[Austin Morrow]

 
Quote:

Im covering a few portables comboed with the HE500 in my upcomming review

Oh, awesome. Anticipated to read about it. Exactly what portable amps are you going to be reviewing, or will I have to wait for the review?

 

[dleblanc343]

Here are the new Hifiman's for you curious birds out there

 

[Austin Morrow]

Quote:

Here are the new Hifiman's for you curious birds out there

Yep. I'll have a pair very soon. 

 

[DannyBai]

Quote:

Im covering a few portables comboed with the HE500 in my upcomming review

 
I will look forward to it.  In the meantime I will hold off on the he500 until I have something that can drive it. 

 

[dleblanc343]

Anxious to see how they compare, I might get them as well. I could get them for a great price, but I just got the 500's lol
 
Quote:

Yep. I'll have a pair very soon. 

 

 

[Ultrainferno]

Quote:

Anxious to see how they compare, I might get them as well. I could get them for a great price, but I just got the 500's lol
 


 

 
Don't worry, I have the he-500 and the he-400 is on its way

 

[swbf2cheater]

Quote:

 


Oh, awesome. Anticipated to read about it. Exactly what portable amps are you going to be reviewing, or will I have to wait for the review?

Ttvj slim, pico slim uha4, ibasso t5, e11,e10, pb2 and lyr <3

 
 

 

[Austin Morrow]

Quote:

Ttvj slim, pico slim uha4, ibasso t5, e11,e10, pb2 and lyr <3

 
 

I have the Slim. An amazing amp, to say the least.

 

[Nepenthe]

After some holiday / family time, I got some alone time. I just listened beginning to end to an album I've heard many times, American Standard by Mary's Danish from 1992, at my normal headphone listening volume. Not my favorite album, but it's nicely recorded and mastered and features a good mix of rock sounds.
 
Afterward I got out my Radio Shack dB meter equipped with a real good cardboard platen for sealing for headphone measurement. I flipped the HE-500 drivers down so they're both facing down. I held the cardboard against one driver so that the microphone pokes through and there's a good seal. I held it still to eliminate the cardboard against velour noise (which creates spikes in the level). I went back through several tracks.
 
Using C Weighting, Fast, but not Max (default setting) I measure around 59-61 dB continuous on some of the louder tracks.
Using C Weighting, Fast, with Max turned ON I measure the highest peak at about 66 dB, most around 63-64 dB.
 
This is right at 8:30 on the Gilmore Lite's dial (which has 24 hashes representing 30 "minutes" between each hash), whereas I use about 8:15 (in between two hashes) for the M50 on the same amp. According to Tyl's measurements of the HE-500 and what we know about power and volume, the max power my Gilmore Lite threw at them at the loudest peak was less than one one-hundredth of a milliWatt, so the Gilmore Lite can produce about one-hundred-thousand times as much power as needed. I fully acknowledge the GL's shortcomings and lack of sophistication sonically, but I can't see mathematically how it's a raw power issue with the GL only pushing .001% of its rated capacity. The GL also has output impedance less than 1 ohm.
 
Honestly I'm finding them a bit lackluster at the moment, competent for sure but overall kind of pedestrian. Maybe it really is an amp issue, or maybe it's a burn-in issue, but I find they lack some shimmer or wetness in the treble and that the bass isn't quite as filled out as what the M50 (for example) provides. Some cymbals sounded a little strange, a little dry. Just not what I expected I guess. Detail in the midrange is decent and it's certainly a pleasant sound overall (other than the fact the normal house and outdoor sounds intrude more and the little wires can be a little noisy).
 
They're comfortable to me, and they look and feel great. My velour pads are not quite the same depth -- one is about 25% deeper. I'm finding the cord is wanting to unbraid itself a bit. It probably matters not, but the drivers are not parallel -- one side's grill-type driver element is at x degrees and the other is x+40 degrees or so. I wish the storage case didn't necessitate disconnecting the cables (or that they plugged in rather than screwed in).
 
I will burn-in some more overnight, and tomorrow when I have a chance I will try the leatherette pads to see if they are more to my liking sonically. I want to try some prog-metal, some OCRemix stuff, some soundtrack material (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), maybe a movie, and some of the reference tracks I had lined up.

 

[DannyBai]

Any suggestions for portable amps to drive the HE500 using single ended mode?
I assume PB2 or SR-71B should have plenty of power but will it sound good in single ended mode?
 

 

[Austin Morrow]

Any suggestions for portable amps to drive the HE500 using single ended mode?
I assume PB2 or SR-71B should have plenty of power but will it sound good in single ended mode?
 

I have not personally tried the RSA SR-71B but a lot of people say it's potent enough (as well as extremely good sounding) to drive both the HE-500 and even the very power hungry HiFiMan HE-6.

 

[DannyBai]

Quote:

I have not personally tried the RSA SR-71B but a lot of people say it's potent enough (as well as extremely good sounding) to drive both the HE-500 and even the very power hungry HiFiMan HE-6.

Thanks for the answer.  Stinks that I have the 71A and not the B.  It would be much cheaper going for the PB2.  

 

[swbf2cheater]

Wouldnt be that far off, the PB2 needs HiFlights Kit mod to sound comparable to the SR71B.  Used the combo goes for $550 or something close to that, I think one is for sale right now in the for sale area.

 

[nc8000]

After some holiday / family time, I got some alone time. I just listened beginning to end to an album I've heard many times, American Standard by Mary's Danish from 1992, at my normal headphone listening volume. Not my favorite album, but it's nicely recorded and mastered and features a good mix of rock sounds.
 
Afterward I got out my Radio Shack dB meter equipped with a real good cardboard platen for sealing for headphone measurement. I flipped the HE-500 drivers down so they're both facing down. I held the cardboard against one driver so that the microphone pokes through and there's a good seal. I held it still to eliminate the cardboard against velour noise (which creates spikes in the level). I went back through several tracks.
 
Using C Weighting, Fast, but not Max (default setting) I measure around 59-61 dB continuous on some of the louder tracks.
Using C Weighting, Fast, with Max turned ON I measure the highest peak at about 66 dB, most around 63-64 dB.
 
This is right at 8:30 on the Gilmore Lite's dial (which has 24 hashes representing 30 "minutes" between each hash), whereas I use about 8:15 (in between two hashes) for the M50 on the same amp. According to Tyl's measurements of the HE-500 and what we know about power and volume, the max power my Gilmore Lite threw at them at the loudest peak was less than one one-hundredth of a milliWatt, so the Gilmore Lite can produce about one-hundred-thousand times as much power as needed. I fully acknowledge the GL's shortcomings and lack of sophistication sonically, but I can't see mathematically how it's a raw power issue with the GL only pushing .001% of its rated capacity. The GL also has output impedance less than 1 ohm.
 
Honestly I'm finding them a bit lackluster at the moment, competent for sure but overall kind of pedestrian. Maybe it really is an amp issue, or maybe it's a burn-in issue, but I find they lack some shimmer or wetness in the treble and that the bass isn't quite as filled out as what the M50 (for example) provides. Some cymbals sounded a little strange, a little dry. Just not what I expected I guess. Detail in the midrange is decent and it's certainly a pleasant sound overall (other than the fact the normal house and outdoor sounds intrude more and the little wires can be a little noisy).
 
They're comfortable to me, and they look and feel great. My velour pads are not quite the same depth -- one is about 25% deeper. I'm finding the cord is wanting to unbraid itself a bit. It probably matters not, but the drivers are not parallel -- one side's grill-type driver element is at x degrees and the other is x+40 degrees or so. I wish the storage case didn't necessitate disconnecting the cables (or that they plugged in rather than screwed in).
 
I will burn-in some more overnight, and tomorrow when I have a chance I will try the leatherette pads to see if they are more to my liking sonically. I want to try some prog-metal, some OCRemix stuff, some soundtrack material (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), maybe a movie, and some of the reference tracks I had lined up.

For my normal listening level which I would describe is neither loud nor quiet (have no idea db wise) I am at 9-10 o'clock on my RPX-100 and 11-12 high gain on my SR71-B. The amp in the Aune X1 dac/amp can drive them plenty loud but can't control them very well so does not sound all that good.

 

[sampson_smith]

It sounds like Nepenthe is describing not the shortcomings of the HE-500 but perhaps the Gilmore Lite. The GL has a rather "dry" sound signature. (It is very detailed but analytical, lacking in bass weight for some, can cut through pinnae like a scalpel, etc.) In fact, for many, when it was a tempting option a few years ago, the GL was the gateway amp to the Headamp GS-1, which has improved warmth/bass presence, among other positive qualities. I am no electronics engineer, but when one says that a rather diminutive-- albeit fantastic sounding when the synergy is there-- amp is pushing only a one thousandth of a percent (?!!!) of its rated capacity, I would re-check the figures. With these same calculations applied, what would one determine about the Lyr/HE-500 combination that I am currently enjoying? Certainly the little Schiit would be flexing only a thousandth of a thousandth of a half of a percent of its available muscle. At least that is what these ears tell me!

 
Or perhaps the HE-500's are simply not for some people, despite what I adore about them. The M50's are a rather notorious can around here. Many cannot stand them, but I have a feeling that the GL's analytical delivery cuts the Audio-Technica's wooly, chocolate-pudding-in-your-ears bass into somewhat digestible portions. Perhaps they do not sound "dry" in the upper register because the M50 never extends that far into these frequencies. I wish I still had one of my GL's to try with the HE-500's to hear what Nepenthe is talking about, but have a feeling he/she needs to try out another more-powerful amp before "kicking the can".