šŸ”¶ Hifiman HE5XX

You’ve done well.

The iFi can push it, especially when done balanced.

keep in mined source file quality will also affect how headphones will sound. you want 320kbps MP3 at minimum. so if you stream from Spotify, Tidal, etc, you want the Premium / HD level subscription.

I have been using mine with modius+RNHP. I think it is a good pairing. The forward not so wide sounding RNHP brings things a little closer with more dynamics and good impact (not as airy). Also the natural timbre helps a little with the planar timber.

Gotta say I’m not very impressed with them running from the Zen DAC. The Zen CAN comes in tomorrow, so we’ll see how that stack improves the sound. TrueBass added some nice low end. Turns out the balanced cable I bought doesn’t work either. With the 3.5mm plugs all the way in, I get no sound. Slightly unplugged they work. I’ll have to return and try another.

So I just got my TA-10 and HE-4XX back, but I’ve got about an hour before I have to be clocked in at work, so testing time will have to wait a little. I will have a comparison between the two headphones coming, using the TA-10, A-100 and ifi ZEN DAC.

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4xx? but this thread is about the 5xx… :face_with_monocle:

True, but I did say that I would have to get my 4XX back to compare the two.

Besides, it should get people who believe that you:

off my ass(dispite the Dekoni Blues I compared them to ARE planar, but I guess then you have the problem of comparing a semi-open to an open back design). Thusly I will be comparing the two, and giving my thoughts on the differences, and if I think the 5XX is worth the extra cost.

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Testing may take me a good minute, but here are the tracks I’m testing with right now. Like what Zeos has done with his roundups, I’m going with each song with each amp, using notepad to note my thoughts, trying to keep it all organized as best I can before writing up a more finalized version.
Trap Requiem - Apashe
Letter - Yosi Horikawa
F8 - FFDP
Angels Fall - Breaking Benjamin
Do I Wanna Know? - Arctic Monkeys
Nishio 2 - Lemaitre
The Drift - Blackmill
My Way - Frank Sinatra
Sinner - Ark Patrol
Green Tea and Honey - Dane Amar
Empty Crown - Y.A.S
RE:0 - Hiroyuki Sawano (Promare OST)
Hot For Teacher - Van Halen
Come, Sweet Death - Plantina Jazz
Lights Go Out - Fozzy
Fbs - Goatwhore
Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
High Road - Mastodon
Super Freak - Rick James
Berlin - The Piano Guys
Everybody Hates Me - Tom MacDonald
Politically Incorrect - Tom MacDonald
Tunnel Vision - Potsu

NOT an in depth review, just some thoughts i’ve wanted to share.

I was expecting them to be more agressive, after watching/reading a couple of reviews. they’re not overly agressive, imo. but not the smoothest also. i still sometimes wish for a bit more impact tho.

Treble: Coming to the 5xx after using the 1990s for nearly two months, they sound
not nearly as harsh or sibilant as the beyer can be, but still keeping some nice higher-end detail. damn good detail for the price in fact.

Soundstage: Quote from @M0N : ā€œAlso more into spatial creation, the 5xx has a bit of exaggerated width and verticalitiy/largeness which while isn’t the most faithful to the recording is tastefully done and tends to be enjoyable most of the time.ā€ summs it up pretty good. the widest headphone ive personally heard yet, is still the x2hr. that thing was just going for pure width. however, the 5xx’s stage does wrap around your entire head and can even let you things hear behind you, very impressive. lets say if the x2hr’s width was a 100, then id give the 5xx like 75-80.

Uto - The Beast (Fhin Remix) is a good showcase of what the 5xx can do width & height wise, imo.

Bass: To me it sounds defitely more than flat but not overly boosted so, a good middle ground. enough thump to be sastisfying.

Clarity: Id put them somewhere between the 1990s and the 990s.

Note: I dont know if this applies to all of europe or only germany. customs charged me 40 bucks when i picked them up, so keep that in mind.

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I’m considering these or HE400i 2020 or HE4XX. Can’t get the Sundara, too expensive where I live, want to try a planar for the first time. HE400i seems like a better starter, is slightly cheaper and from what I hear it’s built better plus the shipping is quicker since I can get them from a local retailer. Any other good Planars under 250$? Just not the M1060 cause the build on them is a deal breaker.

Is there a fit preference?
The 5xx are uniquely light/floppy for me, with a very large airy feel - that’s what I like about them - but I can imagine these attributes are love/hate.

Get the He400se instead of 400i 2020. 400i 2020 has been discontinued

If I couldn’t buy it I wouldn’t be considering it would I

The reviews seem to be more positive and cheaper. Why would I say instead of if I think you can’t buy it?

Other that one shill talking some nonsense about removing the grill all I’m seeing is how they’re more v-shaped he 400i with an uncomfortable headband

he400i 2020 and he400se have the same headband. it’s not the best but wears in and can be ā€œfixedā€. if it makes you feel better, the sundara imho is way less comfortable than both :smiley:

also what lrjshabaz described about the 5xx is something i would say the two 400s also have also. it’s a very comfy open feeling sound. less in your face but also potentially less fatiguing over time.

What’s the ruling on these with tube amps? Seems like it would help with some of the issues.

I’d say generally it wasn’t a satisfactory experience on any of the cheaper tube amps, I only found it to actually sound worthwhile on tube amps that were typically 1k+ (which wouldn’t be worth investing in for a 5xx). Hybrids on the other hand were somewhat nice, although it depends on the hybrid at hand, as while you can improve timbre and treble smoothness and further emphasize the stage size/space, you don’t really want any more bass bloat/roundness, looseness, or reduction in impact/softness imo

If you were looking for a solid hybrid for it, I did enjoy the liquid platinum with it a fair bit, the vali2+ was also decent (with a tube change)

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So they scale well then? Or is it just the circumstance of being better until the point its downsides become glaring?