[deadkenny64]

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They said it would come out this week.  Have you checked the site?
I just looked and I didn't see anything.  Unless I missed it.  
He-300 will be here tomorrow!


 

I have my money in hand waiting for confirmation of the new ear pads.  Would also like to hear your impressions once you get a chance to listen.
 

 

[rawrster]

HeadphoneAddict, thank you for your impressions on them. Would you say these are worth getting if you already have a Grado type headphone in the Magnums? i suspect they may be a good pairing to my DT880 but not sure about the Magnums if they sound too similar. I've sold headphones in the past where they sounded too similar.

 

[ZarakiSan]

Can anyone confirm that the earpads and cable are going to be up-to-date if I order these phones now-ish?

 

[Austin Morrow]

Quote:

Can anyone confirm that the earpads and cable are going to be up-to-date if I order these phones now-ish?

I heard a few pages back from someone that the cable they ship is now the updated one. The replacement one that I received.

 

[ZarakiSan]

Quote:

I heard a few pages back from someone that the cable they ship is now the updated one. The replacement one that I received.

Thanks! Do you happen to have any idea on the earpads as well?
 

 

[Hawaiiancerveza]

From what I understand that could be a possibility but if not it might be an option as a side order.  They said they would be available this week.  We got a few more days to se if this is true or not. 
 
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I have checked the website and emailed but havent got any updates. Are all the new models going to have the new earpads included or will they be an optional extra?
 

 

 

[Hawaiiancerveza]

Sure, I'd be happy to share when I get them.  I also have an after marker cable the Black Dragon to compare it with the stock cable which I hear is a hard to use cable.  
 
Quote:

I have my money in hand waiting for confirmation of the new ear pads.  Would also like to hear your impressions once you get a chance to listen.
 

 

 

[tama]

just got an email saying the new earpads will be "In approximately two weeks"

 

[Hawaiiancerveza]

wow thats crazy.  I had an email last week that they'd be ready this week. 

 
Quote:

just got an email saying the new earpads will be "In approximately two weeks"

 

 

[Hawaiiancerveza]

Ok I got my HE-300 and I will post impressions later as I only came home and to get my wife's college book and WHALA!  I found a box on my bed.  I curiously stared at the box thinking it couldn't be my amp because I haven't gotten a shipment confirmation as of yet.  I opened the box and there it was.  I only have about 30 mins to take a look at the HP because I'm pressed for time and need to take my wife's book to her for class.  I did rip open the box and took a look at the box and opened it.  Seems like a nice box not a wooden box but felt like a plywood feeling.  I looked through everything and noticed that its the same cable that Austin Morrow as his replacement.  So yes the replacement cables are being sent out with the new orders.  As for the leather pads I got the velour pads.(If thats the material that it comes with)  I have them on my head at the moment and think they sound good so far but I know with some burn in they will sound better.. well hopefully.  But thats what I have so far.  As for the new pads I guess we'll all need to wait for 2 weeks or so for those.  OH!  I forgot, the new cable doesn't seem really heavy or anything but I can't compare the 2 cables because I only have this cable and my Black Dragon cable.  I will be able to test that cable when my NFB-5 comes in.  Other than that I conclude my ever so horribly put together review of my HE-300 and what I have to say as of yet I am very pleased with them.  More to come!  
Aloha

 

[mrarroyo]

My HE-300 w/ balanced OCC cable arrived today. They are burning in as we speak, I will wait 100 hours before doing any critical listening or comparison. For now I will say these are very light cans as compared with the HE6 or HE500. For now enclosed are some pictures.
 
https://picasaweb.google.com/109437154048011247077/HeadDirectHE300

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

 
Quote:

Larry, were you using the same cable when comparing the HE300 to the HE500? I ask because I have the HE300 on the way and a balance HE6 cable which is the same cable I use on the HE500. To me the HE6 balanced cable sounds a bit better and (BIG end) is much more comfortable/flexible to be worth the $100 or so dollars it sells for. Cheers.

I am using the stock HE-300 cable that came with the HE-300, and I listened vs HE-500 that are using a balanced HE-6 cable.  
 
The HE-300 cable is lighter than the HE-500 cable, and is terminated with a 1/8" plug and a small solid body 1/4" adapter.  It is a little thinner and a little more plasticky than rubbery feeling, and you can see the twists in the cables underneath the sleeving.  The HE-300 cable is a little more flexible than the old HE-500 cable, so it's easier to bundle up the extra length onto my lap while listening.
 
I do think the HE-6 cable is worth it for the HE-500 and HE-6, but I'm not sure I'd need to change the HE-300 cable yet.  I use needle nose pliers to attach the cables, and it's a pain to swap them around a lot.  So cable comparisons with HiFiMan phones can't be quick, and when swapping cables one can forget what the previous cable sounded like by the time you have the new one installed.  I'm sure someday I'll get around to comparing the HE-300 cable and HE-6 cable.  Is the older single ended cable that came on the HE-500 is going away?
 
Quote:

Thanks for the review, HeadphoneAddict - it's really informative.
 
Would you (or anyone who owns the HE-300) say that the HE-300 is a mixture of Grado and Sennheiser HD 6xx? I'm looking for the neutrality and easy-to-listen-to traits of the HD 600, mixed with the clarity of a Grado.  I feel the clarity aspect is the only thing missing from the HD 600. 
 
@HeadphoneAddict - I look forward to your comparison between the HE-300 and the Sennheiser HD 600.  This will help me a great deal.
 
It seems that the HE-300 punches well above its weight though and although it's nearly 3 times cheaper than the HE-500, the differences in SQ between the two headphones after extensive listening are not that great, but maybe just refinements...

I still have to say that the HE-300 are closer to a Grado, but without the smallish soundstage of the Grados.  So they're a little more "fun" sounding than the HD600 (don't like the 650 so don't have one to compare to).  They're still easier to listen to than an SR-60/80, MS-1, SR-225 or SR-325i, but not as laid back as an HD600.  For me to get the best clarity and detail from the HD-600 I must use an APS V3 or Silver Dragon cable, but I didn't feel the need to swap the HE-300 cable yet.  I will do some comparisons to my HF-2 soon, and more with the HD600 as well.  It wont be quite fair because I use an APS V3 cable with the HD600, although the HF-2 are still stock.
 
It's hard to say if they sound like any other headphones.  The HE-300 are better than my Ultrasone HFI-700DVD which are the only Ultrasones that I still own, but they might have a similar flavor to my old HFI-700 if I recall correctly (they're packed away for now).  While the HE-300 have a strong bass like some Ultrasone or Denon phones, I don't think they sound like the other Ultrasones that I have sold, namely the Proline 2500, HFI-780 or Edition 9, nor to the Denon D2000 that I've owned. 
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by redwarrior191 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
headphoneaddict, may i know how you think about the timbre of these headphones?? 
 

Continuing the above thought, the HE-300 do have a slightly colored sound, namely with the bump in the upper mids that I hear.  So they're not as neutral and transparent as the HD600 and HE-500, but this bump is not intrusive into the music like with the nasally upper mids that I heard with ATH-W11R or Sony CDR-3000 (and to some extent the W5000).  With a few songs I did not think that the HE-300 reproduce cymbals as accurately as the HD600 or HE-500, but pianos, guitars, drums, cello, violin and and trumpets still sounded pretty good to me.  While the bass is strong there is some of that woody cello resonance that is not as full sounding in the upper bass/lower mids as with the other phones.  This is all nitpicking though.
 
Quote:

HeadphoneAddict, thank you for your impressions on them. Would you say these are worth getting if you already have a Grado type headphone in the Magnums? i suspect they may be a good pairing to my DT880 but not sure about the Magnums if they sound too similar. I've sold headphones in the past where they sounded too similar.

That's hard to say, as I've not heard the Magnums.  But I would prefer the HE-300 over any of the Grado's that I've listed above.  I think these would compete with something like the HF-1 (flats) and HF-2 (bowls) but in those cases the HE-300 might be redundant.  I might like them more than my old RS-2 with flats or bowl pads, which I thought were a little bland sounding and sounded more like a refinement of the MS-1.  The HF-1 and RS-2 improved a bit with APS v3 cable, and I might do that for my HF-2 someday.  
 
I don't have my old RS-1 anymore, but I found the bass and mids great with flat pads, although that gave the treble less detail and a blunted attack.  If I went with bowls on the RS-1 then I could get a soundstage closer to the HE-300, but then the mids were recessed and the bass was weaker.  I couldn't find a pad combination that worked just right for me with RS-1, so I picked the original HE-5 over the RS-1 which I sold.  Still, I would have to hear an RS-1 again before I could decide if I would pick the HE-300 over them.  (note - I preferred my HF-2 over the RS-1 as well)
 
The only DT880 I've heard have been at the CEntrance booth at RMAF the past two years, and I didn't like their metallic sounding treble.  I would pick the HE-300 over those in a heartbeat.
 

 

[Voohoo]

Quote:

My HE-300 w/ balanced OCC cable arrived today. They are burning in as we speak, I will wait 100 hours before doing any critical listening or comparison. For now I will say these are very light cans as compared with the HE6 or HE500. For now enclosed are some pictures.
 
https://picasaweb.google.com/109437154048011247077/HeadDirectHE300

Ooo, pictures are always welcome!

Btw, do you also have the stock cable for comparing the OCC cable too? I'd love to hear some impressions on this. I'm still quite skeptical on cable upgrades, though I've been thinking about making my own.

 

[ZarakiSan]

Hmm, strange. I e-mailed head-direct about the cables/earpads, and got this response:
 
 
Quote:

This is the information I received from our shopping Manager in Chin.
if orders are placed from now on, the order will have new earpads and cables.
 
Kindest regards

I'll be taking the plunge, and hope things will work out correctly. I guess I could order the earpads afterwards and maybe even haggle a bit based on this e-mail, but I'm not too worried. I don't even know if new earpads will be specifically better. Anyway, just wanted to give you guys a heads up on that.
 

 

[Hawaiiancerveza]

Ah wow.... is it going to be added to the price or free?  I got the velour pads and they are comfortable but the leather ones or what they are making I might consider getting too...