HiFiman HE-500 (HE as in High End) please post your impressions. . loan pair for UK pg. 28. - Page 211

Quote:

Originally Posted by hifimanrookie 

Try the toxic cables Black Widow 22awg copper cable...i have one of those..love them !

the stock cable is poor and not good sounding at all IMO/. The toxic looks interesting but there is a 8 week wait. I have the Freedom Cable I am reviewing for the Cablepro on there now. Excellent sound. Not sure I am keeping the he500 though. I have the lcd 2.2 in here also. One is staying and one goes back.

The Toxic Cable Silver Poison is a massive improvement on the stock HE6 cable, I assume it would be over the HE500's cable as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank I 

i dont believe there were any changes to the he500 except for different stock cables. The silver coated copper stock need IMO to be replaced as it bottlenecks the he500. Expect to buy an aftermarket copper cable to get the best out of the he500. Some people prefer all silver cables.

The current silver coated copper stock cable is around since autumn of 2011. They had also changed the velour pads and the carrying bag at circa same time. I am not aware of any other changes since then.

I have found the current stock cable being fairly ok sonically, but microphonic and (more importantly) too fragile in the connections. Fortunately I had an aftermarket cable in place when the stock cable broke, after 6 months of usage. 

Like I said, there was definitely a change in paintjobs. Also a change in the wires they used to solder the drivers (used to be thick red wires, now thin silver wires).

Photos:

new glossy paintjob with silver internal wiring

old matte paintjob with red internal wiring

Both had/have my grill mod consequently you can see the inner workings of the wiring and drivers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nigeljames 

The Toxic Cable Silver Poison is a massive improvement on the stock HE6 cable, I assume it would be over the HE500's cable as well.

I have heard good things but 8-9 week wait is a little too long when your paying up front.  I dont buy into giving money and then having to wait 2 months or more for what you paid for that is not just logical to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank I 

I have heard good things but 8-9 week wait is a little too long when your paying up front.  I dont buy into giving money and then having to wait 2 months or more for what you paid for that is not just logical to me.

I have 2 Silver Widows ordered from Toxic Cables, one for my LCD2's and one for the HE6's (if it gets any better than the SP then I will be chuffed).

Been 7 weeks now but hope to get them in the next couple of weeks.

I agree the wait is a factor but I have only paid 50% deposit and will pay the rest once completed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nigeljames 

 

I have 2 Silver Widows ordered from Toxic Cables, one for my LCD2's and one for the HE6's (if it gets any better than the SP then I will be chuffed).

Been 7 weeks now but hope to get them in the next couple of weeks.

 

I agree the wait is a factor but I have only paid 50% deposit and will pay the rest once completed.

I know the guy is good for it but he using people money in advance now to run his business. I being in business for my self for years always used my money to run my business and delivered the goods then got paid. Even fifty percent is high for a deposit. I think since they are custom made but most companies have stock sizes and he did on ebay for a long time now he has no stock so even if you use ebay and paypal you only have 45 day  of protection. I seen it happen way too often on this site. (Smeggly,Mikhail) and others who  took deposits and never delivered. not saying Frank would do the same nor implying that he would but call me cautious from seeing it happen too much on the site.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank I 

I know the guy is good for it but he using people money in advance now to run his business. I being in business for my self for years always used my money to run my business and delivered the goods then got paid. Even fifty percent is high for a deposit. I think since they are custom made but most companies have stock sizes and he did on ebay for a long time now he has no stock so even if you use ebay and paypal you only have 45 day  of protection. I seen it happen way too often on this site. (Smeggly,Mikhail) and others who  took deposits and never delivered. not saying Frank would do the same nor implying that he would but call me cautious from seeing it happen too much on the site.

I absolutely agree, I would prefer to pay when my order is ready for dispatch. Even if they were made and the customer changes his/her mind when asked for payment I am pretty sure they would find a new home very quickly due to the amount of business Toxic cables are doing. Its always better to pay via credit card to get added protection.

When I ordered my Audio-gd gear I never paid until the items were in the UK and had been visually checked I then paid before dispatched. I refused to do it any other way with the 8 week waiting time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank I 

I know the guy is good for it but he using people money in advance now to run his business. I being in business for my self for years always used my money to run my business and delivered the goods then got paid. Even fifty percent is high for a deposit. I think since they are custom made but most companies have stock sizes and he did on ebay for a long time now he has no stock so even if you use ebay and paypal you only have 45 day  of protection. I seen it happen way too often on this site. (Smeggly,Mikhail) and others who  took deposits and never delivered. not saying Frank would do the same nor implying that he would but call me cautious from seeing it happen too much on the site.

I remember thatlast yeari had towait almost 2 months for my custommade dhc cable..this year iwas the first receiving the black widow 22awg... I think because of the market the delivery period gets longer with everyone if u want something special..frank cant help it that the orders exploded in amount..we (his customers here on headfi) already advised him to get help..and i understand he did get help...i myself am waiting for a special version of the 22awg black widow cable..2 months ..oh well.listening to the cable i already have i know its worth the wait..and as u also can read..he is excellent and trustworthy to deal with..giving service for him is just as important as selling products..we all know not every company thinks like that..every company i know u have to pay 100 up front.that he doesnt have stock is only because he just dont have time to make extra cables..the orders are to much to deal with..and he wants to get his customers happy...only way is towork 16! Hours a day to deliver..i a m sure if the orders get less..his delivery times will get to normal proportiants again...so he askes for a bit patience..and as far i see it..most of us dont mind waiting the period..as we know we willbegetting something special FOR the price..

Speaking about aftermarket cables, do you mind explaining which effect your aftermarket cable had on the sound signature, changing from the recent stock silver plated copper cable, if that's what it is?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acapella11 

Speaking about aftermarket cables, do you mind explaining which effect your aftermarket cable had on the sound signature, changing from the recent stock silver plated copper cable, if that's what it is?

I will tell my experience. I will be posting a review in the next few weeks on the CablePro Freedom and they are not subtle improvements.  The stock cable bottlenecks the he500 and to my ears is bright and scratchy not of high quality. The cabler pro transformed it and I will post it in a few weeks as Ia m also waiting for two more of their cables for the lccd2 so I need to burn those in and then I will compare the cables to stock on both the LCD2 and HE500m in one review. I will say the stock lcd2 ribbon cable is excellent the hifiman stock is not and IMO  has to be replaced to get the most out of the he500. I have heard great things also about Frank cables as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acapella11 

Speaking about aftermarket cables, do you mind explaining which effect your aftermarket cable had on the sound signature, changing from the recent stock silver plated copper cable, if that's what it is?

Well..as frank also said bout his cablepro cable..the change is significate..BUT..i went from an already excellent expensive custommade double helix molecule Quicksilver  (is for sale by the way) cable to the black widow i received last month ( is up for sale soon as i am already waiting for a even better custommade black widow version made for me)...

i compared them both to the standard hifiman he500 cable..its a nigt and day difference...

but we all know that..more interesting is comparing an already excellent and wellknown  cable to the toxic cables one...first of all..theyboth are copper...so its a fair fight...price for my dhc cable was 350 usd in theconfiguration ihave..the toxic cable is around 120gbp.. So in priceu would say the dhc would totally destroy the toxic..well..not so..

siundstage on the toxic is wider,bass goes lower, and that velvetly highs! Femalevoices..wow..guys..for less money the toxic is far far far better sounding then the already good dhc cable (which i still think is good cable also!).. Only i like the way the dhc cable looks more..If u want a cable the same quality soundwise u have to think about cableson the other side of 500 usd..the toxic is that good sounding..cant wait to get my better version of the black widow with 8, or when my budget allows it..12 conductors..the standard black widow has just like the dhc cable 4 conductors...believe me when i say..those toxic cables are a steal..for the he500 u cant get better cable in my opinion then the BW..for the lcd 2 u can get the silver widow by the way..top of the line is the venom rc4 a retangular cable for the fraction of the price dhc asks for theirs..dont get me wrong..dhc makes excellent cables..i know..i used one for a year with pleasure...but they are expensive..like all other premium cablemakers..

Quote:

Originally Posted by hifimanrookie 

Well..as frank also said bout his cablepro cable..the change is significate..BUT..i went from an already excellent expensive custommade double helix molecule Quicksilver  (is for sale by the way) cable to the black widow i received last month ( is up for sale soon as i am already waiting for a even better custommade black widow version made for me)...

i compared them both to the standard hifiman he500 cable..its a nigt and day difference...

but we all know that..more interesting is comparing an already excellent and wellknown  cable to the toxic cables one...first of all..theyboth are copper...so its a fair fight...price for my dhc cable was 350 usd in theconfiguration ihave..the toxic cable is around 120gbp.. So in priceu would say the dhc would totally destroy the toxic..well..not so..

siundstage on the toxic is wider,bass goes lower, and that velvetly highs! Femalevoices..wow..guys..for less money the toxic is far far far better sounding then the already good dhc cable (which i still think is good cable also!).. Only i like the way the dhc cable looks more..If u want a cable the same quality soundwise u have to think about cableson the other side of 500 usd..the toxic is that good sounding..cant wait to get my better version of the black widow with 8, or when my budget allows it..12 conductors..the standard black widow has just like the dhc cable 4 conductors...believe me when i say..those toxic cables are a steal..for the he500 u cant get better cable in my opinion then the BW..for the lcd 2 u can get the silver widow by the way..top of the line is the venom rc4 a retangular cable for the fraction of the price dhc asks for theirs..dont get me wrong..dhc makes excellent cables..i know..i used one for a year with pleasure...but they are expensive..like all other premium cablemakers..

Man, seriously you should get some help  This must be very devastating for your wallet  You are just spending a HE-6 on cables...

The improvement you'd get with the HE-6 would beat the HE-500 no matter how fabulously recabled...

I received my Woo Audio headphone stand a couple days ago.  Since I've hung my HE-500 on it there's been a night and day difference.  I immediately noticed much greater base-extension and smoothness in the top end.  The mids are long and thin and overall the sound is heavy and sturdy.  This stand has an excellent sound signature.