[Biscuitz]

  Hey dub Beatz,
 
I have the HE-300 and love' em.  I have plugged them into various amps and they do not disappoint.  Was listening to them today from an iBasso P3 while rolling op-amps with an iPod touch (line-out).  Great sound.
 
Now, I'm a dac and source guy myself, so I would recommend at least an inexpensive one to get you going to bypass onboard sound.  But that's just me.

 
I would get the HE-300 from Amazon and maybe E07k ($89.00) or maybe the new E10k ($75.99) that just came out (I have the E07k, have not listened to the E10k though).
 
Just throwing out other options for ya.
 
I have the velour pads on the HE-300.  Did not like the pleather pads.  Sound is too dark and congested with 'em.
 
Cheers!

Great advice here!
 
Using a DAC is hardly about just eliminating noise; though it certainly should do that. Getting even an entry level DAC, compared to your onboard sound, will noticeably improve overall clarity and soundstage. To use the common analogy, it'll be like removing a veil from the sound. Then again, if you don't get a DAC, you won't know what you're missing Ignorance can be bliss.

 

[dub Beatz]

  Hey dub Beatz,
 
I have the HE-300 and love' em.  I have plugged them into various amps and they do not disappoint.  Was listening to them today from an iBasso P3 while rolling op-amps with an iPod touch (line-out).  Great sound.
 
Now, I'm a dac and source guy myself, so I would recommend at least an inexpensive one to get you going to bypass onboard sound.  But that's just me.

 
I would get the HE-300 from Amazon and maybe E07k ($89.00) or maybe the new E10k ($75.99) that just came out (I have the E07k, have not listened to the E10k though).
 
Just throwing out other options for ya.
 
I have the velour pads on the HE-300.  Did not like the pleather pads.  Sound is too dark and congested with 'em.
 
Cheers!

Sweet man, thanks for this. I've yet to find someone else with HE-300 experience! I'm gonna pull the trigger on them . I just gotta decide at this point what amp / dac combo to get, or if I should buy an amp / dac separately

 

[indrameyz]

Are your pc using realtek onboard soundcard?i don't have any experience with cans that you mention above but i've experience with the realtek onboard soundcard and FiiO E07K, imo the realtek are have a slightly emphasis on upper mid and lower treble,the bass quantity is not much and maybe sound fatiguing for some people,comparing to the FiiO E07K which have a nice quality and quantity on bass,have a thick mids and shimmering high(but i still can enjoy the "brightness" on the realtek since i enjoying a bright soundsig from my setup too),considering you'll get the HE-300 the E07K is quite powerfull enough to drive it,sorry can't help much for the cans but maybe i can adding some perspective on the dac/amp

 

[dub Beatz]

Are your pc using realtek onboard soundcard?i don't have any experience with cans that you mention above but i've experience with the realtek onboard soundcard and FiiO E07K, imo the realtek are have a slightly emphasis on upper mid and lower treble,the bass quantity is not much and maybe sound fatiguing for some people,comparing to the FiiO E07K which have a nice quality and quantity on bass,have a thick mids and shimmering high(but i still can enjoy the "brightness" on the realtek since i enjoying a bright soundsig from my setup too),considering you'll get the HE-300 the E07K is quite powerfull enough to drive it,sorry can't help much for the cans but maybe i can adding some perspective on the dac/amp

Hey man, thanks for the response. I don't know what the onboard sound is for my work machine, I could open the device manager and check it out. It doesn't matter at this point, because I literally just ordered the HE-300 and EF2A from Amazon for $260 ($10 more than the EF3 / HE-300 combo HeadDirect is doing) so I'm pretty pumped! Got the EF2A for $120 and the the E-300 for $149. Not bad! I also signed up for the Amazon store card and got $10 off my purchase haha

 

[indrameyz]

Whoa,cool man ,hope you happy with that combo and i'll wait for the impression
cheers mate

 

[dub Beatz]

Whoa,cool man

,hope you happy with that combo and i'll wait for the impression

cheers mate

I'll definitely write an impression up, especially because not many people have written about them. I'll update this thread when I've got them, I just don't want to wait!

 

[MorrisL]

Might be a good time for an update, if you've got a moment. Some of us are strongly considering these sexy looking headphones, too. Would be great to hear what you thought of them.

 

[Eustachian]

What is the best onboard realtek mod for these headsets?

 

[Folex]

  Might be a good time for an update, if you've got a moment. Some of us are strongly considering these sexy looking headphones, too. Would be great to hear what you thought of them.

 
HE-300 are a hard headphone to like. The cable is microphonic, the earpads aren't the most comfortable and the bass is overwhelming. For some the bass might be perfect but it sounded like a subwoofer. Outside of that they are fairly decent.

 

[dub Beatz]

Well I realize this thread is about a year old... I figured it's better late than never. 
 
DISCLAIMER
I take medication daily that has a direct impact on my ability to hear certain frequencies properly, so take my review of sound quality with a grain of salt
 
Comfort: 7/10
 
As mentioned by other users, the ear pads are not the greatest. I hate the feel of the material and they're pretty stiff. I've owned them for a year and they honestly haven't gotten much softer. They're not as firm as when I first received them, but nowhere near soft enough to forget they're there.
The headband isn't bad at all. There's very little padding, but I've never felt uncomfortable wearing them. 
The cable is terrible for microphonics. It's constant. Unless you're absolutely still you will notice them. They will be loud and obnoxious. I use them at work, so I'm obviously not still all the time. I have gotten used to them though. They have a good amount of movement thanks to the vertical and horizontal pivoting mechanisms. They also expand fairly large, and contract pretty tightly. These should be able to fit well on any type of head.
 
Sound Quality: 7/10
 
Great separation, open sound stage. Not the largest stage, but still nice. My AD700 sounded way more open. In all honesty my DT770 / 80 might be pretty close to these in terms of spacial awareness.
Bass is there, definitely present. Punchy, controlled. Not a bass monster, but plenty for people like me. This is coming from someone who finds the DT770/80 to be bass monsters though, so don't expect them to touch something like an XB700.
They're definitely darker headphones. Not muddy, thankfully. They have much more clarity than my AHD-1100. 
The mids are a bit recessed, that's definitely more evident in songs with bass presence.
I've definitely noticed some sibilance. I'll find myself cringing with poor recordings on certain notes. My ears are extremely sensitive to treble and high notes.
 
Quality: 8/10
 
The ear cups are plastic, and the best pads Hifiman had to offer were definitely NOT used in these headphones. They are, however, a sturdy set of cans. They carry a bit of weight to them and feel very solid. There's several metal parts on them, and I think the only plastic parts are the ear cups and the little circles with the model number on them. The adjustment mechanism works well for me. I was worried it would wear down over time and cause the large, probably heavy earcups to slide down the metal railing. This does not happen, however. Adjusting them is very smooth, and they stay exactly where you put them. The pain seems to have help up well. I haven't noticed a single scuff or chip. One thing that bothers me is the plastic piece containing the model number on it has what looks like excess plastic near the bottom, almost like a cut mark you would see.It kind of lips out and makes it look cheap. It's not noticeable unless you're close up, however.
 
I hope my mini-review was a bit of help to some people, even if this thread is old.