[zibra]

Listen Grado GS1000 also. I suggest you to try headphones before buying, especially if you dont want used ones.

 

[inthere]

 I just auditioned a headphone amp last night that's perfect for 702's. It's more powerful than an O2 and has a better soundstage. Sound signature is is like an E12, but warmer, so I guess you can say it's a warm sound E12 with a way better soundstage. The creator, Andrew Pallison told me he uses the same capacitors that are in an old 80's McIntosh tube amp. 
 
It looks exactly like JDS Labs' cMOY, but it sounds completely different. One problem is it uses two 9 volt batteries and you have to replace them, but Andrew says you get approximately 75 hours per pair of duracells. It is a league above the Schiit Lyr imo. 
 
Here's the killer: Andrew says he is only going to charge £50 uk pounds for it. He doesn't even have a website to order from yet but he does have an Ebay account I can link to, I'm trying to get him to post it there. It's a 2 man operation so he can't really handle a large amount of orders. I'm trying to get him to send one each to Jude and Tyll at InnerFidelity.
 
 

 

 

 

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

I'm interested.

 

[WhiteCrow]

Quote:

What do you guys think about the hifiman 500?

I love the sound of classical on my HE-500 and Schiit stack, but its been far to long since i have tried the T1 to compare.

 

[Elman]

what schiit system do you have? How much power does the hifiman 500 really need?

 

[WhiteCrow]

Quote:

what schiit system do you have? How much power does the hifiman 500 really need?

I have the Lyr+Bifrost combo. As for how much power does it actually need? that's a tad subjective; I didn't think my little dot MKII did these any justice but some people swear these are fine out of just about any amp. I personally love the sound they have with this combo and have heard very positive things about them with higher end amps, this doesn't always mean more power full but better or higher quality parts. I have also heard they sound great with the magi/modi schiit stack.
 
So a less ambiguous answer for me would be, I think they need a fair bit of power to reach their potential, Schiit clearly isn't the endgame amp/dac for this combo but its one I find very satisfying and budget conscious. Also brows the for sale forums on here; good deals a plenty on good headphones.

 

[blueangel2323]

I think Hifiman HE-500 would be better for classical than the HE-400 - the latter is laid back in the upper mids which gives it a warm sound but for classical you'd want a bit more brightness. HD600 would be good too, except that you may want a little more air around your strings and HD600/HD650 are a bit laid back in the treble. HD700 would be great for classical too, unless it's opera with female vocals - female vocals don't really sound right to my ears on the HD700 due to a bit of unevenness in the upper mids to lower treble transition.

 

[vinnievidi]

I can agree with that. I actually find that I prefer my SE425 over the HD700 when listening to opera. Not that the 700 is terrible, just not as enjoyable.
 
 
Quote:

HD700 would be great for classical too, unless it's opera with female vocals - female vocals don't really sound right to my ears on the HD700 due to a bit of unevenness in the upper mids to lower treble transition.

 

[blueangel2323]

Quote:

I can agree with that. I actually find that I prefer my SE425 over the HD700 when listening to opera. Not that the 700 is terrible, just not as enjoyable.
 
 

Yeah they're very impressive headphones in terms of apparent detail, but that's a double-edged sword when it comes to vocals as the little bumps that push the details in your face also make voices sound a bit unnatural. Crystal clear, to be sure, but not 100% realistic. And that's with any female vocals and high male vocals, not just opera. I just said opera because OP said classical and to me classical+vocals=opera

 

[Sound Devourer]

I'm actually using a Beyer DT-880. I "upgraded" from a AKG K271mkii, I used it to listen to classical music as well, but I never really liked the high frequencies on it. So I would suggest a headphone from Beyer. DT-880 sounds very nice for me . But you could get a T1 to make sure that you will upgrade. They are more accurate in therms of timbre and neutrality. What is very important for classical music. But you will need a good AMP to drive them properly.

 

[Andolink]

I listen to classical almost exclusively and am completely satisfied with how the HE-500 conveys everything with vivid imaging and tonal accuracy.  Mine is powered by an Audio-gd NFB 6 which delivers 5.92 watts into the 500's 38 ohms and has an absolutely black background.  The Lyr/Bifrost combo is highly regarded by a huge number of Headfiers who own the HE-500 but I have no personal experience with it.

 

[Elman]

I'm actually using a Beyer DT-880. I "upgraded" from a AKG K271mkii, I used it to listen to classical music as well, but I never really liked the high frequencies on it. So I would suggest a headphone from Beyer. DT-880 sounds very nice for me . But you could get a T1 to make sure that you will upgrade. They are more accurate in therms of timbre and neutrality. What is very important for classical music. But you will need a good AMP to drive them properly.

Do you really think the beyer dt 880 is an upgrade from the akg k702s?

 

[Elman]

Alright guys I'm thinking about getting the hifiman 500 now. What do you guys think?

 

[vinnievidi]

Go for it! I've been reading some pretty promising user comments and pro reviews. You may want to look at an amp like the Lyr down the line though.
 
I think you said you didn't want used, but I just thought I'd bring this to your attention (saw it a couple minutes ago): http://www.head-fi.org/t/672584/hifiman-he-500-for-sale 

 

[preproman]

If you have the amp for it.  IMO they would be better than the HE-500s  
 
HE-5LE
HE-4