đŸ”¶ Hifiman HE5XX

The PS5 does not have an optical output like the previous generations. However third party companies should be able to make an HDMI to optical splitter to help out there.

Just something to keep in mind.

1 Like

I don’t play console, so
 I don’t feel the need to? Besides, even if your console doesn’t, your TV does.

1 Like

A Schiit Lyr 3 can drive about anything. No idea about gaming, I’m stuck on nethack for the past 35 years


1 Like

Sooooo
 I already got a shopping notification

8 Likes

Same
 they seem to be shipping early. I bought and received confirmation email within 3 minutes, at 10:03 AM PT.

Was it a shopping confirmation email with a tracking number, or a “thanks for your order” email with an order number?

To be clear, the 10:03 AM email I was citing was the day the drop started, Wednesday 28 October 2020, 3 minutes after it started, just confirming I had joined the drop - the email I got yesterday has a tracking number :slight_smile: I was just pointing out that I was a very early adopter :sweat_smile:

1 Like

i am relatively noob
 am using Fidelio X2, Beyer 1350, Aiwa Arc-1 so far. almost always used these with LG phones - v10/20/35 and now v50, am considering he5xx as my first planar. but don’t want to buy a DAC. would i be ok (say 95% performance? i dont care going from 95 to 100). driving it with LG V50? or i would be better off with fidelio x3 that is more neutral, compared to x2?

Most planars are not efficient enough for portable devices. The HE5XX have low sensitivity, I wouldn’t recommend them.

i would say you wouldn’t even get 95% performance. planars really need juice in order to sound like they should. dynamics and impact in particular really suffer. i suggest if you really want one buy a portable dac/amp or a dap in order to give it the performance it is capable off and you can still use it portably.

@elira and @Jose_G . due to my limited usage, i am trying to avoid getting sucked into this audiophile wormhole
 but i have an EarStudio ES100 though. will that be okay?

I was going by 16ohm rating for HE5xx and thinking that it won’t need an amp. Will Fidelio X3 (30ohm) need an amp, more than HE5xx?

1 Like

i getcha. Here’s the issue, the 16 ohm rating is true and all but it’s not about how loud the headphone will get. the headphone will be able to get sufficiently loud if not extra (not to mention that you have to consider the sensititvity level besides the ohm) but planars in particular no matter what the spec sheet says really really need power in order to reach teh level of dynamics, detail, slam etc that they are capable of. WIthout an amp they will sound a bit lighter, weaker and lack speed and control. The fidelio x3 isn’t something that i have used but most headphones do improve from amps so i assume it would also sound a bit better. however the HE5xx will indeed benefit more from an amp

You have to factor in the sensitivity of these cans as well. At 18ohms and 93.5 dB, assuming 93.5 dB/mW since Hifiman stupidly only provides their sensitivity data as dB and 93.5 dB/V is stupid inefficient, your player needs to output 443mW (2.8V RMS and 157.6mA RMS) at 18ohms. Since power is often dominated by current at this resistance, the voltage output should be at the lower-end of the spectrum that the device outputs here. However, the LG V50 seems to output ~2V with an HD800 at 300ohms, where voltage of the device is likely at its peak (confirmed by ESS).

So, to get to 120 dB SPL, you’ll need more voltage at 18 ohms than what your device can output at its peak around 300 ohms. In other words, you’ll need an amp. Of course, no one listens at 120 dB, but it provides more than enough headroom for anyone listening at lower volumes. Plus, higher sources of current seems to control the planar drivers better. Hell, even shooting for 110 dB SPL power requirements with the HE5XX would be a big ask for the LG V50.

TLDR: The LG V50 is unlikely going to drive the HE5XX to its potential. Any number of amps ~$100 USD should fit the bill.

1 Like

Point is, an amp is recommended highly for a planar and in general for headphones to unlock the potential of stuff. Specially since the LG amps aren’t really unlocked unless your headphone is right in that specific ohm requirement area. If u stil want portable there are good amps out there like xduoo 05 or xduoo basic etc

1 Like

takato14 tearing the HE5XX a new hole (build-wise): https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/all-of-he-5xxs-bullshit-that-i-noticed.10120/

Granted, these are $220 headphones but then again these are $220, so one cannot be faulted for thinking that the build quality should be better POS skullcandy’s. Hell, $150 ten years ago (~$180 in 2020) got you an AKG K501 whose build quality would probably shit over the cheaper Hifimans. Then, there’s the HD6XX at $220 with the benefit of economies of scale and whose build quality cannot be faulted other than the extensive use of plastics. However, those plastics seem to be sturdy enough to last for years.

1 Like

Hello,
What do you expect that is typical for Hifiman.
Every listener has some quirk in terms of processing.
The cheaper the Hifiman the worse.
Unfortunately, one must say for the money, other manufacturers create the money much better.
I was lucky that I had nothing to complain about with my He4xx in the processing optically regarded.
What bothered me more was the sound from the 4xx so dull somehow and also powerless.
That is why it went away relatively quickly, even if there is now a He5xx I keep my distance.
If I feel the desire to take a planar again, it will start with the Quad Era 1 and possibly end with the Audeze or Aeon 2 one of the 3.

2 Likes

The only HiFiMan I’ve had issues with was the HE-350, but even then, I had a pretty great experience with their customer service(they arrived with the yoke broken on a Monday, they responded the next day had had a replacement headband in my hands by Thursday, no money out of my pocket.)

I’ve got the LG v40 and ran the HEX v2 with it - not well. I did the kludge to get more volume out of it. But the bass was indeed weak, and worse the DAC purported to be excellent was shown to be dog meat by my Gumby. The v40 DAC “breathes” like a DBX, its bright then it sounds good, then the timbre is all wrong. The v40 is supposed to be the most audiophile tuned of all the LG’s. Don’t believe it, get a used DAP for cheap, or a desktop and be done with it.

1 Like

Just like me, you’re probably going to get both workin a couple months. I want this uber-width. Have also wanted DT880 for a bit. I have a weird fetish for high impedence cans (lots of old AKGs)

Mine got delivered today, how rare lol. Well, first off, build isn’t great, but it’s serviceable and comfort is actually decent so far, absolutely nothing to write home about but honestly at the price I wouldn’t complain too much, although I think there are other options in the market with better build at a similar price

Sound wise so far it’s mixed for me, this kinda landed where I expected it to, but it’s doing a bit more. For starters without even proper listening time this has absolutely nothing to do with an he500 whatsoever. If anything, it could be closer to an he560, but even then not really. It does have some characteristics of a deva from memory, but it also sounds preferable to the deva imo, it’s got better impact and punch than the deva (not by much though), a bit sweeter of a frequency response with better timbre in the midrange, and treble sounds like modern hifiman treble although there is a bit of a upper air peak. It’s got some treble sharpness to it, it’s not a smooth sounding headphone, but it’s not overly sharp with a decent source. Bass is interesting, it’s almost rounded sounding, really strange, although extension isn’t as good as like a sundara and neither is impact, but it’s not offensively bad and extension is good enough for the price range unless that’s a priority for you

And from memory comparing to a sundara, a good way to think of this headphone is an alternative to a sundara if you wanted something less neutral with a a bit more fun fr that can be driven better by 100 buck amps. To me the sundara is more refined and capable, although it needs a better amp to get there, where the 5xx so far is more enjoyable on less than idea sources than I remember the sundara being. This being said so far I would take a sundara over a 5xx even with a 100 buck amp, but there might be times where the 5xx might be preferable

So far enjoying them but curious to see how things progress

17 Likes