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Posted

Put about 5 hours on the HE5s last night.

INitial impressions are, no lack of bass for me for most tracks. SOme tracks I wish that it would just bring those bass notes a bit forward, but not a dealbreaker.

Mids are flawless but are voiced too forwardish to my tastes.

Running it out of the souped up EHHA and using a modified Assemblage DAC 2.6 for the source.

Even more in its favor, the HE5s had me up till 4 last night spinning track after track. :)

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Posted

moar impressions:

COmpared to the ID1, the HE5 has wider separation between instruments, more so than the ESP950 even. Better air and very resolving headpones. The ESP950 do have that touch of refinement though.

The ID1 though is still unmatched for being the best balanced ortho I have heard (apart from the bass hump of course.)

The ID1 surprisingly manages to keep up with the HE5 on many levels and isn't shamed at all. So I am not sold on spending 10 times the money on the newer ortho just yet.

They are very very nice and clearly better than the best of the vintage orthos i have heard and better than the LCD1 (At leasst the ones i have heard).

Very well finished and by far the best non stat deal out there..until of course if the LCD2 can do better.

Posted
and the Fang face palm test

Har! You figure he'll soon regret getting into this Neo-Ortho business? He might!

Thanks for the furthurr impressions, NoNoNoNoNoNo. Puts it in perspective nicely.

Posted
Just saw this. When they show up I'm excited to have a quick listen, even if my MPX3 won't be too happy with their 32 ohm goodness.

Of course I could just pretend I never saw this, and since Wayne has given me no other form of notification that there are expensive headphones landing on my door soon I could just claim total ignorance on the matter.

I sent them to the storage place, my new receiving department. I'd have to arrange for you to pick them up from the manager out there. Would be no problem if you're interested. I'll give him a call tomorrow to see if the package has shown up yet.

Posted

Wayne/Matt?

I trust the HE5s will be at Mike's meet?

If they happen to make their way to Gene's, I'd love to hear about how they do on the WA6SE.

Otherwise, my 6 SE or Gene's or both will likely be at the meet.

Posted
How's the treble? And how fast is it? Need moar impressions to tide me over until I can hear it myself, dammit. More air and instrument separation than ESP950 sounds interesting, though.

I got to hear these last night - worth every penny imho

The highs will make your ears bleed they are that sharp / etched. Overall the balance is very good, separation of detail is pristine and bass is most definitely not wanting. Great soundstage and superb design / finish make this an exceptional product. I can't imagine many headphones being in this league, stats included.

..dB

Posted
Wayne/Matt?

I trust the HE5s will be at Mike's meet?

If they happen to make their way to Gene's, I'd love to hear about how they do on the WA6SE.

Otherwise, my 6 SE or Gene's or both will likely be at the meet.

When is Matt's meet, exactly? I'm waiting to hear from the guy at the storage place whether they're arrived yet or not. After that, I can arrange to get them in Matt's hands (which will probably require that Matt go out to pick them up).

Posted
I got to hear these last night - worth every penny imho

The highs will make your ears bleed they are that sharp / etched. Overall the balance is very good, separation of detail is pristine and bass is most definitely not wanting. Great soundstage and superb design / finish make this an exceptional product. I can't imagine many headphones being in this league, stats included.

..dB

Highs that make your ears bleed is good? :confused: Can you explain?

Posted
Highs that make your ears bleed is good? :confused: Can you explain?

Forgive and correct me if I'm wrong, Don, but it's a bit of an inside joke. I like my treble flat and well-extended, but some people (read: most of the ortho crew) like to think I'm a bit of a treblehead. :P

Posted

indeed ans smeggy / walt coined the razor edged highs which "make your ears bleed". Essentially just very good high frequency extention , even bordering on sibilant when you turn it up loudly.

My preferences are to listen at low volumes but everything needs to be balanced - the HE5 maintain this balance both at low volume levels and higher levels ..dB

Posted

They certainly don't make it seem very appealing, but me likes my HF extension :D

I always listen at medium volumes. Too quiet and I don't hear all the details; too loud and I kill my hearing and can't hear what's going on around me. Interesting that there's enough bass at low volumes... equal loudness curves mean there's more bass at higher volumes.

Posted

Again, they are decently balanced..but not th ebest balanced ortho I have heard. But at the pricepoint and considering the fit and finish, they do have a winner..especially at their introductory price.

I am curious to say the least as to where the LCD-2s will stand against these.

Posted

Colin, exactly when are you getting your RP18 back? Brian (BoilermakerFan) said the RP18 scales hugely with SACDs on the CR-620 so I said I'd bring the CE595 and a couple SACDs. Do you or Dusty have better (if you have a SACD player, it's probably better) SACD players or a couple of SACDs?

As of now, I'm tentatively bringing:

Yamaha CR-620

Sony CE595

SRD-7

SR-X Mk3

SR-5NB

some SACDs

Posted

Whenever Brian sends them, which I think he said would be this week. I dont personally care about SACD, as I have none, but I do have a Denon DVD2900 we can use if you want to try it.

Posted

Okay, screw bringing any amplification. You're our SACD/hi-rez man. Nice collection, dude. Including the Goldfrapp.:D I didn't even know Hilary Hahn recorded the first Shostakovich concerto. It doesn't seem to get particularly good reviews, though, and I think there are better violinists overall.

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