I think my E7 was $100 when I got it, so I guess I'm worried a Modi would just be a sidegrade?   If a $100 DAC is fine for my rig then that's good to know. In that case I'm probably content with just keeping the E7.

Hey guys   My main setup is Fiio E7 -> G1217 Project Polaris -> HE-500   It sounds good to me, but I'm curious how much I am getting bottlenecked by my E7? It's the only DAC I've ever had .... it was recommended to me back in 2011 alongside the Fiio E9 amp and Sennhsier HD600s. Was a good...

  Why are external DACs that connect through USB non starters for video games? I play a lot of Counter-Strike so positional audio for footsteps is extremely important.   My setup is HE-500 with Project Polaris amplifier. I am currently using a FiiO E7 DAC from 2011 or something which connects...

Thinking about getting the ZxR. I have HE-500 with Project Polaris amp from Garage1217.   My main question is what does it mean when the sound card says that it "supports 600 ohm headphones" - does it come with a built in amp? Will that potentially play poorly with my setup? I got the Polaris...

  This was unluckily the last post on the 3rd page so I'm bumping for visibility: anyone have LCD-2s they would be willing to bring? :) :)

Wow this is already next Saturday! Looking forward to my first meet.   Will anyone be bringing LCD-2 and/or LCD-3? I'd love to be able to audition them to see how they compare to my HE-500.

Has anyone listened to LCD-2s? How do they compare to our beloved 500s? (edit: this was helpful)   Quote:   HE-500 is discontinued so you'll have to find a used version. Don't let that put you off though!

  Is the HE-6 just "technically better" or did you also find it more 'fun' than the HE-500?   I'm debating getting an HE-6 (I can get one for what I think is a pretty reasonable ~$700) but I've heard from multiple people that while it is "better" it is not as fun to listen to as the HE-500...

God I (still) love these headphones.

I have the Polaris paired with my HE500s and they sound great. Can anyone comment on how the Polaris pairs with HE-6? I understand that HE6 needs ~3W per channel and Polaris only supplies 2.4.   I have the opportunity to get HE-6s at a pretty reasonable price. I know that HE-6 overall is...

I have HE-500s paired with a G1217 Polaris. I have the opportunity to get an HE-6 at a reasonable price and was wondering if anyone had tried pairing them with the Polaris amp before and how that worked.   I think Polaris outputs 2.4W per channel.

Anyways, so I ordered a Polaris tonight. Looking forward to using it later this week (presumably) :D

        -_-

When people make such a strong point about these being hard to drive, are they basically saying you need a speaker amp for it? Why is this such a turn-off for some people?

I've never heard HE-400s but I remember reading a few years back when researching different upgrade options that there was a very big difference in sound between the 400 and the 500.   You can get a used pair of 500s for around $500-ish I think? Maybe lower. Might be worth you reading up on...

Curious about what your goals are. Like what are you trying to achieve? Do you want to try and keep the same sound but with increased sound isolation / reduced leakage? Or are you attempting to increase bass? Etc.

That looks badass.

This thread is pretty comical right now. Here we have a self-described newbie that knows almost nothing about headphones/audio and we're all just spouting terms as if he understood all of them.   OmidelF: Without getting technical, you can think of "300 ohm" meaning "the headphone is a lot...

  So if I understand correctly, your main setup is the Bifrost DAC with Polaris amp? I've seen you speak highly of the Polaris for a while now. Have you ever tried hooking your he500 to speaker amps like Guidostrunk swears by? I'd love to be able to compare your setup with his. Both of you...

1. HE-500 2. HD600 3. HD650 4. ATH-MSR7

  Lol that's actually got me excited. If what I'm listening to isn't considered good then I can't wait to hear the real thing!!   Is there anything specific about the Valhalla that makes it a bad pairing with the 500? I was previously using it with HD600/650s.

  I've been running my 500s off of a Valhalla. I don't have much experience in amps ... the valhalla is only the second amp I've owned after the Fiio E9. I can tell the difference between E9 and Valhalla, but tbh the difference didn't blow me away and I was left a *little* underwhelmed given...

  Yeah actually I have Alpha Pads fitted on them. Did make them more comfortable. Maybe I'll try the headband trick since that is definitely what bothers me the most. After a couple hours the top of my head starts to hurt a bit. Also can't ignore the weight (600/650 really feels so light)  ...

I got a pair of used HE-500s about 3 months back. Absolutely love it. I haven't touched my HD 650 since. Ok actually not true...I tried them again 2 weeks back and couldn't believe how much more I preferred the 500s. Just so much more FUN FUN FUN to listen to!!! And I used to love my 650s. I...

As a youngin' (still in college) I don't have the money to have so many nice headphones so I fall into this category. I have one HD600 with an E9/E7 combo.   EDIT: I guess I have bose earbuds too which I don't like much but I got them for cheap and I only use them when walking in between my...