Hifiman HE-560

I think its kinda wild there isn't a thread about this fairly popular headphone. If there is one and I missed let me know.

Measurements and Marv's comments - http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/hifiman-headphone-compendium.1685/#post-42319

After a long long marriage with Sennehiser harem, my ears got curious and wanted some strange. At the recommendation of some discord-ers I decided to give Hifiman a shot and found a decent deal on a used HE-560 ($425). I had heard this headphone at a meet roughly a year ago, and my memory of it was dry, flat, and not very fun. I wasn't expecting much, but had people I trust tell me I should try again.

The famous Uncle Rukus (aka @gandhisfist) told me "The 560 is well balanced if a bit dry in the mids (which i like), decent staging, good imaging and separation, good detail, good clarity". What he didn't say is this is his preferred can and he generally likes neutral setups.

Upon arrival this is a pretty good looking headphone, attractive wood cup pieces - well built, sturdy - light easy to wear. Screw type cable is a bit of a pain, but once its on, it stays on

My chain - Gungnir Multibit -> EC black widow

Listening - I've had this for about a week and am really enjoying much more than I thought I would. What I quickly found out is that this is a pretty power hungry can (at least as compared to high Z sennheisers). Comfortable semi loud listening on hd650 is 1/3 up on volume, he560 is 1/2 or a bit more way up the pot. Seems to sound better the more volume you put it. I tried out on a lesser powered amp and the low end dropped out, they became drier, and even mids seemed to shrink back. Expect to feed this hungry can, not to HE6 levels, but lower powered amps arent going to cut it.

This headphone has snappy tight bass, decent extension, but bass lite for low end junkies. I happen to find it perfect. Mids are clean, if a bit dry, especially coming from the wetter HD650's. But detailed, lots of low level detail comes through. Wasn't expecting this from all the planar hate that goes on. Treble was smooth, but just a tiny bit harsh for me. @MrTie and Marv seem to recommend Focus A pads to alleviate this. Stage was for forward than HD650 and imagine more precise. I now understand the HD650 laid back tag much better. Imaging less 3 blob (left, center, right), more natural.

HD650 does some things I like better i.e. mids, tone, macro detail. I can see this as a natural set for someone wanting to try something different.

Coincidentally I happened to get a HE6 to compare to. I like the HE6 more, but I feel like the 560 is a junior version, not as much bass / subbass, not as much stage, but similar tonal characteristics and much easier to drive.

Planar junkies - anything else to add? What did I miss?

 

My enjoyment of it is very genre specific.

With something like jazz, I think it's pretty incredible. I haven't heard much better.

With some rock (Nirvana, for example) it makes me want to rip them off my head and go vomit in a corner.

If I had the money for multiple sets of headphones, this would definitely have a place in my stable.

 

Well, I just took delivery of a pair, a few hours ago. With an adaptor, SE out of my Mojo, they sound pretty good, nice bass extension, and pretty fast. I'm looking forward to taking my life in my hands and hooking them up balanced to my Jotenheim when I get home.

Doubtless, I will have more to say soon...

I'm with Sir Mixalot in that I like a slightly bigger low end and a bit of darkness in my daily driver (stock balanced HD650). However, I also own some HE-400i, and really enjoy the lean planar sound.. and fancied more of the same, but maybe a spot less warm and a spot more detailed.. for when my ears want a change.

Edit:

@Skyline - the production and mastering on "Nevermind" is awfully harsh, isn't it? It even sounds a bit grating on my HD650 sometimes...

 

I seem to be alone in this opinion amongst my audio buddies (and probably the rest of the world), but I prefer the HE-560 to the HE-6. I owned the HE-560 for about a year & recently sold them as I now have an HE1000. The 560 does some stuff better than the 1000 though...slam's better for example (though so does pretty much every other headphone). The HE-6 I just found too much of a treble cannon for my tastes, and less comfortable. Show conditions caveat, but directly comparing @Negura 's HE-6 with my HE-560, there wasn't much in it but I did prefer the 560. I later had a chance to hear another (modded) HE-6 and felt the same.

Anyway, horses for courses & all that. Worth trying the Focus-A pads if you want it more balanced, but I found it did lose a little excitement in the process. Also, remove the grills and things get a bit more spacious. I meant to do a proper grill mod but never got around to it.

 

PS. Nevermind sounds crap on everything

 

Great review, @JoshMorr .. if I wrote a review in the 560, it would be frighteningly close to your impressions.. Ask the way down to how they sound when even mildly "undersized." I've owned the 560 three times.. sold them for various reasons.. but I still like them a lot (Jerg mods + Focus-A pads are my preference with them). If I ever got a Jot, the 560 world be one of the first cans I'd chase down for them.

 

Will have to respectfully disagree with you both. Analog recording that's not overly compressed. I find it quite nice on my HE-500/Ember setup and also with the HD650.

The 560 is just not my cup of tea with Rock.

That said, it did sound nice on a couple more mellow Jimi Hendrix recordings that I tried.

 

My problem with them is the fucked up midrange and treble. And yes, Nevermind sounds like shit - both technically and musically.

 

I have a pair. I like it. Runs out an Asgard 2. Alongside two modded HD580 I have. High five.







Jeez I should post more meaningful contents.

 

You people are all losers

My recollection is that @Marvey was pretty in love with these headphones, but that they took some definite modding and had to be paired very carefully with the right dac/amp.

I don't remember the specifics.

 

I always though Nirvana were dismissed in a kneejerky way because they were loud and grubby, the songs are often really strong, The MTV Unplugged set they did, which was produced by Scott Litt, who produced a lot of REM, was at the time the first session to be recorded in a single take.. and it sounded great.

Anyway, that's seriously off-topic

I know them feels.. (cough). I have a nice balanced cable waiting next to the Jot, ready to plug them in..

 

I can see where some would prefer 560 over he6, certainly easier to match amps with. While bass was the quick and easy answer to what is different, it was little things that I liked better on he6, stage, image, treble smoothness.


Any one know of where I can find some mod threads for these? Is it here and I missed? Thanks!

 

Well, assuming the usual caveats, here's an HF thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/738912/he-560-enhancement-mod-v1-5

Now, onto business. Plugged into the Jotenheim via my nice FAW balanced cable, these are some FAST headphones. Because I want to die young and leave a beautiful corpse, I stuck it in high gain mode, and cued up "The Waitress" by Tori Amos.. which does feature a certain amount of shrieking. Like GLaDOS, I'm still alive. Maybe the bottle or two of good-quality beer in my system cushioned things a bit.

There's plenty of slam, and the bass goes down nice and low. The Jot does its usual "take no prisoners" thing. Decent separation, and tons of detail. Getting my head around the quirky tonal landscape is probably a task for another less intoxicated day.

The treble isn't as troubling as I was expecting. With reference to the above posts, I actually fired up "Nevermind", and those splashy cymbals seemed less of an issue than they did on my BA-based IEMs. It was a bit tiring- but then I always found that anything more zingy than dark dynamic drivers make it a bit of an earful of barbed wire- so I feel like I got off lightly.

A whistlestop tour of favourite music (including "Systems/Layers" and "The Wall", and a particularly nice recording of The Planets) hasn't made me unhappy yet, initial impressions are that I could enjoy these as a second headphone for the Jot, when I want something a bit more stripped-back and severe.

 

I have a pair of FocusPad A and absolutely despise them on the HE-560. Just makes it sound horribly bloomy and unclear to me, kills the tightness and focus. I generally like the tonal balance and don't really find it bright like others do either, so ymmv.

 

I just got mine, and I have to say they are a bit of a disappointment. They lack bass, and they are too bright for me. The Focus Pad A helps a bit with the brightness, but that doesn't do enough to fix other issues with this headphone.

 

I don't know if it makes a difference, but I tend to use a thick copper cable with mine, particularly out of the Jot. I know that I'm also not particularly treble-averse, but don't recall a huge problem even when they were new.

That said, I do enjoy them out of the Vali2, with an EC6CG7, which is a bit warmer and more spacious.

Also, bass is there for me; it's not humped or fat, but it's present and extends downwards a decent way. It remains clear and fast in a busy mix. That said, the decay is fast, and obviously won't have the phat slam of dynamics.

The tuning isn't as good as my HD650, but that's the case on most cans, especially the high mids for classical.

 

Sorry to hear about the disappointment Indy. Curious to hear what amp you are using with them, I have heard them sound exactly as you describe on a couple of different amps. Hopefully we can build a consensus of what this pairs well with and what it doesn't.

 

What headphone(s) are you coming from? The main thing I struggle with is the aggressive upper mids. Even with Focus-A and TP it's nasty with some tracks and I'm getting close to throwing in the towel and getting HD 650.

 

For your reference, my signal chain is: DeaDBeeF Audio Player w/Direct ALSA (bypasses all of the audio software processing in Linux) -> Schiit Wyrd -> Schiit Bifrost Multibit (Bifrost Multibit) -> Schiit Lyr 2 -> Moon Audio Blue Dragon cable -> HE-560.

As much as I disappointed with the HE-560, I find the HE-400S w/Focus Pad A to be absolutely awesome. It is one of my cheaper headphones, but it really works for me way better than the HE-400i or HE-560. It nearly rivals my HE-500, and it bests it in some ways. I'm not sure if this is a synergy problem or not, but this setup works well for nearly all my Audio Technica headphones, HD600s, HE-500s, and HE-400S. It's just the HE-560 and HE-400i that I'm disappointed with...