HiFiman HE-500 (HE as in High End) please post your impressions. . loan pair for UK pg. 28. - Page 177

There were a few reports of this issue in the past. Nothing as of late. That is unfortunate. It's worth contacting HiFiMAN's customer service and see what they say.
On the other hand, you can consider reterminating the cable with the provided bonus connectors and adding shrink tubing to ease the stress on the connector. . Good luck.

what would you consider the treble be like, for he500, when comparing to a can like d2000(which has slight siblance), in terms of harshness etc?? i am waiting for my compass2 to arrive and i am finding them a little sharp on the high end(coming from hd650 and d2000s) and i am right now driving them from a lowly fiio e9 for a day or two. The soundstage feels HUUUUUGGGGEEE compared to those previous 2 cans.... but the treble might take a little getting used to as it is a lot lot lot sharper although it is smooth.... and i am using pleathers btw.

Edited by h4mm3r 0f th0r - 1/21/13 at 12:20pm

Mmmm... See I don't think the treble is emphasized on the HE500, it's very balanced with the bass and mids. The D2000's do have a lot of treble energy that is emphasized more because of the "U" FR, also Grado's (most models) and AKG's KQ7XX do show siblance on recordings that really shouldn't. It may just take a little adjustment time to get used to the superior resolution. When the HE500's first came out they were constantly accused of having rolled off treble... Some still think so. Having said that, you can still have fatiguing treble even with a roll off if the peaks are there. If you take a look at a graph of the FR you will see a peak following a dip from the mids. This will pick up the middle treble and high- light certain instruments or sounds giving a welcome sharpness that would otherwise (for me) be too smooth and dare I say it.. Dull :(  I can't speak for the amps that you have or are getting, but I have tried 5 budget to midprice of varying power and never have I found the treble intrusive or emphasized. For me it is very sweet and revealing :) Because I listen to a lot of Jazz and classical I can't have bad treble... Just can't!   :D 

I second LugBug's comments in regards to the treble on the HE-500. The whole frequency range sounds very balanced to my ears on my setup. Nothing stands out which requires taming.

My reference points are the following. When I had the Grado's, the treble stood out. D7000's, bass stood out.

Yep I have Grados and Denons too and am amazed at how balanced the HE-500s are in comparison. I've had them for a couple weeks and just can't get them off my head. They're the first headphones to have that effect - I basically want to hear every album ever recorded.

+ 1 i agree...BUT then again i dont use silver cables...instead i use toxic cables black widows 22awg litz copper cables..that maybe also helps to tame any treble that COULD be excessive...with this cable the sound is full and airy with a large soundstage and velvetly highs and those mids..wow..Imho ofcourse. Hope to get a unique 12 wire version next month..so mine will be on sale soon..damn..this hobby is expensive
soon i have a pair of also very good custommade dhc molecule quicksilver cable and a pair of the just mentioned excellent toxics on sale.. sometimes i hate myself..i spend to much money on my hobbies

i think it might be my ears trying to get used to the thinner voice and compensating by listening too loud... it wasn't that any other part of the frequency was recessed or anything... the bass is quite present, the mids might come out more after burn in though... the resolution indeed is there, as i was amazed when i listened to some high quality recording and the imaging and soundstage is noticeable bigger than hd650.... i have to admit that i was listening to higher volumes as i was trying to see the extent of the bass on these cans. In my experience, it takes atleast a week to get used to a can's sound, so i guess i will be loving the treble by then but i have to admit that i am more of a mids guy....

1) get copper cables

 

2) use pleather pads / do the Jergpad mod on them to enhance them

 

3)???

 

4) profittably tamed treble and lush meaty midrange ~ lower end, with no loss of detail or air.

 

 

I agree that variables like silver cable and velour pads make HE500 too thin to my ears, especially apparent with vocals. Relatively speaking (with regards to my conceptually ideal tonality) of course.

I completely agree with u jerg..a good.copper cable makes the sound even more balanced on the he500.the silver tends to sound more analitic and therefore a bit more treble heavy..pleather makes the sound a bit dark to me..so reAding ur mod thread to correct that i will give that a try..who knows i will be going over from velours to jergpleather
Edited by hifimanrookie - 1/21/13 at 1:38pm

Stock unmodded pleather is extremely dark and almost muffled/cupped-sounding. With the mod done properly, air and upper end detail extraction is much enhanced, but the big thing is that the lower end is not disturbed, so you still get that weighty pleather goodness.

I definitely prefer the pleather so far, so it'll probably take some time before I dare mutilate them. But I'm keeping an eye on that thread!

Me like

I think the differences between a HQ Silver cable and HQ copper cable are subtle.

Sure they each bear certain differences but they are not different enough IMO to say one is better than the other.

Not to mention I love the HE-6 with my Silver cable but I will later get a copper for comparision purposes and to see if it will "magically" bring the bass up slightly 

 

 

 

Toobad my right driver died and they are now gone for exchange/repairs 

I am not sayin copper is better ..the soudnsignature is just different then silver..its personal taste ofcourse what u like

I can't see what headphones these are? I read HE-5 only and they look like the newer HE-4!