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Sherv
147
Dec 24, 2016
Just got my pair a few hours ago, delivered much sooner than anticipated so I'm happy.
Straight away I can tell these are inferior to my he-500 but they are better than my work pair. Compared to my he-500 this feels a lot more restricted/smaller sound stage. Bass feels less punchy and looser than my he-500. Also I find it to not be as fast as my he-500... Like in some speed metal songs its harder to tell the drumming when it really picks up in speed. It sounds blurred in comparison to he-500.
Sounds good so far and its unfair to compare to my he-500 but its what I use everyday. I haven't finished my headphone test play list plus I need to get used to it for a few days to really appreciate the differences from tracks I normally listen to.
Few things I noticed is how light it is compared to its looks. You would think it would be a fairly substantial weight but its not... And anything is lighter than my HE-500 hahaha. The packaging wasn't very protective. I noticed the bubblewrap and the carboard was almost worn through from the hadphone hinges under the weight of some heavy object. BUT i don't notice any damage. The wood is beautiful.
I might invest in some ebony cups
Sherv
147
Dec 25, 2016
Shervedit 2: After a ful day worth of listening I have come to a few conclusions. This headphone does not sound good on my schiit lyr due to the tube micrphonics. lots of noise and loud. (not the headphones fault) Also these headphones sound best at lower volumes. Running them at higher volumes causes the bass to get loose and causes everything else to get blurred and a lot of details/instruments in a track get harder to identify/hear clearly. But at low volumes they sound pretty good. If I had a chance to preview them before buying... I most likely wouldn't have bought them. I'll test them at work on my o2 dac/amp and see how it compares to my akg m220/q701 after the holidays
jmonfire
43
Dec 25, 2016
ShervI have a feeling these would do well with solid states
Sherv
147
Dec 25, 2016
jmonfireI believe you are correct, I'll test my o2 dac/amp and nuforce at work after the holidays. I've been listening to them more. These are quite detailed at low/mid volume and I am hearing a few extra details that my hifiman doesn't reveal as easily. I'm going to keep listening to them exclusively for a few weeks then put the he-500s back on to see the difference.
Sherv
147
Dec 26, 2016
ShervEdit 3: Got home after the christmas party and felt like listening to some pink floyd, david bowie, and gipsy kings. Floyd and bowie sounded great but the second I started listening to gipsy king (FLAC Quality)... I was blown away. These sound super with guitar/spanish guitar. I had to listen through the entire album because it just sounded like perfection.
Sherv
147
Dec 28, 2016
jmonfireJust tested them on my o2 dac/amp and it sounds superior to my schitt lyr with all of the tubes I had on hand to test with. Much much better.
jmonfire
43
Dec 28, 2016
Sherv:-) How would you rate them with o2 combo vs he500 tube combo?
Sherv
147
Dec 29, 2016
jmonfireI'm not an expert audiophile and my ears haven't experienced a lot of setups but I've been listening to my Hifiman for many years. I'll try explaining the best I can.
He-500 and Lyr the bass is tight, has good extension, and i cant explain it... it adds bass to parts of songs without making it sound like a bass head headphone but very articulate and clean? I didn't realise how fast these headphones were. It makes music, especially female vocals, sound so lush and juicy (whatever that means). Huge soundstage.
The e-mu team plus o2 These sound more neutral compared to my he-500. Bass is good but I don't get the same punch and extension. Guitar, drums, and cymbals sound more realistic. I think the Hifiman may exaggerate instruments but in a pleasing and clean way. The teak also, in comparison, have smaller soundstage sometimes it makes some tracks feel distant. I can't explain it. These sound incredible at lower volumes and exposed some background sounds that I never noticed before on my Hifiman. Some tracks the bass sounds just like my Hifiman but I don't feel the impact as I do with the hifiman. Some tracks the bass is not there but is there with force on my Hifiman.
Anyway I tried, I'm no expert so take my comments with a grain of salt. Regardless I'm very pleased now I have tried them with a solid state amp.
jmonfire
43
Dec 29, 2016
ShervI suppose those are some of bass attributes planar magnetic drivers have significant advantages. I think I'll join the next drop on the e-mu and see how it will compare to hd600, akg k712 and fidelio x2 with chord mojo. My wallet just told me to f off though haha
Sherv
147
Dec 29, 2016
jmonfireI think you will not be disappointed. Took me a week to just start to appreciate the differences. And I believe you are right about planar magnetic and now I think ill go for an electrostatic set next. I remember seeing a koss esp 950 on massdrop like two years ago for like 45% off msrp... Ive been kicking my self ever since for not buying them
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