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HiFiman HE-500 (HE as in High End) Proving to be an enjoyable experience in listening.
Jun 10, 2013 at 8:30 PM Post #5,431 of 20,386
Quote:
hifimanrookie said:
No one says the he500 is a perfect phone..for for the price it sells for and with the right amping it is one heck of an headphone..to my ears anyway.
I think ur stax would be a better adversary to the he6 then the humble 500...so maybe u should try to compare those two? I admit u need a very high quality amp for the he6.. Just as the staxes need special amps also.
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Yup, just thought I'd share my thoughts on a weakness of the HE-500 I kinda havn't put thought in to before I tried those Stax headspeakers... Some might be out there nodding in recognition, what do I know?
 
Sitting with my 500 right now. The snug and heavy fit kinda feels like coming home after a small vacation. But believe it or not, I almost find the upper mids fatigueing after changing!
 
Ohh, I am almost afraid I like the Stax ones better as of now. But on the other hand, I'd feel like committing to certain genres if I should en up doing the unthinkable and selling my HE-500... Probably just new toy syndrome, but I already miss the electrostatic clarity of vocals.
But the HE-500 is so uncommitting and such a good allrounder! Ohh god, suddenly I feel like nothing will ever be the same in the way I perceive my headphones...
 
Jun 10, 2013 at 8:57 PM Post #5,432 of 20,386
Quote:
eke2k6 said:
Got to listen to the HE-500 again at the meet in Dallas on various amps. It's still a great phone, but not an upgrade from the HD6xx, even the 500's owner said so.
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Sub bass on the HE-500 should be a upgrade, also more extended treble. Not actually heard the HE-500, I am going from the specs and reviews. Depends what genres you like and what you are looking for.
 
Jun 10, 2013 at 9:11 PM Post #5,433 of 20,386
Quote:
davidsh said:
Yup, just thought I'd share my thoughts on a weakness of the HE-500 I kinda havn't put thought in to before I tried those Stax headspeakers... Some might be out there nodding in recognition, what do I know?
 
Sitting with my 500 right now. The snug and heavy fit kinda feels like coming home after a small vacation. But believe it or not, I almost find the upper mids fatigueing after changing!
 
Ohh, I am almost afraid I like the Stax ones better as of now. But on the other hand, I'd feel like committing to certain genres if I should en up doing the unthinkable and selling my HE-500... Probably just new toy syndrome, but I already miss the electrostatic clarity of vocals.
But the HE-500 is so uncommitting and such a good allrounder! Ohh god, suddenly I feel like nothing will ever be the same in the way I perceive my headphones...
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I know what you mean, I had some Stax once (when I was single and had money) and highly doubt there is a better headphone out there at any price. It was also kind of annoying in a way, cause you could hear the conductor turning the pages, people shuffling their feet, you hear EVERYTHING. It got to the point I would only buy studio recordings so I wouldn't have to listen to all the racket from the audience.
 
Jun 10, 2013 at 9:25 PM Post #5,434 of 20,386
Quote:
eke2k6 said:
Got to listen to the HE-500 again at the meet in Dallas on various amps. It's still a great phone, but not an upgrade from the HD6xx, even the 500's owner said so.
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That's great for you and the other guy, but to me it's a BIG upgrade. Sorry I owned them both for six-months using the Lyr/Bifrost and the superiority of the HE-500 wasn't subtle for me at all.
 
HD650 is my favorite traditional dynamic can, regardless of price, but come on seriously? it's totally overmatched against the HE-500. The 500 kicks its butt up and down the frequency spectrum.
 
IMO, YMMV, etc, etc...
 
Jun 10, 2013 at 9:31 PM Post #5,435 of 20,386
Quote:
hpiper said:
I know what you mean, I had some Stax once (when I was single and had money) and highly doubt there is a better headphone out there at any price. It was also kind of annoying in a way, cause you could hear the conductor turning the pages, people shuffling their feet, you hear EVERYTHING. It got to the point I would only buy studio recordings so I wouldn't have to listen to all the racket from the audience.
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Haha, ohh well that's also a way to put it. Actaully, the lambda signature is said by many to be the most revealing lambda made to date (makes sense, no damping, thinnest diaphragm).
 
I am really stunned with this headphone, but I still have to grasp it properly with my mind and getting to know it, you know... In a month or so. Everything just sound gorgeus as of now, although they really do have shortcomings too. The sound can be a bit dry and edgy, can lack a slight bit of soundstage depth, and super-detail isn't always a good thing...
 
Jun 10, 2013 at 9:33 PM Post #5,437 of 20,386
Quote:
m-13 said:
That's great for you and the other guy, but to me it's a BIG upgrade. Sorry I owned them both for six-months using the Lyr/Bifrost and the superiority of the HE-500 wasn't subtle for me at all.
 
HD650 is my favorite traditional dynamic can, regardless of price, but come on seriously? it's totally overmatched against the HE-500. The 500 kicks its butt up and down the frequency spectrum.
 
IMO, YMMV, etc, etc...
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I'm glad you feel that way about your purchase.
 
Jun 10, 2013 at 9:43 PM Post #5,438 of 20,386
Quote:
eke2k6 said:
Got to listen to the HE-500 again at the meet in Dallas on various amps. It's still a great phone, but not an upgrade from the HD6xx, even the 500's owner said so.
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Quote:
jerg said:
If you favour the planar magnetic sound (thick bottom end with high finesse, highly layered) then the HE500s are better; vise versa if you favour the dynamic sound.
 
If you have no preference with regards to planar vs dynamic, then they are fairly comparable, in terms of extension and smoothness.
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+1 Jerg nails it again
 
Jun 10, 2013 at 9:44 PM Post #5,439 of 20,386
Quote:
eke2k6 said:
I'm glad you feel that way about your purchase.
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I know you mean well, but gotta admit the HE-500s drivers move at least twice as fast as the HD650, feels like three times to me. The 650 feels slow/sluggish/grainy next to it. HE-500 is a huge step up in resolution/detail/plankton. BUT the HD650 does have a very pleasing tonality, more euphonic than the HE-500. I think the Sennheiser engineers who tuned the thing are geniuses and it's a classic that will never die. When Blu Ray first came out a lot of people said it wasn't much different from DVDs. Even now, a lot of people think 720p is just as good as 1080p. To some people it's a huge difference. to others it's not a big deal. So I understand your point of view, especially going off meet impressions and not owning both. To me 650 to HE-500 is going from 540p to 1080p in television. Hell the HE-500 has even faster transient response than the LCD-2, and they're both planars.
 
All this of course is IMO.
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Jun 10, 2013 at 9:51 PM Post #5,440 of 20,386
Quote:
m-13 said:
I know you mean well, but gotta admit the HE-500s drivers move at least twice as fast as the HD650, feels like three times to me. The 650 feels slow/sluggish/grainy next to it. HE-500 is a huge step up in resolution/detail/plankton. BUT the HD650 does have a very pleasing tonality, more euphonic than the HE-500. I think the Sennheiser engineers who tuned the thing are geniuses and it's a classic that will never die. When Blu Ray first came out a lot of people said it wasn't much different from DVDs. Even now, a lot of people think 720p is just as good as 1080p. To some people it's a huge difference. to others it's not a big deal. So I understand your point of view, especially going off meet impressions and not owning both. To me 650 to HE-500 is going from 540p to 1080p in television. Hell the HE-500 has even faster transient response than the LCD-2, and they're both planars.
 
All this of course is IMO.
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Again, I don't know which HD650 you're listening to.
 
I've been around the rodeo enough to know differences when I hear them.
 
Every single detail that the HE-500 pushed out, the HD6xx could too, with the exception of that last 3% or so in the treble. As a matter of fact, the HE-500's owner came away more impressed by the HD-600's neutrality and midrange resolution. The HE-500 is undoubtedly quicker in the bass, though far from your 200-300% claims.
 
After sending back the HE-500 after my HD600/HE-500 shoot-out, the claims made by some about me underpowering the HE-500 or just not being able to hear properly made me doubt myself somewhat. I'm just glad that I went to the meet and heard it again, and got confirmation from others there who didn't really have a horse in the race.
 
I really didn't want to respond, but hyperbole makes me reflexively want to call BS.
 
Jun 10, 2013 at 9:53 PM Post #5,441 of 20,386
I think HE-500 clearly improves on the bass and treble performance of the HD600 series. The lows on HE-500 reach lower with less roll off, are tighter and better textured. The highs on HE-500 are clearly faster and smoother/less peaky sounding to my ears. The midrange is a close call - both are superb at it.
 
Jun 10, 2013 at 10:33 PM Post #5,442 of 20,386
lol the two can't be compared, they are in different leagues. the HD-650s are extremely disappointing. Owned them and sold them after a couple of weeks, they take too much away from the music. 
 
Jun 10, 2013 at 11:29 PM Post #5,443 of 20,386
HE-500 definitely better than HD 600/650. though the 650 comes pretty close, the he-500 is still a clear step up (with good amping)
 
Jun 10, 2013 at 11:36 PM Post #5,444 of 20,386
Quote:
eke2k6 said:
Got to listen to the HE-500 again at the meet in Dallas on various amps. It's still a great phone, but not an upgrade from the HD6xx, even the 500's owner said so.
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Are you talking about mine?  I certainly did not say that, if you're talking about my HE500.  I didn't see another pair there, so I'm assuming you are talking about me.  I think the HE500 are definitely better than the HD600 and HD650 but wouldn't say they're necessarily worth the price difference.
 
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