[MattTCG]

Okay, thanks for sharing!!

 

[IEMCrazy]

 
Quote:

To be honest, no idea, yet. If I can extrapolate from my HD650 / Black Dragon experience.. tighter bass, cleaner/smoother mids, better micro dynamics, hard to explain but the little micro-distortions are gone.. noticeable, yes, huge improvement, no. Would the money have been better spent on the Lyr I want, definitely yes. Is it a good $ value investment, well, not really. On the non-sound side, the better cables do give the headphones a quality look and feel. That's just me.
I do believe that the money should go into better source and them cable last but I'm doing the opposite of what I'm saying.  
Next stop, definitely the Lyr. I could have it already given what I spent on the HE400 & cable. Just got side-tracked and after hearing the LCD-2 on a tube amp and reading the great things about the HE400, I had to get a taste of orthos.
Just my particular journey..
 
 

 
In fairness, Sennheiser used to ship a cable that was not overwhelmingly great, and I suspect insufficient gauge for the voltage HD650 like.  They still ship that cable with HD600.  That may have biased the cable upgrade crowd to see more of a difference than otherwise would be.  The newer HD650 cables are one of the nicer stock cables around.

 

[option12]

Just ordered a pair from Moon Audio! Can't wait to get them!

 

[MattTCG]

Hey, get a pair of velour pads from head direct. They really do a lot to change the sound signature and comfort level. Both for the better IMO
 
Here are my thoughts on the pads:
 
 
"Okay, I'm about two hours in with the new pads and I have to say that I'm really impressed with the improvement in sound quality. Here is what I hear:
 
Sound stage is even bigger-goes beyond shoulder width and now has a somewhat 3d sound. I can hear and locate each instrument and listen to it individually. It's also more layered. I don't want to oversell this really. I just didn't expect much from a pad change. 
 
Bass-was expecting a fairly good drop of here. Nope...not at all. No loss of impact and it goes just as low. The only difference is that the bass is just a little tighter. Now I'm a self professed bass head trying to be an audiophile. So I wasn't excited about giving up any bass. With that said, I have no issue with the change here, it is actually better for me. 
 
Comfort-The velours are a nice upgrade on the comfort. It's softer on the ears and now less fatiguing for longer listening. These pads do not however seem to breath as well as the Beyer pads. Not bad but just a little stuffy compared to the Beyers. The velours are about 1/4 thicker so they move the driver that much away from the ear. This is probably where the improved sound stage comes from. 
 
Then there was one thing about the change I couldn't quite put my finger on. Something familiar now about the way the he400 sounds after the pad change. Then as I was writing this it dawned on me...the he400 now sounded reminiscent of the he500. With the stock pleather, they had more of the american signature sound with a bit more bass. But now the "quality" of the mids and highs reminds of when I owned the he500. I would consider this a complement for what it's worth."
 

 

[option12]

Thanks Matt. I am considering it, but I gotta space out these purchases. Who knows, maybe I'll find a good spot with the pleather. Definitely want to try the upgrade at some point though - it sounds better on all fronts!

 

[Clemmaster]

I don't really like the pleather pads on the HE-500 as well. When I first received them (newer version), I thought they looked nice with the pleather pads on but I was anticipating a certain discomfort (my experience with leather/pleather pads are not that great, I always preferred the velour ones). In term of pure comfort, I was wrong, they are really nice. But in term of music reproduction, I stopped the experience after just few minutes: the mids were completely off! The voices were like compressed in the stage, that was a strange sensation which made me first think of a faulty driver. But then I switch the pads for the velour ones and this odd sensation was gone... The soundstage is, indeed, wider with the velour pads (not night and day though) and I could not hear a significant change in the bass reproduction.
 
I think the pleather pads are deformed by the (moderately) "strong" clamping force of the HE-500 and produce this strange effect on mids. The velour pads (newer version) are more rigid and stay better in place.
 
IMO Hifiman still has some work to do with the pads. We all know the first pads with their archaic locking mechanism (lol?!). The new pads look more professionnal but the locking mechanism is still not great: it is way easier to mount the pads, but they don't stay put on the earcups anymore.
The "feeling" of the velour pad changed as well. The HE-4 had a soft velour pad, really nice on the ear. The new pads are way more rigid, which is a good thing for music presentation, but i prefere the old pads comfort-wise.
 
To confirm that the pleather pads (at least the one I received?) and the clamping force of the HE-500 don't go along well: I put them on the HE-4, which has a much lighter clamping force. Wow! the soundstage now has a lot more air in it! Soundstage was the main reason why I decided to go for the HE-500, and by no means I would go back to the HE-4 now I listened to the 500s, but I think the HE-4 with deeper pads (like the new ones) are worth giving a try (well, for those who own them already. From what I read, there's no reason to buy the 4s over the 400s now...).

 

[Gribble]

Although I am happy with the treble response from my HE-400's I thought I might experiment a bit with cables to see if any improvement was possible. Rather than replace the headphone cable I have changed the analogue cables between dac and headphone amplifier with silver ones. I don't make any claims about increasing the frequency response but the cables certainly suit and there is a certain crispness to high notes that wasn't there before. Sufficient to say it was an inexpensive improvement and the cables are staying.
The velour pads are MUCH better than the pleather ones when they have worn in a bit by the way.

 

[IEMCrazy]

 
Quote:

I don't really like the pleather pads on the HE-500 as well. When I first received them (newer version), I thought they looked nice with the pleather pads on but I was anticipating a certain discomfort (my experience with leather/pleather pads are not that great, I always preferred the velour ones). In term of pure comfort, I was wrong, they are really nice. But in term of music reproduction, I stopped the experience after just few minutes: the mids were completely off! The voices were like compressed in the stage, that was a strange sensation which made me first think of a faulty driver. But then I switch the pads for the velour ones and this odd sensation was gone... The soundstage is, indeed, wider with the velour pads (not night and day though) and I could not hear a significant change in the bass reproduction.
 
I think the pleather pads are deformed by the (moderately) "strong" clamping force of the HE-500 and produce this strange effect on mids. The velour pads (newer version) are more rigid and stay better in place.
 
IMO Hifiman still has some work to do with the pads. We all know the first pads with their archaic locking mechanism (lol?!). The new pads look more professionnal but the locking mechanism is still not great: it is way easier to mount the pads, but they don't stay put on the earcups anymore.
The "feeling" of the velour pad changed as well. The HE-4 had a soft velour pad, really nice on the ear. The new pads are way more rigid, which is a good thing for music presentation, but i prefere the old pads comfort-wise.
 
To confirm that the pleather pads (at least the one I received?) and the clamping force of the HE-500 don't go along well: I put them on the HE-4, which has a much lighter clamping force. Wow! the soundstage now has a lot more air in it! Soundstage was the main reason why I decided to go for the HE-500, and by no means I would go back to the HE-4 now I listened to the 500s, but I think the HE-4 with deeper pads (like the new ones) are worth giving a try (well, for those who own them already. From what I read, there's no reason to buy the 4s over the 400s now...).

 
Regarding clamping force, if HE-500 is like HE-400, I think the clamping force of HiFiMan headbands is a dice roll.  I have two pairs of HE-400.  One has a vice-grip clamp, the other is Audio-Technical-light.  I believe the headband MUST be bent/worked to loosen the grip for the soundstage to be right, and the cups must be rotated to the right position to fit the head.  If you let the full force of compression clamp the pads to your head it will destroy the soundstage and mids. And using the velour only to add more distance against the pressure would just be uncomfortable.  IMO, whether choosing velour or pleather, the headband must be properly fitted ,both for comfort and proper soundstaging.  The vice grip can't be allowed to stay!
 
That leaves the two major differences that the velour are still a little thicker overall, so there's still more distance/stage, and the material difference which should attenuate treble less and accentuate bass less. 
 
But the pleather should never be evaluated without first shaping the headband.  When properly shaped these headphones are very comfortable, and the pads do not compress much inward (ruining soundstage.)
 
 
Quote:

Although I am happy with the treble response from my HE-400's I thought I might experiment a bit with cables to see if any improvement was possible. Rather than replace the headphone cable I have changed the analogue cables between dac and headphone amplifier with silver ones. I don't make any claims about increasing the frequency response but the cables certainly suit and there is a certain crispness to high notes that wasn't there before. Sufficient to say it was an inexpensive improvement and the cables are staying.
The velour pads are MUCH better than the pleather ones when they have worn in a bit by the way.

 
What length cables are you using?  While I'm not a believer in cables overall, silver does make sense to me.  However, I would think for a little 6" run, silver vs copper would be irrelevant.  The lengths we're dealing with are more or less jumpers, not cables.  Unless you do have long runs between DAC & amp.
 

 

[AndyTheDrifter]

I'm just about to pull the trigger on these, but need help picking out a DAC/Amp for $250 or less. Anyone have any recommendations? Currently leaning towards the Fiio E17.

 

[MattTCG]

How about E17 docked with the e9?

 

[Gribble]

 
Quote:

 
 
 
 
What length cables are you using?  While I'm not a believer in cables overall, silver does make sense to me.  However, I would think for a little 6" run, silver vs copper would be irrelevant.  The lengths we're dealing with are more or less jumpers, not cables.  Unless you do have long runs between DAC & amp.
 

 
Only about 150mm, as I said, I am not making any great claims (seen too many cable wars on Hifi Wigwam) but I did notice a difference. I could have returned the cables but chose to keep them.

 

[jerg]

Ok what the hell, the imbalance happened again. This time I was listening to it perfectly fine about an hour ago, put it down and just now listened to it and it's the exact same imbalance issue I had some time ago.
 
This is getting frustrating.
 
Heck the only thing I can attribute this to is there was a high pressure system moving in earlier today. Maybe my right driver metal tracing can't adjust to shifts in atm pressure? Ugh
 
Edit:
 
My guess was right. I opened it up quickly, still imbalance. Took a small tool and prodded the diaphragm at where the tracings bind it a few places very lightly, blow air at the diaphragm at both sides hard, and the imbalance is gone again. It seems that my right driver metal tracing is not binding correctly and shifts in air pressure causes it to bubble up or something causing the lack of contact / volume.
 
 
Think I'll be replacing mine. Really wanted to avoid that trouble but it's obviously a defect on my unit that will continue to bug me or maybe even worsen.

 

[wje]

 
Quote:

Think I'll be replacing mine. Really wanted to avoid that trouble but it's obviously a defect on my unit that will continue to bug me or maybe even worsen.

 
Good luck to you.  It sounds like you've really pin-pointed the issue to a great degree.  However, waiting on HifiMAN to handle a replacement is about as much fun as watching a tree grow.  I first contacted them on April 5th to get the ball rolling.  Today is April 24th - and, still no shipping notice on the replacement pair, yet. 

 

[MattTCG]

Do you have the first revision? I have not seen any such issue with mine...second revision.

 

[jerg]

 
Quote:

Do you have the first revision? I have not seen any such issue with mine...second revision.

 
No it's second batch too.
 
Honestly though, if you take a look at the drivers you can clearly see that the annealing job between the tracing and the diaphragm is truthfully quite shoddy. Now that I think about it even in the long run, the longevity of these units will possibly be compromised by that regardless of whether or not you get issues in the short term.