[Stalker81598]

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Has anyone been getting bored of their HE-500 or LCD-2? For the past two weeks, I seem to have been bored out of my mind with both LCD-2 and HE-500. LCD-2's bass just kicks, but no bloom. HE-500 has some bloom but not enough kick. LCD-2 is all in my head without being wide. HE-500 is all wide with no depth or height. Also, where the hell is the center stage. Love the treble on HE-500 still. LCD-2 is a lost cause here.
 
Of course, in relative terms and comparison to other headphones, I still love them. When I go to other lower end headphones, they really make the Hifiman and Audeze sound good. 
 
Although on a non comparison scale and just enjoying them individually for what they are, they both have been getting quite boring to me recently. I've had the Hifimans for about 9 months and the LCD-2 for 3 months. I even enjoy my cheap Precision Acoustic tower speakers that I got for $150 more than both. At $75 a piece, they deliver just as good mid range and manage to have decent soundstage at the sides and middle. At $700 and $1000, I really wish they had something more to offer. Maybe I'm just expecting too much from headphones in general  
 
Maybe a LCD-3, HE-6 or HD800 could do the trick or instead just sell them and save up for a Stax. I dunno, we'll see.

 
You sir have a bad case of upgraditis. Say goodbye to your wallet.
 
On a serious note, I don't see myself getting bored with the HE-500 any time soon, though I haven't had mine for very long. I find it's the perfect headphone for me. Crystal clear details, rich mids and good punch in the bass. I have no desire to upgrade.

 

[d34dh0r53]

Quote:

Has anyone been getting bored of their HE-500 or LCD-2? For the past two weeks, I seem to have been bored out of my mind with both LCD-2 and HE-500. LCD-2's bass just kicks, but no bloom. HE-500 has some bloom but not enough kick. LCD-2 is all in my head without being wide. HE-500 is all wide with no depth or height. Also, where the hell is the center stage. Love the treble on HE-500 still. LCD-2 is a lost cause here.
 
Of course, in relative terms and comparison to other headphones, I still love them. When I go to other lower end headphones, they really make the Hifiman and Audeze sound good. 
 
Although on a non comparison scale and just enjoying them individually for what they are, they both have been getting quite boring to me recently. I've had the Hifimans for about 9 months and the LCD-2 for 3 months. I even enjoy my cheap Precision Acoustic tower speakers that I got for $150 more than both. At $75 a piece, they deliver just as good mid range and manage to have decent soundstage at the sides and middle. At $700 and $1000, I really wish they had something more to offer. Maybe I'm just expecting too much from headphones in general  
 
Maybe a LCD-3, HE-6 or HD800 could do the trick or instead just sell them and save up for a Stax. I dunno, we'll see.

Have you modded your HE-500s?  Try the jergpad mod, it will give you something to do that is relatively inexpensive and allow you to explore some different facets of the HE-500's capabilities.

 

[simple flow]

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for just tons of subbass around this price the denon D7000 or Th-600/900 are unmatched

 
Interesting, I need to audition to those 3 phones, that will be hard for where I live or I can buy them blind.
 
thanks for the suggestion, didn't really think of fostex

 

[dwthewhiteness]

I was going to start a new thread, but maybe this is a better place for this question:
 
 
Can the HE-500's be driven by my new sound card; the Creative ZXR? The card's specs are here: http://www.soundblaster.com/products/sound-blaster-zxr.aspx#specs
 
In short, the card has a 600 ohm 80mw headphone amp, the TPA6120. I have looked extensively, but can find literally no information as to how well (if at all) this card can drive high-end headphones. The HE-500's are, of course, 38 ohms and, although I'm familiarized myself with the math of relating ohms to watts, I can't find anything that suggests how much power the headphones actually want. I am new to the audiophile world, and I don't have any other amps or DAC's or anything so I will have no way of knowing if my headphones sound underpowered or not.
 
I would really prefer to not have to buy another separate headphone amp since I just splurged on this brand new sound card which supposedly features a great amp, but this answer will help me decide whether to just get the HE-400's instead, keep the HE-500's as-is, or get a different headphone amp (probably the Schiit Magni or something). Even if I WAS to opt for the last solution, however, I'm not even sure that my sound card will accept having a different external amp connected to it.
 
Basically, I suppose I'm just wondering if anyone has knowledge of this hardware or can do some math that is evading me and tell me whether or not the ZXR can adequately drive the HE-500's. Thanks again!

 

[Zoom25]

Quote:

 
You sir have a bad case of upgraditis. Say goodbye to your wallet.
 
On a serious note, I don't see myself getting bored with the HE-500 any time soon, though I haven't had mine for very long. I find it's the perfect headphone for me. Crystal clear details, rich mids and good punch in the bass. I have no desire to upgrade.

 
LOL I wouldn't say I have upgradititis. When I only had the HE-500 and was enjoying it, I still wanted to try the LCD-2. Right now with both of them, I am not really in the mood for looking at other headphones or having the urge to try other stuff. No cravings whatsoever in wondering about how other stuff might sound like. I'm just bored of them. I guess I have the Depressed Audiophile Disorder according to the Audiophile Psychiatry Handbook as noted on the 24th edition and page 192 of the book.

 

[Zoom25]

Quote:

Have you modded your HE-500s?  Try the jergpad mod, it will give you something to do that is relatively inexpensive and allow you to explore some different facets of the HE-500's capabilities.

 
Yea I got an extra pair of pleathers with me. Probably will try that mod sometime down the road.

 

[disastermouse]

LOL I wouldn't say I have upgradititis. When I only had the HE-500 and was enjoying it, I still wanted to try the LCD-2. Right now with both of them, I am not really in the mood for looking at other headphones or having the urge to try other stuff. No cravings whatsoever in wondering about how other stuff might sound like. I'm just bored of them. I guess I have the Depressed Audiophile Disorder according to the Audiophile Psychiatry Handbook as noted on the 24th edition and page 192 of the book.

Even middling speakers provide a totally different bass presence than headphones. Same thing with sound stage. Maybe you're just a speaker guy.

 

[simple flow]

Quote:

I was going to start a new thread, but maybe this is a better place for this question:
 
 
Can the HE-500's be driven by my new sound card; the Creative ZXR? The card's specs are here: http://www.soundblaster.com/products/sound-blaster-zxr.aspx#specs
 
In short, the card has a 600 ohm 80mw headphone amp, the TPA6120. I have looked extensively, but can find literally no information as to how well (if at all) this card can drive high-end headphones. The HE-500's are, of course, 38 ohms and, although I'm familiarized myself with the math of relating ohms to watts, I can't find anything that suggests how much power the headphones actually want. I am new to the audiophile world, and I don't have any other amps or DAC's or anything so I will have no way of knowing if my headphones sound underpowered or not.
 
I would really prefer to not have to buy another separate headphone amp since I just splurged on this brand new sound card which supposedly features a great amp, but this answer will help me decide whether to just get the HE-400's instead, keep the HE-500's as-is, or get a different headphone amp (probably the Schiit Magni or something). Even if I WAS to opt for the last solution, however, I'm not even sure that my sound card will accept having a different external amp connected to it.
 
Basically, I suppose I'm just wondering if anyone has knowledge of this hardware or can do some math that is evading me and tell me whether or not the ZXR can adequately drive the HE-500's. Thanks again!

I ran the HE500 with an Auzentech Forte soundcard and it was decent but it because very dynamic and textured when I used a seperate dac/amp, I'd would suggest amp/dac combo if you are going to get the HE500 or else stick with the HE400 since can be driven by pretty much anything.

 

[dwthewhiteness]

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I ran the HE500 with an Auzentech Forte soundcard and it was decent but it because very dynamic and textured when I used a seperate dac/amp, I'd would suggest amp/dac combo if you are going to get the HE500 or else stick with the HE400 since can be driven by pretty much anything.

In this case, would I still be able to connect the amp/DAC to my existing soundcard for input?

 

[simple flow]

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In this case, would I still be able to connect the amp/DAC to my existing soundcard for input?

Yes there sound be line out that will bypass the amp on the sound card if you plan to run analog or if you can always use spdif.

 

[dwthewhiteness]

I feel now that the $250 on this sound card was more or less completely wasted if I'm just going to bypass everything with external hardware. Should I just return the sound card, in this case, or can it still serve a purpose?

 

[simple flow]

Well not really, sound cards has a purpose,  It's good if you use it for games but for music I think for music your better off with an external dac for about the same eg a bifrost, d1, o2, modi, etc. Then you need an amp, I guess the schiit M/M stack is really good for the price since it's less then your sound card

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

Has anyone been getting bored of their HE-500 or LCD-2? For the past two weeks, I seem to have been bored out of my mind with both LCD-2 and HE-500. LCD-2's bass just kicks, but no bloom. HE-500 has some bloom but not enough kick. LCD-2 is all in my head without being wide. HE-500 is all wide with no depth or height. Also, where the hell is the center stage. Love the treble on HE-500 still. LCD-2 is a lost cause here.
 
Of course, in relative terms and comparison to other headphones, I still love them. When I go to other lower end headphones, they really make the Hifiman and Audeze sound good. 
 
Although on a non comparison scale and just enjoying them individually for what they are, they both have been getting quite boring to me recently. I've had the Hifimans for about 9 months and the LCD-2 for 3 months. I even enjoy my cheap Precision Acoustic tower speakers that I got for $150 more than both. At $75 a piece, they deliver just as good mid range and manage to have decent soundstage at the sides and middle. At $700 and $1000, I really wish they had something more to offer. Maybe I'm just expecting too much from headphones in general  
 
Maybe a LCD-3, HE-6 or HD800 could do the trick or instead just sell them and save up for a Stax. I dunno, we'll see.

 
 
well if you want more bass, theres the d7000 which is a similar to d2000 but better in all aspects, though it still lacks openness and doesn't have kick.
 
you could try the T1 or HD 800 for more soundstage and transparency, i find the T1 has about the same bass as the HE-500, with better bloom though not as much kick (still pretty close) . if it had just a tiny bit more bass it'd be perfect, but its already really close to perfect as long as you have an amp that can tame the treble. the HD 800 has even better soundstage and still has decent bass.
 
though you lose some of the forgiving nature, bass punch, and smoothness of the HE-500, i feel the T1 is sort of an "upgrade" to the sound because its somewhat similar,  and has soundstage/imaging which is really good. 
 
the HD 800 is very nice, though sometimes it seems a little too wide and can make some tracks sound way too distant.

 

[Pasquale]

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Don't get me wrong. I'm looking for a phone with tons of sub bass, I just wonder if the LCD2 has more of it then the HE500. Now Pasquale got my thinking about the soloist. So much to buy and not enough cash to spend.

 
Join me in the poor house, mate.  

 There's a special section for poor audiophiles - they make you listen to your wallet - nothing else.
 
Different amps make a great deal of difference.  But, then again so does any significant change in the chain.  

 

[Pasquale]

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LOL I wouldn't say I have upgradititis. When I only had the HE-500 and was enjoying it, I still wanted to try the LCD-2. Right now with both of them, I am not really in the mood for looking at other headphones or having the urge to try other stuff. No cravings whatsoever in wondering about how other stuff might sound like. I'm just bored of them. I guess I have the Depressed Audiophile Disorder according to the Audiophile Psychiatry Handbook as noted on the 24th edition and page 192 of the book.

 
I can sympathize with audiophile boredom.  I actually create my own problems by fiddling with things I thought I was satisfied with.  This launches a whole new path of upgrades (or side-grades in a number of cases).  When it gets too bad (i.e. unwarranted upgrades)  I buy some new music (cheap) or engage in a different hobby all together.  
 
March Madness is my treatment for the next couple of weeks.