HD800 vs HE500 - Page 4

+1

+1 on that

This was my thought. I've had the pleasure of using the 6, 500 and 800 for extended periods and all have alluring qualities. With a good, spacious sounding amp, the 6s are the better of the three but not by much over the 800s. Orthos just have a more full sound. Not to say the 800s can't give you that but your upstream has to compensate for it. The 800s remind me of a better K701. Very well focused and a bit bass shy in comparison to the orthos. Well amped, the 6s can give you that detail and an open soundscape.

 

 

This is the case in a nut shell.

I listened to HE-6 briefly at a local meet some time ago. They were driven by some nice speaker amp. Honestly, I stopped listening after 30 seconds because I found the treble too emphasized. I also found HD800, DT880 and Q701 treble overly pronounced as well, making the overall sound kinda thin. Oddly, T1 sounded about perfectly balanced to my ears and I loved the balance of HD650, HE-300, my HE-500 and LCD-2 much more than that of HD800 and HE6. Maybe I just got used to the darkish sound of my HM-601 paired with darkish headphones. Out of the cans I currently own, DT990 Pro and ER4S sound bright in the treble as well, but when paired with my HM-601, they are acceptable to my ears. At the meet where I auditioned them, the HE-6, HD800, Q701 and DT880 were driven by more neutral sources and if paired with something warmer and darker like my HM-601 I might have liked them more. But HM-601 couldn't drive those well (the DT880s were the 600 Ohm version) and made all of them sound very thin. Oddly, I listened to the T1, HD650, LCD2 and HE-500 straight out of my HM-601 and these four sounded fantastic with it - surprisingly full, rich and dynamic. I think it may be a synergy issue as well.

Edited by Pianist - 11/25/12 at 10:32am

I swear there must be a different version of the HE-6.  I can not ever get my pair to give me any kind of treble too emphasis at all.  I know what treble emphasis sounds like to...  "T70s, Pro 900s" to name a few.  The HE-6 don't come anywhere close to either of these.

 

What's the deal..  New or different version or what?

I bought my HE-6 in Nov. '10 when they just came out for sale. I actually was on the wait list for an LCD2 before I bought the 6. If not for the wait, I would have had an LCD2 instead. But I kept reading that the LCD2 is dark sounding so I changed my order. Out of the box I didn't find it bright at all. I also don't like bright sound.

I believe it is more of finding synergy with the amp and source. I can listen to my HE-6 all day and not get fatigue, often listening louder than I should. I'm using a speaker tube amp, 50 wpc. Using the Russian Tungsol 6550 or the Russian KT88, there was some grain and edginess that can cause fatigue. But switching to old US made Tungsol 6550 fixed that, better low end too.

 

Can't say HE-6 sounded excessively bright to me - just brighter than what I consider natural. It's a preference thing. HE-6 may well have a more neutral and technically correct treble and I am sure I could get used to their presentation after listening only to them for a while. I know I get used to my DT990 Pro brightness after a while and they sound fine to me.

Edited by Pianist - 11/25/12 at 11:59am

I also don't understand the HE-6 being bright at all.

He's saying that ,he is not getting anykind of treble-at all

 

Strange

What amp are you using?

Have you checked all the wiring?

maybe ,one of the drivers?

 

My he6 's sound perfect both with mj/gung,or emo mini..not overly bright,but definetly there?

no, he meant treble emphasis as in "too much"

ok-tnx,sorry for the error

 

It's surprising one can find the DT990 Pro tolerable yet the HE6 not so. I remember my Beyers fried my ears with some recordings. The HE6 is a bit brighter than neutral, but IMO, not as offensive and peaky as the DT990 Pro/non-pro.

Thats funny u say that about beyers..i also thought beyers were bright..but for my game rig i use a beyer mmx300..and it sounds not superbright at all..okay its brighter then my he500..but the mmx300 sounds full and airy.. I must have one of th few beyer phones who sound less bright then..ok..i admit..thi is a bit oftopic..oops

 

Ok, I'll probably have to take that comment back. It is possible that the speaker amp that I tried HE6 with was too bright. As with any headphones, I really need to try HE6 for at least a few hours with several different sources and a variety of music from different genres to make a solid judgement on them. First impressions often don't mean much if anything. Sorry about the reckless comment guys.

 

And I did not mean that HE6 was not tolerable as in painful to listen to - not at all. It just seemed a little overly bright in the highs giving it a somewhat synthetic tone and taking away from the fullness of sound. I got the same impression when listening to HD800, DT880 and Q701 at the same meet - they all sounded too trebley and thin for my liking. It might have been the sources, but then I did listen to DT880 and Q701 out of seemingly decent tube amps. May have also been the recordings and there are just so many other factors that could have affected my impressions, so let's just forget about what I said OK?