🔶 Hifiman HE5XX

[donjklassen]

@M0N

I now really wonder how these would compare to a 560s because I have a feeling they might share some similarities

Reading through your comments I think you’re right here. Easy to drive, build is good not great, similar sound signature. Bass is more flat than rounded though and the slam can be pretty decent depending on the track (good with electronic bass, bass light ish with instrumental bass). If someone found the treble sharp on the 560s I wouldn’t argue but for me it’s closer to a hifiman than a beyer.

I’d guess the 5xx stage and space characteristics are more interesting as the 560s is nothing to write home about. Decently wide and open sounding with good imaging but nothing special.

5xx and 560s both seem like good choices at the price point.

Edit mids and timbre are fantastic on the 560s so regarding your comments both are strong here as well.

[M0N]

@donjklassen

Easy to drive, build is good not great, similar sound signature.

I would expect the 560s to be easier to drive and have better build tbh

@donjklassen

Bass is more flat than rounded though and the slam can be pretty decent depending on the track (good with electronic bass, bass light ish with instrumental bass).

That is what I have heard for sure regarding extension and bass linearity

@donjklassen

I’d guess the 5xx stage and space characteristics are more interesting as the 560s is nothing to write home about. Decently wide and open sounding with good imaging but nothing special.

Hmmm that’s what some write home about on the 560s lol, so I would have thought that would have been a highlight just like the hifiman, curious now

[RiceGuru]

damn so reading a lot oof peoples impressions looks like I might have to skip on these been wanting to upgrade planars for a while now and was hoping these would be decent. the sundara has been price dropped a bit in canada now and to import these the price is pretty close anyway. was hoping for a 4xx with more bass quantity and impact and these look like they dont deliver sadly

[M0N]

@RiceGuru

was hoping for a 4xx with more bass quantity and impact and these look like they dont deliver sadly

If you are after more bass quantity and impact these are not the cans lol

[ShaneD]

The Sundara’s are very nice. I got mine at $379.00(Cdn.) for an open box pair that transformed into a brand new pair. Hopefully between Black Friday and Boxing Week there will be some great deals.

[mbvjmc]

On the left, the HE-5XX that I received today. On the right, the HE-500 (Audeze headband and velpads). Both were driven by 4-pin XLR connectors from the Cavalli CTH, Cavalli Liquid Platinum, Marantz MM7025, or the THX AAA 789 at various times during my initial listening session.

First things first. The box is rather spartan (no cloth material as shown in MLE’s review), which resembles that of the boxes from previous Drop collaborations (HE-4XX and the Edition XX). The following also greeted me out of the box:

As you can see, one of the screws of the right button is exposed just from hanging the left cup. To fit on my head, the cups are spread further apart, which further exposes the screw. It looks like that the right button is about to fail.

What follows is my stream of consciousness initial impressions of my newly arrived HE5XX to a friend:

• Very cheap feeling, probably one of the cheapest feeling headphones that I’ve held in my hands (like Fischer-Price cheap feeling). Both the HE500 and the HD6XX feels much more substantial than the HE5XX. The upshot is that the HE5XX is light as feather where one would have no problems wearing it all day.

• L/R indicators are not immediately noticeable (later found written on dark on dark text, see above pic) but one can tell which side is which from the cup angle.

• There is indeed a chemical smell on the headband (definitely not new car, lol), but it isn’t strong nor does it fill my apartment with it.

• The HE5XX lacks the slam of the HE500.

• The slam of the HE5XX improves when driven from my Marantz (140WPC at 8ohms) but still noticeably trails that of the HE500 on the same amp.

• The resolution/detail retrieval capabilities of the HE5XX trails that of the HE500, which is by no means a resolution monster.

• There’s less body in the mids of the HE5XX than the HE500. When switching from the HE500 to the HE5XX, the mids sounded thin and the upper mids and treble on the HE5XX were a little more peaky than the HE500 on Sun Kil Moon’s “Duk Koo Kim [YT]”

• The CTH and LP add much needed body to the HE5XX

Later on, I found that the right connector on my HE5XX is becoming a little wonky. Also, the right button makes the right gimbal swivel considerably looser than the left gimbal.

I’ll add more later…

EDIT: Couple of hours later, I smell the chemical odor from the HE5XX in my apartment (kind of almost towards burnt plastic smell but thankfully not as rancid) with the cans sitting a few feet away from me.

[donjklassen]

@M0N

Hmmm that’s what some write home about on the 560s lol, so I would have thought that would have been a highlight just like the hifiman, curious now

So here’s what I’m thinking… when the track it well produced and staging is well recorded I think the 560s does a good job of showing you that. However, if the track is good or average it won’t exaggerate it.

I think that’s what I was trying to get across. It sounded like the 5xx was a bit exaggerated to you where the 560s to me just tells you how it is.

[M0N]

That would make sense, it does seem like the 5xx would be more fun than the 560s. Now I really gotta hear one to make sure lol

[BluJay614]

Not nearly as knowledgeable as @M0N, nor will I pretend to be… Probably haven’t had nearly the time to listen to them either.
I apologize for the novel.
So, just as a rundown of my set up, I am using the DAC in my ZEN, RCA split (line out, not variable so “Power Match” and “True Bass” wont effect the other amps) to the BasX A-100(I have removed the jumper mod for this) and xDuoo XD-05 (OG). I’m running through with my DT-990 Pro, K550 MKIII, Dekoni Blue (Swapped back to the stock hybrid pads), and the 5XX. I don’t have my 4XX on hand, so I’m gonna have to wait to compare.
Power: These are NOT the easiest thing to drive. Granted, the T50RP (Blues) are notorious for being power hungry, but the 5XX seems to want ever so slightly less then the 990 Pro. 2-3 o’clock on the Zen, and Noon on the XD-05, both on high gain with their bass boost. Hardest to drive? Not at all. But they do want some juice to get going.
Comfort: These feel a bit like the 990 Pro after the Beyerdynamic has been broken in… With some cavoites. Of course, there is the larger pads, meaning less likely to touch your ears, or your ears the driver… but the fabric they chose is a bit rough, as it isn’t velour. I can say that even with the deerskin comfort strap on the Dekoni’s, with the stock pads, they are the least comfortable long term to me, given the much higher clamp force, with the AKG being the most comfortable.
Build: They really do feel kinda cheap… by far the 550 and Blues have a better build. They have about the same movement as a 990 (with the way the cups angle forward and back). While the 990 is louder, the 5XX has a sound that reminds me of noisy shoes, if that makes sense to anyone. As a quick note, the headband on my unit smells fine. I can also say I disapprove of how difficult it is to remove the pads, and even more so that the pads are glued on. A pad swap could potentially help, if there are any that would fit.
The left and right indicators are in glossy lettering on the back of the plastic piece connecting the sliders to the headband, contrasting against the satin finish. Beyond that, the connectors are angled slightly to the front.

My lineup of songs I tested with:
Breaking Benjamin - Angels Fall
Minmi - Shiki No Uta (Tribute to Samurai Champloo) Japanese Version
Yosi Horikawa - Letter
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk
Tha Trickaz, Apashe - Trap Requiem
A Perfect Circle - Judith Explicit
Volbeat - I Only Wanna Be With You
Dabin - Hold feat. Daniela Andrade (Original Mix)
Charles Bradley - Changes
Frank Sinatra - My Way
Frank & Nancy Sinatra - Somethin’ Stupid
Gemie - Λsʜᴇs ～RETURNS～
Gemie - Λsʜᴇs
B.J. Thomas - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
dona burke - GLASSY SKY
Hiroyuki Sawano - stRE:0ings
Ark Patrol - Intermission
Hiroyuki Sawano - RE:0
Platina Jazz - Come, Sweet Death (From “Neon Genesis Evangelion”) [feat. Niklas Gabrielsson]
Five Finger Death Punch - Far From Home (Live)
Mastodon - High Road
I Declare War - Quiet
Tom MacDonald - Politically Incorrect [Explicit]
Godsmack - Come Together (Live)
Inside Out - Dark
Evanescence - My Immortal [Band Version]
Godsmack - Serenity
Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox feat. Haley Reinhart - Creep
Stone Sour - Bother
Gorillaz - Dare
Glass Animals - Gooey
Bill Withers - Lean On Me
Gesaffelstein - Opr
Earth, Wind & Fire - September
Tool - The Pot
Lemaitre - Nishio 2

Bass: These are lacking a lot of sub bass, and some kinda bass boost can help, but won’t get the job done. Otherwise, I can definately agree with M0N on his statement that it’s round. Nice, full, clean. Just lacking that sub punch. Sadly, that kinda kills it on songs like Dare where it’s supposed to be there.
Vocals: This really made me want to turn away from the BasX (which I typically prefer) in favor for the ZEN or XD-05(A bit more the former then the latter). They didn’t sound quite as natural on the A-100 as they do on the others. While it seems to have a slight favor to female vocals, it’s fairly natural, though will bring out some of the characteristics of the mic being used. In “Somethin’ Stupid” I could clearly hear more of Nancy more consistently. I can say that in “Glassy Sky”, I could tell more of the sibilance in the way she hits an “s”. Nothing unpleasant, but it does stand out a bit more.
Pianos are absolutely BEAUTIFUL. The K550 come up next in performing with piano, but particularly with RE:0, none of the others made me feel like I was listening to the instrument crying.
Drums. Nice. Quick. Snapy. Not sure what more to say. They sound good. Sadly, in some more aggressive metal, they become the star of the show.
Initially, I thought these sounded really flat with metal, and it was just bringing out the drums, but with time it has gotten better.
Sound leak: Even between the two open backs… These leak ALOT more. Granted, I’m still the kinda ass who would absolutely take these out in public, and I have, but to each their own.
Space: This is a… Strange point for me. On some songs I feel it’s a bit exaderated, while on others, I feel like it’s not quite as much as I’d like it to be. For example, “Λsʜᴇs” and “Λsʜᴇs ～RETURNS ~” don’t sound quite as great and spacious, but I also don’t feel like the music is trying to reach for more like the others.

Overall, I like them. From what I remember (it has been over 6 months), I don’t like them as much as I liked my 4XX, but I’ll have to get them back in had to really compare the two. Yeah, they’ve got their problems, but so do most other things in the price range. I feel the pads could be better (they don’t exactly seal well around my ears, and I can feel it, though not as bad as the beyer pads).

Again, I appologize for the lengthy, and probably not too great description… And taking so long on this.

**Edit: I will admit I kneecapped the Blues, as those are not the best pads. I’ve personally been using the Dekoni Platinum Pleather pads, but I wanted to try giving a more “out of the box” approach.

[mbvjmc]

@BluJay614

I feel the pads could be better (they don’t exactly seal well around my ears, and I can feel it, though not as bad as the beyer pads).

The lack of clamp force is what I feel contributes to the lack of a seal. Sure, the cloth bits of the pads don’t help either, but the Arya, HEXv2, and the HE1000v1 all seal decently (not Audeze airtight though) with a similar hybrid cloth (or velour in HE1000v1’s case)/pleather construction in their pads.

[M0N]

@mbvjmc

but the Arya, HEXv2, and the HE1000v1 all seal decently

I do think that’s the best hifiman headband design, best comfort + seal

[BluJay614]

But could one acquire one of those headbands and have it fit on the 5XX

[Delta9K]

They (HiFiman) sell headbands - Not sure one fits your use case.

Audio Accessories for HIFIMAN Products

Perhaps this one?

Hybrid Headband

[Marzipan]

you can get a HFM headband from Adorama for a very good price, compared to from HFM directly.

[elira]

These need better pads, the fitting is super weird, some soft memory foam might help to get a nice seal.

[Deleeh]

Do not want to criticize you.
Just note something in your contribution.
The idea to use the bass boost with the Ifi is also very good.
I see only one mistake in your experiment.
You can’t use one Beyerdynamic as a comparison and the others if they are non-planar.
As cross comparison okay.

If then it would be good to leave the church in the village at the end and then really compare your He4xx with the He5xx like you said.
That would be the most important thing in the end.

The simple reason is that most of your listeners are dynamic drivers and not planar and the drivers have different characteristics with pro and cons.
You can’t compare them so directly with each other in the end, also because the dynamic drivers are more dynamic than planar ones.
It will be interesting to compare Planar with Planar, just as a side note without really wanting to be a smart-ass.

[BluJay614]

@Deleeh

mistake

Okay…

@Deleeh

You can’t

Oh? I “can’t”?

@Deleeh

if they are non-planar

Beyond the pros and cons of the technology, I fail to see the issue.

@Deleeh

As cross comparison okay.

That’s kinda what I was doing. Granted, I haven’t had the Dekoni Blue but for a month, maybe two, but it’s probably been used the most in that time. I also gave myself a day or so to get re-aquainted with the sound of the stock pads on all three amps. They ARE planars. I’ve had the K550 the longest, and I got the DT990 Pro not long after. I’ve had them for 2 years or so. I wanna say about June of 2018. I know how they sound to my ears, but still kept listening to the same list of songs so I understood how each song sounds on each of those headphones.
The point of these headphones was looking at how the sound, fit, AND feel of these three compared to the 5XX. Another intent was that they where all supposed to be in roughly the same price bracket, though I hadn’t realized the DT990 Pro’s price had dropped.

@Deleeh

If then it would be good to leave the church in the village at the end

???

@Deleeh

really compare your He4xx with the He5xx like you said.
That would be the most important thing in the end.

You’re right. Let me drop everything, drive 2.5k MILES back to school in a car I do not have, pick up my 4XX and drive my happy ass back.

@Deleeh

The simple reason is that most of your listeners are dynamic drivers and not planar and the drivers have different characteristics with pro and cons.

I would disagree, as the majority of headphones that are within a greater range of people’s means have dynamic drivers. Not to mention, if you look at IEMs, they are almost all either dymamic, or BA. There are very few exceptions to this.
Oh, and please don’t make me bring speakers into this either.

@Deleeh

You can’t compare them

I can, and I did.

@Deleeh

also because the dynamic drivers are more dynamic than planar ones.

Well, that is one of the benefits of dynamic over planar. This isn’t to say there aren’t other benefits of dynamic or that planar doesn’t have it’s fair share of benefits either.

@Deleeh

It will be interesting to compare Planar with Planar

The Dekoni Blue, which is just a re-branded T50RP MKIII with a slight tuning difference, IS planar, and WAS included in the comparison.

[A_Jedi]

HiFiMAN HE5XX Review - NOT an HE500, but is it the Deva?

[Jose_G]

@Deleeh

The simple reason is that most of your listeners are dynamic drivers and not planar and the drivers have different characteristics with pro and cons.
You can’t compare them so directly with each other in the end, also because the dynamic drivers are more dynamic than planar ones

As a general rule I think ur right. But I will say that my world is shattered as that dosent seem to always be the same, since I got the lcd 2 prefazor I was SHOCKED by the amount of slam it has and by how organic it sounds. Which are two characteristics that I didn’t find with planar due to the unnatural speed and decay on them. But now that I heard the lcd 2 prefazor wow, it’s the most organic sounding headphone I’ve listened to with dynamics that rival many of my headphones. I will say tho that indeed there are some distinct planar vs dynamic differences still at the end of the day

[Jose_G]

@BluJay614

@Deleeh

If then it would be good to leave the church in the village at the end

???

Lololol I was confused too but apparently he fully uses Google translate for English (it’s in his bio)