[Zoide]

Quote:

So here I am, on my left HE-5LE and B22, on my right O2 and KGSS.  Honestly I could stop at either and be happy.

Damn!  That's quite the compliment for the HE-5LE 

 
So here I am, enjoying my HE-5LE through a Meier-Audio Corda Opera (DAC/Amp).  Have you heard any other Meier gear besides the Concerto?
 
I wonder if switching from the Opera to an Audio-GD DAC19 + Meier-Audio Concerto would be a meaningful upgrade.  The sound is already pretty great...

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

My trip to the HE-5LE was purely by accident =O  Many years ago I sold off my HeadAmp Reference and Senn 650 for an O2 and HeadAmp KGSS rig and never looked back.  When the cable for the O2 finally had its fill of being yanked while trapped under my chair... I sent it off to the UK for a new cable and ear pads.  While it was gone I bought the Concerto and HE-5LE as an interim rig and decided it might be fair to give Team Dynamic 2010 a chance to remove me from the Stax Mafia.  Brought in a B22 and Senn 800 to round out the compare.  Took very little time to know the Senn 800 and I wouldn't get along so off it went.  Also noticed that although the Concerto is a good amp for the price, with the price ceiling removed the B22 is a better amplifier in that wire with gain sense of the word, most noticeably down low.  So off went the Concerto.  Somewhere in there the O2 came back... HighEnd Workshop in the UK did an awesome job by the way.
 
So here I am, on my left HE-5LE and B22, on my right O2 and KGSS.  Honestly I could stop at either and be happy.  I haven't sat down yet to do a formal compare/contrast but after weeks of non critical listening I'd say the biggest differences are the HE-5LE's greater bass extension with less impact and greater treble energy.  Imaging is good but the O2 is laser precise with more air despite less overall treble heat.  Guess the key word for describing the HE-5LE is natural.
 
My LCD-2 ships tomorrow so should make choosing the final all rounder interesting

Good impressions.  I had a similar feeling when comparing the HE-5 LE with ZDT on my left and O2 with WES on my right.  The LCD-2 are a little darker and less airy sounding than either of these, and they have a little hint of an inside the cup resonance in some music, especially with pianos, that requires more careful choice of source and amp.  Still, they do soundstage more like the O2 and are a little warmer like the O2, while the HE-5 LE are a little more neutral and crisper than the LCD-2 with a little more forward soundstage.
 
I do feel that the O2 have the most air despite being less bright overall than most other phones, with excellent transparency.  The LCD-2 tone and sound signature will remind you more of the O2, but without as much detail and air.  And I think the HE-5 LE are still slightly more transparent than the LCD-2 which are not bad at all.  The HE-5 LE remind me more of an HD600 with a lot more detail and speed, or what many people thought the HD800 was going to sound like.  I am actually listening to the HE-5 LE in my bedroom rig more, while my HD800/ZDT, O2/HE60/WES are still packed from the August Colorado meet in preparation for RMAF next month.

 

[Audio-Omega]

My HE-5LE arrived this afternoon and I have spent an hour listening to it using its unbalanced stock cable.  With respect to balanced Sennheiser HD650 with Zu Mobius mk2 cable, the HE-5LE has more treble and mid bass, it's more transparent with a smaller sound stage.  I wonder if it will match HD650's deep bass after a few more weeks of listening.  It's quite comfortable to wear and it's slightly heavier than HD650 with good build quality.
 
The only thing I dislike about it right now is its cable.  I find it hard to untangle it.  It shouldn't matter much because I will get a better one soon.   

 

[Solude]

Nods, I use the HE-5 SPC cable, short and no adapters to trip over.  The adapter thing is a great idea, but its length is too much.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Nods, I use the HE-5 SPC cable, short and no adapters to trip over.  The adapter thing is a great idea, but its length is too much.

The adapter is longer so that the 4-pin XLR can rest on the floor in most rigs, rather than putting pressure on the jack by hanging down in mid-air.  
 
However, what I really want is the original HE-5 SPC cable with a 4-pin XLR on it, in terms of the best bang for the buck.  I'm thinking about someday getting an 8 foot APS V3 cable with 4-pin XLR, and seeing how that goes.  Skylab says it's a nice improvement over the stock HE-5 LE cable, and I know in the past the APS V3 improved my HD600, Grados and Edition 9.

 

[Solude]

Yours must be longer than mine.  Mine sits about 2ft off the ground, adding a lot of weight to the jack.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Yours must be longer than mine.  Mine sits about 2ft off the ground, adding a lot of weight to the jack.

 
My 1/4" to 4-pin adapter is 3.5 feet long.

 

[AmanGeorge]

Guys, come on. It's not the size of the adapter, it's how you use it.

 

[maywng]

Quote:

Yours must be longer than mine.  Mine sits about 2ft off the ground...

Ha ha, wrong forum to be comparing lengths

 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

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Guys, come on. It's not the size of the adapter, it's how you use it.

Hey, will you be at RMAF next month?  If so, I'll let you play with mine like last year.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(with my headphones, doh!)

 

[Audio-Omega]

After a few more hours of burn in using Isotek burn-in disc, the sound has become a bit smoother.  I really like its bass, it's not too heavy or overpowering, but it's there.  It was blissful listening to the soundtracks of Gladiator and Fearless, their drums filled my ears.  Music sounds fast with HE-5LE, it makes Sennheiser HD650 sounds sluggish in comparison.  

 

[baka1969]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio-Omega  
" After a few more hours of burn in using Isotek burn-in disc, the sound has become a bit smoother.  I really like its bass, it's not too heavy or overpowering, but it' s there.  It was blissful listening to the soundtracks of Gladiator and Fearless, their drums filled my ears.  Music sounds fast with HE-5LE, it makes Sennheiser HD650 sounds sluggish in comparison.  "



To me, the HE-5LE was the headphone that benefited the most from burn in. Fang had burned them for 24 hours prior to delivery and it was about another 50 hours when they really came into their own. I'd say it was a dramatic difference. Keep going!

 

[Yikes]

I found the HE-5LE took at least a couple of hundred hours to fully settle in, but I find the same is true of every high performance headphone (dynamic &electrostatic) that I've owned. That is except for balanced armature IEM's, with all of them a day was enough.

It's now to the point where I don't seriously begin to evaluate a headphone until it has a week (24/7) of time on it.

 

[Audio-Omega]

Are their pads replaceable ?

 

[.Sup]

Quote:

My trip to the HE-5LE was purely by accident =O  Many years ago I sold off my HeadAmp Reference and Senn 650 for an O2 and HeadAmp KGSS rig and never looked back.  When the cable for the O2 finally had its fill of being yanked while trapped under my chair... I sent it off to the UK for a new cable and ear pads.  While it was gone I bought the Concerto and HE-5LE as an interim rig and decided it might be fair to give Team Dynamic 2010 a chance to remove me from the Stax Mafia.  Brought in a B22 and Senn 800 to round out the compare.  Took very little time to know the Senn 800 and I wouldn't get along so off it went.  Also noticed that although the Concerto is a good amp for the price, with the price ceiling removed the B22 is a better amplifier in that wire with gain sense of the word, most noticeably down low.  So off went the Concerto.  Somewhere in there the O2 came back... HighEnd Workshop in the UK did an awesome job by the way.
 
So here I am, on my left HE-5LE and B22, on my right O2 and KGSS.  Honestly I could stop at either and be happy.  I haven't sat down yet to do a formal compare/contrast but after weeks of non critical listening I'd say the biggest differences are the HE-5LE's greater bass extension with less impact and greater treble energy.  Imaging is good but the O2 is laser precise with more air despite less overall treble heat.  Guess the key word for describing the HE-5LE is natural.
 
My LCD-2 ships tomorrow so should make choosing the final all rounder interesting

very interesting read, thanks!