Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › HiFiman HE-500 (HE as in High End) please post your impressions. . loan pair for UK pg. 28.
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

HiFiman HE-500 (HE as in High End) please post your impressions. . loan pair for UK pg. 28. - Page 12

post #166 of 5090
5/29/11 at 8:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MorbidToaster View Post

They're both 502g according to the site. I assume that's without cable because the HE 6 and HE 500 cables are significantly different.
 



 

 



I don't think that's accurate. Mike on Headfonia said the HE-500 were significantly lighter, which is why I'm asking here.

Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #167 of 5090
5/29/11 at 8:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shahrose View Post





I don't think that's accurate. Mike on Headfonia said the HE-500 were significantly lighter, which is why I'm asking here.


Yeah. Most measurements on sites are wrong. Really wish they were accurate more often.

I will say that they feel lighter than the LCD 2, but I've never had the privilage to handle the HE 6.

EDIT: Post 2k
Edited by MorbidToaster - 5/30/11 at 4:30pm
Reply
post #168 of 5090
5/29/11 at 10:27pm

The only difference between the two is just the diaphragm.  Without the cables I doubt there is a weight difference.

 

Edit:  Recently posted by Grokit on the HE6 thread.  Look at the specs.

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/hifiman4/1.html


Edited by sunneebear - 5/29/11 at 10:37pm
Reply
post #169 of 5090
5/30/11 at 6:08am

I have spent the last couple of hours going back and forth the HE-500 and my RS-1, the rest of the components remained the same. Interestingly enough in this setup the sound of the RS-1 was more involving and engaging than the HE-500. I believe it is due to the overall integration of the cans with my MPX3 SE Slam (deemed safe by two knowledgeable techs). Perhaps if I spend the time swapping tubes I could find a better match, however that will have to wait since my tubes are stored due to ongoing work in the apt.

 

It is not tubes in general because the HE-500 sounds superb out of the RWA Signature 30.2 LFP-V with a tube stage driven by the Isabella as well as of a highly modified X-Can V2.  I guess the best analogy I can think of is that it is "going through the paces without soul". As far as weight I would guess going from memory that the HE-500 weight the same as the HE-6.

Reply
post #170 of 5090
5/30/11 at 6:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunneebear View Post

The only difference between the two is just the diaphragm.  Without the cables I doubt there is a weight difference.

 

Edit:  Recently posted by Grokit on the HE6 thread.  Look at the specs.

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/hifiman4/1.html



The specs are just taken from their website.

 

I know several people own both headphones, hopefully someone can chime in.

Reply
post #171 of 5090
5/30/11 at 7:08am

Since the MPX3 SE Slam was being fed by a Monarchy Audio NM24 I decided to use the line stage built into it to drive the cans. I had Warrior make an RCA to 1/4" cable a while back and I am currently using this connected to the line stage out to feed the HE-500. biggrin.gif What a difference in the overall enjoyment, there is no major difference but a bunch of small ones (depth, clarity, width, musicality, etc) which add to a much nicer experience. Now the Monarchy Audio NM24 uses the 6922/6DJ8 family of tubes just like the RWA so perhaps they are a better match. Too early to tell specially since I have to try other 6SN7 tubes on the Singlepower.

Reply
post #172 of 5090
5/30/11 at 7:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrarroyo View Post

Since the MPX3 SE Slam was being fed by a Monarchy Audio NM24 I decided to use the line stage built into it to drive the cans. I had Warrior make an RCA to 1/4" cable a while back and I am currently using this connected to the line stage out to feed the HE-500. biggrin.gif What a difference in the overall enjoyment, there is no major difference but a bunch of small ones (depth, clarity, width, musicality, etc) which add to a much nicer experience.


Do you last two posts mean that the HE-500 sounds as good, or better, than the RS-1, when mated with your RWA / Isabella set up, and with your MPX3 / NM24 / NM24 line stage set up... but... the RS-1 sounds better when mated with your MPX3 / NM24 (dac only) set up?
 

 

Reply
post #173 of 5090
5/31/11 at 3:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gradofan2 View Post




Do you last two posts mean that the HE-500 sounds as good, or better, than the RS-1, when mated with your RWA / Isabella set up, and with your MPX3 / NM24 / NM24 line stage set up... but... the RS-1 sounds better when mated with your MPX3 / NM24 (dac only) set up?
 

 


How are you doing my friend? The HE-500 sounds better out of the RWA gear and from the NM24 using the line stage as an amp. However the RS-1 IMO sounds better with the MPX3 using 2c51/6SN7 fed by the NM24.

 

Reply
post #174 of 5090
5/31/11 at 4:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrarroyo View Post




How are you doing my friend? The HE-500 sounds better out of the RWA gear and from the NM24 using the line stage as an amp. However the RS-1 IMO sounds better with the MPX3 using 2c51/6SN7 fed by the NM24.

 

 

Good, thanks... been preoccupied with other things.  

 

So... can we infer that there is not a huge difference between the sound of HE-500 and RS-1 with well matched set ups?

 

And... oh yes... "what the heck" is going on down there?  Sounds like you live in a "war zone."  Are you able to go out at night at all?  And... is local law enforcement going to do anything to get control of it all?
 

 


Edited by Gradofan2 - 5/31/11 at 4:12pm
Reply
post #175 of 5090
5/31/11 at 5:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gradofan2 View Post

 

So... can we infer that there is not a huge difference between the sound of HE-500 and RS-1 with well matched set ups


No, we shall not infer that. But mind you, this is coming from somebody that didn't have all that great of an amp (MKIII) and also tested unamped.

 

Also, then again, I'm not sure of the differences between the RS1 and RS1i. I had the RS1i, and I find even the HE-4 better all around.

 

Reply
post #176 of 5090
5/31/11 at 6:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrarroyo View Post




How are you doing my friend? The HE-500 sounds better out of the RWA gear and from the NM24 using the line stage as an amp. However the RS-1 IMO sounds better with the MPX3 using 2c51/6SN7 fed by the NM24.

 


If you have some 5998s, change out those sn7s. They are awesome for Grados but the 500s need some TS love.
Reply
post #177 of 5090
6/1/11 at 3:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gradofan2 View Post



 

Good, thanks... been preoccupied with other things.  

 

So... can we infer that there is not a huge difference between the sound of HE-500 and RS-1 with well matched set ups?

 

And... oh yes... "what the heck" is going on down there?  Sounds like you live in a "war zone."  Are you able to go out at night at all?  And... is local law enforcement going to do anything to get control of it all?
 

 



No, the HE-500 is the better overall sounding can.

 

We are safe, nothing a good AK can't help with. ;) Just joking of course.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy Camper View Post



Quote:
Originally Posted by mrarroyo View Post




How are you doing my friend? The HE-500 sounds better out of the RWA gear and from the NM24 using the line stage as an amp. However the RS-1 IMO sounds better with the MPX3 using 2c51/6SN7 fed by the NM24.

 




If you have some 5998s, change out those sn7s. They are awesome for Grados but the 500s need some TS love.


I do and I will try them this coming weekend.

Reply
post #178 of 5090
6/3/11 at 12:25am

MINI-REVIEW HE-500:

 

 

I haven't done a HE-500 review yet because I was waiting for my ZDT amp to return after a socket replacement and a silver transformer upgrade.  This wont be anywhere near as thorough as my HE-5 LE review that I put in the review section a while back.  Once I get my daughter on the plane for her school trip to Germany this weekend I'll have much more time to devote to listening and comparing gear this summer. 
 
I have over 300 hours on them right now.  I've spent most of the time listening to the HE-500 with either a 5G Nano line out and lossless music fed into an ALO Amphora amp, or with the DACport and DACmini 24/96 DAC/amp headphone-out (and DACmini line-out into the Amphora or SR-71b).  I've also used the Apogee mini-DAC > HiFiman EF5 amp.  
 
I think these headphones sound very good.  I also find them to fit my head a little better than the original HE-5, HE-5 LE, and HE-6 - while the older models all seem to be slightly loose fitting at the their smallest setting.  My head isn't too small, but HiFiMan headphones often seem to be made for bigger heads than mine.  Comfort for me is still miles ahead of the LCD-2 which clamp my head too tightly, even after 9 months of use.  The weight still seems like it's more than the HE-5 LE, and on a bad using any of my orthos bothers my neck due to a couple of bad cervical discs.
 
Previously the HE-5 LE were one of my favorite phones and I used them more than the HD800 or LCD-2, until I got the HE-6.  But the HE-500 improve upon the HE-5 LE sound with a little fuller midrange that has better body and weight, plus more air-ambience, and sparkle in the highs.  And they do it without becoming too bright, with less treble energy than the HE-5 and HE-6, although a little more than the HE-5 LE.  The HE-6 border on sounding bright when driven by an underpowered amp, but everything evens out when given gobs of power.  But the HE-6 treble is so smooth and sweet that it's not bothersome even with the wrong amp, while the original HE-5 treble could sometimes become a little tizzy with some amps like the HDP (ZDT was perfect).  The HE-500 seems to have a smooth treble like the HE-6 but just a little tamer sounding, along with just the right amount of everything else; although the HE-6 seem a little more revealing of micro-detail than the HE-500.  The HE-500 are also a little more efficient than the HE-5 LE, and a wider variety of desktop and portable amps work well with them.
 
Like with all the other HiFiMan headphones the EF5 amp is a great choice for these headphones, and I'm feeding the amp with an Apogee mini-DAC and ALO SXC interconnects.  As I said, I'm finding that the HE-500 also get along with a wide variety of amps around the house including my DACport, DACmini, HDP, Amphora, and SR-71b; but the Apogee > EF5 combination is very good with them and I think this combo is a little more enjoyable than the DACmini > LCD-2 by a small margin.  I can't decide yet whether the HE-500 are still ahead of the LCD-2 when both headphones are driven by the DACmini, which is slightly brighter sounding with HE-500 and HE-6 than I prefer.  But, I've spent the past two days listening to them only with the DACmini, and haven't wanted to pull out the LCD-2 once to compare again.  Feeding the DACmini into my ALO Amphora is a very good combo for HE-500 (and LCD-2 as well), although a little less powerful than the Apogee > EF5 combo it works better than it did with the HE-5 LE.
 
I know that previously with my Eddie Current ZDT amp I've posted that I preferred the HE-5 LE over the LCD-2 out of the ZDT, which makes my LCD-2 sound a little darker than I prefer.  However, I haven't tried the HE-500 with the ZDT yet because I sent the amp back a few weeks ago for repairs to two tube sockets and to get a transformer upgrade to partial silver ones.  I will be able to try the HE-500 with the ZDT in a couple of days, and will report back as soon as I can.  Plus I have the WA6, HDP and about 8-10 portable amps that I haven't tried yet.  Regardless, for now if I only could pick one current production orthodynamic to fill a variety of listening needs, it would be the HE-500 (or HE-6 given enough power).  That might change when I receive my Silver Dragon cable for LCD-2, but it still doesn't solve the LCD-2 comfort issue and may not solve the mild added reverb or recessed treble issues I have either.
 
Overall I think the HE-500 are a better or more versatile "all rounder" headphone than the HE-6 because of the very high amp demands of the HE-6.  They have great speed and detail, good frequency balance, a nice soundstage and imaging, good presence and good transparency.  It's what the HD600 "should" have been, and while auditory memory is short I think they remind me a lot of my old Stax SR-404 Limited Edition but with better impact and a more cohesive soundstage and imaging.  I'd love to get my hands on another 404LE and compare them someday.
 
In comparison to the HE-5 and HE-5 LE I think the HE-500 is a clear upgrade, although the HE-6 can still do a few things better if given enough power.  To anyone with an original HE-5 I would say buy the HE-500 and sell the old pair.  To anyone with a HE-6, if they don't have an amp that can drive them properly (or would like a little less treble energy) then they should really consider the HE-500.  For those with a HE-5 LE it gets more difficult, although I do feel the HE-500 sound a little more complete, life-like and immersive than the HE-5 LE.  To me the extra $200 is not wasted on these over the HE-5 LE, but I can't say if that holds true for everyone.  I do know that even if my only rig was my lowly Marantz CD5001 > EF5 > HE-500 this could keep me happy for a long time.
Reply
post #179 of 5090
6/3/11 at 2:20am

Nice mini review Larry. 

 

For your loose LCD2, have you tried compressing the headband?  You can spread the yokes/gimbals and remove the whole wood assembly to give you more room to compress the headband.  If you want it even tighter you can remove the blocks and compress just the headband alone.  Mine came very tight from Audeze, the headband actually formed a small circle when I took the wood assemblies off to clean the leather and wood.

 

 

Reply
post #180 of 5090
6/3/11 at 2:44am

WoW, have just been catching up on lost time as I've been away from these forums for a while. Thanks to everyone and especially all the "regs" for sharing your thoughts as I find myself in a situation at the moment with an open wallet and itchy trigger finger. Hmmmm, LCD-2 or the HE-500's ?????

 

Cheers and hope everyone here is "rockin' " !

Lok 

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphones (full-size)

Gear mentioned in this thread:

Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › HiFiman HE-500 (HE as in High End) please post your impressions. . loan pair for UK pg. 28.