[zeinharis]

Quote:

By the way. Is anyone using a CEntrance Dac Mini Amp with their HE500's? The specs say a watt and half... but it worries me that they offer a +10 dB upgrade for folks with hard to drive Cans... I really like it LOUD sometimes so I just hope it's got enough ooomph for me... The form factor is perfect. I really need it to be "luggable". Anyone using a Dac Mini? Does it crank out some decent volume? 

 
Here is my impression . I'm using the original Dacmini CX (non-mod)
 
Here is the specs here and here
 

 

[davidsh]

Putting out around 700mW per channel should be enough to reach 115dB. That is plenty loud enough, even if you hear a lot of classical.
 
But +1w is recommended

 

[HKUSP]

Quote:

Are there any decently priced aftermarket cables that fit very well with the HE-500s..the speaker like cable that came with mine is a bit ridiculous -_-. Ideally i'd like to spend about 100-150 on the cable.

I purchased the 6' 8 strand OCC Sunset cable terminated with 4-pin nickle Neutrix XLR from BTG Audio for around $135 with shipping. This cable allowed me to go balanced on my RSA SR-71B amp. I can't say for sure what part did what to vastly improve the sound, but I'm pretty darn happy! I'm going to put in another order for a 4 foot terminating straight to the mini-XLR RSA balanced amp uses. This final tweak should make an awesome "portable" setup!  The covering almost has a matte look to them to give the cable an understated copper elegance. The braid is beautiful. The cable is so much easier to manage than the stock silver plated cable that came with it. Web says orders are taking 1.5 weeks, which was my experience. Price can jump up with upgraded options, but it is nice to have them if you need it.

 

[HKUSP]

Quote:

You pretty much got it. Elaborating on what you said;
 
1) the pleathers have a thicker dust screen that reduces treble quantity, compared to velour dust screen
 
2) the velours are thicker, consequently midrange is less bloomed compared to the pleathers where your ears are much closer to the drivers; it (velours) also allows for stronger clamping which increases bass extension and tactility
 
3) the pleathers stock have no damping to let excess resonance out of the closed internal opening that couples with your ear, so it is prone to midrange "glare" / ringing that velours have no trouble with - the velours themselves are porous and (over)damp the sound
 
Points 1 and 2a are the reason why I tried modifying pleather pads, because their advantages are precisely what I want, and I just needed to eliminate their disadvantages.

jerg,
I've had my HE-500s for about a month. I am using the pleather because the velours just feel a bit itchy and not as comfortable to me. It does not have a velvety quality to it at all. I don't enjoy taking the pads on and off, so don't have a lot of listening time with velours. Initial impression was that sound difference wasn't that much, but hard to tell without comparing more.
 
With my pleathers on, I notice that as I ever so slightly pull the cups away from my ears, the bass lustily improves, having a more fuller, richer body, impacting better and seemingly extending more. There is this bass nirvana effect that I "feel" much like going from mono to stereo. What would the explanation for this be, and what would be the best way to achieve this without having to hold my phones 1/2 inch from my head for hours on end? 

 

[jerg]

Quote:

jerg,
I've had my HE-500s for about a month. I am using the pleather because the velours just feel a bit itchy and not as comfortable to me. It does not have a velvety quality to it at all. I don't enjoy taking the pads on and off, so don't have a lot of listening time with velours. Initial impression was that sound difference wasn't that much, but hard to tell without comparing more.
 
With my pleathers on, I notice that as I ever so slightly pull the cups away from my ears, the bass lustily improves, having a more fuller, richer body, impacting better and seemingly extending more. There is this bass nirvana effect that I "feel" much like going from mono to stereo. What would the explanation for this be, and what would be the best way to achieve this without having to hold my phones 1/2 inch from my head for hours on end? 

Distancing your ears from the drivers results in boosted low-mid bass (it "humps" up) which gives a more satisfying fun bass BUT that strays from neutrality, mind you. It does not improve sub-bass extension though, that more concerns with how your earpads contact with the headphone cups.
 
Other effects of distancing your ears from the drivers include: boosted treble response, reduced midrange. You get the picture.
 
These partially constitute the differences between the pleathers and velours, as the velour earpads have a deeper foam ring so they push your ears farther from the drivers.
 
Try my earpad mod if you think pleathers are for you, btw.

 

[bareyb]

Quote:

Putting out around 700mW per channel should be enough to reach 115dB. That is plenty loud enough, even if you hear a lot of classical.
 
But +1w is recommended

The CEntrance DAC Mini has 1.5 Watts. So hopefully that's enough. I auditioned an Icon HDP (to go with my Icon iDo) and it just didn't cut it. Of course the DAC Mini has four times the power so hopefully.... I'm off to read. zeinharris' post.... 

 

[bareyb]

Quote:

 
Here is my impression . I'm using the original Dacmini CX (non-mod)
 
Here is the specs here and here
 

Wow. Thank you so much for those links! If the Dac Mini can power LCD-2s then I have no doubt it can power an HE 500. According to the Specs it's got more power than the Asgard II or the Magni which bodes well... From all the reviews (Stereophile magazine did a review and loved it) it sounds like the CEntrance is in very good company with some great Amps and Dacs. Looking forward to hearing it. I REALLY want it to work as the footprint and form factor are SO nice for what I need (a semi-portable setup). Thanks again for the links. I'm gonna go read the whole thread. 

Asgard II
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 1.0W
Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 1.0W
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 380mW
Maximum Power, 600 ohms: 190mW
 
Magni
32 ohms: 1.2W
50 ohms: 1.0W
300 ohms: 260mW
600 ohms: 130mW
 
DAC Mini Specs:
32 ohm = 1.5 W
50 ohm =  1.0 W
300 ohm = 480 mW
600 ohm = 260 mW
 
Icon HDP Amp:
288mW rms @ 30 Ohm 
152mW rms @ 300 Ohm
96mW rms @ 600 Ohm 
 
Music Hall Amp
47 ohm = 1.3 W
 

 

[Avi]

Has anyone had experience with the Corda Stepdance or Corda Jazz and the HE-500?

 

[zeinharis]

Wow. Thank you so much for those links! If the Dac Mini can power LCD-2s then I have no doubt it can power an HE 500. According to the Specs it's got more power than the Asgard II or the Magni which bodes well... From all the reviews (Stereophile magazine did a review and loved it) it sounds like the CEntrance is in very good company with some great Amps and Dacs. Looking forward to hearing it. I REALLY want it to work as the footprint and form factor are SO nice for what I need (a semi-portable setup). Thanks again for the links. I'm gonna go read the whole thread. 

Ask Larry (HeadphoneAddict) and Mike (Zilchomd) for more impression about the combo

 

[MickeyVee]

Hi all.. New to the HE-500 and did a lot of reading before pulling the trigger on them.  Just had my HE-500 for 3 days and really starting to enjoy them.  Jerg told me about this thread and to post my impressions here.  Tons more reading to do! Well, still early in the break in process at about 30 hours but here's my first real surprise:
I'm a huge fan of Enigma and love their stuff.  Nothing better than when the wife goes out and I can sit back and listen to my main AV system with Martin Logan speakers driven by Rotel gear and really crank some Enigma.  Well, almost noting. As I listened to Enigma for the first time tonight on the HE-500, I was really surprised and delighted as to how much they sound like my Logans. For me, that's huge! My only minor complaint so far is they have a limited sound stage compared to my Senn HD700. Looking forward to the break in process and seeing how they mature.

 

[jono454]

Quote:

 
 
Here:
 
http://www.btg-audio.com/

Thank you.
 
Wish i knew about this earlier -__-

 

[planx]

A little cable porn for ya Hifiman Planars... http://www.head-fi.org/t/600546/double-helix-cables-appreciation-thread/195#post_9202809

 

[bareyb]

Quote:

A little cable porn for ya Hifiman Planars... http://www.head-fi.org/t/600546/double-helix-cables-appreciation-thread/195#post_9202809

Those are sick. Do you mind if I ask how much they set you back? 

 

[planx]

Quote:

Those are sick. Do you mind if I ask how much they set you back? 

 
Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to release details such as price due to it's "prototype" status. Also, DHC has no intention of selling it at the moment for the people wondering.

 

[hifimanrookie]

Quote:

 
Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to release details such as price due to it's "prototype" status. Also, DHC has no intention of selling it at the moment for the people wondering.

What awg do they have? 26? 24?