Anyone have experience with the Schiit Asgard and the he-500?

Heya,

I have that pair (as well as Lyr & Bifrost). I've tested my HE-500 out of a lot of setups. It does need power. The Asgard outputs about 1 watt to the HE-500's 38ohms. So it just meets it's bare minimum requirement of 1 watt. It actually sounds pretty good too. I find the Lyr outputs more warmth and the HE-500 seems to come alive more and has better sub-bass presence with the Lyr compared to the Asgard. But the Asgard can run the HE-500 enough to enjoy it until you can get something with more omph. I've found that basically you need about 2 watts for the HE-500 to spread it's wings. After that it seems to stop changing from just power alone, at least in my experience. It definitely doesn't need 6 watts for example, but it just seems to need a touch more than 1 watt. A good option for you could be to potentially change the Asgard up for a NFB 12.1 for something that does 2+ watts into 38ohms for an HE-500. Sound wise, I find the Asgard to be pretty clean, but maybe a touch bright (compared to the Lyr which just seems more warm). It's a good match for the HE-500 because it's pretty neutral/warm, not really bright like it's big cousin. I find most headphones match well with Schiit amps in general, they're pretty nice and are not overly bright nor warm. I've run everything in my inventory from the Asgard without issue. It's a solid performance amp.

Very best,

Agreed--the Asgard does the job.  So far I have been very pleased with it pushing a variety of cans, including the HE-500.  It doesn't deliver the same sound signature as a tube or hybrid amp, but that is to be expected.