[tuna47]

You need a good amp try asgard2 it has enough to power it also a dac odac is good inexpensive one
I love these phones but you will not be doing the justice from any device or portable amp

 

[davidsh]

Quote:

I've got a Asus Xonar ST and really like it. The PCI version has a slightly better digital out on it than the PCI-E.
 
Too bad, that thing looks the part! 

Good suggestion! If I can find the card used, I might go for it. Are you suggesting that the digital out matters, or is it one of the grey areas of audio like cables and etc.?
In my country, I can get the card for 200$...

 

[cheuh]

Quote:

 
I've got a Asus Xonar ST and really like it. The PCI version has a slightly better digital out on it than the PCI-E.
 
Too bad, that thing looks the part! 

 
Do you think the built in headphone out/amp section of the STX/ST is good enough to drive the HE-500?

 

[h4mm3r 0f th0r]

Quote:

 
Do you think the built in headphone out/amp section of the STX/ST is good enough to drive the HE-500?

nope... not enough power to bring the potential out... but if you have nothing else then it won't be that bad but it won't be good either... that is more due to the forgiving nature of he500 than the potential of the amp... get something like audiogd 15.32 maybe as that has enough power and pretty cheap...

 

[cheuh]

Quote:

nope... not enough power to bring the potential out... but if you have nothing else then it won't be that bad but it won't be good either... that is more due to the forgiving nature of he500 than the potential of the amp... get something like audiogd 15.32 maybe as that has enough power and pretty cheap...

 
That's good to know, thanks.
 
What's the difference between the Audio GD 11, 12, and 15? I'm guessing different DAC chips?

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

Good suggestion! If I can find the card used, I might go for it. Are you suggesting that the digital out matters, or is it one of the grey areas of audio like cables and etc.?
In my country, I can get the card for 200$...

 
Digital out does matter to some extent. Some debatable area can be gotten into when you look at things like "jitter", and it can get heated like a cable debate. However there is some difference when you have different clocks. Forgot to mention before the ST will run a little more than that D1 :/
 
Quote:

 
Do you think the built in headphone out/amp section of the STX/ST is good enough to drive the HE-500?

 
There will be enough power to really crank up the volume, but it still won't do the HE-500 its due. 

 

[jerg]

Quote:

 
That's good to know, thanks.
 
What's the difference between the Audio GD 11, 12, and 15? I'm guessing different DAC chips?

Yep, that seems to be the major difference. the 11 has a ESS Sabre ES9018 DAC chip while the 15 has a Wolfson WM8741 chip. The rest of their specs look to be similar.

 

[davidsh]

Quote:

Start out with your portable amps.  IMO, The HE500 sounds actually quite decent from phones, tablets and portable amps.  I ran mine on E17 for a while, then E9K, then Emotiva.  While there was improvement at each amp upgrade, I am still very happy with using the Fiio E17 when I am on the go.  Heck, some nights when I am lazy and in bed, I just plug the HE500 directly into my samsung tablet,  optimal ? of course not.  Good enough to enjoy the music?  For me, absolutely yes.  IMO, it's good to know when to stop analyzing and just enjoy the music overall. 

Funny thing is I might be a snobophile, you can decide. Recently, when I was camping with my dad, I brought the fiio e17 and iphone LOD with me along with my ety's and ultrasone. The first night I wanted to listen to amber rubarth. Made it through the first song on my iphone, and I was like this is just... bad. Bass bleeding and very poor imaging and depth. I had to switch over to some metallica. 
 
A couple o'nights later when I hadn't got anymore rock and metal left that I wanted to listen to, I was back with the ety's - this time with my fiio. Fired up Amber Rubarth yet another time. The only thing I missed this time was my impedance adapter.. The bass was still a bit too undefined and the overall sound was a bit too congested. I even tried turning down the bass 2 dB, next night turning up the treble by 2dB. In the end it was okay, good enough for me to enjoy the more well recorded music without feeling too needy.
 
Dunno what the morale is 

Maybe that amps and well driven headphones are more important than one might think?

 

[davidsh]

Quote:

Quote:

Good suggestion! If I can find the card used, I might go for it. Are you suggesting that the digital out matters, or is it one of the grey areas of audio like cables and etc.?
In my country, I can get the card for 200$...

 
Digital out does matter to some extent. Some debatable area can be gotten into when you look at things like "jitter", and it can get heated like a cable debate. However there is some difference when you have different clocks. Forgot to mention before the ST will run a little more than that D1 :/

Oh well... Thank you anyway 

Is the essence suited for very sensitive cans? And low impedance, inefficient cans (not like the HE-500)? I am thinking about selling my x-can and getting an integrated amplifier like Anda suggested, and if that happens I would like to have the essence for those cans, that can't be run from speaker taps or an adapter. Just a thought...

 

[koiloco]

Quote:

 
I used to have the same opinion, but I no longer think so. While HE-500 may be good enough to enjoy straight out of a weak portable player, after comparing them unamped out of my Clip with ER4P or RE-400 IEMs out of the same Clip, the IEMs sound way better to my ears - no contest. Even HD650 or DT880 600 Ohm are not as handicapped by a lack of proper amplification as HE-500. HE-500 totally loses control out of very weak sources and sounds very muddy, seriously lacking bass definition, soundstage and dynamics. For unamped use out of weak sources like a Clip, one will be much better off buying an inexpensive IEM like RE-400 IMO. You absolutely need at least an inexpensive portable amp (I have Fiio E11) or a good quality, reasonably powerful DAP like HM-601 to make HE-500 at least competent with the aforementioned or similar, much cheaper IEMs or portable cans out of the same source. It is only when I move up to my Essence STX that I begin to notice HE-500's clear superiority over the cheaper headphones.

I must have really bad ears but trust me nothing is absolute like you have stated.  I respectfully doubt that a DT880 600 ohm won't be as handicapped by lack of proper amplification based on specs as the HE500.  I will have to try this out to verify.  And again, at 38 Ohms, the HE500 was designed so that it could be ran off portables, though of course not optimal, but certainly enough to enjoy the music IMO (not worrying about sound stage, bass definition ...).  You certainly have higher standards when listening to music than me. When I am lazy and just want some music, I stop analyzing my HPs's technicality/capability and just listen.  

  We all have our own IMO's. 

 

[koiloco]

Quote:

Funny thing is I might be a snobophile, you can decide. Recently, when I was camping with my dad, I brought the fiio e17 and iphone LOD with me along with my ety's and ultrasone. The first night I wanted to listen to amber rubarth. Made it through the first song on my iphone, and I was like this is just... bad. Bass bleeding and very poor imaging and depth. I had to switch over to some metallica. 
 
A couple o'nights later when I hadn't got anymore rock and metal left that I wanted to listen to, I was back with the ety's - this time with my fiio. Fired up Amber Rubarth yet another time. The only thing I missed this time was my impedance adapter.. The bass was still a bit too undefined and the overall sound was a bit too congested. I even tried turning down the bass 2 dB, next night turning up the treble by 2dB. In the end it was okay, good enough for me to enjoy the more well recorded music without feeling too needy.
 
Dunno what the morale is 

Maybe that amps and well driven headphones are more important than one might think?

For me, the moral is that know the situation and turn off your analytical brain and just listen to the music/lyric...instead of telling yourself : sound stage is not good, separation of instruments are horrible, bass is muddy.....I know it's easy to get used to sound quality and can't "downgrade" in most circumstances but I am fortunate enough to not have this habbit 

  We all have our standards; mine is just a little flexible.

 

[davidsh]

Quote:

For me, the moral is that know the situation and turn off your analytical brain and just listen to the music/lyric...instead of telling yourself : sound stage is not good, separation of instruments are horrible, bass is muddy.....I know it's easy to get used to sound quality and can't "downgrade" in most circumstances but I am fortunate enough to not have this habbit 

  We all have our standards; mine is just a little flexible.

I would rather listen to 'lesser music' that isn't as much about SQ in such a situation.

 

[koiloco]

I would rather listen to 'lesser music' that isn't as much about SQ in such a situation.

Great suggestion! That's what I do also.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

I must have really bad ears but trust me nothing is absolute like you have stated.  I respectfully doubt that a DT880 600 ohm won't be as handicapped by lack of proper amplification based on specs as the HE500.  I will have to try this out to verify.  And again, at 38 Ohms, the HE500 was designed so that it could be ran off portables, though of course not optimal, but certainly enough to enjoy the music IMO (not worrying about sound stage, bass definition ...).  You certainly have higher standards when listening to music than me. When I am lazy and just want some music, I stop analyzing my HPs's technicality/capability and just listen.  

  We all have our own IMO's. 

 
I believe that DT880 and HD650 sound better unamped than HE-500 does, because they have much higher sensitivities - 96db for DT880 and 102 db for HD650 vs. just 89 db for HE-500. If I am not mistaken, sensitivity matters more than impedance in determining how hard a headphone is to drive. Also, I read that higher impedance is actually easier load for many amps. From personal experience, I find HD650 and DT880/600 more focused, spacious and dynamic sounding than HE-500 out of weak, consumer grade portable sources. Out of something decent like an E11 or HM-601, HE-500 improves greatly and begins to compete with the other two cans in technicalities. Out of something like STX, HE-500 starts surpassing HD650 and DT880 overall IMO.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

There will be enough power to really crank up the volume, but it still won't do the HE-500 its due. 

 
I think HE-500 sounds great out the STX. At least I prefer them to any other headphone I've owned out of this sound card. They sound significantly better than my HD650s out of the STX, although it could be a synergy issue. Out of a lesser source like E11 or HM-601, I prefer HD650.