[headphonatic]

Quote:

 
How many Fostex mods have you heard?  I think I'm probably up near about 15 different variations at this point in time.  Speed and detail are in the latest concoction that I just had on my ears a short bit ago.  I, too, thought this may not have been possible to achieve.  However, it has.

I've tried around five or six, BMF 5, 6.2, 6.3, and 8; if you wish to count them as separate mods, Rastapants one and two, decide to go from one to the other just to see what the difference was, and Smooth Operators. My favorite turned out to be BMF 8, and a couple of my own configurations (added them in a long time ago, forgot what they were), coupled with pad stacking (srh 840 pads on the bottom and stock pads on top), which drastically improved sound stage in terms of width, and separation. They were perfect to my ears back then, but now I'm looking for something a little different, better of course, and I've only heard good things about the paradox and the He500, maybe move up a step in the orthodynamic sound.

 

[hifimanrookie]

Quote:

I'll be using them indoors, I love a neutral signature, but what I'm really looking for is which of the two has better overall texture, speed and detail, and saving a couple hundred would be great, I already own a modded t50rp, but I want to move on, is the he500 really worth the 2 hundred extra? I have an amp with will drive both. Thanks

+1 for the he500..but pls get a good and powerfull (at least 1watts rms) amp for it!

 

[Dyaems]

i voted for the paradox for its neutrality but i prefer the "colored" sound of the he500 haha

 

[wje]

Quote:

I've tried around five or six, BMF 5, 6.2, 6.3, and 8; if you wish to count them as separate mods, Rastapants one and two, decide to go from one to the other just to see what the difference was, and Smooth Operators. My favorite turned out to be BMF 8, and a couple of my own configurations (added them in a long time ago, forgot what they were), coupled with pad stacking (srh 840 pads on the bottom and stock pads on top), which drastically improved sound stage in terms of width, and separation. They were perfect to my ears back then, but now I'm looking for something a little different, better of course, and I've only heard good things about the paradox and the He500, maybe move up a step in the orthodynamic sound.

 
I see.  Thanks for sharing your experience with the Fostex headphones.  I think through the "flavors" that you've tried, you have certainly attempted to get the most out of a pair, but then realized you'd like to try something else.  Change is good.
 
Quote:

i voted for the paradox for its neutrality but i prefer the "colored" sound of the he500 haha

 
I do like the sound of the Paradox, but I personally voted for the HE-500, too.  My main reason was due to my own, as well as many others here who seem to switch headphones a lot.  In that case, I think the HE-500 will hold its value a bit better.  Buyers tend to back away from modified headphones which can be a risky purchase, since they can't be returned.  Then again, all one needs is market timing.  If another is looking for a pair of Paradox headphones and someone is selling for a decent price, and without the wait to have a new pair built, then there is a good match.

 

[DefQon]

One is flat line neutral and the other one isn't?
 
This is just two flavors of an ice cream cone, why not have both?

 

[headphonatic]

Quote:

One is flat line neutral and the other one isn't?
 
This is just two flavors of an ice cream cone, why not have both?

Sadly, because I'm not rich.

 

[LFF]

Quote:

One is flat line neutral and the other one isn't?
 
This is just two flavors of an ice cream cone, why not have both?

 
Quote:

Sadly, because I'm not rich.

 
DefQon is right...both of these sound VERY different. I know because I have both.
 
What I would highly recommend you do is consider the pro's and con's of each.
 
Do you REALLY like neutral or do you prefer some flavoring to your music? Do you want a retail product or do you want a custom tailored product? What about comfort? What about the rest of your system?
 
I highly recommend you try to get on the tail end of the Paradox tour if you want to try them out. They are definitely not for everybody and I tell this to all potential customers. They are unforgiving of bad sources and are made to be reference monitoring headphones. Nothing more, nothing less. I made them for myself for work purposes but it just so happens I vastly prefer a neutral sound signature over any other.
 
You won't know which flavor you prefer until you try both, preferably side by side with a good source and good masters. As always, YMMV.

 

[headphonatic]

Great right when I thought the HE500's were going to win, this guy had to get my attention, and sincerely, he sounds just like many other who have used the paradox. I'm really torn apart.
 
post #48 of 146

1 week, 5 days ago


 

1. [img]http://cdn.head-fi.org/d/d5/100x100px-LS-d55f63a2_file.jpeg[/img]

1. remilio
2. 
3.  
4. offline

1. 47 Posts. Joined 11/2011
2. Location: Russia

Paradox is in the house for 2 days now - considering that I bought burnt-in pair, I think that's enough for the first impression.
 
In two words they are "space" and "clarity" - it impressed me from the first seconds how good they are in terms of details and 3D feeling - definitely better than my HE-500. And that's sealed phones! Maybe there're kinda nano-equalisers inside them, I don't know, but that's just no contest between HE-500 and paradox in these aspects.
 
Their tonal balance is definitely brighter than HE-500 - superb for classics, not disturbing on rock and metal, IMHO, but for jazz etc. maybe too bright. Vocals to me as good as with HE-500.
 
The most controversal part of their sound for me is bass. I don't know how can it be, but on some tracks the amount of bass is on par with hifimans, while on the others there's definitely much less (I want more on these records). The coolest part, though, is that the bass of paradox never ever affect mids, while on hifimans the sound can become a little bit blurred on complex music with a lot of instruments.
 
Paradox is much less forgiving - crappy records sound like crap, especially high freq.
 
So, in my experience, Paradox and HE-500 are very different, but both headphones are good in their own way on my schiit setup (Bifrost+Asgard). I'm waiting for Anedio D2 to come, so, if everything's fine with the parcel, I'll make another comparison using it.
 
P.S. Now I have just HE-500, but I had Denon D2000 and AKG K550 - Paradox is much better in every aspect, just higher league.
P.S.S. Sorry for bad english

Edited by remilio - 11/1/12 at 3:16am

 

[hifimanrookie]

You must be new here... wait you are .
You will always hear good things with just about every single pairing out there. Most of those opinions mean jack all to me though.

He500 pairs best with an amp with rms output of more then 1 watts rms per channel. Dont have experience with o2..but i do have experience with the matrix m-stage..also a good budget amp..and allthough it sounded ok..since i have my darkvoice amp i hear what a strong amp can do with the he500..and am sure u can then pick out the he500 soundwise..as best compairing to most headphones under the 1000 mark. But thats what my ears tell me..and i heard lots of them..from sennheiser, beyerdynamics to westone and hifiman..i owned the he300(best budget phone u can buy for the price by the way), the 400 (was a bit to bright for me) and since a few weeks the he500...for me..as a like all music phone..the he500 comes highly apreciated.
And as i said before..get a high quality strong amp..and then compare the two..as i am sure even the paradoxs will bite the dust then...hifiman needs lots of power eventhough its said it only needs 1 watts rms..so get a better amp then the o2.. Like a yulong a18 sabre or the shiit mjolnir..or even the less expensive lyr..or be adventurus like me and try a powerfull tube amp with the right tubes..and then come back nd say u prefer the paradox..i know a specialist with million of years of eperience and he sells the other wellknow t50r..the maddox..and eventhough its a Great phone for the money..we both agree the he500 is a league higher..some people have the he500 and then use a 200 dollars amp on it..yeah it sounds good..but it never ever will show he500 his full potential...sometimes it surpises me that people compare difficult to drive phones with others on budget amps..ofcourse the less difficult to drive phone will sound better...but hey..this is my opinion..and no i dont care about how much a phone costs or the amp..as long they sound excellent together..sometimes i believe that when someone says something about a Phone..it ends up as a hype..i know the paradox is good value for the money..as is the maddox...but he500 is better..just like the lcd3 or the he6 and stax or for some the hd800 or t1 are (as many consider) better phones thebthe he500...its just pity they cost big cash..the closest u get to those superphones is the he500. And no..i dont have shares in hifiman and no i am not rich..pity enough

 

[DefQon]

Quote:

He500 pairs best with an amp with rms output of more then 1 watts rms per channel. 

 
The HE500's are relatively efficient compared to its older and bigger brothers the HE-5/LE and HE-6. While you can amp the HE-500 using speaker taps from an Integrated amp or a more powerful amp, you can also easily get away with amping it from normal head amp's and still have have a good sound from them.

 

[Smoke Signals]

Quote:

hifiman needs lots of power eventhough its said it only needs 1 watts rms

 
Do you have any proof for this claim?

 

[hifimanrookie]

​

Do you have any proof for this claim?

Yeah my ears! As i used it first on an also good budget amp the matrix m-stage...and pls check this forum..its wellknown..and if u want i can paste the mail i got from head direct ( they are manufacturer of hifiman by the way) themselves stating the minimal rms requirement is 1 watts but better would be a stronger amp. As before i bought the he500 i wanted to know if my matrix would be powerfull enough..but they adviced for a stronger amp..like their ef5..and because of that i have now a darkvoice 337 with some heavy duty high output tubes in it. And doing a one on one compare..the matrix did drive the he500 pretty well..it was on gain 10 db with volume on 14:00.. But with the darkvoice on 21:00 it was so much more fuller and bass was really controlled and the rest was so velvetly...but then again..check this forum..and u will find same answers...check the shiit lyr thread for instance..u dont need to believe me..but my ears tell me the truth..and head direct confirmed it also on paper by mail as an advice..but ur free to have a different opinion..a powerfull quality amp doesnt mean u have to buy a super expensive amp..as i said..the lyr is a good budget amp for the he500 as it is for all the ortho dynamics for that matter.


Ur proof
By the way the amp they are talking about is my trustworthy matrix m-stage




On 26 okt. 2012, at 09:02, "Phone Support" wrote:

Hello Paulo,

Traditionally orthodynamic headphones requires a lot of power to drive them, please make sure you are using a headphone output a minimum of 2-3W



I recommend a more powerful amp our EF5

Kindest regards,
Ms. T.

HiFiMAN Electronics Corporation
Customer Service Manager



On Wed, Oct 24, 2012 at 10:03 PM, Customer Service wrote:
Hello Ms.T,

Help! This customer asks whether our HE-500 is compatible with the amp he has.
I have no idea about the brands he mentions and how to judge whether they match or not.
I really do not know how to answer.
Would you please help?
Thanks a lot.

Best Regards,
Zhang Lu
Head-Direct Customer Service Team

 

[ultrabike]

Quote:

Yeah my ears!

 
I think is more an amp performance issue (non-linear distortion, FR, output impedance, ...) as opposed to power. FWIW I can drive the HE500 out of my Sansa Zip happy meal DAP with decent amounts of volume. However, I get better results with a dedicated amp.

 

[hifimanrookie]

I think is more an amp performance issue (non-linear distortion, FR, output impedance, ...) as opposed to power. FWIW I can drive the HE500 out of my Sansa Zip happy meal DAP with decent amounts of volume. However, I get better results with a dedicated amp.

I know what u mean..with power i mean control..quality is ofcourse important..but u need some reserves..even the manufacturer themselves confirm it. They also have the ef2..but that one just isnt powerfull enough..but as i said..its up to u to experience it...i respect every opinion..if u think it can be driven lightly..and u find it enjoyable with ur amp..stick with it..but..if u ever can try a lyr or better..i think u maybe will be surprised of how good the he500 can be..

 

[ultrabike]

Quote:

I know what u mean..with power i mean control..quality is ofcourse important..but u need some reserves..even the manufacturer themselves confirm it. They also have the ef2..but that one just isnt powerfull enough..but as i said..its up to u to experience it...i respect every opinion..if u think it can be driven lightly..and u find it enjoyable with ur amp..stick with it..but..if u ever can try a lyr or better..i think u maybe will be surprised of how good the he500 can be..

LOL!!! The HE500 is a great headphone. I think in the end it comes down to your priorities. The Paradox handles bass and mids better in terms of timbre. The HE-500 may provide you with more air and a little bit of extra bass which may translate into more perceived fullness. It's a though call for me, but I would give my vote to the Paradox given they are a closed can, shines with good recordings, and is more affordable ($500 vs $700.)
 
Get both