[The Third]

What would you like to know? I own both and used the HE-500 for ~6 years or so until recently getting an HE-6.


My findings exactly reflect this statement, though. There are some genres (eg. funk) where the bass of the HE-500 can be nicer, because it has a slight mid-bass punch. The midrange also has some extra euphonic quality to it that is less-so in the HE-6. The advantage the HE-6 has is that there is no ringing in the midrange.

But, overall, the HE-6 really is just better in almost every way. It has deeper bass and treble extension and is more articulate in the bass/more resolving.

That's a succinct comparison, thank you much appreciated! However, I do wonder to what extend this improved articulation and sense of extension on both ends can solely be explained by tonality differences, with the 'laid back' he-500 simply not sounding as detailed or analytical due to it's warm presentation. The HE-500 I do find leaning towards warm, but on bright tracks it has plenty of attack if the track calls for it. The Audeze crowd owning the HE-500 seems to agree with me there.
From anecdotal reports I read that the HE-500's ringing is mostly remedied by removing the side grills yes? Never the less I am running it full stock, I find it maintains the impact and slam better with the grills on. However with the grills on, I did similarly notice the HE-500 can sound shouty/ringing in it's midrange with bad mastered recordings, or when putting it on high gain and near uncomfortable listening levels on the SMSL SP200 it appears more often than desirable. Though with good mastered recordings I find it never ends up ringing, so I always attributed the midrange ringing to bad recordings. But perhaps my standards of hearing midrange ringing is limited to the abilities of the HE-500, as I never heard any better. We only hear and see in contrasts eh? My HE-400 I do find a true case of midrange distortion/ringing, but somehow due to it's tuning that headphone ends up with a better soundstage and holographic nature to the sound according to my ears so for movie soundtracks or orchestra they can be great giving tracks plenty of space to breathe.
My main problem with the HE-500 is that it's upfront intimate nature does not always work so well with busy tracks with many instruments. It needs more space and perhaps a touch less splashy-ness in the highs. For those busy multi layered tracks the imaging and soundstage are sometimes dissatisfying on the HE-500, thus I hope the HE-6 instead of the HE-400 can be the addition to the HE-500 for those cases. I know the HE-500 vs HE-6 comparisons have perhaps been discussed ad nauseum for some, but in this sport of headphone listening, due to a multitude of circumstantial and gear related factors subjectivity and objectivity are sometimes one and the same. Essentially I got to personally try one first

 

[Articnoise]

What would you like to know? I own both and used the HE-500 for ~6 years or so until recently getting an HE-6.


My findings exactly reflect this statement, though. There are some genres (eg. funk) where the bass of the HE-500 can be nicer, because it has a slight mid-bass punch. The midrange also has some extra euphonic quality to it that is less-so in the HE-6. The advantage the HE-6 has is that there is no ringing in the midrange.

But, overall, the HE-6 really is just better in almost every way. It has deeper bass and treble extension and is more articulate in the bass/more resolving.

Yes the HE500 is more forgiving and euphonic than the HE6. Some may not agree but IME to hear the HE6 advantages you need a quality system with a lot of current on tap.

 

[Nimzerz]

However, I do wonder to what extend this improved articulation and sense of extension on both ends can solely be explained by tonality differences, with the 'laid back' he-500 simply not sounding as detailed or analytical due to it's warm presentation.

I can promise you this is not the case

From anecdotal reports I read that the HE-500's ringing is mostly remedied by removing the side grills yes? Never the less I am running it full stock, I find it maintains the impact and slam better with the grills on. However with the grills on, I did similarly notice the HE-500 can sound shouty/ringing in it's midrange with bad mastered recordings, or when putting it on high gain and near uncomfortable listening levels on the SMSL SP200 it appears more often than desirable. Though with good mastered recordings I find it never ends up ringing, so I always attributed the midrange ringing to bad recordings. But perhaps my standards of hearing midrange ringing is limited to the abilities of the HE-500, as I never heard any better. We only hear and see in contrasts eh?

I have pretty much always had the grills removed on both my HE-500 and HE-6, so I cannot really comment on that. However, for the longest time I had just thought that some of this was due to the recordings I was listening to, but I haven't come across anything like it on the HE-6 yet. I think it is more noticeable with instruments like synths or piano, where there are very dynamic and "pure" tones. I would never really notice this with genres like rock.

My main problem with the HE-500 is that it's upfront intimate nature does not always work so well with busy tracks with many instruments. It needs more space and perhaps a touch less splashy-ness in the highs.

One of the main issues I had with the HE-500 was exactly that--it often felt just the slightest bit hazy and smeared in the imaging. I kept thinking this was due to my amp or DAC, and while upgrading those components did help to some degree, I kept feeling as if the headphones were the culprit because the characteristics of it would never change through component changes. I think the HE-6 really brought the clarity I was looking for in this sense. Busy songs are much easier to break down and separate. However, the actual size and distribution of the soundstage is so similar that I could say they are almost identical.

 

[The Third]

I can promise you this is not the case


I have pretty much always had the grills removed on both my HE-500 and HE-6, so I cannot really comment on that. However, for the longest time I had just thought that some of this was due to the recordings I was listening to, but I haven't come across anything like it on the HE-6 yet. I think it is more noticeable with instruments like synths or piano, where there are very dynamic and "pure" tones. I would never really notice this with genres like rock.


One of the main issues I had with the HE-500 was exactly that--it often felt just the slightest bit hazy and smeared in the imaging. I kept thinking this was due to my amp or DAC, and while upgrading those components did help to some degree, I kept feeling as if the headphones were the culprit because the characteristics of it would never change through component changes. I think the HE-6 really brought the clarity I was looking for in this sense. Busy songs are much easier to break down and separate. However, the actual size and distribution of the soundstage is so similar that I could say they are almost identical.

Then it sounds like the HE-6 might be exactly the upgrade I am looking for. I will have to keep scouting around for the original four screw HE-6 the coming years, and see if I can buy one for a decent price. Anyone who is selling theirs, in the interest of time, can message me.

 

[bagwell359]

HE-6 S does need at least 5 wpc at 50 ohms. The bass impact is peerless. I do find the mids to have a smallish stage, lower mids are good. Upper mids - timbre isn't right. A bit grainy and dry. The 4 screw treble is way more than I can take. The 6 is better, but it rings in several spots 2.5-5k and again around 7.5k. It's lacks a bit of def, and emphasizes attack vs the softer more ethereal. Overall intense describes them well.

The 500 gets less fuzzy in the mids with the fuzzor mod. I think the Midbass is too thick, it's softish under 35 Hz and cannot be compared in bass impact to the 6S. I use dynamat to get the bass Q to close to a good acoustic suspension woof. The 500 with the screens off, and ether angled pads have a distinctly wider stage than the 6S. Low mids not as accurate as the 6S, but, upper mids/lower treble on 500 more pleasing, and just might be better. 500 rings too but around 3k and 9.7k. The one around 5.5k isn't bad and overall less annoying than the 6S. I find some very narrow parametric settings (1.5-2.5 db at 7.0 Q or higher) help calm things down. The timbre goes awry a bit more than the 6, but mods and EQ bring them back a long way.

They are both great. Be happy to have one or both.

 

[slazhx]

I might have a chance to borrow Pass Labs X350 from my relatives. It is class AB, Stereo with 350 Watt/Channel @ 8 ohms.

https://www.passlabs.com/legacy_products/x350-5/

Does anyone have experience hooking HE6 to this beast? I want to connect the phones directly to speaker taps (banana) and am not sure it is safe to do so.

Thank you.

 

[Infoseeker]

Being an amp from after the 2000s it should be safe for a solid state amp. Just you'll need a preamp as the usual deal. Like a JBL mpatch for cheap.

The real question is whether you should send it in to the manufacturer to do some maintenance to it before using it.

I might have a chance to borrow Pass Labs X350 from my relatives. It is class AB, Stereo with 350 Watt/Channel @ 8 ohms.

https://www.passlabs.com/legacy_products/x350-5/

Does anyone have experience hooking HE6 to this beast? I want to connect the phones directly to speaker taps (banana) and am not sure it is safe to do so.

Thank you.

Oh and always remember to starts off from everything at the lowest volume. lol.

 

[slazhx]

Being an amp from after the 2000s it should be safe for a solid state amp. Just you'll need a preamp as the usual deal. Like a JBL mpatch for cheap.

The real question is whether you should send it in to the manufacturer to do some maintenance to it before using it.



Oh and always remember to starts off from everything at the lowest volume. lol.

Thanks for your help. I plan to use my Audio GD HE9 Head/Preamp as a preamp for this case and also start the volume level from zero.

Pre-maintenance would be a good idea. Anyway, in the scenario that this Pass amp is fine, then it is ok to try HE6 directly from that speaker taps, right?

http://www.audio-gd.com/HE/HE-92019/HE-92019EN.htm

 

[bagwell359]

Being an amp from after the 2000s it should be safe for a solid state amp. Just you'll need a preamp as the usual deal. Like a JBL mpatch for cheap.

The real question is whether you should send it in to the manufacturer to do some maintenance to it before using it.



Oh and always remember to starts off from everything at the lowest volume. lol.

The amp weighs a great deal - 132 lbs. Shipping both ways plus the fee for any work is liable to run well over $700. Put a crappy old inefficient set of speakers on them and go to town. Btw the 350.5 was not made in the 90's. 2006 is what the net says. Given the extreme build quality unless someone shorted it, dropped it, or it was damaged in an electrical storm I would not waste the money.

M-patch? Very poor reviews. Oh I get it - it's a joke. Heh.
.

 

[paradoxper]

I might have a chance to borrow Pass Labs X350 from my relatives. It is class AB, Stereo with 350 Watt/Channel @ 8 ohms.

https://www.passlabs.com/legacy_products/x350-5/

Does anyone have experience hooking HE6 to this beast? I want to connect the phones directly to speaker taps (banana) and am not sure it is safe to do so.

Thank you.

I've ran TC/Susvara from my Pass XS monoblocks as well as ZMF from Pass 150, so you'll be fine just keep volume in mind.

 

[Happy Camper]

I'd consider disconnecting the phones during power up and down. Just disconnect your xlr connector.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I'd consider disconnecting the phones during power up and down. Just disconnect your xlr connector.

Agreed, and that's also the nice thing about XLR connectors. They can't short, unlike guitar plugs...

 

[Dubstep Girl]

It turned out to be the HE6SE. I will keep trying to get myself the OG HE-6 with a decent amp and will do a thorough review of both the HE-500 and HE-6 in the interest of time.

I currently have an OG 6 screw HE-6 and have owned HE-500, HE-400, HE-5LE, and OG 4 screw LP HE-6. Have heard HE560, have not tried any of the newer hifimans though as I have been mostly out of the headphone scene for a few years now, I found my endgame with the HE-6 and sold everything else once I completed my system for it.

the he-6 wins hands down. my old 4 screw had a driver fail which is why i ended up with a 6 screw, which has been perfectly fine since. the he-500 is great too but sonically a step down from he-6. he-6 is still TOTL whereas the he-500 is more like a 1k planar, though its easier to drive and cheaper, and has smoother treble if you don’t like treble or are easily fatigued.

he-560 was nice too. he-400 was a step down to mid fi, and he5le was a baby he-6 but dry sounding and having a zingy treble peak that is a quirk of the older hifiman headphones with weird tonalities.

he-6 4 screw was amazing, best decay out of all, hot treble, but lifelike bass, a bit flat sounding in the mids, but great resolution, obviously prone to failure / qc issues.

my 6 screw is smoother and slightly less resolving than the 4 screw when it comes to decay but it is more balanced and doesnt have the treble glare nearly as bad and has been fine for years now

that said i dont listen to headphones as much as i used to, and i know that these are getting older, collectible, rare, but also out of warranty and harder to come by for things. i have been considering selling them and down/sidegrading to a he6se v2, but it seems to be a step down. i dont know if ill go down this route. the he-6 is an og and the piano black finish is something i like too the new he6se seems cheaper but i guess u get a warranty? and it may be close enough to it to be worth?

anyways yeah, love og hifiman, theyre special headphones and all of them are worth trying, with he-6 and he-500 being at the top, and maybe the he5le, though good luck finding that one, its oooold

 

[Sebbai]

@Dubstep Girl
Which of your amps do you prefer with your HE6?

Consider selling everything myself, just keep the HE6’s

 

[SilverEars]

he-6 4 screw was amazing, best decay out of all, hot treble, but lifelike bass, a bit flat sounding in the mids, but great resolution, obviously prone to failure / qc issues.

my 6 screw is smoother and slightly less resolving than the 4 screw when it comes to decay but it is more balanced and doesnt have the treble glare nearly as bad and has been fine for years now

that said i dont listen to headphones as much as i used to, and i know that these are getting older, collectible, rare, but also out of warranty and harder to come by for things. i have been considering selling them and down/sidegrading to a he6se v2, but it seems to be a step down. i dont know if ill go down this route. the he-6 is an og and the piano black finish is something i like too the new he6se seems cheaper but i guess u get a warranty? and it may be close enough to it to be worth?

anyways yeah, love og hifiman, theyre special headphones and all of them are worth trying, with he-6 and he-500 being at the top, and maybe the he5le, though good luck finding that one, its oooold

Thanks for answering what I've been curious about when it comes to the differences between them. I suspected that 6-screw was the smoother one of the two as well. I have heard the harsher sounding HE-6 in the past, but I didn't use Yggy as a DAC to smooth out the sound however.

HE-6SE is definitely a step down. It's not the same in terms of imaging and definition. With the Yggy, I can tell which images better.