Keep HE-500 or get HD 6xx or 650?

So I have the HifiMan HE 500 and love them but they are pretty heavy, I’m thinking about selling them and buying HD 650 or 6XX, thoughts?

Like the old HD 500? Then the HD6xx would definitely be an upgrade. It would still have the Sennheiser sound signature, but improved upon from the old 5 series, along with better build and sound quality

Oh sorry no, I meant HifiMan HE-500. MB.

Sorry about that then. They are different sound signatures altogether, and personally I wouldn’t see the 6xx as an upgrade. I would say that’s it’s more of a lateral move, since they are so different. I would say they have almost similar detail retrieval (with the edge to the he500), the he500 has better imaging and wider soundstaging, while the 650 or 6xx has better mids and intimacy. The hd 6 series also has better tonality imo then the he500. I would say it would be worth giving the hd650 or 6xx a try, but I wouldn’t say it’s a definitive upgrade.

I mostly want something that is lighter for long listening sessions, but the sound stage and the lower end of the HifiMan’s is so good. So I’m not sure what to do at the moment.

The hd 6 series is definitely great for that, because of the warm intimate sound and lack of harshness, along with the better comfort. A lot of people see the 650 or the 6xx as a chill out and relax headphone because nothing really sounds unpleasant

Do you know how much less of a low end the 650’s have compared to the he HE 500?

The 650s have much less subbass and less lower bass, but the mid bass isn’t that lacking. But you will not have that subbass slam like the he500 is known for

Do you know any headphones that are both light and have the the sub bass of the he-500’s that arent 2k?

Hmmm… the Sennheiser hd 660s has more subbass, soundstage and imagining, and detail then the 650 or 6xx, but worse tonality, something that makes the 650 so special. Identical build and comfort thought

Something like the fostex tr-x00 purple hearts or th900mk2 have more and better subbass, but are narrow and aggressive sounding, and not super light or most comfortable, but are light enough. Beyerdynamic dt1990s have good subbass but are also aggressive.

Going a little higher, the Klipsch HP3 or campfire Cascades would also be a good choice

Edit: and the ZMF line is something to pursue at that price range as well

People have modded different headbands onto the he-500 to reduce weight and better distribute it. If you like the sound signature I would go this route instead of changing gear. The HD660 or other HD series headphones are so different from the HE500 that I dont think you will be happy

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I currently use a ZMF headband, with ZMF suede auteur ear pads.

Yeah, I agree, it’s more different than similar. You might be able to pick up a HE 5se perhaps

The mrspeakers ether c flow 1.1 or ether cx is also something to look at for a higher budget

The HE 5se has a 20-35k FR and the he 500 has 15-50 FR but its a bit lighter.

Hifiman drivers typically won’t do under 20hz without crazy distortion anyway though

would it actually be worth to sell the he 500s to buy the same headphone but slightly lighter and slightly worse FR

I mostly want something that is light like the HD series but could be close to the sound that a good planar can produce.

Also, in the same price range as the HE-500.

They are not the same headphone. The he5se is a recreation of the he5 with modern hifiman drivers, and yields higher performance with a more refined tuning. To be honest, frequency response really doesn’t matter once you go past 20khz, or below 20hz. You will not be able to hear it, and almost most music does not include frequencies higher than 20khz. The headphone you have now is more v shaped tuning, and the he5se is slightly less v shaped, but I prefer the tuning in the he5se over the original he5