Just got my HE-500s. Some impressions (compared to HE-400):

- More forward mids and fuller sound
- Smoother treble. Cymbals sound much better
- Voices are better portrayed. Female voices sound awesome, really.
- HE-400s have more(quantity) and better(quality) bass. But the bass on these is still pretty good.

I'm using the velours by the way. Didn't test it with the pleathers, but it'll probably change for worse, so I won't even bother.

By the way, first thing I noticed is that HE-500's atleast as loud as HE-400 at the same mark on my amp's volume pot(Burson HA-160). Actually I feel it's even louder. It's probably due to the less recessed mids, compared to HE-400. I can go further too without fearing the treble will hurt my ears.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with these. Although I'm not really sure yet if they're worth the $300 plus compared to HE-400, I don't regret buying it. Great headphones, really.

Man, bass is really better on HE-400s. I'm impressed. Anyone know the reason?

Burn-in?

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avi said:

Burn-in?

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I hope so. But even if it doesn't change, bass on HE-500 is still satisfying. It's just that HE-400s is simply stellar.

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khaine1711 said:

If you can DIY, the DDDAC1794 is mighty fine (and cheap, too)
 
The Metrum Dacs, while quite good, are not for everyone. Best to get an audition rather than reading up the glowing review and blind buy 

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Of all the DIY DAC projects I've looked into, I've not seen this one yet...have you had the opportunity to hear one in action?  Reading about it now, so far so good 

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okamoto said:

 
I hope so. But even if it doesn't change, bass on HE-500 is still satisfying. It's just that HE-400s is simply stellar.

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Easy solution.  While your Burson is a pretty strong amp, it doesn't have as much power as speaker amps.  If you could, try the HE500 on a speaker amp.  I personally believe that the bass will improve even further running the HE500 off speaker taps.  IMO, any more bass than what I am getting from running my HE500 off Emotiva Mini-X will be too much and throw things off balance for my listening taste.
Regardless, I agree that HE500 is great.

okamoto said:

Man, bass is really better on HE-400s. I'm impressed. Anyone know the reason?

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The HE-400 is measured to have lower distortion at low frequencies than the HE-500. So bass is going to be cleaner.

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modulor said:

Of all the DIY DAC projects I've looked into, I've not seen this one yet...have you had the opportunity to hear one in action?  Reading about it now, so far so good 

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I rarely recommend stuff I haven't had extensive time with. That said, I heard the one with 1 dac board, wave io, psu x 2 with Mundorf coupling cap. I think it's hard to beat for the price, only downsize is you'll need a case, or mount everything on a plastic/wooden block . Apart from a very nice sound, another thing I like is that it can be wired either as RCA out , or as a balance dac (XLR out, with or without caps - your choice) - very flexible when you want to try out balance rig.
 
If you like it, you could later upgrade it by going for a 8 dac boards + transformer output.

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koiloco said:

Easy solution.  While your Burson is a pretty strong amp, it doesn't have as much power as speaker amps.  If you could, try the HE500 on a speaker amp.  I personally believe that the bass will improve even further running the HE500 off speaker taps.  IMO, any more bass than what I am getting from running my HE500 off Emotiva Mini-X will be too much and throw things off balance for my listening taste.
Regardless, I agree that HE500 is great.

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The problem is not quantity. It's quality: HE-400s bass seems cleaner and more texturized. I have no problem with HE-500s bass quantity at all.
 
 
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lcfiner said:

The HE-400 is measured to have lower distortion at low frequencies than the HE-500. So bass is going to be cleaner.

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Now that you mention, I remember someone saying that. Guess I'm not alone on this.

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khaine1711 said:

I rarely recommend stuff I haven't had extensive time with. That said, I heard the one with 1 dac board, wave io, psu x 2 with Mundorf coupling cap. I think it's hard to beat for the price, only downsize is you'll need a case, or mount everything on a plastic/wooden block 

. Apart from a very nice sound, another thing I like is that it can be wired either as RCA out , or as a balance dac (XLR out, with or without caps - your choice) - very flexible when you want to try out balance rig.
 
If you like it, you could later upgrade it by going for a 8 dac boards + transformer output.

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Good to know  it will be a serious consideration, as it certainly appears to be an excellent value and I'm all for that - I think assembly and finding/making a case for it would be no problem either.  The option to make it balanced could also be very useful down the road.  The fact that it's easily upgradeable and modular design is a huge plus in my book.

update on my try-out with a speaker amp... i borrowed a 'diy cable' to connect it to my onkyo amp from a friend who does same thing as the emotiva guys....
 
for speaker amp guys with a bad ticker.....its best u dont read this..
 
 
well...guys ..u wont like what i will be saying now....especially not the speaker amp loyalists...but i just didnt feel it...i tried taps and from headphone out...but none gave me that shiver!
 
yes..it was more powerful! and yes fuller...but that sweet midrange of my humble 337 or the soundstage that looks like going miles outside my head (a bit overexagerated)..that velvet treble only tube amps can provide..and the way it portrate voices .my onkyo just couldnt cut it...and if its my mind bugging me while listening.....so be it...but sorry...
 
on the lower quality tracks (mp3 until 320) sometimes my onkyo sounded better..probably because its more forgiving as its less detaily...or that it has HUGE more power.... and so overpowers the treble and midrange a bit...dont know...but on high quality lossless tracks i have...no competition...but its also possible it has to do with my source...my excellent hm602 on its line out to dual rca in to my amp..with its vintage philips digital to audio chip inside..maybe it was not a good match with my amp...dont know....
 
but guys..and u can shoot me now...i would never ever change my Tube amp for a speakeramp (maybe ones that are expensive are better in driving the he500?)...
 
imho u miss so much out if u dont try a good one..(yes i know..they cost ya!)...the dedicated higher quality headphone amps are more expensive then some speakeramps for a reason..i know that now...u have to invest a few bucks to even get a decent one...am not selling my amp again...am just saying listening to my onkyo (which sounds out of this world on my AV rig by the way) didnt gave me the pleasure my simple 1.5W. amp gives me....
 
u get a kind of magic (especially mine) in ur music....something u probably wont ever get with a (budget) speaker amp  (they have to cut corners somewhere to keep the price low..thats how it works))..ofcourse not all headphone amps are built the same and some are certainly completely useless (even expensive ones) on a he500...i know that..that also goes up for many other headphones...a hd800 as an example is a total misfire with the 337 (thats why the amp was on sale..the owner just bought a hd800..lucky me)...
 
soooo my personal advice...dont choose blindly for speaker amp A or B or headphone amp B or C....go out with ur headphone to any quality shop u can find..track down the amps and sit down and listen to them as long as they let u...or u can visit meets of headfi all over the world..like the one in coming oktober in london...to get to try ur headphone out with many different amps/dacs/cables/sources....as only by listening u can decide..whether with ur brain (as some believe ) or with ur ears...which amp/soource/dac is the right one for u...only then u can be sure ..or maybe 90% sure that u will enjoy it....or u just buy 10 of them (i wish i could do that!)...get a long holiday...and try them out for two weeks and sell the lesser ones...
 
now i am going to hide for the next 2 weeks or so
 

I've read somewhere that you doesn't necessarily need much power to drive these these headphones, just an amp which can deliver the current quickly. Maybe all this speaker amp to drive a ortho talk is overstated?

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okamoto said:

I've read somewhere that you doesn't necessarily need much power to drive these these headphones, just an amp which can deliver the current quickly. Maybe all this speaker amp to drive a ortho talk is overstated?

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Not with the HE-6, which was why originally a lot of people used it with. Then it somehow bled into use with HE-500's.

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zoom25 said:

 
Not with the HE-6, which was why originally a lot of people used it with. Then it somehow bled into use with HE-500's.

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+1

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modulor said:

Good to know 

 it will be a serious consideration, as it certainly appears to be an excellent value and I'm all for that - I think assembly and finding/making a case for it would be no problem either.  The option to make it balanced could also be very useful down the road.  The fact that it's easily upgradeable and modular design is a huge plus in my book.

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Tremendous value at stock form and DIY. Still a very good value if you buy everything assembled. Maxxed out? I dunno - the trannies are expensive - and with added dac board you're looking at m51/hilo ballpark.
 
If you want a diy dac that can be upgraded/tweaked over and over - better to go with the TPA Buffalo imo