[vc1187]

So recently I've acquired an HE-500 and I am running it off of the high gain headphone port on my HA-160D
 
Impressions:
 
Bass is very impactful and deep.  It seems like there is more bass with the HE-500 than there was with the LCD-2 r1s in this pairing, however the bass is not as clear, nor does it extend as low.  Soundstage is fairly wide and open.  
 
Sadly, that is about the only good thing I can say about this combination...  Let's get on with the things that bother me.
First and foremost, for Jazz and classical, this combination can work, but it's not the best I've heard.  Voice tones in general sound very sharp... overly sharp.  I hear an annoying sibilance due to this sharpness in voice tone.  It's somewhat ear piercing, and causes fatigue after a few songs which have the sharp consonant 's' sound.
 
I'm not sure if it's just that the amp does not pair well with the headphones, but treble sounds very artificial.  Drums sound great, however cymbals clashing together just sound like a huge wish-wash of sound to my ears, with short decay.
 
Does anyone else have experience with this pairing, and what were your impressions?
 
I have a very tubey amp on the way (La Figaro 339), which is known to be pretty good with the HE-500 (as stated by Lieven on Headfonia.com).
Hopefully this pairing can iron out the sharpness in the voices and the artificiality of the treble.
 
What are some great combos with the HE-500 that you guys have experienced?  I hear the Lyr pairs well with it.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
My HE-500 pairs well with the Schiit Lyr and NFB12. Just feed it lots of current and it's happy. I found the Lyr to be warm and smooth, the NFB a little more bright it seemed. Both handled vocals very nicely, everything was natural sounding, bass was deep, controlled, and not bleeding into anything. I chose the HE-500 over the LCD simply due to comfort since sonically they were similar. I just liked the treble of the HE-500 along with it's perfect mids and very authoritative ability with bass.
 
My newest thing is I am getting a speaker tap cable made for my HE-500, much like what people do for the HE-6, and will be trying it out on some different speaker amplifiers to see what massive current really can provide to the ear-speakers that Hifiman has made.
 
Very best,

 

[vc1187]

So instead of using the HA-160D dac portion, I subbed in the HRT MSII+ as the DAC, plugged the HE-500s into low gain, and cranked the potentiometer to max.  
 
The HE-500s now sound a million times better.  Songs where there are a lot of instruments and energy all at once no longer sound like a blob.  Everything sounds so much more smooth vs. analytical and sharp.  I am not getting ear fatigue after a few songs, and the bass is much more controlled.
 
Looks like the HA-160D's DAC portion is the weakest link.  Perhaps this was another reason why I didn't like the LCD-2s... I'm sort of inclined to get another pair of LCD-2s and give them another try lol...