Two mod jobs: HE560 and JAR600

What is the cost of the mods? Curious, so it can help me place it on the value chart relative to other headphones.

 

Probably 400$ but I will start out at 300$ for introductory price for friends. Time spent in R&D plus materials plus time implementing the mod puts it in that price range.

Plus an aftermarket copper cable which the buyer can decide on but is necessary for this mod as the stock cable is garbage and silver/copper doesn’t work with my mod. I recommend a Chinese OCC copper cable for 100$ For the best SQ and price after trying many cables but Forza is nice for a more durable cable (that’s what came with this headphone) and if cutting costs then Audiophile Ninja works but doesn’t sound as good.

I’ll finalize the price when my modded HE6se makes the rounds. Thank you!

 

Crap, now I need a rhythm approved cable for my LCD's. You should be getting your pair this week, huh?

We will have a lot notes to share. @Ringingears has my pair of HE-560, which are from the first batch that wasn't real wood and still had the SMC connectors. I purchased them modified by @Ninja Pirate. I played around with pads and found a spot where I was satisfied without having to spend more money.

I was always fortunate to have have a modded HE-6 around to compare and remind myself... if the HE-6 requires this much more equipment and modding, than the HE560 with just some small tweaks is way more worth it (to me).

 

I’m basically just saying that a copper cable is required and giving the buyer options because it’s cables and people have their preferences.

cheap but high quality - audiophile ninja
Best SQ with no snake oil - Chinese OCC copper
Best feel and durability with almost as good SQ but still no nonsense - Forza

 

Like I said, I can't make that comparison. But on the plastickyness... it's not really a dealbreaker on them. Not even close. It more like "Oh, that is there. Huh." It's less a defining aspect and more of a transitory side-attribute. You're right, it's not very fucky.

You say you're not happy with this pair, maybe you mean to say the outcome for you and what you hoped to get out of it. Because I, not being privy to either the original or your experience modding them, hear a very capable and enjoyable pair of headphones. Maybe it's me not really being experienced with planars. I can paint you a picture of what I hear but I can't frame it. That's the grain of salt for my takes. I can only judge them on their own merits.

Man, do I sort of get that feeling though! I don't mod headphones, but I do mod games. And there is always that unfixable thing that you can't ignore. Spend hundreds of hours deep diving the engine to get things playing right and attain the changes envisioned. And you make so much progress... save for on that one thing. I can never fully shake that feeling of there needing to be some way... as though it simply must exist. And then I'm frustrated at being blocked from this thing that presently doesn't exist anyway. If a solution exists, I have no path. Show it all to someone else and they're like "Wow, how'd you do that?"

It's the same f'ing thing with making music. When I play something I love for someone, it's mixed. But the thing I just can't get right, I have to play occasionally to keep them happy.

I like to think it's a mark of passion. Something that happens when you're really into what you're doing.

Funny you should mention the 2C's. I've had a lot of fun with their crazy bass - still rock em, but I do get the feeling they have more potential. Especially after hearing these. Though I suppose that even before, when I went through the pad swaps and heard a little bit of that, none of it was ever quite right. I never really got to where I hear them leading. I'll have to remember that I know of someone who can mod them. I was hitting on that unfixable thing, and I don't have those skills. EQ is the best I've got, and it helped, but not in any transformative way.


Okay... no, I can give a comparison. They are a significant step up from stock LCD2C's. I feel pretty confident saying that. The 2C's have some cool things going on but these outperform them in resolution, timbre, and staging. For about the same money, I might have taken these over those. On first blush, absolutely. The difference is really stark to me. I do enjoy the bouncy qualities they have - I like dumb bass music sometimes, but I don't think it's any match for the control or tone that your modded HE560's have. Far easier to recommend, though it comes down to what that price difference would mean to you.

 

What does the Chinese OCC copper do better than the Forza OCC copper cable?

 

They're pretty close, but the Chinese AliExpress OCC copper cable has a bit more clarity and spaciousness and better treble response and is much cheaper. It's a very different design than those made by Forza, Norne and Arctic. Instead of combining strainds into large PVC coated groups which are then braided, they weave much smaller groups of strands. It wins up being a looser weave and is not as durable, but I believe it is this unique weave that sounds slightly better. There is much more weave in the Chinese OCC cable.

 

After a few days of listening, I can confirm what others have said: the JAR600 is my favorite iteration of the HD580/600/650 headphone. Hearing it on the DNA Stellaris has been an awesome experience and a good change of pace from the Utopia.

A little bit of EQ went a long way to bringing my Utopia to even greater heights. Has anyone tried to EQ the JAR600? What settings could I experiment with to dial this setup in even further? Please note that I’m looking for suggestions involving a “light touch” of EQ, not a 10-band surgical-EQ monstrosity.

 

Marv, thank you. This is exactly what I needed to hear. More music; less worrying.

I love the way these headphones sound and feel. I have spent hours listening to so much good music this evening: Beck, Massive Attack, Van Morrison, DMB, Matt Berninger, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden (wow!), Smashing Pumpkins, STP, Chili Peppers, Live, and Tool. Zero EQ and total enjoyment.

Technically, these are not on the same level as the Utopia with EQ. But everything about the JAR600 is easier. They are light, comfortable, and just fun.

I won’t sell the Utopia anytime soon; within the setup I have built around them (DNA Stellaris, SFD-1 MkII, PI2AES running Roon with light EQ), they are the best pair of headphones I have ever heard. The Utopia feel like the auditory equivalent of a tailored Italian suit that fits you perfectly and gives a sensation of power.

However, I won’t be surprised if I spend more time listening to the JAR600 over the next few weeks and months. It fits effortlessly into the system I built around the Utopia and benefits from the same synergies. Rather than a tailored suit, the JAR600 reminds me of a broken in, rich smelling, brown leather jacket that you have owned for 20 years and feels like an extension of yourself as you walk down a familiar street with old friends on a crisp, Fall afternoon.

Though not technically as accomplished as Utopia, the JAR600 may be the closest I have ever found to the “perfect headphone.”