Just got this letter from Hifiman. Lower price, just in time for the holidays. Die you wallet, die!!!!
Oh, and this part probably needs a highlight: “Please know that with these changes, I expect our pricing to remain stable for the foreseeable future.”
Themiddlesky
So now they give silver cable for HE500, wondering how it sounds 😀
Lieven V
Silver cable is on its way, we’ll talk about it for sure 🙂
Spencer Chan
Damn, I just got the HD650s too….. My wife’s gonna be pissed…
Anonymous
Bad timing..
Peterj
Chinese labour is even cheaper than i thought!
Anonymous
Sweet, I’ve been saving for some HE500’s, I wonder if I should get ’em earlier than anticipated, or spend more on a new Amp. (Strongly considering the Schiit Asgard, but open to other recommendations in that price range)
Anonymous
What does the HE-300 compete with and is it a good pair of cans? Does Hifiman make good things in all ranges or should we only bother with their high-end offerings?
Lieven V
I suggest you read all our Hifiman reviews, everything is answered in detail in there 🙂
Anonymous
sweeeeeeet! time to get a pair of ’em orthos!
jeffreyfranz
Wow, $699 for a phone like the HE-500, that’s pretty exciting.
Lieven V
Agreed, it’ an amazing headphone for that price!
Turokrocks
Those Grados 500 i was going to get seems a lot more expensive now!!! might be replaced with the He-500
Alavan Yi
HE-500 I am coming……………..
Rūdolfs Putniņš
Thank you Aude… I mean Fang!
Donunus
By the way, did the he-500 always have leather pads?
Rūdolfs Putniņš
Nope, leather pads were introduced about two months ago. In any case I hope that they fix the pad mounting mechanism, for a 700$ headphone it seems a bit miserable. Not to mention the HE-6.
Donunus
Oh, has anyone reviewed the he500 using these new leather pads. I can imagine a much brighter sound vs the soft pads since thats what happens with most other cans with leather instead of velour. Hmmm this might not be good
Lieven V
I received the leather pads as an extra with my HE-500. Never tried them as I prefer velour
Donunus
It would be nice if someone could review it with those pads since thats what we are going to be getting if we buy them
Anonymous
Lieven,
Can you give it a try and tell us, which pads is brighter/darker?
Lieven V
Ok, the pads issue. It’s not easy cause I don’t feel like A/B-ing all the time switching the pads. Imho the seal is better with the leather pads and it is more comfortable.
Soundwise I find the leather pads to brighten up the HE-500 a bit. It’s definately not darker at all. It actually sounds good, bit airier/lighter. That being said, I’m going back to the velour pads now 🙂
Edit: In the mean time I saw some pictures of the leather pads and mine look a bit different. They noticed an increase in bass/lower sound so the opposite of me. The mystery remains 😀
Anonymous
Isn’t it the other way around? Velour is usually always brighter than leather.
I mean I can imagine the current hifiman He-500 sound in velour being shifted down to a darker sound. I definitely can’t imagine it being a brighter sound. So I think the velour pads is there to make it darker.
Donunus
On my dt150 and k141 mk2 for example, velour pads make the highs smoother with more open upper mids and less bass presence but the treble is less sparkly on velours on those cans. The leather/pleather pads on those cans gave a darker type sound because of the boomier bass and less open/present upper mids but there is always a narrow peak in the highs with the leather pads (on those cans).
I guess the depth of the pads also matter as much as the material. On the dt150, the recessed midrange using the leather pads could be because those pads are very deep while the dt100 velours that i put on them are much shallower making the drivers sit closer to the ears. The closer proximity to the ears when using the velour pads are probably more of the reason why the mids are more present with them than the actual material on the pads though.
Bottom line is we really have to try them ourselves to know what the differences are on the he500.
Rūdolfs Putniņš
(P)leather pads usually make a better seal that most of the time results in a better capability to maintain high air pressure. As you know- bass is all about air pressure while highs are more projected into the ear. The question is whether the coupling to the cup will be sealed on the HE-500.
P.S. LCD-2 finally came out in velour for all the animal loving folks. I wonder how that plays with its bass.
Lieven V
Rudolfs: I love the look of the LCD2 with velour.
And I’m now trying the leather pads!
Lieven V
I replied about the pads just a bit lower down the comments.
Anonymous
Second that.
Austin Morrow
$700 for the HE-500. Yummy.
BT
I also had just acquired a pair of Senn HD650. does anyone have any feedback with direct comparison of 650 vs the he500? should I sell the HD650 and get the 500? I listen mostly with a little bit of every genre, into an integrated amp right now, but will be looking to get into entry dedicated headphone amp, perhaps like a Schiit Valhalla. any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Lieven V
I have both and I still love both but I have to admit the 650 hardly gets any use anymore with the HE-500 (and LCD-2- around). But in all honesty, the HD650 is a great headphone that does really well with tube amps and it still impresses me each time. So if you love what you hear from your HD650 I wouldn’t immediately upgrade. Also, I would invest in a dedicated (powerful) amp first, it will be good for the Senns + you will need it for the orthodynamic he-500
BT
what do you think about with regards to the Schiit Valhalla, if you have any experience on it? the other problem is that if I end up going the he500 route down the line, I have heard that the Schiit Asgard is a better match for the He500, versus the Valhalla. so decisions, and more decisions…..
Lieven V
If you’re going for orthodynamics later I would suggest the Asgard or Lyr. You can read it all in detail here: http://www.headfonia.com/triple-schiit-asgaard-valhalla-and-lyr/
BT
Lieven, any thoughts on apex butte vs what you reviewed recently, the violectric v100? have you heard both to make a comparison? I am hoping to find a well balanced amp that I can use something with the HD650 right now, and perhaps if I want to go HE500 down the line, I do not have to switch amp. do such amp exist to drive both kinds of headphones, either from under $500, and in the $500-1000 category? thanks again.
Anonymous
Lieven did the review on the Violectric, while I did the review on the Butte. Sadly both me and him can’t give you the comparison you want since we never had the opportunity to listen to both amps.
I think there are plenty of amps to cover both the HD650 and the HE500, from the $250 Asgard to the $1000 Burson (with the Butte, and other amps like the Graham Slee Solo in between).
This is what I said about the Butte and the HE-500 a while ago:
http://www.headfonia.com/little-apex-the-butte/#comment-321404265
As for the Violectric, I think Lieven can share his thoughts on the HE-500 and HD650 pairing.
Lieven V
The HD650 pairs very nicely with the Violectric but I really do prefer the HD650 with tubes. I love the Sennheiser lushness and the tubes
amplify it. Where as the violectric tries to keep the Senns more neutral. It just depends on what you prefer most, but yes, the
Violectric is more than good for the Senns and the HE-500. Then again, I prefer the He-500 on tubes as well. You just picked both the headphones I prefer with tubes 🙂
Anonymous
Hi BT,
In addition to what Lieven said, we discussed the HD650 compared to the HE-500 here:
http://www.headfonia.com/hifiman-he-500-first-impression/
BT
I actually did get a chance to read that article previously. I do not
think I would get a $2000 headphone amp. does that mean the HD650 is
that much inferior, comparing to HE500? I also had a chance to check
with another publication’s editor on his opinion. He informed me that
HD650 is very good in its own right, and that switching it to HE500 is
more of a lateral move, versus an upgrade in sound. any thoughts on that
guys, and gals?
Anonymous
The HD650 is very good in its own right, yes that’s true. But that also depends on the music that you’re listening to. A lot of people complains about the HD650’s lack of “speed”, meaning that it doesn’t play well with fast music. In that sense, the HE-500 is better because it can cover both fast and medium/slow music well.
steve2000xxl
No price drop for the HE-4?
Lieven V
Obviously not 😉
Rūdolfs Putniņš
Wait, wait, wait… Can someone tell me what was the price for HE-6 before this?
Lieven V
$1199
Rūdolfs Putniņš
Sneaky.
Hero Kid
How much where the HE-500s before?
Anonymous
I think $899?
Lieven V
Correct, or 750€
Trí Minh Cao
If the Sennheiser HD 598 is 70-80$ cheaper than the HE-300, which one has better value?
Anonymous
I think they’re both good headphones for the price, just depend on what sound you’re looking for.
Guest
Not sure where to post this but the ‘ Song of the day’ addition to the blog is a GREAT a idea!! thanks for that!
Lieven V
Thanks. I finally had a great idea, who would have figured 😀
Anonymous
Yea.. and who’s going to maintain that page now? You really should do it, L. It’s your idea after all. 😉
Lieven V
I don’t have access :p
Anonymous
Oopss my bad.
Fixed it.
ahok
yep, just in time after i spend all of my money on anime merchandise,
nice hifiman, nice
Lieven V
Return it and get a refund? 🙂
Anonymous
X2 on what Lieven said.
ahok
like i can do that,
im surely happy if someone want to buy all my nendoroids,
in case you don’t know what it is, do a quick google search lol
Joe
I thought you were making reviews. This’s selling!!
Lieven V
No, it’s communicating a press release from Hifiman. Have a chill pill 😉
Joe
Yes, that’s a romantic view of it.
Fontaine
Good thing I waited for the HE-500. But I don’t know whether the leather/velour earpads actually do make a significant difference. I am aware the LCD-2 is now available with velour pads too, but is there any other difference besides the looks and comfort? I personally prefer leather over velour because -ahem- it looks more classic. I like the feel of the leather too.
Can anyone share their opinions on the differences between the leather and velour pads? Also, I’d like to know the sonic signature of HE-500, especially how it compares to the LCD-2.
Lieven V
Hi Fontaine. Your first question was already answered in the comments below and for your second question you can read the HE-500 article where we discuss the LCD-2 as well. Happy reading 🙂
Anonymous
nice offer from hifiman
Anonymous
Nice indeed.
Swbf2cheater
The new cable is absolutely beautiful
Anonymous
I just got it yesterday with the new pads too, haven’t had the time to try it.
Agree the new cable is beautiful.
Turokrocks
Me tri
Nugraha N.
I am so getting the HE-300.
Morphing thru time
in you opinion what will the velour pads do to HE-300’s bass?
Anonymous
Do you mean the leather? The HD300 already comes with the velour stock.
Turokrocks
Just got my HE-500 with the new silver cable, all my cables are silver that’s why I made sure that I got the new upgraded cable, I love the can (Had the Bey1350, Sen25 originals ans Sen598) but this in a complete different league, thanks for recommending this and for the price update, for anybody thinking about getting this can, get your a$$ and buy it now, its one the best investment on audio I have spent…..
Mike
O yes, I am glad you are enjoying the purchase.