[Zoom25]

HE-500 was great on the Mini-x when I had it a few years ago. I liked the LCD-2.2s even more on them. Great combo for the price.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,

7+ years later, I'm still running the same setup. Just wanted to report in for anyone who ever read all this and wondered about the idea of end-game. With all things audio, we are often tempted to chase the last 1% as new things are released over the years. I've tried new things here and there, but ultimately, nothing has been any sort of significant true upgrade over this setup in the past 7+ years. I'm still using the same HE-500's, recabled with the original taps Brian made, the same original Emotiva A-100 first gen, same TubeMagic D2 DAC with the same tube still in there. Nothing has melted. Nothing has failed. It honestly is never even turned off or unplugged, ever, for years now. Great equipment. Essentially as perfect sound as I'll be concerned with until it fails in some way, if it ever does. I've pretty much let go of all my headphones except the HE-500, Denon D5000 and the Beyer DT770's as portables with isolation. I've watched new flagships come and go. I've watched new headphone brands come and go. And I've been happy to watch them do just that, while listening to this same setup for 7+ years, pretty much content. I've yet to be curious about getting new stuff again. I have to say, it's a really great comfort not chasing "better" anymore and it didn't come from a summit setup.

Nice to see Emotiva re-released the A-100 with a dedicated headphone 1/4" port that can be tapped via jumpers to directly engage the full 50 watts. Same gooey goodness without the need of a re-cable or adapter.

Moral of this 7+ year story is, find what sounds great to your ears and just stop there and enjoy the music!

Very best,

 

[sperho]

I'm still running the Evotiva/HE500 combo as well that I learned about on this thread years ago. I occasionally get a lust for something new, but I never pull the trigger because it ultimately amounts to just "change".

 

[MalVeauX]

I'm still running the Evotiva/HE500 combo as well that I learned about on this thread years ago. I occasionally get a lust for something new, but I never pull the trigger because it ultimately amounts to just "change".

Agreed, and I'm here now almost 9 years later still doing it. Every now and then I log in and see what people are talking about. But really, I found the most value in simply getting something good and then just listening to the music and stop chasing the gear. I realize for many the gear is the fun part and the listening is the byproduct and secondary. But if the music truly is the important element, then it should take way more time than the gear lust.

Over the near decade of this thread, I've watched the market shift from specific headphones and markets to nearly all Drop-oriented deals ruling what is being utilized these days, clearly due to cost. And the major engineering R&D groups of the common "big names" have released slight "updates" on the same old designs, but nothing so far has been ground breaking at all frankly. Just further refinement and number creeping, where classics still are just as good.

Anyhow, I'm still pleased enough that I have zero need to get more headphones to even challenge this setup. I have pruned it all down to just the HE500's that I have that are heavily customized now, some customized Denon D5000's and some customized Beyer DT770's and some Grado SR125's (originals, unmodded). I have went through over 40+ pairs of headphones over the years and tried all the major $300 arena ones, from the time period, which are now all re-released as black XX versions on Drop and are otherwise identical and I have no interest in them. I've had them and sold them. I'm still super pleased with the HE500's on a 50 watt speaker amp with my tube DAC!

Very best,

 

[Fegefeuer]

Haven't read your name in ages. I will never forget your helpfulness, Malveaux! You were always kind to many Head-Fiers and helped us all out.

I got the HE-500 way back in 2012, after your recommendation and until this day it's a special headphone with a unique character that should have never gone EOL.

 

[MalVeauX]

Haven't read your name in ages. I will never forget your helpfulness, Malveaux! You were always kind to many Head-Fiers and helped us all out.

I got the HE-500 way back in 2012, after your recommendation and until this day it's a special headphone with a unique character that should have never gone EOL.

Thanks; I lurk but ultimately after going through the process and finding something that just does the job, I found it a much better endevour to just listen instead of constantly looking for the next good deal or next better option. The DAC, AMP and headphone(s) have been going non stop for nearly a decade, testament that they're good, thousands of hours in too. Instead of looking for something new and better, it's really more important to find new and better source media as that's honestly going to be more important when it comes to high fidelity systems anyways. It's too common to have compressed media and lo-fi being pushed through expensive audio-jewelry. Seeking out really excellent source media is a lot more worth our while, I think at least. Some records/tracks are simply better made, better recorded than others. It's amazing that you can buy an album and it essentially was done with really poor room treatment or conditions or poor equipment or worse it was edited to be worse than it originally was to "enhance" or "remaster" it. You can find different versions of the same old legacy track and some are good and some are bad. But finding that really excellent source media is way more important than simply getting an expensive headphone setup. So I've shifted gears in that sense. I found a good headphone system that works for me, long term and instead have focused more only just listening and taking time to do full listens and no longer swapping and trying test tracks, etc. I'm way back peddled from the gear chase and more simply trying to break in a good chair and a quiet room and just spend time on good source media. New music is more exciting, frankly, than just listening to the same old music through new headphones or speakers.

I've really enjoyed getting new content through Bandcamp and HD Audio Tracks.

Very best,

 

[xRaptorxPunisher]

MalVeauX you have been the biggest help to this community along with Purrin. Your recommendations have always been spot on. I remember speaking to you on an old account many years ago and you helped me purchase my Denon D2000 and the DT770 at the time. I've been everywhere since, to end game for most people but never been truly happy since selling an original pair of Audeze LCD-2 and recently hit the lottery with an LCD-2F that sounds good, enjoyable to that time I first heard the 2010 model. You are absolutely right in that once you've found a good combo, stick with it and never turn back unless it breaks of course. You always spoke of the HE-500 which is another phenomenal headphone that in my opinion Hifiman have never been able to match no matter how many 0's they add on the price, glad to see you still rocking those phones and that you hit end game and knew when to stop.

From me and I'm sure many others you helped over the years, thank you and enjoy your music!

 

[MalVeauX]

MalVeauX you have been the biggest help to this community along with Purrin. Your recommendations have always been spot on. I remember speaking to you on an old account many years ago and you helped me purchase my Denon D2000 and the DT770 at the time. I've been everywhere since, to end game for most people but never been truly happy since selling an original pair of Audeze LCD-2 and recently hit the lottery with an LCD-2F that sounds good, enjoyable to that time I first heard the 2010 model. You are absolutely right in that once you've found a good combo, stick with it and never turn back unless it breaks of course. You always spoke of the HE-500 which is another phenomenal headphone that in my opinion Hifiman have never been able to match no matter how many 0's they add on the price, glad to see you still rocking those phones and that you hit end game and knew when to stop.

From me and I'm sure many others you helped over the years, thank you and enjoy your music!

Thanks! I dare say it was easier when there were less choices! Now, everyone and their uncle has a headphone line. Add to that the market has heavily shifted and literally everyone buys and trades DROP (Mass Drop) dealed headphones from mass crowd funding purchases. And the market for DAC/AMPs has gone to that too it seems. I'm actually rather glad I'm not pursuing trying to test all those new headphones and amps and all that. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy fiddling with new gear just as much as the next person into this stuff. But man, looking at it now, there's literally too much choice. And looks like everyone jumped on the Ortho band wagon too to an extent, more options there, even though its really old tech and nothing new, just resurged return. I do kind of miss alternating some of the good mid-fi headphones, but ultimately, it's just playing with gear and losing sight of the audio itself and not focusing on good source media and just taking time to listen.

I am however interested in these, not sure if many are using them, but it allows nearly anyone in the hobby to play with metrics to avoid falling into hyperbole:

https://www.minidsp.com/products/acoustic-measurement/ears-headphone-jig

A lot has changed over the years here. Granted my life also took a different direction. It's crazy to read about through this thread back before I had a family and now I have two kids that I never planned on or thought I'd be going that way in the future.

But some things never change. My 6 year old has a Little Dot Mk II amplifier and Fiio E10 feeding it line-level output for her big open air headphones (which are a clone of the old Fischer Audio FA002's for a fourth of the price!

Emm_headphone_02 by Martin Wise, on Flickr

Very best,

 

[xRaptorxPunisher]

Thanks! I dare say it was easier when there were less choices! Now, everyone and their uncle has a headphone line. Add to that the market has heavily shifted and literally everyone buys and trades DROP (Mass Drop) dealed headphones from mass crowd funding purchases. And the market for DAC/AMPs has gone to that too it seems. I'm actually rather glad I'm not pursuing trying to test all those new headphones and amps and all that. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy fiddling with new gear just as much as the next person into this stuff. But man, looking at it now, there's literally too much choice. And looks like everyone jumped on the Ortho band wagon too to an extent, more options there, even though its really old tech and nothing new, just resurged return. I do kind of miss alternating some of the good mid-fi headphones, but ultimately, it's just playing with gear and losing sight of the audio itself and not focusing on good source media and just taking time to listen.

I am however interested in these, not sure if many are using them, but it allows nearly anyone in the hobby to play with metrics to avoid falling into hyperbole:

https://www.minidsp.com/products/acoustic-measurement/ears-headphone-jig

A lot has changed over the years here. Granted my life also took a different direction. It's crazy to read about through this thread back before I had a family and now I have two kids that I never planned on or thought I'd be going that way in the future.

But some things never change. My 6 year old has a Little Dot Mk II amplifier and Fiio E10 feeding it line-level output for her big open air headphones (which are a clone of the old Fischer Audio FA002's for a fourth of the price!

Emm_headphone_02 by Martin Wise, on Flickr

Very best,

Oh for sure, before there were a lot of filler headphones but now almost every company has a good headphone at least. Midfi was where the fun used to be, DT770, D2K, D5K, K701, HD600, DT880 so many different flavours that have legendary status today. Now days we've got headphones costing 4-5k and I honestly don't see them performing any better than an old school Audeze, HE-500 even the Mrspeakers Mad Dog was fantastic for a closed phone. It's a weird hobby now and wouldn't know where to start, I still even recommend the Porta Pro, there's no headphone with better value than that thing. Kids certainly change the course of things, that is awesome that your daughter has that, I look forward to getting my their first set up when they come of age, I want them to experience audio like I did by discovering what they like then hopefully seeing where it may take them. Who knows maybe pass my Audeze down to them at some point!

The sad bit about my journey is towards the end I became a snob, I focused too much on technicalities and I miss those days where you can forgive recessed mids, or some distortion, I don't like how I've chased one lot of gear after another. When I think about it, one of the most emotional connection I had was with my HD650 with a Little Dot MKII with Mullards, DAC was basic but it didn't matter I feel in love with just that warm, cozy feeling.

 

[MalVeauX]

Oh for sure, before there were a lot of filler headphones but now almost every company has a good headphone at least. Midfi was where the fun used to me, DT770, D2K, D5K, K701, HD600, DT880 so many different flavours that have legendary status today. Now days we've got headphones costing 4-5k and I honestly don't see them performing any better than an old school Audeze, HE-500 even the Mrspeakers Mad Dog was fantastic for a closed phone. It's a weird hobby now and wouldn't know where to start, I still even recommend the Porta Pro, there's no headphone with better value than that thing. Kids certainly change the course of things, that is awesome that your daughter has that, I look forward to getting my their first set up when they come of age, I want them to experience audio like I did by discovering what they like then hopefully seeing where it may take them. Who knows maybe pass my Audeze down to them at some point!

Agree, I struggled letting go of all the headphones you just mentioned. I liked having them and used a different one for a different genre, etc. I realized I was just hording though and collecting and so I finally let them go. I bought a DT770 literally like 4 times total because I just enjoyed it and even though I had better I still wanted that particular feel and sound. DT770 80ohm, then another one, literally, then a COP and then I sourced a discontinued DT770 600ohm Premium and snatched that up. I had it recabled professionally with detachable mini XLR and I swapped the pads to T70 pads. My D5000 is better, but I still really enjoy that DT770 600ohm, it plays nice with my Emotiva A-100 amp. I have a 500ohm resistor that I put inline for the D5000 to also work on the A-100 amp. After all these years, none of the headphones have melted and the amp hasn't died from the loads.

Very best,

 

[jay567]

Agree, I struggled letting go of all the headphones you just mentioned. I liked having them and used a different one for a different genre, etc. I realized I was just hording though and collecting and so I finally let them go. I bought a DT770 literally like 4 times total because I just enjoyed it and even though I had better I still wanted that particular feel and sound. DT770 80ohm, then another one, literally, then a COP and then I sourced a discontinued DT770 600ohm Premium and snatched that up. I had it recabled professionally with detachable mini XLR and I swapped the pads to T70 pads. My D5000 is better, but I still really enjoy that DT770 600ohm, it plays nice with my Emotiva A-100 amp. I have a 500ohm resistor that I put inline for the D5000 to also work on the A-100 amp. After all these years, none of the headphones have melted and the amp hasn't died from the loads.

Very best,

Hey, just wanted to pop in and say thanks for all the contributions you've made to this community. I too have gone through similar conclusions as you have over the years and it is nice to see others focusing on enjoying life too.

 

[xRaptorxPunisher]

Agree, I struggled letting go of all the headphones you just mentioned. I liked having them and used a different one for a different genre, etc. I realized I was just hording though and collecting and so I finally let them go. I bought a DT770 literally like 4 times total because I just enjoyed it and even though I had better I still wanted that particular feel and sound. DT770 80ohm, then another one, literally, then a COP and then I sourced a discontinued DT770 600ohm Premium and snatched that up. I had it recabled professionally with detachable mini XLR and I swapped the pads to T70 pads. My D5000 is better, but I still really enjoy that DT770 600ohm, it plays nice with my Emotiva A-100 amp. I have a 500ohm resistor that I put inline for the D5000 to also work on the A-100 amp. After all these years, none of the headphones have melted and the amp hasn't died from the loads.

Very best,

I don't care what anyone says the DT770 in any form is one of the best closed backs. There was so much hype for the M50 the DT770 was overlooked, especially those who wanted a Denon D2000 type excitement with more solid built quality. Those Germans know how to make a solid product. It was the most technical headphone by todays standards but it's so fun, it brought that excitement, impact and musical enjoyment and it wasn't as harsh as the measurements suggested. Funny thing, I've just bought the Emotiva A-100 and it arrives next week, it's always been one of those classic, reliable amps and I'm looking forward to see how it pairs with my HD650, LCD-2 and even my gaming headphones which are the K612. I remember always reading your impressions of that amp and always being interested, I've also seen numerous impressions about it's old school lush sound which is very much to my liking. All my expensive gear has been sold, I'm literally done chasing technical performance and want reliability, music loving sound.

 

[MalVeauX]

Hey, just wanted to pop in and say thanks for all the contributions you've made to this community. I too have gone through similar conclusions as you have over the years and it is nice to see others focusing on enjoying life too.

Thanks! And I do miss good discussion, I likely need to catch up on what's changed in the past couple of years!

I don't care what anyone says the DT770 in any form is one of the best closed backs. There was so much hype for the M50 the DT770 was overlooked, especially those who wanted a Denon D2000 type excitement with more solid built quality. Those Germans know how to make a solid product. It was the most technical headphone by todays standards but it's so fun, it brought that excitement, impact and musical enjoyment and it wasn't as harsh as the measurements suggested. Funny thing, I've just bought the Emotiva A-100 and it arrives next week, it's always been one of those classic, reliable amps and I'm looking forward to see how it pairs with my HD650, LCD-2 and even my gaming headphones which are the K612. I remember always reading your impressions of that amp and always being interested, I've also seen numerous impressions about it's old school lush sound which is very much to my liking. All my expensive gear has been sold, I'm literally done chasing technical performance and want reliability, music loving sound.

I thought it was really cool that Emotiva updated their A-100 to have a headphone port so that you don't need speaker taps and you can use a jumper to use the full amplifier's output via the headphone port for hungry planars. I thought about getting the new one for the simplicity of it, but then again, my taps work fine, so it would just be gear chasing again.

Very best,

 

[jay567]

Thanks! And I do miss good discussion, I likely need to catch up on what's changed in the past couple of years!

I will look forward to your impressions/reviews! That said, from lurking around and having tested a few relatively recent headphones myself, most of the recent headphones seem to be minor upgrades/subjective preferences. When or if it is truly an upgrade, it tends to cost a small fortune - personally, this puts me off since the technical improvements does not necessarily mean an increase in enjoyment of music with the kit I possess already.

 

[soldiersinx]

I'm still using this setup after many years still.