All of HE-5XX's bullshit (that I noticed)

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by takato14, Nov 6, 2020.

  1. wadec22

    wadec22 Almost "Made"

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    Hifiman build is something you are willing to sign up for or not. Part of the pre-purchase decision tree for sure.

    I LOVED the HE-6SE, just could not live with the awful case, pads and cable for the price. Felt the same way about the Sundara. The HE-6se is probably the headphone sound I have liked the most, but I couldn't live with the QC tradeoff. Some certainly would.

    Coincidentally, my THX 887 has developed a scratchy pot. Just a reminder that a lot of the Chinese made units are a roll of the dice. They do offer great value proposition though.

    Personally, I lean more and more towards paying more for higher quality and better service. My perspective there has probably changed with life stage more than anything.

    That's where I would stand here. I wouldn't buy the 5XX based on the QC, just not worth it to me. I could certainly make the argument the other way though and find friends that I may suggest them too.
     
  2. mk801

    mk801 Almost "Made"

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    Same as my 789, which developed the scratchy pot syndrome after a year. Also, my CTH developed it just two months after taking delivery from Drop. A couple of months ago, I opened both of them up (Torx T10), applied some liquid deoxit to the pot, and worked the deoxit in there by twisting the knob back and forth for a bit. Result: The pot has been scratch-free since then.
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2020
  3. wadec22

    wadec22 Almost "Made"

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    That's good to know, thanks. Mine is still under warranty so I submitted a RMA request.
     
  4. robot zombie

    robot zombie Friend

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    @Kernel Kurtz You were talking about possibly bending the headband earlier for some clamp. If you haven't already, it's very magnetic across its whole length. Seems safe to assume it is indeed steel.
     
  5. tubefans

    tubefans MOT Drop

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    I heard Drop had more business than last year, and there will be no discount for Hifiman 5XX and Sennheiser HD6XX this holiday season.
     
  6. Baten

    Baten Friend

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    I immediately returned HD650 when I bought them around that age. I didn't understand the hype, didn't hear the natural tone and timbre. Many years later HD6- series are my number one favourite :p I think many people have similar anecdotes.
     
  7. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I have always hated the hd6xx tone and timbre and will never own an amp bad ass enough to make them sound good to me. But I definitely understand the love from people who do own the necessary upstream gear. For me they require Yggdrasil + EC Super 7/studio type upstream gear to sing. As far as I’ve experienced so far anyways.
     
  8. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Thou shalt savor a wee chalice of the Holy SW51 with the unleavent HD6xx.
     
  9. robot zombie

    robot zombie Friend

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    For real, though. The synergy between the hd6xx/650 and SW51+ is pretty undeniable. They almost sound modded compared to plugging them into the Vali 2 elsewhere on this desk. A lot of the nagging things about them such as the overly relaxed upper midrange, middling blackground/veil, indistinct bass, lack of upper FR excitement all improve quite a bit, without really changing the highlights they have in microdynamics, detail presentation, smoothness/natural timbre...

    It really breathes life into them in ways that tends to make just about everything sound so spot on that you don't wanna stop looking for stuff to listen to. The sound just has that 'it' factor to it. This is totally subjective, but like I said before, it is the kind of thing that makes you want to stop grading what you're hearing by its attributes and start listening to the performances/compositions instead of the gear. That, to me, is what the right TOTL upstream for your headphones is supposed to help facilitate. You get it hoping not to have to worry about that stuff anymore... to get beyond the need to evaluate more stuff.

    Hrm... I guess the way I'd put it is that if you don't like HD6xx's through that amp, I can't imagine that any of the 'true' TOTL synergistic options for that headphone would change your mind. I'm sure some would disagree just due to some specific thing that they are focusing on, but for the vast majority of people, the SW51+ is among the best representations of what that headphone can really do. There are some expensive options out there that are a little better, but not by much! It's really just a matter of finer preferences at that point, and what they're worth to you.

    The synergy issue may be part of why people would take something like the he5xx over the hd6xx. If you have enough power, it's easy to hear what the he5xx can do and it is immediately appealing (or not, if the peak bugs you - a lot of people seem not to notice that directly as anything but thinness.) The hd6xx and classic senns in general aren't going to necessarily wow you right away, on just anything. And even with the right thing, what's really so much better might not be immediate. To understand what it gets right, you have to be familiar enough to already be frustrated with what so many others get wrong. I kind of have a feeling that if I showed your average person he5xx through Vali 2 on low gain and hd6xx through SW51+ on high gain, most would pick the former.

    What I wonder is... if I sent them home with the former setup, how long would it be until they were tired of it and started thinking back? You know what I mean?
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2020
  10. James Whiting

    James Whiting Facebook Friend

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    I agree with you for the most part! Stock the HD 650's were alright but nowhere near my Paradox Slant's. With significant mods doing literally everything that has been suggested on these pages and a few of my own mods I actually slightly preferred them. Took a year of fiddling with them to get them to sound that way! My son owns my
    Frankenheisers now! Someone, I forget who, named them that on this site.

    jgwtriode
     

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