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Gofa_Kirselph t1_ixjyez8 wrote

Reply to comment by Almost_Ascended in Sundara with Topping DX3 Pro+ compared to Soundblaster G6: No improvement? by Metageul

Don’t worry, the tube amp was a DIY kit. I got the DAC used during COVID for only $400. While still excessive for the HD 560s, it’s perfect for this one.

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Fatality_strykes t1_iy52dga wrote

Sorry I've been trying to find details of the amp you're using since I picked up the HE6se v2 a few days ago. Could you please provide details for me to look into it. Completely new at this.

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Gofa_Kirselph t1_iy6673t wrote

The amp I have is the Elekit TU-8200DX. There’s an updated version available now. It’s a DIY kit though. I believe you can buy a pre assembled one for idk how much more from vkmusic.ca but I’m not sure.

To be completely honest, I’m have no idea if my amp is properly driving them. I don’t have a 100w speaker amp or a headphone amp with more power to test it out. The Elekit is rated at 8wpc at 8ohms in ultra linear. I keep seeing people saying that Hifiman recommends 2w at 50ohms but I couldn’t find anything on their website. I will say this though, I love how the HE6se sound on the Elekit. Compared to my other planars, (Aeon Open Flow, HE 560) they need a tad bit more volume but they don’t seem to struggle. Still sounds full, clear, and punchy

Maybe something like the Schiit Jotunheim would be better for you. It’s $400 by itself or $500 with a DAC built in. It’s rated at 4w @ 50ohms balanced so more than enough power for them. People also like to use them with speaker amps connected directly to them with speaker taps. I honestly don’t know which is better since I haven’t used either method.

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Fatality_strykes t1_iy72j53 wrote

Hi Thanks for your reply. The Elekit is very tempting mainly because it will push me to learn a new skill (soldering) and gives a sense of accomplishment from DIY. My research showed me the same recommendation of 2w at 50ohms. Suggestions include the iFi Pro iCAN, Rebel amp, and Ragnarok.

Would a preamp help if it is underpowered later?

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Gofa_Kirselph t1_iy7aok1 wrote

I honestly have no idea if a preamp would help, hopefully someone smarter than me can chime in. I believe a preamp’s job is to boost a low or quiet signal to line level by increasing the voltage. It will make the headphones or speakers louder but they won’t sound as good since they won’t have the required current to drive them properly. That is my understanding but I could be totally wrong. (I’m not a scientician)

That issue can be solved by using the Elekit as a preamp instead, then hooking it up to some monoblock amps to have more than enough current. EDIT: It doesn’t have to be monoblocks, a stereo or multi-channel power amp works too. Unfortunately, the Elekit TU-8200 doesn’t have pre outs. The TU-8500 is an actual preamp so it does. Something like this might work to convert the banana plugs into pre outs. But… I’ve never used it so I’m not sure if the Elekit’s noise floor is too high. That could be solved by adding a passive volume control but now there’s hella crap in the signal chain lol!

But the Elekit by itself is a great amp. Really fun and easy to understand. My older brother did the soldering and I assembled it. It took a total of 8 hours to build, but we went slow lol. It sounds fantastic! Definitely rivals some $2000+ tube amps I’ve heard. I highly, highly recommend it.

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Fatality_strykes t1_iy7b8av wrote

I contacted the support on Elekit (Japan) and their response is below.

>We checked your headphone in the internet and found thatHE6 se v2 requires very high power to an amp.As all of our tube amps are not so high powered,we do not recommend TU-8200R or any of our tube amp to use with your HE6 se V2

I'm honestly torn.

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Gofa_Kirselph t1_iy7iimq wrote

Yeah… I’m only using it since I already have it lol! In your case, it’s better to just get a powerful amp. Maybe even a speaker amp since the HE6se need lots of current.

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Fatality_strykes t1_iy7iu6p wrote

Thanks so much for your responses. I will look into speaker amps as well.

I did receive confirmation from Viktor at vkmusic.ca and he confirms that it will work. I'll make a decision by the end of the week since there's no ongoing sale at the moment.

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Gofa_Kirselph t1_iy7lhd7 wrote

Lol you’re welcome! 😇

Honestly, I don’t think the Elekit struggles with the HE6se. I just can’t say for sure since I have no other reference point. Emotiva has some awesome looking amps spec wise. I mean, 8.5w @ 47ohms????? That’s ridiculous! And it’s cheap lol

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Fatality_strykes t1_iy7rc7w wrote

Ok youre killing me with options. I'm nearly convinced with the Elekit. Hopefully the DIY part wont scare me.

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Gofa_Kirselph t1_iy7un3h wrote

My bad, having more options doesn’t make it any easier lol! Man, I’m super tempted to see if I can turn my Elekit into a preamp and get a pair of monoblocks to power some crazy speakers.

And building the amp was fun and easy to me! I didn’t really have much experience either, it’s just that well designed. My amp was damaged by a brownout recently so all I had to do was change the damaged FETs. Victor actually helped me out with that. I got the replacement parts from him as well. He replied quickly, very pleasant to deal with. Here’s a look at the insides when my older brother and I repaired it back in April this year.

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Fatality_strykes t1_iy7zcbe wrote

Yup I've been getting pretty good responses from Victor as well. He suggest to go with the Lundahl upgrade for better sound. Sadly the shipping itself is over 250USD. I'm currently looking into shipping from Japan itself. Im also checking out Soldering irons on Aliexpress lol.

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