[FlySweep]

After over a month's worth of research and trying to decide which cans to buy I will be joining the HE-500 Club real soon.  Ordered a pair from Headroom today and had them shipped overnight!  Just got my tracking #!  Can't wait to compare with my HD650 tomorrow. 

 
Congrats!  I don't think your HD650 is going to be very happy with your decision, though.. it'll be quite lonely, soon.  

 

[BleaK]

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After over a month's worth of research and trying to decide which cans to buy I will be joining the HE-500 Club real soon.  Ordered a pair from Headroom today and had them shipped overnight!  Just got my tracking #!  Can't wait to compare with my HD650 tomorrow. 

You're in for a treat! Just remember that these will not blow you out of the water when you listen to them the first time. It took time, at least for me, to fully comprehend the HE500 signature and to truly love it.

 

[davidgotsa]

I agree. After a few days though I started to really love the HE-500 and ended up giving away my HD650 to a friend who only had Beats. 
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You're in for a treat! Just remember that these will not blow you out of the water when you listen to them the first time. It took time, at least for me, to fully comprehend the HE500 signature and to truly love it.

 

[ikitub]

just got my HE500. Sadly the right cable is not working. Using temporarily the cable from my HE300. Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

[brokenthumb]

Mine arrived about two hours ago!  I'm using my E9 on low gain and the volume knob is around the 10 - 11 O'clock region.  Plenty volume and sounds really good.
 
I've only listened to Pendulum's Immersion album to test out the bass and a couple of naturespace scenes so far.  The bass seems to have about the perfect amount of slam.  The D2000 was a little too much in the bass department and a bit boomy sounding.  Here the bass stays where it should and the mids and highs have a chance to really shine.
 
One thing I noticed while listening to Immersion is the vocals.  I can tell what they are saying much better now.  I never really understood the lyrics with my other headphones b/c next to the HE-500 they all seem congested on these songs.  The HE-500 really seems to separate things nicely.  The D2000 feels like your in the middle of the dance floor with nothing but bass coming at you with a cymbal splash every now and then, the HD650 sounds like I'm in another room, and the HE-500 sounds like your sitting at a table overlooking the whole thing happening... if that makes sense.
 
The naturespace of the thunderstorm sounds amazing as well.  Lightning strikes sound like they are happening right outside the house, you can really tell the HE-500 digs deeper than the HD650 on these tracks.
 
I'm really excited to listen to some of my MFSL records with these.

 

[.Sup]

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Mine arrived about two hours ago!  I'm using my E9 on low gain and the volume knob is around the 10 - 11 O'clock region.  Plenty volume and sounds really good.
 
I've only listened to Pendulum's Immersion album to test out the bass and a couple of naturespace scenes so far.  The bass seems to have about the perfect amount of slam.  The D2000 was a little too much in the bass department and a bit boomy sounding.  Here the bass stays where it should and the mids and highs have a chance to really shine.
 
One thing I noticed while listening to Immersion is the vocals.  I can tell what they are saying much better now.  I never really understood the lyrics with my other headphones b/c next to the HE-500 they all seem congested on these songs.  The HE-500 really seems to separate things nicely.  The D2000 feels like your in the middle of the dance floor with nothing but bass coming at you with a cymbal splash every now and then, the HD650 sounds like I'm in another room, and the HE-500 sounds like your sitting at a table overlooking the whole thing happening... if that makes sense.
 
The naturespace of the thunderstorm sounds amazing as well.  Lightning strikes sound like they are happening right outside the house, you can really tell the HE-500 digs deeper than the HD650 on these tracks.
 
I'm really excited to listen to some of my MFSL records with these.

well said, I especially agree on the bass quantity part

 

[brokenthumb]

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well said, I especially agree on the bass quantity part

 
I'm sure the bass will get better with more hours on them as well.  All of my other phones seem to improve over time.
 
I'm also trying to only listen to the HE-500 for a few days then switch back to the HD650.

 

[OPrwtos]

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I'm sure the bass will get better with more hours on them as well.  All of my other phones seem to improve over time.
 
I'm also trying to only listen to the HE-500 for a few days then switch back to the HD650.

where is ur k701 for comparison?

 

[davidgotsa]

To me, the HE-500 was better in every way. 
 
Still looking forward to your impressions though.  
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I'm sure the bass will get better with more hours on them as well.  All of my other phones seem to improve over time.
 
I'm also trying to only listen to the HE-500 for a few days then switch back to the HD650.

 

[brokenthumb]

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where is ur k701 for comparison?

I sold it to obtain the HE-500.  The bold phones are the ones I currently own.  I was going off memory for the D2000.

 

[davidgotsa]

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I sold it to obtain the HE-500.  The bold phones are the ones I currently own.  I was going off memory for the D2000.

Interesting. I had the exact same headphones as you (HE-500, HD650 and SR80i) but sold them all when I got the HD800. 

 

[brokenthumb]

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Interesting. I had the exact same headphones as you (HE-500, HD650 and SR80i) but sold them all when I got the HD800. 

 
What did you like better about the HD800 over the HE-500?  Just curious as we went down the same head-fi journey.

 

[davidgotsa]

(English is my third language, so I won't be able to express myself as clearly as I would like to, but I will do my best) 
 
(Edited: I should mention that after getting the HD800 and listening to it for a few hours I barely listened to it for a week or so because I didn't think there were any fun. I've listened to them a lot these last few weeks though. I thought the HE-500 was a lot better the first few hours. )
 
I don't know how you feel about these headphones, but I barely touched my HD650 after getting the HE-500, in fact, I gave them (HD650) to a friend after 2 weeks. 
 
Please do keep in mind that preferences play a big role here. Apparently I like bright headphones with lots of detail... 
 
Firstly, the low-end on the HE-500 is very good and has a lot of impact, but after listening to the HD800, I thought that the HE-500 had a little but too much of it actually. I thought that it over-took the mids a little too much. 
 
The mids sounds somewhat more "realistic" on the HE-500, but after A/B'ing them for 3 weeks, I just preferred the "closeness" of the HD800. What I mean by that is that I felt closer to the singer with the Senns. I sold my HE-500 two hours ago, but still have them here with me, and I keep A/B'ing them, and every time I keep coming back to the HD800. The HE-500 are just lacking some detail. The HE-500 sound quite distant compared to the HD800. 
 
When it comes to the treble, in my mind, there is no question, the HD800 provides a lot more detail than the HE-500 and I love that extra high-end that they give me. I should mention though, that the sibilance can get annoying when the recordings aren't well mastered. 
 
 
Of course, it depends on what you are listening to. When it comes to rap or house music, the HE-500 is a better choice since it has that extra bass impact. For me, since I mostly listen to acoustic music, (Nils Lofgren, jack Johnson, Jeff Buckley, Porcupine Tree, Ray LaMontagne... etc) the HD800 is a clear winner. 
 
Also, and this is a huge plus for me, the HD800 are a lot more comfortable than the HE-500. It really feels like I'm putting a little piece of heaven on my head when I put them on after listening to the HE-500. (I've tried both sets of pads) They are lighter and are a lot more comfortable than the HE-500. 
 
 
Sorry for not being able to provide you with a better explanation. I'm neither an audiophile or an english speaking person.  
 
(I'm pretty drunk right now, so please forgive any mistakes I made)     
  
 
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What did you like better about the HD800 over the HE-500?  Just curious as we went down the same head-fi journey.

 

[brokenthumb]

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(English is my third language, so I won't be able to express myself as clearly as I would like to, but I will do my best) 
 
(Edited: I should mention that after getting the HD800 and listening to it for a few hours I barely listened to it for a week or so because I didn't think there were any fun. I've listened to them a lot these last few weeks though. I thought the HE-500 was a lot better the first few hours. )
 
I don't know how you feel about these headphones, but I barely touched my HD650 after getting the HE-500, in fact, I gave them (HD650) to a friend after 2 weeks. 
 
Please do keep in mind that preferences play a big role here. Apparently I like bright headphones with lots of detail... 
 
Firstly, the low-end on the HE-500 is very good and has a lot of impact, but after listening to the HD800, I thought that the HE-500 had a little but too much of it actually. I thought that it over-took the mids a little too much. 
 
The mids sounds somewhat more "realistic" on the HE-500, but after A/B'ing them for 3 weeks, I just preferred the "closeness" of the HD800. What I mean by that is that I felt closer to the singer with the Senns. I sold my HE-500 two hours ago, but still have them here with me, and I keep A/B'ing them, and every time I keep coming back to the HD800. The HE-500 are just lacking some detail. The HE-500 sound quite distant compared to the HD800. 
 
When it comes to the treble, in my mind, there is no question, the HD800 provides a lot more detail than the HE-500 and I love that extra high-end that they give me. I should mention though, that the sibilance can get annoying when the recordings aren't well mastered. 
 
 
Of course, it depends on what you are listening to. When it comes to rap or house music, the HE-500 is a better choice since it has that extra bass impact. For me, since I mostly listen to acoustic music, (Nils Lofgren, jack Johnson, Jeff Buckley, Porcupine Tree, Ray LaMontagne... etc) the HD800 is a clear winner. 
 
Also, and this is a huge plus for me, the HD800 are a lot more comfortable than the HE-500. It really feels like I'm putting a little piece of heaven on my head when I put them on after listening to the HE-500. (I've tried both sets of pads) They are lighter and are a lot more comfortable than the HE-500. 
 
 
Sorry for not being able to provide you with a better explanation. I'm neither an audiophile or an english speaking person.  
 
(I'm pretty drunk right now, so please forgive any mistakes I made)     
  
 

 
 
Your English seems perfectly fine to me.  Thanks for that explanation.
 
 
I decided to listen to the HD650 after listening to the HE-500 all day.  Here is what I found (my HD650 is the silver screen version):
 
These headphones are really close sounding imo.
 
The HD650 is a touch warmer but it has more energy and dynamics to me.  I was wrong about the bass also, to me the HD650 goes just as deep as the HE-500.  The mids seem to be about the same with the HD650 being slightly more forward.  The HD650 have all the details in the highs as well but the HE-500 seems a little brighter here.  They are very close sounding to my ears.
 
It seems that on really crappy recordings the HD650 sounds okay and the HE-500 sounds really good.  On high quality recordings with a lot of dynamic range the HE-500 still sounds really good but the HD650 sound incredible with more detail and dynamic range.  The HE-500 seems to smooth over the sound on everything.
 
HD650's soundstage seems wider and more out of the head as well.  The HE-500 is more Grado like in the soundstage department.
 
HE-500's comfort is okay for about an hour but anything beyond that my lower neck starts aching.  I can change to the HD650 and listen all night if I wanted with no problem.
 
I need to do more listening for sure but if I had to choose at the moment I would keep the HD650 over the HE-500.

 

[BleaK]

Try only using the HE500 for a week, then switch back