[Zoom25]

How would you guys say the DT990 compares in soundstage, both the premium and the PRO to the HE-500?

 

[BobJS]

Quote:

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

 
Not deaf at all .... nor do I doubt your experience.... but my NEW HE-500 sounded fantastically magical out of the box paired with a Lyr, and I've not been conscious of an improvement since.  BTW, paired with the O2 ..... not quite as magical.

 

[harpsm]

I, for one, very much appreciate disastermouse's thoughts about the HE-500 and O2.  Nwavguy himself wrote that the O2 had plenty of power for the Hifiman orthos, so when I read some people saying it was a bad pairing I wrote it off as people who just wanted a more colored amp.  But there are obvious flaws in the sound I'm hearing (not to be confused with a sound signature that I dislike), so unless I got a dud pair of HE-500s, it does look like the O2 is the likely culprit.  By the way, my O2 uses the Xicon 18VAC/500 mA power supply, which I believe was recommended for current-hungry phones.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

just got my HE-500!
 
burning in right now, mini review + pics to come!
 
so far though, these sound really good! very airy, the treble, its just really good, though a little harsh still (im sure burn in + cable upgrade will fix that). definitely getting an upgrade cable too. the bass seems to be good, not as strong as the LCD-2, slightly further back, not as much in your face, but it has a very nice bloom/texture to it. they sound really good though, i can see how voices really stand out, im really enjoying the mids/upper mids right now.
 
im sure as they burn in they'll improve! 
 
the build quality on the rest of the headphone is better than i thought, im pretty impressed by its solid feel. 

 

[disastermouse]

I, for one, very much appreciate disastermouse's thoughts about the HE-500 and O2.  Nwavguy himself wrote that the O2 had plenty of power for the Hifiman orthos, so when I read some people saying it was a bad pairing I wrote it off as people who just wanted a more colored amp.  But there are obvious flaws in the sound I'm hearing (not to be confused with a sound signature that I dislike), so unless I got a dud pair of HE-500s, it does look like the O2 is the likely culprit.  By the way, my O2 uses the Xicon 18VAC/500 mA power supply, which I believe was recommended for current-hungry phones.

Please understand that I'm not bagging on the O2 as a universally bad amp - just as a bad amp for the HE-500. With my HD650 it is ample and adequate. I suspect that for a lot of mid-fi cans, it's a great solution. I'm also sensitive to the fact that there are a ton of head-fiers who love their O2s and hearing your chosen equipment being torn down is not a lot of fun and seems unfair. I'm a passionate guy and I sometimes express that rather poorly. I also have almost no technical knowledge for the whys and hows of hi-fi and head-fi. I've tried to educate myself about it but I still don't really get it. I'm baffled by the concepts of watts and ohms, discreet and opamp, feedback and no feedback, and class A, AB, etc. and how they can create equipment mismatches. This puts me in the position of being rather dependent on people who do understand the science of sound. Sometimes I don't even understand which questions to ask - it never would have occurred to me that there could be a mismatch between a DAC and an amp on a structural level.

And yet I feel like there's gotta still be a place in head-fi for folks like me where we can achieve great sound without making enormous mistakes and without getting fleeced.

 

[tuna47]

Need advice is the asgard2 a good amp for the he500

 

[Frank I]

 
 

And yet I feel like there's gotta still be a place in head-fi for folks like me where we can achieve great sound without making enormous mistakes and without getting fleeced.

You were honest with what you were hearing and that opinion is to be respected not fleeced.  If you feel the amp does not work with the he500 in you system then it does not. I think for a 700.00 headphone that plays well above its price point it would benefit from more suitable amps and sources. i commend you for you honesty and so should others. You should feel no need to apologize for letting your opinion be known. Good luck in you finding the right amp for the hE500 and there are many good choices for you to seek out. If you can get to a meet to hear some other options thats your best bet this way you can hear the he500 and make your choice based on preferences or buy an amp with a liberal return policy to help you decide.

 

[h4mm3r 0f th0r]

Quote:

 
Not deaf at all .... nor do I doubt your experience.... but my NEW HE-500 sounded fantastically magical out of the box paired with a Lyr, and I've not been conscious of an improvement since.  BTW, paired with the O2 ..... not quite as magical.

When i first heard my he500 out of the box, there was a lot of treble siblance and my amp puts more than 2W into them on high gain. After only a day it was gone and it came to life and the sound hasn't changed much since. So i do believe that there is some burn-in needed for these even if you do not do it for 100h but 10 should be required.

 

[disastermouse]

Quote:

You were honest with what you were hearing and that opinion is to be respected not fleeced.  If you feel the amp does not work with the he500 in you system then it does not. I think for a 700.00 headphone that plays well above its price point it would benefit from more suitable amps and sources. i commend you for you honesty and so should others. You should feel no need to apologize for letting your opinion be known. Good luck in you finding the right amp for the hE500 and there are many good choices for you to seek out. If you can get to a meet to hear some other options thats your best bet this way you can hear the he500 and make your choice based on preferences or buy an amp with a liberal return policy to help you decide.

Frank,
 
I'm running the Schiit Magni with the HE-500 and it's working splendidly.  Mind-blowing sound for the money with the HE-500 and no conflicts with my DAC.

 

[audioengr]

Quote:

I have the same problem with a small head.  Someone posted a solution using a cheap headphone band cushion and a consumer adhesive. I could look them up for you.  I had to use a small towel wrapped around the headband as well until someone posted this solution.

Just go to Home Depot and get some 1/2" foam strip for sealing around doors etc..  Cut this to fit and stick it on the underside of the headband.  Works great and fits all.

 

[HKUSP]

Quote:

You keep going on and on posting this. We get it, you don't have the correct wall wart/gain setting to use the o2 with your specific dac without clipping on the he-500. Just because you can't seem to rap your head around this doesn't mean you need to post everywhere that the o2 doesn't sound well with the he-500. At least set yours up correctly and then you can spout your opinion all over the forums. I think that's fair.

I don't want to come off as a tool, but if I know all about your issue just from browsing the forums you're going a little overboard.

I currently own the HE-500, O2 amp, and the RSA SR-71B amp. Even before I went balanced with the SR-71B, I did a short test comparing the two amps running single ended. I found the O2 amp significantly reduced the bass, especially the velvety feel of that bass. It wasn't necessarily bad, and this part is purely subjective, but it seemed to take away from what makes the HE-500 what it is. I didn't test it, but my thought is that the O2 amp might be a good fit for the HE-500 if you like classical music.
 
Running balanced on the SR-71B, it completely blows away the sound running single ended, in large part because the power is doubled. In my opinion, the O2 is not the best amp to match with the HE-500. I didn't like it at all. I did find the O2 amp to pair very well with the V-Moda M-100 because it addressed the vertical sound stage issue, but I returned that to Amazon after hearing the HE-500.
 
The extra power going into the HE-500 matters and by a big margin. 
 
An important note to make: in hindsight, I don't even know the power output of the 71B as I can't find it anywhere. All I know is that the power is doubled running balanced. I believe the O2 amp is 2W? Regardless, even running single ended, the 71B sounded better. I even liked the sound with no amp over the O2. The sound was very sterile. 

 

[rezolver]

Congrats on the purchase DG. How's the synergy so far between them and the WA6?

 

[audioengr]

I have HE-400 and using a highly modified Bottlehead SEX 1.2 to drive it.  Spectacular.  Better than anything I have heard at the HF meets that I have attended.  I dont notice any deviation from flatness.  Sound almost identical to my ribbon speaker system.
 
Anyone compared HE-400 and HE-500 on a good tube amp?

 

[Frank I]

Quote:

Frank,
 
I'm running the Schiit Magni with the HE-500 and it's working splendidly.  Mind-blowing sound for the money with the HE-500 and no conflicts with my DAC.

glad to hear you found something you like at a bargain price and it sound good. I have not heard that amp yet but good you settled the amp situation for yourself.  Sometimes products come out that really surprise people. 

 

[hifimanrookie]

Quote:

I have HE-400 and using a highly modified Bottlehead SEX 1.2 to drive it.  Spectacular.  Better than anything I have heard at the HF meets that I have attended.  I dont notice any deviation from flatness.  Sound almost identical to my ribbon speaker system.
 
Anyone compared HE-400 and HE-500 on a good tube amp?

I did on my 337... My amp is not tubey in the sense its warm...it shows the music as it is..so its easy to hear differences and comparing 400 to 500 showed what i always said..the 400 is more agressive, more in ur face phone..more u shaped curve..many people prefer that..as the treble is very forward..i can imagine people coming from bright phones of the like of grado or some beyers prefer the he400 over the 500...the he500 is more neutral and balanced..more in control..i sold me he400 after 4 months use after hearing a 500 and never looked back..but this is ofcourse my honest opinion..