That's great that they have them. I've been going there for vinyl stuff for years but they have expanded a lot since their move last year. I went there while they were still moving in but will head back.

nacc said:

  That's great that they have them. I've been going there for vinyl stuff for years but they have expanded a lot since their move last year. I went there while they were still moving in but will head back.

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Yea, I just moved to the michigan area not too long ago and I went on their open house.  Great looking place with some awesome audio equipment there.  
 
As for the HE-500, they sold their display very recently, and they said they would be getting 3 more in stock or so (one for display, 2 for stock), and they said they would arrive in "a week or so".  They do have HE-400s to listen to though, which I will definitely be doing when I go there to try out the 500.  Luckily, they have the HE-5 amp, which is what I have so I can get the true sound of what I'll have at home (or at least close to it, I'll have all this hooked up to a sound card in the near future).

ben_r_ said:

Now get yourself an Emotiva mini-X a-100 for it and enjoy!

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Or get a quality but affordable headphone amp with at least 1watt...like the lyr or 337/339 who are proved to go very well with the he500..and no worries and hazzle about cable adapters, difficulties with in-balance problems on low volume listening etc. Just switch on...let it warm up, plug phones in..and voila..music
But if u can live with that the emotiva would be a good choice..but as always u can do better..but u have to pay up to get there

hifimanrookie said:

Or get a quality but affordable headphone amp with at least 1watt...like the lyr or 337/339 who are proved to go very well with the he500..and no worries and hazzle about cable adapters, difficulties with in-balance problems on low volume listening etc. Just switch on...let it warm up, plug phones in..and voila..music

But if u can live with that the emotiva would be a good choice..but as always u can do better..but u have to pay up to get there

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Being that you can get an Emotiva mini-X a-100 for $150 from Emotiva's refurb sales when they have them (or $220 regularly priced, or $170 on sale), AND many have said they prefer the sound of it over the Lyr AND the adapter cables wont cost you more than $20 to make, AND the Lyr has tube which end up creating more cost, AND the mini-X a-100 can double as a speaker amp (which is what it really is) which I use to power a couple Definitive Technology ProMonitor 1000's for a 2-channel PC speaker setup, Id say all around the mini-X is a better route to go being that the Lyr is $450 plus shipping and tax if you buy one new.

ericeng91 said:

I'm looking to get to a store in my area (ann arbor) either this weekend or next to audition the He-500s.  Very exciting as my current pair of headphones are (much cheaper) Sennheiser HD555s from about 6 or 7 years ago.  Just have to wait for the store to get some he500s back in stock before i try it.  My cousin has the He-400s which I've played around with a couple times and I love them, so I'm hoping the he-500 will just blow my mind out of the water.  It would be the most expensive headphone I've touched... let alone listened to and (probably) buy.

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If u really loved the he400 then i dont know if u will like the he500... I had both and the he400 is a much much much more agressive sounding phone..treble peaks and very agressive lows..the he500 is a much more laidback phone...more balanced and needs a better amp then the he400 which can be driven from virtually anything that pumps out music...
I hated the he400.. And i loved the he500!!! Especially after all the mods! (modulor pads, headband mod and extreme opengrill mod).. Those phones made me smile everythime i connected them to my 337.. Was pure bliss what went into my ears.. The he500 is for sure the better phone..but as i said..if u really love the he400 it could be a bit on the tame side..
U just have to listen to one and then decide if the 200usd difference is worth it..not forgetting u need an amp to go with it also..u wont like the sound if u drive it directly from ur iphone and most of the portable batt. Operated amps...

ben_r_ said:

Being that you can get an Emotiva mini-X a-100 for $150 from Emotiva's refurb sales when they have them (or $220 regularly priced, or $170 on sale), AND many have said they prefer the sound of it over the Lyr AND the adapter cables wont cost you more than $20 to make, AND the Lyr has tube which end up creating more cost, AND the mini-X a-100 can double as a speaker amp (which is what it really is) which I use to power a couple Definitive Technology ProMonitor 1000's for a 2-channel PC speaker setup, Id say all around the mini-X is a better route to go being that the Lyr is $450 plus shipping and tax if you buy one new.

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If u deeply believe..purely based on the price tag that the emotiva is best..go for it...u have my blessing...but i know after reading up on this stuff that the motiva has problems with inbalance if u use it on normal low listening levels (under 19:00) so u also need to buy a actuator or something to use it when u have sensitive earsa nd cant use it on volume 20:00 and above...
But if u do..well..it could be ur best best...

Well..lets say u can go both ways..one: emotiva or any other (vintage) low power speaker amp or go the headphone amp road with a stronger (tube) headphone amp... Best way is to try it out and the put all the plusses and negatives together and then decide whats best for u...

Ps..i twice bought a reburbished product for my pc and both went poof within 2 years again! So i will never ever buy a refurbished product again in my life.

Ps2... U can get a very good second hand lyr for cheap also if u look for it..the 337/339 is very rare to be found second hand..as the people who has one wont do it away easily

hifimanrookie said:

If u really loved the he400 then i dont know if u will like the he500... I had both and the he400 is a much much much more agressive sounding phone..treble peaks and very agressive lows..the he500 is a much more laidback phone...more balanced and needs a better amp then the he400 which can be driven from virtually anything that pumps out music...
I hated the he400.. And i loved the he500!!! Especially after all the mods! (modulor pads, headband mod and extreme opengrill mod).. Those phones made me smile everythime i connected them to my 337.. Was pure bliss what went into my ears.. The he500 is for sure the better phone..but as i said..if u really love the he400 it could be a bit on the tame side..
U just have to listen to one and then decide if the 200usd difference is worth it..not forgetting u need an amp to go with it also..u wont like the sound if u drive it directly from ur iphone and most of the portable batt. Operated amps...

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I'm not sure where I mentioned it (possibly in another post), but I only had a short time with the HE400s.  They sounded great, but do be honest, they were the best I've heard on headphones, so I never really had a good comparison.  Honestly, my closest was some AKG 701s, or my Westone 4r IEMs - so, no comparison at all.  
 
I'm definitely going to demo both the 400 and 500 using a Hifiman EF5 amp, as I already have the amp.  Also, these will never be powered off a phone or even anything remotely portable.  I have IEMs for that.  
 
The mods sounds great, although I'm not sure how long I would wait before molesting a near perfect headphone.  As far as modulor pads, are those the jergpads?  And a headband mod sounds great.  

ericeng91 said:

I'm not sure where I mentioned it (possibly in another post), but I only had a short time with the HE400s.  They sounded great, but do be honest, they were the best I've heard on headphones, so I never really had a good comparison.  Honestly, my closest was some AKG 701s, or my Westone 4r IEMs - so, no comparison at all.  

I'm definitely going to demo both the 400 and 500 using a Hifiman EF5 amp, as I already have the amp.  Also, these will never be powered off a phone or even anything remotely portable.  I have IEMs for that.  

The mods sounds great, although I'm not sure how long I would wait before molesting a near perfect headphone.  As far as modulor pads, are those the jergpads?  And a headband mod sounds great.  

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The EF5 is a very good amp..and very affordable...it was originally made and designed to drive the he500 in mind by mr. Fang..thats why the powersupply is in a seperate enclosure..to lower the noisefloor... I think with this amp u will love the he500... But do try to do some tuberolling..eventhough its a hybrid it does react very well on tuberolling..just like the lyr does.. two years ago i listened to one and i was very impressed by it...especially for the low price and how sexy those two enclosures looks like together!

Maybe we guys could make a list for the newbies what amps are good for the he500 instead of just advising one or two specific budget amps thats mentioned here...

hifimanrookie said:

The EF5 is a very good amp..and very affordable...it was originally made and designed to drive the he500 in mind by mr. Fang..thats why the powersupply is in a seperate enclosure..to lower the noisefloor... I think with this amp u will love the he500... But do try to do some tuberolling..eventhough its a hybrid it does react very well on tuberolling..just like the lyr does..

two years ago i listened to one and i was very impressed by it...especially for the low price and how sexy those two enclosures looks like together!

Maybe we guys could make a list for the newbies what amps are good for the he500 instead of just advising one or two specific budget amps thats mentioned here...

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Haha. a list would be great, and a list of tubes would be even more awesome!  I actually purchased the EF5 in anticipation of purchasing a Hifiman headphone.  It wasn't until recently that I've more actively pursuing the HE500.  

I just took delivery of my new HE-500,right out of the box I had a quick 15 min listen.Coming from a HD-650 it sounds quite bright and fatiguing on my ears.I am not too worried right now as I am a firm believer in the burn-in process,so I really hope it smooths out.Although I don't have expectations of it ever sounding as dark and easy on the ears as my HD-650's,I do hope it will open up nicely.I am using a Yulong A18/D18 stack which are known for being very smooth up top,so I have my fingers crossed it will all work out for me.

ericeng91 said:

  Haha. a list would be great, and a list of tubes would be even more awesome!  I actually purchased the EF5 in anticipation of purchasing a Hifiman headphone.  It wasn't until recently that I've more actively pursuing the HE500.  

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The EF-5 is a nice little amp, with an OPA swap (about 15 bucks) it is excellent. I actually appreciated a change with swapping out the stock OPA to the AD825AR more then rolling the tubes.

fearless1 said:

   
The EF-5 is a nice little amp, with an OPA swap (about 15 bucks) it is excellent. I actually appreciated a change with swapping out the stock OPA to the AD825AR more then rolling the tubes.

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Sorry for the OT, but did you happen to post your impressions about the swap? If so, would you have the link for the post or remember where it was posted?
 
Now back to topic: I'm waiting my HM5 pads to arrive. These stock velour pads are not what I would call comfortable. They're OK. Comfortable velours are the silver ones used in the Beyers DT880/DT990...

dfarina said:

  I just took delivery of my new HE-500,right out of the box I had a quick 15 min listen.Coming from a HD-650 it sounds quite bright and fatiguing on my ears.I am not too worried right now as I am a firm believer in the burn-in process,so I really hope it smooths out.Although I don't have expectations of it ever sounding as dark and easy on the ears as my HD-650's,I do hope it will open up nicely.I am using a Yulong A18/D18 stack which are known for being very smooth up top,so I have my fingers crossed it will all work out for me.

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Yep, both the HE-400 and the HE-500 are WAY brighter (to the point of harsh on the HE-400 and less so on the HE-500) than the HD-650. I have all three and so far in my playing/testing I prefer the HD-650's with a good tube amp depending on the music. I can tell you that the velour pads did seems to "soak up" some of that fatiguing, harsh highs on both the HE-400's and HE-500's. Give that a try along with your burn in and then see what you think.

I was under the impression that the HE500 was still a slightly dark sounding headphone?Time will tell for me,if it's not to my liking I can always return it before my 30 day window.

themad said:

Sorry for the OT, but did you happen to post your impressions about the swap? If so, would you have the link for the post or remember where it was posted?

Now back to topic: I'm waiting my HM5 pads to arrive. These stock velour pads are not what I would call comfortable. They're OK. Comfortable velours are the silver ones used in the Beyers DT880/DT990...

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Shoot me a PM with anything you want to know about OPA or tube swaps, I'll gladly answer when I get home.