[bavinck]

OK, I stepped away for lunch and came back to see your message. (the M560's have been playing music the whole time.)

I do mean the HE-400S. That's what I have, with stock pads.

But, now the M560's seem to have more bass than they did before. Or I am going crazy. Could be either. Well at least you all think I'm crazy.
The M560's have more bass than the HE-400S now. 

Maybe I just need to chill for a few days and let the M560's play and see what happens. I've never had headphones change that much over time, especially in so little time. 

Mine are at home waiting to be opened. When I get the kids to bed I will have a listen. Your first impressions disappointed me, but now I am curious.

 

[darinf]

Mine are at home waiting to be opened. When I get the kids to bed I will have a listen. Your first impressions disappointed me, but now I am curious.

Yes, I am very interested to hear what you think. Hopefully you will like them better than I do. But I have been listening to them all day and they are growing on me. 
I hope my impressions don't influence your impressions.

 

[ebann]

Here they are!
 
Going to create a impressions thread in a bit. Enjoy....
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bavinck]

I think these things sound horrible. Tiny, metal tinged timbre, very bright and tizzy, no low end to speak of and a very flat and uninteresting mid range. For a planar it seems like a pretty slow driver too.
 
Definitely sending these things back, I don't even want to touch them anymore. Shame, Monoprice had the chance to do something with these...

 

[gtb75]

Mine show up on Tuesday and I won't even listen to them until at least 2 days of continuous play - and no serious listening until at least 4 days.  I have had audio gear go though different phases during burn in (think Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), so I won't pass verdict until they have some serious hours on them.  

 

[akg fanboy]

$200 for a planar sounded like a great deal, but then the he400i dropped to $250 so there is really nothing the m560 has going for it... And the impressions certainly aren't doing any favors

 

[bavinck]

In all fairness I like a warmer signature, so the Monoprice might be enjoyed by fans of a bright signature, For me, though, it is thin and brittle,

 

[shurealltheway]

In all fairness I like a warmer signature, so the Monoprice might be enjoyed by fans of a bright signature, For me, though, it is thin and brittle,

I may not even open mine when they arrive next week now. They sound dreadful.

 

[darinf]

  I think these things sound horrible. Tiny, metal tinged timbre, very bright and tizzy, no low end to speak of and a very flat and uninteresting mid range. For a planar it seems like a pretty slow driver too.
 
Definitely sending these things back, I don't even want to touch them anymore. Shame, Monoprice had the chance to do something with these...

 
 

  In all fairness I like a warmer signature, so the Monoprice might be enjoyed by fans of a bright signature, For me, though, it is thin and brittle,

Whoa, I guess I was being too kind.
 
Yes, if you prefer a dark signature, then the M560's are definitley NOT for you. However, if you like say the HD800's, then you might actually like the M560's.
 
I don't think they sound as bad as @bavinck said, but just after a few hours of burn in, I think they have gotten a lot better. Out of the box, they were pretty bad, but I didn't want to be too harsh until I gave them a chance. After 8 hours of burn in, they have changed quite a bit, for the better. But the highs are still harsh and sibilant. The bass is filling in better though.
 
I prefer a bright to neutral sound signature in general.

 

[gtb75]

$200 for a planar sounded like a great deal, but then the he400i dropped to $250 so there is really nothing the m560 has going for it... And the impressions certainly aren't doing any favors

If you want something that folds flat and can easily be tossed in a backpack the HE-400i doesn't work - and neither do my T50RP MK3. If you want a fold flat planar I think the next step up is the Oppo PM-3 at $400.

 

[akg fanboy]

If you want something that folds flat and can easily be tossed in a backpack the HE-400i doesn't work - and neither do my T50RP MK3. If you want a fold flat planar I think the next step up is the Oppo PM-3 at $400.

I don't think there is a benefit to limiting your options to both portable and planar just for the sake of being a portable planar, especially since the m560 apparently has no strengths of a typical planar. There should be plently of great portable headphones to choose from

The difference between a dynamic and planar is not that huge anyways

 

[bavinck]

I am really turned off by their signature so I am going to send them back. However, it sounds like they may need some burn in to sound their best, which I am not going to do. Like Darin wrote, I bet some out there will like these at this price point. I was hoping for an Audeze sound, which I did not get. 

 

[gtb75]

I don't think there is a benefit to limiting your options to both portable and planar just for the sake of being a portable planar, especially since the m560 apparently has no strengths of a typical planar. There should be plently of great portable headphones to choose from

The difference between a dynamic and planar is not that huge anyways

Agreed, but nobody has enough hours on these to give them a fair shot yet. Everyone got them today, so they have less than 24 hours on them.  My Magnepans took a solid 200 hours before they stabilized - my Odyssey amps took almost an entire 30 days before they finally leveled off.  I've found that 50-100 hours for most headphones of just playing at normal levels (either music and/or AM radio tuned to static) seems to do the trick.  I'm not questioning anybody's judgement, but I would suspect they may change vastly as the days wear on.

 

[akg fanboy]

Agreed, but nobody has enough hours on these to give them a fair shot yet. Everyone got them today, so they have less than 24 hours on them.  My Magnepans took a solid 200 hours before they stabilized - my Odyssey amps took almost an entire 30 days before they finally leveled off.  I've found that 50-100 hours for most headphones of just playing at normal levels (either music and/or AM radio tuned to static) seems to do the trick.  I'm not questioning anybody's judgement, but I would suspect they may change vastly as the days wear on.

My q701s took some time to getting used to so I can understand, it took me a good week for me to appreciate them. The k601 is the only headphone I've ever tried and absolutely loved the first try, but every other headphone I've owned needed a bit of brain burn in, sometimes my impression of a headphone got WORSE as time went by. I guess we should just wait for a more stable verdict

 

[bavinck]

  Agreed, but nobody has enough hours on these to give them a fair shot yet. Everyone got them today, so they have less than 24 hours on them.  My Magnepans took a solid 200 hours before they stabilized - my Odyssey amps took almost an entire 30 days before they finally leveled off.  I've found that 50-100 hours for most headphones of just playing at normal levels (either music and/or AM radio tuned to static) seems to do the trick.  I'm not questioning anybody's judgement, but I would suspect they may change vastly as the days wear on.

I get that perspective. However, I have heard so many different headphones that I have a pretty good idea of what I like, don't like and might grow to like. Burn in is not ever going to change the fundamental tuning, if it even does anything....