[pukeman]

so I have a tough decision to make:
 
either get a HE400 with the Magni/Modi combo or
 
HE500 with Bifrost and Asgard 2.
 
The only other high end headphone I have are the ATH-M50s...
 
or silly question, they charge and extra $100 for USB input, how am I supposed to plug into the computer without this? sorry for noob question

 

[jerg]

Quote:

so I have a tough decision to make:
 
either get a HE400 with the Magni/Modi combo or
 
HE500 with Bifrost and Asgard 2.
 
The only other high end headphone I have are the ATH-M50s...
 
or silly question, they charge and extra $100 for USB input, how am I supposed to plug into the computer without this? sorry for noob question

I see no reason why you can't go with HE500 + Magni/Modi.

 

[radiolight]

I have been following this thread and have been considering getting the HE-500. If the general consensus regarding the stock cable is that the construction quality is poor (sonically it is debatable). Why doesn't Hifiman respond and change the cable? Perhaps Hifiman should have the option of selling the headphone without cabling so the user can buy what he or she wants.

 

[hifimanrookie]

Quote:

so I have a tough decision to make:
 
either get a HE400 with the Magni/Modi combo or
 
HE500 with Bifrost and Asgard 2.
 
The only other high end headphone I have are the ATH-M50s...
 
or silly question, they charge and extra $100 for USB input, how am I supposed to plug into the computer without this? sorry for noob question

Spdif converter..

 

[hifimanrookie]

Quote:

I have been following this thread and have been considering getting the HE-500. If the general consensus regarding the stock cable is that the construction quality is poor (sonically it is debatable). Why doesn't Hifiman respond and change the cable? Perhaps Hifiman should have the option of selling the headphone without cabling so the user can buy what he or she wants.

Maybe budget is the reason? Honesty i dont think any headphone company sells their cans without cable..its an unwritten law i think. 

 

[roadcykler]

Quote:

I have been following this thread and have been considering getting the HE-500. If the general consensus regarding the stock cable is that the construction quality is poor (sonically it is debatable). Why doesn't Hifiman respond and change the cable? Perhaps Hifiman should have the option of selling the headphone without cabling so the user can buy what he or she wants.

 
I've had the HE-500s for almost 2 months and I don't think they would be any more durable or not durable than any other headphones. If there was a potential for problems, I would guess it would be the connection point for the cables based on their location. If one hit that against something sturdy it could break off at the connector.
 
When I pay as much as these cost, I'm very careful when handling them. I guess if someone had multiple, expensive headphones they may not appreciate them as much and may not treat them as carefully.

 

[radiolight]

Thanks for your reply and experience with the stock cable. I am still trying to talk myself into getting the HE-500. I have Woo Audio WA6SE which as I understand will drive an HE-500 properly. Will I expect a sonic upgrade with the HE-500 vs what I currently have (DT880 and SR325is)?

 

[hifimanrookie]

Quote:

Thanks for your reply and experience with the stock cable. I am still trying to talk myself into getting the HE-500. I have Woo Audio WA6SE which as I understand will drive an HE-500 properly. Will I expect a sonic upgrade with the HE-500 vs what I currently have (DT880 and SR325is)?

Sound will be less bright and less agressive..but ..the he500 is a better balanced phone then any of those two..it has no major flaws..as far i know its one of the few cans who can play all kinds of music and be good in it..with the right amp ofcourse..otl tube amps normally dont pair very well with low sensitive planars though..like the 3322..a few exceptions exist..337/339 and a few others. Just try a he500 out with ur woo audio..to find out if it pairs well according TO UR ears

 

[pukeman]

Quote:

I see no reason why you can't go with HE500 + Magni/Modi.

 
but don't higher end amps make them sound better?
 
for me that seems to be the toughest part, deciding which amp to get

 

[jerg]

Quote:

 
but don't higher end amps make them sound better?
 
for me that seems to be the toughest part, deciding which amp to get

Going from M/Ms to Bif/Asgs? There's probably marginal improvement from all the comparisons people have done (more like a change of flavour rather than an outright improvement, seemed to be the general consensus). Least of your worries.
 
Then again, my words are all heresay. I'm basing that judgement on the overall consensus that people had.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

Thanks for your reply and experience with the stock cable. I am still trying to talk myself into getting the HE-500. I have Woo Audio WA6SE which as I understand will drive an HE-500 properly. Will I expect a sonic upgrade with the HE-500 vs what I currently have (DT880 and SR325is)?

 
i have a friend who has the HE-500 with the WA6-SE and says it works well.
 
i personally might sell the D7000 very soon to buy the HE-500

 

[28980]

Got the HE-500 recently from the TTVJ sale. I don't have an amp yet as my o2/odac combo built by a fellow head-fier is still on a plane over the ocean in transit from hong kong currently, but even just from my computer I think it sounds great. Looking into getting a acrylic dust cover, or trying to make one myself but for the time being I got tired of unplugging the cable and storing it back in the box every time I finished using it so I'm currently just using a plastic bag as a dust cover :x. 

 

[tuna47]

Are there any portable amps that can power the 500s

 

[VortexBlast]

Quote:

Are there any portable amps that can power the 500s

There are some that can power the 500 to it's near maximum potential but it's only a very few. All I could think of is the ALO Audio RX Mk3-B and the RSA SR-71B. Both are balanced portable headphone amps that pumps out near 1W of current in balanced mode. But you do need to get another cable for the 500 with a mini 4 pin balanced termination.
For other amps, I think that my HP-P1 drives the HE-500 quite well in high gain. It's still not enough but it's sufficient for the moment.
I think you might need to look at transportable amps like the ALO Pan-Am + PassPort battery pack if you want to properly drive the HE-500 well on the go.

 

[Clemmaster]

The DX-100 did a great job at driving them. Pretty much like the Fostex HP-A3.