[Zoom25]

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Pleathers have a nasty ringing issue though. Better fix it with my pad mod if any of you are thinking of having HE500s forever.

 
With the O2, pleathers were just perfect to me. 
 
With Emotiva, the pleathers, yikes.
 
I have an extra pleather pad set remaining, one of these days I'll look into your mods

 

[Pianist]

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The HD650 excels with any music that's not too fast. It allows you to enjoy that delicious mid-bass hump without losing energy and details as much like you do with fast music.

 
I think tempo certainly matters, but what's more important is the complexity of the music. You can have a slow classical piece that has many more instruments playing at the same time than on your average 140 bpm techno track and the former will be harder to reproduce properly.
 
I think HE-500 noticeably more speed in the bass and treble than HD650 though, regardless of music tempo and complexity. The mids are harder for me to compare - both are great in this range, although I think HE-500 does sound a bit cleaner and clearer. HD650 sounds more 3D though with more depth to the sound. HE-500 is a bit flat by comparison, but possibly more true to the recording. But transparency is hard for me to compare in this case, as both are very realistic, natural sounding cans. If I had to keep only one, it would definitely be HE-500 though as they do have more technical ability overall than HD650 does.

 

[Zoom25]

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I started with the pleathers and moved to the velour in trying to get the sound right. It's the missing dynamism and sound stage from the O2 that was most frustrating, as well as the clipping. I'm told a more powerful AC plug would help and that the O2 is a mismatch for the HRT MSii+.

 
Yea I agree about the dynamics. They are good, but not like the Emotiva.
 
The soundstage is reduced in general with O2 in comparison to Emotiva, but the pleather on top makes it a bit smaller - although more intimate without congestion.
 
Clipping - I got the stock JDS AMP with the stock gain settings. I used mine with low, and never once did I ever get clipping with it regardless of the volume. The high gain was terribly  suited though.
 
Hmmm AC plug change....yea it might work...I got a wall AC plug with mines and I've been using that one since.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

 
With the O2, pleathers were just perfect to me. 
 
With Emotiva, the pleathers, yikes.
 
I have an extra pleather pad set remaining, one of these days I'll look into your mods

The ringing is inherent with the design of the pleathers, that allow close to 0 internal damping. I realized it when a lot of piano tracks sounded like icepicks in the midrange, a piercing glare so-to-speak, that was absolutely nonexistent with velours or other pads I tried. It's not amp-related at all, except maybe some amps are a bit drier in the midrange so it partially cancels out the excessive glare/bloom due to the lack of pleather damping.
 
I am likely composing my version 2 of the jergpad mod in the following days, be on the look out.

 

[MickeyVee]

No looking back to the stock silver cable.  Liked both the Toxic & Q on the HE400. Love the Q on the HE500. I'm done with the cable thing and sticking to the older Q.
Quote:

No looking back?? Ru serious? What toxic cable u compared the q cable to? The black widows 22 awg? As that one is even 100 usd less expensive and at least as good sounding if not better then q audio ( toxic uses stranded litz 2 occ copper wire, and still not sure what wire q audio uses)
ps..a few hours burn in is not enough to compare any cable!! But have a feeling u compared the least expensive solid core copper cable of toxic..(as the black widow just got delivered to customers since recently) the scorpion..try the black widow for a change..burn it in for at least 5 days straight and then tell me u like the q audio better..if ur objective i have a feeling ur feeling can change..

 i know listening is personal..but saying no turning back is a bit overstated...

 

[Dubstep Girl]

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Personally, I'm on the DHC boat. Even though you won't be able to buy something like my DHC prototype, you can still purchase the Macromolecule or Molecule cables, both of extreme quality.
 
Yes, the WA6 should be sufficient, but for pairing, it depends.

 
i have DHC molecule on my LCD-2 and HD-800, i want to purchase from them but my friend just ordered a cable from them lately and had some issues with the order, so i was looking at another options.

 

[disastermouse]

I think tempo certainly matters, but what's more important is the complexity of the music. You can have a slow classical piece that has many more instruments playing at the same time than on your average 140 bpm techno track and the former will be harder to reproduce properly.

I think HE-500 noticeably more speed in the bass and treble than HD650 though, regardless of music tempo and complexity. The mids are harder for me to compare - both are great in this range, although I think HE-500 does sound a bit cleaner and clearer. HD650 sounds more 3D though with more depth to the sound. HE-500 is a bit flat by comparison, but possibly more true to the recording. But transparency is hard for me to compare in this case, as both are very realistic, natural sounding cans. If I had to keep only one, it would definitely be HE-500 though as they do have more technical ability overall than HD650 does.

You're right! I was thinking of slow in terms of vocal or acoustic guitar stuff and really mean less complex. However the HD650 has problems with glitch/break out electronic music which is fast and complex, although usually lacking dynamics between quiet and loud and therefore jamming all the sound in the same 'loudness space'. The HE-500 handle this well with the Magni but the HD650 don't regardless of which amp I use. I'm not really a fan of much classical music, but I should listen to some to see how the HE-500 handles the required space and quiet/loud dynamic range.

 

[bareyb]

Anyone using a Burson Soloist or Conductor with their HE500s? Seems like it would be a match made in Heaven. I hope so because I just ordered one... 

 

[preproman]

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I have a question for the HE-500 experts.  I received a pair about a week ago and I've honestly been disappointed with the sound. I hear hints of greatness, but there's a slight bloom/boominess across much of the frequency spectrum, and I mostly notice it in the mid/vocals range.  It's slight, but it makes the music just muddy and congested enough to keep the music frustratingly at arm's length.  I listened to a wide variety of music, and since I'd heard that the HE-500s are especially sweet with female vocals I listened to a decent amount of well-recorded female vocal music, and my experience was nothing like the liquidy-real sound others report.
 
I am using the velour pads and listening using Foobar (no gain, DSPs, etc.) out to ODAC/O2.  I've also tried a different computer with the ODAC/O2 as well as a Fiio E17 and a receiver headphone jack with the same results.  Also tried 20+ hours of burn-in with pink noise.  Is it possible I got a bad pair (it was an Amazon Warehouse deal, so the provenance is unknown), or am I just expecting too much?  Most of my headphone listening for the past 10 years has been with the Grado SR-80 and I haven't listened to any other headphones over $100, so I don't have much of a frame of reference in the HE-500's price/performance class.  I'm also wondering if I'm just too accustomed to the Grado sound profile, though I would have thought that a few days with the HE-500 would help my ears to "burn in."  I've already started the return process at Amazon, but I'm wondering if I should try again with another pair of HE-500, or maybe give the HE-400 a shot.  For what it's worth, I want to stick with the O2 so I'm not interested in getting any new amps.

 
 
IMO it doesn't sound like the HE-500s are for you.  Coming from the Grado sound and going to a planar, there is a difference.  I agree with Clem.  The HE-5LE, HE-6, or even the HE-4 will clear it up for you.  However, to get them to sound there best you would most likely have to upgrade your amp as well.

 

[jerg]

Completed the version 2 guide of the Jergpad mod, come check it out.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/646812/hifiman-he500-he400-jergpad-mod-v2-0-new-revised-feb-28-2013

 

[bareyb]

Quote:

 
 
IMO it doesn't sound like the HE-500s are for you.  Coming from the Grado sound and going to a planar, there is a difference.  I agree with Clem.  The HE-5LE, HE-6, or even the HE-4 will clear it up for you.  However, to get them to sound there best you would most likely have to upgrade your amp as well.

That's what I was going to say. If you like Grados you probably aren't going to like Planars and vice versa. I listened to some Grados the other day and to me they are overly bright and lack warmth.  I prefer a phone with ballsy Bass and smooth Highs. Two completely different sound signatures between those two. 

 

[harpsm]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.  While I do like the excitement of the Grado sound with rock and indie music (and they pair incredibly well with warm recordings), I agree that they're overly bright and they can definitely become grating, which is why I was looking for something new.  I'd say detail is the most important factor to me in headphone choice, so I thought the HE-500s would work well.  And I still think I would be very happy with them if not for the bloomy, congested sound I'm getting, which I assume is different from what you might call smoothness or lushness.  I've heard some people say that the O2 is great with the HE-500s and some people say it's awful.  I've also heard some people say that the HE-500 needs no burn in, and others say it needs 100 hours.  Hard to know what to believe in the audio world, eh?

 

[hifimanrookie]

Quote:

Thanks for the advice, everyone.  While I do like the excitement of the Grado sound with rock and indie music (and they pair incredibly well with warm recordings), I agree that they're overly bright and they can definitely become grating, which is why I was looking for something new.  I'd say detail is the most important factor to me in headphone choice, so I thought the HE-500s would work well.  And I still think I would be very happy with them if not for the bloomy, congested sound I'm getting, which I assume is different from what you might call smoothness or lushness.  I've heard some people say that the O2 is great with the HE-500s and some people say it's awful.  I've also heard some people say that the HE-500 needs no burn in, and others say it needs 100 hours.  Hard to know what to believe in the audio world, eh?

Anyone who says the he500 doenst need burn in time is or deaf, or bought an already burned in one(sold as new..it happens!!), or their equipment is not on par with whats needed for a planar to sound good..or simply doesnt have one at all....i listened to a burned in version just before i got mine delivered all virgin..and believe me..it was different..i didnt like the sound first on my he500..it was a bit grainy and muddy (just as my he400 and my he300 i had owned)..but as i knew how it could sound i kept on to it..and let it play in another room on my mstage (sold now) for 100 hours straight..day and night on medium levels..with lots of DIFFERENT kinds of music..my he500 sounded good on my mstage also by the way (on gain 10)...only then iswitched over to my wonderfull 337...believe me..more phone u dont need..only maybe if u spend double the amount u will get better phone..imho...its open, airy, huge soundstage..and those female voices..my god..or violins..am going to invest in a nad m51 in a month or 3...that will be the supercharge on my rig..first going listen to it on the london meet from a fellow headfi'er..and if its as good as they say..well..lets say my wallet and wife wont like it..lolz

 

[disastermouse]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.  While I do like the excitement of the Grado sound with rock and indie music (and they pair incredibly well with warm recordings), I agree that they're overly bright and they can definitely become grating, which is why I was looking for something new.  I'd say detail is the most important factor to me in headphone choice, so I thought the HE-500s would work well.  And I still think I would be very happy with them if not for the bloomy, congested sound I'm getting, which I assume is different from what you might call smoothness or lushness.  I've heard some people say that the O2 is great with the HE-500s and some people say it's awful.  I've also heard some people say that the HE-500 needs no burn in, and others say it needs 100 hours.  Hard to know what to believe in the audio world, eh?

I'd get a different amp, but not necessarily an expensive one. You need one that properly feeds them. In my experience the O2 doesn't. I was ambivalent regarding amps until I personally experienced the difference a proper amp makes with the HE-500.

 

[bareyb]

Quote:

I'd get a different amp, but not necessarily an expensive one. You need one that properly feeds them. In my experience the O2 doesn't. I was ambivalent regarding amps until I personally experienced the difference a proper amp makes with the HE-500.

Couldn't agree more. A good Amp makes all the difference. Shockingly so.