[Llloyd]

Quote:

I know it has plenty power (not enough power to drive a HE-6 though).
I was just excited to hear what others using this combo think.

There are a lot of people who use the beta22 with the he500 on here.  I'm going to try to build one some time in the future but it's a little terrifying.  Most people seem to take months because of ordering extra parts and all that fun stuff.  It should be a fun project though if I don't blow myself up.
 
Also
 
I also ordered my he500 in December and I too got the 1/8 cable.  I was hoping for a 1/4.

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

There are a lot of people who use the beta22 with the he500 on here.  I'm going to try to build one some time in the future but it's a little terrifying.  Most people seem to take months because of ordering extra parts and all that fun stuff.  It should be a fun project though if I don't blow myself up.
 
Also
 
I also ordered my he500 in December and I too got the 1/8 cable.  I was hoping for a 1/4.

Headroom actually carries both, said to specify which one I wanted upon order.. I believe the 1/4 is the newest iteration (like literally in the past 2-3 weeks).
 

 

[Tilpo]

There are a lot of people who use the beta22 with the he500 on here.  I'm going to try to build one some time in the future but it's a little terrifying.  Most people seem to take months because of ordering extra parts and all that fun stuff.  It should be a fun project though if I don't blow myself up.
 
Also
 
I also ordered my he500 in December and I too got the 1/8 cable.  I was hoping for a 1/4.

It sure is a lot of fun. It's not extremely hard or anything, but it is very time consuming. I started ordering parts in October, and I'm still not done.
I wouldn't definitely not recommend it as a first build though. I went in with only the experience of building a Mini3 and quite often I found myself lacking proper experience.

 

[daerron]

Quote:

I'm in the market for a new pair of open backed over ear headphones, something that has the quality that I want for my music but also more bass than I would usually look for as I'm going to use them for music and games as well.  Everything I've read so far on the HE-500s suggests that they're what I want and a bargain when comparing them to the top of the line headphones from other companies!
 
I was confused at first by some of the discussions about the price as I live in the UK and they retail here for the same price as the Beyer T1s.  I finally realised WHY I was so confused and dear god will I NOT be ordering them within the UK! 
 
My one concern though is that I apparently have quite a small head.  Most headphones either don't fit me properly or only fit me on the smallest settings.  I've got a pair of Beyer DT1350s and these fit great two slots up from the smallest, but everyone else who uses them makes them way bigger.  I've also got a pair of HD-580s, which fit fine but also are set quite small, so I was wondering if anyone has tried the HE-500s and either of those to compare the size.  I would hate to pick up a pair of these and then have them not fit properly and have to sell them on knowing how good they sound!

 

If you like the sound of the HD580 you will definitely like the HE-500s. The sonic signature is quite similar to my ears but the HE-500 is just way better in all aspects, more musical and with lovely slam and impact. I have a small head too so perhaps you could use my headband settings as a reference as I have both headphones. I wear the Sennheiser HD580 about three clicks down on the headband on both sides and have to use the minimum setting on the HE-500 headband for them to fit so I think that should give a pretty good idea! The HE-500 is reasonably comfortable but definitely not on par with the HD580.
 

 

[DannyBai]

I received mine today from Moon Audio and it came with the silver cable and 1/8 with the 1/4 adaptor.  Also in the new hard case.  I don't have high-end amps to compare it with but the SR-71A has plenty of power to drive it.  It does not sound good out of the HP-P1 but on the 71-A it sounds really good to my ears.  Now I'll be wondering how much better it will get out of another amp.  

 

[Nepenthe]

has anyone had experience with returning any HifiMan products within their 30 day return period? is it pretty easy to get the return authorization and get your $ back? I'm thinking of taking the plunge but want to make sure there is a safety net incase these aren't exactly what I'm looking for.. Also I couldn't find anything about a restocking fee?

I'm currently shipping mine back. Yes, the return authorization is easy, right on their site there's a link on the completed order for Return and another for Replace. Click that and they give you a screen with a full address and a return form to print out and include in the box.
 
UPS wanted $152 to ship, USPS did it for $48.
 
We'll see how it goes. I'm sure the return trip is fraught with all kinds of risks.
 
 

 

[Ahzari]

 
Quote:

I'm currently shipping mine back. Yes, the return authorization is easy, right on their site there's a link on the completed order for Return and another for Replace. Click that and they give you a screen with a full address and a return form to print out and include in the box.
 
UPS wanted $152 to ship, USPS did it for $48.
 
We'll see how it goes. I'm sure the return trip is fraught with all kinds of risks.
 
 

 
I'm thinking I'll just end up getting mine from headroom and save myself some of that trouble. 

 

[Nepenthe]

I'm thinking I'll just end up getting mine from headroom and save myself some of that trouble. 

Yup, that was my exact thought. Then they had few weeks backorder followed by losing my order which would have necessitated another few weeks backorder. Not doing that again.

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

Yup, that was my exact thought. Then they had few weeks backorder followed by losing my order which would have necessitated another few weeks backorder. Not doing that again.

I contacted them recently, they said they have them in stock and ready to ship, maybe the holiday rush got a little disorganized... not to say those situations are not annoying (i've had my share), but even with all that I'd rather deal with a company inside the states, its always easier that way.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Neither the HE500 nor the LCD2 are bright, I felt the LCD2 to be a "bit brighter".  This doesn't make it a bright set.  Certain tracks that were sibilant and a bit hissy on the LCD2 ended up playing more smoothly through the HE-500.  I think the LCD2 highs have more snap and bite to their highs but are still far from being considered bright, to my ears the Audeze was a bit more harsh in the highs on certain tracks known to be sibilant.  
 
I seem to have a unique view on pretty much everything, I just don't hear some of the things people are talking about when it comes to highs.  As Ardilla said, most users find the LCD2 to be less bright.  It is a close call but I am taking a stand on the opposing team with regard to the high experience.  The LCD2 is pretty much brandished as a highly engaging rock, metal and face paced music set of Orthos, where as the HE500 is the smoother set. The brighter highs are usually found in sets regarded for being highly engaging with rock or fast paced genres, which is really the absolute definition of what the LCD2 is.  I just don't see how the HE500 would have brighter highs if it is without question the more tonally balanced and smoother sounded, more relaxing set.  
 
Don't take my impressions to heart, they are just my impressions and you need to judge for yourself, both sets are just fantastic and absolutely amazing in their own special ways. 

I enjoyed your review, and also agree the HE-500 is the smoother sounding headphone - in my first impressions posted about the LCD-2 I noted a slight grainyness to the highs, even while feeling like the highs are a little recessed. While I think a properly amplified HE-6 is slightly better than it's cousin the HE-500, as an all-around versatile phone my HE-500 with HE-6 cable is likely the better choice. It just works better with a wider variety of sources and amps, and does very little wrong.

As a matter of fact, while I may appreciate the huge soundstage of my HD800 or the massive bass impact of my LCD-2 a little more, I think the HE-500 is an overall better choice as the most versatile jack of all trades non-electrostatic headphone. I recommend it all the time if a person could only afford to buy high end headphone. It would likely be the last dynamic I'd sell if I were going broke. (my SR-009 would be my one and only electrostatic headphone, and my ES5 are the one IEM that I could not part with).

 

[M-13]

+1 Absolute truth. Your impression of the LCD-2 and HE-500 are dead accurate.

 
Quote:

I enjoyed your review, and also agree the HE-500 is the smoother sounding headphone - in my first impressions posted about the LCD-2 I noted a slight grainyness to the highs, even while feeling like the highs are a little recessed. While I think a properly amplified HE-6 is slightly better than it's cousin the HE-500, as an all-around versatile phone my HE-500 with HE-6 cable is likely the better choice. It just works better with a wider variety of sources and amps, and does very little wrong.
As a matter of fact, while I may appreciate the huge soundstage of my HD800 or the massive bass impact of my LCD-2 a little more, I think the HE-500 is an overall better choice as the most versatile jack of all trades non-electrostatic headphone. I recommend it all the time if a person could only afford to buy high end headphone. It would likely be the last dynamic I'd sell if I were going broke. (my SR-009 would be my one and only electrostatic headphone, and my ES5 are the one IEM that I could not part with).

 

 

[Ahzari]

Just ordered the HE500s from headroom, through e-mail i was told to specify what termination I wanted, because I guess headroom carries bot the mini and the 1/4inch termination... I asked for the 1/4inch if everything goes smoothly it should be here next week. Very excited

 

[arek]

hope they sound as good as they look.

 

[plin]

Quote:

hope they sound as good as they look.

Actually, I am not considering these very good looking, but they certainly sound very beautiful.

 

[swbf2cheater]

Quote:

I enjoyed your review, and also agree the HE-500 is the smoother sounding headphone - in my first impressions posted about the LCD-2 I noted a slight grainyness to the highs, even while feeling like the highs are a little recessed. While I think a properly amplified HE-6 is slightly better than it's cousin the HE-500, as an all-around versatile phone my HE-500 with HE-6 cable is likely the better choice. It just works better with a wider variety of sources and amps, and does very little wrong.
As a matter of fact, while I may appreciate the huge soundstage of my HD800 or the massive bass impact of my LCD-2 a little more, I think the HE-500 is an overall better choice as the most versatile jack of all trades non-electrostatic headphone. I recommend it all the time if a person could only afford to buy high end headphone. It would likely be the last dynamic I'd sell if I were going broke. (my SR-009 would be my one and only electrostatic headphone, and my ES5 are the one IEM that I could not part with).

 
Thanks.  I put a lot of time and effort into it.  


Quote:

+1 Absolute truth. Your impression of the LCD-2 and HE-500 are dead accurate.