[MickeyVee]

After reading the entire thread over the past few days, I though I'd revive it.  New HE-500 owner.  Had them for less than 3 days and am in the process of breaking them in with the Bifrost/Lyr combo.  Came from the HE400, HD650 and now have the Senn HD700. I kept my Q cable which I had with the HE-400 and it's lovely on the HE-500. Immediate difference with the Q (definitely smoother and eliminated a lot of the grain) over the stock silver which will probably never see the light of day again.  Lessons learned from the HE400, I got the fit right by bending the headband and went straight to the velour pads.
 
With only 30 hours of burn in, I'm really liking them and do hear the changes as they mature.  I really hope the soundstage opens up which is probably my biggest complaint so far.  Soundstage on the HD700 is pretty amazing. Love the fullness, the pure lush and smoothness of the HE-500. Can't wait to get another 100 hours or so on them.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

After reading the entire thread over the past few days, I though I'd revive it.  New HE-500 owner.  Had them for less than 3 days and am in the process of breaking them in with the Bifrost/Lyr combo.  Came from the HE400, HD650 and now have the Senn HD700. I kept my Q cable which I had with the HE-400 and it's lovely on the HE-500. Immediate difference with the Q (definitely smoother and eliminated a lot of the grain) over the stock silver which will probably never see the light of day again.  Lessons learned from the HE400, I got the fit right by bending the headband and went straight to the velour pads.
 
With only 30 hours of burn in, I'm really liking them and do hear the changes as they mature.  I really hope the soundstage opens up which is probably my biggest complaint so far.  Soundstage on the HD700 is pretty amazing. Love the fullness, the pure lush and smoothness of the HE-500. Can't wait to get another 100 hours or so on them.

The HE500s have a very sweet and rounded sound, consequently their soundstaging capabilities tend to be on the mild side. I have close to 1000 hrs on mine and even with my open grill mod (without dust screen) the soundstage is still a bit cozy. Personally I don't mind it though.
 
By the way, almost all the HE500 traffic is in this thread, so you might wanna join in here instead:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/551345/hifiman-he-500-he-as-in-high-end-please-post-your-impressions-loan-pair-for-uk-pg-28

 

[MickeyVee]

Thanks... OMG... Another few days of reading, 

Quote:

 
 
By the way, almost all the HE500 traffic is in this thread, so you might wanna join in here instead:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/551345/hifiman-he-500-he-as-in-high-end-please-post-your-impressions-loan-pair-for-uk-pg-28

 

[davidsh]

A few you say...

 

[EasySounds]

Hi everyone,
 
I have some questions regarding amp/dac:
 
1) IF I were to use a hifiman he-500, and IF I only had the choice between the fiio e10 and e07k to drive it, which should I go for?
 
2) Same question as 1), but this time assume I already own an e11, would this change the answer to 1)? [would I even need e10/e07k or perhaps something else?]
 
Thanks.
 
Any other advice is much appreciated (all this is new to me).

 

[Terja]

Quote:

Hi everyone,
 
I have some questions regarding amp/dac:
 
1) IF I were to use a hifiman he-500, and IF I only had the choice between the fiio e10 and e07k to drive it, which should I go for?
 
2) Same question as 1), but this time assume I already own an e11, would this change the answer to 1)? [would I even need e10/e07k or perhaps something else?]
 
Thanks.
 
Any other advice is much appreciated (all this is new to me).

 
If you already have the HE-500 I would suggest investigating other amping options. Between the e10 and e07k I would pick the e07k, but only because once you get a better amp for the HE-500 you can use the e07k as a portable. The e11 is battery operated only; it drives the HE-500 somewhat well but is not really an amp option. None of these amps are capable of bringing the best out of the HE-500. Search the forum for other HE-500 amp options, there are several possibilities. Check out the other HE-500 thread below and ask more questions there. It is a more active thread. Cheers; hope that helps:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/551345/hifiman-he-500-he-as-in-high-end-please-post-your-impressions-loan-pair-for-uk-pg-28

 

[Zoom25]

Hi everyone,

I have some questions regarding amp/dac:

1) IF I were to use a hifiman he-500, and IF I only had the choice between the fiio e10 and e07k to drive it, which should I go for?

2) Same question as 1), but this time assume I already own an e11, would this change the answer to 1)? [would I even need e10/e07k or perhaps something else?]

Thanks.

Any other advice is much appreciated (all this is new to me).

I have the fiio e10 and e11. E10 has less power than e11, although i llike e10 with he 500 better a lot more. The e10 still made the he500 sound quite good. I used that combo for about a month and a half before getting the O2 and eventually a speaker amp. In retrospect, the e10 held up quite nicely on high gain.

It'll do nicely for a while until you can get something better.

 

[EasySounds]

Hi Terja and Zoom, thanks for the replies.
 
I'm biased towards fiio because it's not too expensive and where I live (not the US), it is easy to obtain at competitive prices. 
 
I might go for the e07k although I'll try looking for a non-portable. (although my budget constrains me)
 
As Terja suggested I'll probably post a question in that thread recommended.
 
Thanks all.

 

[disastermouse]

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.

Someone suggested a foam pad (can't remember which I bought) glued with Duco Cement. That's what I did. Sometimes the Duco loosens and I re-glue, but that's just because I don't want to permanently modify the band.