[rgs9200m]

Hifiman seems to be confusing things with overlapping offerings like the 5LE, 500, and now the 400.

 

[preproman]

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I wouldn't have thought as inanimate objects that headphones had much compassion.

 
 
Damn  I need to pay more attention 

 

[pp312]

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I used to own the K702's and did love the soundstage, but the novelty soon wears off when you hear what a headphone such as the HE500 can do in regards to definition, depth, real timbres etc. I couldn't listen to my AKG's anymore and sold them soon after. Going back after a week of listening to the hifimans the 702's sounded synthetic and grainy... And the soundstage sounded like a gimmick that you get free on cheap software to supposedly give you surround sound. The K701/2's are a truly great headphone if you don't hear anything better. Same with the 650's.   

 
Funny, but that's how the 702s sounded to me long before I ever heard any top end phone, when I only owned the HD650--synthetic, grainy and somewhat metallic. I sold them within a couple of weeks and have always wondered what all the fuss was about, when there was a fuss. It proved to me that you should never believe what you read, especially about audio. 

 

[LugBug1]

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£450?? didnt you pay for import duties? with import duties and shipping it should come to around £538.
 
I would love to pay £450 but i dont wana risk getting charged import duties
 
i used the ebay calculator and typed in the ID for the he-500 from head-direct ebay and this is what i get - 

Total customs value:	£444.49
- Duty:	£0.00
- VAT:	£88.90
Total import duty & taxes due:	£88.90
Total landed cost:	£533.39

 
Can anyone else comment if they have made an order from head-direct that live in England and say if they had to pay import duties. Thanks.

Yeah I didn't pay any duties. I've read on here before that with head-direct you can avoid them. Of course, its going to be a risk everytime when buying from abroad. But a worthwhile one when you are'nt rich (like me)

 

[nc8000]

I don't know if this will work for you but if you sign up on the Danish headphone site hoved-fi.dk you can order the HE-500 from the Danish distributor for DKK4.000 which is just over GBP400. Don't know if he will ship outside Denmark. Sign up and pm user Brian and see what he says. This is a special deal that only run till the end of 2012

 

[jerg]

Head-direct marks their packages as $10 (headphone sample), I think. That's probably how they are able to avoid having customers pay for various import-related fees.

 

[nc8000]

Yes but that totally depends on your countrys customs people. In Denmark they are wise to this practise so it rarely works. You have to document your payment via credit card statement or paypal transaction and they then process it accordingly

 

[Pianist]

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Brutal but true. We all took that route until the next reference came along. The big three of 5 years ago (AKG-701, HD-650, RS-1) are no longer reference.

 
I disagree. I think that HD650 and K701/2 are still reference headphones today. I own HE-500 and HD650 and I have a hard time telling which one is better. HD650 sounds more holographic and with a better sense of weight in the lows IMO. HE-500 has better upper mids and highs and tighter, deeper bass with less distortion. HD650 sounds sharper on attack and more energetic, and realistic with rock music, handling guitars better than HE-500 IMO. HE-500 is clearer and fuller sounding, but not quite as lively as HD650 in some cases IMO and I would argue that when both are stock, HE-500 also sounds a bit less transparent than HD650 with an odd "cupped in" sound somewhere in the upper bass to lower mids, likely due to resonances from the grills.

 

[Gradofan2]

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I disagree. I think that HD650 and K701/2 are still reference headphones today. I own HE-500 and HD650 and I have a hard time telling which one is better. HD650 sounds more holographic and with a better sense of weight in the lows IMO. HE-500 has better upper mids and highs and tighter, deeper bass with less distortion. HD650 sounds sharper on attack and more energetic, and realistic with rock music, handling guitars better than HE-500 IMO. HE-500 is clearer and fuller sounding, but not quite as lively as HD650 in some cases IMO and I would argue that when both are stock, HE-500 also sounds a bit less transparent than HD650 with an odd "cupped in" sound somewhere in the upper bass to lower mids, likely due to resonances from the grills.

 
Agree... 100%.
 
The "new" HD650's sound superb with the right cable, and set up... much as you describe.  I prefer them to the HE-500's... but... then I've not tried the HE-500's with a well matched set up.

 

[LugBug1]

Yeah the 650's are definitely closer than say the K701XX, but to me they just didn't cut it anymore. Its the more resolving and grain free sound that the plannars give. The space between instruments and control. The 650's have such a pleasing sound I find it hard to be negative about them, but for me they sound in-cohesive in the mids compared to the HE500's, there is congestion. Also the control is lacking in comparison. And the one thing I instantly picked up on was the grain in the treble when a/bing. I used to have a very powerful OTL amp for my 650's with 30v C3M tubes(one of the greatest audio tubes ever made) and this brought the soundstage and imaging of the 650's to a brilliant level. But it just wasn't the same once I'd heard Orthos.
 
Having said all that, I still think the 650's will be around a long time yet, because only they do what they do. And they do it better than any other hp. At what they do....

 

[pp312]

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HE-500 also sounds a bit less transparent than HD650 with an odd "cupped in" sound somewhere in the upper bass to lower mids, likely due to resonances from the grills.

 
I'm also aware of "cupped-in" sound, like a resonance, but I'd have placed it higher, around 1-2khz. It causes listener fatigue with me, and I've been wondering why no one has mentioned it. 
 
(And no, it has nothing to do with velour/pleather pads. If anything it's worse with velours).

 

[pp312]

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I disagree. I think that HD650 and K701/2 are still reference headphones today. I own HE-500 and HD650 and I have a hard time telling which one is better.

 
I have the HE-500 and Beyer D880 Pro (used to own HD650), and it's by no means a walkover for the HE-500. Turn the treble down slightly on the Beyers and they're a surprisingly neutral and resolving phone capable of an amazing sound on decent material.

 

[zeinharis]

the DT880 have more forward treble compare to the HE500 but both share the same smoothness and well extended treble that never harsh if you drive them well

 

[Pianist]

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I have the HE-500 and Beyer D880 Pro (used to own HD650), and it's by no means a walkover for the HE-500. Turn the treble down slightly on the Beyers and they're a surprisingly neutral and resolving phone capable of an amazing sound on decent material.

 
I have DT990 Pro and feel the same way you do with DT880s, when comparing them to the HE-500s. Both are equally smooth and both sound amazing. I think DT990 is easily a reference headphone in most ways, apart from the V-shaped frequency response and a somewhat wooly bass. In detail resolution, I found DT990 Pro shockingly close to HE-500 in the mids and highs, considering how much cheaper it is and considering it only uses the plain good ol' dynamic drivers versus the super duper double magnet planar driver in the HE-500. Don't get me wrong - HE-500 really sounds jaw droppingly good as well, but it just isn't a whole lot better than DT990, while costing much more money, so its value is questionable. I feel that both DT990 Pro and HE-500 are smoother in the treble than HD650 and offer greater detail and better dynamics than HD650 as well, although HD650 does have its strengths, like the great PRAT in the lows and those seductive mids. I dare say HD650 is a better all arounder than HE-500 as its lows are fuller sounding and better suited for the heavier genres than the more technically correct, but polite HE-500 bass. DT990 is the worst of the bunch as an all arounder obviously, due to its V-shaped response, but what it does best it can do better than the other two IMO.
 
I used to like DT880 before I was exposed to DT990 Pro BTW, but after hearing the latter, I feel that DT880 sounds a bit too dry and lacks some detail, dynamics and soundstage compared to DT990. Just my 2c.

 

[zibra]

Old DT990 600ohm are very good if you can find it. Regarding HD650 Ill try to borrow them and compare to HE5LE as both scale very nice with better equipment. Havent heard HE500 but looking at all comments I can only suppose HE5LE could be little better overall. If you have it my advice is to open grills and take out that foam from inside but leave that thin mesh which is on grills. It should prevent from dust but without foams inside sound gets more airness and even better imaging. I generally ended up my searching of HP.