[Chris_Himself]

Quote:

 
 
However, myself and Chris_Himself have had discussions on this forum where we provided input on the HE-500 vs. the HE-5LE.  We both seemed to agree that the preference was given the HE-5LE by a small margin.  Not drastic, but still enough to be recognized.
 
I'm not sure what made the HE-5LE a slight bit better, but it just was.  Again, though, at the expense of needing a bit more juice to run them.  The HE-5LE being a nearly "end of the road" product from HifiMAN makes me wonder how old the stock is at the moment, or when HifiMAN actually cut production of them?  It probably doesn't make a whole lot of difference, but if I were getting the HE-5LE, I'd prefer for it to not to be "New Old Stock" where the headphones have been on the shelf for nearly 2 years.  If that were the case, then the HE-5LE might have the older style of connectors to secure the pads.  But, this can be remedied by ordering a new pair of velour ($10) and a pair of pleather ($20) + shipping (about $6.00 for US residents, $10 or so for Canada and others.)  
 

 
You gotta PM me when you make comments like this bro!
 
Yes I think the HE-5LE takes it for a bit because the treble energy is there, and a lot of detail is tucked away into the upper treble. So the dark sound of the HE-500 can be soothing, but if you favor a more aggressive sound that isn't polite when things start to get harsh, the HE-5LE is for you. It is a pig to power though, it really is.
 
It easily scales with the LCD-2 when upgrading source/amp and perhaps even more, who knows. The HE-6 would be nice since I now have the amp for it too.

 

[wje]

Quote:

 
 
Cool Wayne, 
 
I was curious to see if we share some of the same impressions.  Clem and I are somewhat on the same page.  More so than not.  IMO the HE-4s are almost akin to the HE-6, and the HE-5LEs are just about akin to the HE-500s.
 
The main difference to between the 5LEs and the 4s are the mids.  The mids on the 5LEs and the 500s are just lush / smooth / seductive.  Not so on the 4s.  More accurate / correct / detailed.  
 
Also there is the bright vs. dark thing.  While the 4s are on the bright airy side - the 5LEs are on the darkish side.  I think the 500s are even more darkish.  The air on the 4s really helps with the detail and instrument separation IMO.  I know Clem doesn't think so

 
Very nice to capture some of your impressions.  The HE-5LE is a few days away (4 or so) from getting to me.  However, the HE-4 is really a great performer.  The biggest issue with me is the sibilants in the female vocals.  To me, it is virtually, if not  nearly impossible to detect and I can just really enjoy the music now.  Even my Sennheiser HD-600 will have a touch of sibilants when listening to the female vocals.  Not enough to be a deal breaker, though.  However,  the HE-4 just does the orthodynamic design right.  Open, spacious sound with some good bass. I can see where these headphones are the "sleeper" model of the HifiMAN family.  I'm sure the sales of them were quite low, which is what may have led to the stoppage of production on them.
 
IMO, the HE-400 rage seems to be a bit viral at the moment as the good comments from a half dozen members in the forum is really getting the interest rolling on them.  But, if one can supply the juice, the HE-4 should really be considered as an option, too.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

 
Very nice to capture some of your impressions.  The HE-5LE is a few days away (4 or so) from getting to me.  However, the HE-4 is really a great performer.  The biggest issue with me is the sibilants in the female vocals.  To me, it is virtually, if not  nearly impossible to detect and I can just really enjoy the music now.  Even my Sennheiser HD-600 will have a touch of sibilants when listening to the female vocals.  Not enough to be a deal breaker, though.  However,  the HE-4 just does the orthodynamic design right.  Open, spacious sound with some good bass. I can see where these headphones are the "sleeper" model of the HifiMAN family.  I'm sure the sales of them were quite low, which is what may have led to the stoppage of production on them.
 
IMO, the HE-400 rage seems to be a bit viral at the moment as the good comments from a half dozen members in the forum is really getting the interest rolling on them.  But, if one can supply the juice, the HE-4 should really be considered as an option, too.

HE-400 is the "consumer's ortho" really, I see an absolute TON of hype and interest in them in young headphone communities e.g. /r/headphones on Reddit. It's growing to the point that M50's once got to almost ("get it and don't look back, bang for the buck, headphone of the century, etc etc"), except it is $400 rather than $120 and is an open ortho rather than a closed dynamic.

 

[wje]

Quote:

HE-400 is the "consumer's ortho" really, I see an absolute TON of hype and interest in them in young headphone communities e.g. /r/headphones on Reddit. It's growing to the point that M50's once got to almost ("get it and don't look back, bang for the buck, headphone of the century, etc etc"), except it is $400 rather than $120 and is an open ortho rather than a closed dynamic.

 
This is actually too bad.  If HifiMAN would invest a small amount of R&D time on cleaning up the HE-400 drivers a bit, they could have an even better product than in the HE-400 now.  With some genres - female vocals being a big exception, the sound is quite an experience.  By experience, I'm implying that one might really enjoy what they hear via some of the slam that they produce.  However, if one wants a headphone that can be a bit more accurate, then other models have to be considered, at a higher cost.  Then again, if HifiMAN were to revise the driver, they might make things too good for the HE-400 and cannibalize some of their sales from the higher end models.  Finally, then reality sets in.  With the failed attempt by HifiMAN to release a revised HE-400 with the version 3 (?) driver (cream colored casing) who knows what their motive was?  Were they making an attempt to smooth out some of the peaks in the HE-400 frequency but toasted the whole process?  I guess we'll never know.

 

[Clemmaster]

HE-400 bass + HE-4 mids & treble would be the magic entry level planar...
A little less treble energy, maybe?

 

[preproman]

@Clem,
 
You like the HE-4s mids better than the HE-500s?

 

[Katun]

Quote:

This is actually too bad.  If HifiMAN would invest a small amount of R&D time on cleaning up the HE-400 drivers a bit, they could have an even better product than in the HE-400 now.

 
+1
 
Speaking of, I think they should reintroduce or revitalize the HE-4.

 

[Joong]

Do you guys think that Asgard 2 can drive HE-5LE?
I ordered one for HE-400 and HE-5LE, based on the experience that Little dot mkv+ was OK with HE-5LE in balanced mode.
 
I do not have HE-4, which is a single ended version of He-5LE.
Even though it forms structurally orthogonality with respect to Magnet polarity.
But by Electrodynamism it does not  maintainmore orthogonality between driving current and magnetic flux that defines orthogonality in terms of E/M.
However it might be similar to HE-5LE rather than HE-500.
 
There is no similarity between two?

 

[wje]

Quote:

 
+1
 
Speaking of, I think they should reintroduce or revitalize the HE-4.

 
I'd be happy if they kept the HE-4 production running.  Headphone amps are getting stronger now - more than they were two years ago.  It very well could be that the HE-4 met its fate due to the power requirements.  Also, when it is discussed as having only half a nut magnet, then people think that the quality will have a major impact.  Also, maybe if HifiMAN were to have marketed the HE-4 at $549 instead, which would have had the HE-5LE at $699, customers might have had more faith in the HE-4 product.  People can be confused by prices and gawk at something that appears too cheap.  Thus, selling them at $549 may have meant that they could possibly have sold more.  While I think the HE-400 is made well, I just see certain "qualities" in the HE-4 and HE-5LE that are unique.  Just as if HifiMAN spent a bit of extra time on them just to polish up all the edges. 
 
There is a pair of HE-4s in the F/S section now for $320.  The same seller has a 7' custom cable from Charleston Cable Company, too, for sale @ $200.  I was almost going to make a move on that combo last week on Audiogon where the owner of CCC was selling them for $399 -- or, best offer.  By the time I got back to the site, he had sold them.  He probably accepted an offer between $350 and $375, I'm sure.

 

[Clemmaster]

Quote:

@Clem,
 
You like the HE-4s mids better than the HE-500s?

 
I won't say that. I still think the 500s have a more technical midrange.
The extra lushness gives it quite a magical tone, yet the forwardness and the upper mid ""glare"" (stock silver cable?) can be slightly intrusive sometimes.
 
IMO, the 4s have more natural mids that don't come in the way of the rest of the spectrum (which the 500's sometimes do). 
 
Between the magical lushness of the 500s and the natural tone of the 4s, it's quite a tossup.
I just wish the 500s could be less forward and more energetic in the treble area. The 5LE might go in that direction, right?
 
I found the 400s midrange to be closer to that of the 500s. Excepts that it only has half of it: the upper mids is non-existent...
 
On a side note: in France, the 4s are actually cheaper than the 400s (329€ vs 379€)

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 
I won't say that. I still think the 500s have a more technical midrange.
The extra lushness gives it quite a magical tone, yet the forwardness and the upper mid ""glare"" (stock silver cable?) can be slightly intrusive sometimes.
 
IMO, the 4s have more natural mids that don't come in the way of the rest of the spectrum (which the 500's sometimes do). 
 
Between the magical lushness of the 500s and the natural tone of the 4s, it's quite a tossup.
I just wish the 500s could be less forward and more energetic in the treble area. The 5LE might go in that direction, right?
 
I found the 400s midrange to be closer to that of the 500s. Excepts that it only has half of it: the upper mids is non-existent...
 
On a side note: in France, the 4s are actually cheaper than the 400s (329€ vs 379€)

 
 
Gotcha...   And just the way I see it

 

[Joong]

​

Emotiva mini-x can drive he-4?
I am thinking I need to order for my he-5le, and he-400, or possibly my future he-4s.

 

[Clemmaster]

Yes it can!

I used th m-stage with the 4s with good result.

Then I switched to SA-31 and it makes wonder!

 

[Chris_Himself]

Has anybody in here compared HE-6 to HE-5LE?

I forgot what HE-5LE sounded like, just that I liked it for particular reasons I chose to note over HE-500.. which I also conveniently forgot how it sounded.. other than LCD-2 was darker.

I have no idea how some of you guys managed to catalog entire collections of headphones haha

 

[zeinharis]

You can ask Prep about the comparison Chris, i believe he own both of them