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remilio said:

Thanks for the quick answer! Violectric V200 is quite expensive and I don't think it's required for meas I only need to drive HE-500. Audio-GD is not bad, but I don't like it's design at all. So, the Lyr or Project Sunrise II. Lyr, of cource is safer choice.

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You can also look into more DIY amps like the M^3 you might can find a 2 or 3 channel B22 for under 1K.  I have to look into the project sunrise II - never heard of it.
 
Used Bursons go for under 1K as well

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darkbeat said:

 
Lyr is the go-to amp for the HE-500s, they just have great synergy. 
 
A few other good amp suggestions to look into are; Audio-GD C2.2 (my current choice) and Violectric V200. Both should have more than enough power to drive the HE-500s to perfection and will be a noticeable upgrade from your Asgard.

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+1 on the C2.2 , works well for me too. Its a tank of an amp but looks the part with the HE500's aswell.  

If I would decide to go on the 1000$ territory, the choice is very easy for me - Schiit Mjolnir smashes Bursons,Violectrics, etc. I'm just not so sure is HE-500 so sensitive to amplification. By the way, a couple of people said that Project Sunrise II is better than C2.2 Didn't hear them and don't have such opportunity (I live in a small Russian town )

Yeah - I guess the Schitt stuff is really hot now..  The Mjolnir is said to be pretty good.  But is this the case with the HE-500s as well?

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remilio said:

If I would decide to go on the 1000$ territory, the choice is very easy for me - Schiit Mjolnir smashes Bursons,Violectrics, etc. I'm just not so sure is HE-500 so sensitive to amplification. By the way, a couple of people said that Project Sunrise II is better than C2.2 Didn't hear them and don't have such opportunity (I live in a small Russian town )

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Project Sunrise II has much less power than the C2.2, but may have a better sound overall (despite the lower headroom), I can't say as I've never tried it. Bare in mind that you can switch the OPAs on the C2.2 to further enhance sound quality (available for cheap on the Audio-GD site).
 
All that said, if you want something that works well with the HE-500s and looks good, go for the Schiit Lyr. As I mentioned, they have absolutely amazing synergy and will be a marked upgrade from your current setup.

Quote:

darkbeat said:

Project Sunrise II has much less power than the C2.2, but may have a better sound overall (despite the lower headroom), I can't say as I've never tried it. Bare in mind that you can switch the OPAs on the C2.2 to further enhance sound quality (available for cheap on the Audio-GD site).
 
All that said, if you want something that works well with the HE-500s and looks good, go for the Schiit Lyr. As I mentioned, they have absolutely amazing synergy and will be a marked upgrade from your current setup.

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I have to ask, did you hear asgard+he500? 

Please don't forget to try the Consonance Cyber 20. I have found it to be an excellent match (with the right tubes).

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cjg888 said:

Please don't forget to try the Consonance Cyber 20. I have found it to be an excellent match (with the right tubes).

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WoW. Didn't even hear of it, thanks!

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remilio said:

I have to ask, did you hear asgard+he500? 

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I used to have the Asgard and its nice with the HE500's- mids and treble are great but lacks the oomph and soundstage compared to the C2.2 which must be because of the extra power.

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lugbug1 said:

I used to have the Asgard and its nice with the HE500's- mids and treble are great but lacks the oomph and soundstage compared to the C2.2 which must be because of the extra power.

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Hmm, I think the bass is OK with asgard. What i need most is more transparency, I feel the sound is blurred a little (that's why I'm afraid of Lyr or PSII a bit - I cannot imagine how hybrid can be more transparent than SS ). And yes, soundstage is wide, but not deep with asgard.

You can try Hifiman's own EF5 - they sell used for $250 or so.  I drive my 500's with speaker taps off vintage receivers mostly now, but I'll do a comparison of EF5 vs speaker taps vs Audio GD NFB-12 (no 2.2 in my house!)

Has anybody chosen between HE6 and HE500? If you had, can you please tell me how you chose?
 
I have both HE6 and HE500 in my hands right now. I am a one-headphone person and I only want to have one. But they are so close and HE6 is better by quality, HE500 is better by sound signature. It is really hard.
 
PS: Choosing HE6 and darken the rig is impossible because my rig is almost the darkest.

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hasanyuceer said:

Has anybody chosen between HE6 and HE500? If you had, can you please tell me how you chose?
 
I have both HE6 and HE500 in my hands right now. I am a one-headphone person and I only want to have one. But they are so close and HE6 is better by quality, HE500 is better by sound signature. It is really hard.
 
PS: Choosing HE6 and darken the rig is impossible because my rig is almost the darkest.

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That's why i didn't try to buy HE-6  I think if you didn't like sound signature of HE-6, just leave HE-500. Sound signature wise they are really hard to beat.

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hasanyuceer said:

Has anybody chosen between HE6 and HE500? If you had, can you please tell me how you chose?
 
I have both HE6 and HE500 in my hands right now. I am a one-headphone person and I only want to have one. But they are so close and HE6 is better by quality, HE500 is better by sound signature. It is really hard.
 
PS: Choosing HE6 and darken the rig is impossible because my rig is almost the darkest.

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i had both the he6 and the he500 at the same time and chose to keep the he500 because it
presented vocal materials better to me. the he6 sounded dryer and slightly more distant than
what the he500 presented with vocal music. for classical and instrumental material i preferred
the he6 but for pop/vocal jazz material i preferred the 500 more.

For who was asking about the Asgard:
 
I found the asgard to have an overly smooth sound due to the fact of the HE-500 already sounding quite smooth.  I spent a lot of time with the Ssgard but ended up preferring my little dot amp over it.  I'm not certain of the detial reveal of the lyr, but I'm certain that having a nice source with a revealing amp is a must if you're looking to get the most out of your HE-500.  I feel that you can probably get a pretty great setup for under $1000, but unfortunately I can't really recommend much as I've been busy with other things not audio related. (I really want to go to canjam though )
 
I have a feeling the two new schiit models would  do quite well, but I think I'm a little biased towards my Decware Taboo at this point that it's hard to make a fair judgement.  I'm sure Lyr / Bifrost is a quite satisfying setup.  Many people have reported being very happy with it.  My bifrost asgard was quite nice and definitely enjoyable, but it can really be taken to new heights with gear that gets those extra details out.