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So they are pretty similar to the HE-500.... mmmm I want that HP or the LCD-2.... but I need to wait til I have the money. I'll settle for the he-300 at the time. You got them Headphone addict?
Well, I really hadn't planned to write a
Mini-Review yet, as I only have about 100 hours on the HE-300 so far. But I couldn't stop once I started typing. They're not too dissimilar from the HE-500, but other than sounding like relatives they are not the same.
I did most of my comparisons to the HE-500 which cost 3x what the HE-300 do. I think the HE-300 are great for the price, but as expected the HE-500 are still better in their transparency, timbre, and tone if price is no object. What I did first after burn-in was plug both headphones into my ALO Amphora amp (2 jacks), which was fed by my DACmini as source; and then I switched back and forth between the two phones while listening. I used my Macbook Pro as source with lossless music like Diana Krall, Eva Cassidy, Shelby Lynn, Peter Asplund Quartet, Shota Osabe Piano Trio, Esbjorn Svensson Trio, Submersed, Breaking Benjamin, Infected Mushroom, Shpongle and Kenji Williams. I also threw in some Minnesota Orchestra at the end for completeness.
The first thing I noticed was that I have to turn up the stepped volume attenuator about 3 clicks louder with the HE-500 in order to match the volume to the HE-300, because of the improved efficiency of the HE-300. I might listen to the HE-300 with the volume at 10 o'clock and the HE-500 at 11:30. With my iPhone 4 I had the volume between 70-80% most of the time. I find the HE-300 work very well if I have to use very low listening volumes, such as when my wife is asleep in the same room at night, but I still preferred them more out of an amp than the iPhone headphone jack.
The HE-500 leak more sound to the outside than the HE-300 due to their dipole nature, so I'm more likely to disturb my wife at night with the HE-500 than HE-300 because I like to listen to them louder as well (and as a matter of fact I did just that tonight). I don't need to turn the HE-300 up louder to hear the bass or treble, yet they don't offer a strong U shape frequency response either - i.e. there are no recessed mids to go with a strong bass and treble. As a matter of fact, with test tones the HE-300 seem to have a small hump between 1600 - 2500Hz (and another from 8 - 12K). The HE-500 is flatter sounding but seems to need a bit louder volumes to hear all the bass and treble (like with my HD600 which are not a good low-volume low-power phone).
I also tried test tones in the deep bass, and the HE-300 can play down to 20Hz but don't handle the notes below 32Hz as well as the HE-500 do. They had a small bit of doubling and distortion at moderate volume levels, although much less than a pair of loaner open-backed D7000 that I had here earlier in the month (this was with DACmini which I think is a little flatter sounding amp). Nevertheless, the HE-300 still have fairly good bass detail and speed with music, which I feel that similarly priced phones like D2000 and ATH-A900 could not do as well in previous testing. Also, when listening to the introduction to the Bella Sonus album "Enamoured" I could hear the deepest bass notes which approach 20 Hz, while some other phones like the open D7000 could not reproduce notes that low. I could still hear the 16Khz test tones with my 49 year old ears as well.
When volume matched on the same amp the HE-500 sound a little more liquid, and a little flatter in the upper midrange, with a little more life-like vocals and cymbals. The HE-500 lower mids are also slightly warmer and fuller, although the HE-300 still offers a full sounding bass that keeps them from ever sounding thin. The HE-300 bass impact was actually kinda fun to play with. The HE-500 also have improved micro-detail, air and ambience, although I would not say that is lacking in the HE-300 at all. There is definitely no sense of veil with the HE-300, and I do plan to compare them more in depth to the HD600 later to see how their levels of micro-detail compare.
I left my DACmini connected to the Amphora for the HE-300, and split the DAC output into my SR-71b for my balanced HE-500 at the same time (using HE-6 cable). This way I could have the two rigs volume matched and rapidly switch between the two phones without tweaking knobs or unplugging anything. I think that the HE-300 have no right to sound this good for their price, but the HE-500 still disappear better with their improved transparency. And while the HE-300 are not fatiguing like some Grados with their peaky upper mids, I did wonder if they might be more likely to do so at higher volumes than the HE-500 which are totally grain free. For this I will need more time with them when I can crank them up, as most of my listening prior to tonight was just casual listening for fun and not to pick apart the sound.
I thought the HE-300 did very well with vocals. The vocals with the HE-300 sound slightly more forward and intimate than the HE-500, but never in your face or as a wall of sound, although putting you closer to being on stage. I was really enjoying Diana Krall "Live in Paris" with the HE-300 tonight, and liked that I don't have to crank up the volume to feel like she is singing directly in front of me. This is one album that I use to test for problems with sibilance (also Girl in the Other Room), and I don't think that these phones add to what's already in the recording so I'm happy. And they certainly don't make non-sibilant recording sound that way.
After more listening tonight I can agree that the soundstage is better than Grado and closer to the HE-500, but not as deep as the HE-500 or HE-6. The imaging was a little less precise and less integrated than the HE-500, but still good for a $300 phone. The HE-500 just do a better job of presenting the sound as if it is coming from outside of the headphones, while the HE-300 is maybe closer to that of the HD600 and not the HD800/HE-500/HE-6.
One place where I especially noticed the HE-300 imaging didn't compare as well was with Minnesota Orchestra "Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances, etc." where the center stage had more of a hole in it than the HE-500. I actually didn't notice this at all with the SR-71b > HE-500 rig. It was less of an issue with the Amphora amp than the more forward sounding DACmini, but still there. I didn't have this issue with all recordings either, and it's certainly not a big issue or very pronounced. I listened to the classical as an after-thought, since they did so well with live jazz and blues recordings, and hadn't noticed it before that.
Switching the HE-300 to the DACmini's headphone out sounds slightly less warm and slightly more forward but still very good. I've always felt the Amphora was slightly more laid back with a warmish tube-like tone, while the DACmini has a more crisp and neutral character while retaining a hint of warmth. I think the HE-300 have a little better synergy with my Amphora than the DACmini, but both are a good choice. The HE-500 still beat the HE-300 whether using the Amphora or DACmini, although I have not tried the HE-300 on the SR-71b yet because I hate swapping the balanced cable. For the HE-500 the SR-71b is by far my favorite amp in my bedroom rig. At some point I will see how the HE-300 scale up with the HE-6 cable and balanced amp.
Here is the most interesting thing - after listening for a couple of hours there was one point in time where I was listening to one phone for so long that I forgot I was comparing headphones and just enjoyed the music. When I realized what was going on I could not recall if I was listening to the HE-300 or HE-500 and I had to look to see that I was listening to the HE-300.
I also can't explain why both the HE-500 and HE-300 fit my small head better than my HE-5, HE-5 LE or HE-6. But I no longer have to stick a block of foam under the headband to lift them up on my ears a little, like I do sometimes with the others. The HE-300 are a bit lighter than the HE-500, and while the HE-500 are much more comfortable to me than the LCD-2, the HE-300 are even more comfortable due to their light weight, soft ear pads, and no excessive head clamping. The headband appears to be either a soft leather or fake leather, with a nice memory foam pad inside that helps with comfort. As a bonus, they seem solidly built, and not flimsy at all.
In the end, I would recommend the HE-300 in this price range for anyone who wants a detailed, exciting and energetic headphone like a Grado, that's easy to drive and not as demanding for power as something like the HD600 (which can sound a bit bland when not properly amped).
I can certainly say I haven't had this much fun listening to my HD600 in the past, although they may be a little more transparent yet slightly veiled in comparison (unless used with my expensive APS v3 cable). I also don't think that any Grado less than the HF-1 or HF-2 is as good (I've had them all but the SR-125), and certainly not my old Ultrasone Proline 2500 which are long gone due to their recessed and lackluster mids. In comparison to my re-cabled ATH-A900 which cost about the same, although the A900 can play deeper more cleanly I don't think they do anything else as well as the HE-300.
[Please don't quote my whole review, in case I have to go back later to correct spelling and grammar.]
