I've bought some time ago HE500, and actually did some more or less extensive comparison to HD600 (and Takstars Pro80).
First I've wanted to compare them to HD800, but found out that there is too much conceptual diffrence between those 2:
- one strives to be a neutral headphone for good reproduction of music
- the second one is a more technical item, giving you a spectacular view on music (detail, extension, space, comfort)
So finally, the HD800 were left away, and I've compared them to more standard HD600.
Actually, I've compared the HE500 first to Takstars Pro80, they are in many ways similar (technically worse but just for 1/10 price), the main diffrence beeing that HE500 is open.
PS:Just recently I've posted a HD600 recomendation for someone who wanted to upgrade Pro80 to something similar, but that should be HE500.
And BTW: if someone really likes HE500, I think he should take a look on Takstar HD6000 as the portable headphones (they are not that comfy or portable, but neither is HE500)
I've read (and heard) that HE500 outperforms HD600, but I actually found that they are on par (cerca in terms of SQ, but also considering other factors).
The problem which I have is that normally I would just connect a headphone to any of the devices (as their sound does not differs that much; no tube amps), normalize the volumn to standard level
(like 0.5V for the HD600, that is for popular/rock music) and listen.
But hear I found 2 problems:
- The sound (especially bas) differs much with the source, where HD600 is much consistent (source does not make any diffrence, even from cheap 5$ mp3 players they sound amazing, while HE500 from high end smartphones sounds not very good. least to say)
- The sound (and here also bas levels) differs very much with volumn levels, even from amplified sources (like STX or added fiio amplifier to smartphone) they sound really unimpressive, where as HD600 does the job (at the same volumn levels),
and I found myself going with volumn to much higher levels then normal (especially considering that the mid-high section, which normally makes as volumn limit is recessed) beeing 1-1.5V for HE500.
Due to the above mentioned reasons, I will start with description of bass (which is the most likely reason of upgrading HD600 for HE500).
And I have some little doubts, because:
Technically, I would say that there are 2 schools of good bass:
- one is 'golden-ear' curve, where the lower bass goes up something like +6db (aka the Takstar Pro80 school), which brings the kick for electronic music and pop
- the second one is 'the bass guitar sounds like a guitar' school to which many of dynamics fall in (the bass drops [slowly] from 100Hz), good for acoustic music, partially to rock,
which most prominent exemplar is Sennehiser HD250 Linear or Ovation (the texture, clearness, weirdly deepness feels greate on those)
And for example with the amplified STX, I feel that the HE500 falls into the category, briging good speed, viseral impact and no overflowing of mids; which really, really impresses me.
However I'm not sure if this is something which should be done (the STX has high impedance, and this augments the bass for instance of Beats Mixr or HD555 heaphones)
cause this is the level of bass achivable by bass boosted headphones (quite similar to the Pro80, and with volumn equal to Mixr).
When the output is more normal (like Xonar U7) I feel that the bass is somewhere in torn apart, between sounding 'textured' and 'energetic'.
With low volumn or on crapier devices, the bass sounds like (even less than) the bass from 701 on (the same) low volumn.
Also, here are some obervations about the soundstage, which I find better on HD600:
- the positive part is that in HE500 the sounds on sides of your head have larger volumn/with, making them equal partners to the center, while on HD600 they soemtimes feel like being added as an onion layer
- the negative part is that the sounds on the left/right seem like they have to go through the headphone capsule (through the driver), were the left right is less tall than HD600, and the center part of HE500!.
there are rarly any sounds coming from left or right on the level of my forehead or from the shoulders (hello MH463 and SL330)
- I'm not really beliver of the fact that multi-one-mic should have depth; but on some tracks HE500 missed the depth were it is present, and I recall that HD600 at the begging suprised me with sounds from front or back of head
- The sounds in HE500 have more (don't know how to call it) edge, so pinpointing them is more eaisy
- But for general coherence of soundstage, the HD600 is better
As for the rest, pluses for HD600 are
- More realistic sounding mids, when I close my eyes HD600 really convinces me that there is someone before me; while in HE500 the mids are maybe a little bit more magical (sweeter) but feel that there is something just a little bit off with them
(they did improve over time, so maybe after some dozens of hours more they will be better)
- More coherent sound, hard to described it, but (especially at the beging) HE500 felt like they had some of the K550 illness, for whatever that my be, the high extension seems more natural on HD600
The pluses of HE500 are:
- speed of bass, treble
- mentioned above bass (but only for 'modern' music)
- HE500 sounds much clearer (however I could never understand the term of Sennheiser veil)
- the treble is more vivid, present (hard to say if this is a plus), however I feel that they both don't have that much in the higher treble (vide HD800)
- more far away sounding (for me that is the plus)
Generally HE500 feels to me (to some extent) like a technical upgrade of HD600.
So finally, I have choosen HE500 (at least the STX amplifier will have some usage), but that is mainly due to hobby factor (and having HE500 for some time),
and would be a little bit reluctent to advertise the HE500 for
- twice the price
- no portability (yes HD600 can be done portable)
- problems with amplification etc., when with HD600 you don't really have to care (I know that there are some persons which say that only with 2000$ amp it sounds good/amazing)
Maybe if someone would be more focused on bass-heavy music as house, R&B etc, that would be a good choice,
but I'm afraid that those people will value portability and will not care that much over sound improvment for instance (and especially) Takstar Pro80,
not to mention that Fidelio X1,L2 seem to be an alternative neutral but bassfocused solution (regretably I have never heard them, but I own L1, which has to much of and too hard bass)
PS: Maybe this review/comparison sounds like not very HE500 friendly, but for me kind of the HE500 seems to be praised as too much of improvment over HD600 (one league higer), so it is little bit counterbalancing, as I feel that one is some alternative version of the other.
PS2: I've been listening mainly to rock/pop/trance
PS3: One plus of the Hifiman is more of bonus items, nice looking cable, additional pads and cable joints