Shahrose

They're no brighter or leaner than the HD800 or the HE6. What were you driving them with? Was it a pre-production pair? Then again, you say the HE500 are bright, which I don't find to be the case. Could just be a matter of preference. (I'm also a low volume listener: 65-70 dB usually)

Well then you scored. Too bad they stopped making the better-sounding old ones.

Personally, I found the HE6 to be in a whole different class. BTW, deepak. Do you have the older or newer version of the HE500? The old one has the unwieldy speaker wire for a cable and the plastic-backed, softer, larger circumference pads. The latest ones have a light, thin silver cable and stiffer, rubber-backed earpads. I actually liked the older one better for sound. They had great liquid mids. The newer one has tighter bass and a smaller soundstage but loses the special midrange.

It's been available for a few months now. Retails for $699 at most authorized dealers, including TTVJ. What's more, I have one, so it definitely exists.

In that case, I agree with you. The HD600 and HE500 blow away the 840. Those are mid-end closed cans. Give the 1840 a shot if you ever get the chance. I've seen a couple places selling them for $639 shipped. Oh and I'm also one of the ones who preferred the HE500 over the LCD-2. The Audez'es were better in some areas, but all things considered, I enjoyed the HE500 more.

Are you sure you aren't thinking of the closed 840? I'm talking about the newly released open 1840. I owned a couple HD600s and still have 3 pairs of 650s. Done A/B and long term comparisons. The Shures are clearly a step up in technical performance and scale higher. Their tone, aside from being a little bass-light for some, is also quite good (natural). BTW...owned several pairs of HE500s to compare as well. Just saying because I don't really trust meet/store impressions.

The HE500 aren't bad, but if you want something better for the price, try the SRH1840. Easier to drive, way lighter, more detailed, neutral and transparent. What you lose is the HE500's bass impact, but I think that's overdone anyways.

So would the Dynafet and Beta22 sound more similar?

Added more detail to the OP for those folks who asked. I'll throw the Peak/Volcano into the mix later.

Maybe it's just your preference, which is cool, but I wonder if you'd have a different opinion with more time spent. Owned both, sold the K1000 and didn't regret it for one second. Too far behind technically.

Oh and for anyone who finds them distant-sounding...you're not alone. After spending a couple years with the 800s, my fix was a pure silver cable. Copper and stock SPC pushes the sound farther out and slows/thickens it. Cable cynics will scoff...in which case they can have fun with their distant mids.

Bought mine twice...made a mistake selling them the first time. IMO? Best dynamic cans available, and I've owned most stuff.

I'll be getting my Peak/Volcano back from Todd this week after a socket upgrade. Will do a brief comparison with the Beta22 then. Also, I don't agree that the wire-with-gain amps are bright. Check your source before blaming the amps.

Thanks KG. Now someone needs to start building this bad boy. I don't hear much from Rockhopper, MisterX or the usuals these days. Know what? Supersym Dynahi, premium parts, with HeadAmp's build quality and finish = endgame amp.

I'm not interested in going balanced right now, but might be later. How's this supersymmetry Dynahi different from the old Dynamite? Main thing I want to find out is if there's a potential for SQ improvement. Same goes for the new Dynahi rev. vs old.