[jkscherk]

I've been looking for a while to get back into a good pair of cans after selling my HD600s and regretting it several months afterwards.  Wasn't really able to audition anything outside of the 'standard' offering at Magnolia...where I tried B&W P7 and a number of noise-cancelling models because at that time, I was looking for something to use on my train commute.  Flash forward to this Monday and I stumbled on Audio Advisor having the HE500 for $499.  Thought I'd give them a try based on what I've read here.  I have two options for driving them:  PS Audio GCHA or a Peachtree Audio Grand Pre.  Supposedly the PT has a very good headphone amp built in.  I have my doubts.  Anyone have a comment on how either of these will work with the HE500?  Sounds like I should burn them in for at least 50 hours before even giving them a listen?

 

[davidsh]

Not listening because the phone needs to burn in. That's going way too far IMO.

 

[spurxiii]

There's hardly any burn in with these, they sound great out of the box so why not just enjoy them

 

[ThurstonX]

Not listening because the phone needs to burn in. That's going way too far IMO.

 
+1  By all means listen to them as soon as you plug them in and as they burn in.  HFM recommends 150 hours for them to reach their potential.  Some people say they hear a difference over time, others not so much.  If you get them, let us know.

 

[hifimanrookie]

I disagree..although my he500 ( well all my hifiman headphones i owned: he300/400/500 and my woody code-x..especially that last one!)that i had sounded really good from new...my pair did improved soundwise until around 50-70hrs burn in time..after that it was almost unrecognizable to hear if the improvement was brain burn in or actually headphone burn in..as its improvement was minimal after that until around 100hrs..after that..OR my brain was burned in OR my he500 were...
But as always..just as cables and feet and racks...there are two extreme parties here...one who doesnt believe in burn in and the ones who do...just like others dont believe an amp is of any matter in sound experience except for delievering watts..etc. etc.

 

[daerron]

Mine sounded great straight out of the box, but they do vary a bit before settling down after about 50 hours. I assure you they will wow you straight out of the box!
 
My HE-500s is in a decommissioned state currently, waiting a shipment of new SMC straight jacks so I can rewire the headphone driver. I have to say I really dislike crimp connectors... My wife was so kind to do the fuzzor mod for me on the HE-500 drivers this time round as she is much better at precision work than I am. Looking forward to hearing the result!
 
Would be nice to finally receive my headphone amp so I can stop listening through my AVR. I was surprised at how good the sound was through the Yamaha RX-A3010 headphone output, I couldn't find any specs on it, but it sounded really full and punchy. Again just goes to show, the HE-500s are much more efficient than we typically believe them to be. I guess the lack of dynamics and somewhat brittle sound in my case really boiled down to the poor quality stock cable.

 

[jkscherk]

Obviously I couldn't resist trying them upon getting them!  After all....what kid doesn't want to open presents on Xmas day!!
 
The first 20 or 30 minutes was a bit scary.  I was surprised how tight and lack of life the cans exhibited.  But knowing what I do about how speakers need break in time to open up, I reserved judgment and kept listening......for another 3+ hours!!!  Big difference over that time.  By the end of that first session, I was quite happy with what I heard.  I no longer had my HD600 for a direct comparison, but if my memory is accurate, I'd say the HE500 is much clearer, articulate and produces a more detailed and dynamic range.
 
I switched back and forth a couple of times between the Peachtree and PS Audio.  No definitive call there yet, but I think the PSA has more punch and muscle in the bass region while the PT sounds a bit more open in the top end.  One variable there is that when using the PSA, there is a set of interconnects involved since you have to get the signal from one box to the other.  No connections involved if using the PT alone since the preamp, DAC and headphone amp are all in the same box.  That interconnect can add some coloration to the sound.  I do have the matching PSA Digital Link III coming to pair with the GCHA, so maybe some magical synergy will occur when that gets paired.  The nice thing about the PT is it accepts a 24/192 hi res signal through the USB while the PSA is limited to 14/44 I believe.  I'll keep playing around there.

 

[guy3134]

anyone knows if is there a way to get the amazon deal with worldwide shipping?

 

[BuLLeT_BaiT]

  anyone knows if is there a way to get the amazon deal with worldwide shipping?

 
It's not exactly $499 but If you're in Aus you can get the He-500 from Addictedtoaudio for ~525USD delivered. Headphones.com.au will pricematch as well.

 

[guy3134]

   
It's not exactly $499 but If you're in Aus you can get the He-500 from Addictedtoaudio for ~525USD delivered. Headphones.com.au will pricematch as well.

middle east, thanks for the reply anyway

 

[daerron]

  anyone knows if is there a way to get the amazon deal with worldwide shipping?

Afaik, you can use a freight forwarder like MyUS if you can't get Amazon shipping to your country. Personally I'd rather order from Head-Direct (their service is excellent) or a local supplier in case you need anything warranty related. My HE-500s are long out of warranty so doesn't really matter anymore, but I do cross my fingers that my mods don't kill them!
 
Mod progress: Received my SMC jacks this afternoon. Man, what utter crap connectors to deal with. The piece of wire I got from Christopher was too thick by a whisker to fit into the soldering pin. I had to thin out the wires a bit, put over heatshrink over the bare wire to take over the function of a dielectric shield (aka the Hifiman way), and then pray I could get the pin deep enough into the jack to not cause a short. Luckily I bought a couple of spares to practise on. Assembled the headphone again and fortunately everything is working perfectly, everything with high quality wire now. Have to say I refuse to buy another pair of Hifiman headphones unless they change the connectors to something more headphone friendly like the mini XLRs. SMC connectors were meant to be used with coax cables, not headphone cable wire.

 

[elwappo99]

 

A slight 9-10 kHz peak seems to be quite normal in headphones when you look through frequency responses. Or so I think.

 

I haven't been checking the thread, but this popped up a few pages back, and your comment @davidsh got buried. This is actually right. After reading through Marv's comments and Tyll's discussion on FR measuring it is mentioned that all orthodynamic headphones have a bump in the treble, that isn't audible but shows up anyway. I'd have to really sit down and listen, but if there is a bump, it certainly isn't what the FR shows. 
 
 
 
Quote:

  This is the EQ curve I used for my HE-500 (with HE-560 pads and black pearl mode). This is just to bring the upper mid a little bit more forward. I don't find there is a treble spike with the HE-500 that I have to use EQ to even out.
 

 
 
The CurveEQ VST plugin is really good and I can't hear any degrade to the sound quality.

 
 
How did you develop this EQ? By visually trying to invert the FR? 

 

[elwappo99]

Also, happy 1000 pages.... to ... uh I guess us ?

 

[daerron]

  Also, happy 1000 pages.... to ... uh I guess us ?

 

 
I listened to my modded HE-500s for another 3 hours last evening and the fuzzor mod does reduce that treble peak somewhat or at least it gives the impression that its not as in your face. Wish I could measure my HE-500s to see what the mods are doing to the actual sound. Maybe I should run a frequency sweep and see if I can note any audible changes? With my original HE-500s and velour pads the dips and peaks were quite noticeable. With all the mods and new pads it feels as though I have a much more balanced headphone overall.

 

[guy3134]

ok i ordered he500 from head-direct
i cant wait for it!