As a former HE-560 and current PM-2 owner, I'll add my two cents worth.
 
I think the difference in sound signatures make them both worth having at the same time. The only reason I sold the HE- 560 was the fact that I already had the HD-800 at the time, IMO their sound signatures are similar with the HD-800 being slightly better at most everything.
 
The Pm-2 plays on a level that exceeds it's price as compared to the 560 which is more in line with it's asking price. The HE-560 is however, well balanced and an excellent all- rounder.

Agreed with the comparisons of the previous posts. I have both PM-2 and HD800 SD and didn't feel the need/urge to buy a HE-560 when I have auditioned them. Now hearing a friend's HD650 on my Glenn's OTL Darna amp, I knew I had to get one. So I did.

svatopluk said:

As a former HE-560 and current PM-2 owner, I'll add my two cents worth.


 


I think the difference in sound signatures make them both worth having at the same time. The only reason I sold the HE- 560 was the fact that I already had the HD-800 at the time, IMO their sound signatures are similar with the HD-800 being slightly better at most everything.


 


The Pm-2 plays on a level that exceeds it's price as compared to the 560 which is more in line with it's asking price. The HE-560 is however, well balanced and an excellent all- rounder.

Click to expand...

 


Thanks guys, you're helping me to make a decision!

Now, I have Oppo PM-2's and am looking at Grado PS500e's .... are they going to be too similar ?
 
I love the PM-2's and see the graphs show the Grado's PS500e's as similar at the top end with less bass but more mid range than the Oppo PM2's.
 
Anyone tried or got PS500e's compared to PM2's ??
 
The PS500e is not as treble happy as the rest of the Grado range - or so I am led to believe ... but haven't tried them.  I like the idea of less weight too.
 
Views ?

The only thing I might change about PM2 is too add a touch of bass oomph. But they are such a good balanced all rounder headphone and a steal at the price

s-o8 said:

Now, I have Oppo PM-2's and am looking at Grado PS500e's .... are they going to be too similar ?

I love the PM-2's and see the graphs show the Grado's PS500e's as similar at the top end with less bass but more mid range than the Oppo PM2's.

Anyone tried or got PS500e's compared to PM2's ??

The PS500e is not as treble happy as the rest of the Grado range - or so I am led to believe ... but haven't tried them.  I like the idea of less weight too.

Views ?

Click to expand...

For rock/metal genres or even general home use, the PS500e are very tough to beat, especially when you add g-Cush ear pads to them. The PS500 series is said to be the warmest of all Grados, and I can say that they are the darkest-sounding Grados from SR325is to the PS1000. The brightness from these is surprisingly rather controlled for a Grado, if anything.

For portable and outdoor use, the PM-2 are still better, hands down. If you are primarily using your PM-2 for these reasons, you are better off getting PM-1 real leather replacement ear pads for a different sound signature.

I got started just one year ago. I started with an AKG K550. Sounds great to me. But it was too big to travel. So I got an AKG N60NC. It was nice and small in size and the sound was great to me ears. I am just a regular guy not an audiophile. Then early this year I got on the Dragonfly bandwagon. I bought the 1.2 then of course the RED just two months ago. So of course I had to upgrade to a Grado 500e to go with the RED. Then my next hook up was with the Mojo since on these pages they are like hot cakes. After just 4 days with the Mojo I took in the OPPO PM2. This just happened 3 days ago. I am breaking in the PM2 right now. And now I am reading about the Nighthawk and I will get that when I go to Taiwan on the 24th. Just this morning while I am starting to listen to the PM2 after 3 days break in I heard they sound really great with tubes. Man, I am sick, I need help man. Any of you guys out there have caught the same thing as me? So as to my PM2 the sound is starting to come around. But the Grado 500e still has more energy on all fronts. I really think the PM2 needs a few more days to burn in. Or maybe better after market cables. I will see on Monday what's what on these PM2's. The Mojo is great with all that I own better then the AQ RED!!!

Hey my friend I am now on the exact same boat as you are getting on. I have both the 500e and now the PM2. The 500e is just two month old and the PM2 just 3 days old babies. I can just tell you they are soooooooo completely different in every way. Now the 500e really sounded better after the first month. I have the PM2 on all day all night. Lets see on Monday what it really does. Thanks.

Okkkkkk after almost 4 days burn in it's starting to come on. The first day it's really like a dead system. Now it's just starting to flower. I really think the PM2 needs 150+ hours of play before it will sound good. My Grado 500e I got 2 months ago really came on after the first month. Cheers.

thefitz said:

  I find the PM-2 to be most similar to the LCD-2.2 in fact. I think they have an overall similar sound signature: The PM-2 has a bit less of an overwhelming bass presence, and a bit more of a present, albeit coarser, treble presence.

Click to expand...

 
Hi - I'm quite intrigued by your comment. The LCD-2 costs almost double the cost of the PM-2 here in Singapore. I haven't tried the LCD-2, but if the PM-2 sounds quite close to the LCD-2, then it seems to be a bargain at that cost!
 
Even if the LCD-2 sounds a bit better, the PM-2 would be a real deal at half the price for say 80% of the sounds quality / performance of the Audeze. Would you agree?

crazydeep said:

   
Hi - I'm quite intrigued by your comment. The LCD-2 costs almost double the cost of the PM-2 here in Singapore. I haven't tried the LCD-2, but if the PM-2 sounds quite close to the LCD-2, then it seems to be a bargain at that cost!
 
Even if the LCD-2 sounds a bit better, the PM-2 would be a real deal at half the price for say 80% of the sounds quality / performance of the Audeze. Would you agree?

Click to expand...

I really think when you pass $700 USD for a set of headphones, a lot of the cost seems to reflect construction quality. The PM-2 isn't exceptionally well-built, but it's not flimsy, either. With the semi-open design, it seemed a little less robust than the PM-3, but maybe that's not a fair comparison. The LCD-2 is exceptionally well-built. The case of the LCD-2 itself is easily $75 more than the case of the PM-2.
 
Sound-wise, I'm more comfortable saying the PM-2 is 75% of the LCD-2, but maybe I'm being pedantic with that 5%. But then again, people are spending hundreds of dollars on USB cables. I don't think there's one aspect of sound that the PM-2 does better than the LCD-2, but it's quite close in all ways.
 
When you factor in the fact that the PM-2 doesn't need a big ol' amp, it's quite a remarkable bargain.

Here is my one week experience with the PM2. The first 4 days was whet I thought was burn in it was with the small cable. I used all three of my dacs. The new Mojo that I bought the PM2 for. Also the Dragonfly 1.2 and the RED. It sounded only ok not really great next to the Grado 500e. So just three days ago I decided to get a adapter for the longer more robust cable. WOW!!! So that's the real deal. I started to listen to music and stop the burn in. It really made a night and day difference. I mean 300% more base, better soundstage. Absolutely outstanding all around. So the cables do make a different so much so I just ordered the silver Dragon from Moon audio. Can't wait for that thing to get here so I can hear what changes that will make. Stay tuned.

Any one tried an after market cable with these? I've heard the Norne Solv X are a great match?

I just took delivery of the Moon audio Sliver Dragon last night. What a night and day difference with the PM2. I also have the Nighthawk. I will burning in the cable in 4 days and see what kind of magic this thing takes on. I can tell you the silver cable made more of a positive sound difference the the Mojo. Which is amazing!!!

Anyone have suggestions on where to buy these headphones NEW on a discount? They've been out for almost two years and was wondering if anyone knew a good website to buy them. Thanks. Or any alternatives to these headphones that sound better?