[rezolver]

Maybe you need to discover new music to invigorate your love for your gear?  That or get a dynamic headphone to roll with.  IMO, a good compliment to the HE500s would be something like a T1, HD800 or K701 type of presentation.
 
I was listening to Adele's 21 late last night. She sounded wonderful with the HE500s.  The "flubber" she does with her vocal chords get me every time.
 
I would like to know what people mean by the comments 'lack of center stage' on the HE500's (or really any headphone)?  When listening to any music I find the singer/vocalist to be dead center to my ears.  When switching between the K501s and HE500s, the presentation is very similar as well, singer is in the center. *confused*

 

[hifimanrookie]

Quote:

I was listening to Adele's 21 late last night. She sounded wonderful with the HE500s.  The "flubber" she does with her vocal chords get me every time.
 
I would like to know what people mean by the comments 'lack of center stage' on the HE500's (or really any headphone)?  When listening to any music I find the singer/vocalist to be dead center to my ears.  When switching between the K501s and HE500s, the presentation is very similar as well, singer is in the center. *confused*

I know what u mean and it was puzzling me also reading that..maybe it has something to do with the amping, the source or maybe even the cabling? My he500 even let me hear a man playing on his piano..when recorded with a mic on his piano..i can hear him using the right keys..the left keys and the middle keys of the keyboard.. easily..as if its in front of me..no muddly presentation of the middle stage..its clear where everything is!same thing with drums..
so i think it has to do with something else then the he500...imho ofcourse

 

[tuna47]

I agree he500 has a great sound stage very realistic

 

[roadcykler]

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!

On the other side of that discussion, the HE-400s are only about 3dB more efficient and the ohms difference is negligible so your sound card should work just fine for either headphone. Just as some people think an integrated amp can't be as good as separates, some think the same for headphone amps. There's also the thought that for every piece of equipment, there are more chances for introduced noise with more cables and interconnects. 
 
Just something to think about.

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

I know what u mean and it was puzzling me also reading that..maybe it has something to do with the amping, the source or maybe even the cabling? My he500 even let me hear a man playing on his piano..when recorded with a mic on his piano..i can hear him using the right keys..the left keys and the middle keys of the keyboard.. easily..as if its in front of me..no muddly presentation of the middle stage..its clear where everything is!same thing with drums..
so i think it has to do with something else then the he500...imho ofcourse

 
 
Quote:

I agree he500 has a great sound stage very realistic

 
 
I respectfully disagree. The soundstage is far too diffuse to sound coherent. It almost sounds like standing in a small cave with speakers pointed away from you, leading to the less than stellar center image. Also, I find the sound stage height to be somewhat lacking.

 

[disastermouse]

I respectfully disagree. The soundstage is far too diffuse to sound coherent. It almost sounds like standing in a small cave with speakers pointed away from you, leading to the less than stellar center image. Also, I find the sound stage height to be somewhat lacking.

Could ear shape and pad placement differences be responsible for the different experiences that people are reporting? One thing I've noticed is that there's very little forward projection - the stage can be quite wide with some recordings, however it is extremely lateral.

 

[Zoom25]

With O2, the HE-500 had a nice centerstage. With Emotiva, the HE-500 gets wider but leaves out the middle a bit. It's not as coherent as I would like it to be, or what I am used to. With LCD-2, Emotiva is great for centerstage. Even with speakers and Emotiva with same DACs, I get great centerstage.
 
The Emotiva makes the HE-500 wider then it is with O2 by bit. Near the left and right, the HE-500 is good with Emotiva. In the middle, it loses it's imaging by a quite a margin. This is annoying when you switch over to HE-500 after a bit of time with other phones. Although after half a day of using HE-500 again, I am fine with it. This was also in my initial review back in December, although after a while I had gotten used to it and I started thinking maybe it was burn in or just not getting used to HE-500 being wide. After not having listened to HE-500 for a good 2-3 weeks and going back to it, the first think that hit me was the obvious lacking centerstage coherency. Although in support of the HE-500, I was listening to LCD-2 which have an exceptional centerstage.
 
The other thing that my opinion has never changed with HE-500 is the lack of depth in the music. This is by far its biggest shortcoming. It wasn't a problem for the first month or so with it, as I was continuing to get my mind blown away with how good the HE-500 was. Although after a while, it felt a bit lacking. That was one of the main reasons why I actually wanted to try the LCD-2. I heard it had good depth, so I went for it. There was also HD800 (although more expensive), but I didn't want to sacrifice bass of the HE-500. Plus people always raved about the bass of LCD-2, so it seemed like a win win situation.

 

[Zoom25]

Quote:

 
 
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.

 
Thanks for the suggestions, DG. I would consider the D7000 way, way down the road...maybe. With its ridiculous prices nowadays, probably not. If I were to get them, it would just be for refining my Denon series. I think I would probably get the HD800 before T1.
 
On a side note, I recently started using IEMs. I got Shure SE 215. It has great bass rumble to bass kick ratio. It's not as fast as planars but still damn good. Also even though it's marginally a bit bassy, it still manages to have good vocals without being recessed like D2000 or Pro 900. The Shure have  rolled off highs though. Apprarently Shure SE535 improves on it a lot. So who knows, maybe an IEM before another headphone.

 

[preproman]

For overall staging and imaging nothing beats the HD800 at any level of headphones.  However, not sure if amps like the a-100 or the O2 is up to snuff.  Also, you don't lose out on as much bass as you may think with the HD800s.

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

Could ear shape and pad placement differences be responsible for the different experiences that people are reporting? One thing I've noticed is that there's very little forward projection - the stage can be quite wide with some recordings, however it is extremely lateral.

 
 
I experienced the same thing with the pleathers and velours. I also agree with the lack of forward projection and depth. The sound is just so... strange. 

 

[Zoom25]

Quote:

 
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.

 
Haha me too. Me and my wallet prefer this alternative method over buying other equipment. March madness and soon the NBA playoffs. 

 

[rezolver]

Did a back and forth comparison between the K501s and HE500s on the track 'Little Black Submarines' (the first two minutes).  As far as center stage stage is concerned, this is what I was able to discern.
 
K501s give me a sense that the singer is PHYSICALLY center stage, in front of the rest of the band, and singing into the microphone.  He is standing right on the edge of the stage.  The spacial distance between the singer to the rest of the band on stage is very apparent.  This also makes the vocals more "forward" compared to the HE500s.  K501s makes them feel more accurate. 
Always like these cans for vocals.
 
HE500s, the singers distance is still center, albeit not AS center-focused.  The vocals do bleed over onto the left/right sides.  Singer place on stage also feels equal to the rest of the band (from where they stand on the K501s).
 
My brain adjusts VERY quickly to the presentation of these two headphones.  I would like to hear the HE500s against the HD800 for a greater comparison.  
 
As far as the K501s and HE500s for center-stage, I feel like I am splitting hairs here.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Did a back and forth comparison between the K501s and HE500s on the track 'Little Black Submarines' (the first two minutes).  As far as center stage stage is concerned, this is what I was able to discern.
 
K501s give me a sense that the singer is PHYSICALLY center stage, in front of the rest of the band, and singing into the microphone.  He is standing right on the edge of the stage.  The spacial distance between the singer to the rest of the band on stage is very apparent.  This also makes the vocals more "forward" compared to the HE500s.  K501s makes them feel more accurate. 
Always like these cans for vocals.
 
HE500s, the singers distance is still center, albeit not AS center-focused.  The vocals do bleed over onto the left/right sides.  Singer place on stage also feels equal to the rest of the band (from where they stand on the K501s).
 
My brain adjusts VERY quickly to the presentation of these two headphones.  I would like to hear the HE500s against the HD800 for a greater comparison.  
 
As far as the K501s and HE500s for center-stage, I feel like I am splitting hairs here.

 
 
Not surprising at all.  All the AKGs I've ever heard did really well on staging..  This is one of their strong points.

 

[Zoom25]

Quote:

 
 
 
 
I respectfully disagree. The soundstage is far too diffuse to sound coherent. It almost sounds like standing in a small cave with speakers pointed away from you, leading to the less than stellar center image. Also, I find the sound stage height to be somewhat lacking.

 
This. Yea I also forgot to mention the height. HE-500 has close to none. LCD-2 has noticeably more.

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

 
This. Yea I also forgot to mention the height. HE-500 has close to none. LCD-2 has noticeably more.

 
Yup.
 
I was disappointed and relieved at the same time. I was ready to put aside solid food for a while in order to afford the HE-500, if it was worth it.
 
Let's just say I'm eating steaks tonight.