HiFiman HE-500 (HE as in High End) please post your impressions. . loan pair for UK pg. 28. - Page 249

HE-500 sounds just fine to me, even unamped. It improves a lot with with better sources and amps, but scales down very well too - certainly much better than Sennheiser HD6** series or AKG K/Q7**. And, personally, I would rather have the best headphone(s) I can buy now, upgrading my sources later. Even HD650 sounds OK to me unamped and is still preferable to my ears in this configuration to almost any mid level headphone amped by decent amps and sources. Maybe it was different in the old days, but nowadays I think technology has progressed enough to allow even cheap portables (i.e Sansa Clip) to output decent sound and to drive even most high-end cans acceptably. Well, that is unless we are talking about the really hard to drive ones, like HE-6 or K1000, but there are very few of those.

hd 650 and he-500 sound terrible to me unamped.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dubstep Girl 

hd 650 and he-500 sound terrible to me unamped.

I am sure you are just exaggerating. Sure, they sound worse, maybe much worse than when they are properly driven, but they don't sound bad IMO - not out of decent, modern unamped sources. Both are perfectly listenable and like I wrote previously, I would still take both over most mid level headphones driven by good entry, mid and maybe even high end sources and amps. These days, better drivers and housing rule over better sources and amps in most cases IMO. Even the Clip can output enough detail to reveal differences between mid level cans, like, say, HD595, and higher end ones like HD650 or even HD800. I remember listening to HD800 and HD650 at a local store using my Sony NWZ-A816 player (cost $100 bucks back then, maybe a bit better than Clip) and being able to hear the extra speed and resolution of HD800 quite well, not to mention the HD800 still has a huge advantage over HD650 in the soundstage department even with a budget source like that.

still terrible compared to a well driven 650/he-500, they'll still sound ok cause they're good headphones, but they're really being bottlenecked when driven like that. 

and of course 596 650 800 sounds different even off a clip, but not cause it has enough detail, its not the clip, its the headphones themselves that are good.

even my hd 800 can be powered by my ipad and it gets to ok volume levels, and yes it sounds good, very good,  but nowhere near as good as when well amped, and i'd rather have an hd 558 than an unamped hd 800 cause if not, its a waste of money and the hd 800s while they might still sound better, they wont get loud enough and i wont enjoy the music the same. 

of course u hear how good the headphone is, but its not worth using unless it has an amp. thats just my opinion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dubstep Girl 

still terrible compared to a well driven 650/he-500, they'll still sound ok cause they're good headphones, but they're really being bottlenecked when driven like that. 

 

and of course 596 650 800 sounds different even off a clip, but not cause it has enough detail, its not the clip, its the headphones themselves that are good.

 

even my hd 800 can be powered by my ipad and it gets to ok volume levels, and yes it sounds good, very good,  but nowhere near as good as when well amped, and i'd rather have an hd 558 than an unamped hd 800 cause if not, its a waste of money and the hd 800s while they might still sound better, they wont get loud enough and i wont enjoy the music the same. 

 

of course u hear how good the headphone is, but its not worth using unless it has an amp. thats just my opinion.

Well, I meant that you can temporarily get by with using a high-end headphone like HD650 or HD800 straight out of a decent, unamped source until you save up for a better source that will improve the sound of the headphones further. My justification for doing this is that most unamped high-end headphones will still sound better than most mid level headphones, at least to my ears (and you seem to agree with this). I sure didn't mean that you should stick with your Clip or iPhone as the only sources to drive an HD800 forever. lol

How do you guys wear your he500 on your head? I mean, I have mine slightly angled facing forwards.  I started doing this to reduce the pressure felt on my jaw.  But I have noticed, I am getting a more forward presentation of sound.  I find it more enjoyable as it's easier to imagine the band in front of me.  

Anyone else willing to try this and post their impressions on sound quality and soundstage?  I am a novice in that regard.

I have the HE500 on now and I have angled them forward and the soundstage seems to decrease a tiny bit but that's all I notice...

Does anyone know the reliability of the drivers in these too? has anyone heard of them becoming faulty or damaged over time? I know they are expensive and look built to last, but I am just curios

I feel like a kid in a candy store...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Contrails 

How do you guys wear your he500 on your head? I mean, I have mine slightly angled facing forwards.  I started doing this to reduce the pressure felt on my jaw.  But I have noticed, I am getting a more forward presentation of sound.  I find it more enjoyable as it's easier to imagine the band in front of me.  

 

Anyone else willing to try this and post their impressions on sound quality and soundstage?  I am a novice in that regard.

Slightly forward of the top of my head. I'm usually wearing a ball cap (that's how I roll) and the headband is resting just forward of that button on the top of a ball cap.

What is that button called, anyway?

Quote:

Originally Posted by eke2k6 

I feel like a kid in a candy store...

 

 

Impressions?

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldSkool 

Slightly forward of the top of my head. I'm usually wearing a ball cap (that's how I roll) and the headband is resting just forward of that button on the top of a ball cap.

 

What is that button called, anyway?

It's called the D-bag button.

I kid!  I'm just jealous because I have a small head and big ears and I look unbelievably silly in a baseball cap.

Quote:

Originally Posted by disastermouse 

It's called the D-bag button.

 

I kid!  I'm just jealous because I have a small head and big ears and I look unbelievably silly in a baseball cap.

IMO, a D-bag on one's head is certainly preferable to a T-bag.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist 

 

I am sure you are just exaggerating. Sure, they sound worse, maybe much worse than when they are properly driven, but they don't sound bad IMO - not out of decent, modern unamped sources. Both are perfectly listenable and like I wrote previously, I would still take both over most mid level headphones driven by good entry, mid and maybe even high end sources and amps. These days, better drivers and housing rule over better sources and amps in most cases IMO. Even the Clip can output enough detail to reveal differences between mid level cans, like, say, HD595, and higher end ones like HD650 or even HD800. I remember listening to HD800 and HD650 at a local store using my Sony NWZ-A816 player (cost $100 bucks back then, maybe a bit better than Clip) and being able to hear the extra speed and resolution of HD800 quite well, not to mention the HD800 still has a huge advantage over HD650 in the soundstage department even with a budget source like that.

hmm

I am currently waiting for my amps so I am using the HE500s un amped and it sounds...bad even worse than my M50s.

some songs the vocals are barely audible and half the instruments are missing in all the songs I listen to

Edit: I take what I said back. don't know why I didn't think of this earlier but turns out the 1/4 inch to 3.5 mm jack I used to plug in my HE500 to the computer is defective. I used the same jack with my M50 and getting the same results