HIFIMAN Headphone Compendium

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by purr1n, Mar 24, 2016.

  1. takato14

    takato14 God of Ruin

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    I think he implied the HE-6 was better

    will wait for him to chime in though
     
  2. BioniclePhile

    BioniclePhile The Terminal Man - Friend

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    I haven't read anything about driver failure from HiFiMAN other than in the HEK. But then again, I haven't been on Head-Fi for months.
     
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I have a tendency to prefer proven classic selections which have withstood the test of the time. However, the HE-X/HE-K are much easier to amp than the HE-6.
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2016
  4. Kon Peki

    Kon Peki Friend

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    +1!

    @purrin - Any chance of a similar compendium for Sennheiser headphones?
     
  5. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    I heard the HE-X today and was very impressed, I think for my tastes it beats all the Audeze cans I've heard and gives my EQ'ed HD800 a run for it's money. Subjectively I thought the tonality was pretty similar to HD650.

    People are often asking the question: HD6X0 --> ?

    I think now the answer I'm going to give them is: HD6X0 --> HE-X

    But $1800 is quite a bit of money. Especially when the old HE-500 and HE-6 are still available if you look around. Or the HD800 with mods and EQ for that matter. Not sure if the HE-X is worth that much. I'd be much happier with a price around $1200 for the HE-X.

    But if you want to buy new and you're not prepared to mod or EQ and just want a plug and play experience the HE-X just might be it though. I thought it sounded great just out of the box.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2016
  6. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    How loud do you listen? Any issues with it sounding noticeably worse cranked? The pair I heard was very nice until you turned up the volume, then it got kinda ugly.
     
  7. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    Going by guesstimate up to about 80-85 dB, didn't notice any problems with that level. Maybe with more time I would have discovered some flaws but honestly I came away pretty impressed. Sound-stage never collapsed, the bass was always controlled, nice punch in bass and drums, vocals sounded good if maybe just a tad laid back, treble was smooth and not etchy like I think some of the Audeze cans can be. It's possible they aren't the last word in transparency and detail retrieval, but given the state of some of my favorite recordings that's almost as much of good things as it is a bad thing. Not saying they can't be beaten by other cans, but for something which was out of the box with no eq or anything I thought they sounded very good indeed.

    What problems did you hear?
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2016
  8. Ray

    Ray Friend

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    I had the X in house for a week. Pretty enjoyable but I don't think it has the detail retrieval of the hd800 or he6. I agree 1k-1.2k would have be more reasonable asking price.
     
  9. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Yeah, it's really when you start pushing beyond 85dB or so that it starts to creep in. 90dB isn't too bad. Start going further and it starts to sound really rough and glaring. Just like any way you could think to judge a headphone, it all becomes rougher.
     
  10. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    Interesting. I rarely listen that loud for extended periods of time so it might not be a factor for me, but I'll make a note to listen for it next time.
     
  11. cocolinho

    cocolinho Acquaintance

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    I fully agree with you and like many I believe price point is really not competitive.
    Here in Europe HE-X cost 6x more than HD650... I think they should be priced at HD800 level (=1200€) not 1800€; I would be ready to pay USD800 for a 2nd hand set though
     
  12. Ray

    Ray Friend

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    I ran across a pair of he-5Le in excellent condition for 525.00. is that a reasonable price for those.
     
  13. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    Completely out of topic, but just wanted to say that I absolutely love your avatar. My little one is about the same age, same hairdo.

    As far as the HE-5LEs, you can buy some for $540 of Amazon right now. So not sure if $525 is a huge bargain in the used market.

    I also don't remember ever hearing the HE-5LE, so can't comment on sound or comfort. The newer HE-400s sounded good to me, but I do like the build of the old HFM cans better than what they have in their most current offerings.
     
  14. Arnotts

    Arnotts New

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    Can anyone chime in with impressions of the Code-X compared to HD800's (assuming the HD800's tonality is fixed through mods or EQ)?

    Luis is truly a wizard, but the engineers over at Sennheiser are no slouches either, which has made me curious.
     
  15. tiger

    tiger New

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    At one point I owned both the HE500 and the HE560. I compared them side by side and the 560 was the cleaner and spacier set while 500 sounded 'thick'. However I don't think the measurement graphs indicate things so clearly. Are we back to subjectives then? (the 500 looks like even measures lower distortion in the bass)
     
  16. takato14

    takato14 God of Ruin

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    500 may have sounded thicker due to the more closed-in nature of the older HFM cans, not due to distortion
     
  17. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    500 sounds thick in comparison because the treble doesn't resemble the Rocky Mountain front range meeting the plains to the East like on the 560.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2016
  18. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    @Hands, there's a photo for that mountainous description you know. :D

    btw, HE-500 with balanced YFS silver+copper cable will be on my desk by Wednesday/Thursday.
    (decided on 500 instead of HD650)
    today rolled someone's nice cryo Telefunken matched pair into the Mjo2 to get ready for the hook up!

    will deliver some impressions here after hours of listening, it's been many years since having the HE-500 (initially).
     
  19. RiddleyWalker

    RiddleyWalker Friend

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    I still enjoy my HE-500, even though it doesn't get much head-time now that I'm smitten with my modded HD650. That being said, it surpasses the HD650 in speed, sub-bass response, and soundstage width/height - so it still has it's place in my stable for now. Recordings that benefit greatly from these traits just sound better w/ the HE-500.

    [​IMG]

    I had to put Alpha Pads / ZMF cowhide pads on mine to get the sound where I liked it. (Note: Alpha Pads and ZMF cowhide sound pretty much the same). Those pads really help beef up the mids and tone down the treble spike. I also attached the pads directly to the cups rather than using the plastic mounting rings, to increase perceived sub-bass. In my opinion, some form of pad mod is crucial - the stock pads that came with mine (old style velour/pleather) are uncomfortable as hell and sound like ass. Also put a ZMF headband on there for obvious reasons. Not the prettiest thing but it is pretty comfy now.

    Here's an FR chart made by Dan from Mrspeakers (IIRC) comparing HE-500 w/ velours (red) to HE-500 w/ Alpha Pads (blue).

    [​IMG]

    Looks to help smooth out the 700Hz - 4KHz region pretty nicely. The drop from 4-7KHz is this headphones greatest weakness. The 9KHz+ region really isnt bright all things considered, it just sounds rough because of the sucked out upper-mids/lower-treble. It manifests itself in a strange way where the sound is veiled/murky but bright at the same time, not unlike what I heard w/ the LCD-2 when I demo'd it. This is more apparent and bothersome on some recordings than others. I heard @Skyline HE-500 at a meet with Jerg pads and those seem to help with the 4-7KHz suckout. But they don't seem to have as much perceived sub-bass and are less comfortable IMO.

    That being said, the 20-700Hz region is rock solid and with the aforementioned pad mods, can really articulate rumble, impact, and bass information. While the soundstage has the typical hard left-right planar presentation, it's nice and wide which can help with separation and "texture differentiation" on certain tracks.

    The HE-500 is still a great headphone and an even greater value (you can usually find them used for $400 or less). I personally believe this headphone requires modding to sound good, but YMMV.
     
  20. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    The Alpha Pads definitely made some positive differences over stock (or modded stock) pads. Focus Pad A also works well for a nice in-between. Alpha Pads in particular really brought out the staging ability and made the headphone so much more comfortable to wear.
     

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