HiFiman HE-500 (HE as in High End) please post your impressions. . loan pair for UK pg. 28. - Page 194

Quote:

Originally Posted by preproman 

 

 

Right - but the amp it self is single ended - not balanced.

Yep i think so..the v181 is the real balanced violectric as far i understand.. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by preproman 

 

 

 

 

+1 i agree 

Quote:

Originally Posted by hifimanrookie 

+1 i agree 

+2....Don't have anything against the D7100, but you need to try the HE-500

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoom25 

 

+2....Don't have anything against the D7100, but you need to try the HE-500

If only once for at least 4 hours or so..so ur mind and ears get customed to the change in sound imho

Quote:

Originally Posted by hifimanrookie 

If only once for at least 4 hours or so..so ur mind and ears get customed to the change in sound imho

I disagree based on my experience. For me I can go from brighter headphones like D2000 and Pro 900 to HE-500 and also from darker headphones like LCD-2 to HE-500 and immediately adjust. The absolute first time I ever heard them, it felt like listening to speakers and everything made sense. Didn't have to get used to the particular soundstage presentation and imaging like I had to with other phones. 

Sure putting the next 4 hours, will help you pick out the tiny details needed for comparison. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoom25 

 

I disagree based on my experience. For me I can go from brighter headphones like D2000 and Pro 900 to HE-500 and also from darker headphones like LCD-2 to HE-500 and immediately adjust. The absolute first time I ever heard them, it felt like listening to speakers and everything made sense. Didn't have to get used to the particular soundstage presentation and imaging like I had to with other phones. 

 

Sure putting the next 4 hours, will help you pick out the tiny details needed for comparison. 

I had my opinion ready also in 10 min or so when i heard the he500.. But some people are stubborn but maybe 4 hours is a bit long..

Takes me about 10 seconds to adjust between HE500 and HE400 sounds, if I A/B swap them.

Hehehe :) love the comments about the D7100 :)

Now the burning choice of HE-500 or T1.

And how are long sessions with HE-500 3-6h? Are they possible or are those HPs too demanding in hearing and brain?

Just finished 4h, rather on the loud side, session with D7100 and I dont feel too fatigued by it, but I must admit D7100 are very cosy to have them on as addition to sound qualities of theirs.

Thanks
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebna 

Hehehe :) love the comments about the D7100 :)

 

Now the burning choice of HE-500 or T1.

 

And how are long sessions with HE-500 3-6h? Are the possible or are those HPs too demanding in hearing and brain?

 

Thanks
 

Objectively speaking T1 has MUCH brighter treble than HE500 (review the graphs I linked you 2 pages ago, and look at the treble region, specifically around 10000 Hz, and how much it peaks relative to the rest of the frequency spectrum), so you should be able to guess which one would be more fatiguing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebna 

Hehehe :) love the comments about the D7100 :)

 

Now the burning choice of HE-500 or T1.

 

And how are long sessions with HE-500 3-6h? Are they possible or are those HPs too demanding in hearing and brain?

 

Thanks
 

I normally listen at night as it relaxes me after a long day of work..i normally listen with them on fot at least 4 hours..sometimes even from23:00 until break of dawn at 6am..no sweat..in my comfy seat....they sound really balanced so they are easy to ur ears and brain..only the weight could be something to get customed to..but with the headband mod i have thats solved also 

Quote:

Originally Posted by preproman 

 

You find the HE-500 does detail retrieval better than the T1?   I would say the HE-500s are more forgiving when compared to the T1 because the T1s does such a great job at detail retrieval - that's one of the headphones strong point.  This also makes it less forgiving when compared to the HE-500s. 

 

This is IMO of course.

I do, and I agree the T1 is very good in this regard. At firs listen they do appear more detailed than the He500's, I think this is because it has greater emphasis on the treble. But listening to tracks I am familiar with, the HE500's do pull back more information.  (Hum, we keep changing the headphones from singular to plural and back again.)

I'm not sure about the T1's being less forgiving, I can drive them happily with the O2 (my office setup these days) but the He500's on the same amp are a bit lifeless. Same with the Rogue 99, excellent on the T1's but also dull when driving the He500's directly.

KP

Quote:

Originally Posted by hifimanrookie 

I normally listen at night as it relaxes me after a long day of work..i normally listen with them on fot at least 4 hours..sometimes even from23:00 until break of dawn at 6am..no sweat..in my comfy seat....they sound really balanced so they are easy to ur ears and brain..only the weight could be something to get customed to..but with the headband mod i have thats solved also 

So you just sit there and listen for 7 hours straight? Dang.

I can't bear to "just" listen to music for more than 1/2hr lol, usually also need to surf the web or do readings at the same time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebna 

 

But are the HE-500 ok on lower volumes as well? The thing is that after all T1 are top of the line while HE-500 are second to top which makes the decision a bit more complicated then I thought. Such a shame I cant listen to them both, or even one of them.

 

Some of the music I listen to is from the 1910's and 20's, being able to listen at low volumes when required is a must. Both sets of cans do very well in this regard. As to the "second from top" I do not see how the order they are listed in a catalog should affect your decision. Frankly, you cannot go wrong with either set.

KP

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerg 

So you just sit there and listen for 7 hours straight? Dang.

 

I can't bear to "just" listen to music for more than 1/2hr lol, usually also need to surf the web or do readings at the same time.

Same here, which is one of the reasons I have been getting into headphones. My speaker setup is "mid-range" by audiophile standards, meaning it can be mind blowingly (that should be a word, dang it) good but it requires that i sit in front of it to get the full benefit.

KP