Hi folks,
 
I recently spent two solid hours comparing HiFiMan's production HE-560 against my own HD800 to which I've applied the Anaxilus 2 mod. I thought this comparison might be interesting to others out there, since previous such comparisons appear to have been against the stock HD800.
 
 
Equipment
 
Source: 2009 MacBook Pro/ OS X 10.6.8 / iTunes 10.6.3 (25) / BitPerfect 1.0.8
DAC: HRT microStreamer (V1.3 firmware)
Amp: Matrix m-Stage (2012 revision)
 
 
Build/Comfort
 
As others have noted, the HE-560 finish is not fantastic - the edges of the veneer are a tad rough under the finger. In terms of comfort though the diet they've been on compared to previous HFM 'phones really shows, as does the new headband. The weight is distributed evenly over the head, which is more than can be said for the HD800 which I find concentrates the weight in the top centre of the head (maybe I have a pointy skull!). The HD800 earcups are however hands-down light years ahead of any other headphone, so it's a draw on comfort overall. This is of course a big win for the HE-560 - to be considered equally as comfortable as the HD800!
 
 
Sound
 
I distilled these impressions by A/Bing a fair range of source material. See further down the post for the rough notes I took at the time.
 
 
Treble
 
The HD800 treble (when modded or, I assume, paired with an expensive amp) is sweet and clean. I no longer suffer the nasty sibilance that the stock headphone exhibited. That said, one can never get away from the fact the the HD800 is all about details, so its top end is always the section of the response where it has the most to say. The HE-560 was generally speaking less present at the top end (which is fine - it can afford to next to the HD800) but does occasionally exhibit some mild sibilance and glare. The treble generally sounded sweeter than the HD800, which I attribute that to the integration of the upper mids into the treble field, but strangely on a few tracks that impression was reversed and the HD800 had the sweetness upper hand. I'm assuming this is down to the frequency makeup of the song - if it hits the HE-560 sibilance weak spot then the HD800 wins, if it has a broader range of lower treble frequencies then the HE-560 wins.
 
 
Midrange
 
One HD800 failing I've not seen said elsewhere and didn't really appreciate for myself until this comparison is that, to my ears, it is rather light in the midrange department. I don't believe this is a side-effect of the Anax mod, though it is possible I suppose. This lack is most evident on acoustic guitars and voices - guitars are all fretboard and no body, voices all mouth and lips and no throat.
 
The HE-560 by comparison entirely excels in this department - guitars got their bodies back, and the bells (I think that's what they are?) on Bjork's Frosti just took my breath away! No more to say - the midrange on this headphone is, to my ears, just right.
 
I realised during the audition that this missing midrange is the cause of something that often happens to me when listening on my HD800, that being that I want to turn it up the volume but cannot because the top end just gets too shouty and loud. I realise that what's happening is that I'm trying to get more mids out but can't because the top end is so much more present in comparison.
 
 
Bass
 
As is well known, the HD800's bass is not as deeply extended as some phones, however the bass it has is exactly correct - neither distorted, flabby, overblown nor inadequate at that frequency range. As a non-basshead it is adequate for my needs; more extension would be nice but not at the expense of distorting what it already does so well. The HE-560 does extend deeper, which is nice, and its bass is by no means bad at all, but it just doesn't quite match the HD800 for tautness and control in that department. I must stress that it's a very minor distinction and the HE-560 does very well for itself; if this wasn't a comparison I'd have nothing but praise for it in this regard.
 
 
Conclusions
 
Overall I found the HE-560 to be more musical and involving whilst the HD800 imaged infinitely better and extracted every detail present in the source material. So far so exactly what you've read everywhere else I expect. Let me get into some details.
 
The HE-560 could get congested with complex source material such as full orchestra (especially at higher volumes) whilst the HD800 took everything in it's stride, resolving apart every instrument and nuance.
 
I could describe the HD800 as a surgeon wielding a laser scalpel at lightning speed - all the elements of the music are laid bare; cut apart and laid out in a broad space for you to be able to identify and focus on any one of them. For some music this broad soundfield is a boon (e.g. Jazz), for some it sounds artificial and unfocussed (e.g. solo guitar).
 
The HE-560 by contrast has a much narrower soundstage (though no slouch compared to some) that was nevertheless more accurate for some recordings. A solo guitar was focussed in the centre of the image, where the HD800 put one further back in the auditorium, as if one was hearing more of the secondary reflections of the guitar and thereby spreading its physical presence across the middle of the soundstage.
 
Despite the narrower soundstage, the HE-560 gave me at least two "Wow!" moments during the audition - times when I was summarily torn from my analytical comparison consciousness directly into _listening_ to the music; I had no choice in the matter.
 
I felt that the frequency spectrum of the HE-560 was generally better integrated from top to bottom; that there were almost no imbalances between certain ranges (the occasional sibilance and hardness were the only exceptions to this rule). The HD800 by comparison dips in the mids and then tips up noticeably in the treble. I found this imbalance to be a cause of distance from the music - the missing middle held me at arms length and continuously prevented me from simply being enveloped and carried away by the music.
 
Another analogy. In The Matrix, Joe Pantoliano's character Cypher gives a speech about how even though he knows that inside the Matrix nothing is real, so long as he can't tell the difference he'd rather stay inside it than live in the real world. For me, the HE-560 is being in the Matrix whilst the HD800 is the real world. Whether one chooses the freedom of the real world (with all the concomitant discomforts) or the beauty and integration (and concomitant limitations) of the Matrix is an entirely personal choice.
 
If I'd never heard the HD800 then I'd buy the HE-560 in a heartbeat; it is overall the best headphone I have heard (and I've heard all the other HiFiMans, Audeze and top-end Beyers) _except_ in resolution, detail extraction and soundstage. So far as I know or have heard, there is simply no other headphone that even comes close to the HD800 in those areas.
 
 
Appendix - Subjective per-track notes
 
I thought I'd also include the rough notes I took per track whilst listening:
 
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells 2 - Sentinel
HE-560: Narrower soundstage - noticed quiet high frequency noises at start of track more
 
Steve Hackett - Momentum - Cavalcanti
HE-560: guitar better - more 'guitar body' sound and sweeter top end - midrange. Just sounds more like a guitar! 
HD800: fretboard and top-focused - hollower although feels like playing in a concert hall not a studio - diffuse central image
 
Mike Oldfield - Amarok
HE-560: Wobblier bass, sweeter treble. Instuments more mashed-together
HD800: Better fine detail retrieval, but more shouty. Bass seemed more accurate.
 
Art Of Noise - The Ambient Collection - Islands
HE-560: musical - was missing a little PRaT but orchestra more involving, a little more bass swing
HD800: detailed - bass correct and controlled
 
Jacqueline Du Pré - Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor
HE-560: not loud enough, congested, rough at th 2m section
HD800: better instrument separation but the recording is poor so still not a good orchestra - rough again
 
Fairground Attraction - The First Of A Million Kisses - Whispers
HE-560: more mid in the voice, but high-mid voice 'hardness', grain on hard enunciation. Very mild sibilance. Bass well-handled, for an over-bass song.
HD800: sweeter treble.
 
Accentus - Transcriptions - Immortal Bach
HE-560: more mids and that's where the track's disharmonies resonated (as they should), more involving.
HD800: okay but resonances feel low-treble pitched. Less attractive. 
 
Plaid - Double Figure - Eyen/Squance
HE-560 - guitar so real! Squance real PRaT!! 
HD800 - better detail retrieval, but a tad shouty. Can't turn it up as much as I'd like. Squance so very detailed but didn't involve.
 
Ochre - Like Dust Of The Balance - Raido
HE-560 - guitar sounds great once more. Goes loud without pain. Orphaned, flattened treble though.
HD800 - treble well integrated. Clean. Drop section with echo guitar awesome - holographic.
 
Ochre - Like Dust Of The Balance - Napolese
HE-560 - Violin thin and flat. Mandolin perfect.
HD800 - Violin correct. Airiness. 
 
Infected Mushroom - Converting Vegetarians - Avratz
HE-560 - better bass. Clean treble.
HD800 - somehow less 'confident'.
 
Philip Glass - Powaqqatsi - New Cities in Ancient Lands Africa/India
HE-560 - yes, rhythmic, right
HD800 - clinical, removed, not nice
 
Anne Dudley - Ancient & Modern - Veni Emmanuel
HE-560 - congested
HD800 - dynamic, separated. Involving, way better.
 
Peter Gabriel - So  - Red Rain/Mercy Street
Much less difference between phones
HE-560 - mids help fill in his voice
 
Mike Oldfield -Islands
HE-560 - bass weight, melodic, sweet
 
Bjork - Vespertine - Frosti
HE-560 - wow! beauty!
HD800 - Too tinkly - missing midrange

See my other recent post here for the background on why I auditioned the HE-560; if you've come from the HD650 camp you might be interested.
 
Cheers,
 
Ian

Really nice. great comparison.

That was such a concise, thoughtful, USEFUL review/comparison.  I am the husband of an HD800,  contemplating an affair with the HE-560 . . . .    

Oh, and btw:  


 
 
Thanks,
 
d

dopaminer said:

  That was such a concise, thoughtful, USEFUL review/comparison.  I am the husband of an HD800,  contemplating an affair with the HE-560 . . . .    
 

Click to expand...

cheating is bad!!!!

^So wrong, but feels so right ......

Thanks for the props Dopaminer 
 
The irony is that I ended up selling my HD800 (and HD650) and bought an LCD-3F 
 
It's still not my perfect headphone; it's main crime is that it's treble, whilst always sweet, is focussed at the high end and is not integrated across the frequency spectrum, which is where the HE-560 scored highly. It also gets congested occasionally (though it is way less susceptible to this than the HiFiMan).
 
Sadly for me the dealbreaker with the HE-560 was the occasional treble hardness (what I've heard described as the 'credit card' sound) and the congestion during full-on orchestral passages. Still, it was a great all-rounder.....
 
Hmmm, perhaps I should go back to the store some time and do a proper full comparison of the two  

Oh and a genuine LOL at the Cypher screen-grab!
 
"Hmmm, now is this treble sweetly shaped or artificially rolled-off?"

There are a number of mods I've been trying to really smooth out HE560's treble, and it's getting to that point where I'm almost completely satisfied. Maybe I'll write up a HE560 mod compilation a few months down the line.

Interesting! If it wasn't for that treble hardness I'd probably be running HE-560s now instead of an LCD-3. I'll be looking out for your results 

Dr. Diem,
You did not by chance had any testing of those with gaming, have you?
Im looking for the best HP for gaming (not for competitive, but for immersion purposes), and I am currently looking at the HE-560 and HD800 (tested the HE-560, will test the HD800 this thursday if things go well).

catspaw said:

  Dr. Diem,
You did not by chance had any testing of those with gaming, have you?
Im looking for the best HP for gaming (not for competitive, but for immersion purposes), and I am currently looking at the HE-560 and HD800 (tested the HE-560, will test the HD800 this thursday if things go well).

Click to expand...

I didn't try them out for gaming, no, but given the must-have-struck-a-deal-with-the-devil-to-get-it soundstage possessed by the HD800 I would have said it'd be your best bet (assuming you apply the Anaxilus mod, without which most find the HD800's treble just too aggressive).

drdiem said:

  I didn't try them out for gaming, no, but given the must-have-struck-a-deal-with-the-devil-to-get-it soundstage possessed by the HD800 I would have said it'd be your best bet (assuming you apply the Anaxilus mod, without which most find the HD800's treble just too aggressive).

Click to expand...

Ill definitely consider it.
I was leaning towards the HE-560 due to two things: Cheaper, Not so aggressive treble. (Obviously Id like the HP to still be good and usable for music).
I only wonder if I can get both the ambient/sounds to be as good in the same HP as the soundtracks for these games.
It will sure be a hard thing to tell unless I can test the HPs at home.
 
I use the HE-400 with asgard amp (some say its a bright amp, others say its warm, no idea), and I had to EQ down the treble a bit or in games the Treble was simply put "realistic, but painfull".
So, in a way, if the HD800 is anything similar, there is a chance I will have to go with the HE-560 anyway.
 
Ill see after Thursday.

catspaw said:

  Ill definitely consider it.
I was leaning towards the HE-560 due to two things: Cheaper, Not so aggressive treble. (Obviously Id like the HP to still be good and usable for music).

Click to expand...

  Well as this thread says, both 'phones require mods to sort out their failings, though the HE-560 is the more livable of the two if unmodded.
 

catspaw said:

  I only wonder if I can get both the ambient/sounds to be as good in the same HP as the soundtracks for these games.

Click to expand...

  IMO without resorting to DSP 'surround sound' solutions no headphone can come close to the HD800 soundstage.
 

catspaw said:

  It will sure be a hard thing to tell unless I can test the HPs at home.
 
I use the HE-400 with asgard amp (some say its a bright amp, others say its warm, no idea), and I had to EQ down the treble a bit or in games the Treble was simply put "realistic, but painfull".

Click to expand...

 
You will find the same with an unmodded HD800 in spades. Eq will work fine for gaming (where a large portion of one's conscious processing is focussed on visual data) but for music-only listening modding is surely the way to go.

 

catspaw said:

  So, in a way, if the HD800 is anything similar, there is a chance I will have to go with the HE-560 anyway.

Click to expand...

 
Yeah I getcha - the HD800 is certainly more effort (in cost and modding) and it does seem unfair that one should have to go to such lengths when one has paid so much for the 'phones! Good luck, whatever you choose in the end.

Thx for the detailed response.
I will write back once I had the chance to test the HD800. If what you say is true about the soundstage, it might be safer for me to go with the better option even if it requires more work and money to get it right. Then again, I must say I liked the HE-560 a lot in music (had no chance to test it in gaming)... Is this normal or am I Bipolar? .