[jamato8]

Quote:

Fascinating.  My experience with the HE-6 and LCD-2 was identical - very little change.  I have only put about 40 hours on the HE-500.  I will have to run them in more.  But they are pretty darned good as they are!  I've noticed no real change in the first 40 hours, though.

That's great, hopefully for whatever reason, there won't be any burn in but another person noticed the same thing that I did with his. Odd but the music marches on. :^) 
 
 

 

[Skylab]

One thing to note - I have not used the stock HE-500 cable for even one minute.  I wonder if it is the cable that has to burn in?

 

 

[jamato8]

Because of weight and flexibility I went right for the cable I have on the HE-6 so it isn't the cable. I haven't listened with the stock cable. 

 

[Happy Camper]

John,
 
When do you get your speaker amp?
 
Skylab, I'm in your camp as for as comparing them to the HE-6. They are almost exactly like the 6. Bass isn't quite as tight, soundstage smaller and resolution isn't quite as detailed but I'm attributing that to newness. Had I got these instead of the 6s, I'd have no problem. The 500s do seem more mid bass accentuated compared to the 6s low bass. I think a Senn fan would like the 500s. Putting that to the side, they are much sturdier than my 6s. The yoke rods on mine are loose. I have to adjust them to stay in place every time I wear them. The 500s are rigid and stay in place.
 
I'm going to run them overnight and see how they fare tomorrow on a couple amps.

 

[jamato8]

I heard the bass quality change as hours passed. Not hour to hour of course but when I would pick them up again after 12 hours with music playing through them. At one point I did not enjoy the sound at all. 
 
I put in for a Lyr Schiit and have some very nice tubes to try out. That is the largest thing I want here on this island. As it is I have to ship everything back to the states which is expensive and a hassle. The Lyr should be a nice smaller package powerful amp though. 

 

[jronan2]

What music genre's do you guys think the HE 500 would excel in?

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Because of weight and flexibility I went right for the cable I have on the HE-6 so it isn't the cable. I haven't listened with the stock cable. 

OK, so we did exactly the same thing there

 


Quote:

Skylab, I'm in your camp as for as comparing them to the HE-6. They are almost exactly like the 6. Bass isn't quite as tight, soundstage smaller and resolution isn't quite as detailed but I'm attributing that to newness. Had I got these instead of the 6s, I'd have no problem. The 500s do seem more mid bass accentuated compared to the 6s low bass.

Yup, that's how I hear it too...but time to cook them a bit more I guess and see what happens.  Still, even as they are, I think they are pretty terrific.
 

 

[jamato8]

Quote:

What music genre's do you guys think the HE 500 would excel in?

I like with everything. I listen to classical, blues, jazz and so on but no rap. 
Quote:

OK, so we did exactly the same thing there

Yup, that's how I hear it too...but time to cook them a bit more I guess and see what happens.  Still, even as they are, I think they are pretty terrific.
 

I am scratching my head as to why there is a difference in the burn in as it would seem there no difference. Well I do agree, the sound is extremely good. 
 
 

 

[baka1969]

I'm scratching my head as to why there are drastically different accounts of the HE500 when comparing them to the HE6 and LCD2. In one camp the HE500 is similar to the HE6 in character which is my experience with the pre-production HE6p. The other is they are less bright than the already not bright LCD with even less soundstage.

 

[jamato8]

Quote:

I'm scratching my head as to why there are drastically different accounts of the HE500 when comparing them to the HE6 and LCD2. In one camp the HE500 is similar to the HE6 in character which is my experience with the pre-production HE6p. The other is they are less bright than the already not bright LCD with even less soundstage.

Maybe there are some differences in units but I guess Fang would know more about that. I find them more in the HE-6 camp but a little more even or neutral on the frequency response. 
 

 

[rhythmdevils]

I listened to the HE6p at a recent meet and my impressions of them matched everyone else pretty closely.  Although I think it's questionable to say that the HE-500 are less detailed then the HE6 because the HE6 has more treble, so you have to be careful in that comparison.  I preferred the tonal balance of the HE6p over the HE-6 by quite a bit.  Going from HE6 to HE6p honestly sounded like someone turned off a "sound enhancing" EQ setting on some entertainment system.  You at first get the feeling that you are loosing something when the coloration goes away, but then you realize that this is how the music is supposed to sound. 

 

[Nankai]

This is my statement in 6moons.
 
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/hifiman4/1.html
 
The HE-500 uses a more complicated array of bigger magnets to increase sensitivity over the HE-5LE plus a different diaphragm to improve midrange performance. Sensitivity is 89dB, impedance 38Ω. Our portable players can drive it well. The magnetics are actually the HE-6's. The diaphragm was modified to provide better vocals and bass. The voice coil traces are coiled aluminum, not gold. Then we apply a different treatment to the surface of the HE-500's diaphragm. That makes it different from our HE-5, HE-5LE and HE-4 models. The HE-500 is better than the HE-5LE in almost every way. While the HE-500 lacks the HE-6's ultra clarity, its sonic signature over a regular headphone amplifier is pretty close to that of the HE-6 over a high-end amp.

 

[Skylab]

Yup. I pretty much agree with those comments about the sonics - lust short of the transparency of the HE-6, but still outstanding. And 89dB sensitivity also is eight in line with what I found, in that it required just a tiny but more juice than the 91dB efficient LCD-2.

I also have to say, on a high- power amp, the HE-6 is not at all bright.

 

[K3cT]

Quote:

Quote:Originally Posted by K3cT 

"I would say that the LCD2 is brighter."

I've found the HE6 brighter than the LCD2 by a good margin. You're saying the LCD2 is brighter than the HE500? Does that make the HE500 quite dark sounding? To me that would make the HE6 and HE500 as very different sounding.

I've listened to the HE500 (HE6p), HE6 and LCD2 close together and didn't find that to be the case at all. Unless Fang dramatically changed the sound signature since I heard them in January. If anything I found the HE500 (HE6p) to fit between the both but closer to the HE6.


Plus the soundstage is more closed off than the LCD2? If this is all true, Fang changed the HE500 to an entirely different headphone from the pre-production sample I heard.

 
I wouldn't say that it's dark-sounding but it's true that LCD2's treble extends further. Really, the sound reminds me of vintage orthodynamics (very mid-centric) like the NAD RP18 or Fostex T50RP and I wouldn't call them dark either. 
 
I thought HE500's soundstage has slightly more air than the LCD2 but placement of sounds is not as accurate as the latter. 

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

I also have to say, on a high- power amp, the HE-6 is not at all bright.

Not at all bright?  Really?  I thought they sounded bright (but very good) on the EF5, which is a warm amp.