Drop x HiFiMAN HE-5XX
Oct 28, 2020 at 11:19 AM Post #91 of 654
As I'm sure some of you fear the bagwell commentary based on 50+ years in the industry, so here it is:

For every designer and product there are a parade of sycophants willing to sell their sacred honor for less than one puts down for dinner in a cat bowl. There are also a bevy of tin ears that spend money like water to be seen as one of the cognoscenti - although they usually are not.

I can count 3 manufacturers, eleven reviewers, and fourteen fans that are/were like EF Hutton - when they speak than I listen, and am willing to believe. Most others have to have the words tested - assuming I care, or just let them go into the ether because I don't.

Here is a question: do you believe you can make a sow's ear into a can of gold simply via "tuning"? Geez all those years and research dollars wasted...
 
Oct 28, 2020 at 11:39 AM Post #93 of 654
Yeah I like Zeos too but his reviews are comparable to me standing up in front of an audience of aerospace engineers and giving a lecture on rockets on the backbone of having watched Apollo 13 and Armageddon.
That being said..he’s a lovable chap and I would probably enjoy having a chat with him over a brewski or two:)

Assuming it's not an act for the camera and you can overlook his arrogance about audio.

Not long after he started making videos, he added speaker and headphone demos. When we criticized it here on Head-Fi (it's bad idea for newbies to listen to those demos to make purchasing decisions), he assured us he was quite the expert on audio, that there was no problem with the recorded demos, because he had helped his dad do home audio installations for a couple of summers during high school.
facepalm.gif
 
Oct 28, 2020 at 1:07 PM Post #95 of 654
My order has been made! Estimated shipping date now says November 9, whereas before it had said November 6 -- probably okay for me although it's cutting it close as I will be going out of a town about a week later, but supposedly all orders made today will get free two-day FedEx shipping.
 
Oct 28, 2020 at 1:22 PM Post #96 of 654
Joshua also absolutely prefers a dark, warm signature, which these are not. I also prefer darker and warmer. But I like having things that contrast my preference, and will take my time adapting to the differences. That's why I said I love the 5XX as a contrast to the 6XX and makes a perfect companion for it. I certainly have problems with the 5XX, namely its treble, which I've commented on, but for shorter lengths of listening, it's fantastic.

I agree with both Josh and Zeos.

People who haven't listened to them are going off wild assumptions and graphs thinking they know exactly what they are, while everyone who has heard them aside from Joshua has been positive to them.

I wish people would actually listen to things instead of having zero experience and making statements on whether they're good or not.

I don't need anyone to agree with my review. Personally I could care LESS if you agree with my impressions. Thing is, if you're gonna disagree, disagree AFTER you've actually used them. Not because of some false assumption based on absolutely nothing but your own prejudice and expectation bias.

In any case, I'm done commenting on the speculations, accusations, and assumptions. I'll be shifting focus on people that actually listened to these.
 
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Oct 28, 2020 at 2:33 PM Post #98 of 654
Based on Zeos' and Joshua's reviews, it seems like these lack dynamics. But it might be due to the low impedance and low sensitivity. I kind of like the design with the drivers exposed and not much dampening, so I hope they are good.

I've never understand how a headphone "lacks dynamics" other than if it tends to distort at lower volume than other headphones. It always seemed like to me that it's a mischaracterization of something else that is going on.
 
Oct 28, 2020 at 2:47 PM Post #99 of 654
I've never understand how a headphone "lacks dynamics" other than if it tends to distort at lower volume than other headphones. It always seemed like to me that it's a mischaracterization of something else that is going on.
I believe it has to do with how it behaves to an increase in signal level, some headphones kill the dynamics as those increases in volume get attenuated. Also most headphones vary their frequency response depending on how loud the signal is.
 
Oct 28, 2020 at 3:25 PM Post #100 of 654
I've never understand how a headphone "lacks dynamics" other than if it tends to distort at lower volume than other headphones. It always seemed like to me that it's a mischaracterization of something else that is going on.

I think it mostly refers to bass. And I think the most extreme and obvious examples would be descriptions of some Stax and Magnepans. Or a speaker woofer not able to keep up and play low and loud and with headroom.
 
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Oct 28, 2020 at 3:38 PM Post #101 of 654
My order has been made! Estimated shipping date now says November 9, whereas before it had said November 6 -- probably okay for me although it's cutting it close as I will be going out of a town about a week later, but supposedly all orders made today will get free two-day FedEx shipping.
Hah! Same thing happened to me although I actually didn’t think I’d bought one. It said ‘out of stock’ so I preordered and ended up with the same shipping dates as you. I’m crossing my fingers for the 9th:)
I do expect to have to pay ca 25% to the Danish tax man but it still ends up being considerably cheaper than buying a new Deva. I’m really looking forward to yet another Hifiman in the house. I think I’ve got a 1.2 m bright orange tail lying around somewhere that I’d like to stick up it’s cups. I think it’ll suit an otherwise colourless headphone nicely:ok_hand:

Edith: Ahh I see you’re named the same over both sites:) I went for a more serious moniker over drop with ‘dangerouscoffee‘ in Danish.
 
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Oct 28, 2020 at 5:48 PM Post #102 of 654
I think it mostly refers to bass. And I think the most extreme and obvious examples would be descriptions of some Stax and Magnepans. Or a speaker woofer not able to keep up and play low and loud and with headroom.

If it's bass, then a driver not able to handle the dynamics would typically demonstrate audible distortion because it would be pushed to/past its limits. But the reviewers often don't say that, which makes me think it's not really dynamics that is the issue.
 
Oct 28, 2020 at 7:47 PM Post #103 of 654
The only thing that...irks me is the mindset of "These are not the 500s therefore they must suck", which I just can't get behind. They aren't the 500s. They are something else. Can't they be good, especially at their price point? Are my ears that bad that what I think are amongst my fave $220 range headphones to date isn't good enough?

I find it absolutely baffling, that these are being written off, without even being heard. I find it laughable, to be honest.
What some including myself have an issue with is using the HE-500 naming. In the marketing they mention the 500 which gives the impression these are rebadged or remade 500's to which they're not. The classic Hifimans have a huge following, the HE-6, HE-500 for example are two classics that many have wanted back in production. Instead Hifiman went for thinner drivers, lighter sound, the originals had dynamics, weighted sound. Don't get me wrong I love the Ananda, Arya and all of the HE1K variants. They probably have the most open sound, breezy, sense of actual distance without upper mid dipping I've heard and owned but I do miss my classic HE-500 and HE-6.

I agree though writing these off isn't okay but branding these a HE-500 isn't in my view, it's misleading, marketing at it's finest. It's the Internet though fella, people will write them off, some won't it's whatever, don't invest worry or stress over something out of your hands.
 
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Oct 28, 2020 at 8:15 PM Post #104 of 654
I've never understand how a headphone "lacks dynamics" other than if it tends to distort at lower volume than other headphones. It always seemed like to me that it's a mischaracterization of something else that is going on.
Dynamics is one area which can have multiple meanings and ways to perceive it. Like soundstage for example let's use the HD800, some hear depth, space, me, I just hear upper mid recession. For dynamics, I sometimes hear things like distortion at higher volumes causing lack of perceived dynamics. Headphones like the ZMF Atticus with a focused hump on the bass, some 6k aggression can add to the sense of slam and impact. LCD-2 can come across compressed to some, the linear bass doesn't carry decay well, can sound dull in that area, agree to a degree in stock form.

Aeon Flow Open, too overdamped Aeon X less damping, more audible shifts in pitch, adding to more dynamics; Dan was a modder, so uses damping and uses a lot in his phones and funny enough compression is his biggest negative trait from what I've seen by people.

Just how I see things, everyone explains things differently.
 
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Oct 28, 2020 at 8:18 PM Post #105 of 654
@bagwell359 and I have been beating the drum for a HE500 rerelease for awhile now but I have to disagree with bagwell here.

Not having heard the HE500 doesn't invalidate someones impression of the HE5XX anymore than not having heard the HE1000v1 invalidates someones impressions of the Arya.

We may as well cool it with the flag burning seeing as:

1) It looks like a proprietary earpad clip system not the old plastic rings like the HE500. Everyone that has an HE500 has swapped the pads for something else; some people have Audeze Vegan pads, others ZMF pads and still more use Mr Speaker pads. Even if the drivers were exactly the same, not being able to put the pads YOU know best on YOUR HE500 ruins the comparison. (For reference my HE500's sound drastical different with my Eikon suede perfs than they do with the TH900 perfs I had on before)

2) I know for a fact that Bagwells HE500 are drastically modded and don't sound like they did stock to begin with; they also don't sound like mine. It's already hard enough to make good apples to apples comparisons between HE500s that its almost useless to throw in other headphones. At best a stock HE500 compared to these would only tell us some of the tuning changes, minus mods to improve the originals.

3) The physical housing differences in the first place. If someone were to take the 5XX drivers and stick them in the 4XX body we'd be closer but otherwise forget about it.

4) Its way more efficient and that has always affected the way headphones sound.


Going solely by the descriptions given we can probably guess that the HE5XX does not sound like the the originals. That's not a bad thing at all; us diehard HE500 stans can cry together in the HE500 thread. For everyone who isn't married to the HE500, wait for a comparison to other headphones you know or buy a pair; at $220 its unlikely that Hifiman made a dud.
This is an entry level headphone, the original HE500 was *imo* a king killer, just let this one shine on its own.
 

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