$250 (got mine 10% off from a promo code on theheadphonelist.com but it was only valid for 2014)

- 2 Balanced armature Drivers
- 1 Bass Driver
- 1 High Frequency Driver
- 1 sound bore
- 2way Passive cross over
- Sensitvity 115 dB
- Impedance 47 ohms
- Hardwired cable
- Choice of Canal or Fullshell style

 
Specs, info, response and THD curve:

 
 
Bought these December 4th, 2014 from Mike Martinez (Perfect Seal Inc.) after hearing about it from ljokerl. The company isn't that well-known in the audiophile world but they have "over 15 years" of experience in providing custom in-ears for musicians.
 
Build, design
Solid. Cable is non-removable.
 
Comfort
Very comfortable.
 
Isolation
I can't hear anyone nor anything, while music is playing. But obviously, I can hear faint outside noise when there's music passages at near null volume or with low activity in the FR.
 
Accessories
A unique purple case with the company's logo for carrying the iem. Sealed tight. Also comes with a cleaning tool.
 
Sound
presentation:  Dynamic and huge soundstage for an iem. I'd recommend it as a top choice for all popular genres; there may be better choices for acoustic music but it still sounds great in this subset to my ears. It's fun but transparent enough to let you  know what you're listening to; e.g. crap recordings will sound like crap. Persistent hiss in a track is heard instantly, music with too much treble will sound like it, etc.
Also, it responds well to parametric EQ.
 
Bass: My favorite part of the FR, hands down. Has a dedicated woofer for the LF so it's placed perfectly apart from the rest of the frequency response and is very powerful. It's punchy, precise and with excellent extension; you can feel it. Capable of producing earthquakes in your ear canal with some parametric EQ -- I currently have a +6 dB low shelf filter @ 50Hz. Pretty incredible for dual balanced armature drivers.
Midrange: It is full, warm and euphonic in feel.  
Treble: Natural sounding overall but slight hump in the high mids/low treble emphasizes hard consonants in vocals (without sounding sibilant) and so detail level perception is raised as well . Lacks ultimate extension in the high frequencies to represent the best sense of reality but still, very easy to enjoy and it forms a coherent whole with the rest of the FR;.
 
Hardware matchability 
Samsung Galaxy S3:  sounds very good straight from it and almost like on my main setup but hardware hiss is noticeable (not really while music is playing though) and it's thinner sounding. Still, blissful listens while commuting.
Beresford Bushmaster MKII, Beresford Capella (pre), Gustard H10: Incredibly deep holographic stage depth, sounds huge for an iem. Transparent presentation in accordance with the above sound descriptions (presentation, bass, mids, treble).
 
Conclusion
Highly recommended at this price point for a potentially addicting (if you can dig it), dynamic, impactful and transparent, great sound that can be driven from anything. Perfect fixture on public transit or a plane.
 
Value: 5/5
Audio Quality: 4.5/5
Design: 5/5
Comfort: 5/5
Isolation: 5/5
*Note: 5/5 doesn't mean perfect, I don't used terms like that to refer to technology. It just means I can't imagine it any better.
 
Overall rating is just based on sound. 

 

Build Quality, Comfort, Accessories:

The build and design of the HE-560 is suitable for the price point but not very solid and is both gorgeous as well as understated. The mesh grill looks particularly great. I like the look of the headband too, though not so much how the metal top-part of it looks on the head, well at least my head. I've seen how great HiFiman's headphones, including the HE-560 look on their female models after all or maybe that's just me looking at the women...
 
The comfort is incredible, from the earpads to the headband, it feels very lightweight for a planar. It felt weightless vs my other headphones which are much lower priced with dynamic drivers. My K550, for example, are about 305g- mine are even more than that with the LCD-3 leather pads I swapped the deteriorated memory foam stock pads with. Somehow the 365-375g of the HE-560 feel lighter on my head and weightless in comparison. The weight is expertly distributed with materials chosen not to tip the scale This is a perfect headphone for prolonged listening sensations and it has the sound signature for it as well, which I will discuss next.
 
The clamp feels tight but in no way excessive to my head at least, so this could potentially cause concern for those with different head shapes or those annoyed by this kind of clamp. Earpad seal is therefore perfect for me.
 
As far as accessories, you get the HE-560 wood/metallic box and the 1/4" terminated cable. The cable ergonomics are pretty good, but it isn't very flexible and so it can be prone to kinks depending on the temperature. The connectors are a bad design, you tighten by screwing the tiny gold ring only; if you twist the cable or tighten it too much you risk breaking the wire that links the connector to the cable, and the cable will be rendered useless after enough duress. The connector design is horrendous and is the biggest drawback of this headphone by far.
 
Update 6/02/2015:
 
This is important to say, the HE-560 may or may not develop a rattling when reproducing sub-bass, in one of the drivers or maybe both because of the single-ended design. I replaced my first HE-560 when it had rattling in the right driver. This second HE-560 was performing well but alas, there's now rattling in left driver when there's quiet sub-bass notes/sounds. This appears to build related and not unit dependent. Good thing this can be remedied.
 
I fixed it by re-screwing the aluminium ring very tightly onto the driver housing in the left driver and also did the right driver for good measure. Another fix (haven't tested this myself at this time) or a way to fully seal the earpad to the aluminium ring is quoted by jerg:
 
"If you are talking about the rattling when you play very low frequency music / tones at loud volume, I described why I my HE560 mod thread. It's because the drivers are single-ended, so there is no two-way magnetic field locking the diaphragm in place, meaning at very low frequencies, the diaphragm can over-shoot which causes the rattling.
 
The way to fix it is to create a good seal on the ear-side, so there is back-pressure against the diaphragm when it oscillates low frequency tones. Find the earpads that fit onto your head the nicest (Focus or Focus-A), and perfect the seal (my mod guide outlines a silicone glue method; some also use electrical tape for an easier but uglier way to seal off).
 
Once the seal is in place, HE560 has zero rattling issues and is able to reproduce low frequencies with startling authority."
 
link for jerg's mod: http://www.head-fi.org/t/738912/he-560-enhancement-mod-v1-5
 
Update 3/11/2016:
 
The pads deteriorate with use, meaning that they break off the stitching and expose the blue foam inside. I bought Lawton Pads from lawtonaudio.com as a replacement, as they are better quality but quite expensive (US$109). This is true for all versions available (Focus pads, Focus pad-A).


 

 

Sound:

burn-in with pink noise loop and regular listening: 150+ hours exceeded (HiFiMan's own recommendation)
 
Associated equipment (Edited 05/2015):
Source:
Beresford Bushmaster MKII
Amps:
Gustard H10, Beresford Capella
 
 
Headphones for direct comparison: AKG K550, JVC SZ2000
 

Being the real meat of this headphone, as it should be, the sound is delightful. It is a unique (haven't heard a headphone tuned like this before) and addicting sound, so the most I can do is try my best to describe it. There isn't a particular part of the sonic spectrum or frequency response that is highlighted like you would hear from a dynamic headphone or other planars in general, like the reported "lush" mids of the Audeze headphones. The adjective that came to mind as I heard it for the first time was "natural", with reality / real instrument playing as reference. I'd say the sound is slightly smooth in the bass and the midrange compared to dynamic headphones, like is commonly attributed to planars -- though the smoothness is less pronounced in the HE-560 than the norm. Highly capable of attack. It's an almost perfect balance of smoothness vs attack IMHO. It's a disciplined attempt at a natural sound so as to not dampen the bass too much nor the rest of the sonic spectrum. It's as if the mix was calculated not to deviate away from the apparent goal HiFiman set out with this headphone.
 
As far as the measured 4kHz peak is concerned, I've got no problem with it. I tried to see if I would prefer EQ'ing it down, but preferred the little more harsher tinge from the un-eq'ed HE-560.
I'd like to add that after testing my hearing with an audiogram, I found out I'm much more sensitive to high frequencies -- 6kHz and up, but more precisely 8 kHz -- like the 9 kHz peak found on the K550 rather than frequencies below the high frequencies like the 4kHz peak found on the HE-560. But I have to say that 4 kHz (and the rest of the high mids) is still more sensitive to me than 2 kHz, 1kHz, 500 hz but not 250 hz and the bass region. It comes to my understanding that being more sensitive to the 1 kHz to 4 kHz frequencies and less sensitive to the low and high frequencies is the norm for most people. So I found out I have abnormal hearing through this hobby. My 20 Hz - 19 kHz hearing limit is pretty normal though.
 
 
Music genres to pair with:
 
As far as choice music for the headphone, every song, from every musical style I threw at it, fit. It's that simple. At no point was I looking for another headphone for a particular song or artist. This is an important factor for why I like the HE-560 as much as I do since I have one of the most eclectic music tastes I know of.
 
Sure, my SZ2000 have more impact for bass heavy tracks when I feel like it and that's exactly why I love it for that mood but for long sessions there is no substitute to the HE-560 regardless of genre in my mind. HiFiman has a reputation for making all-rounder or "genre master" headphones- to use the term @DavidMalher employs to describe them -- and this one is no exception.
 
Sound summary
 
Bass
 
Extends past human audibility (even below 20hz). Completely linear full bass extension.
 
Depth and breadth reproduction is incredible to the point of giving me deep chills (pun intended) on a regular basis.
 
Midrange
 
First thing to come to mind is: they are liquid smooth and clear.
 
The cello notes, for example, that go from where the bass meets the low mids are spot on. 
 
Treble
 
The treble is clearly defined, textured and crisp. Very much capable of impactful or penetrating transient attack in the lower treble / high mids.
 

Conclusion:

Pros:
Top-notch lifelike sound; non-fatiguing yet dynamic and greatly engaging / Performs with any music genre / Most comfortable headphone I've worn yet
 
Cons:

1. Cable connectors
2. Build quality could be better

 
The rating reflects what I got for the money, my relationship with the headphone so far and the rise in quality as well appreciation for the sound signature I got accustomed to going from my main (previously) mid-fi bright and clear headphone (K550) to this more high-end but relatively affordable headphone. The HE-560 is now my new main set.