Hifiman HE-500

Discussion in 'Soundcards, Speakers HiFI & File formats' started by Rebel975, Aug 8, 2011.

  1. Rebel975

    Rebel975 Guest

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    They just arrived via FedEx about an hour ago! I was so excited that I got up when my girlfriend left for work (7:40 am), and it's my day off! I should of slept in! Oh well. I had to be awake to sign for the package anyway. I would of died on the inside if I had missed the delivery. :nerd:

    I'm not really going to bother posting a detailed review of how they sound, because frankly I find poetic reviews to not be helpful at all.

    For example, "It has sparkly highs and a lot of body"... what does that even mean? I don't know. I've also found that different terms like "sparkly" and "airy" get used differently between people. That makes it even harder to discern the sound signature of something through reviews.

    In any case, I will say that: The bass goes as low as the track demands, and the mids and highs are well balanced. This is a very neutral headphone.

    The headphones are big and heavy, but so far (they've been on since I got them) they haven't hurt my neck. They're very comfortable. The earpads are soft velour- though I can't wait to see the new earpads that Hifiman is releasing soon (sometime this week, should be). These headphones actually fit my head better than my PRO 2900's do. I think the pads are slightly bigger, which helps for my big ears.

    These babies are also built like a tank. It's an all metal construction, and definitely feels like a $900 headphone. I feel like the weight actually lends to the feeling of these headphones being serious business. It's almost as if the weight of them makes me feel like they're more worth it.


    So, here's a bunch of pictures that I took.



    I bought them from Audio Advisor on Amazon for $903 with express shipping. Express shipping was only $4 more than free shipping. Took the ship time down from 3-5 days to 1-3 days. It got here in 2.

    It came in a plain brown cardboard box. Nothing special. To be expected.

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    Inside was the travel box for the headphones in a thick layer of bubble wrap and foam. I was very appreciative of the careful packaging.

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    The travel box is not wood. But, it's very tough anyway. Inside is a lot of foam for the headphones to rest comfortably in.


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    Opening the travel box reveals the headphone cable wrapped in some foam, and a spare earpad. It's a ridiculous cable. It's needlessly thick. I would expect this kind of cable to be used with real speakers.

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    The cable also uses a ridiculous attachment system. I wish it were more similar to my Ultrasone PRO 2900's. On them it's simply a 1/8" headphone cable with a screw like end that goes into the headphone. On these it's a hard to tighten coax connector.

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    Another thing: I wish that it had come with a 1/4" connector. Instead it comes with a 1/8", and a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter. I wish they had gone the other way around. I don't know of anyone buying $900 headphones to run out of an MP3 player. But then, these headphones are supposed to be "portable." If they're portable, why are they an open back design? If they're portable, why are they so inefficient? ... and so forth.

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    Here they are resting on a $6 banana stand. I'm going to remove the hook and bend the stand a bit, but this will basically be where the headphones rest when not in use. For $6 you can't go wrong.

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    My last photo! Hope you enjoyed them. :)

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  2. ROBSCIX

    ROBSCIX Ancient Guru

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    They look great, how do they sound?
    Many higher end headphones use removable cables so the end user can have them replaced with higher end cables if they wish.
     
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2011
  3. Rebel975

    Rebel975 Guest

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    They sound great. I've been listening to some songs and hearing soft sounds that I've never noticed before. I never took it to heart much when people would say things like "it gave me chills", but man.. these things can do it.

    But yeah, I just wish these removable cables were easier to attach. You have to get your hands into this tiny space to twist it onto the headphone. It wasn't made with people with big hangs in mind. And now that I'm looking at it- the cable actually does say "speaker cable 456 Canare 1109." What a beast this cable is.

    The headphones also came with 2 extra cable terminations for anyone that wants to make their own cable.

    The comfort, the build quality, the sound, it's all there. I'm going to play some games later and post impressions.
     
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2011
  4. ROBSCIX

    ROBSCIX Ancient Guru

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    They should sound even better after they burn in also...
     

  5. Vandrende Pind

    Vandrende Pind Guest

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    Congrats with the headphones! It sounds like you're happy with them. :)

    Are the pads deep enough to be comfortable for you?
     
  6. Rebel975

    Rebel975 Guest

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    Yeah. I'm going to leave them on when I go to bed for a few nights in a row. :)





    So far they do seem comfortable enough. I've had them on for 3 hours now and I don't have any complaints. However, I will definitely buy the improved earpads when they come out.

    Edit: I love the smell of new technology. lol
     
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2011
  7. Vandrende Pind

    Vandrende Pind Guest

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    Keeping them in their box when you're not using them, keeps them dust free and preserve the new toy smell :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2011
  8. RagDoll_Effect

    RagDoll_Effect Ancient Guru

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    They look really good, glad you're happy with them :)

    just wanted to know, as I am a bass fan, how well do they put out clean bass and crisp lows? Are they more defined bass than the others? Also, how well is the sound separation?

    Enjoy bro,
    for real :)
    RagDoll.
     
  9. Rebel975

    Rebel975 Guest

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    By the 'others' do you mean my PRO 2900's? Compared to those everything on the HE-500 is more defined.

    In terms of bass quantity the HE-500 is a bit different than the 2900's. I think on the 2900's the bass response must be a bit boosted. They are always hitting kind of hard. On the HE-500's the bass goes to whatever level the music demands.

    I just played a bass test and it was extremely satisfying. I could actually feel the impact. It definitely /can/ hit harder than the 2900's, but only does so if asked to by the source file.
     
  10. RagDoll_Effect

    RagDoll_Effect Ancient Guru

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    Ok, cool so you could say that they are sound adaptive... having that versatility would be incredible on headphones :)
     

  11. Rebel975

    Rebel975 Guest

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    I think it's due to them being pretty neutral headphones. They're basically flat from 15hz to 1000hz. So, if the music asks for bass, it delivers.

    I just looked, and I was right. The PRO 2900's have their bass boosted. Though it only starts at about 30hz. So the HE-500's can definitely hit lower notes than the 2900's.

    Edit: I'm listening to some rap/hip hop just to test (I normally listen to metal/rock/etc.), and damn.. the bass is awesome. This is one area where these headphones have left the 2900's in the dust. The amount of bass it can give is crazy. It reminds me of when I would run bass tests on my speaker system (12" subwoofer) just to piss of my neighbors in the college dorm. My friend came to my room one time and said: "I bolted out of bed- it sounded like an F16 was landing on the roof of the building." lol.. Good times. :nerd:


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    Last edited: Aug 8, 2011
  12. Postalisback

    Postalisback Ancient Guru

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    The headphones I use have a detachable cable (you could argue they arent exactly high end also), although it connects using pins rather than a screw in type system, also came with a tiny screw to fix the cable in but I haven't used it... :)
     
  13. ROBSCIX

    ROBSCIX Ancient Guru

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    Sure, I wasn't trying to suggest that only high end cans have replaceable cables but they are becoming more common on high end headphones. There are various type of connection system depending on the company and there are many companies out there that make high end replacement cables but that is another topic there.:)
     
  14. Rebel975

    Rebel975 Guest

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    I would love to buy a replacement cable, simply to have something smaller and lighter. Unfortunately the cheapest HE-500 cable starts at $200. The HE-6 cables look nice, and someone is selling theirs on Head-Fi for $70. I might get it.
     
  15. Vandrende Pind

    Vandrende Pind Guest

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    It's a very light and flexible cable, I don't notice it's there at all. It's braided single crystal copper, very thin.
     

  16. momomo67890

    momomo67890 Ancient Guru

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    cable upgrades are a scam i used to build cables for people and told them 100 times that what their buying wont be any better. but then again no one can build as small a ipod lod as i can :)
     
  17. Vandrende Pind

    Vandrende Pind Guest

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    I don't agree fully, but even so, it's also a matter of comfort and looks.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2011
  18. GenClaymore

    GenClaymore Ancient Guru

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    Yea I like detachable headphone cables because of being able to fix it if its break. Was the main reason I got my AKG 702s over the other options I was looking at other then its sound signature.
     
  19. Rebel975

    Rebel975 Guest

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    They most likely are a scam if you get one expecting sound quality improvements. I just want one that's smaller and lighter than the stock HE-500 cable. It's a seriously thick speaker cable. It's quite ridiculous.
     
  20. Rebel975

    Rebel975 Guest

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    Few things:

    1) I'm selling my PRO 2900's on Head-Fi. They're just unnecessary for me now.

    2) I'm probably going to buy a Hifiman HE-6 cable from another user on Head-Fi. Overall it's less than half the thickness and probably less than half the weight. Do want.

    3) I've ordered supplies (braided cable sheathing, shrink tubing, and a microphone) to mod onto these headphones.

    What I'm going to do is bend a piece of hanger wire into a circle that fits over one of the earpads, and attach a female to male headphone cable to the wire. Then I'll permanently attach the sheathed hanger wire to the earpad and have a removeable microphone for it, and it won't change the actual headphone at all. It'll just microphone-ize an earpad. Of course, this all has to wait until Hifiman releases their new earpads.

    I already do something similar with my PRO 2900's, but I'm going to do something more permanent with these HE-500's. I want a mic jack permanently attached to an earpad so I can easily detach/reattach it at any time. It's kind of awkward and very very sloppy with the 2900's.




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    So it'll be that- but with a removable microphone, braided sheathing, and permanently attached to one earpad.
     

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