[pauldgroot]

Like I said before this is a likely driver malfunction. Hifiman confirmed to me that there was a rattle issue in earlier batches and they said that it was fixed later on but mine from one of those later batches still had the same problem. It's the diaphragm hitting the magnets at certaint frequencies. This is probably because the diaphragm itself is not really tensioned so it has the ability to move around quite a bit. If you open the dust cover and push something like a ear wax stick just slightly on to diaphragm to move it away from the magnet it disappears. The diaphragm hits the magnets at the rim, not the center.  

 

[john57]

  Like I said before this is a likely driver malfunction. Hifiman confirmed to me that there was a rattle issue in earlier batches and they said that it was fixed later on but mine from one of those later batches still had the same problem. It's the diaphragm hitting the magnets at certaint frequencies. This is probably because the diaphragm itself is not really tensioned so it has the ability to move around quite a bit. If you open the dust cover and push something like a ear wax stick just slightly on to diaphragm to move it away from the magnet it disappears. The diaphragm hits the magnets at the rim, not the center.  

That is interesting that the diaphragm is hitting the magnets at the rim and not the center. It does sounds more like a tension issue. I remember when I had my Maggies( Magneplanars) loudspeakers  the diaphragm will hit the magnets giving enough sub bass power to the loudspeakers.

 

[Kalavere]

  If you open the dust cover and push something like a ear wax stick just slightly on to diaphragm to move it away from the magnet it disappears.

 
Are you suggesting that a DIY fix can be applied? 

 

[pauldgroot]

No I don't think you should try to diy it. When applying pressure on the diaphragm you change the properties of the material and the bass response diminishes. I have taken out the driver on mine and found that when I bended it over a specific axis it stopped rattling. Then I reinserted the driver and put two pieces of material opposite of eachother so that when I screwed everything back together there was the same bending on the driver. This did work but for me it was not a satifactory fix for a $900 headphone or even a $50 one.
 
My guess is that in order to have a strong enough magnetic field for the diaphragm with a single sided orthodynamic driver you need to have the diaphragm as close as possible to the magnet structure. This combined with the tension-less diaphragm can lead to higher that normal defective units.
 
So in order to fix the driver you will probably have to take it out, unscrew the nuts and bolts, remove the diaphragm (if it's not glued in) and try to evenly sandwich it back inbetween the plastic casing. Not something I would even think about if it's still in warranty.

 

[Kalavere]

I wasn't going to give it consideration as my 560's aren't even a week old yet! I was just curious; very informative couple of posts, thanks Pauldgroot. 

 

 

[pauldgroot]

You're welcome, I hope Hifiman has fixed it in the last couple of months and all newly sold HE-560's are working as they should.

 

[conquerator2]

I only get tizzing when the seal is broken - ie. I lift the earpad from my ear.
Guess I am in luck as I am an owner of the very first batch HE-560.
With good seal, I get no tizzing in any of the tracks mentioned above. I've also run my HE-560 through SineGen through 20 - 50Hz tones and raised the volume to test. Again, no tizzing with good seal, noticeably tizzing without a good seal.
I have a theory that my recently installed aluminum baffle [previously had my plastic baffle from the first batch] improves the seal significantly. Can anyone confirm this?
 
Also, love this tune - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrXLX9D8ibU

 

[pauldgroot]

Could be but my first two HE-560's also had problems even though they had the metal baffle. Right now my earpads are stuck to the baffle with double sided tape. Not having a proper seal also could make the HE-560 rattle but that's acceptable because there is no positive and negative pressure to counter/dampen diaphragm movement.

 

[Bill-P]

Paul, I opened my HE-560 up... and disassembled it down to the diaphragm.

And I found hair pieces and dust stuck to the conducting trace in the back of the diaphragm that would graze against the magnetic array at high excursions (resonant or under-damped frequencies).

It's not the diaphragm. It's really poor manufacturing quality control on Hifiman's part.

Cleaning those conducting traces carefully and flattening the traces gently so that they do not stick out anymore will fix this and allow a super linear sine sweep from down low to super high.

I think I mentioned this already at some point in this thread, but people didn't pay much attention at the time, it seems.

 

[conquerator2]

   
I'm using a CEntrance DACmini (1 ohm modded) as my source/amp. Definitely has enough juice for the HE-560 with 1.5W @ 1ohm.
 
Other songs I can hear it in (using Spotify/Foobar):
 
Hans Zimmer - Time (From about 1min into the song, the awesome rumble is completely overshadowed by the distortion)
Movement - Us (heavy emphasis on the sub-bass throughout the song, I hear the distortion periodically)
Gorillaz - De-Punked (this song goes reeeeally low, yet I barely hear the distortion. It's still there but likely because the bass isn't really boosted/loud in this track it isn't so obvious and distracting)
 
It's really strange, almost like there is a  part within the driver construction that vibrates when a certain point of harmonic resonance is replicated.

I don't hear any rumble in this song? Or I don't think I do 

 

[money4me247]

  This is a pretty userful tool which completely confirmed my thoughts.
 
http://onlinetonegenerator.com/
 
The particular frequency doesn't really matter. At default volume (50%), I get no distortion all the way down to 15Hz (I can barely hear it but I can feel it).
Once I pump up the volume to about 75%, I get very audible distortion from 15Hz up to about 70Hz.
 
Just like in the Gorillaz "De-Punked", that song goes waaay down low but the distortion isn't obvious - it's the dB that matter at those specific frequencies.

that makes me think that there is a problem with your amplification.
 
1.5W @ 1ohm does not mean anything as the HE-560 is around 50 ohms. Also, it does not state whether this is max power or RMS power. RMS power is useful as it is the average power that the amplifier outputs. Max power is useless as it is simply the highest peak power that the amplifier may reach - this does not translate well into real world usage as it may only reach that power rating for a few seconds. You will need to find the RMS per channel power ratings at 50 ohms.

 

[money4me247]

   
I was playing with Audacity running tones though my HE-560's and I get buzzing from 15 Hz all the way up the 450 Hz, mostly from the right channel but the left likes to chime in from time to time. It's so annoying. They work just fine a mid to low volumes, but as soon as I get 'involved' in the music and start turning it up I'm on edge just waiting to hear the buzzing on any track I'm playing. 

problems with distortion at higher volumes is common with higher impedance headphones that are paired with an inadequate amplifier. you will need to check your amplifier's RMS/channel power specs at 50 ohms. what amplifier are you using?

 

[pauldgroot]

Bill-P do you have pictures of the HE-560 disassembly? I'm very interested in seeing the inside and how it's done. Was it hard to put it back together?

 

[Kalavere]

  problems with distortion at higher volumes is common with higher impedance headphones that are paired with an inadequate amplifier. you will need to check your amplifier's RMS/channel power specs at 50 ohms. what amplifier are you using?

 
The Schiit Lyr 2... I believe the Lyr 2 is outputting 6 watts per channel at the 560's ~35 Ohms.
 
*edit* or 4 watts per channel at 50 Ohms.

 

[Kalavere]

Paul, I opened my HE-560 up... and disassembled it down to the diaphragm.

And I found hair pieces and dust stuck to the conducting trace in the back of the diaphragm that would graze against the magnetic array at high excursions (resonant or under-damped frequencies).

It's not the diaphragm. It's really poor manufacturing quality control on Hifiman's part.

Cleaning those conducting traces carefully and flattening the traces gently so that they do not stick out anymore will fix this and allow a super linear sine sweep from down low to super high.

I think I mentioned this already at some point in this thread, but people didn't pay much attention at the time, it seems.

 
I wonder if blasting them with compressed air would damage them? Obviously not from an inch away, but would it help remove debris?