[ThurstonX]

Q: When do your Grado SR-225s sound better than your HE-500s?
 
A: When the left driver of the latter loses 50%-75% of its volume.
 
I was really hoping it was a cable problem - any cable in the chain - but after three different cables from cans to amp, and a different amp, sadly it's the HE-500s.  They were working fine yesterday.  Warmed them up for about an hour today, came up to listen... pih!
 
They're pretty new (2nd pair), so they should be covered by the warranty.  I wonder if they'll let me exchange them + $$$ for the HE-560s.  I love these cans, but What.
 
Thanks for listening to me kvetch.

 

[davidsh]

Has happened to others as well, and often they fail too.

 

[ThurstonX]

  Has happened to others as well, and often they fail too.

 
You mean the HE-560s fail, too, or are you referring to replacement (refurbished???) HE-500s?  Well, since I'm outside the refund window, I'll end up with another pair of HFM cans, so why not upgrade.

 

[StanD]

  If the Asgard 2 didn't supply enough current, the result would be less bass and as a consequence there would be gobs of distortion. Clearly not the case.

 
 

Not enough power can also be shown as raw sound...peaky treble or uncontrolled bass and so a Very fatiqueing sound...a wellchosen and powerful enough amp should give the he500 a wellbalanced and relaxing sound signature in which the midrange really shines...bass and treble would sound a bit recessed...not agressive at all.

Not enough power will cause distortion, so as a consequence one has to listen at a lower volume. FR and other imagined things are not due to the lack of power. The HE-500 will do perfectly fine with a good amp that can deliver an honest 1W per channel and play loudly.

 

[hifimanrookie]

Not enough power will cause distortion, so as a consequence one has to listen at a lower volume. FR and other imagined things are not due to the lack of power. The HE-500 will do perfectly fine with a good amp that can deliver an honest 1W per channel and play loudly.

imagined things??? Ur kidding right? U say that u cant hear a peaky treble or uncontrolled bass or lack of dynamics with orkestras with a wrong amp (as in lacking the amount of quality current)? Oh well if u believe that or experience it that way..then u will have a very happy life am happy for u

 

[Dogmatrix]

Power Again!!
Could someone lift the needle I think the record is stuck

 

[Ultramus]

  Q: When do your Grado SR-225s sound better than your HE-500s?
 
A: When the left driver of the latter loses 50%-75% of its volume.
 
I was really hoping it was a cable problem - any cable in the chain - but after three different cables from cans to amp, and a different amp, sadly it's the HE-500s.  They were working fine yesterday.  Warmed them up for about an hour today, came up to listen... pih!
 
They're pretty new (2nd pair), so they should be covered by the warranty.  I wonder if they'll let me exchange them + $$$ for the HE-560s.  I love these cans, but What.
 
Thanks for listening to me kvetch.

The connection at the coaxial out on the SMC is probably gimped, if you have a soldering iron you could resolder it, the connector is pretty easily accessed on the 500s IIRC.

 

[ThurstonX]

  The connection at the coaxial out on the SMC is probably gimped, if you have a soldering iron you could resolder it, the connector is pretty easily accessed on the 500s IIRC.

 
If I'm understanding you correctly, that would entail opening up the driver and attempting to determine if there is some gimpy soldered connection.  That would (presumably) void my still valid warranty.  I'm all about holding any company to their warranty.  If it were out of warranty, then yeah, I'd hack away at it, esp. since HFM charges around $150 ($130? they told me once) to effect repairs.  As with laptops past, I'm not above effecting my own repairs.
 
Thanks for the possibly useful advice for the future 

 

[wewewho77]

Personally, I prefer the pleather's on the HE500.

+1

 

[StanD]

   
 
Not enough power will cause distortion, so as a consequence one has to listen at a lower volume. FR and other imagined things are not due to the lack of power. The HE-500 will do perfectly fine with a good amp that can deliver an honest 1W per channel and play loudly.

 
 

imagined things??? Ur kidding right? U say that u cant hear a peaky treble or uncontrolled bass or lack of dynamics with orkestras with a wrong amp (as in lacking the amount of quality current)? Oh well if u believe that or experience it that way..then u will have a very happy life

am happy for u

Yes I'm very happy, it's Friday. Current has no quality, it's the amp that has the quality, it only delivers current. And by what magical property does just power (Wattage) have to do with FR as in peaky treble? Lack of power limits dynamics due to distortion when one raises the volume, you should be more concerned by the tangibles like distortion (overloading when you raise the volume) and lack of usable volume.

 

[Llloyd]

I've stated this multiple times in the thread.  Would not recommend asgard with the he-500.. that is any amp really in that sort of price range is typically not what I would consider good enough to make the headphone do what it was designed to.  Generally cheaper amps(all that I've tried) just dont deliver the kind of quality that the HE-500 has the potential to deliver.  The vali sounds like it would be fun though.

 

[StanD]

  I've stated this multiple times in the thread.  Would not recommend asgard with the he-500.. that is any amp really in that sort of price range is typically not what I would consider good enough to make the headphone do what it was designed to.  Generally cheaper amps(all that I've tried) just dont deliver the kind of quality that the HE-500 has the potential to deliver.  The vali sounds like it would be fun though.

I disagree, I have an Asgard 2 and it powers my HE-500's perfectly and to loudness far above what's comfortable with plenty of headroom. What exactly determines the Quality? FR, IM, TIMD, THD? The A2 excels in all of these.

 

[hifimanrookie]

I disagree, I have an Asgard 2 and it powers my HE-500's perfectly and to loudness far above what's comfortable with plenty of headroom. What exactly determines the Quality? FR, IM, TIMD, THD? The A2 excels in all of these.

Damn stan..
why u always start to be technical when u wanna make a point? Its not all numbers and measurements that gives u good music...we all now that..and we also know the better the amp the better the soundexperience...even no asgard number 20000 will change that.. Hehehehe kidding my friend..but pls... I really hope u enjoy ur music as u sound so analictic in ur way of thinking sometimes... Ur defending an amp thats by far not the right amp for such a hard to be driven he500... Ofcourse i respect that..but u have to admit watts alone is not important to get a headphone sing..thats what lloyd tried to say...the better the amp..the better the experience...until a certain point ofcourse...and sometimes an (eeny weeny expensive) amp only pumping out 5 watts is better sounding then a 10watt more budget friendly amp...eventhough on paper that amp is much more powerful... But thats mine and lloyds opinions (and some others having better amps then generally bought).. U do have good budget amps (337/339 and the lyr as example) for planars..but they dont make a planar sing as some of the better built amps out there...
But were again getting oftopic..lolz...the millionth time..hehehehehe

I guess u will always have the number guys and the guys who are different then the number guys...and that will be two groups who probably never agree with each other..ever..

So pls..back ontopic... To the,in my opinion, still one of the best headphones hifiman ever built...

And another thing: u state: I have an Asgard 2 and it powers my HE-500's perfectly and to loudness far above what's comfortable with plenty of headroom. I hope u know that loudness and how loud the music can go is not the right way to classify a good amp right? If u ever get to hear a real high end amp u will hear music that almost sounds real... Not just powerful..all amps can sound powerful if enough watt...but how it delivers it is so much more important..u probably dont agree again with me saying that an amp is only about power..and as long its not distorded its perfect sounding for the he500.... I found out its nothing about distorded sound...or the lack off...i call it the soul in the music....only good amps can give u that...others just play the music.... But only the ones who experienced that knows what i mean....and yeah..i have to admit..most of them have speaker rigs and not headphones.....i have a feeling some of us here on headfi experienced that also...am glad i since recently can say i do too (my code-x does help in a big way though).

 

[dashelj]

I tried switching to the pleather pads and it helps quite a bit.  Probably in combination with me getting used to the headphones.  I tried burning in the headphones for a day just in case they had not seen much use.  I did not really notice any difference from that.  I have heard the 150 hour number bandied about but I doubt I will see much change.   
 
I don't believe that the amp is at fault here since whatever the incompatibility is, it is pretty subtle if I can change the pads and get an improvement.  The headphones sound like everyone says - neutral, detailed, great controlled bass.  If it is something with the amp it would have to be extremely subtle - I don't hear any distortion or noise that would suggest the amp is of insufficient power.  I can't comment on the quality of the amp besides what others have said - that the Asgard is a quality amp.  I guess I can't confirm anything without listening to a "quality" amp.

 

[StanD]

Damn stan..

why u always start to be technical when u wanna make a point? Its not all numbers and measurements that gives u good music...we all now that..and we also know the better the amp the better the soundexperience...even no asgard number 20000 will change that.. Hehehehe kidding my friend..but pls... I really hope u enjoy ur music as u sound so analictic in ur way of thinking sometimes... Ur defending an amp thats by far not the right amp for such a hard to be driven he500... Ofcourse i respect that..but u have to admit watts alone is not important to get a headphone sing..thats what lloyd tried to say...the better the amp..the better the experience...until a certain point ofcourse...and sometimes an (eeny weeny expensive) amp only pumping out 5 watts is better sounding then a 10watt more budget friendly amp...eventhough on paper that amp is much more powerful... But thats mine and lloyds opinions (and some others having better amps then generally bought).. U do have good budget amps (337/339 and the lyr as example) for planars..but they dont make a planar sing as some of the better built amps out there...
But were again getting oftopic..lolz...the millionth time..hehehehehe

I guess u will always have the number guys and the guys who are different then the number guys...and that will be two groups who probably never agree with each other..ever..

So pls..back ontopic... To the,in my opinion, still one of the best headphones hifiman ever built...

And another thing: u state: I have an Asgard 2 and it powers my HE-500's perfectly and to loudness far above what's comfortable with plenty of headroom. I hope u know that loudness and how loud the music can go is not the right way to classify a good amp right? If u ever get to hear a real high end amp u will hear music that almost sounds real... Not just powerful..all amps can sound powerful if enough watt...but how it delivers it is so much more important..u probably dont agree again with me saying that an amp is only about power..and as long its not distorded its perfect sounding for the he500.... I found out its nothing about distorded sound...or the lack off...i call it the soul in the music....only good amps can give u that...others just play the music.... But only the ones who experienced that knows what i mean....and yeah..i have to admit..most of them have speaker rigs and not headphones.....i have a feeling some of us here on headfi experienced that also...am glad i since recently can say i do too (my code-x does help in a big way though).

Did you ever stop to think about how much your imagination plays into this? This is not rocket science, it's actually quite simple, until one's imagination takes hold. IMO, one's headphones and the way they acoustically couple to one's head are more important.
By the way, not all amps deliver their specs and not all specs are measured the same or are done deceptively. Also I have put a good deal of ear time to many overpriced amps, IMO in most cases they are nothing special, other than quality construction and eye appeal.