[adamsf]

NFB15 ordered! 
 
Now to decide between the HE-4 & HE-500.  Not sure if the extra weight of the 500s would bug me or not, as my M50s are pretty light (280g vs. 350g (HE-4) & 502g (HE-500)).  Most reviews that mention both seem to prefer the 500, but I'm trying not to fall into the trap of "but the 500 is $200 off MSRP and only $50 more than the 4, so I'm getting a bargain!"
 
 

 

[manbear]

Do you want more of a warm sound, or more of a clean sound?

 

[Makiah S]

  Do you want more of a warm sound, or more of a clean sound?

That's pretty much what it Boils Down to 

 

[adamsf]

Warmer, I guess, but honestly having not done any AB comparisons between headphones considered to be "warm" vs. ones considered to be "neutral," it is a little hard for me to say.  I think I'll get the 500 (which seems to be considered to be warmer than the 4) and take it from there.

 

[manbear]

  Warmer, I guess, but honestly having not done any AB comparisons between headphones considered to be "warm" vs. ones considered to be "neutral," it is a little hard for me to say.  I think I'll get the 500 (which seems to be considered to be warmer than the 4) and take it from there.

That's probably a safer choice. A warm sound is less likely to be fatiguing and will sound better with a wider range of recordings. 

 

[Makiah S]

 

That's probably a safer choice. A warm sound is less likely to be fatiguing and will sound better with a wider range of recordings. 

yea, you will get less WOW moments, but also less EWWW moments as well 

 

[adamsf]

So the HE-500 arrived today, and I plugged them into my Fiio E09k/E17 combo as my audio-gd NFB15 amp/dac is still en route from HK, and even on the Fiio, they sound fantastic, an enormous improvement on my AT50s (which one would hope given the non-small price difference).  Even with the amp's gain switch on high, I can easily max out the amp without exceeding my loudness threshold, though, which is not really a surprise.
 
My wife, not at all interested in audio minutae, listened to Rhye's album on them and immediately proclaimed it the best sound she has ever heard from either speaker or headphone (and also noted their heaviness)
 
I cannot wait for my NFB15 to arrive so I can properly put these through their paces.
 
Thanks so much to everyone for their advice.

 

[Makiah S]

  So the HE-500 arrived today, and I plugged them into my Fiio E09k/E17 combo as my audio-gd NFB15 amp/dac is still en route from HK, and even on the Fiio, they sound fantastic, an enormous improvement on my AT50s (which one would hope given the non-small price difference).  Even with the amp's gain switch on high, I can easily max out the amp without exceeding my loudness threshold, though, which is not really a surprise.
 
My wife, not at all interested in audio minutae, listened to Rhye's album on them and immediately proclaimed it the best sound she has ever heard from either speaker or headphone (and also noted their heaviness)
 
I cannot wait for my NFB15 to arrive so I can properly put these through their paces.
 
Thanks so much to everyone for their advice.

Happy to hear your enjoying them man