Hifiman HE-5 Orthodynamic Headphones

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by DannyBuoy

What amp do you use them with?
Fang is saying a new EF5 will drive them and will be sold as combo in late Nov.
I need to find a USB/DAC now and with buying the ~$900 combo EF5/HE5 I don't have much left for DAC. Any suggestions on an adequate DAC for under $200?

Super Pro DAC707 $120 at ALOAudio.com - I bought mine from eBay from another vendor and it's pretty decent, and on par with most portable DAC/amp DAC's via USB, and even better via optical. With my sigma 11 PSU upgrade it seems on par with my Headroom Micro DAC for about $150 less, after the cost of the DAC and used sigma 11 PSU. It can also run from a 12v-24v source, like a 12v SLA or battery.

[cetoole]

Originally Posted by DannyBuoy

What amp do you use them with?
Fang is saying a new EF5 will drive them and will be sold as combo in late Nov.
I need to find a USB/DAC now and with buying the ~$900 combo EF5/HE5 I don't have much left for DAC. Any suggestions on an adequate DAC for under $200?

Custom DIY spud amp. E810F triode strapped with a CCS plate load, parafeed into a pair of custom Electra-print 7200:32ohm OPTs. Good for about 1.125w into 8ohm SE class A.

[mrarroyo]

Hi Fang, is this HE5 back in stock? Thanks.

[tintin47]

^This may not be the final word, but when I asked him at the NY meet on Sat he said nov. 20th, so hopefully tomorrow or very soon.

[Nankai]

Will be early next week.

[dBel84]

Originally Posted by cetoole

Custom DIY spud amp. E810F triode strapped with a CCS plate load, parafeed into a pair of custom Electra-print 7200:32ohm OPTs. Good for about 1.125w into 8ohm SE class A.

you going into business Cetoole? I have heard good things about the synergy of your spud and these headphones.

@DannyBuoy : as HA said, there are many good deals available on DACs - quite a few threads on the subject. You may even find a Gamma 1 on the FS section.

..dB

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by Nankai

Will be early next week.

Wow! Fang, these HE-5 sound very good on my maxed Woo WA6 tonight. They can still play fairly loud on this output transformer coupled SET amp, so people can't say they only need SS amps. With the volume all the way up there is no distortion or clipping but it is louder than I am comfortable listening to for more than half a minute or so (the WA6SE that I don't have is supposed to have 3x more power, but it isn't needed here). The SAC KH1000 amp for my AKG K1000 phones also works great with the HE-5, and it has more power than I could ever use with the HE-5, K1000 or HD800.

The HE-5 bass is wonderfully deep and full with good impact and speed, and vocals are rich and present, and the highs to my ears are not anywhere close to being too much but are crisp and vivid. The bass is a little more awesome with the SAC amp, but the bass with the WA6 is very good. It's too late at night to pull out my Grado RS-1 and HD800 to compare to HE-5 right now, as I already just woke up my wife with the sound out of the open-back and it upset her. (this is why I have IEM and closed phones like LA7000). I will have much more to report over the next few days.

Fang, the EF5 amp's PSU was set so that it is showing 220v, and I want to make sure that sliding the switch up so that the 110v is uncovered is correct. Also, it was set for 16v which is for the EF1, and I want to make sure with my aging eyes that I should slide that switch up to the 18v setting. To my aging eyes it looks like the EF5 amp is 18v. I don't want to cook the EF5 amp before I get to try it out, so I am making sure about the settings with you first.

Thanks!

[jyle_t]

anyone care to make a comparison of this vs D7000?

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by jyle_t

anyone care to make a comparison of this vs D7000?

I can tell you now I prefer the HE-5 to a stock D7000, but I cant say yet vs my Lawton Audio modded recabled rewoodied D7000 yet.

[Keithpgdrb]

From a tonal clarity standpoint, the HE-5 prevails in my opinion.

[jyle_t]

So its more balanced and more detailed overall than D7000? Sounds like a budget HD800 with more bass to me, a winner that is.

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by jyle_t

So its more balanced and more detailed overall than D7000? Sounds like a budget HD800 with more bass to me, a winner that is.

In addition to the LA7000, I'm also going to be comparing the HE-5 to my APS V3 cabled RS-1 and my HD800, so we'll see. Many of my phones (including stats) are more expensive than the HE-5, and everyone wants these to be a giant killer. I will say right now, after listening for a day I think they are worth every penny they are asking for them. I would take the HE-5 over a stock RS-1 or stock D7000 any day, both selling for around the same street price.

[BrainFood]

Look forward to further impressions

[takezo]

i would choose the he-5 over the stock d7000 as well. better bass
quality (not quantity though) without a mid-bass hump, better
focused and sweeter highs and mids to die for... the he-5 have
a smoother/lusher yet more resolving mid than the stock d7000. it's
also more forward in the mids, which reminds me of the grado lines.
(just the forward aspect)

i'm using the 6gf7a tubes in the drive/power position for the wa6
and it sounds powerful. preferable over the 6de7 or 6ew7 for the
he-5.

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict

Wow! Fang, these HE-5 sound very good on my maxed Woo WA6 tonight. They can still play fairly loud on this output transformer coupled SET amp, so people can't say they only need SS amps. With the volume all the way up there is no distortion or clipping but it is louder than I am comfortable listening to for more than half a minute or so (the WA6SE that I don't have is supposed to have 3x more power, but it isn't needed here). The SAC KH1000 amp for my AKG K1000 phones also works great with the HE-5, and it has more power than I could ever use with the HE-5, K1000 or HD800.

The HE-5 bass is wonderfully deep and full with good impact and speed, and vocals are rich and present, and the highs to my ears are not anywhere close to being too much but are crisp and vivid. The bass is a little more awesome with the SAC amp, but the bass with the WA6 is very good. It's too late at night to pull out my Grado RS-1 and HD800 to compare to HE-5 right now, as I already just woke up my wife with the sound out of the open-back and it upset her. (this is why I have IEM and closed phones like LA7000). I will have much more to report over the next few days.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict

I can tell you now I prefer the HE-5 to a stock D7000, but I cant say yet vs my Lawton Audio modded recabled rewoodied D7000 yet.

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict

In addition to the LA7000, I'm also going to be comparing the HE-5 to my APS V3 cabled RS-1 and my HD800, so we'll see. Many of my phones (including stats) are more expensive than the HE-5, and everyone wants these to be a giant killer. I will say right now, after listening for a day I think they are worth every penny they are asking for them. I would take the HE-5 over a stock RS-1 or stock D7000 any day, both selling for around the same street price.

More updates:

The HE-5 can actually be driven decently by an iBasso D4 portable DAC/amp when running off the 9v battery supply. It's underpowered on just the 5v USB power (like the HD600) and can be driven into clipping more easily, but with 9v battery turned on the gains are noticeable. The Predator 5v portable sounds slightly better with the HE-5 than the D4 at the same 5v, but the D4 pulls ahead when using the 9v option.

The SAC KH1000 amp can drive my HD600 via the 4-pin XLR jack and HE-5 via the 1/4" jack at the same time, with no drop in sound quality with both phones. With both running at the same time, the volume levels are actually pretty close when switching between the two phones. So, I compared the HE-5 to my balanced APS v3 cabled HD600 and I am certain would spend more time with the HE-5 than the HD600, as the HE-5 make my HD600 sound veiled and dull in comparison. Two days ago I would have said the HD600 still sound fantastic to me, and now I don't want to pick them up as long as I can reach for the HE-5.

The velour pads on the HE-5 are still pretty stiff and not molding properly to the sides of my head around the ears, unlike my slightly broken-in HD600 pads do. The HE-5, even when leaking sound where the pads don't meet the ears, has great bass quality, detail and impact. I think the HE-5 are what my APS V3 cabled RS-1 were supposed to sound like, and later tonight or tomorrow I will get to the RS-1 and HD800 comparisons on the ZDT amp.

PS: While I am waiting for my WES to arrive after I sold my GES, I am using my Sennheiser HEV70 amp to drive my HE60 electrostatic headphones. The HE-5/SAC combo sounds better than the HE60/HEV70 combo, with the same music off the same DAC at the same time.