DROP + HIFIMAN HE5XX Review and Measurements

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by purr1n, Oct 27, 2020.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
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    Hahaha, that post was scrubbed by the Head-Fi admins. Poor poster probably didn't even know and got a nastygram.

    Maybe it's time I tell of another story, the time where the Changstar crew made Jude cry at a meet held in SF. This one was another one of @zerodeefex's machinations (really a collective effort).
     
  2. mk801

    mk801 Almost "Made"

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    Last edited: Oct 29, 2020
  3. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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  4. Elysian

    Elysian Friend

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    Holy crap, I thought you were exaggerating about how locked down they've gotten. When your third-party sponsor is stricter than your own first-party community managers on squashing speculation... it wasn't even a negative or particularly critical reply.

    I would have archived the post but I think we're well past that point now.

    Could someone copy and paste the Drop posts? I don't want to register for their website.
     
  5. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    “Hey Friends, Is the 5XX a reskin of the DEVA? No, the driver is a completely different design. The 5XX uses a dual sided magnetic structure, like the original HE-500. This is a diagram of the HE-5XX driver:

    [​IMG]

    Note the position of the horizontal bars (magnets) relative to the empty oval pieces (diaphragm). The magnets are positioned on either side of the diaphragm, front and back, this is a dual sided magnet structure. The DEVA uses a single sided magnetic structure like the HE-4XX. This is a diagram of the DEVA driver (and headphone):

    [​IMG]

    Note the position of the magnets relative to the diaphragm. The magnets are all on one side (back of the earcup) of the driver. This is a single sidedmagnetic structure. The HE-5XX has the same number of magnets as DEVA (thus comparable weight), but a dual sided magnetic structure instead of a single sided magnetic structure. Why does this matter? Because dual sided magnetic structures produce more precise diaphragm motion, which translates to otherwise unattainable detail through the mid range, high end, and upper octaves (“air”). Sub-bass also manifests in unique ways, HE-500 reviews cover this at length.

    Single sided structures allow for higher peak force, big mid-bass and the upper-midrange impact that some communities value. Thanks for your passionate interest in our product. We can’t wait to hear your reviews once we get these in your hands. FYI- the 500 units shipping on Nov 6th and subsequent 1000 at the end of November are the only units that will be shipping in 2020.” -Will / chief production officer
     
  6. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    “Funny thing is that the HiFiMAN CEO himself said Deva has magnets on BOTH SIDES (though asymmetrical) in a video interview on YouTube with Resolve from the Headphone Show YouTube channel. Go look at this starting at 17:01 and at about 17:15 where he says "magnets on both sides" and Resolve asks, "magnets on both sides for the Deva?" and Fang responds, "yeah".. . and at mark 17:29 he explains that it is an asymmetric design with smaller magnets on the inside, bigger on the outside, and then he repeats at 17:42 that "for this very project... we use magnets on both sides." So someone here is at best confused -- there were early prototypes seen of the Deva with a grill that looked like the Sundara in design but silver-colored, and perhaps Fang was confused and talking about an earlier prototype of the Deva (which later was adopted by this HE-5XX) that had magnets on both sides and then later they changed it to single-sided, perhaps, but in this interview, Fang unambiguously says the Deva HAS "magnets on both sides." If you want to know when the discussion turns specifically to the Deva in that interview, it's at mark 13:58 approximately and this continues into the discussion on it in which he mentions the "magnets on both sides" twice. In any case, I'm not mad about it, hell I have the Deva, and I joined the drop within minutes for this HE-5XX -- I just want everyone to understand that the confusion is warranted when the HiFiMAN CEO himselfsays there are double-sided magnets in the Deva.” -trellus
     
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Well, I can confirm HE5XX has dual sided magnets. It certainly looks this through a visual inspection. It's hard to see though in a photo. I tried my best to demonstrate this.
    dualside.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2020
  8. Roget

    Roget Acquaintance

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    Thank you purrin for the photo and the CSD measurements.

    For Deva, zoom into the Deva photo. There are two magnets close together like on purrin's photos. I can't post images.
     
  9. mk801

    mk801 Almost "Made"

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    For ortho's, I thought dual-sided magnets meant that there was a magnet array on opposite sides of the diaphragm (i.e. the diaphragm appears to be sandwiched by the magnets). I believe this was the point that the Drop representative was trying to make in their HE5XX diagram (see one array of magnets set on the baffle-facing side of the diaphragm and another array of magnets set on the grille-facing side of the diaphragm)
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2020
  10. Ash1412

    Ash1412 Friend

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    Im pretty sure they're the same drivers judging by the measurements, both having dual but asymmetrical magnets. The Deva diagram was probably just botched by whoever was using the CAD software. Probably same person who picked out the Deva color scheme.
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2020
  11. Baten

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    So basically Drop doesn't really know much behind the 5XX besides what HiFiman told them?
     
  12. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    In case anyone tries to edit the link in the OP to get rid of the "vendor" stuff, it will take you to a page that shows "Out of Stock": https://drop.com/buy/95467
    But the correct URL will not: https://drop.com/buy/drop-hifiman-he5xx

    I thought they suddenly decided to reduce from the original 500, but had one in my cart from checking the shipping costs, so figured mine was reserved and pulled the trigger ... oh well. Guess I can still cancel within the week if I change my mind.
     
  13. Philimon

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    Following review compares 4XX, 5XX, and 6XX.
    4XX: best bass, slightly v-shaped, better build vs HFM sibling
    5XX: brightest of 3 though the highs are not that detailed (resolving?), lacks dynamics, large soundstage, least favorite
    6XX: mids master, highs are not that detailed (amplitude), intimate soundstage
     
  14. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    So while I'm waiting for mine to ship, can anyone recommend a good, reasonably priced, balanced cable for these? Might as well order that now too.
     
  15. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I fixed the link.
     
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    FYI, if you guys really want to solve the mystery, pitch in to [email protected]

    Get to $120 or so and I'll cover the rest myself. To be honest, I'm really not that interested because there are lot more interesting things to discover. However, a slight nudge will help. Unless of course someone actually has a Deva they can send me where I will cover shipping both ways.
     
  17. cameng318

    cameng318 Friend

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    This image from this review shows the magnets on the ear cup side. I guess if Hifiman admitted double sided magnet sounds better at Deva's release, Deva would have got a lot more attention it deserves.

    [​IMG]
     
  18. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    https://drop.com/buy/drop-hifiman-he5xx/talk/2725493

    “Hey Trellus, thanks for your interest in the product can't wait to get it in your hands. I'm glad you're not mad, I am a little mad at this situation TBH. We explain this is a unique driver design, somebody posts "It looks the same as other thing so it is the same", and I'm back here explaining that you can't water crops with brawndo. Here are some performance determining factors that carry no visual indicator: What's the strength of the magnetic array and orientation of the field? If you have magnets on both sides, but it's tuned for 90/10 ratio of strength on one side, it's essentially a single sided structure, and it'll sound like a single sided structure. What about the strength of individual magnets in the array? If the outer magnets are stronger than the inner magnets, sound and performance will be different. What about the diaphragm tension and coating treatments? Higher and lower tension completely change the sound and distortion characteristics. Nano-meters of thickness in the diaphragm make a difference so surface laminates and treatments have a HUGE impact on sound for planar drivers. The 5XX's magnetic field makeup is unique, the magnet array design is unique, the diaphragm tension and coatings are unique.Anyway /rant, I'm excited to get these shipped and see the reviews.” -Will / Chief Production Officer
     
  19. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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    More from Will: “Hey, yea it's confusing Look to the left of the rectangular bars on the DEVA diagram, the diaphragm is the empty oval you see a couple steps to the left. Empty oval = diaphragm Rectangular bars = magnets Fang makes lots of versions of products and does in-line revisions, so it's totally possible there are different configurations of DIVA out there /shrug So engineering diagram from HiFiMAN's engineering team, vs a quote from a fang on a youtube show, seems like a coin toss. I'd bias toward the engineering drawings, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter from my POV. We didn't design the DEVA, we designed the 5XX.

    I'll likely remove this whole post in a couple days, not adding much to the discussion either way and coin-toss odds it's confusing people to your point.”
     
  20. nishan99

    nishan99 Friend

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    ^
    Looks like BS, smells like BS, most likely BS.

    I know HFM are assholes but I don't remember them being dishonest, they're honest assholes.
    Drop in the other hand have a history for being dishonest wily assholes.
     

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