[Dragonzeanse]

  tubes are love
tubes are life 

BTW,how does your Philips compare to the he-500 if you've tried it before ?

Sounds pretty similar. The HE-500s are definitely more detailed and close to natural. The HE-500s sound far more neutral and the Fidelio X1s have a more warm sound. The HE-500s are far more detailed and flat-sounding. As much as I love the X1s, I can't really give it any points above the HE-500s. Everything about HiFiMAN's outing just sounded better. The only advantages the Fidelio X1 have, really, are power consumption and price. The treble is cleaner, the bass is tighter, and the mids are far more forward. I love both headphones, but the HE-500s do far more to appeal to me.

 

[davidsh]

109 dB is loud but not incredibly loud in short peaks. When tube amps clip they usually sound much more pleasant than SS amps clipping.

 

[StanD]

The Darkvoice 337 is 1W and should do well with an HE-500 but maybe not an HE-6, unless you listen and low volume. I know that Hifi loves this baby.
 
The Lafigaro 339 is just over 0.6 W so I wouldn't expect much headroom with an HE-500, definitely not for an HE-6. Might go well with an HD600 or other high impedance headphones.
 
I looked up the power levels at shenzhenaudio.com and only mentioned the HE-6 in context of previous post.

 

[StanD]

109 dB is loud but not incredibly loud in short peaks. When tube amps clip they usually sound much more pleasant than SS amps clipping.

True, but I wouldn't want any clipping, unless when playing lead guitar but not when listening to music playback. I think I'd want an amp that can put out around 120 dB SPL with my headphones. I wouldn't listen at such an average level, but for peaks and headroom, that would be nice. dB's are logarithmic so the difference in power can be large.

 

[shayson1357]

why not just use a speaker amp with a really low noise floor 

 

[StanD]

  why not just use a speaker amp with a really low noise floor 

One could do that, just make sure that it has enough wattage at 38 Ohms. Most are rated at 8 or 4 Ohms. Most good SS headphone amps have great noise specs, it may cost more to get a speaker amp that that can match that. One should always do their homework before tapping their wallet.

 

[davidsh]

Hfmrookie's 337 was modded heavily, though. And perhaps the power it outputs depend on the tubes too, it is full tube after all.

 

[StanD]

Hfmrookie's 337 was modded heavily, though. And perhaps the power it outputs depend on the tubes too, it is full tube after all.

It's an OTL amp so there are probably limits as to how much you can output. Looks like it has a separate power transformer for each channel and is built well. Yo Hifi, was it modded to use different tubes?

 

[Fearless1]

Hfmrookie's 337 was modded heavily,

Yeah we know, we read it at least 2000 times in this thread.

 

[EdinJahic]

I just received my HE500 two days ago, and coming from Ultrasone PRO900 and Q701, these are incredible. Matter the fact, I'll be listening to 2am or during my lunch breaks lol, addictive.
While I do not have any great amp right now (gonna buy me something tho), I am hearing a strong peak at 1khz sharp. It may be due to the poopy amp I have (some $100 no brand thing I got few years ago).
I do have NuForce DAC3, but, no cable to try it on. Anyway, about that 1khz spike, I am by no means audiophile like some ppl here, but on the other side I'm a music producer and I trust my ears are pretty accurate. Anybody else experienced something similar? I just think it is due to bad amp.. but I could be wrong.
I do have UAD Apollo unit also I could test it on, but that is nowhere close to me right now, in few weeks perhaps.
 
Woo WA-7 looks sexy

 

[hifimanrookie]

It's an OTL amp so there are probably limits as to how much you can output. Looks like it has a separate power transformer for each channel and is built well. Yo Hifi, was it modded to use different tubes?

Not for other tubes, as it already sounded really well with the tubes used...but u can get tube sockets to do that for u...BUT..it did have internal mods like bigger caps and some other higher quality stuff inside..even the two powerswitches were allocated to the back to minimize the interference into the signal...as the thick wires to them were running along the huge transformers..and according to he first owner doing this mod could mimimize interference..i bought it modded from him... And if u use TS5998 powertubes the output could be raised by 2% i understand.
About the lafigaro 339, i undersstand that the 339 has <0,6W. So at least 0,6w..but many think its same output is at least as high (or low) as the 337 as they are both built based on same design..both designers worked together at Darkvoice once.
The 337 is stated, quoting: more then 1watt of output...

Its said that those quoted poweroutputs are quoted to low..as offically a OTL tubey cant drive a planar (he500) as well as those do.. And if i understand it well..they are one of the few OTL's who do...but guys..those huge monsters look sexy at night if u use huge bendix 6080wb graphite plates or Ts 5998 powertubes! With their glow u dont even need candles to make an romantic environment
Quick find on the 337 thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/219504/darkvoice-337-a-review/885#post_10206485

http://www.head-fi.org/t/219504/darkvoice-337-a-review/885#post_10208697

And if u read last pages of the threads of both amps u will see they do well with a he500

 

[borrego]

I just bought my pair of HE-500 from a local seller. It has only 200hrs on it. Both pairs of pads and cable are practically new as the previously owner used LCD2 pads and aftermarket OCC cables.

This is my 1st pair of planar headphones and I must say I am extremely satisfied with the sound quality. My Corda Classic is able to drive it to my preferred listening volume at low gain setting with volume knob set at elevent o'clock position. Very natural sound coming out from the phones I must say.

When I first listened to the HE-500 last evening, I wondered why there were new drum stick actions in the tracks I was listening. It took me awhile to realize it was caused by the microphonics of the stiff silver cables. My solution was to use a laundry clamp supporting the cables to nearby furniture.

A pair of HE-560 pads and some felt sheet for the Fuzzor mod are on the way.

 

[davidsh]

Remember to buy focus-A's

 

[ThurstonX]

Remember to buy focus-A's

 
I had no problem with the FocusPads on my modded HE-500s.  Never got the chance to try the FocusPad-As before the 500s went all wonky.

 

[Ultramus]

It would be nice if la Figaro would make a balanced dual mono amp, that would definitely be something I would consider, seems like it wouldn't be difficult. I guess I could likely mod it myself but that seems like more effort than it's worth.

I recently picked up a grado 325is to complement the he-500 and am pretty pleased with it, it doesn't seem to have the characteristic grado ringing too bad, it's slightly easier to use for games just because it weighs half as much, though I still need to change the cable to plug into the MJ.