[SilverEars]

Here is someone talking about it in 2016 with the HE6. And in regards to Stax, this is from last year but I know for a fact people have been doing this for awhile. I don't feel like hunting down more posts but @elquixote remembers and I'm sure a few more old timers will know it too.
This isn't a new mod (no offence to FastandClean), interesting that it was reawakened like this though.

No, not new, but also not identical either. I really don't see much potential from bluetack mod on the classic Hiifmans. I don't much point of it really. There is a different spot where tack is put on, in which I doubt has significan as the 5XX, which has a large volume chamber in the main airflow path inside the driver opening. The 5XX mod is significant and original, and the measurement easily shows it's effectiveness.

I don't think the mods compare.

 

[jasswolf]

Seems promising... looking forward to more comparisons with the Sundara and the BLON B20.

Realising now I should have tagged @trellus for the BLON comparison. Would be interesting to see how this Hifiman takes on the entire collection of models using that driver (Takstar HF-580 and Monoprice M570 stand out as the value contenders).

 

[SilverEars]

mod to remove the bass roll of

Please also include the link to the source and the name of the modder. We need to provide credit where is due.

I like that the community has these people that disassembles so that we can see the inner workings, and also provides any mods that would improve the response. Very important part of our community.

I've seen Tyll doing teardown, and haven't much seen anybody else have such balls.

 

[FastAndClean]

Please also include the link to the source and the name of the modder. We need to provide credit where is due.

I like that the community has these people that disassembles so that we can see the inner workings, and also provides any mods that would improve the response. Very important part of our community.

I've seen Tyll doing teardown, and haven't much seen anybody else have such balls.

we cant talk about the site, however there is a discussion on drop page - https://drop.com/buy/drop-hifiman-he5xx/reviews/2728460
credit @takato14

 

[SilverEars]

we cant talk about the site, however there is a discussion on drop page - https://drop.com/buy/drop-hifiman-he5xx/reviews/2728460
credit @takato14

very nice discusssion indeed. We all can see who is providing useful info and who is just fudging it. Lol.

This just shows that driver isn't really different from Deva, but just slight difference in the interior structure that differentiates the bass between the two? Because the extension apparently depends on sealing of the gap area.

 

[trellus]

Realising now I should have tagged @trellus for the BLON comparison. Would be interesting to see how this Hifiman takes on the entire collection of models using that driver (Takstar HF-580 and Monoprice M570 stand out as the value contenders).

I did get my HE-5XX just yesterday but have barely had time to listen to them -- they are extremely light, and the "R" and "L" are very, very hard to read on mine at least, particularly last night when I was first listening when I had extraordinary difficulty figuring out in the low light of my bedroom, lol -- but I've not yet had a chance to compare them to my BLON B20, which are my daily drivers when I travel to see my folks in Colorado.

I did find them immediately enjoyable (as I do my BLON B20 which I really, really like), but without A/B'ing them yet, I can't really say anything about them with respect to each other.

 

[trellus]

very nice discusssion indeed. We all can see who is providing useful info and who is just fudging it. Lol.

This just shows that driver isn't really different from Deva, but just slight difference in the interior structure that differentiates the bass between the two? Because the extension apparently depends on sealing of the gap area.

I barely got my HE-5XX yesterday, and have barely listened to them -- and did an extraordinarily brief comparison between the Deva and the HE-5XX early this morning, and frankly found only subtle differences between them -- the 5XX had a little better sub bass, wider soundstage, but there's not as much of a difference between 5XX and Deva as there is between 5XX and HE-5se, which I also did a very brief comparison against, the 5se had a more intimate presentation, less warmth, more sibilance.

 

[cel4145]

I did get my HE-5XX just yesterday but have barely had time to listen to them -- they are extremely light, and the "R" and "L" are very, very hard to read on mine at least, particularly last night when I was first listening when I had extraordinary difficulty figuring out in the low light of my bedroom, lol

I've never understood why some headphone manufactures have to go with a perfectly symmetrical design style such that you can't easily tell which way to put on the headphones. I hate that when I try to put on headphones in low light. lol

 

[Clemmaster]

It's quite easy to tell looking at the pads. They're thicker in the back.

 

[trellus]

It's quite easy to tell looking at the pads. They're thicker in the back.

That’s very apparent on my BLON B20 but I honestly didn’t notice that at all on the 5XX.

 

[SilverEars]

Listening to the 5XX now, and it's definitely an improvement over the 4XX. I can't say it's bad value. Upper frequencies are fairly smooth and I can understand when people say that it's not the most dynamic headphone. It is true that HE500 more heft in the bass, but other than that, my initial impression is that I cannot find much significant fault in the sound with this headphone. Which is really good considering the $220 price tag. For my taste, I do like the more laid-back nature of it's sound. I think I will need more time to figure it out. More bass impact would improve, but not a deal breaker. It has decent amount of impact (I've heard way more expensive headphone with worse bass impact). What I like is that the highs do not get strident or too much. I found 4XX way too blunt in the highs, and this is not, and not strident. It's in the happy medium, which is really good. So, I think tonality is one of the best Hifimans to date, at such a low price point.

So, my initial impression is a pleasant surprise.

I don't think there is much meat to the sound (which doesn't mean it's bad, and not so meaty like the 500), but also seems quite quick. Electronic music does come off airy and quick. Good sound stage and imaging.

I think it's a reasonably good buy at the pricepoint. I think Hifiman did it again with the $220 planar price-point. He brought the price down with better performance than 4XX. HE500 originally marked much higher (was it $900?), and only in the used market it's going for $350, but additional pads will cost extra as well, and this one is $220, so i have to give it a fair assessment.

My next step is to do the @takato14 mod to improve the bass extension. It would be cool to get a deeper bass.

 

[muletrane]

Listening to the 5XX now, and it's definitely an improvement over the 4XX. I can't say it's bad value. Upper frequencies are fairly smooth and I can understand when people say that it's not the most dynamic headphone. It is true that HE500 more heft in the bass, but other than that, my initial impression is that I cannot find much significant fault in the sound with this headphone. Which is really good considering the $220 price tag. For my taste, I do like the more laid-back nature of it's sound. I think I will need more time to figure it out. More bass impact would improve, but not a deal breaker. It has decent amount of impact (I've heard way more expensive headphone with worse bass impact). What I like is that the highs do not get strident or too much. I found 4XX way too blunt in the highs, and this is not, and not strident. It's in the happy medium, which is really good. So, I think tonality is one of the best Hifimans to date, at such a low price point.

So, my initial impression is a pleasant surprise.

I don't think there is much meat to the sound (which doesn't mean it's bad, and not so meaty like the 500), but also seems quite quick. Electronic music does come off airy and quick. Good sound stage and imaging.

I think it's a reasonably good buy at the pricepoint. I think Hifiman did it again with the $220 planar price-point. He brought the price down with better performance than 4XX. HE500 originally marked much higher (was it $900?), and only in the used market it's going for $350, but additional pads will cost extra as well, and this one is $220, so i have to give it a fair assessment.

My next step is to do the @takato14 mod to improve the bass extension. It would be cool to get a deeper bass.

I agree with all of this

 

[SilverEars]

Personally, I like this Deva looking housing design (and can do without the 'H' logo. lol), and glad they coated it black because I didn't like Deva's color. I think the simplicity is apparent with the design, and it may look better in person when holding it hand. I didn't find any flaws on my unit, and no black coating coming off when sliding the headband adjustment like previous models. The plastic holder that holds the yoke may not be all that durable.

I always been more of a fan of the more rounded looking cups, and this hits the spot with the shape of the cups.

I think Hifiman headed in the right direction with this tuning in terms of tonality, and perhaps simplicity in being able to mass produce them at such prices.

It has that Hifiman imaging, the space your can hear around the instrumental sounds that decays in space like HE500 or HE-6. The way the sound disappars into the space, I found Hifimans impressive with it's imaging. Some headphones sounds like there is an obstruction in the cups, and this is the opposite of that.

One caveat for sound I have is the vocals. To me, vocals could be smoother. Looking at Jude's measurements, it could be the slight peak at the 6k, but this is fairly minor complaint as I've heard much worse responses. Certain vocals can get slightly annoying. Certain vocals do seem to come off strong, and it might be due to my volume level raised from the low level of bass felt.

I think this is the new benchmark for headphone imaging at a price value. It's crazy to get this level of imaging at this price-point.

I think getting this level of planar sound with such light weight at the price point is an achievement. Even the pads have come long way. I recall 560v2 and Sundara's pads I've had issues in the past, and the pads on these, I really can't complain.

No typical Hifiman condom cables with these headphones, not sure if it's Massdrop's doing. It's decent, but I find it too short similar to HD6XX stock cable (these maybe shorter, too short). Probably cost cutting, but I like these take dual 3.5mm on both sides for easy cable replacement.

 

[dgindlespergerd]

Personally, I like this Deva looking housing design (and can do without the 'H' logo. lol), and glad they coated it black because I didn't like Deva's color. I think the simplicity is apparent with the design, and it may look better in person when holding it hand. I didn't find any flaws on my unit, and no black coating coming off when sliding the headband adjustment like previous models. The plastic holder that holds the yoke may not be all that durable.

I always been more of a fan of the more rounded looking cups, and this hits the spot with the shape of the cups.

I think Hifiman headed in the right direction with this tuning in terms of tonality, and perhaps simplicity in being able to mass produce them at such prices.

It has that Hifiman imaging, the space your can hear around the instrumental sounds that decays in space like HE500 or HE-6. The way the sound disappars into the space, I found Hifimans impressive with it's imaging. Some headphones sounds like there is an obstruction in the cups, and this is the opposite of that.

One caveat for sound I have is the vocals. To me, vocals could be smoother. Looking at Jude's measurements, it could be the slight peak at the 6k, but this is fairly minor complaint as I've heard much worse responses. Certain vocals can get slightly annoying. Certain vocals do seem to come off strong, and it might be due to my volume level raised from the low level of bass felt.

I think this is the new benchmark for headphone imaging at a price value. It's crazy to get this level of imaging at this price-point.

I think getting this level of planar sound with such light weight at the price point is an achievement. Even the pads have come long way. I recall 560v2 and Sundara's pads I've had issues in the past, and the pads on these, I really can't complain.

No typical Hifiman condom cables with these headphones, not sure if it's Massdrop's doing. It's decent, but I find it too short similar to HD6XX stock cable (these maybe shorter, too short). Probably cost cutting, but I like these take dual 3.5mm on both sides for easy cable replacement.

Will my other hifiman cables work with these ear cups? I think I have a balanced cable that I not using with the 4xx right now.

 

[SilverEars]

Will my other hifiman cables work with these ear cups? I think I have a balanced cable that I not using with the 4xx right now.

Looking at the plug, it's made to be universally compatible. There is no odd obstruction or mechanical shapes for locking, or anything like that. Just a simple plug opening with no obstructions.