[ThurstonX]

I dont have the HE-6 yet.
Still waiting.
I listened to a friends, and really liked it.

 
That's some serious commitment to the planar magnetic camp!  I like it 

 

[daltonlanny]

.
That's some serious commitment to the planar magnetic camp!  I like it 

Me too

 

[Hansotek]

 

I can listen to the HD800.

Me too, they sound great.

Me three. I definitely don't feel like I'm "losing something" when I switch from the HE500 to the HD800.

 

[daltonlanny]

Me three. I definitely don't feel like I'm "losing something" when I switch from the HE500 to the HD800.

You aren't loosing anything at all, but I felt I was personally gaining sometimes analytical, harsh highs, a slightly withdrawn midrange in certain frequencies, not total coherency from top to bottom, and the bass weight didn't suit me. The soundstaging and detail was impressive for sure, but I never felt they were anywhere near balanced or neutral. I could definitely hear a spike in the treble around 6 kHz on them, and it does exist if you look at frequency response graphs from many different sources, and comments from others who found them too "bright". Maybe I'm just sensitive to peaks in this region?
I also don't have the money to invest in, or experiment with amps, cables, and sources that match best with them.
It takes a commitment to get the best out of them.
To my ears the HD600 and Q701 are overall more neutral than the HD800.
And most main stream music that I listen to is much more tolerable through the HD600, HD650, HE-500, etc., than  through the HD800.
The HD800 can be like a microscope and reveals too much sometimes.
I can see why lots of folks love the HD800 though, and I'm not knocking the HD800, just giving my own personal opinion , and I will admit that the above mentioned headphones probably aren't in the same class as the HD800, and the HD800 does some things better than all of them, especially soundstaging, imaging, detail, and possibly top end extension, and the comfort was top-notch. >
But, to me personally, I wasn't impressed, could not hear what all the hype was about, especially at $1,500.00, so I returned them.
I really did want to like them though.

 

[Hansotek]

Me three. I definitely don't feel like I'm "losing something" when I switch from the HE500 to the HD800.

You aren't loosing anything at all, but I felt I was personally gaining sometimes analytical, harsh highs, a slightly withdrawn midrange in certain frequencies, not total coherency from top to bottom, and the bass weight didn't suit me. The soundstaging and detail was impressive for sure, but I never felt they were anywhere near balanced or neutral. I could definitely hear a spike in the treble around 6 kHz on them, and it does exist if you look at frequency response graphs from many different sources, and comments from others who found them too "bright". Maybe I'm just sensitive to peaks in this region?
I also don't have the money to invest in, or experiment with amps, cables, and sources that match best with them.
It takes a commitment to get the best out of them.
To my ears the HD600 and Q701 are overall more neutral than the HD800.
And most main stream music that I listen to is much more tolerable through the HD600, HD650, HE-500, etc., than  through the HD800.
The HD800 can be like a microscope and reveals too much sometimes.
I can see why lots of folks love the HD800 though, and I'm not knocking the HD800, just giving my own personal opinion.
But, to me personally, I wasn't impressed, especially at $1,500.00, so I returned them.

I totally get it. I demoed them on a different amp back in December, and my opinions fell mostly in line with yours. A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a "like new" HD800 for $950... it was my birthday anyway, so I just said, "Screw it, treat yo' self!" Anyway, when I tried them on my own equipment, I was shocked... There was way more warmth & bass impact than I remembered, and the treble was much smoother. Now, nobody would ever mistake these for an HE500, it definitely sounds like an HD800, but they sounded a lot different than what I expected. I know there's been a fair amount of variation in the line, and my equipment is a little bit on the warmer side... so I think I just got lucky and all those things just kind of came together for me.

 

[daltonlanny]

I totally get it. I demoed them on a different amp back in December, and my opinions fell mostly in line with yours. A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a "like new" HD800 for $950... it was my birthday anyway, so I just said, "Screw it, treat yo' self!" Anyway, when I tried them on my own equipment, I was shocked... There was way more warmth & bass impact than I remembered, and the treble was much smoother. Now, nobody would ever mistake these for an HE500, it definitely sounds like an HD800, but they sounded a lot different than what I expected. I know there's been a fair amount of variation in the line, and my equipment is a little bit on the warmer side... so I think I just got lucky and all those things just kind of came together for me.

You need to be posting in the HD800 forums, not here
Just kidding man. Lol.
In all seriousness, I am very happy you had better luck with your HD800 than the first time you heard them.
Maybe I will try them out again one day and give them a second chance.
A person never knows until they try.
I miss the comfort, detail, and staging, but not the highs.
Again, I can very easily see why many are very impressed with them.
Hope you keep enjoying them.
Thats great to hear.
Trusting your own ears is the way to go, IMHO.
Everyone hears alittle differently.

 

[Hansotek]

I totally get it. I demoed them on a different amp back in December, and my opinions fell mostly in line with yours. A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a "like new" HD800 for $950... it was my birthday anyway, so I just said, "Screw it, treat yo' self!" Anyway, when I tried them on my own equipment, I was shocked... There was way more warmth & bass impact than I remembered, and the treble was much smoother. Now, nobody would ever mistake these for an HE500, it definitely sounds like an HD800, but they sounded a lot different than what I expected. I know there's been a fair amount of variation in the line, and my equipment is a little bit on the warmer side... so I think I just got lucky and all those things just kind of came together for me.

You need to be posting in the HD800 forums, not here
Just kidding man. Lol.
In all seriousness, I am very happy you had better luck with your HD800 than the first time you heard them.
Maybe I will try them out again one day and give them a second chance.
A person never knows until they try.
I miss the comfort, detail, and staging, but not the highs.
Again, I can very easily see why many are very impressed with them.
Hope you keep enjoying them.
Thats great to hear.
Trusting your own ears is the way to go, IMHO.
Everyone hears alittle differently.

I guess the moral of the story is, even with the HD800, a lot of things have to "go right (...if you will)" for it to be playing alongside the HE500. Which just comes back to the point of how the HE500 will ruin *most* dynamic driver headphones for you.

Also, I should mention that I don't really like either one of these headphones better than the other. It's totally "1 and 1A".

 

[Kendoji]

I've never been able to like my HD 800s quite as much as I've wanted to. Can't bring myself to sell them either though! The HE-500s are the ones that have clicked for me more than any other headphone I've heard.

 

[ShinAyasaki]

I found some recommendations about the HE-500s will perform the best with at least 2W power at 38ohm. Is there anybody can confirm ? Thank you.

 

[daltonlanny]

I've never been able to like my HD 800s quite as much as I've wanted to. Can't bring myself to sell them either though! The HE-500s are the ones that have clicked for me more than any other headphone I've heard.

+ 1

 

[daltonlanny]

 
 

 

[StanD]

  I found some recommendations about the HE-500s will perform the best with at least 2W power at 38ohm. Is there anybody can confirm ? Thank you.

1W on a good amp will do a great job, any more does nothing as it will never be used. 1W is more than enough to roast your ears, plenty of DR.

 

[daltonlanny]

1W on a good amp will do a great job, any more does nothing as it will never be used. 1W is more than enough to roast your ears, plenty of DR.

+1.
My 1 watt output HeadAmp GS-1 amp will drive them to ear splitting levels. No need for more power than that, imho.

 

[StanD]

+1.
My 1 watt output HeadAmp GS-1 amp will drive them to ear splitting levels. No need for more power than that, imho.

Likewise, my Asgard 2 at 1W can strip the ears off the sides of one's head while still sounding great.

 

[Rockcoon]

I found some recommendations about the HE-500s will perform the best with at least 2W power at 38ohm. Is there anybody can confirm ? Thank you.
 

NAd d1050 built in amp 1w. On some tracks (vinyl) i have to turn up the volume knob on 12 o'clock to gain desireable loudness. But in most cases it wouldn't be necessary.