[mikey1964]

  Hi !
 
Couldn't agree more ! It is as if I wrote your review myself.
 
I am in quite the same situation, moving from $150-$300 range to the HE-500 expecting to be blown away as many reviewers said.
 
It is such an underwhelming experience that I fell so bummed spending $500 on them + Schiit Mangi 2 + Modi 2 Uber stack.
 
I also got to the conclusion that mids, especially women vocals are very good, but besides that all the rest is quite mediocre.
 
 
Thinking maybe I got a defective pair, now after reading your honest review I understand that it is what it is..
 
I have bad hearing but still can tell the difference. I will most definitely try to sell them on ebay but keep the Schiit stack.
 
Before that I will try to follow some suggestions here and replace the Pleather pads with Focus-A and listen for more hours.
 
My conclusion so far is that hearing and personal preferences are far more important than brand or glowing reviews. Sadly, I didn't have the time to listen to them for more than few minutes before buying -huge mistake on my side.
 
I guess jumping to the Audiophile pool is not for everyone. Beyond the $300 mark, headphones improvement is non-linear.  I will try others that might suit my taste better , maybe more V shaped warm tone ones like V-Mode M100, AKG entry level or even M50
 
Lesson learned the hard way
 
AG

That's the thing, when I had my HE-500, I'd had it paired with my Geek Pulse Standard, and Schiit Lyr (with iDSD Nano or Fostex HPA4 acting purely as DAC, swapped them around), and to be frank, I was underwhelmed by the sound. Heck, the HE400i sounded similar to it but with what I'd perceived to be a mild bass boost making it more enjoyable than the HE-500. Then I'd acquired the Gustard X12/H10 stack and my opinion of the HE400i vs HE500 reversed. Suddenly, the HE500 sounded more transparent, better soundstage and imaging. I didn't perceive a bass boost with the Gustard stack, but the HE500 sounded great with the Gustard stack.....and while the HE400i sounded pretty good with the stack, it couldn't quite match the detailing and soundstage on the HE500. First time new source equipment totally reversed my opinion on cans. Yes, I've since sold the HE400i and traded the HE500 for a HE560 (with some cash top up on my side), but the HE560 owner was looking for a trade with a HE500 so I had to go for the trade.

 

[minimoose12]

I love mine. They sound punchy compared to my hd650. Allot more bass which is to be expected of a planar. I think they're still a great option for anything under 600$.

 

[FlyingFungus]

I only heard the HE-500's once...I prefer the HE-400 which are probably my current favourite headphones at the moment. Although the 500's are said to be an improvement over the 400's in every way, I just prefer the sound signature of the 400's. Again though, this is only based off a one time short listen of the HE-500.

 

[Pandatail]

Can you contact me if you still have the HE-500 available?  Hopefully we work on price.  Please LMK.  Thanks.

 

[SearchOfSub]

edit.

 

[desik]

  I love mine. They sound punchy compared to my hd650. Allot more bass which is to be expected of a planar. I think they're still a great option for anything under 600$.

I suppose you mean sub-bass only. HE500 are known to be rather transparent while HD650 is bassy. I have a HD650, and I agree it has plenty of warmth and mid-bass but lacks sub-bass.

 

[lumzi23]

I have the HE-500's as well and I have been frustrated with them... until just recently! The real source of my ire was the fact that very rarely (maybe once or twice) the headphones would output this really good sound that made me unwilling to give up on the headphones. I have spent the last two years trying to figure out why I couldn't reproduce that sound reliably. It seem to me now that problem was a combination of how you connected the cables to the headphones (do it the way the manual describes) and setting things up in exclusive mode in windows (ticking both boxes) and eating healthier in general. Also selecting configure in the windows sound panel, the selecting 'next' in the window that opens, then in the next window called full range speakers tick 'front left and right.'
 
If you have any confusion about what I am talking about ask and I will clarify.

 

[Bugdozer]

So, I didn't read all 19 pages of this thread, mostly the because the opening of this thread seem more like a rant than anything or real value, but in reading what I have, it seems the HE-500 is very source sensitive.  I've had my HE-500s for several years and driven with a Headroom Ultra Balanced Desktop DAC and Amp, they sound head-and-shoulders above my HD600, HD650 or HD6XX, there is just no contest.  They sound good with my Micro Ultra DAC/AMP combo but paring them with my portable rig, FiiO F3/Leckerton AMP, they sound ok.  If I was underwhelmed with anything, it would be the construction.  The cups are well made (heavy) but the frames and little, single screw are not the greatest.  Also, the first pair I got had a fair amount of mold in the headband and ear pads.  That pair went back to the seller very quickly.  Would I buy them again, yes.  Based on the sound quality and the price I got, I consider them a good set of cans.

 

[Stubearblack]

OP says he has sub-par hearing and then proceeds to bash a good headphone. Hm. Makes sense.

 

[bagwell359]

Sort of blundered here while looking for mods for the HE-500. I recently bought a used one that was wired for XLR connections, and had the fazor mod. The other two great cans in the class of the HE-500 I know was the Stax 333, and the Audeze 2. Owned a used version of the first, bought a used Audeze and didn't like it. The HE-500 is better than both. With room to spare. Audeze deep and dark. 500 is fast, more dynamic. Mids are not a match for the HE-500 - nothing else really matters after that.

The issues:

Very complex over modulated bass from 2 or more instruments tends to intermodulate the HE-500 in the bass. Not to worry, no other can I have heard can handle it except the HD-600 and it does not due justice to the volume/weight/dynamics of the pieces. The 500 is 2nd best after the 600 on that test.

Center fill seems to be harder L/R than I am used to. Getting a pair of MrSpeakers pads in a day or two, and the screen mods will get a shot at the same time, that might do it. Certain recording tricks like mixing acoustic guitar strums alternating L-R to make it more vivid and exciting is also highlighted above and beyond normal.

Treble over 11-12k and up isn't flat, it falls off, which robs cymbals, triangles of a bit of air. It's subtle - maybe 2 db down at 17k. Maybe the screen mods will help. Bit of a rise at 10k.

Like many "dipoles" micro dynamics are awesome, but macro dynamics don't quite scale as fast as they should - still talking of 9 out of 10. Lots of dipole speakers are much worse at this. This a matter of degrees, not debilitating in any way.

Outside of those nits, the HE-500 from 50 Hz-10k is just about perfect. Detail in spades, but with a warm forgiving delivery. Big soundstage. But the mids are alive - lit from within, but not bright or annoying. Try the last 3 cuts on "Talking Book" by Stevie Wonder - or cuts 1, 3, 5 of Norah Jones first CD.

IMO the HD-600 is more balanced than the heavier bass and darker treble HD-650, and thus preferable to me. I've got the Mass Drop 4xx, I know two other 4* models. I've got the Fostex 500RP, Mass Drop FH-X00, Grado SR-80e. Heard AKG-240's, Grado RS-1, etc.

The HE-500 is head and shoulders above all of them - even if I had paid new list I'd have the same opinion.

p.s. I had ML CLS IIz's with Gradient subs. Maggie 3.3's, Quad ESL 57, KLH 9, Maggie 20's, Duettas, Tympani 3's, and other panels. While headphones can't move air like them, but none of these outside of the CLS combo, 20's and Duettas could even approach the definition and frequency response of the HE-500. Pretty good for $340 and a few mods.

Edit: Almost 1 year later. The HE-500 is one of 3 or 4 most beloved headphones of the past 10 years. The 4xx, 400i are lesser designs that classify as "fun". The 500 is both fun and serious.

Edit: Almost two years later with an all copper Black Dragon cable, MrSpeakers Ether Angled pads, removal of rear grill, dynamat, sorbothane, whitetack on outside of can along the inner edge - these still easily top the HFM 4**, HE5LE, HE5SE, Alara, Fostex FH500RP, HD-600, HD-650. Only the HEX v2 with nuggets and silver cables jostle for 1st place with the HE-500.

These days the 500 goes from $360-425 range, and there is nothing there to top them.