HiFiman HE-500 (HE as in High End) Proving to be an enjoyable experience in listening.
Apr 18, 2013 at 11:06 PM Post #4,516 of 20,414
hi
iam going to get the he500.

own odac+o2 today and wondering how well it will drive the he500?

heard that magni/modi are better for he500? so maybe will sell my odac/o2 for it if its true?

also heard Audio GD NFB 11.32 is good for he500.
how much better will it drive he500 compare to magno/modi?

so which one is best for he500? or is there other better option at same price?
 
Apr 18, 2013 at 11:09 PM Post #4,517 of 20,414
Quote:
hi
iam going to get the he500.

own odac+o2 today and wondering how well it will drive the he500?

heard that magni/modi are better for he500? so maybe will sell my odac/o2 for it if its true?

also heard Audio GD NFB 11.32 is good for he500.
how much better will it drive he500 compare to magno/modi?

so which one is best for he500? or is there other better option at same price?

An Odac/Magni (or Modi, whichever is the Dac) with a integrated speaker amp (vintage/new production) driving the he500 via speaker tap 
 
Apr 18, 2013 at 11:13 PM Post #4,518 of 20,414
Quote:
An Odac/Magni (or Modi, whichever is the Dac) with a integrated speaker amp (vintage/new production) driving the he500 via speaker tap 

 
+1
 
Apr 18, 2013 at 11:14 PM Post #4,519 of 20,414
Quote:
 
The W4S2 was actually on top of my list until I tried it 
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. It's not bright as some other Dac (Mytek/Benchmark1 comes to mind - but I classified them as "solid state went wrong"), still the performance is quite lacking compared to competitors in the same range.
 
A hummingbird told me W4S2 with modified IV stage fed by OR5 via i2s is a world class dac - but of course I have no way to confirm that 
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 (plus the OR5 alone cost 2500 bucks)

 
hmmm. interesting to note.
 
i guess it might be better to save up till i can buy something i really would like. either an M51 or a PWD (PWD would be endgame for me)
 
Apr 18, 2013 at 11:19 PM Post #4,520 of 20,414
Quote:
hi
iam going to get the he500.

own odac+o2 today and wondering how well it will drive the he500?

heard that magni/modi are better for he500? so maybe will sell my odac/o2 for it if its true?

also heard Audio GD NFB 11.32 is good for he500.
how much better will it drive he500 compare to magno/modi?

so which one is best for he500? or is there other better option at same price?

 
Try it out first with the HE-500, if you like it, then keep it. I would still keep the O2. While the O2 isn't the best match for these planars, the O2 is still a great amp for most dynamic. For example D2000 off an O2 is very, very clean and fast. Not quite the LCD-2 or HE-500 performance but still very enjoyable
 
Also, cheap speaker amp would be the best at that price. Look for vintage amps without around 20-50Watts of power. I always see vintage Marantz somewhere for good prices.
 
Apr 18, 2013 at 11:36 PM Post #4,521 of 20,414
Quote:
 
hmmm. interesting to note.
 
i guess it might be better to save up till i can buy something i really would like. either an M51 or a PWD (PWD would be endgame for me)

Lots of choices. I've heard most DAC up to 4k and if you can find a m51 @ ~1200-1400 bucks it'll be a really nice bargain (while not missing much). I think Nad hits the sweet spot with the m51 - cheap, good sounding and got most of the features that most people want. If you got bored/upgrade, the Nad can also double duty for your home theater setup =p. Also there's the Calyx 24/192 (not sure if it has a name), but connectivity wise it loses to the Nad - also requiring a PSU.
 
Too bad I never had the chance or incentive to try the PWD - dealers are charging 2.9k GBP (~$4.5k) for them around here 
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, and that's "special offer" compared to the 4k MSRP lol. 
 
Cheap speaker amp is really the best to power the He500 on a budget. If one looks around for a decent (and cheap) amplifier with 2 speaker terminals, it can also drive a pair of speakers too (passive speaker beats most consumer pc speaker -and is cheap to boot!). If it's a vintage model, the HP out may even use the power amp circuitry (not opamp like modern receiver), saving the cost of making a speaker tap cable. It's win-win, the only cons is the weight/size
 
Apr 19, 2013 at 12:54 AM Post #4,522 of 20,414
I just added the Lyr and a power conditioner to my rig and absolutely loving it. Undoubtedly an improvement over the Magni, as expected. HE-500 really sings with this setup.
 
Apr 19, 2013 at 2:00 AM Post #4,524 of 20,414
Apr 19, 2013 at 3:47 AM Post #4,525 of 20,414
^ I would also like to know.
 
Apr 19, 2013 at 4:24 AM Post #4,526 of 20,414
Quote:
I'm gonna say best bang for the bucks under $1k would be a Metrum Octave + a stello U3/Kingrex cheapo transport - or an used Electrocompaniet ECD1. Or an MDHT Havana with modded cap and NOS tube/used Neko D100 mk2 if you prefer a warmer sound. Then you sort of hit a brickwall and need to spend 2-3x amount on dac to clearly beat those performance 
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this
 
Quote:
You might be shocked when you do. Coming from soneone who was using Fiio as the source and then moved to the Schiit Bifrost. All of a sudden the HE-500 had much more soundstage depth and much better imaging, layers and layers deep, Not to mention clarity across the board. And the people just consider the Bifrost as "okay". I know a lot of people focus on headphones then amps, but once you hear what a good source can do for you. It's hard to forget. I'm personally looking at the Concero as the best bang for the buck under a $1000 right now. Although I do drool at that X-Sabre.
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IMO, it is not. What it achieves with its tiny size and (trans)portable form factor is quite a feat, but it cannot match a DAC with a dedicated power supply. At least, that's my experience with it so far. I should check on another laptop to see if the treble glare/harshness can be removed.
 
Adding a Metrum Quad in the chain removes that harshness/hardness (and pretty much any digital aspect of the sound: that's the "Metrum's Magic") and improves all the aspect on the sound while retaining the Concero lively sound signature (the Metrum is what one call a transparent DAC).
 
The Ref 5 is technically better than the Concero standalone. I suspect the NFB-1.32 would be also more technical while producing a sound signature closer to the Concero's (probably more fleshed out in the mids, smoother in the highs). It is ~$100 more expensive, bulky and not really nice looking (especially compared to the lovely Concero!) but in terms of sound, I wouldn't be surprise to read it "trounces" the Concero.
 
Apr 19, 2013 at 4:56 AM Post #4,529 of 20,414

Quote:
Is it me or is there no such thing as 'end-game' on Head-Fi?

 
Exactly what I am thinking.  I was considering the bifrost/peachtree DAC-iT and somehow I end up at the ordering page for a Metrum Octave... 
 

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