I will say that I have been having a tough time deciding whether I'd prefer to keep my HE-6 or sell them to get an HE-500 (can't I just keep this one?
). I always considered myself a 'get one good pair and roll with it' user, but having these two is definitely making me wish I was more of a 'match the phone to the album' kind of guy, because they definitely each have their own uses and can make relative magic out of certain recordings where different presentation styles can be appreciated.
Quick, superficial, HE-6 vs. HE-500 comparisons,
- I don't have a quality scale on hand, but I'm pretty sure the HE-500 is heavier than the HE-6. It's cable is also heavier.
- I haven't tried comparing sonic characteristics of the cables of each (never tried that before, now I'm kind of excited to try), but I far prefer the aesthetics of the HE-6 cable. It's so thin and durable you can completely forget that it's there. Not that there's anything wrong with the HE-500 cable, I assume it's on par with other stock cables of flagship headphones.
- It is worth noting, however, that the HE-500's strain relief doesn't ever dig into my shoulders like the HE-6 occasionally does.
- The overall aesthetic quality of these HE-500 feels better than my HE-6. It's a matter of the little things. the left cup on my he-6 is maybe just a couple mm too close to it's harness which causes it catch on the pads some times and leaves marks there... the length adjuster also slides way too easily on the left harness which can be a minor nuisance when I pick them up. The HE-500 pads are bit squishier, which I wouldn't necessarily consider more comfortable, but if the HE-6 fit as tight as the HE-500 do then I probably would.
- The one way where the aesthetics of the HE-500 fall behind the HE-6 is in one unusual area. If you knock the ear cups (I'm assuming this would only be accidental while listening to music) you hear them ring out. It makes these cans really feel like a pair of CANS. Not a deal breaker by any means, just odd and makes you appreciate the more solid sound the HE-6 make
- The finish of the HE-500 is nice, but I have no real preference between the two. The finish of each almost feels like it has been matched to the sound characteristics of each* (a sturdy-looking finish with a bass hump and mids vs. a delicate and classy-looking piano finish with relatively linear bass, trebles, and airy sound).
*note: I am referring to the intended, and electronic, sound characteristics. Not the acoustic can-rapping sound characteristics. In the case of the latter my statement would be the opposite.
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As far as the comparisons of sound signature go it has pretty much been covered,
The HE-500 does indeed have more of a
bass hump than the HE-6. The bass hump isn't as far deep as the easily audible bass goes, either. You sort of hear a sub bass and then stronger mid-or-just-less-subbish bass. It felt weird and bothered me at first, but I got used to it and feel I can appreciate it's use.
The
mids are more obvious on the HE-500. It's obviously due in part to the non-accentuated highs, but I believe also due to the contracted sound stage.
The
treble is still good, but less obvious.
As far as
detail goes in the mids/trebles I haven't necessarily noticed a difference, but I've never been particularly good at that. For instance, when I occasionally hear the flaws in an encoded MP3 I just get a better encoded MP3. I have never felt the need of FLAC, or necessarily anything above a well-encoded 192kbps MP3. All that is to say that just because I don't hear a difference in micro details doesn't mean they're not there or even obvious to most state-of-the-art-audio owners.
For the sake of mentioning it in a non-passing statement, the
sound stage is very obviously smaller on the HE-500. That's not to say that it's any worse. It's just closer. I feel like that can even be considered a feature at times. I have never been much a soundstage guy, though, I can't comment on things like imagery or width or depth. It still feels like its good, it also feels like it's smaller. I'll leave it for someone else to comment on the specifics.
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I wish I just liked one of these more than the other, but it has proven very hard to pick out a favorite. The HE-6 feels like it's the nicer of the two. If you were to just plug the HE-6 in and throw on some rock music anyone would very likely be impressed where I feel HE-500 would take more attention to really realize the quality. I say that because of the super deep and tight bass presentation the HE-6 has, coupled with the promoted but absolutely non-peaky treble and the wide sound.
I feel the HE-500 are less immediately impressive. The sound stage is smaller and the bass has presentation more akin with cheaper headphones. All the features of the HE-500 sound very quality, and easily better than low/mid/hi-mid-fi headphones I have heard, but it doesn't flaunt it. It doesn't set itself up on display for everyone to catch a glance in passing like the HE-6. Maybe in that way their finishes should be swapped.