Fostex TH600 or Hifiman HE-500
Aug 20, 2013 at 3:23 PM Post #16 of 29
Quote:
You only bump something if you want to bring attention to new information that is being ignored, you have a question that is not being answered, or something you're selling is a few pages behind.
So the bump is WAAAAY out of context here.
 
Also it took me less than 5 seconds to google what ymmv means.

it took me 7 seconds to google it so I am slower than you. Forgive me for being slower, I said that to say that I am slack concerning understanding forum culture.  
 
There is no need for me to be defensive. The snobbish tone of responses like yours are unnecessary.
 
 
Hopefully someone can do a comparison of these two. If I was the op I would feel I didnt get an answer, but I'm not close enough to buying either to start a thread on it.
 
Aug 20, 2013 at 4:34 PM Post #17 of 29
Quote:
Quote:
You only bump something if you want to bring attention to new information that is being ignored, you have a question that is not being answered, or something you're selling is a few pages behind.
So the bump is WAAAAY out of context here.
 
Also it took me less than 5 seconds to google what ymmv means.

it took me 7 seconds to google it so I am slower than you. Forgive me for being slower, I said that to say that I am slack concerning understanding forum culture.  
 
There is no need for me to be defensive. The snobbish tone of responses like yours are unnecessary.
 
 
Hopefully someone can do a comparison of these two. If I was the op I would feel I didnt get an answer, but I'm not close enough to buying either to start a thread on it.

Welcome to the internet.
 
Aug 20, 2013 at 4:50 PM Post #18 of 29
^Don't be harsh
 
It isn't way out of context, he should just have noted why he bumped, though I think the chance of someone chiming in is fairly slender.
 
Aug 20, 2013 at 6:21 PM Post #20 of 29
grizzlybeast. I'm not sure you've done this already but in the TH600 thread, there are some comparisons if you look through and search. The entire thread isn't very long so I'm sure you can find it actually.
 
Aug 21, 2013 at 4:31 PM Post #22 of 29
Quote:
true well thanks for the learning experience guys. specially u david I have learned a lot from you.

We do indeed share a bit of history 
size]

 
Ur welcome...
 
Actually, you should be more well versed than me, considering what you have owned in the past 8-9 months. I'm just going crazy on the post 'n read stuff. 2000+ posts in less than a year? I suppose head-fi will be to blame if I don't pass my final exams, etc over the next 2 years (high-school).
 
Aug 21, 2013 at 9:27 PM Post #23 of 29
true. I have had a lot of different hp's but no real flagships.
 
I know there are diminishing returns but I have sold and returned a lot of rm. I have decided after all of this to sell every piece of audio equipment I have and just get the TH900. It seems that nothing will ever fully satisfy my desire for smoothness, clarity, fullness, bass and details, unless I just go for the big fish. I can always eq the mids a little. 
 
Aug 22, 2013 at 2:44 AM Post #24 of 29
I wish you luck...
 
Nov 3, 2013 at 8:54 PM Post #25 of 29
I'm interested in these two as well, I seem to suffer from the peculiar condition of being able to spend a fortune on my PC or a huge LCD TV panel  but when it comes to headphones find myself hesitant about spending a lot. I'm just about at the point where I want to buy a pair of cans that are just below the 'law of diminishing returns'.  The above two mentioned ones and the Sennheiser HD700's are on my list, around the £600 price point.
 
Nov 4, 2013 at 2:11 AM Post #27 of 29
As for comparison.
 
The Fostex TH600 is far easier to drive and can even sound pretty decent out of portable players like the Fiio X3 depending on the songs. On my NFB 5.32 I run it on low gain around 10 o clock, by comparison the high gain at the same area powers the HE-500 to moderate levels. 12 o clock is loud. The NFB 5.32 puts out 2 watts at 50 ohms at full power or something similar.
 
The Hifiman is far heavier and is less comfortable all round. I found the velours painful with my glasses until I put them in warm water and let them dry off to soften them. The Hifiman sound changes depending on the pads, sounding there best with Jergpads, while the pleathers can increase the bass and lower the treble levels. The result is a darker more "congested" sound. The Velours are much more extended in treble and have a larger soundstage, however the sound to my ears is pretty dry for whatever reason and I found it to sound somewhat unnatural. It could be the amp I guess as well, but none of my other headphones sound dry.
 
The TH600 is light and incredibly comfortable, they only come with Protein leather pads, but I guess you could try pads that are from other headphones. The cables do not detach so balancing is harder.
 
The overall sound of the HE-500 seems slightly dark, laid back and to me it is fairly forgiving. The soundstage is reasonably wide but the depth lacks compared to some other top models like the T1 and HD800. The imaging is very good, and is one of its strengths. I rarely feel the sound is cluttered or incoherant. The HE-500 does well with most genres, and is a very good all rounder. I like it a lot for Rock, Metal, Pop and other energetic styles. The mid range is very linear till the upper mid range which has a strange recess, this can be fixed by doing the jerg pad mod. The HE-500 leaks a lot of sound, practically unusable if you do not want to be heard. Vocals and other mid oriented instruments are much more lifelike than the TH600.
 
The TH600 is a bassier headphone, with powerful and deeply extended sub bass. The impact and rumble are exceptional as is the quality of the bass. It is my 2nd favorite EDM can to my TH900. However the bass is elevated for sure, and can sound overpowered on many non EDM, Pop and Hip Hop recordings. The soundstage is remarkable for a closed headphone. This is not a case like the Mad Dog where someone goes, oh it sounds open not like a closed phone, but still can be hear as being closed. The TH600 sounds remarkably clear and pitch black with a great sense of space. It can be almost cavernous (in a good way) at times like the TH900.  The TH600 and TH900's imaging is the best I've ever heard in a closed headphone, up there with many open headphones. The Mid range is slightly receded but is smooth, guitars are less prominent and vocals slightly so on my set up, but it is only a minor thing for me - but it has been a point of issue for others into vocal music along with Rock/Jazz. The treble is a bit hit or miss and can sound etched/harsh on some tracks and perfect on others, showing it to be revealing of the source material. The TH600 leaks a fair bit as a closed phone as it is not truly sealed but it certainly does not leak as much as the HE-500.
 
The main weakness of the HE-500 is the upper mid to treble transition dip which causes a unnatural tonality, needing a jerg pad fix. It also is fairly demanding of an amplifier. The HE-500 is also slightly too laid back to my ears with some of my most complex music. The planar sound can lack air as well.
 
The TH600 weaknesses are the treble at times and slightly weaker midrange. You could probably fix this with a tube amp. I also feel that the bass can be a bit too strong with some rock and metal tracks compared to what I personally like, but that is just my preferences.
 
I hope some of this information helped, sorry that I cannot go into more detail at the moment.
 
Dec 4, 2013 at 1:43 AM Post #28 of 29
  As for comparison.
 
The Fostex TH600 is far easier to drive and can even sound pretty decent out of portable players like the Fiio X3 depending on the songs. On my NFB 5.32 I run it on low gain around 10 o clock, by comparison the high gain at the same area powers the HE-500 to moderate levels. 12 o clock is loud. The NFB 5.32 puts out 2 watts at 50 ohms at full power or something similar.
 
The Hifiman is far heavier and is less comfortable all round. I found the velours painful with my glasses until I put them in warm water and let them dry off to soften them. The Hifiman sound changes depending on the pads, sounding there best with Jergpads, while the pleathers can increase the bass and lower the treble levels. The result is a darker more "congested" sound. The Velours are much more extended in treble and have a larger soundstage, however the sound to my ears is pretty dry for whatever reason and I found it to sound somewhat unnatural. It could be the amp I guess as well, but none of my other headphones sound dry.
 
The TH600 is light and incredibly comfortable, they only come with Protein leather pads, but I guess you could try pads that are from other headphones. The cables do not detach so balancing is harder.
 
The overall sound of the HE-500 seems slightly dark, laid back and to me it is fairly forgiving. The soundstage is reasonably wide but the depth lacks compared to some other top models like the T1 and HD800. The imaging is very good, and is one of its strengths. I rarely feel the sound is cluttered or incoherant. The HE-500 does well with most genres, and is a very good all rounder. I like it a lot for Rock, Metal, Pop and other energetic styles. The mid range is very linear till the upper mid range which has a strange recess, this can be fixed by doing the jerg pad mod. The HE-500 leaks a lot of sound, practically unusable if you do not want to be heard.
 
The TH600 is a bassier headphone, with powerful and deeply extended sub bass. The impact and rumble are exceptional as is the quality of the bass. It is my 2nd favorite EDM can to my TH900. The soundstage is remarkable for a closed headphone. This is not a case like the Mad Dog where someone goes, oh it sounds open not like a closed phone, but still can be hear as being closed. The TH600 sounds remarkably clear and pitch black with a great sense of space. It can be almost cavernous (in a good way) at times like the TH900.  The TH600 and TH900's imaging is the best I've ever heard in a closed headphone, up there with many open headphones. The Mid range is slightly receded but is smooth, guitars are less prominent and vocals slightly so on my set up, but it is only a minor thing. The treble is a bit hit or miss and can sound etched/harsh on some tracks and perfect on others, showing it to be revealing of the source material. The TH600 leaks a fair bit as a closed phone as it is not truly sealed but it certainly does not leak as much as the HE-500.
 
The main weakness of the HE-500 is the upper mid to treble transition dip which causes a unnatural tonality, needing a jerg pad fix. It also is fairly demanding of an amplifier. The HE-500 is also slightly slow to my ears with some of my most complex music. The planar sound can lack air as well.
 
The TH600 weaknesses are the treble at times and slightly weaker midrange. You could probably fix this with a tube amp. I also feel that the bass can be a bit too strong with some rock and metal tracks compared to what I personally like, but that is just my preferences.
 
I hope some of this information helped, sorry that I cannot go into more detail at the moment.

Thanks for the impressions Saren! It would help me contextually if you listed some of the headphones you own/prefer. Bass is especially one of the icky things that people disagree on a lot and how much quantity is perfect for them (how much bass is too much and so forth). The reason I am mentioning this is because I own an LA 7000, which is definitely a wonderful high end headphone in it's own right and I would describe that as my favorite EDM headphone due to the PRaT and powerful mid bass. I have noticed a lot of people mention that the TH 600 has more controlled bass than the unmodded Denon AHD 7000's but it also has less weight, which is why I am curious to how the weight and rumble compare to an LA 7000 (many pairs sound different so I understand its difficult to determine). Granted, your opinion is just as valid as anyone elses, but your definition of exceptional bass may be different than others. Once again thanks for the input though! I just bought an HE-500 and it should be on my doorstep by Thursday and then your review may be of more aid to me. =)
 
Dec 6, 2013 at 7:00 PM Post #29 of 29
  Thanks for the impressions Saren! It would help me contextually if you listed some of the headphones you own/prefer. Bass is especially one of the icky things that people disagree on a lot and how much quantity is perfect for them (how much bass is too much and so forth). The reason I am mentioning this is because I own an LA 7000, which is definitely a wonderful high end headphone in it's own right and I would describe that as my favorite EDM headphone due to the PRaT and powerful mid bass. I have noticed a lot of people mention that the TH 600 has more controlled bass than the unmodded Denon AHD 7000's but it also has less weight, which is why I am curious to how the weight and rumble compare to an LA 7000 (many pairs sound different so I understand its difficult to determine). Granted, your opinion is just as valid as anyone elses, but your definition of exceptional bass may be different than others. Once again thanks for the input though! I just bought an HE-500 and it should be on my doorstep by Thursday and then your review may be of more aid to me. =)

 
I own the HD800, T1, LCD2, HE500, TH600, HD600, FA-011LE and am borrowing the PS1000.
 
What I mean by the exceptional quality of the bass is that it is both more powerful than any of the others, but also gets down into the lower sub bass reaches in EDM tracks like the LCD2. Something like Synthetic Epiphany which has many low sub bass notes is where it shines, it has rumble you can actually feel at times as well as that low rumble being very much audible. The impact compared to my other headphones is higher. Why it is also exceptional is that the bass is very clear and is not one noted or at all distorted. The bass is about as clean as the LCD2's I'd say. The only true weakness is the fact that the TH600 has weak mids compared to other headphones, and as such on Tracks that are not pop, EDM or Hip Hop the bass seems to be a bit overly powerful. I can't listen to EDM anymore without a north of neutral bass response. I understand that some would far prefer the HE-500 and LCD2 bass as it is more flat and in line with the midrange - to each their own.
 
The TH900 is more powerful and digs deeper into the bass however. The LA7000 is meant to be around about on par with the TH600 so you know, but I haven't heard one myself to check.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top