[3rdear]

+1  I like the bass on the HE500s but it lacks the grunt for rock/indie.  I much preferred the LCD2s for this.
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1. very cool bass, not overly bassy but good enough for a good feeling(note: a basshead at all) from the boom bap, works excellent for hip-hop because of this. I don't really feel any drastic improvements for rock/metal, I just hear the sub-bass a little better which does give a better, fuller prensentation...success

 

[RestoredSparda]

i find small differences with the velour/pleather, neither is perfect, so i just keep the pleather on cause they're more comfortable.

That's interesting. Over the last couple of months I would switch between pleather and velour. I always ended up enjoying the velours SO much more. Very uncomfortable but much better sound. As stated by a poster a few up the pleather had a "in a cave" sound as well as some strange ringing glare. I could never leave the pleather on for more than a couple days before having to swap back to the velours. Never would have believed pads made a difference until I tried this for myself. Velours give the vocals scary realism and pleathers "for me" absolutely wreck the qualities of the HE-500 I enjoy. Just my thoughts.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

That's interesting. Over the last couple of months I would switch between pleather and velour. I always ended up enjoying the velours SO much more. Very uncomfortable but much better sound. As stated by a poster a few up the pleather had a "in a cave" sound as well as some strange ringing glare. I could never leave the pleather on for more than a couple days before having to swap back to the velours. Never would have believed pads made a difference until I tried this for myself. Velours give the vocals scary realism and pleathers "for me" absolutely wreck the qualities of the HE-500 I enjoy. Just my thoughts.

Stock pleathers are indeed plagued with underdamping (which you duly note as cavernous-sounding and mids glare issues), however I would argue that they have a more natural midrange<->treble balance than velours due to a combination of factors including the fabric screen, the foam, the pad depth, etc.
 
Kind of why I opted to mod with the pleathers, because its issues can be mitigated, while its core balance cannot be replicated with velours or any other earpads I've tried.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

well i did a bit more listening and yeah its still a small difference.
 
the velour has a brighter sound with less bass but it does seem to be crystal clear and detailed, its also thinner than the pleathers. it sounds similar to my beyerdynamic t1 or hd 800, but different in a way, i like it, but then i don't. theres a sense of hotness as i listen, similar to a hd 800 on a brighter setup. the velour also has the bars touching my ears, which gets very uncomfortable, worse than grados touching your ear or audezes pad clamping down on your head. advantages : tighter bass, more transparency and detail, cleaner. disadvantages: more uncomfortable, less bass, hotter in the treble
 
the pleather has a bit of an echo to it, theres definitely some mids/treble resonance, theres a little more bass too. it does become a little less natural sounding and more cave sounding, in some songs, this is a good thing, it others it becomes unnatural and loses a little bit of transparency (might not even be that, it just becomes smoother). the treble is smoother. these are much more comfortable,
 
also to note, just noticed some of the clamping on the headphones is lessened by loosening the screws on the frame/cups (one of mines got worn out unfortunately when i overtightened it at first cause it would loosen). seems the velours are now a little bit more comfortable, but still the pleathers are still more comfortable, im not gonna hurt myself to get a slightly better sound.
 
 
still, neither is perfect, and differences are small. and the pleathers are much more comfortable. 
 
NOTE:
 
also, the HE-500 with velour are extremely similar sounding to the T1, the HE-500 got a few advantages over the T1 here with transparency and engagement  with that ortho sound, but i feel like the T1 is still better with the bass and soundstage/imaging. its hard to say but i like my T1 here more, and they're much more comfortable. this is with the WA6-SE, with the WA2, i much prefer the T1 

 (theres better weight in the sound, the treble is smoother, mids are warmer, and the soundstage/imaging is better than HE-500, however, i see the law of diminishing returns well in effect here) 
 
. still im surprised to hear the similarities, both have such neutral and uncolored midranges, its hard to tell a difference, treble is equally good on both, the HE has more smoothness and the T1 better transients and speed. bass is slightly better on the T1, but the HE has its advantages too, being quite tight and controlled. 

 

[RestoredSparda]

well i did a bit more listening and yeah its still a small difference.

the velour has a brighter sound with less bass but it does seem to be crystal clear and detailed, its also thinner than the pleathers. it sounds similar to my beyerdynamic t1 or hd 800, but different in a way, i like it, but then i don't. theres a sense of hotness as i listen, similar to a hd 800 on a brighter setup. the velour also has the bars touching my ears, which gets very uncomfortable, worse than grados touching your ear or audezes pad clamping down on your head. advantages : tighter bass, more transparency and detail, cleaner. disadvantages: more uncomfortable, less bass, hotter in the treble

the pleather has a bit of an echo to it, theres definitely some mids/treble resonance, theres a little more bass too. it does become a little less natural sounding and more cave sounding, in some songs, this is a good thing, it others it becomes unnatural and loses a little bit of transparency (might not even be that, it just becomes smoother). the treble is smoother. these are much more comfortable,

also to note, just noticed some of the clamping on the headphones is lessened by loosening the screws on the frame/cups (one of mines got worn out unfortunately when i overtightened it at first cause it would loosen). seems the velours are now a little bit more comfortable, but still the pleathers are still more comfortable, im not gonna hurt myself to get a slightly better sound.


still, neither is perfect, and differences are small. and the pleathers are much more comfortable. 

Thanks for taking the time to write up your experiences with the two pads. Funny, I also have one screw that wants to work its way out and needs to be tightened often. Usually after changing pads it gets quite loose. Maybe I'll try and loosen the other to reduce the clamping pressure as you said.

 

[Stalker81598]

The issue with the screws can be fixed with a little Loctite threadlocker blue. It will hold it in place and you'll still be able to loosen it with a normal screwdriver if needed. If you use red it will never come off.
 
I prefer the sound of the velours but also find them significantly less comfortable than the pleathers. I ordered some Beyer DT880 pads a couple days ago to try on the HE500. Will post results when they get in.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

one of my screws got worn out by my screwdriver, doesn't seem like it will be too much of a problem, but its bothering me now... 
 
anyways, no big deal, umm i edited my pad comparison to add a note about the T1 vs. HE-500, with the velours, i just noticed how similar they sound.
 
ill add it here in case any1 misses it.
 
 
 

"NOTE:
 
also, the HE-500 with velour are extremely similar sounding to the T1, the HE-500 got a few advantages over the T1 here with transparency and engagement  with that ortho sound, but i feel like the T1 is still better with the bass and soundstage/imaging. its hard to say but i like my T1 here more, and they're much more comfortable. this is with the WA6-SE, with the WA2, i much prefer the T1 

 (theres better weight in the sound, the treble is smoother, mids are warmer, and the soundstage/imaging is better than HE-500, however, i see the law of diminishing returns well in effect here) 
 
. still im surprised to hear the similarities, both have such neutral and uncolored midranges, its hard to tell a difference, treble is equally good on both, the HE has more smoothness and the T1 better transients and speed. bass is slightly better on the T1, but the HE has its advantages too, being quite tight and controlled. "

 

[elwappo99]

Well everyone, I have a confession to make. I have owned a pair of HE-500s, for quite some time now. I haven't really checked in here, and it's quite the shame. But given the political climate here in the states, I guess it's a good time for me to come out, as it were. 
 
 
Seems like there's a good number of conversations running about these. Apologies all around. I'm going to be rehashing the same arguments here it seems like, so to start off on a good note, I am really falling in love with these albums tonight on my HE-500s. These headphones really represent violins in a very very special way. 
 
 
 
 
 
http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Concertos-Johann-Sebastian/dp/B000099156

 
 
 
http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Night-Music-Wolfgang-Amadeus/dp/B0000AQVM4

 

[Deicide3]

i need a suggestion for an amp and dac for the cans.
i've heard that dv337\9 is a combo "from heaven" but in another community they says this cans need alot of power and these amps cant run them because of the low ohm.
 
btw the music i listen to is extreme metal.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

i need a suggestion for an amp and dac for the cans.
i've heard that dv337\9 is a combo "from heaven" but in another community they says this cans need alot of power and these amps cant run them because of the low ohm.
 
btw the music i listen to is extreme metal.

 
What's your budget?

 

[hifimanrookie]

Quote:

i need a suggestion for an amp and dac for the cans.
i've heard that dv337\9 is a combo "from heaven" but in another community they says this cans need alot of power and these amps cant run them because of the low ohm.
 
btw the music i listen to is extreme metal.

I dont know which community says that the 337/339 is not able to drive the he500..but i guess its on a thread with posters who use emotiva's or lyr's to drive the he500.and thats okay!.just guessing..as some of those people believe deeply that raw huge power is the only way to drive the he500 to sound its best..as an owner of both the he500 and the 337 i can confirm the he500 sounds out of this world on the 337..
 
BUT u have to invest in some tuberolling..thats a must for this amp(as also for his sister..the 339)
 
check this review out to show u the 339 is more then capable to drive the he500 perfectly..the reviewer even goes so far to say its his favorite otl tube amp for the he500...
 
http://www.headfonia.com/lafigaro-339-my-fav-otl-amp/
 
and if u check the 339 or 337 thread u will read same kind of statements...that those two amps are more then capable to drive the he500 prefectly..NOT the he6!
 
ps..its darkvoice 337 and lafigaro 339..and not darkvoice 339..and both dont have dac inside..a good dac pair for these amps could be the metrum octave.an excellent natural sounding NOS dac.
 
but as preproman also asked..whats ur budget?
 
the amp costs around 550 (excl.postage), good tubes around 350, the metrum around 1000.. And then i would suggest to upgrade the skinny powercords on the 337/339(u need 2 of them!)..and the feet for something like herbie's audiolab tenderfoot (as i found out the amp is very sensitive to vibrations!), and u need rca interconnects and maybe an aftermarket headphone cable (full copper cable goes very well with the he500 imho)..all in my honest opinion ofcourse..except the review..thats not my mine..but from a respected reviewer. Enjoy reading!

 

[Pasquale]

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im pretty happy with my V-Link for my DL III, works great, i find my WA6-SE (especially with higher gain tubes), drives them very well. i can agree that they are a tougher load than the rest of my headphones, definitely not budget unless you're comparing it to more expensive options.

 
Dubstep Girl, I have been listening to my system with my new V-Link 192 handling the USB-to-SPDIF conversion to my Benchmark DAC1 USB.  I am impressed with the results.  There is more detail, more air, and better soundstaging - not a transformational difference but easily perceptible.  The V-Link 192 unit is better than the original V-Link unit I was using previously - much more natural sounding.  For $200, that's one of the best deals in head-fi.  
 
Setup: PC (JRiver) > V-Link (via USB) > Benchmark DAC1 (via AES) > Soloist > HE500 or AKG K702.  
 
According to some, the V- Link 192 unit is 85% of converters that cost 5X+ more.  Good enough for me!   

 

[Pasquale]

I had the HE500's paired with a Lyr.  The combination was just ok.  I felt I could get best performance with tube rolling.  But, rolling really good tubes is expensive.  I decided to simply get another better amp - the Burson Soloist in my case.   

 

[pukeman]

Damn I will be getting a Lyr next week ish...well at least it should sound better than listening to them um amped like I am now

 

[MickeyVee]

Don't worry. The Lyr will drive the HE500 quite nicely. You may want to get into tube rolling... That's another story. Enjoy!
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Damn I will be getting a Lyr next week ish...well at least it should sound better than listening to them um amped like I am now