[kothganesh]

Quote:

It was weird that I was just not receptive to the sound of the HD800. ..........
I really wanted it to sound good for my taste so I can justify buying it as my next purchase but it just didn't happen for me.  .......

+1. For some reason, none of the Senns appealed to me the way the 500 (or the 400) did. I think I have a decent dac/amp set up so can't blame the rig as well. Jerg is probably right when he says the music preference could be south of neutral. In my case, I prefer a slightly forward upper range as well.

 

[nk77]

Just tried those Beyer/Senn clip on headband soft covers on the HE-500...unfortunately, it did nothing for comfort and in fact felt more uncomfortable. Tried the normal way, then inside out to see if comfort increased but to no avail. Did have to bend the loose leather around the headband to clip on the soft covers as well which I didn't like...of course if comfortable I wouldn't have cared.
 
Oh well, not much out of pocket I guess. I must be one of the few HE-500 owners who doesn't think this monster is uncomfortable for long listening sessions.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

Just tried those Beyer/Senn clip on headband soft covers on the HE-500...unfortunately, it did nothing for comfort and in fact felt more uncomfortable. Tried the normal way, then inside out to see if comfort increased but to no avail. Did have to bend the loose leather around the headband to clip on the soft covers as well which I didn't like...of course if comfortable I wouldn't have cared.
 
Oh well, not much out of pocket I guess. I must be one of the few HE-500 owners who doesn't think this monster is uncomfortable for long listening sessions.

Only clip the two end snap buttons in if you want maximum comfort. Leave all the middle snaps open so you get maximum central width for contact with your head.

 

[nk77]

Yep tried with and without middle buttons snapped in...might give it another try a bit later on. Maybe because of my thick hair but I even adjusted the ear cup heights to the maximum...

 

[jerg]

Quote:

Yep tried with and without middle buttons snapped in...might give it another try a bit later on. Maybe because of my thick hair but I even adjusted the ear cup heights to the maximum...

It took me a day or two to get used to the extra cushion feeling of it. In the beginning I too was apprehensive about it because it just felt like "extra unnecessary padding", but that went away. After a week or so, the extra cushion even starts to shape into the contours of your head, making the comfort even better. Those are my experiences.

 

[nk77]

It seems I hadn't pushed the earcups right down so the tab/stop that's on the earpad metal guide is hidden by the round section with the "Hifiman HE-500" writing on it..I may have judged a little too early. Now the clip-on-cushion barely touches my head and feels much much better. It is slightly uncomfortable so I will wait for the cushion to soften up or at least mold itself to my head. Here is a pic so it's less confusing:
 

 

[nk77]

Quote:

It took me a day or two to get used to the extra cushion feeling of it. In the beginning I too was apprehensive about it because it just felt like "extra unnecessary padding", but that went away. After a week or so, the extra cushion even starts to shape into the contours of your head, making the comfort even better. Those are my experiences.

 
Yeh I think it's working now...we'll see...Did that leather strap also help in comfort Jerg?

 

[alota]

Quote:

It seems I hadn't pushed the earcups right down so the tab/stop that's on the earpad metal guide is hidden by the round section with the "Hifiman HE-500" writing on it..I may have judged a little too early. Now the clip-on-cushion barely touches my head and feels much much better. It is slightly uncomfortable so I will wait for the cushion to soften up or at least mold itself to my head. Here is a pic so it's less confusing:
 

 

 

i don´t use for this reason

 

[nk77]

Quote:

 
i don´t use for this reason

 
You mean lack of adjustability of earcup height? I still have room either way for height adjustment - it's just that for now until the cushion softens up I will keep it just touching my head. I also rest it on the headphone stand which should help the molding process... Was planning on trying in a few days so I can say I did give it a go but glad I tried again today. 

 

[jamesfleming]

So in summary, get the most headphone you can afford and worry about the rest of the chain as your hobby dollars allow. The headphone is the most important component.

Good advice happy camper, I totally agree, and this is why I have so little money for an amp upgrade. Luckily I was able to get a great deal on a pair of second hand 500s so my amp upgrade will be a little sooner than expected.

At the moment I'm tossing up between -
Alo continental v2
Apex glacier
O2

Else I might be tempted to move up to a desktop like a burson soloist SL. Whatever I purchase it'll be second hand so I guess it'll depend on what turns up. Living in Australia i have more choice with second hand portables due to postage.

 

[disastermouse]

Good advice happy camper, I totally agree, and this is why I have so little money for an amp upgrade. Luckily I was able to get a great deal on a pair of second hand 500s so my amp upgrade will be a little sooner than expected.

At the moment I'm tossing up between -
Alo continental v2
Apex glacier
O2

Else I might be tempted to move up to a desktop like a burson soloist SL. Whatever I purchase it'll be second hand so I guess it'll depend on what turns up. Living in Australia i have more choice with second hand portables due to postage.

The O2 is terrible with the HE-500. I've never tried the other ones.

 

[jamesfleming]

The O2 is terrible with the HE-500. I've never tried the other ones.

Thanks for the heads up disastermouse. Have you any recommendations in that price range?

 

[h4mm3r 0f th0r]

Quote:

Thanks for the heads up disastermouse. Have you any recommendations in that price range?

for he500 you might want to look at audio-gd products as they are the only ones in this price range which can give you some power to drive these(if you don't want to go the speaker amp route)

 

[disastermouse]

Thanks for the heads up disastermouse. Have you any recommendations in that price range?

I use a Schiit Magni but I don't have enough experience with the other amps to give much other advice. I've had an FiiO E9, O2, AMD Schiit Magni. Of the three, the Magni is the best.

 

[bearFNF]

FWIW...I like the Schiit Asgard 2 on high gain with mine.