan-7 ($1150ish from Taobao): extends upon the Nan-7 by increasing soundstage and technical performance, allegedly extending towards what the Susvara is capable of (albeit from a different set of technical strengths than the HE-1000)
      • Pesty on 06/12/2022 - 14:46

        Thanks for the in depth breakdown.
        Have the Arya. Now seriously looking into getting the HE6SE. Only issue is how to disguise the headphones so she who must be obeyed doesn't notice…

        Have a Drop 789 amp so should be able to drive the HE6SE

        Did look into the 800S, but was close to $2000 about 1 year ago and I went with the Arya instead. Very pleased with it coming from Focal Elears

        • Pesty on 06/12/2022 - 14:59

          Annnnnd its ordered. Should be arriving before Xmas.

          • jasswolf on 06/12/2022 - 15:05

            @Pesty: Did you check these posts? You may have to use a freight forwarder, with MyUS being the most competitively priced.

            • Pesty on 06/12/2022 - 17:12

              @jasswolf: Bugger. No didn't read that they cancelled those orders.
              Oh well, won't bother with MyUS I think, pretty happy with my Aryas to be honest.

              • jasswolf on 06/12/2022 - 17:15

                @Pesty: I didn't realise at the time that you already had the Arya Stealth, but it's a great headphone and you're going to be very happy with that.

                There isn't a super rush on this deal IMO, so if you have the ability to demo a HE6SE at somewhere like Minidisc or Addicted to Audio (both are in Sydney), I would recommend taking the time to do that. You'll also be able to demo against the Arya, the HE-1000, and the Susvara too.

                • Pesty on 06/12/2022 - 17:44
                  +1

                  @jasswolf: Sounds like a good idea. The price is very very appealing.
                  I'll see when they cancel the original order and if the deal is still on I'll look into my MyUS
                  Thanks for all the advice.

                • cactusjuice on 06/12/2022 - 19:42
                  +1

                  @jasswolf: I demoed the HE6SE in A2A in Melbourne a few hours ago, and overall it is a great a pair of headphones if you have the right amp.

                  Tried it on a IFI Zen stack running balanced, while they got loud, there was no dynamics and sounded quite 2D. When tried it on a iFi iDSD Diablo, they sounded a lot better. So defs recommend that you ensure your amp can power these cans.

                  To be honest, if you're looking for a good upgrade over the Sundara or Edition XS even, I think the current price + buying a Schiit asgard - which is the cheapest amp option that I can find that can meet the HE6SE demands and still sound good - would still be a pretty sweet deal, since they will both come under 1.2k

                  But if you don't have a beefy amp and don't plan on upgrading them, there are other options available :)

                  • Pesty on 06/12/2022 - 22:15

                    @cactusjuice: I THINK the Drop 789 should run it, balanced output 6000mw at 30 ohms, should be plenty at 50 ohms. Have a Topping D70 DAC.
                    Honestly really like my Arya stealth, not sure why I'm thinking of getting the HE6SE except I can… More bass on the HE6SE i guess

                  • jasswolf on 06/12/2022 - 22:38
                    +1

                    @cactusjuice: From what I understand, even the Asgard can't get it done, landing in at 2.5W.

                    There's probably more budget friendly options than the Jotunheim, but it's such a great amp for the money. Playing around with other solid state techniques can be a crap shoot, especially from companies that push for select measurements at the expense of current and voltage delivery under practical headphone loads.

                    As Pesty is mentioning, the Drop THX-789 is one on paper, but I would be mindful of DAC pairing so the sound doesn't come across too sharp. Same thing applies for how Topping produce gear.

  • Human224 on 05/12/2022 - 13:57

    Would my Aune S7 Pro be enough for them? Its 3.4W into 32 ohms for the balanced output. Using an SMSL T1 as the dac for it connected through the single ended input if that matters.

    • 367 on 05/12/2022 - 15:05

      More than enough.

  • Glaymore on 05/12/2022 - 16:15

    Have a read this before you take the action.
    https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/zb4yvk/hifiman_…

    • jasswolf on 05/12/2022 - 16:19

      That's not the most horrific outcome I've seen, but they should be refunding the full amount, and would have when challenged (whether that be by the customer or an obudsman).

  • PuntyBrah on 06/12/2022 - 02:19

    cant wait to get into the headphones game, when I have the money…..

  • NBSales on 06/12/2022 - 04:42
    +2

    I pulled the trigger on these and just got a message from Adorama asking for a US address as they will not send to Aus for tax reasons. So I get a refund will be the best outcome.

    I guess that's why the Aus was not a shipping options originally. Did anyone else buy and have the same outcome?

    • revhedted on 06/12/2022 - 07:00

      Yes, I got the same email. But they also took my money. So I hope they give me the refund.

    • Human224 on 06/12/2022 - 07:15

      Ordered around 11:45am yesterday but haven't received a message saying it won't be sent yet.

      Nevermind the email just came through lol

    • jasswolf on 06/12/2022 - 08:39

      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/13070761/redir

      So you can this for $30 USD less than their offering if you want, or at most $10 more if it incurs tax.

      • revhedted on 06/12/2022 - 10:08

        thanks. i'll give this a go.

      • cactusjuice on 06/12/2022 - 10:09

        I'm tempted to try this through MyUS.. but really worries I'd be pouring money down the drain if they have any issues.. not sure how the warranty claims would go

        • NBSales on 06/12/2022 - 11:16

          I'm taking this as an indication of service and 'if' any warranty issues would be a nightmare. I'm gonna get the refund and give this one a miss.

          • cactusjuice on 06/12/2022 - 11:21
            +1

            @NBSales: Just realised if paid using PayPal, could lodge a claim through them? This way you wouldn't have to deal with Adorama or Hifiman directly

            • NBSales on 06/12/2022 - 11:22
              +1

              @cactusjuice: Yeah that's the plan. I message about cancelling the order and refunding and haven't heard anything back. We'll see soon enough.

              • cactusjuice on 06/12/2022 - 12:02
                +1

                @NBSales: Yeah I'm tempted to cop through PayPal + MyUS, and deal with PayPal if there is anything wrong with the headset.

                Which sounds like it can occur, if it does, within the first month.

                • bioxeed on 09/12/2022 - 20:34

                  @cactusjuice: @cactusjuice did you end up going through with it via paypal + myus? I'm tempted to do the same

                  • puzzles2 on 10/12/2022 - 03:51
                    +1

                    @bioxeed: See my comment below

                  • cactusjuice on 12/12/2022 - 12:38

                    @bioxeed: hey sorry for the delayed response. I did not go through with the order, details on why here:

                    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/743214#comment-13077336

                    • bioxeed on 12/12/2022 - 22:53
                      +1

                      @cactusjuice: @cactusjuice cheers again for the update, I was tempted to go to A2A and have a listen as well but didn't realise they were open today. In the end the significant number of QC complaints put me off as well. I also wasn't sure the amp I have would power them enough. I ended up going somewhat the opposite direction and getting a pair of IEMs instead (the 7hz timeless) - I figure it'll probably be more useful to me in the short-medium term than the he6se2 :)

    • alwaystooslow on 06/12/2022 - 11:13

      Did anyone get through all were all orders cancelled?

  • puzzles2 on 10/12/2022 - 03:50
    +2

    Update for anyone interested, I've placed an order and used planet express for my parcel forwarding. Slightly cheaper than MyUS.

    I signed up for the premium plan on planet express ($10 USD) as it allows you to set your shipping address as Oregon which has no sales tax saving you (~$40 USD). From there the shipping should cost about $29 USD insured. So all up it's going to cost me about $39 USD + $399 USD. Making it about $640 AUD shipped to me. Shouldn't have any import tax as it's under $1k value I believe.

    My headphones are on the way to planet express now and should arrive Monday where it will then get forwarded to me. I'll put any updates up here for anyone interested if it works out.

    • Human224 on 10/12/2022 - 05:21

      Have you looked into it much as to what to do in the case you get a faulty product/poor QC? Would you still be fine going through Adorama for a replacement or would Hifiman be fine with you going directly through them for the RMA process?

      Really keen to jump on this deal, just worried about losing that much on something if it fails a few months after receiving it.

      Cheers for all the info so far and any more you can provide.

      • puzzles2 on 10/12/2022 - 10:31
        +2

        Just crossing my fingers at this point. I've paid through PayPal so I'm hoping there's some buyers protection there. Would most likely look at going through Adorama first and if not I'll try hifiman directly. If anything goes wrong I'll go with the easiest/cheapest option out of the two.

    • bioxeed on 10/12/2022 - 17:51

      Cheers for the update, given the pricing it feels like it's worth the gamble for me (I'm coming from Beyerdynamic DT1770s) - and that's some pretty quick delivery too.

  • Human224 on 08/01/2023 - 09:05

    Just wanted to see if anyone went through with this and how it went with the post forwarding and QC issues.

    Thanks for any new info.

    • puzzles2 on 09/01/2023 - 14:14
      +1

      I only paid for planet express parcel forwarding on the 22nd December. Planet express has shipped the headphones out and I'm currently waiting for them to arrive.

      • cactusjuice on 12/01/2023 - 19:14

        Keep us updated!

      • w3dge on 24/02/2023 - 08:05

        still curious for an update, did the headphones arrive? what was the QC like?

  • cactusjuice on 12/01/2023 - 19:16

    Fwiw price is at $799 now

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