[elwappo99]

My HE-500 is modded however so it's no proper baseline to relate to. Don't know anyone with a stock HE-500 right now.
It's reshelled in a brand new HE-560 system with:

sorbothane in the inside of the cups to prevent resonances
blu-tack as usual and already well known to seal the driver sandwich with the shell making the bass tighter and cleaner
Velpads, my all-time favorite for the HE-500
grill mod from a basket
2.5mm connections

I really love it that way. Now my HE-6 is similarly modded but I don't want to pick one over the other. I simply can't.
I owned the HE-1000SE until recently and sold it. These two are still here.

I might have the Hugo 2 still here with me next month but I can't make promises. However I am not the biggest fan. Amp wise I should have still the custom HPA-1 when the 5XX arrives.

Did you pop out the drivers and put them into the HE-560 cups? I had a pair where they drilled a hole in the HE-500 cup big enough for the HE-350 headband to pop into, if that makes sense.

Agree with you on the older hifimans. I believe there was a different designer on board then. The newer, thinner diaphragms just don't have the same impact as the old ones. I think I'll be sitting on my stash of 5 HE-6s for awhile.

 

[Fegefeuer]

It's a complete reshell, only the drivers were extracted. The HE-6 uses the original cups + Audeze headband.

The OG Hifiman supposedly were indeed created by someone else.

@lambdastorm could tell us a bit about it.

 

[bagwell359]

MY 500 would go stock in about 20 minutes, of course ones out on the web are generally all stock too.

 

[mngomezch]

The HE-500s just arrived. Not even an hour in and all I have to say is...damn...these are amazing cans...

The stock cables are a hot mess though. Lol

 

[Kukuk]

The HE-500s just arrived. Not even an hour in and all I have to say is...damn...these are amazing cans...

I honestly think that headphones don't get much better than the HE-500. I have my Abyss AB-1266, but they aren't vastly better. Different to be sure, but they certainly don't sound an order of magnitude better (despite costing an order of magnitude more!). To me, they sound like they're in the same "tier".

Even not compared to the AB-1266, the value proposition of the HE-500 is unbeatable. Something like an LCD-2C is $800 new and can't hold a candle to the HE-500. Sennheiser HD-800? Getting closer, but I still think the HE-500 is a full tier above.

The stock cables are a hot mess though. Lol

No doubt! Not sure if you have a balanced amp, but this little baby is what I upgraded to.
https://www.amazon.com/KK-Cable-Hea...ds=Hifiman+HE-500+cable&qid=1604063205&sr=8-3

Looking on amazon, there's actually a ton of HE-500 compatible cables, going as low as $30.

 

[mngomezch]

I honestly think that headphones don't get much better than the HE-500. I have my Abyss AB-1266, but they aren't vastly better. Different to be sure, but they certainly don't sound an order of magnitude better (despite costing an order of magnitude more!). To me, they sound like they're in the same "tier".

Even not compared to the AB-1266, the value proposition of the HE-500 is unbeatable. Something like an LCD-2C is $800 new and can't hold a candle to the HE-500. Sennheiser HD-800? Getting closer, but I still think the HE-500 is a full tier above.



No doubt! Not sure if you're using balanced, but this little baby is what I upgraded to.
https://www.amazon.com/KK-Cable-Hea...ds=Hifiman+HE-500+cable&qid=1604063205&sr=8-3

Looking on amazon, there's actually a ton of HE-500 compatible cables, going as low as $30.

I honestly think that headphones don't get much better than the HE-500. I have my Abyss AB-1266, but they aren't vastly better. Different to be sure, but they certainly don't sound an order of magnitude better (despite costing an order of magnitude more!). To me, they sound like they're in the same "tier".

Even not compared to the AB-1266, the value proposition of the HE-500 is unbeatable. Something like an LCD-2C is $800 new and can't hold a candle to the HE-500. Sennheiser HD-800? Getting closer, but I still think the HE-500 is a full tier above.



No doubt! Not sure if you have a balanced amp, but this little baby is what I upgraded to.
https://www.amazon.com/KK-Cable-Hea...ds=Hifiman+HE-500+cable&qid=1604063205&sr=8-3

Looking on amazon, there's actually a ton of HE-500 compatible cables, going as low as $30.

Listening to it, I would say that it strikes the balance I want with vocals I get from my HD650 and the imaging from the LCD-1. The soundstage is bigger than either. So unless something can seriously top this at the moment, I am a very happy lad.

Thanks for the heads up on the cables. I'm currently driving my gear from a Topping A50S that uses 4.4 pentaconn. I get my cables from NLovell Audio based in the UK. Top-quality and reasonably priced handmade cables. If you are not in a rush, I strongly recommend him.

 

[bagwell359]

Listening to it, I would say that it strikes the balance I want with vocals I get from my HD650 and the imaging from the LCD-1. The soundstage is bigger than either. So unless something can seriously top this at the moment, I am a very happy lad.

Thanks for the heads up on the cables. I'm currently driving my gear from a Topping A50S that uses 4.4 pentaconn. I get my cables from NLovell Audio based in the UK. Top-quality and reasonably priced handmade cables. If you are not in a rush, I strongly recommend him.

Take a look at Custom Cans in the UK. Fine products, good prices, and very much honorable business folk.

Take a look up this thread there all sorts of mods to cure what ails a HE-500. I covered pretty much all of them.

I've only found a few headphones clearly above them: 007, 009, Voce, Raal, Susvara, LCD-4, HEK se, Phi; and on OTL amps: HD600, HD800.

Even if you go fully mod and spend maybe $600 on can and mods, there really isn't anything under $1k that can beat them unless you got lucky with a $699 HE6se.

 

[zeromacro]

Take a look at Custom Cans in the UK. Fine products, good prices, and very much honorable business folk.

Take a look up this thread there all sorts of mods to cure what ails a HE-500. I covered pretty much all of them.

I've only found a few headphones clearly above them: 007, 009, Voce, Raal, Susvara, LCD-4, HEK se, Phi; and on OTL amps: HD600, HD800.

Even if you go fully mod and spend maybe $600 on can and mods, there really isn't anything under $1k that can beat them unless you got lucky with a $699 HE6se.

Seconded on the customcans, they make quality cables at affordable prices. Looks nice too.

 

[PhoenixClaw]

Managed to snag a good condition pair recently. Really happy to finally own one. My last Hifiman headphone was a HE400 many years back. Such a shame they've stopped producing these.

 

[mngomezch]

Regarding custom cables, has anyone here listened to how the HE-500 sounds using either copper or silver litz cables?

 

[bagwell359]

Regarding custom cables, has anyone here listened to how the HE-500 sounds using either copper or silver litz cables?

Yes, with no mods it prefers copper. Why? Because it rings in the treble at some points, and the silver seems to make that worse - more sibilant.

When/if you take off the rear screen, do the fuzzor mod, and get the right pads, and put in an EQ (FR map is cool too start but look at the waterfall plot) one needs a good -4db at 9.5-10k with a very narrow range (Q).

Good luck and have fun.

 

[DenverW]

I got an inexpensive cable from amazon, but it’s a bit stiff and microphonic. If there is a cheap alternative that fixes those issues and still sounds great let me know. Here is the amazon cable I currently have:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CBW6BY1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[bagwell359]

I got an inexpensive cable from amazon, but it’s a bit stiff and microphonic. If there is a cheap alternative that fixes those issues and still sounds great let me know. Here is the amazon cable I currently have:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CBW6BY1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Custom Cans UK. Once fixed an order I made for free where I made the mistake. Very clean sound, nice looking, reasonable price. I don't recommend silver with this can.

 

[DivineCurrent]

I've got an HE-500 on the way from elwappo99, should be here next week. In the meantime, what pads do you guys think goes best with the HE-500 besides the stock velour pads? I'm curious if the modern Hifiman pads change the sound (hopefully for the better). I did get Dekoni Hybrid pads for my Sundara, but I prefer the stock Pali pads for those.

 

[Kukuk]

I've got an HE-500 on the way from elwappo99, should be here next week. In the meantime, what pads do you guys think goes best with the HE-500 besides the stock velour pads? I'm curious if the modern Hifiman pads change the sound (hopefully for the better). I did get Dekoni Hybrid pads for my Sundara, but I prefer the stock Pali pads for those.

Pad swapping is a rabbit hole that I don't feel is terribly fruitful. I've tried different pads on my HE-500, and didn't feel like sound quality was improved with any of them. At best, some pads sounded identical, but most outright detracted from the sound quality. Bass in particular is extremely finicky on the HE-500s, and if a pad seals too well, the bass drops out.

Personally, if I were you, if you don't have any issue with the comfort of the stock pads, I'd just leave them on and forget about pad swapping.