This is a very impressive can for less than 1000.00! If this was a 1300-1500.00 can, I wouldn't say it was overpriced. Especially given what some of the audeze and hd800 cost. Now I wouldn't say it's better than those, but I will say it's on the same playing field with each one having strengths and weaknesses vs the other.
But I will directly compare them to my current favorite he6. At first listen, two things surprised me. One was how hard it was to drive them. Given some of the earlier impressions, I was expecting something that could easily be driven by most typical desktop amps. But my hifi m8(1.2 wpc) had a hard time trying to drive them. I could get it fairly loud with the volume knob at the 3:00 position(max volume is around 5:30), but the sound was a little distorted. At moderate volume levels, the bass sounded a little bloated and the sound as a whole was somewhat congested. So I had to move them to my full sized rigs. It was with these rigs I did my comparison to the he6.
The second thing that surprised me was how close they sounded to my (stock at the time) he6. These two cans sound more alike than the hd600 vs hd650. But further listening would reveal quiet a few differences overall. I will say the he560 have about the same amping requirements as the original he5. If I had to guess, I would say they need around two full watts to be properly driven. So while still not as hard to dive as the monsterous he6, they still need pretty beefy amplification IMO.
So would I rank these as high as I would the he6? Well as close as they come, they don't quiet match them overall, but still sound far better than they should at their asking price. On their own, it's hard to find flaws(although they are there). But when switching back between to two I find that the bass of the he560 sounds a little thudish. It's not as well defined as the bass from the he6. The he6 overall have the best bass I've heard. Sure the 009 is a tad bit nuanced, but don't have the impact and slam of the he6 bass. And yes the lcd 2 have even more impact but can sound a bit sloppy at times. And the lcd3 have a bit more slam, but lacks the precision of the he6 bass. So what I'm saying is, the he6 bass doesn't do everything perfect, but it doesn't have anything lacking either. It just does everything excellent.
So the he560 bass falling a little short in comparison isn't a bad thing. It's still best the bass out of most cans. Though not as precise or articulate as the bass from the he6.
The mids from both cans are probably the area where I find the biggest difference between the two. The he560 mids are smooth and velvety. They are slightly warm compared to the mids of the he6, but not warm in general. They are not as warm sounding as the mids form the he500. I would say they are just slightly on the warm side of neutral. They have plenty of body and can be seductive at times. The mids of the he6 are dead neutral IMO. And they have an organic richness that the he560 doesn't have without the added warmth. It's like the mids of the he560 tries to sound natural, and the he6 mids just does. The mids of the he560 are pretty well balanced with the rest of the spectrum, but not quiet as seamless as the mids of the he6 given the added warmth.
Now to the highs. Now this should really be an unfair fight since the only highs I've heard that can match the highs of the he6 are the ones form the 009. The highs from the he6 can sound harsh, overly bright, and just flat out fatiguing if not amped properly. I'm not just taking about power. Yes they need a few watts to be properly driven, but outside of that, the quality of those watts are just as important and they are just as picky as the hd800 in that requirement. The he6 highs are soooo life like, and pure. They sound extremely natural without a hint of grain or harshness. They are very nuanced as well. They highs of the he560 surprisingly comes very close. But they also sound a little sibilant compared to the he6. There is a slight grain in the lower treble that's just not there with the he6. The highs are not harsh, and are better than most of the cans out there. But just don't sound as realistic as the highs from the he6 sounds.
Now on the sound staging. While I think it was a little overblown to say the sound stage was as wide as the hd800 as I've read previously(not even quiet as wide as the he6 sound stage). The sound stage is nice and wide and surpasses all of the audeze's I've listened to by quiet a wide margin. And even though it doesn't match the hd800 or even the he6 in width, it more than makes up for it in depth. And as a result, the sound stage does sound more spacious than the sound stage of the he6 overall. Images are just produced further out in front of you which is very impressive since I do think the he6 have a very holographic sound stage itself, but there's a sense of space with the hd560 that's just not quiet there with the he6. So this is the one area I feel it does surpass the he6 in. The other area where the he560 surpass the he6 in is comfort. And in this regard, it beats it by a mile. These are very comfortable, and I mean very. Not quiet hd800 comfortable, but the comfort is much closer to the hd800 than it is to the he6.
So overall would I recommend these over the he6? Well that depends on if you have an open mind in regards to the he6. If you're willing to build a setup around the he6 knowing most dedicated headphone amps won't get you all of the way there, then I recommend the he6 without hesitation. But if you are not willing to build a rig around the he6, and comfort is extremely important to you, then I would recommend the he560 over the he6. A properly driven he560 will easily surpass the he6 if it's not properly driven.
But I will directly compare them to my current favorite he6. At first listen, two things surprised me. One was how hard it was to drive them. Given some of the earlier impressions, I was expecting something that could easily be driven by most typical desktop amps. But my hifi m8(1.2 wpc) had a hard time trying to drive them. I could get it fairly loud with the volume knob at the 3:00 position(max volume is around 5:30), but the sound was a little distorted. At moderate volume levels, the bass sounded a little bloated and the sound as a whole was somewhat congested. So I had to move them to my full sized rigs. It was with these rigs I did my comparison to the he6.
The second thing that surprised me was how close they sounded to my (stock at the time) he6. These two cans sound more alike than the hd600 vs hd650. But further listening would reveal quiet a few differences overall. I will say the he560 have about the same amping requirements as the original he5. If I had to guess, I would say they need around two full watts to be properly driven. So while still not as hard to dive as the monsterous he6, they still need pretty beefy amplification IMO.
So would I rank these as high as I would the he6? Well as close as they come, they don't quiet match them overall, but still sound far better than they should at their asking price. On their own, it's hard to find flaws(although they are there). But when switching back between to two I find that the bass of the he560 sounds a little thudish. It's not as well defined as the bass from the he6. The he6 overall have the best bass I've heard. Sure the 009 is a tad bit nuanced, but don't have the impact and slam of the he6 bass. And yes the lcd 2 have even more impact but can sound a bit sloppy at times. And the lcd3 have a bit more slam, but lacks the precision of the he6 bass. So what I'm saying is, the he6 bass doesn't do everything perfect, but it doesn't have anything lacking either. It just does everything excellent.
So the he560 bass falling a little short in comparison isn't a bad thing. It's still best the bass out of most cans. Though not as precise or articulate as the bass from the he6.
The mids from both cans are probably the area where I find the biggest difference between the two. The he560 mids are smooth and velvety. They are slightly warm compared to the mids of the he6, but not warm in general. They are not as warm sounding as the mids form the he500. I would say they are just slightly on the warm side of neutral. They have plenty of body and can be seductive at times. The mids of the he6 are dead neutral IMO. And they have an organic richness that the he560 doesn't have without the added warmth. It's like the mids of the he560 tries to sound natural, and the he6 mids just does. The mids of the he560 are pretty well balanced with the rest of the spectrum, but not quiet as seamless as the mids of the he6 given the added warmth.
Now to the highs. Now this should really be an unfair fight since the only highs I've heard that can match the highs of the he6 are the ones form the 009. The highs from the he6 can sound harsh, overly bright, and just flat out fatiguing if not amped properly. I'm not just taking about power. Yes they need a few watts to be properly driven, but outside of that, the quality of those watts are just as important and they are just as picky as the hd800 in that requirement. The he6 highs are soooo life like, and pure. They sound extremely natural without a hint of grain or harshness. They are very nuanced as well. They highs of the he560 surprisingly comes very close. But they also sound a little sibilant compared to the he6. There is a slight grain in the lower treble that's just not there with the he6. The highs are not harsh, and are better than most of the cans out there. But just don't sound as realistic as the highs from the he6 sounds.
Now on the sound staging. While I think it was a little overblown to say the sound stage was as wide as the hd800 as I've read previously(not even quiet as wide as the he6 sound stage). The sound stage is nice and wide and surpasses all of the audeze's I've listened to by quiet a wide margin. And even though it doesn't match the hd800 or even the he6 in width, it more than makes up for it in depth. And as a result, the sound stage does sound more spacious than the sound stage of the he6 overall. Images are just produced further out in front of you which is very impressive since I do think the he6 have a very holographic sound stage itself, but there's a sense of space with the hd560 that's just not quiet there with the he6. So this is the one area I feel it does surpass the he6 in. The other area where the he560 surpass the he6 in is comfort. And in this regard, it beats it by a mile. These are very comfortable, and I mean very. Not quiet hd800 comfortable, but the comfort is much closer to the hd800 than it is to the he6.
So overall would I recommend these over the he6? Well that depends on if you have an open mind in regards to the he6. If you're willing to build a setup around the he6 knowing most dedicated headphone amps won't get you all of the way there, then I recommend the he6 without hesitation. But if you are not willing to build a rig around the he6, and comfort is extremely important to you, then I would recommend the he560 over the he6. A properly driven he560 will easily surpass the he6 if it's not properly driven.
