[bagwell359]

So, with 700 6SE's being made and retailing at $1799, and HFM having a big hole in the offerings between $499 and $999 seems like a perfect opportunity to make 5SE's (slight update of the HE-500). Through themselves or Mass Drop. Betcha they could sell 3500 at $699.

Any Hifiman employees reading this? Go look at the Mass Drop page, hundreds of people begging for these.

 

[Roll]

So, with 700 6SE's being made and retailing at $1799, and HFM having a big hole in the offerings between $499 and $999 seems like a perfect opportunity to make 5SE's (slight update of the HE-500). Through themselves or Mass Drop. Betcha they could sell 3500 at $699.

Any Hifiman employees reading this? Go look at the Mass Drop page, hundreds of people begging for these.

Not sure I would pay more than $499 re a Massdrop name version unless Hifiman manufacture a different housing, etc

 

[bagwell359]

Not sure I would pay more than $499 re a Massdrop name version unless Hifiman manufacture a different housing, etc

MD would have to charge less then $699 due to the name vs HFM. But no lower than ~$575. Obviously the hardware including the inputs would be updated. It's not a big money maker at $499 plus it crashes into the two HFM items (400*, Sundara) currently at $499 and under, and would blow up their sales. The HE-500 in its old form blows both of them off the map - therefore no reason to undersell it.

$699 is sort of a "hope" price, never do it under HFM name under $750. They have the Ananda at $999.

COME ON! HIFIMAN - RE-INTRODUCE THE HE-500 !!

 

[xevman]

Just starting to listen to my HE500s with my new Matrix HPA3b amp through the balanced connection. Awesome synergy between these two highly highly highly recommend this pairing.

 

[Zulkr9]

what would be a good amp for the HE-500, I just re purchased one regrettting that I sold them back in 2014, but boy these things are power hungry!!

 

[FastAndClean]

what would be a good amp for the HE-500, I just re purchased one regrettting that I sold them back in 2014, but boy these things are power hungry!!

They love electricity, look into Audio GD stuff

 

[Oscar-HiFi]

what would be a good amp for the HE-500, I just re purchased one regrettting that I sold them back in 2014, but boy these things are power hungry!!

budget?

Burson Audio Fun is really good

 

[kid vic]

what would be a good amp for the HE-500, I just re purchased one regrettting that I sold them back in 2014, but boy these things are power hungry!!

Vintage speaker amps straight from the speaker terminals!

 

[bagwell359]

If you are going the speaker amp route look around for a Class A transistor (amp, integrated amp, kit with vol knob) unit of over 4 watts - a Pass DIY, Luxman, Yamaha, Sugden, etc.; or a hybrid amp;

I haven't heard any Class A tube amps with the HE-500, but I can't believe that many over 20 watts would control the bass enough for my tastes (unless you spend big). Smaller desktop tube/hybrid headphone amps can do the job, but you are probably at 2 wpc or less. Back in the day I used hybrid pre-amps like the ARC SP-15 with SS amps partially due to the nasty loads the speakers had, but even with standard speakers I couldn't take the blubbery bass that even a monster like the D-90, or VTL 225 with 807's produced under about 110 Hz. Matter of your taste/experience - and toleration of re-tubing costs.

When I first got my 500's they were wired RCA and even with a pretty studly Ragnarok I found the bass too flabby/slow, but going to XLR really brought some control to the bass and it no longer sounds like it comes from some other set of cans. I.E. discontinuity.

Ether Angled pads made a huge difference that's for sure, more depth, better soundstage, even seemed to curtail some of the edge that they can put on some recordings.

And of course the fazor mod, I almost forgot it seems so necessary. If not already modified, listen for a few days/weeks, then go do the mod, no going back IMO.

Let us know what you get/how you do.

If you are handy w/ a soldering gun, a DIY Pass, or one based on the LM3886, or take a shot at an Ali Express.

 

[alpovs]

When I first got my 500's they were wired RCA and even with a pretty studly Ragnarok I found the bass too flabby/slow, but going to XLR really brought some control to the bass and it no longer sounds like it comes from some other set of cans. I.E. discontinuity.

It could be also because:

Output Impedance, balanced headphone output: less than 0.1 ohms
Output Impedance, single-ended headphone out: 3.3 ohms
Maximum Power, single-ended headphone output: 3W into 32 ohms

High output impedance is not good for low impedance (resistance) HE500, and the power is limited. Ragnarok has very different specs for balanced and single-ended outputs. And it's buried in the manual and not mentioned anywhere else.

 

[bagwell359]

It could be also because:

High output impedance is not good for low impedance (resistance) HE500, and the power is limited. Ragnarok has very different specs for balanced and single-ended outputs. And it's buried in the manual and not mentioned anywhere else.

Yes, someone pointed that out - not the HE500's, but the reason I prefer the balanced output vs SE on the RAG. Thanks.

Edit: Actually I don't listen near loud enough to provoke the lack off power in the SE compared to the balanced I found. The bass was more well damped and sounded more coherent with the rest of the range with the balanced over the SE - it wasn't a matter of volume settings or capacity. I also found a quieter less hashy treble with low level details revealed better.

I don't believe in magic bricks or $500+ cables, but it's clear not all amps sound the same either - including ones with differences between the SE and balanced.

 

[buke9]

what would be a good amp for the HE-500, I just re purchased one regrettting that I sold them back in 2014, but boy these things are power hungry!!

On the less expensive side a Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid does a very good job with them.

 

[xevman]

Planar magnetic headphones don't care for high output impedance as they are purely resistive. Amps with a higher output impedance have no impact on frequency response on planars. That being said running an amp with let's say 50 ohm output impedance to a he500 will reduce the amount of power supplied to the headphone which may be detrimental.

 

[Sourcesys]

Im currently using a 64€ FX Audio X6 to power my HE-500. Works great!
The knob on 13 clock is painful loud already, you also can mod the Amp with two jumpers, to gain even more power.

 

[bagwell359]

Combined notes on HE-500 upgrades (per me):

Pads. I've tried the usual pad suspects such as "the felt" (good) and and "the pleather" (meh), along with Delkoni fenestrated (ugh), and the pleather from the MD X00 (meh), but so far the Mr Speakers Ether C angled is what works. I wasn't hopeful when I got it, since it covers a fair amount of the drivers, but, it clicked.

My theory is that the membrane near the edge is more distorted or delayed compared to the middle of the membrane. So, what I get is more "time aligned" from the the middle portions of the driver. Music is both sound and silence, and the silence is well enhanced. Blacker, deeper, wider, more palpable. The sound does not lose impact, but, overtones, recording space, fingering, all more palpable.

Also the bass is down a bit in amplitude/flatter with the Ether's. They are absorbing signals over about 150-200 Hz and diffusing them under that. The bass seems flatter and not as prone to being blubbery (try rototoms for drums and a deep acoustic/electric bass - both high up in the mix and well modulated you'll hear the womp) but well less with these pads. The low bass is present. The "Q" is certainly closer to neutral with the pads and with the the balanced out of the Ragnarok - than with the felt and the SE on the Ragnarok.

Overall, the instruments are not muted nor are they veiled. They live in a quieter space, but the swagger that they can have is still there. Try some Dead Can Dance bass heavy tracks or the generally unknown Bill Laswell 'oscillations' on the great label "Sub Rosa" - also for bass, and whatever mid range recordings you judge your playback on.

SE output vs balanced: Changing from the SE output to the balanced of the Ragnarok had a similar but lesser impact - more instrumental focus, quieter background, bass more under control, with a bit more kick. Its said that the low out impedance of the balanced compared to the well higher mark of the SE explains it. If you have duel capacity on your desktop check out that you are using the lower rating for the HE500's.

Cables: I'm a bad source for those that hope/want cables to make a difference - since I've rarely found any difference outside of exotic speaker loads, severe oxidation or "the king has no clothes" syndrome making a difference. I chopped the stock 'silver' cable' from 8-10 ft to about 50" and noted no difference.

Removal of rear mesh: Famous "fix" for the 400* and 500 Series - many agree, not me. Some mids lose body and the rear plane of the recording space - gone (assuming your front end can define it). Try 'Grandma's Hands" by James Taylor on Chesky - disembodied and wrong. Note: This effect is well worse on the MD 4XX than 500. Also the screens are magnetic and that may have some effect. I toy with the idea of trying different meshes - magnetic, same approx 70% open, with thicker wider spaced mesh so i can felt the backsides, but, probably I won't get to it.

All I know is given my equipment and recordings that seem accurate/life like - day after day I get sound about as good as when I had my $30k+ set-up (outside of full room dynamics of course). None of my other cans scales as high . This Fall I go to NYC to try out many of the high end cans in the $750-$2k range as I can. No HD-800's, no LCD-2's, but I'll try all of the HFM's plus.

amp: schiit ragnarok
cd: sony 4500es
dac: schiit gungnir multibit
dap: fiio X-3, Cayin N3
phones: all balanced: hifiman he-500 (fazor) & he-4xx; senn hd-600, fostex th-500rp & th-x00, grado sr-80e (RCA plug), Audeze LCD-2 fazor '14 (bleech)