[brasewel]

Quote:

There is also the E.C.balancing act. It is single, 4pin and 3 pin. Its a little more expensive though.

That's an understatement 

. It's a great amp though, comparable to the the Liquid Fire. At $4k it better be a notch above most amps.
I will be getting the Super 7 amp from Craig, the initial units will cost $1450 and comes with a SE and 4pin balanced output but with no balanced inputs.
 

 

[leesure]

Quote:

Yeah...Blind Buying is tough to justify at that price point, and I think I'll do some reaching out here to see if anyone in the area has some stuff I can listen to, but Blind Buying may be my only option. Return policies are a wonderful thing. 
 
EDIT: Another reason I'm really interested in the WA22 is the fact it has no MANY options. 3 Pin, 4 Pin, and SE. And I've heard nothing but good things.


 
 

 

 

 
The WA22 is a great amp and is dead sexy...no doubt.  That said, you should absolutely hear one before buying...and buying on looks...well....yeah....ummm....
 
I want my gear to look good too, but it's gotta sound great 1st.    If the 'uglier' amp sounds better, I can always hide it from view!

 

[brasewel]

Another thing to consider is that the HE-500 may not scale very well with better equipment so you might be wasting your money. The LCD-2 keeps improving as you improve your rig.

 

[Frank I]

Quote:

Another thing to consider is that the HE-500 may not scale very well with better equipment so you might be wasting your money. The LCD-2 keeps improving as you improve your rig.

I am curious to as why you think it would not scale well with better gear. If the headphone is as good as I am hearing people I respect tell me it it would reveal more as you improve both source and amp. At least IMO I have always found that as you go up the scale and quality of sound goes up at least IMO. Its a 900.00 headphone and I would think the better you feed the headphone the better it will sound.

 

[brasewel]

I didn't say it wouldn't scale well. My point is audition stuff before buying that's all.

 

[K3cT]

Some headphones are born that way unfortunately. Some other examples include Denon D2000 and Audio Technica AD1000PRM. Most IEMs also fall into the same category.

 

[fdhfdy]

I don't recommend buying a new Apache, it's not worth the $3k price tag. You can find a fully upgraded Rev C Apache for around $2.2k. Your other options is the Apex Peak/Volcano at $2.1k, Eddie Current amps, Liquid Fire at $2.8k, RWA Isabellina(SE) at $2.5k and balanced at $3k (however I wasn't really impressed with it especially at it's selling price).
 

+1.

 

[Frank I]

 
Quote:

I didn't say it wouldn't scale well. My point is audition stuff before buying that's all.

 


Quote:

Another thing to consider is that the HE-500 may not scale very well with better equipment so you might be wasting your money. The LCD-2 keeps improving as you improve your rig.

I think I read it right. May not scale well with better equipment and you may be wasting your money. Sorry if I misunderstood what you wrote but clearly everyone should audition expensive gear before buying to make sure the synergy is there. But in General if they are as good as I am hearing the better the amp and source w ould be very noticeable  and easy to tell.
 

 

[MorbidToaster]

People have been using it on some pretty high end gear, and some really mid-fi stuff as well. I haven't heard too much about comparisons, but I'm pretty sure it'll be just fine.
 
Also, watch the way you recommend the LCD-2. I've seen you around a few threads lately and you just shoot down another headphone and say 'my LCD-2 does it better'. You didn't just shoot it down here, but was the LCD-2 scaling well comment really necessary?
 
Quote:

I didn't say it wouldn't scale well. My point is audition stuff before buying that's all.

 
As said before, blind buying is often my only option, but I'll definitely TRY to hear one first. 
 
Also, it's not being considering completely for looks. It's not like the WA22 hasn't gotten great feedback or anything...and I've seen a few posts about it being a good match for the HE 500 specifically...
 
Quote:

The WA22 is a great amp and is dead sexy...no doubt.  That said, you should absolutely hear one before buying...and buying on looks...well....yeah....ummm....
 
I want my gear to look good too, but it's gotta sound great 1st.    If the 'uglier' amp sounds better, I can always hide it from view!

 
Super 7 us definitely being considered as well. Have to see some feedback first though.
 
Quote:

That's an understatement 

. It's a great amp though, comparable to the the Liquid Fire. At $4k it better be a notch above most amps.
I will be getting the Super 7 amp from Craig, the initial units will cost $1450 and comes with a SE and 4pin balanced output but with no balanced inputs.
 

 
 

 

[baka1969]

Quote:Originally Posted by Frank I 




"I think I read it right. May not scale well with better equipment and you may be wasting your money. Sorry if I misunderstood what you wrote but clearly everyone should audition expensive gear before buying to make sure the synergy is there. But in General if they are as good as I am hearing the better the amp and source w ould be very noticeable  and easy to tell."


I tend to agree with this statement. I know the other orthos from Fang scale well. The HE5LE did. Frank I himself has mentioned the HE6 scaling well. Plus I've heard the HE6. I'll give the HE500 a stretch through four amps. The WA6SE, the WA2, the beta22 AND the FiiO E5. They're different enough to give some ideas. Of course there's diminishing returns but...

 

[brasewel]

Quote:

 
Also, watch the way you recommend the LCD-2. I've seen you around a few threads lately and you just shoot down another headphone and say 'my LCD-2 does it better'. You didn't just shoot it down here, but was the LCD-2 scaling well comment really necessary?
 
 
 

Is there a problem in saying one headphone does something better than the other? I didn't say the LCD-2 is the best headphone. My opinions are mine only and if you don't like it, don't read it.
 

 

[brasewel]

Quote:

Quote:Originally Posted by Frank I 




"I think I read it right. May not scale well with better equipment and you may be wasting your money. Sorry if I misunderstood what you wrote but clearly everyone should audition expensive gear before buying to make sure the synergy is there. But in General if they are as good as I am hearing the better the amp and source w ould be very noticeable  and easy to tell."


I tend to agree with this statement. I know the other orthos from Fang scale well. The HE5LE did. Frank I himself has mentioned the HE6 scaling well. Plus I've heard the HE6. I'll give the HE500 a stretch through four amps. The WA6SE, the WA2, the beta22 AND the FiiO E5. They're different enough to give some ideas. Of course there's diminishing returns but...

Ross did you get Lee's HE-500 or did you buy a pair for yourself?
 

 

[MorbidToaster]

I had them hooked up to the E5 yesterday and it sounded pretty terrible. lol
 
Not sure WHY I had it hooked up to the E5...but whatever. It got plenty loud, but just sounded awful.
 
Quote:

I tend to agree with this statement. I know the other orthos from Fang scale well. The HE5LE did. Frank I himself has mentioned the HE6 scaling well. Plus I've heard the HE6. I'll give the HE500 a stretch through four amps. The WA6SE, the WA2, the beta22 AND the FiiO E5. They're different enough to give some ideas. Of course there's diminishing returns but...

 
 

 

[MorbidToaster]

No, there's a problem with going into a bunch of headphone specific threads and saying the LCD 2 does everything better. It just seems like a really rude thing to do. Most people there aren't asking for headphone recommendations, they're asking about amps and what not. 
 
I'll leave it there because 'I don't want no trouble'. Just trying to give some friendly advice. Wasn't meant to be that hostile.
 
Quote:

Is there a problem in saying one headphone does something better than the other? I didn't say the LCD-2 is the best headphone. My opinions are mine only and if you don't like it, don't read it.
 

 
 
 

 

[Frank I]

 
Quote:

I had them hooked up to the E5 yesterday and it sounded pretty terrible. lol
 
Not sure WHY I had it hooked up to the E5...but whatever. It got plenty loud, but just sounded awful.
 


 
 

So it does scale well its telling you the differences in amps. Maybe the synergy is off but try swapping the tubes to see if that helps and it could just not be a synergy match for that headphone/