The HiFiMan HE6se V2 is the latest evolution of the HiFiMan HE6 headphone, famous for its audio quality and its inefficiency.
The HiFiMan Electronics is a Chinese company founded in 2007 by Dr. Fang Bian. HiFiMan gained great popularity with its line of advanced planar magnetic headphones, which have won numerous awards in recent years and are considered among the best in their respective price ranges. In addition to headphones, HiFiMan produces other high-end audio electronics: DACs, headphone amplifiers, and portable music players. The HE6 headphone, released in 2010, generated a lot of attention and was one of the models that helped make the HiFiMan brand famous worldwide. It was a high-performance planar magnetic headphone sold at a price (almost €1300) that at the time was well above the average for a high-end headphone.
The HE6 quickly became famous for its extraordinary sound quality and notorious for its difficulty to drive: with an efficiency of only 83 dB per watt, it required an extremely powerful and expensive headphone amplifier to perform at its best. Today the situation is different—there are many more amplifiers capable of driving the HE6 and its later evolutions, and the cost of such amplifiers is more accessible. However, HE6 headphones remain very difficult to properly amplify.
To meet the needs of enthusiasts who wanted an amplifier capable of making the HE6 perform at its best, HiFiMan later released the EF6, a gigantic and heavy headphone amplifier capable of delivering up to 5W into 50 ohms. It also quickly became known that the HE6 could sound excellent when connected directly to the speaker outputs of an integrated amplifier.
Despite its niche characteristics, the HE6 was a huge success among enthusiasts. However, at a certain point HiFiMan decided to discontinue it and focus on more modern headphone designs, with the characteristic “drop” shape, thinner, lighter, easier to drive, and capable of leveraging the latest innovations in planar magnetic technology. A few years later, somewhat surprisingly and likely due to the model’s ongoing popularity, a new version of the HE6 was released. The new version, called HE6 SE, retained the sound and characteristics of the original HE6 while improving comfort thanks to a new headband similar to that used on the Sundara, new headphone-side connectors, and new ear pads.
In 2021, a third version was released, called HE6se V2. This latest evolution of the famous headphone attracted some criticism due to a further change in the headband, now the padded model used in lower-end HiFiMan headphones, and for a generally rather inexpensive-looking build. It should also be said that the price has dropped significantly, going from about €1800 at the launch of the HE6 SE to around €700, sometimes even less.
The technical specifications are almost unchanged compared to previous versions:
- Frequency response: 8Hz – 65KHz
- Impedance: 50 Ohms
- Sensitivity: 83.5dB
- Weight: 510g
The HE6se V2 comes in HiFiMan’s classic cardboard box, protected by foam material that can optionally be used as a headphone stand.
The only accessory included is a relatively short XLR cable with an adapter for a 6.35 mm single-ended headphone output. The cable has become famous for its unattractive appearance, with reviewers and enthusiasts competing to see who can mock it in the funniest way. In any case, despite its looks, it seems to do its job properly; replacing it with other more professional-looking XLR cables does not produce any noticeable difference in audio performance. In the end, the cable quality is good.
The headphone has a very solid appearance but is not particularly refined. As soon as you pick it up, its weight is immediately noticeable: there are heavier headphones, but at 510g the HE6se V2 is definitely quite demanding to wear. The weight comes from the full-size double-sided planar magnetic drivers, which are also responsible for its extremely low efficiency and outstanding sound quality.
When a headphone is this heavy, it is important that it is well designed so that the weight is evenly distributed across all contact points on the head and remains comfortable. Unfortunately, in the case of the HE6se V2, this goal has not been fully achieved: no matter how the headband is adjusted, the weight remains too concentrated on the top of the head, which becomes uncomfortable during long listening sessions. Many users blame the new padded headband, derived from cheaper HiFiMan models like the Deva; however, in our opinion the ear pads also contribute, as they are identical to those of the Sundara and provide limited cushioning, exerting little pressure on the ears. These issues can be mitigated by replacing the headband or adding a suspension strap like on other HiFiMan models, or by replacing the ear pads with more comfortable ones. For more experienced users, there are many online guides on how to improve comfort or further enhance sound quality. It is a headphone that lends itself very well to customization.
Now onto the listening tests: the HE6se V2 is famous for being difficult to drive, and our tests confirmed this extensively. The HiFiMan EF400 is probably one of the most affordable integrated DAC/headphone amplifiers capable of handling the HE6 SE V2. We tested it for weeks with many headphones, and the EF400, thanks to its considerable power, was able to drive them all without issues even in Low Gain mode. With the HE6 SE V2, however, you must switch to High Gain mode and turn the volume knob to around 3 o’clock or even higher for loud listening. Nevertheless, the EF400 performed more than adequately, delivering an extremely musical, detailed, and non-fatiguing sound.
Moving to its bigger sibling, the EF600, there is an improvement in dynamics and bass impact, as well as a better overall tonal balance. The EF600 pairing is something we really enjoyed. We also tested the HE6 SE V2 with two excellent iFi DAC/headphone amplifier combos: the iDSD 2 and the Gryphon. The iDSD 2 can drive the HE6 SE V2 without too much effort, with gain set to maximum and volume around 80%. Compared to the EF600, the sound is perhaps less dynamic but extremely balanced and musical, with the typical iFi DAC character. The Gryphon barely reaches sufficient volume and gain at maximum, and the sound is rather weak. However, it is a device designed for portability, not for driving headphones like the HE-6.
The general impression is that the more power the HE6se V2 receives, the better it performs. The SE V1 version included a small resistive adapter called HE-Adapter, allowing safe connection directly to speaker outputs of a stereo amplifier. We would have liked to test it, but unfortunately it is no longer included with the V2. Many experienced enthusiasts connect the HE6 directly to speaker outputs of an integrated amplifier without using a resistor adapter. This is not suitable for inexperienced users, but it is said to deliver excellent performance at a lower cost than a high-end headphone amplifier.
During listening, the HE6 SE V2 impressed us with its musicality, tonal balance, and instrument separation. We compared it with two other slightly cheaper HiFiMan headphones, the Ananda Nano and the Edition XS. Simply put, while these are excellent headphones, they cannot match the HE6se in naturalness, resolution, instrument separation, and fluidity. However, they are much more comfortable and can be easily driven by almost any headphone amplifier.
One important final note is that it is difficult to switch between listening to the HE6se V2 and other headphones on the same amplifier: the gain and volume settings required for the HE-6 are far too high for other efficient headphones, so extreme caution is needed when switching to avoid hearing damage.
In conclusion, the HE6se V2 is a very special headphone: built with inexpensive materials, not very comfortable, very hard to drive, yet capable of extraordinary sound. At its current price (just above €700), we highly recommend it to all Hi-Fi enthusiasts with adequate amplification. More experienced users will also enjoy experimenting with different DAC/amplifier pairings and modifications to improve comfort or performance.
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