[jerg]

You guys ain't heard nothn' till you've modded the pleathers. 

 
The boost in air and coherency (without damaging the weighty bass/lower mids or making treble unbearable) makes the sound "just right". There is rarely "just right" in this hobby so I'd consider that a very good thing to be acquired simply by modding a pair of $20 pads.

 

[RustA]

Quote:

You guys ain't heard nothn' till you've modded the pleathers. 

 
Headphones for 700USD (900USD in the past as far as I know) should be able to deliver exceptional quality without modding anything...

 

[Kendoji]

LOL and they do. 

 

[jerg]

Quote:

 
Headphones for 700USD (900USD in the past as far as I know) should be able to deliver exceptional quality without modding anything...

A chain is as strong as its weakest links.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

 

. There is rarely "just right" in this hobby so I'd consider that a very good thing to be acquired simply by modding a pair of $20 pads.

so true!

 

[davidsh]

Quote:

 
Headphones for 700USD (900USD in the past as far as I know) should be able to deliver exceptional quality without modding anything...

They do

... But it can be better
 
I'd express it this way: If you prefer pleathers over velours then you will LOVE the jergpads...

 

[kasimoa]

Ok guys I dont know what happened in the past two days but suddenly the sound is more enveloping. The left channel has become much stronger as in I have  the left image, the centre, and the right all becoming more clear. Instrument separation is still not great but I think this change is more to do with the Audiolab M-DAC rather than the headphones. I am enjoying the music so much more. Just went through Paul Simon Graceland and it sounds much much better. I am thinking that the sound is only going to get better from here on end. So you guys can add me to the HE-500 fan club. Have just ordered a Corda Jazz so lets see how much the sound improves with that. Now my pockets are really empty, but this is a great hobby. 

 

[Kendoji]

Good to hear that you're warming to them.  They are lovely headphones.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

You guys ain't heard nothn' till you've modded the pleathers. 

 
The boost in air and coherency (without damaging the weighty bass/lower mids or making treble unbearable) makes the sound "just right". There is rarely "just right" in this hobby so I'd consider that a very good thing to be acquired simply by modding a pair of $20 pads.

 
 
why don't you sale them - for us who's mod challenged.

 

[Andolink]

Quote:

Ok guys I dont know what happened in the past two days but suddenly the sound is more enveloping. The left channel has become much stronger as in I have  the left image, the centre, and the right all becoming more clear. Instrument separation is still not great but I think this change is more to do with the Audiolab M-DAC rather than the headphones. I am enjoying the music so much more. Just went through Paul Simon Graceland and it sounds much much better. I am thinking that the sound is only going to get better from here on end. So you guys can add me to the HE-500 fan club. Have just ordered a Corda Jazz so lets see how much the sound improves with that. Now my pockets are really empty, but this is a great hobby. 

I too considered the Corda Jazz when hunting for an amp to power the HE-500.  Went instead with the Audio-gd NFB-6 due to being able to run in balanced mode and its putting 5.92 watts into the 38 ohms of the 500.  The cross-feed feature of the Meier amp is very interesting though.
 
I predict you'll hear significantly better sound with this Meier amp.  You'll be an HE-500 fanatic soon enough!

 

[kasimoa]

Quote:

I too considered the Corda Jazz when hunting for an amp to power the HE-500.  Went instead with the Audio-gd NFB-6 due to being able to run in balanced mode and its putting 5.92 watts into the 38 ohms of the 500.  The cross-feed feature of the Meier amp is very interesting though.
 
I predict you'll hear significantly better sound with this Meier amp.  You'll be an HE-500 fanatic soon enough!

Just the wait is the hard part. But yes I am really looking forward to the cross-feed feature. Will report back once I have tested all the features.

 

[snip3r77]

I read the la figaro 339 works pretty well also

 

[Acapella11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SgtE /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
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).  

 
Thank you SgtE, very nice write up and interesting comparison with speakers. I agree with almost all the points you mentioned describing the HE-500 sound but I got to ask the question: Which model was that? I would be interested and it would be useful information for everyone, which negative impressions you had with an amp.

 

[SgtE]

@Acapella

Thanks!

The model was HA-160 and it was unable to blow life into HE-500. Very closed-in. I acctually thought the headphones were boken, until La Figaro 339 brought them back to life!

 

[hifimanrookie]

Quote:

 
This is some random list.  For orthos the only real amps on this list are...
 
Schiit Lyr
Violectric V200
 
Your list ranges from 100mW to 10W, OTL to speaker amp, $200 to $1000.  You need to focus your search some /facepalm

Although iagree with thetwo u mentioned..u forget one..lafigaro 339 and especially with the tubes mentioned (i have a DV 337 with 5998 and tungsols sj7gt mesh plates which i prefer over 5693reds)..and with the he500 u cant wish for more..its an almost untubey sounding amp...and put velours pads on the 500 and then get urself a good stranded litz 2 coppercable and ur hooked! But as i said the other two are good also..but for my taste to cold sounding..and the lyr sounds the muddiest of the three.. 
By the way..For the lcd 2 rev 2 i prefered the violectric v200 best.
i dont believe u can say that a certain amp is the right one for EVERY orthos..as its more important to get the right synergy..and power is not always the way to go (except maybe for the he6).. But its more important to get quality power instead of just power without synergy. Imho