I'm immune to new-toy syndrome. I usually have to burn myself in for new equipment I'm really skeptical about or even dislike at first.. I'm really looking forward hearing the HE-5's so I could make my own mind of them.

I like the philosophy that's stated in your sig. I don't care about the sounds, the sound characteristics (bright/dark, bass heavy/-light), just as long as the music pulls through. And that for me equals pitch accuracy, the ability to play notes clearly. I hope the HE5's can pull this off

Pooeyhooeypost

Double-post, syndrome, however, is alive and well

Haha, no. The site went down as I posted and I clicked "refresh"

Quote:



I don't sell a headphone that I've purchased and like (to whatever degree) unless I need the money. That's part of the hobby for me. A guy can have 6 Mustangs in his garage, and just go out on Sunday's to admire them for what they're worth.

Quote:



This is the last phase of "the thrill of the chase". Why did John Mayer end his relationship with Jennifer Anniston, and Billy Bob end with Angelina Jolie? The chase was exciting, but they must have been to sibilant to put up with their beauty, and they knew they could get another one, that had less sibilance and roll off.

Unless I am really in dire straits (not the band), I would never sell my R-10's, HP-2's or HD-800's unless my 50 year old financial status changes drastically.
I include the HE-5's in this category, and guess what, they don't cost $1800-$7000.

If I was a starving college student and could only keep one pair? That's a whole 'nother thread.
I also include my ESW-10's and $400 Stax Lambda Pros in this category.

My 13 y.o.son asked me for an XBOX 360 for Christmas, and I said to him, "but you already have a Playstation, PSP, XBOX 300, and Nintendo. What do you need another gaming system for"? He took my hand and led me into my bedroom where I have 13 headphones hanging in their assigned spots and simply said, "because, this is my hobby".

Damn.

Sign your son up for law school. He is your golden parachute

Had I not needed the money I would still own my HP-1's. If I had the money now, I would own the HE-5's.

Quote:



Bullseye. I do like your attitude. I like the skeptical mind who questions everything and does not take things for granted.
For everybody else, come on guys, don't get upset. Its always good to hear the counterbalance.
Cheers everybody

To immtbiker:
your 13 y/o remark was pretty funny. I feel for you, having a smart tongue 17 y/o myself. (he should be a lawyer) :>

To Zanth:
I could not agree more. well said!

Ah yes, sons! Nothing like 'em. Mine is 24 and can almost maneuver going through an open door without hitting one of the sides. (It's a dead-crash if he's involved with his Game Boy.) That my daughter, the older child, spoke four languages and could take drink orders at a home party when she was 7 is never mentioned in his presence.

(Hey, wait a minute! I was a son...once...and, yesterday maybe, did wonder why I have light scaring on both hips. Huh?)

Has anyone tried HE-5 with little dot MK6+? I am planning to back to China during the Chinese new year and will buy a MK6+ in China. If the He-5s works well with MK6+, I will also order one there. (Now MK6+ offers both XLR and SE output.)

Quote:



I like "new toys" and the "thrill of the chase". And there have been a few times where I was initially impressed with a headphone but then after living with it I am less impressed.

Included in that list are the ATH-AD2000 which never turned bad, but just didn't stay good enough - I started to feel that the mids were too forward and they lacked dynamics after a while. The Edition 9 (or re-cabled HFI780) sounded amazing and dynamic at first, but after some time they started to sound dark and rolled off to me with too much bass. At first I re-cabled the Edition 9 and became happier with them, and then I started finding myself being more picky about what amp I liked them with and I went for brighter amps. With the Denon C700 I loved them at first, but over time I started to recognize some under-controlled bass and sibilant highs. And the list goes on.

Quote:



I do have some headphones that are long-term keepers, that I have settled down with, but I still can't pick just one to live with.

I've had my HD600 and SR-Lambda for 2 years, my HE60 and RS-1 for a year and a half, my Stax O2 Mk1 and ESW10 for about a year, and my HE Audio Jade for almost a year. I've only had the HD800 for 6 months but they are not going anywhere for a long time. Out of those, the only one I'm thinking of selling is the RS-1 because I don't use it enough since I got the HD800. I do see the HE-5 being added to the long term list however, even though they just arrived.

My HD800 has excellent synergy with my ZDT amp and I plan to keep them paired, and the O2 Mk1 has great synergy with the Woo WES amp; so in the end I suppose those would be the last two setups that I would want to sell, and only if in dire financial straits. With those two big rigs around, if I had to I could live without the Jade, HE60, K1000, LA7000 or RS-1 and be $6000 richer. But it wouldn't make sense to part with the HE-5, SR-Lambda, ESW10 or HD600 because those would be the ones to fall back to in case it got bad enough to sell the top rigs.

Quote:



very smart son

Quote:




You got the Extreme fixed? GOOD NEWS! I don't hear the "Bright character" unless the dynamic swing of the Classical piece simply causes the driving amp to run out of steam and "clip" the output. Alex from Apuresound has sent my Headphone back to wait for the cable coupling barrels, in the mean while I have added the "Stacker" during that period. Even that mighty Joe Young of Hybrids hits a flat spot and truncates the output waveform when confronted with material with large dynamic contrasts (a well recorded Stravinsky Firebird for example).

With the limited dynamic range of Modern Music the phone kicks some serious Heine. The Music will stick and hang on the driver at certain frequencies but that is a small nit...and an image isn't a forte' of Headphones in the first or second place.

And I couldn't add "great" to a sentence with the word Phoenix already in it. IMO, I couldn't get passed my observation of perceived flaws, both physically and sonically while in balanced operation. That's my experience (and it won't be the same as yours)! IMO, it's not a bargin at it's price point. And it was schmaltz....not syrup (chocolate optional)!

I do have one serious complaint against the HE-5!! The Leather will chaff the top of my Bald Head!! I can listen for extended periods with this phone without fatigue and the exposure has worn a tender spot on top. I get around this with a soft cloth strip to protect the bald peak (it's above the tree line)....I could always perf. the top of the Head of course...hmmm...(more vent holes up there!).

Is schmaltz what they put in a Chocolate Malt?

All good, Alan - I am looking forward to hearing your comments on the Moth with the HE-5. I would try the headphone out though - surely it's a better impedance match than the speaker outs will be, which should be wound for 8 ohms, and would deliver only 1/3-1/4 of rated output into the HE-5's load impedance from the speaker outs.

Well, I just go hold of a Cyrus 1 speaker amp (circa 1990), 25 watts into 8 ohms, which are easy to find in the UK.

Will test it out on the HE-5's when they finally arrive. The Cyrus is said to already be slightly on the bright side- so we'll see. Could be used in a second system with Technics SL-1200/ JBL L19's, if need be.

Brainfood, I'd be really interested to hear how the HE-5 works with a Cyrus One, I love my Cyrus One with my T20v2s (either from the headphone socket or speaker terminals), and in fact all of my headphones, the Canamp was sold soon after the Cyrus arrived. I'd say the Cyrus is revealing of bright sources more than bright itself.
I might be very tempted to save for a HE-5 if the Cyrus drives them well.