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New Hifiman HE-5LE planar magnetic headphone - Page 3

post #31 of 1759
3/25/10 at 8:31pm
Frank, you should get Head-direct to make your amp. Call it the FC-5 More people need to hear the glory!
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post #32 of 1759
3/25/10 at 9:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by smeggy View Post
x2
X3, and I also hope it can keep up with fast music better.
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post #33 of 1759
3/25/10 at 9:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acix View Post
Dude, have you listened to the HE-5?
Dude, have you listened to the HE-5LE?

I don't need to hear a headphone to know that higher numbers != better sound. Better sound == better sound. Grado SR60i is 20hz-20khz. Skullcandy Hesh have 18hz-20khz. Does that mean the Skullcandy bass is of better quality? Or that their highs sound the same?

Yes, more extension can mean less lumps in the treble, as the headphone won't start struggling until inaudible frequencies. It doesn't necessarily mean they're better. And, like I said, the range seems the same on this model, unless the product page for the HE-5 is wrong. There's nothing that yet says how the two headphones differ.

Also, I'm not sure I understand why 60khz will make treble in high resolution formats smoother when it's three times above what we can hear anyway. How would it differ from 50khz, which will produce the same range of frequencies to our ears? How would it differ from 30khz?

Also, reading all the complaints people want fixed in this headphone has disheartened me. Do the HE-5 really have so many problems?
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post #34 of 1759
3/25/10 at 9:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fjrabon View Post
that 60 kHz is really going to make cymbals sparkle with life!
Yeah, if only we could hear past 18kHz! How great that would be!

Anyway, I hope this is not an HE-5 with extra damping and an extra $200.
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post #35 of 1759
3/25/10 at 9:21pm
Wouldn't that level of treble extension be a detriment to the headphone, as it's drivers will have to expend energy producing sounds up to that frequency, energy that would be better spent in the nominal range of human hearing?
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post #36 of 1759
3/25/10 at 9:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by invisiman View Post
Wouldn't that level of treble extension be a detriment to the headphone, as it's drivers will have to expend energy producing sounds up to that frequency, energy that would be better spent in the nominal range of human hearing?
Eh, maybe. Only in high resolution recordings though, because regular old Redbook is limited to around 20khz by the 44.1khz sampling rate (I think, correct me if I'm wrong people who know better). This is also provided stuff was recorded at over 20khz, which usually it's not (unless it's quiet distortion which probably won't tax the driver much). Open up a spectrum in Foobar or similar and notice that there's very little activity even near 20khz unless it's some highly digitized pop stuff.
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post #37 of 1759
3/25/10 at 11:55pm
hopefully LE means: wood that doesn't crack, earpads that do not tear, connectors that stay connected, a better cable overall and sound that is not too bright.
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post #38 of 1759
3/26/10 at 12:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acix View Post
The highs on the HE-5 are already good, for me the problems was with the bass and the instrument separation, dynamic and the imaging.
Good to know I wasn't the only one thinking this. That being said, I absolutely love my HE-5. Out of head imaging, however, is superb.
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post #39 of 1759
3/26/10 at 12:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Head Injury View Post
Eh, maybe. Only in high resolution recordings though, because regular old Redbook is limited to around 20khz by the 44.1khz sampling rate (I think, correct me if I'm wrong people who know better). This is also provided stuff was recorded at over 20khz, which usually it's not (unless it's quiet distortion which probably won't tax the driver much). Open up a spectrum in Foobar or similar and notice that there's very little activity even near 20khz unless it's some highly digitized pop stuff.
Ah, I was not aware high frequencies were limited by a recordings sample rate.
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post #40 of 1759
3/26/10 at 12:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by vcoheda View Post
hopefully LE means: wood that doesn't crack, earpads that do not tear, connectors that stay connected, a better cable overall and sound that is not too bright.
That's interesting.
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post #41 of 1759
3/26/10 at 12:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by invisiman View Post
Ah, I was not aware high frequencies were limited by a recordings sample rate.
Yep.

...a bandlimited analog signal that has been sampled can be perfectly reconstructed from an infinite sequence of samples if the sampling rate exceeds 2B samples per second, where B is the highest frequency in the original signal.

So the theoretical limit of CD quality audio is 22khz. 96khz sampling rate can produce up to 48khz, 192khz does 96khz, etc.

Hey, that raises an interesting question. If I'm reading this thing right, exactly how many headphones exist that can produce all of the frequencies in a 192khz sampling rate? Forgetting for a second of course that it's moot because some of it's over two octaves higher than we can hear.
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post #42 of 1759
3/26/10 at 12:41am
Quote:
Basically it's a simple two stage, zero feedback, SET using a triode connected Western Electric 418a to drive a Russian GM70 via an interstage transformer. Output is via an Electra-Print 5k:32 transformer. The GM70 is run at a relatively low 550V@60ma. Sort of my interpretation of the Japanese "Sakuma style". Power supply is a dual mercury rectified, LCLC filtered "brute force". Power out right now is about 6 watts. Probably capable of three times this if the B+ is cranked up.
Yeah, "Basically." ;^)

I heard that setup briefly, and upon reflection I wish I spent a lot more time! The combination is all I can comment on... never tried the HE-5 elsewhere. I remember uncanny 3-D sound on (vocals at the time of) Supertramp. I was startled! However, I didn't feel there was a top-to-bottom coherency. Didn't spend enough time to back up that statement (!) but I was wondering, Frank, what you thought of the headhphones along these lines.

I was mightily impressed, the most of any setup there. Balancing act and Beta 22 were memorable to a lesser degree.

Here are some great pics of the "simple two stage, zero feedback, SET using a triode connected Western Electric 418a to drive a Russian GM70 via an interstage transformer" NorCal - SF Bay Area Feb 27 Meet Impressions - Page 4 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio


Me in the foreground (on a bluetooth!).

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post #43 of 1759
3/26/10 at 1:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stoney View Post
Is that guy next to you about to slam an HD800 into the table?

I suppose if he was as amazed with the K701 as the other guy appears to be, I can't blame him.

Sorry, totally off-topic.
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post #44 of 1759
3/26/10 at 1:58am
Well, after that meet, I "slammed" the HD800. I loved everything about it but one thing -- the lower treble was forced and bright, making voices thin and dismembered (chest and sibilance, to exaggerate). I found it an unforgivable step backwards in that respect only from the latest HD650. Only on the B22 was the sibilance minimized, but the narrow-band brightness was still objectionable. Here is what I wrote later that weekend:

"BTW, the HD800 was better in every way but two: The lower treble is far too forward, incisive, bright. Voices lost their illusion of reality and became hi-fi and (on some systems at the meet) brash. I could not live with that, despite the deeper, better bass, better sense of space and reverberation, and more detail. Just unaccepable. The other problem: they fall off if you lie on your back."

"It was several units at the Norcal meet, one of which was fully balanced, each with different amps. The best of the three in terms of minimal brightness came from a Beta22. Well, the reel-to-reel with Zana Deux was a bit dark to begin with and sounded a bit dull with my headphones, better with the HD800. But tonally, the HD800s vocals were just not quite of-one-piece, so I just couldn't live with it. The illusion of a head and chest singing in front of you was lost.

"I'm sure others will disagree... perhaps break in wasn't finished, perhaps matching of cables and amps is critical... but from the reviews I've read, I'm not alone."
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post #45 of 1759
3/26/10 at 5:40am
I was a potential HE-5 buyer, but I held off for the normal reasons: inconsistant sounding units, bright tonality, and quality control issues.

Get rid of the wood; I prefer metal. Give the bass some real drive. Raise the overall quality of construction. If it doesn't look and feel as solid as the Beyer T1, I'm not interested. Anything over $200 better look and feel solid, no questions.

Not that my response matters. I'm sure the final design is close to completion, and I do look forward to seeing how they've addressed their biggest issues.
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