[Xenophon]

  That paper is biased to their point of view. The part about overdamping produces less bass is manipulative as damping keeps the bass tight and accurate, underdamping results in what many call flabby bass. There is nothing bad about an amp having a very low output impedance. A current mode amp can have distortion and nonliearities, it is not magically cleaner than another design, that is up to the individual design. The part about tubes, SS amps and transistor radios is another weak attempt at manipuling the reader's opinion. Some of that paper is interesting.

Well, it's not my business to defend them but they never say that current drive is the only good solution, only that it's a way of doing things that has certain advantages (and to be sure, disadvantages too) that's rarely used nowadays.  And there's little arguing that Nelson Pass knows how to build an amplifier.  Specifically for the F1(-J) there are a couple of guys who use it to drive their HE-6 and I sure didn't hear any complaints from that side so far, never mind the impedance/damping mismatch.  

 

[StanD]

  Well, it's not my business to defend them but they never say that current drive is the only good solution, only that it's a way of doing things that has certain advantages (and to be sure, disadvantages too) that's rarely used nowadays.  And there's little arguing that Nelson Pass knows how to build an amplifier.  Specifically for the F1(-J) there are a couple of guys who use it to drive their HE-6 and I sure didn't hear any complaints from that side so far, never mind the impedance/damping mismatch.  

Planars like the HE-6, 500 and so on are resistive so are not so prone to impedance curve variation as a dynamic. Also the nature of an ortho might not need so much damping. I've read that certain dynamics use their magnets to help with damping, don't know if that's all so true.

 

[Xenophon]

  Planars like the HE-6, 500 and so on are resistive so are not so prone to impedance curve variation as a dynamic. Also the nature of an ortho might not need so much damping. I've read that certain dynamics use their magnets to help with damping, don't know if that's all so true.

Well aware of the flat impedance curve across the frequency band of a planar but that doesn't change the physics of the fields induced in the metal tracers and their potential action on the diaphragm.  There was an interesting discussion about just this in the sound science forum recently iirc and some of the guys presented some -theoretically- pretty convincing arguments although my personal opinion -which I hasten to say I can't substantiate- here is that they're considering matters too much from a strictly electrical field view but omit taking into consideration the different purely mechanical damping aspects due to the structure.  Anyway, clearly proving or disproving the theory would require both more knowledge and gear than I have available so I won't argue the point.

 

[StanD]

  Well aware of the flat impedance curve across the frequency band of a planar but that doesn't change the physics of the fields induced in the metal tracers and their potential action on the diaphragm.  There was an interesting discussion about just this in the sound science forum recently iirc and some of the guys presented some -theoretically- pretty convincing arguments although my personal opinion -which I hasten to say I can't substantiate- here is that they're considering matters too much from a strictly electrical field view but omit taking into consideration the different purely mechanical damping aspects due to the structure.  Anyway, clearly proving or disproving the theory would require both more knowledge and gear than I have available so I won't argue the point.

Since I don't have any issues with either my HE-500, HD600 or amplification, DACs, etc., I promise not to lose any sleep over this. I suspect that you are not up late at night over this either.

 

[joespride]

  I have the HE-500 since January and I'm really happy with them. I use them with a Audio GD NFB-28 in balanced mode and I think It's a great combo for not a lot of money. In the past I had the Audeze LCD-2 which are really good also, but finally when I bought the Hifimans, I sold them, because they were quite uncomfortable for me, and the sound signature was not of my preferences.
 
I also tried the HE-6 and they are great, but they need sooooo much power that even my Audio GD which is really powerful can´t push them to the 100%.

I have an audio gd 11.32 on the way, going to compare it to my tube amp for a bit, The he-500 replaced my hd-650..............I am curious about the dac on the audio gd as well, will compare that to my schiit bifrost
 
I read a lot of good thoughts on the audio gd, figured what the heck

 

[GlennGulda]

My third cable broke recently. I'm sick an tired of this. Which cheap cable do you recommend that doesn't break at the connector end?

 

[hifimanrookie]

My third cable broke recently. I'm sick an tired of this. Which cheap cable do you recommend that doesn't break at the connector end?

Am sorry to hear that...i dont know how u treat ur cables but if they break with normal usage then u really have to think in getting a bit better quality cables. If ur rough on ur stuff then even a multi million cable will protect u against another cable break at the connector, as the connector will always be the weak point of any cable.

I swear on toxic cables..i had and still have couple of them..and some go back 2 years..they are stepped on while being pulled, a cat played with it , they even survived little kids and best of all they are used daily for at least 2 hours a day..and not once my last cable disappointed me! So maybe u should try one? Maybe a second hand one? Or one of his budget models? Check their thread to find out whats that brand is all about..
Good luck with it!

 

[Xenophon]

For the life of me, I can't imagine how one would break 3 pair of the stock Hifiman cables while normally using them...  I'm not overly cautious with my gear but it never happened to me.  My HE-500 was acquired with a pair of toxic cables, construction is not bad but I don't think they'll be much stronger than stock.
 
Perhaps look at a pair of Forza Audioworks cables and have them hardwired.  Or be more cautious or switch to a pair of bluetooth headphones.

 

[ThurstonX]

  My third cable broke recently. I'm sick an tired of this. Which cheap cable do you recommend that doesn't break at the connector end?

 
If you're that tough on cables, you might want to consider the DIY path.  An excellent sounding cable can be made for relatively little money.  To me, that makes more sense than paying a lot for a cable that you might just break again.  By making your own, you can repair or simply redo the connector ends, if they break.
 
FWIW, I haven't broken either of my HFM cables that I made.

 

[modulor]

  My third cable broke recently. I'm sick an tired of this. Which cheap cable do you recommend that doesn't break at the connector end?

There is a known issue with the TRS end of the stock SPC cables (a friend of mine had problems with his too) and it's just a QC/manufacturing issue.  I agree with Thurston though, a fairly simple remedy is to do a little DIY and re-terminate with a new TRS jack which you can reinforce so long as the rest of the cable appears to be OK.  If you've still got the cable handy, I'd be able to advise you or fix it for you if you'd want to send it to me and cover the cost of shipping and a new connector.  Definitely less expensive versus buying a whole new cable IMO...just shoot me a PM if interested!

 

[Mosabexo]

I'll pair the Emotiva a-100 with Schitt Modi for the HE-500. Any inputs ?

 

[joespride]

plenty or power and the modi is decent.........
 
I would investigate noise floor.  

 

[joespride]

I must say I think I am starting to be a believer in break in, Although I only have about 50 or 60 hours on the HE-500 I feel like they are better than they were fresh out of the box
 
(I was happy straight out of the box), I am getting happier by the day, mid range Is surreal, I am not good with terminology but these sound so damn good I really think about buying a 2nd pair just incase
 
sold the hd-650 as they just sounded dry in comparison, when I switched back to compare
 
How much better can these get going out to the recommended 150 hours burn in ??    

 

[Xenophon]

I know it says 150 hours in the instructions. But I kept track for both my 500 and 6. To my ears, the process for both was essentially complete after about 50 hours. Any later changes would have been too subtle forme to reliably notice. I did purchase the 500 used (opened box) but the first owner had owned them 2 days before deciding he couldn't live with the weight and shipping them back to the store. Or so the store said, at least.

 

[hifimanrookie]

I know it says 150 hours in the instructions. But I kept track for both my 500 and 6. To my ears, the process for both was essentially complete after about 50 hours. Any later changes would have been too subtle forme to reliably notice. I did purchase the 500 used (opened box) but the first owner had owned them 2 days before deciding he couldn't live with the weight and shipping them back to the store. Or so the store said, at least.

if the store says its 2 days its probably at least 2 months
I bought my he500 with 1 year use (abuse?) and it looked like new, they put two new pairs of pads with it and i couldnt see if they were new or not.
So when a shop mentions a period i only believe it when i see the ORIGINAL invoice and shipping manifest..not even copies..as i know how easy it is to manipulate (pdf) copies of documents

Frank, my favorite cablemaker, is actually also an official dealer for hifiman brand (and Audio GD) for the UK and he told me same thing: around 150 hrs burn in time...but i can imagine the last hrs of i,provement being hard to be heard...

and i agree with u..most hearable improvements are in the first 50-100 hrs or so