Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dubwicht 
Had these headphones for about 3 months and all I can say is that they are awesome! I have had the Denon D7000 and several other phones by Beyerdynamic, Ultrasone, Sennheiser, Grado and they do not measure up to the HE-5. I still can't believe the sound when I plug them in. Perhaps I should look at some Planar speakers as well.
That sounds like a good idea, if you have the power. Sachu fell in love with planars and just got some Magnepan 1.6 or something like that. I plan to get a pair of MMG one of these days.
As for loving the HE-5, I do too and still like to post my thoughts about them. For a long time I was recommending the HE-5/EF5 combo with a Nuforce uDAC as my favorite sub-$1K rig. I have all three high-end HiFiMan orthos (HE-5, HE-5 LE and HE-6) and wont part with any of them, although I use the HE-6 the most lately. My HE-5 were so good that I sold my re-cabled RS-1 after I did many comparisons. They also beat my HD600 but those are such a good value for the price that I kept them. They were also above a stock D7000 or modded D2000, but a little below my LA7000 or HD800.
The new HE-5 LE are slightly better in imaging and midrange, and smoother in the highs, but the original HE-5 are still very good and a little better at low volume listening than the LE version. Some people felt the HE-5 highs were too hot or aggressive, and although I don't think so I do know that the cable from the HE-5 LE audibly tames the highs for me. With the stock HE-5 LE cable the newer HE-5 LE are slightly darker than the original HE-5 with the same cable (but not as dark as my LCD-2). So, although moving the LE cable over to the HE-5 tames the highs a little, the HE-5 cable on the LE brightens up the LE treble. I'd definitely recommend owning both cables for either headphone, to tune the sound like changing tubes. Interestingly, the LE sounded a lot like my old AKG K1000 in the mids and highs, but with better detailed and extended bass, so I sold the K1000 too.
These orthos all have great speed, detail, and finesse, but the HE-5 LE have a little more refinement, better instrument placement, and better controlled bass than the original HE-5. The HE-6 give up the slightly dark highs of the HE-5 LE, adds more sparkle while being smoother than the HE-5, keeps the great mids and imaging of the LE, improves the bass even more, and offers a lot more transparency and air. Unfortunately they demand a lot more power. While the HE-5 and LE can play at earsplitting levels with an EF5 amp, the HE-6 get louder than normal but not extremely loud. Fortunately the HE-6 also sound great at low volumes like the HE-5, and all the detail in the bass, mids and highs is still there without needing a boost from EQ.
Still, the HE-5 LE are a small evolution in sound and if you love the HE-5 I'd consider just sticking with those, unless you really want the changes I mentioned.
