= HiFiMAN HE-560 Impressions & Discussion Thread =

[Kyyul]

What are you guys using to power these babies? I need amp recommendation. 

 

[Kyyul]

   
Assuming the pair are in good working order, $650 is a great deal.  I have no idea if you'll like them, of course, but if you drive them well, and get a good seal between pads and cans, and pads and head, the bass should present itself very well, but accurately.  My modded pair dig deep and hit hard when the bass is in the recording, but there's no excess.  They're not "warm" cans, they're accurate cans, with a fine sound stage that can be increased somewhat if you mod/replace or remove the grills.  For me, they beat the HE-500s in the sound stage, separation and imaging departments.
 
What amp(s) are you planning to use?
 
I reckon you could sell them for close to what you paid for them, if you don't like them.  Hopefully you'll like them.

 
Amping is a whole different issue that I have kind of been skirting by until I found my destined pair of headphones. Which are probably going to be these HE560's. I don't really have a dedicated headphone amp other than my Soundblaster e5 that I use mainly on the go. I'm sure it'll push them well enough, but I'll need to get a dedicated amp once I find a good fit for my HE560's. Do you have any recommendations? 

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
Amping is a whole different issue that I have kind of been skirting by until I found my destined pair of headphones. Which are probably going to be these HE560's. I don't really have a dedicated headphone amp other than my Soundblaster e5 that I use mainly on the go. I'm sure it'll push them well enough, but I'll need to get a dedicated amp once I find a good fit for my HE560's. Do you have any recommendations? 

T​he Gustard H10 gets a lot of love, but really you should give us a budget and some idea about the sound signature you really hope to get. What DAC and source do you have?

 

[XenHeadFi]

  Before I take the plunge on these headphones, as they will be a HUGE upgrade from what I currently own (AKG 553, M50x) I want to be sure that I will like the sound of them! I've read for hours and hours trying to get a feel of what they sound like and I think all I really need now is a little extra push and enthusiasm behind my purchase. I found a used pair for about 650 dollars, and want to know if that's a good price point to jump in on. I know Amazon and other places list them for 900 dollars so I'm thinking that this is a pretty big bargain. 
 
My music tastes: Everything from punk rock to movie soundtracks, and electronic music to progressive rock. I will basically be listening to everything on these but country and rap/hip hop.
 
Now, I'm not quite sure the sound is for me, but I really want to try something different. I have audition multiple headphones very briefly. I really liked the Audioquest Nighthawk and Mad Dog over the HE400s, HD600. So going off that, is the sound for me? I really want an open soundstage and a present but not overpowering bass. That's why I'm looking into planars in the first place.  Thanks for reading if you made it this far! 

I've had my HE560s for almost a month, and we have basically the same taste in music. I come from Audio Technica AD700's, which are bright with a huge amount of air and a wide sound stage. I have not heard any of the headphones you have listed, so "grain of salt", etc.
 
The HE560's are much more neutral than the AD700's but have a similar sound signature. To match the AD700's in air and sound stage, I have to turn up the volume a bit higher. This is because the HE560's are flatter in frequency response. The bass extends down way past the AD700's, which are considered bass-light. There is no mid-bass bump (good riddance!) so you don't get the thump, but bass (strings), bassoons, and pipe organs give off a nice rumble and extend down. Classical doesn't sound as open as the AD700's but positioning is still good. Synthpop practically sizzles in the low end if they are using noise effects. Ministry's "Just One Fix (12" Edit)" sounds crisp even with all the distortion and the echo effects come through clean, too. Some people think they are bright, but that was exactly what I like in my headphones. Gaming with them is also good with good position location and explosions definitely sound better.
 
Clamp force is good for my head. I think I have an average sized head. I practically wear them all day on the weekends without pain and can do some nice headbanging (when the need arises) without them slipping too much.
 
While waiting for a dedicated headphone amp, I running mine through Nakamichi AV-300 AV Receiver (~100W into 8ohms, which is probably around 10W for 50-ish ohm of the HE560).
 
Thoroughly enjoy my purchase so far.

 

[Haris Javed]

Hello
 
I am using JDS labs Element, I was using Schiit Lyr 1 with Amperx tubes before. The HE-560's are much more efficient compared to some older Hifiman. GL

 

[Kyyul]

  I've had my HE560s for almost a month, and we have basically the same taste in music. I come from Audio Technica AD700's, which are bright with a huge amount of air and a wide sound stage. I have not heard any of the headphones you have listed, so "grain of salt", etc.
 
The HE560's are much more neutral than the AD700's but have a similar sound signature. To match the AD700's in air and sound stage, I have to turn up the volume a bit higher. This is because the HE560's are flatter in frequency response. The bass extends down way past the AD700's, which are considered bass-light. There is no mid-bass bump (good riddance!) so you don't get the thump, but bass (strings), bassoons, and pipe organs give off a nice rumble and extend down. Classical doesn't sound as open as the AD700's but positioning is still good. Synthpop practically sizzles in the low end if they are using noise effects. Ministry's "Just One Fix (12" Edit)" sounds crisp even with all the distortion and the echo effects come through clean, too. Some people think they are bright, but that was exactly what I like in my headphones. Gaming with them is also good with good position location and explosions definitely sound better.
 
Clamp force is good for my head. I think I have an average sized head. I practically wear them all day on the weekends without pain and can do some nice headbanging (when the need arises) without them slipping too much.
 
While waiting for a dedicated headphone amp, I running mine through Nakamichi AV-300 AV Receiver (~100W into 8ohms, which is probably around 10W for 50-ish ohm of the HE560).
 
Thoroughly enjoy my purchase so far.

 
AWESOME! Thanks for writing all this up! They sound pretty good for my needs and you have just confirmed everything. I think I'm going to take the plunge on monday when I firm things up financially. Can't wait to join you guys. 

 

[Kyyul]

 
T​he Gustard H10 gets a lot of love, but really you should give us a budget and some idea about the sound signature you really hope to get. What DAC and source do you have?

 
I don't have a dedicated DAC right now. I'm kind of building from the ground up. My budget is around 300 bucks. But I'll fudge it a little to really get the best bang for my buck. 

 

[Kyyul]

  Hello
 
I am using JDS labs Element, I was using Schiit Lyr 1 with Amperx tubes before. The HE-560's are much more efficient compared to some older Hifiman. GL

 
How was it using tubes with the headphones? Did they alter the sound at all? 

 

[cs098]

   
How was it using tubes with the headphones? Did they alter the sound at all? 

Wa6 + he 560 owner here, tubes definitely change the sound.
 
Reciters like the sophia princess, can make the he 560s into a lush, think and almost dark sounding headphone. My currect rectifier I use is more neutral but still offers a bit of that tube warmth.

 

[Kyyul]

  Wa6 + he 560 owner here, tubes definitely change the sound.
 
Reciters like the sophia princess, can make the he 560s into a lush, think and almost dark sounding headphone. My currect rectifier I use is more neutral but still offers a bit of that tube warmth.

 
Almost dark sounding headphone? Oh boy that sounds pretty darn attractive. The problem is that these tube amps are probably too rich for my blood. At least right now. I still have to drop the money for the headphones. 

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Multi-bit tube buffered dac with a tube amp = lush but still neutral sounding 560. It's quite seductive.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

Tubes sound interesting for an HE-560. I wish I could have my father send me his pair, as my HE-500s work very well on the La Figaro 339, to my surprise. You lose some impact and tightness in the bass but certainly gain that lovely 3D layering and out of head experience with a good set of tubes.

I would think HE-560's relatively "neutral" sig would make an exciting combo with a tube amp, let alone a well implemented hybrid.

With that said, for the purposes of a newcomer to the HiFiMAN planar world at a 300$ budget, I would avoid a full tube amp for now and find an amp that prioritizes current (at least 1 Watt) into 50ish ohms. Some in your range would be Vali/Modi 2 Uber stack (Or Magni 2), NFB-15, Project Ember/Solaris and the H10, but with the latter three you would still need a DAC. I have owned the H10 and a Lyr; both drove the HFM with plenty of authority.

 

[wahsmoh]

Tubes sound interesting for an HE-560. I wish I could have my father send me his pair, as my HE-500s work very well on the La Figaro 339, to my surprise. You lose some impact and tightness in the bass but certainly gain that lovely 3D layering and out of head experience with a good set of tubes.

I would think HE-560's relatively "neutral" sig would make an exciting combo with a tube amp, let alone a well implemented hybrid.

With that said, for the purposes of a newcomer to the HiFiMAN planar world at a 300$ budget, I would avoid a full tube amp for now and find an amp that prioritizes current (at least 1 Watt) into 50ish ohms. Some in your range would be Vali/Modi 2 Uber stack (Or Magni 2), NFB-15, Project Ember/Solaris and the H10, but with the latter three you would still need a DAC. I have owned the H10 and a Lyr; both drove the HFM with plenty of authority.

I totally agree with you on the sound of tubes. Depending on the tube itself, generally you won't have as much bass impact and tightness as a solid state but I'm looking to transplant a Tung-Sol 5998 into my Bottlehead Crack which is known to have very impressive sound and bass. The soundstage and out of your head 3D experience is unmatched. I enjoy my new HD600 and BH Crack rig a lot.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

I totally agree with you on the sound of tubes. Depending on the tube itself, generally you won't have as much bass impact and tightness as a solid state but I'm looking to transplant a Tung-Sol 5998 into my Bottlehead Crack which is known to have very impressive sound and bass. The soundstage and out of your head 3D experience is unmatched. I enjoy my new HD600 and BH Crack rig a lot.

Yep, its a very addicting sound. I have two Chatham 2399 (the equivalent of TS 5998) powering each channel, but you would be surprised how good some of the cheaper tubes are as well. I really love the GE 6AS7GA, possibly better than the Chathams!, and the former go for only $30 a pair USD shipped while the latter is something like 300! From what I hear the Crack does love the 5998/2399, but I wonder how it could drive the planar. The Valhalla 2 definitely struggles to keep up with the HE-500, as expected, whereas the 339 has plenty of headroom. The V2 is definitely more suitable for the higher Z dynamics only, so I wonder if the Crack is similar.

However, the HE-500s are sounding best for me on my integrated speaker amp, as so many here have already attested. It sound so good that I pulled them off the For Sale forums. Apparently, this amp is a match made in heaven for the 500 but has turned out to be not enough for the voracious HE-6. The hunt will continue for that.

 

[Haris Javed]

oh yes! the tubes change the sound drastically. My amperex bugle boy add a lot of lower bass body and musicality to the HE-560, but at a huge loss of precision and faithful music reproduction. The tubes help a lot with top end harshness if your ears are sensitive.