[MorbidToaster]

yewsombich.
 
Jealous.
 
EDIT: Jealous no more, mine shipped yesterday.

Quote:

My headphones were sent today! Oh yes!

 
 

 

[blankdisc]

Look...who is in the house today? HE-500! ^_^
The ear pads are noticeably softer than the ones from HE-6. A lot more comfortable on the ears. I am def going to try to get a pair for my HE-6.
The change of color is very welcome. It is not only looks great, but also feels good at hand.
I was driving it with EF5 in my office. On high gain 10 o'clock position is loud enough for me, so it is def much easier to drive.
Didn't get much time to listen to it. Only played several tracks which i often use to wow my non-head-fi friends. The first impression is very good. it's certainly capable of doing everything HE-6 is able to do. If I listened more carefully, i am sure i could see some deference, but the overall performance is VERY close to HE-6. As far as i remember my first impression of HE-6 was not as good as HE-500. It probably have something to do with the little flavor HifiMan has injected into the HE-500.
damn, i am so happy now. Can't stop smiling. I will let it burn in for a week or two before doing a deep review. Will also try it with my home setup (NFB3 -> Lyr), and how it really stands up to its big brother.
Picture time.




 

 

[Katun]

Awesome! Thanks for the impressions! I want mine NOW!
 
It would be great if you could compare them to your HE-4. Both used through the EF5.

 

[blankdisc]

unfortunately i have sold my HE-4 recently, so can't do a direct comparison any more. From what i remember which is quite fresh, HE-500 is def in a different league (the HE-6 league). The sound of HE-4 is more aggressive and a little bit rough comparing to HE-500. it is also a little big difficult to drive than HE-500. If i had to make a purchase decision between HE-4 and HE-500 right now, I would def get HE-500 without a doubt. I am not saying that HE-4 is no longer worth its price. For ppl whose budget is limited, HE-4 is still the best bang for money on the market, and it still has a special place in my heart.
 
it's just If you could find another $450, please please consider HE-500. Because eventually you will.
 
Quote:

Awesome! Thanks for the impressions! I want mine NOW!
 
It would be great if you could compare them to your HE-4. Both used through the EF5.

 

 

[Katun]

Quote:

unfortunately i have sold my HE-4 recently, so can't do a direct comparison any more. From what i remember which is quite fresh, HE-500 is def in a different league (the HE-6 league). The sound of HE-4 is more aggressive and a little bit rough comparing to HE-500. it is also a little big difficult to drive than HE-500. If i had to make a purchase decision between HE-4 and HE-500 right now, I would def get HE-500 without a doubt. I am not saying that HE-4 is no longer worth its price. For ppl whose budget is limited, HE-4 is still the best bang for money on the market, and it still has a special place in my heart.
 
it's just If you could find another $450, please please consider HE-500. Because eventually you will.

Thanks. That's exactly what I suspected. Now I'm even more excited for mine to come, but it hasn't shipped yet.

 
They did ask for my phone number a few days ago, which they do before shipping. So maybe tomorrow.
 

 

[blankdisc]

sometimes it takes a few days for DHL to enter the tracking numbers into their system, so they don't immediately give it to ppl and later have to answer another 10 emails as to why the number is not showing up on DHL's web site. I have had very positive experience with HifiMan's shipping department. Both times (HE-4 and HE-500) took exactly 4 business days to arrive. it probably helps if you live in New York.

 

[grokit]

Congrats blankdisc, they look great on that stand 

 
What gain setting are you using on the EF5? And if you are at 10 am with the HE-500, what positions would you be at for the HE-4 & 6 in comparison?

 

[Katun]

Quote:

sometimes it takes a few days for DHL to enter the tracking numbers into their system, so they don't immediately give it to ppl and later have to answer another 10 emails as to why the number is not showing up on DHL's web site. I have had very positive experience with HifiMan's shipping department. Both times (HE-4 and HE-500) took exactly 4 business days to arrive. it probably helps if you live in New York.

When they told me my HE-4 + EF5 shipped, it took exactly 10 days to arrive (including weekends). DHL couldn't find my package in their tracking system either, so I just have to wait in mystery.
 
 

 

[blankdisc]

oh...should have stated that was high gain. HE-4 was 11-12 o'clock, and HE-6 was 1-2. In terms volume vs dial position, the difference between HE-500 and HE-4 wasn't that big, but HE-500 delivers a much greater synergy than HE-4. 
 
Quote:

Congrats blankdisc, they look great on that stand 

 
What gain setting are you using on the EF5? And if you are at 10 am with the HE-500, what positions would you be at for the HE-4 & 6 in comparison?

 

 

[Katun]

Quote:

but HE-500 delivers a much greater synergy than HE-4.

Is that with the EF5? I hope so! (I finally have an amp that actually synergizes!)
 
Also, do you find any advantage or disadvantage for using high vs low gain?
 

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Had listened HE500 yesterday at meet, this thing was really impressing me.
 
The sound is crystal clear while still maintaning smoothness. My mainly songs are acoustic, slow rock, pop and vocal jazz, and I think this is the best HE-Series for me, HE6 is just simply too dry and produce too much sibilant and harsh for me. HE500 is definitely smoother, yeah there're some harshness that I still feel with, but it's not enough to annoyed me.
 
at low and moderate volume I think it's best for HE500, at loud volume I feel there is an "emptiness" at lower mid side, make the vocal becomes a bit too thin, but I think if your songs mainly cover by female voices (like me), then this isn't a big problem.
 
I like the bass, a bit too much for me (have to admit, I don't really like bass punch), but the bass quality is definitely at good side, it's tight and have good speed. 
 
If I have to choose between HE500, HE6 and LCD2, then I'll go with HE500 any day. (HE600 too sharp treble, LCD2 is a bit too dark and produce too many reverb, feel like the singer sings in a "drum"). I think HE500 has the most balance sound compare to the rest of 2.
 
note: I tested HE500 with Dared MP5 by its speaker output.
 
Just curious, is any dac+amp combo that produce enough power for HE500? at their site it was wrote minimal 1,5-2 watt for HE500, so I think DACport is at least can fullfill the minimal requirement, right? (at official spec, DACport can produce max power output 1,5 watt)

 

[K3cT]

Dude, I told you to get rid of the PRM while you had the chance. I bet now that you regret it more than ever. 

 
I agree that the HE500 has the best tonality among the other Hifiman orthos. I don't think it's better than the HE6 per se though as the latter is still more transparent and airier at the cost of a rather recessed midrange and center image problems. It's just a shame that the HE500 is not competitive in terms of pricing as ultimately the LCD2 at $50 more is the more resolving and transparent headphone that scales better with your equipment. 
 
The DACPort should be more than enough for the HE500. 
 
 
 

 

[brasewel]

Quote:

Had listened HE500 yesterday at meet, this thing was really impressing me.
 
The sound is crystal clear while still maintaning smoothness. My mainly songs are acoustic, slow rock, pop and vocal jazz, and I think this is the best HE-Series for me, HE6 is just simply too dry and produce too much sibilant and harsh for me. HE500 is definitely smoother, yeah there're some harshness that I still feel with, but it's not enough to annoyed me.
 
at low and moderate volume I think it's best for HE500, at loud volume I feel there is an "emptiness" at lower mid side, make the vocal becomes a bit too thin, but I think if your songs mainly cover by female voices (like me), then this isn't a big problem.
 
I like the bass, a bit too much for me (have to admit, I don't really like bass punch), but the bass quality is definitely at good side, it's tight and have good speed. 
 
If I have to choose between HE500, HE6 and LCD2, then I'll go with HE500 any day. (HE600 too sharp treble, LCD2 is a bit too dark and produce too many reverb, feel like the singer sings in a "drum"). I think HE500 has the most balance sound compare to the rest of 2.
 
note: I tested HE500 with Dared MP5 by its speaker output.
 
Just curious, is any dac+amp combo that produce enough power for HE500? at their site it was wrote minimal 1,5-2 watt for HE500, so I think DACport is at least can fullfill the minimal requirement, right? (at official spec, DACport can produce max power output 1,5 watt)

I could see if you like the bright signature of the HE-500 you would think the LCDs are dark sounding. I had the exact opposite impressions 

 

 

[blankdisc]

Because HE-6 is so difficult to drive, it can easily sound harsh if not properly amped. At least with my system (NFB-3 -> Lyr) i don't think that HE-6 is ever sibiland or harsh, and my ears are quite sensitive to harsh highs. Most of ppl agree now that the best way to drive HE-6 right now is with a power amp. Hopefully the upcoming EF6 from HifiMan will turn ppl around as how they think of HE-6 now. 

 

[Townyj]

Maybe for you... But i saved myself about $110AUD buying the HE500 over the LCD-2 which i didnt like anyhow.

 
Quote:

Dude, I told you to get rid of the PRM while you had the chance. I bet now that you regret it more than ever. 

 
I agree that the HE500 has the best tonality among the other Hifiman orthos. I don't think it's better than the HE6 per se though as the latter is still more transparent and airier at the cost of a rather recessed midrange and center image problems. It's just a shame that the HE500 is not competitive in terms of pricing as ultimately the LCD2 at $50 more is the more resolving and transparent headphone that scales better with your equipment. 
 
The DACPort should be more than enough for the HE500.