[Yuceka]

And you guys aren't experiencing any wood issues so far? Can someone confirm that Fang changed the wood material that was being used for the first batch and that the latest material is not suffering from easily cracking? 

 

[Dubwicht]

Had these headphones for about 3 months and all I can say is that they are awesome!   I have had the Denon D7000 and several other phones by Beyerdynamic, Ultrasone, Sennheiser, Grado and they do not measure up to the HE-5.  I still can't believe the sound when I plug them in.  Perhaps I should look at some Planar speakers as well.  

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Had these headphones for about 3 months and all I can say is that they are awesome!   I have had the Denon D7000 and several other phones by Beyerdynamic, Ultrasone, Sennheiser, Grado and they do not measure up to the HE-5.  I still can't believe the sound when I plug them in.  Perhaps I should look at some Planar speakers as well.  

That sounds like a good idea, if you have the power.  Sachu fell in love with planars and just got some Magnepan 1.6 or something like that.  I plan to get a pair of MMG one of these days.
 
As for loving the HE-5, I do too and still like to post my thoughts about them.  For a long time I was recommending the HE-5/EF5 combo with a Nuforce uDAC as my favorite sub-$1K rig.  I have all three high-end HiFiMan orthos (HE-5, HE-5 LE and HE-6) and wont part with any of them, although I use the HE-6 the most lately.  My HE-5 were so good that I sold my re-cabled RS-1 after I did many comparisons.  They also beat my HD600 but those are such a good value for the price that I kept them.  They were also above a stock D7000 or modded D2000, but a little below my LA7000 or HD800.  
 
The new HE-5 LE are slightly better in imaging and midrange, and smoother in the highs, but the original HE-5 are still very good and a little better at low volume listening than the LE version.  Some people felt the HE-5 highs were too hot or aggressive, and although I don't think so I do know that the cable from the HE-5 LE audibly tames the highs for me.  With the stock HE-5 LE cable the newer HE-5 LE are slightly darker than the original HE-5 with the same cable (but not as dark as my LCD-2).  So, although moving the LE cable over to the HE-5 tames the highs a little, the HE-5 cable on the LE brightens up the LE treble.  I'd definitely recommend owning both cables for either headphone, to tune the sound like changing tubes.  Interestingly, the LE sounded a lot like my old AKG K1000 in the mids and highs, but with better detailed and extended bass, so I sold the K1000 too.  
 
These orthos all have great speed, detail, and finesse, but the HE-5 LE have a little more refinement, better instrument placement, and better controlled bass than the original HE-5.   The HE-6 give up the slightly dark highs of the HE-5 LE, adds more sparkle while being smoother than the HE-5, keeps the great mids and imaging of the LE, improves the bass even more, and offers a lot more transparency and air.  Unfortunately they demand a lot more power.  While the HE-5 and LE can play at earsplitting levels with an EF5 amp, the HE-6 get louder than normal but not extremely loud.  Fortunately the HE-6 also sound great at low volumes like the HE-5, and all the detail in the bass, mids and highs is still there without needing a boost from EQ.
 
Still, the HE-5 LE are a small evolution in sound and if you love the HE-5 I'd consider just sticking with those, unless you really want the changes I mentioned.

 

[Lorspeaker]

thank u HEADPHONEADDICT, with that last sentence...u have saved me 500bucks on an uograde/downgrade/sidegrade to other HEcans.

 

[Dubwicht]

I didn't mention that I have the better cable and the HF-5 amplifier. Apure Sound provided the upgraded cable for free. The Hf-5 is a very solid amp and I can't see buying another. Got it for $225 used.
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[petercak]

I bought my HE-5 in February 2010. So far I haven't experienced any wood issues. I'm just surprised to see that HE-5 are still available. My impression was that those are not in production anymore and were replaced by HE-5LE exactly because of wood issues. Clearly, this is not the case.
 
BTW, great headphones.

 

[Yuceka]

Quote:

I bought my HE-5 in February 2010. So far I haven't experienced any wood issues. I'm just surprised to see that HE-5 are still available. My impression was that those are not in production anymore and were replaced by HE-5LE exactly because of wood issues. Clearly, this is not the case.
 
BTW, great headphones.

You're right, I don't think they're in production anymore after the release of HE5-LE but headphone.com still has them in stock. I still haven't decided on which route to take. The reason why I have been considering HE5 over the LE model is that I am already going to have an allegedly (haven't heard them yet) warm cans such as LCD-2 and I don't really prefer really warm phones for classical and jazz recordings. At the same time, I don't know how bright HE5 are... Headphoneaddict's post above was a bit helpful. But if their highs are like Grados, I wouldn't like that. I owned SR225i and there had been times when I wanted to take the phones off of my head and throw them away because of the shrillness and brightness. I kind of doubt HE5 are like that. Right now, I love AKG K701s highs and soundstage, if someone can answer which model (HE5 or LE) can give me a better taste of K701, I"ll consider buying that one. Humidity is not an issue in my room so I am not too worried (just a little) about the wood cracking issue. It's just the "veil" thing that some people have reported about the LE... that's what's keeping me from buying them...

 

[petercak]

 
Quote:

 It's just the "veil" thing that some people have reported about the LE... that's what's keeping me from buying them...

Yes, I was at the point when I had a chance to cancel my order for HE-5 and get LE instead, but just because of LE's different sonic characteristic, I stayed with HE-5. Since I haven't heard LE version by now, I cannot say what the difference in fact is. Though, HeadphoneAddict shed some light on it. I suggest to try LE forums to search for comparisons.

 

[Gotcha]

 
Let's talk about quality issues of Head-Direct production!
On November, 2010 i buy pair of HE5.
After some games with damping,  I have noticed, that drivers sound different, one is more silent, than another!
I have decided to measure resistance.
OMG - 33 and 16 Ohms!
Since I already assorted ear-phones, I have decided to level resistance of the drivers, the parallel resistor, however full identity isn't received!
 
I understand that have hurried to eliminate a problem independently, but have decided not to ignore it since one of these days, my companion with Doctorhead.ru has received He4 with precisely such - a problem. 
 
Mr. Fang, comment, please! 
 
 
PS!  I will be completely satisfied, if you send any of 16, or 32 Ohms drivers, each of them has its own  pluses.
I, am ready to send you any of my drivers
Sorry 4 my  English!