[CSGO rice]

Based on a lot of reading, I think that the HE-500's fit my tastes the best.
I did have a HE-400 for a while, but returned it because I didn't like it and it was one of the earlier batches that was defective.
 
I mostly listen to classical music (violin concertos) and stuff that's heavily vocals and a bit of rock.
I like female vocals a lot, and never listen to hiphop or rap.
 
So I was wondering what would be a suitable combo of DAC and amp for the HE-500?
I do want to keep both of the under 1000, but if there is a reason to go over, let me know.
 
I was planning on getting the m stage amp back when I thought about getting akg's, but idk if that will run the HE-500's to their full potential.  I looked at the Yulong A/D 18 and thought about that combo... but was wondering if there's anything cheaper that will be very good as well.
Thanks.

 

[theeyealtering]

Why not go a Schiit Lyr? Power to spare and designed with orthos in mind...

Combine with a Bifrost for (mainly aesthetic) synergy... or just take your pick of any DAC.

 

[Fegefeuer]

odac + o2 is a nice and cheap combo

 

[kidchunks]

I've been enjoying my HE-500s with the NFB-10.2. It came out to $600ish ( The 10SE is cheaper if you don't need the TE8802 usb chip).
 
At the XLR input, it'll push out close to 6W of power at 50ohm which is more than enough for the HE-500.
 

 

[Fearless1]

Quote:

Why not go a Schiit Lyr? Power to spare and designed with orthos in mind...
Combine with a Bifrost for (mainly aesthetic) synergy... or just take your pick of any DAC.

This.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Put a little over 1 watt per channel into the HE-500, and it will work, to keep it simple. The HE-500 loves current. Feed it all day. Orthos in general. However, to keep it simple, when looking at amps, simply look to see how much it can output at 38ohms and make sure it's about 1 watt or more. Ideally more to have overhead.
 
Asgard puts about 1 watt into 38ohms.
Lyr puts a little over 5 watts into 38ohms.
NFB12 puts a little over 2 watts into 38ohms.
Countless AV receivers can output unknown amount of power into 38ohms; I've tested 4 and all 4 can drive my HE500 quite well.
 
They drive the HE500 great. I preferred the sound of the Lyr/NFB over the Asgard. I can't say for sure if it's the power difference or simply signature/preference though.
 
Point is, you don't have to spend big to make the HE-500 sing.
 

 
Very best,

 

[dan_can]

Is WooAudio WA6SE enough to drive it?

 

[Happy Camper]

Decent headphone amps will make them sound good. The speaker amps make them sound even more like speakers. I was comparing the 500s to the 6s on two different amps for a month. The 500s on a .5w tube hp amp (SP Extreme+) and the 6s on a pair of 125w monoblock speaker amps. Both sounded very good but the ambient information and impact/bass accuracy was noticeably better on the speaker amp/6s. Being that the 500s have the same cable connection to the drivers, I moved the 500s over to the speaker amps. Wow. The two were almost identical. I still think the 6s were the better sounding of the two so the 500s went back. As to how much difference there was between the two, I'm going to put out a % of less than 10%. The 6s were more open and the soundstage more fulfilling with big music like symphonies and live venues. The bass was just a bit more firm and articulate with the 6s where the 500s has more "rumble". With enough juice, the HEs will rock you like speakers.

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

Heya,
 
Put a little over 1 watt per channel into the HE-500, and it will work, to keep it simple. The HE-500 loves current. Feed it all day. Orthos in general. However, to keep it simple, when looking at amps, simply look to see how much it can output at 38ohms and make sure it's about 1 watt or more. Ideally more to have overhead.
 
Asgard puts about 1 watt into 38ohms.
Lyr puts a little over 5 watts into 38ohms.
NFB12 puts a little over 2 watts into 38ohms.
Countless AV receivers can output unknown amount of power into 38ohms; I've tested 4 and all 4 can drive my HE500 quite well.
 
They drive the HE500 great. I preferred the sound of the Lyr/NFB over the Asgard. I can't say for sure if it's the power difference or simply signature/preference though.
 
Point is, you don't have to spend big to make the HE-500 sing.
 

Good advice.
 
I use the Audio gd C2.2 and this puts out around 3 watts into 40ohms and its a nice sounding amp. Also, make sure you put the velour pads on the HE500's 

 

[Andolink]

I'm on about my 5th day of burning in my new Audio-gd NFB-6 to power my HE-500's.  Right out of the box, I was disappointed.  The sound seemed veiled and soft edged.  I began to wonder if the tweaking Kingwa had done (in response to user comments) to make the amp "warmer and smoother" had made for less synergy with these particular HP's since they had sounded to me rather warm and smooth in the first place.  
 
But either the amp is shedding the characteristics I didn't like at first as I pile up the hours of use on it or I'm just learning to appreciate a different kind of sound.  It may be that what John Darko said in his TONEaudio review of the Audio-gd Reference 10.2 applies to the NFB-6 as well:
 
         " The Audio-gd demands more time – only after several weeks of listening do its talents begin to unfurl. Think of the darkest chocolate demanding a more mature palette for better appreciation of its higher cocoa (and less sugar) content."      

 

[Dyaems]

the dx100 using its internal amp sounds great with the he500 as well

 

[kiwirugby]

Has anyone used portable amps?  I've used ALO's Continental V2 and a Xin SuperMacro IV and both sound great with the pot at around 10am.  My source is an iPod Classic (lossless) and the ALO Solo.   The one thing I do find - not sure if it's lacking or less-pronounced - is the bass, somewhat like the AKG501.  I'd be curious to hear from those using any portable amps.

 

[BLACKENEDPLAGUE]

I currently own a pair of DT880-600's and am slightly considering selling them and getting a pair of HE500's. I do however have questions:
 
Is the amount of money justified for a low-budget audiophile?
 
How much difference will there be from the DT880's?
 
Are they hard to drive? (I have a Teac UD-H01 arriving today)
 
Would you consider them all-around cans? (ranging from folk, progressive rock, black metal, classical, jazz, drum & bass, etc.)
 
Are there better alternatives in the price range or that cost less?
 
-------------------------------------------
 
More questions may arise

 

[W0lfd0g]

Quote:

Why not go a Schiit Lyr? Power to spare and designed with orthos in mind...
Combine with a Bifrost for (mainly aesthetic) synergy... or just take your pick of any DAC.

Great bang for buck.  You can use the change out of $1,000.00 to invest in some decent tubes.

 

[hifimanrookie]

i have a darkvoice 337 with tung sol gt mesh plates as drivers and svetlana power tubes (will be changed for bendix 6080WB graphite or tung sols 5998 soon)..and it rocks...maybe its because my 337 sounds a bit like a full bodied ss amp? anyway...its a good pairing imho.
i listened to the lyr at a meet two weeks ago..and compared to my 337 it sounded a bit muddy on my he500...but it had power in abundance!