[Zoom25]

Quote:

I know hearing is very subjective but when I read stuff like, "The soundstage is very congested and centred. I can't delineate where the instruments are placed on the stage" I just shake my head. Maybe I'm the odd one out but I don't listen to headphones to critically analyze where the instruments are located or if I can hear the singer breathe, etc and personally, I don't think anyone can do that without knowing where the instruments actually were during a recording. If you could, and you accidentally put your headphones on "backward" the instruments would be on the other side of the stage. OMG!
 
I once read a speaker review in Stereophile and the reviewer state he could actually hear the floor move under the drum set during certain parts. Hogwash.

 
Well for certain genres, especially classical, recordings in general are mixed with certain placement of instruments. Like cymbals and snare on one side and have bass stuff in the middle and so forth. This is especially true for live recordings. People who listen, like me, for example are somewhat habitual of always have certain instruments placed in a particular location - it keeps it easy and relaxed. Back when I used to have some cheap Sony's, on them I couldn't tell the left and right apart physically, but when I heard them, it'd feel awkward because of the mixed placement. It's just one of those muscle memory things, except with the brain.
 
LMFAOOOOO now hearing the floor move under the drum set......lol yea some reviewers can go over the top.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

 
Well for certain genres, especially classical, recordings in general are mixed with certain placement of instruments. Like cymbals and snare on one side and have bass stuff in the middle and so forth. This is especially true for live recordings. People who listen, like me, for example are somewhat habitual of always have certain instruments placed in a particular location - it keeps it easy and relaxed. Back when I used to have some cheap Sony's, on them I couldn't tell the left and right apart physically, but when I heard them, it'd feel awkward because of the mixed placement. It's just one of those muscle memory things, except with the brain.
 

 
Yes. With classical left/right is critical. Violins, french horns to the left, low strings (double bass etc) and brass to the right. Tympani is usually spread out along the back row. This rule is never broken for classical, though it's sometimes (not often) broken for film music utilising a symphony orchestra.

 

[Swimsonny]

I had the T1 at mine for a bit and i got to compare them to the HE-500. I made a little video!
 

 

[pp312]

Nice video--helpful. Nice accent. However, it's "impedance", not "impotence". I hate to have to tell you, but impotence is something quite different and rarely discussed on Head-Fi. 

 

[Swimsonny]

Thanks mate! Subscribe if you want more of that sort of stuff and..... yeah, i hope it does not cause impotence, i want kiddies hahah!

 

[roadcykler]

Quote:

 
Well for certain genres, especially classical, recordings in general are mixed with certain placement of instruments. Like cymbals and snare on one side and have bass stuff in the middle and so forth. This is especially true for live recordings. People who listen, like me, for example are somewhat habitual of always have certain instruments placed in a particular location - it keeps it easy and relaxed. Back when I used to have some cheap Sony's, on them I couldn't tell the left and right apart physically, but when I heard them, it'd feel awkward because of the mixed placement. It's just one of those muscle memory things, except with the brain.
 
LMFAOOOOO now hearing the floor move under the drum set......lol yea some reviewers can go over the top.

I wasn't aware of that, thanks. I listen to classical music on rare occasions but didn't know they had a particular setup. 

 

[VortexBlast]

After 2 months of using velour earpads I have changed to pleathers and immediately noticed a big difference.
Velour pads makes the sound brighter, mids are more revealing and highs are more present. The attack is a lot stronger with the velours especially on a snare hit. It's so powerful it sometimes hurt my ears. Details are more accentuated, instrument separation is more coherent and speed is extremely fast. Soundstage and imaging is a tad better but not by much. It makes the sound very energetic and works extremely well with Jazz, Classical, fast paced Rock with big bass slam and even DnB but it has its fair share of problems.
It's a bloody lint magnet and bass impact lacks body which makes it very annoying on some tracks.
With the pleathers, the treble is shelved down and so is the midrange but it is not by a huge amount. Bass impact and body is now a lot more present and gives oomph to some tracks but the pleathers makes the sound a tiny bit slow and more laid back. Details and instrument separation are not as good as the velours.
It makes a very fun sound, laid back sound that works well with less well mastered tracks but still. I wish I could get the best of both worlds.
I wish I could get the oomph and bass impact and quantity of the pleather but also with the air and attack of the velours.

 

[Zoom25]

Quote:

I wasn't aware of that, thanks. I listen to classical music on rare occasions but didn't know they had a particular setup. 

 
Yea no problem. I also played in a band for number of years from a young age, so it kinda just stuck on with me from the start. Here's an example of what you find typically find. Of course each orchestra makes their own variations but it still follows a general pattern, especially overall between the percussions, brass, violins and woodwinds.
 

 

[SgtE]

I have now had the Hifiman HE-500s for over two month, I thought I'd chime in on some thoughts.
 
First, I want to let everyone know where I'm coming from.
 
I'm not the usual head-fi-expert. In fact, I dont really have much experience with head-phones at all at a serious level.
 
I have had about 10 different, self-bought cans on my own - and the most expensive of them, except from the Hifiman He-500 is the in-ear Ultimate Ears Triple fi's 10 pro.
 
Althou I like them (the Ultimate Ears) to some extent, they didn't cut it for me (a different topic)...
 
 
This is in contrast to big, floorstanding speakers, where my passion really lies!
 
I have had the usual floor speaker to Eltax Camargue floor speaker to Hales System One Sig to Audio Physic Scorpio 2 to Audio Physic Avanti 3 to QRS Neptunus etc.
 
These are all very capable speakers!
But I kept on changing them becuase I felt something was missing...
 
The last pairs of speakers at a high end I owned were the QRS and although I felt they were very satisfying, I decided to move on to headphones because of my family situation. I have two kids and I had a hard time finding time to listen to them.
 
Enter headphones (and no regrets)!
 
I have always loved the intimate sound of headphones.
They tend to create the sound "in your head" as oppose to speakers that create the sound "out of your head". To each his own.
 
It is not nessecarily bad to have a sound created in your head - this is merely a preference of sound.
 
And here are my thoughts on Hifiman HE-500.
 
 
Let e begin with saying - WOW!
 
The most important thing in musical reproduction for me is involvment, dynamics, clearity, neutrality and coherancy.
 
He-500 meet these demands very well!
 
 
Out of these criterias, dynamics stand out the most.
 
This will show at any level - play any very well familiar song with them and you will notice the emotion of the artist as intended (imo).
 
 
The bass in particular is very good, almost at the level of QRS Neptunus. 
I however feel that the Hifimans have an edge with coherancy over the QRS's.
 
The detail of Audio Physic Avanti is hard to overcome. HE-500 are almost there and they have the bass impact the Avanti lack!
 
The midrange of Hales speakers is probably famous in USA. However, in Europe (where im from), Hales are unknown. 
HE-500 are'nt in the league of Hales midrange (imo), maybe due to the fact the most Hales configurations are closed (fast) and all Hifimans are open (slower) but the HE-500 are scaringly real and vivid when it comes to voices. You feel the emotion wether it is intended to feel as front row or 15th row - doesn't matter.
 
 
Soundstage wise headphones can't compare to speakers.
You can never get the depth of a good set of speakers with headphones.
But sometimes when I want to be real intimate with the music, I still prefer headphones.
 
Music is all about affection, what triggers your inner movement, and headphones are (imo) better when you want your brain to take part of the process of "subduing" to the music.
Speakers are better if you want to relax to the music.
 
Clarity-wise, I have nothing to complain about.
I earlie wrote that the HE-500 have the perfect blend of emotion and clarity. I still stand by this claim.
Any more clarity would tend to lean closer to the Audio Physic range of speakers - that in my ear are VERY good speakers but a slight analystic.
 
There is nothing, information-wise, I miss with HE-500. It's all there, and in perfect blend.
 
The impact of individual instruments is stunning!
Pianos, with a very broad spectrum of octaves, are handled excellent, as are subtle textures such as pedal stomps (excuse my english).
Guitars feel alive as do anything really, played with the HE-500s.
 
If there is something to complain about, it would be the soundstage.
 
I miss the depth of the soundstage a good speaker can produce.
Altho the width and heigh are OK, nothing can compare to real depth of a room.
I have however never heard any headphone come close the to experience of a good speaker in this regard.
 
 
Finally, I should say, that these orthodynamics sound natural. With this I mean that no range of frequency sound out of order with these headphone. I thinik they sound very controlled, with a lovely treble that is NEVER bright.
 
They are somewhat dark and could be perceived as closed-in with the wrong amplifier- however I dont consider them closed-in on my La Figaro 339 (but they sounded terrible on a Burson of undisclosed model).
 
What I have found is however that the dark sound really appeal to me and that the more time I spend with them, the more I come to appreciate them in contrast to many other headphones where I first enjoy them just to eventually grow bored or exausted by the sound.
 
I appreciate this. I think they are capable of peeling of many layers of an onion. They feel like a long time investment.
 
 
I hope this is of any help to those seeking a really, really good headphone.
If you have any questions - feel free to shoot them at me!
 
And pardon if I sound distracted, I just wrote this text on impulse.
 
 
 
Br
SgtE

 

[zeinharis]

@SgtE
 
Cheers!!

 

[Anda]

Quote:

I wish I could get the oomph and bass impact and quantity of the pleather but also with the air and attack of the velours.

 
You could try the Brainwavz HM5 pads. With HE-400 I found them to be somewhere in between (they are the only pads I've used on HE-500 because of comfort).

 

[Kendoji]

And of course there's Jerg's pleather mod.

 

[VortexBlast]

Quote:

And of course there's Jerg's pleather mod.

I might try Jerg's pleather mod if I get an extra pair of pleathers. I don't want to sacrifice my only pair of pleathers.

 

[Kendoji]

Me neither - I'm happy with the pleathers and prefer them to the velours.

 

[h4mm3r 0f th0r]

i am not a treble fan... i only care about bass and midrange so i like pleathers better... hd650 have spoiled my tastes a bit