[gab840]

  Having used both I think the he 560 is better in everything except for bass quantity and sub bass. I find the mids a bit distant with the t90s.

Great to find that you own both ...Have you ever tried T90's with BottleHead Crack or Wa3 etc with which it is said that they perform best ??

 

[cs098]

No unfortunately, only the magni/modi and my portable fiio am just for kicks. I was surprised how much subbass I got with bass boost.
 
Need to upgrade my amp/dac setup soon lol.
 
I do find the t90s to be more comfortable and lighter on the head but the grills are quite easy to scratch.

 

[choC.]

  So I received my third HE-560 pair. This time left side has the subbass crackling/distortion! My mind is blown, SERIOUSLY. Maybe I can combine the right driver from my last pair to have a good pair. 

 
And I'm not talking about any free-air bass massacre. Even with cups well sealed to head, you can hear the slight "distortion/crackling" in the background with low sines. Disappointing quality control. Back they go again.

 
I exchanged my first HE-560s because I was getting a "tizz" sound from the left drive at sub-bass frequencies (very pronounced in songs like 'Never Ever Land' by Infected Mushroom, particularly around the 1:10 mark of the song (320kbps mp3).
 
I'm now on my second pair and it is STILL happening. I can rule out my source because it is only happening on one channel, and when I switch the L/R connectors to the opposite drivers, I still get the distortion happening in only the left driver. I also get absolutely zero distortion from my HE-400 when I hotswap it within the same track.
 
I'm a little bit gobsmacked, at this price point I'm very, very disappointed and will be having to send my second HE-560 back (now it is going to have cost me over $100 in shipping charges as it has to go back across to the opposite side of Australia with insured post!).
 

 

 

[Kalavere]

I have to wait 1-2 weeks to get a replacement from my dealer, I think if I have the same buzzing and vibrating I'll seriously consider the new Audeze EL-8 or maybe the LCD 2.2.

 

[money4me247]

  I exchanged my first HE-560s because I was getting a "tizz" sound from the left drive at sub-bass frequencies (very pronounced in songs like 'Never Ever Land' by Infected Mushroom, particularly around the 1:10 mark of the song (320kbps mp3).
 
I'm now on my second pair and it is STILL happening. I can rule out my source because it is only happening on one channel, and when I switch the L/R connectors to the opposite drivers, I still get the distortion happening in only the left driver. I also get absolutely zero distortion from my HE-400 when I hotswap it within the same track.
 
I'm a little bit gobsmacked, at this price point I'm very, very disappointed and will be having to send my second HE-560 back (now it is going to have cost me over $100 in shipping charges as it has to go back across to the opposite side of Australia with insured post!).
 

 

 
That is really unfortunate. I personally would think that the source files are the issue if this only happens with specific songs, but if the distortion is only occurring on one side even after swapping the connectors, it does seem to be a headphone driver specific problem. Also, if it was an issue on a component prior to your headphones, the distortion should switch with switched connectors.
 
what amplifier & dac are you using with these btw?
 
edit: I listened to your track with my HE-560 and experienced no issues. Any other tracks where you are hearing this issue?

 

[choC.]

   
That is really unfortunate. I personally would think that the source files are the issue if this only happens with specific songs, but if the distortion is only occurring on one side even after swapping the connectors, it does seem to be a headphone driver specific problem. Also, if it was an issue on a component prior to your headphones, the distortion should switch with switched connectors.
 
what amplifier & dac are you using with these btw?
 
edit: I listened to your track with my HE-560 and experienced no issues. Any other tracks where you are hearing this issue?

 
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.

 

[money4me247]

   
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.

 
mmm... you can take off the earpad for that driver and check if there is any debris or hair that is hitting the diaphragm that can be causing an issue. otherwise, i can't think of anything else except exchanging it.

 

[Headphone4Life]

After reading a lot about the HE-560 is for sure one of the headphones I'm thinking of getting next. I'm starting to look for a headphone with crisp highs because they sound great through my HM-601LE + Vali as it tends to be a warm sound but a oh so good sound it is. I think the 560 would so very good through this setup because my HE-400 sounds great and the 560 has the technical qualities I'm looking for.

 

[Kalavere]

  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.

 
+1

My right-hand channel is going crazy with vibrations listening to Hans Zimmer -Time. 
 
By far the worse song I have come across for mine is from Lee Ritenour's 6 String Theory - My One and Only Love, it's acoustical and the diaphragm goes crazy. It's unlistenable. 

 

[choC.]

   
By far the worse song I have come across for mine is from Lee Ritenour's 6 String Theory - My One and Only Love, it's acoustical and the diaphragm goes crazy. It's unlistenable. 

 
I got absolutely no distortion from that track.
 

 
Not sure who commissioned the manufacturing process of the 560. The variance between each sample is waaaay too high for a "reference" headphone.
 
Such a shame because when it's working as intended, the sound is sublime.

 

[Kalavere]

   
I got absolutely no distortion from that track.
 

 
Not sure who commissioned the manufacturing process of the 560. The variance between each sample is waaaay too high for a "reference" headphone.
 
Such a shame because when it's working as intended, the sound is sublime.

 
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. 

 

[choC.]

   
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. 

 
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.

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
I exchanged my first HE-560s because I was getting a "tizz" sound from the left drive at sub-bass frequencies (very pronounced in songs like 'Never Ever Land' by Infected Mushroom, particularly around the 1:10 mark of the song (320kbps mp3).
 
I'm now on my second pair and it is STILL happening. I can rule out my source because it is only happening on one channel, and when I switch the L/R connectors to the opposite drivers, I still get the distortion happening in only the left driver. I also get absolutely zero distortion from my HE-400 when I hotswap it within the same track.
 
I'm a little bit gobsmacked, at this price point I'm very, very disappointed and will be having to send my second HE-560 back (now it is going to have cost me over $100 in shipping charges as it has to go back across to the opposite side of Australia with insured post!).
 

 

You shouldn't have to pay for defective merchandise. HiFiMan would have an international shipping account that they could use to get this done for you, and that is commonly done. Again I think HFM performs well below acceptable standards when it comes to both quality control and customer service, certainly by North American standards. Here you have arguably the most popular headphone community research site on the Internet and they allow dissatisfied customers to experience such subpar quality testing and subsequent service and post about it here, are they nuts? I would without a doubt arrange courier shipment for you and do everything I could to mitigate your displeasure. Now if you have only asked the Australian distributor for service that is another thing.
 
The first thing you should do/should have done is contact HFM directly and insist that as this is a defective product you should not be responsible for any burden of shipping at all, and they must set-up the pickup with their account. You paid your part of shipping when you purchased the original set, and more than you should have if you paid for the first set to be returned. My concern would be that the Australian distributor just checked over the set, couldn't replicate the fault and sent it back to you.
 
Did you make sure you were given a brand new set? If I were you I would right away contact HFM directly. If the faults manifested themselves right away that triggers an enhanced responsibility on the part of the manufacturer as opposed to a product that has been used for some time. I know that customers need to bare some of the risk, but not for right out of the gate defective goods, especially multiple failures. Are the headphones themselves marked with a serial number anywhere that the customer can see? A paper serial number is little evidence to my mind, I want to know the product is stamped in a way that a customer can see if need be.
 
If you can't control your quality issues as a company, that is the companies problem, not the customers.  I feel strongly that HFM need to step it up and pay for their issues. Why? Because once a company starts losing money from quality control issues they fix the problem plain and simple. Simple economics, customers pain and expense, lower motivation, companies pain and expense, higher motivation.
 
Even if there was a small flat fee that customers paid I could get behind that a little, but this 100% hit to the customer is shocking to me. If nothing else this shows that the testing at HFM needs to be improved. Perhaps the faults being discovered are such that the existing procedures would not detect, but if so again, the company thanks the customer for helping them improve and they pay for the shipping, they don't nickel and dime the customer to death.
 
Tough love I know, but I will gurantee you once the financial pain becomes theirs to bare, solutions will follow. It isn't that they are a bad company, all companies will seek to download risks on their customers if they feel they can get away with it. North American companies used to be bad as well (and some doubtless still are, but they will lose marketshare over time), but years of consumer activism (which this post is meant to be) forced companies to step up their game. HFM runs the risk of losing customers to other companies if they fail to respond. We might see Audeze step up their game and bring excellent products (such as a working 560 can be) at a more competitive price. Oppo can also seriously up their game and we know they have the scale of economy to out compete smaller companies so the last thing HFM needs to be is complacent with quality control and customer service. Okay for the last time HFM, get these problems ironed out, and make sure that customers feel valued and are not asked to pay for lax quality control standards (if that is what is happening here).
 
If I am wrong, and for some technical reason there was no way the issues being raised here with these customers could have been detected, than I apologize, but I just don't see how that could be. It is these multiple failure unit customers that make my blood boil. In my business I bend over backwards to keep customers. If doing so is too expensive I would either need to improve the process causing the profit to be too low, or stop selling the problem merchandise. Seriously, am I being too hard on HFM here?

 

[Kalavere]

 
Seriously, am I being too hard on HFM here?

 
You're going easy if you ask me. For the price paid, I really expected more. The UK distributor for HiFiMAN really doesn't seem to carry a lot of stock, hence me having to wait ~2 weeks for mine to be replaced. If I get the same issue again I can guarantee I won't be waiting for a 3rd pair. 

I don't know how QC is carried out on headphones, but I've bought a lot of sub £100 pairs, a few over £100 and this one pair at £650, a good £530 more than I've ever paid before and it's not feeling like much of a premium product to me.

 

[Kalavere]

I'm wondering if the vibration might be caused by these wires? Forgive the poor piccys, I wasn't about to start setting up a lighting rig to photograph it. 

 
 
They are just about visible,.
 

 
 
Outlined in red.