HiFiman HE-500 (HE as in High End) please post your impressions. . loan pair for UK pg. 28. - Page 201

 

I can relate to some albums sounding slightly muted and unsatisfying.  But I largely attribute that to the recordings themselves, rather than the headphones or other equipment.  The HE-500s are the most neutral headphones I own, and it can be shocking sometimes when I listen to an album that I really love and find it to come across a bit flat and lifeless (compared to how it sounds on highly coloured headphones like the V-MODAs).  But this is something I've seen reported by many people on these forums - that really good equipment can be a double-edged sword, in that it can completely turn you off certain albums that aren't particularly well recorded and produced (and that therefore only sound satisfying through coloured equipment that boosts the bass and/or treble). 

I found the dt880 lifeless, but the HE-500 very satisfying

Yes it's sad but true, in terms of music enjoyment I find the HE-500 is very musical compare to the DT880, but every time I get tired after working or hearing music all day, I always grab my DT880 for gaming, so they pretty much complement each other to me

If you can demo the HE-5LE, I would recommend that. I found the 5LE's more lively than the 500's, especially in the upper frequencies. Simplistically, I thought the 500 was an enhanced HD650 and the 5LE was an enhanced DT880/600.

I owned them all at the same time and could compare, and I chose to keep the 5LE and HD650. If you're wondering why keep the HD650 if the 500 was an enhanced version of it, it was because I had built a Crack for the HD650 and wanted to keep it to tube-roll. Plus, the HD650 was even more laid back and physically comfortable than the 500. Finally, I wanted cans that were as complementary (and different) as possible within my taste preferences, and while different in sound signature, ultimately the 500 and 5LE were more alike than the HD650 and 5LE.

I have been playing around with an HE400 for the past few days, and I agree Jerg I enjoy the tonal balance a bit more, but they cause that "Smooth/Syrup-like" effect even worse then the HE500's do IMHO. Like I said I still really like the HE500 but no one can for everything I suppose.

I have the he500 in house again. Just started to get reacquainted.  Using the stock cable for now. I will be reviewing the CablePro Freedom ohno cc pure copper cable also. I am waiting an d should have that cable by saturday.  I had Justin from headlamp switch the pads and put the velour on a last time I had these the leather pads did not sound as good nor fit for as well as the velour does.

So if you could own one pair which would it be?

I agree with you. For me the HE-500 is good, but I prefer my DT880/600. The HE-500 is good for music listening, though a bit hit and miss for me, sometimes they sound a bit muffled. For movies they are good, and for gaming they don't work at all, especially in FPS games you just can't hear where sounds are coming from.

DT880/600 sound great for everything, I really like it's sound signature. Had them for so long and they still keep impressing me from time to time. They work great for all music, movies and excel for gaming with it's massive soundstage.

I did buy the HE-500 to try to replace my DT880's, but since I use my headphones for everything and not just music, the HE-500's aren't for me I guess.

Love the he500 I have had many headphones I find these the best it's good in all areas
I had the 400s lots of fun but the female vocals where awful

When I use sine gen and turn up the volume quite loud, I am getting a tone like a whine from the left driver. This whine is produced across the frequency range, but I can only hear it in the bass and lower mids. It is too hard to hear it in the treble and such.

 

Now I am wondering whether it is my tube amp or the driver distorting?

I had the DT-880 and now the HE-500 and for me it was no contest, the HE-500 is much much better for music.. the DT-880 just had too much treble bite and the HE-500 is more neutral as well as detailed.

 

I am the person who said that.  And I believe that's the way it'll go BUT it was more about being able to tune it should it be a little hot like the Mjolnir.  Having notes on a handful of tubes I already lost my shirt on instead of starting again on another tube type is the other reason.  If it uses a 6922 or some other tube type I'm back to another round of $100-200 experiments.  Rather not ;)

When I compared LCD 2 (think it was rev 2), HE-500 and Denon ADH-5000 on Violectric V200 / V800, I found the HE-500 the best, simply because the sound signature was most balanced and in between LCD (a bit low on treble) and Denon (a bit hot there). It felt just right for me.

 

If you feel you need a little spark in the treble, maybe you could achieve that by complementing the HE-500 with a more "digital" sounding DAC and and your current amp. I know there are controversial opinions about Beresford DACs, but ignoring that, the Caiman sounds less polite than the M-DAC, still offering a large stage. Voices appear a bit thinner and harsher, but then instrument separation is nice. The harshness works well with guitars. This is just an example. Depending on taste, matching amp and DAC, you might be able to tune the HE-500 just to the right point.

Edited by Acapella11 - 2/6/13 at 2:53pm