[.Sup]

Bass gets tighter with burn-in.

 

[palmfish]

Quote:

Bass gets tighter with burn-in.

 
Apparently not in my house.

 

[chips]

Hi All,
 
Am looking for headphone band cushion for the he-500 to increase its comfort level. Any suggestions other than senn hd25's (i think the hd25 cushion strips are not thick enough) ? Thanks.
 

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

 
Apparently not in my house.

Possibly try changing house..?

 

[palmfish]

Quote:

Possibly try changing house..?

That's a little extreme, don't you think?
 
I'll start with new low-e windows (with boron gas between the panes) and expanding foam in the walls for increased damping. This has been proven to tighten the bass after only 50 hours of burn-in!

 

[captouch]

Apparently not in my house.

So they both going back or still deciding if you can live with either of them?

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

That's a little extreme, don't you think?
 
I'll start with new low-e windows (with boron gas between the panes) and expanding foam in the walls for increased damping. This has been proven to tighten the bass after only 50 hours of burn-in!

 

[LugBug1]

Must add, I also think the HE500's bass is a tad loose. I noticed this straight away and have mentioned it quite a few times, as it was the only thing that was preventing this headphone from being near perfect! This is only in comparision to other similar headphones. They have nice bass, its powerfull and expansive and well balanced... but I would be happier if it was a little tighter.  

 

[Happy Camper]

The metal band can be bent to shape a cranium but a small head would need a head band to take up the space and trying to bend to fit may take some time.

 

[palmfish]

So they both going back or still deciding if you can live with either of them?

The 5LE's are definitely going back. I'm hanging on to the 500's for a few more days to decide.

 

[palmfish]

Must add, I also think the HE500's bass is a tad loose. I noticed this straight away and have mentioned it quite a few times, as it was the only thing that was preventing this headphone from being near perfect! This is only in comparision to other similar headphones. They have nice bass, its powerfull and expansive and well balanced... but I would be happier if it was a little tighter.  

It's too bad. I really had high hopes for them and they made a great 1st impression at the last meet.

 

[WNBC]

In the ortho realm, the HE-500 is only a "tad" looser in comparison to say the LCD-2.  I've never used the HE-6 but based on readings it might be tighter than both but also leaner.  I would not discourage someone from trying the HE-500 because it has a tad less bass control than others because it is not a significant concern or even an issue to my ears.  Take it with a grain of salt though, I listen to jazz and electronics.  Not a lot of heavy bass music but I have tried them with hip hop and reggae.  Lets just say I didn't throw the headphone on the ground in disgust.   
 
To me the HE-500 bass is just right in terms of weight and extension.  I have never heard a bass heavy headphone so I can't say how good bass can get.  My previous headphones were the LCD-2 rev1,rev2 and HD-650.  I did own an ESW9a at one point and that might be considered warm and bass-friendly.  
 
 
And how much of what we "hear" is relative to our gear?
 
Based on my past and current amps the HE-500 bass is what I consider tight enough.  The bass is very tight on my vintage receiver than on my previous V200.  Whether or not tightness is determined by the power and design of the amp would be interesting to investigate.  With the Taboo the HE-500 is lacking nothing in the bass the department.  The low end is driven with authority and it doesn't allow it to get sloppy.  
 
Would people agree that bass control or tightness comes from both the headphone design and the amp driving the headphone? And if so, some amps might produce a tighter bass than others?  The HE-500 will never have the bass qualities of the LCD-2 but then the LCD-2 doesn't have some of the qualities of the HE-500.  
 
  
 
Quote:

It's too bad. I really had high hopes for them and they made a great 1st impression at the last meet.

 

[palmfish]

I think bass control can be affected by the amp with inexpensive low impedance dynamic headphones - headphones with poorly (mechanically) damped acoustic suspension drivers and large impedance swings across the frequency band. I think it's a common misconception right now that low impedance headphones necessarily rely on a low output impedance amp to provide damping. Better built headphones have superior mechanical damping and rely less on the amp to control undesired driver excursion - the Denon AH-Dxxx series is a good example of this.
 
Planar magnetic headphones don't have a "conventional" driver. As long as the amp has sufficient power and isn't clipping or distorting, I don't think the amp has any significant effect on the sound.
 
Of course, this is all with well designed solid state gear. Tube amps throw all of the above out the window. I know many people love the sound, but personally, if I want to color my sound, I prefer to use tone controls rather than tinkering with a pile of 50 year old tubes and hoping I get "synergy." All my completely subjective and minimally educated opinion. YMMV...

 

[WNBC]

Most of have minimally educated opinions

.  Trying to learn a little bit each day.
 
I like the transparency of the SS amps but the tube amps have an appealing forwardness, lush mids, impressive low end punch and sparkly treble that I have not found in a SS amp.  But, then I wouldn't because SS and tube amps are different beasts.  Money no object, I'd have both.  As for tubes, you can get good modern produced tubes if you don't want to deal with NOS and it isn't hard to find synergy.  Seems daunting on paper.      
 
We all have preferences, nobody has the right solution as to what to pair with the HE-500.  The right solution is the one that works for your ears.     
 
 
 
Quote:

I think bass control can be affected by the amp with inexpensive low impedance dynamic headphones - headphones with poorly (mechanically) damped acoustic suspension drivers and large impedance swings across the frequency band. I think it's a common misconception right now that low impedance headphones necessarily rely on a low output impedance amp to provide damping. Better built headphones have superior mechanical damping and rely less on the amp to control undesired driver excursion - the Denon AH-Dxxx series is a good example of this.
 
Planar magnetic headphones don't have a "conventional" driver. As long as the amp has sufficient power and isn't clipping or distorting, I don't think the amp has any significant effect on the sound.
 
Of course, this is all with well designed solid state gear. Tube amps throw all of the above out the window. I know many people love the sound, but personally, if I want to color my sound, I prefer to use tone controls rather than tinkering with a pile of 50 year old tubes and hoping I get "synergy." All my completely subjective and minimally educated opinion. YMMV...

 

[CJG888]

I intend to rewire my stock HE-500 cable (silver) to XLR and build a "pigtail" for connection to a speaker amp (like the HE-6 cable). Does anyone know the correct pin allocations for the XLR? Am I correct in assuming that the conductor connected to the central pin in the earcup connector is positive, and should be connected to the red speaker output?
 
Finally, I assume that I should use the 8 Ohm taps rather than the 4 Ohm ones......
 
The speaker amp in question is an 18W PSE 300B Opera Consonance Reference 5.5 Mk.II (see avatar!)