Head-Direct's recent push into more high-end gear is definitely paying off. With the launch of the HE-5LE they are moving into territory recently exclusive to the already established like Sennheiser, BeyerDynamic, Audio-Technica, Ultrasone and the likes. What is interesting about the HE-5LEs is that they are targeted directly at headphone nerds, which we like. The HE-5LEs not only sound great in stock configuration you also get to customize quite a bit yourself, and with the coax plugs available for the public you can even design your own custom cable without having to pay an absurd amount of money to the headphone vendor.
Soundwise the HE-5LEs are very appealing, with the stock cable and on a non-balanced yet powerful setup these headphones provide you performance one would be satisfied with even at a much higher price. In fact some would argue that the HE-5LEs are superior to the HD800s, and I agree to some extent.
The only place where the HE-5LEs fail sonically is when it comes to sound stage. The big enveloping sound of the HD800s is just in a different league than that of the HE-5LEs. However, the HE-5LEs manage to beat the HD800s to my ears when it comes to midrange, and bass control which is remarkable considering that that they are roughly half as expensive.