HiFiman HE-500 (HE as in High End) Proving to be an enjoyable experience in listening.

[Dogmatrix]

Many factors for differences in impressions while perception of highs especially seem to be the quality that varies the most from person to person imo. Besides differences in personal factors, most of us appear to be running different earpads than stock which makes a 500 vs 6se consensus difficult. et cetera

500 is a tad sweeter in terms of dynamics (meaning less dynamic) but 500 is also a tad sweeter in terms of tone (meaning smoother frequency response). imo

I agree it is a very personal thing
I love my 500 it has been my standard for many years
I even had a custom tube amp built for them
Last week I took delivery of the HE6se v1 and new toy syndrome aside it just fits my hearing profile perfectly
As a big plus it gets along with the custom tube amp perfectly as well
Wont be selling the 500 though

 

[TWerk]

I wouldn't consider it new toy syndrome. Only time will tell that for you but that 6SE is a winner too.

I think it's probably a case of also if you like one of the two, you'll most likely enjoy the other - as many of us here do.

 

[bagwell359]

I agree it is a very personal thing
I love my 500 it has been my standard for many years
I even had a custom tube amp built for them
Last week I took delivery of the HE6se v1 and new toy syndrome aside it just fits my hearing profile perfectly
As a big plus it gets along with the custom tube amp perfectly as well
Wont be selling the 500 though

How much power is the amp? Any mods to the 500?

 

[Dogmatrix]

How much power is the amp? Any mods to the 500?

It is a transformer coupled amp (9 transformers total)
As Rolls Royce used to say power is adequate
My 500s have grills off otherwise stock

 

[Nimzerz]

It is a transformer coupled amp (9 transformers total)
As Rolls Royce used to say power is adequate
My 500s have grills off otherwise stock

That does not mean it has enough power... I would hope it is transformer coupled for planars

 

[bagwell359]

It is a transformer coupled amp (9 transformers total)
As Rolls Royce used to say power is adequate
My 500s have grills off otherwise stock

whoa....

 

[Dogmatrix]

That does not mean it has enough power... I would hope it is transformer coupled for planars

All good, it is pretty much an arc welder with a headphone socket

 

[jamato8]

Wow, over a million views of this thread!

 

[Dramlin]

Well deserved. Headphones that are good enough to satisfy even the most picky, myself included.

 

[Dramlin]

What is everyone else using as their long term pads for the HE-500's? I'm quite happy with my setup, but in the never ending interest of getting the absolute most out of the HE-500's I would like to keep trying other pads to see what other flavors are out there. What pads have you been using long term that you are happy with?

At this point I'm familiar with:

• Hifiman Velour
• Hifiman Velpad for HE400S
• Hifiman Leather
• Hifiman Palipad
• Hifiman FocusPad
• Hifiman FocusPad-A
• Dekoni Elite Velour
• DCA Ether and Voce Angled
• Large Brainwavz (all types)

 

[leeperry]

Very crappy headphones, way obsolete and good for the trash really with those horrid SMC connectors gosh.

PS: all bumping this thread really does is increasing used prices, most recent listing I've seen here was ludicrously priced and I sure hope it won't find a buyer. At this rate, get ready for $1K HE-500 a few years from now lol, the same way cd3k's are going when their diaphragm is actually organic and often aged badly IME(skewed balance).

 

[jamato8]

Very crappy headphones, way obsolete and good for the trash really with those horrid SMC connectors gosh.

PS: all bumping this thread really does is increasing used prices, most recent listing I've seen here was ludicrously priced and I sure hope it won't find a buyer. At this rate, get ready for $1K HE-500 a few years from now lol, the same way cd3k's are going when their diaphragm is actually organic and often aged badly IME(skewed balance).

I have had mine for years. Never really liked the connectors but have never had a problem with the connectors or the headphones.

And to your complain of bumping the thread, isn't that what you just did? You have a pair to sell? :^)

 

[Dramlin]

I'll be the only one to say that I actually like the SMC connections ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Very easy to solder to cables compared to other connector types, and there doesn't seem to be any signal degradation from the connectors.

 

[jamato8]

I'll be the only one to say that I actually like the SMC connections ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Very easy to solder to cables compared to other connector types, and there doesn't seem to be any signal degradation from the connectors.

You are correctly, they are fairly easy to use and to solder to. They are used on the ES R10 headphones because they are the only thing that will fit and they work fine, no issues.

 

[amigastar]

I bought my HE-500 used for 420 bucks about 6 years ago. Still enjoying these marvelous headphones.