[bimmer100]

I'm not sure if I have a bad pair of he-560's but they have always been super quiet in my opinion. They seem to be rediculously power hungry. Albeit when they are maxed it sounds like a concert level. on 15 it sounds like someone is whispering. From 0-10 it's almost no volume. Am I missing something? I know my hearing is perfectly fine. I've been tested and am not deaf or deaf tone etc etc. something is weird if you are at 15. Once I get a balanced cable I will reply again. SE is less than one third of the power. So maybe 45 would be about where you listen? That sounds reasonable. It's hard to believe only 6db for three times the power.
The specs are
9500mW / 25 ohm
8000MW / 40 ohm
3500MW / 100 ohm
1200MW / 300 ohm
600MW / 600 ohm
And SE
3600mW / 25 ohm
2500mW / 40 ohm
1100mW / 100 ohm
400mW / 300 ohm
200mW / 600 ohm

 

[mrscotchguy]

I'm not sure if I have a bad pair of he-560's but they have always been super quiet in my opinion. They seem to be rediculously power hungry. Albeit when they are maxed it sounds like a concert level. on 15 it sounds like someone is whispering. From 0-10 it's almost no volume. Am I missing something? I know my hearing is perfectly fine. I've been tested and am not deaf or deaf tone etc etc. something is weird if you are at 15. Once I get a balanced cable I will reply again. SE is less than one third of the power. So maybe 45 would be about where you listen? That sounds reasonable. It's hard to believe only 6db for three times the power.
The specs are
9500mW / 25 ohm
8000MW / 40 ohm
3500MW / 100 ohm
1200MW / 300 ohm
600MW / 600 ohm
And SE
3600mW / 25 ohm
2500mW / 40 ohm
1100mW / 100 ohm
400mW / 300 ohm
200mW / 600 ohm

I would guess there's a greater chance that something is up with your NFB-28, as I cannot imagine that much variation from one headphone to another. Where in a complex dac/amp...

Can you test your HE-560s on other sources to see if the volume issue is isolated to just your AGD gear? If you're getting little to no volume on your HE-560 with say your phone on full volume when other headphones seem much louder, it's a good chance it the HE-560, and email Hifiman ASAP. Have you tried troubleshooting?

Just a thought... wonder if your NFB-28 was shipped with the 230v power supply rather than a 120v. I had an amp with external switchable psu shipped this way once and didn't realize that it was set to 230v by default. It was so under powered, that the performance of the amp was dreadful.

Good luck!

 

[gevorg]

There could be a problem with the unit, but "super quiet" is pretty vague. Get a decibel meter on your/someone's smartphone and measure some pink noise from Youtube/etc. Post results here with various gain/volume combinations.

Example:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/decibel-10th/id448155923

 

[Rockcoon]

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB282015/NFB282015EN_Use.htm

Since 3th. March 2015, the DAC/HP button setting to " D"  and Gain buttons setting to "F" at same time , the unit's RCA, XLR and ACSS outputs set to as DAC fixed output mode, output level is 2.5V on RCA, 5V on XLR, 2MA on ACSS .

If your amp had not volume control, please don't setting the DAC/HP to "D" and the Gain to "F " at same time.


If the early users want to had this function, can buy a MCU replace in the unit .

So this is the bigest difference between 2014 and 2015 unit?
Or there were some changes in inner construction, that cause sound improovmen?

 

[Kingwa]

So this is the bigest difference between 2014 and 2015 unit?
Or there were some changes in inner construction, that cause sound improovmen?

This just the function change. It had not relation the sound quality .
The 2014 / 2015 edition different had post on the product web page.

 

[Rockcoon]

Kingwa,
Thank you. Got it

What's new in the NFB-28 (2015):
1, The NFB-28 (2015) had separate the digital and analog parts, and a aluminium board between them as shield board.
2, The ACSS parts had solder on the board directly but not the modules assemble.
3, The NFB-28 (2015) I2S input support DSD / DXD .
4, The NFB-28 (2015) had not normal high / low gain modes ,instead it had the Fast / Slow characteristic of the volume port can working as high / low gain state, the users don't need confuse which gain mode had the better sound anymore, the avoid the switch cause the sound quality degrade.

The first and the second in the list, that what i mean, when saying about changes in inner construction
Hope they will be soon avaliable in Russia. Cuz our local diller has only 2014 versions.

 

[Solude]

It's hard to believe only 6db for three times the power.
 

 
Math is math.  Every time you double the power, you get 3dB.  When you double the voltage by going balanced you get 4x the power.  3+3=6dB  Given the 560 is supposed to put out 90dB at 2mW, yes 0.002W, something else is going on.

 

[bimmer100]

So in this case I'm tripling the power and going balanced. So should be 6+6 or 12db increase?

 

[bimmer100]

Tonight I will look into this more and test the db level with a meter

 

[bimmer100]

I would guess there's a greater chance that something is up with your NFB-28, as I cannot imagine that much variation from one headphone to another. Where in a complex dac/amp...

Can you test your HE-560s on other sources to see if the volume issue is isolated to just your AGD gear? If you're getting little to no volume on your HE-560 with say your phone on full volume when other headphones seem much louder, it's a good chance it the HE-560, and email Hifiman ASAP. Have you tried troubleshooting?

Just a thought... wonder if your NFB-28 was shipped with the 230v power supply rather than a 120v. I had an amp with external switchable psu shipped this way once and didn't realize that it was set to 230v by default. It was so under powered, that the performance of the amp was dreadful.

Good luck!

So, I had a pair of Sennheiser Momentums that were loud in comparison to my HE-560's. My opinion is that the sennheisers would be a nice volume around 75% on my iphone (and at 100% it was ok to listen but not my level I prefer, too loud imho) . and the HE-560's at max are similar to the sennheiser Momentums running at about 40-45% volume on the iphone.  This is just from memory.  I think my iphone 6 can't drive the HE-560's at all! it's incredibly disappointing performance.  My fidue A83's are usually at 65-70% and my ideal volume for enjoying music. Again, I will test more tonight and see what I can figure out. 

 

[mrscotchguy]

bimmer100, do you have a volt meter? You could try to see if there's something wrong with your cable by testing the resistance, both with and without the cable connected to the headphones. If the resistance (in ohms) is exceptionally high, there's something wrong with your cans, and you'll want to get it sorted out with Hifiman.

Now it seems like its a combination of issues, but that doesn't sound right for the HE-560, or any Hifiman (except maybe the HE-6). Additionally, it seems like you like to listen to music louder than average... so we have to factor that in.

Try testing the following (if you can) and report back to us:

1) Compare volume of the HE-560 and at least one other headphone on the NFB-28, low gain only. Record the volume positions
2) Compare volume of the HE-560 and at least one other headphone on the NFB-28, high gain only. Record the volume positions.
3) Compare volume of the HE-560 and at least one other headphone on your phone. Record the positions.
4) If the results are wonky, try switching your source for the NFB.

Volume can change depending on settings on your PC. Sometimes windows/mac will be set low and if you're not using ASIO/Kernal Streaming/etc, and that would explain the low volume on the NFB.

Additionally, my USB volume is noticeably higher than using digital coax, and digital coax is noticeably louder than BNC. Cables can play a factor in this. So be sure you're using the correct cables if you're not going the USB route.

 

[bimmer100]

@bimmer100, do you have a volt meter? You could try to see if there's something wrong with your cable by testing the resistance, both with and without the cable connected to the headphones. If the resistance (in ohms) is exceptionally high, there's something wrong with your cans, and you'll want to get it sorted out with Hifiman.

Now it seems like its a combination of issues, but that doesn't sound right for the HE-560, or any Hifiman (except maybe the HE-6). Additionally, it seems like you like to listen to music louder than average... so we have to factor that in.

Try testing the following (if you can) and report back to us:

1) Compare volume of the HE-560 and at least one other headphone on the NFB-28, low gain only. Record the volume positions
2) Compare volume of the HE-560 and at least one other headphone on the NFB-28, high gain only. Record the volume positions.
3) Compare volume of the HE-560 and at least one other headphone on your phone. Record the positions.
4) If the results are wonky, try switching your source for the NFB.

Volume can change depending on settings on your PC. Sometimes windows/mac will be set low and if you're not using ASIO/Kernal Streaming/etc, and that would explain the low volume on the NFB.

Additionally, my USB volume is noticeably higher than using digital coax, and digital coax is noticeably louder than BNC. Cables can play a factor in this. So be sure you're using the correct cables if you're not going the USB route.

thank you for suggesting this. I will try these things later tonight and report back. I have two different cables for my HE-560's the stock crystal copper /crystal silver cable with 6.3mm end, and a pure 6N silver 4 core cable with 3.5mm end. both are basically the same in overall performance given to the HE-560. i'm guessing...not the cable. 
I will look into the setup in windows 7... tonight i'm going to do a fresh install of windows 8.1 actually. Maybe something is set incorrectly. 
 
I also should be getting the eidolic 4pin xlr I ordered in the mail today. So I will re-terminate my cable and test in balanced mode too. 
and yes, I do listen to music a little louder than average. I don't have any significant hearing issues other than when I was a newborn I had water in my ears and later had tubes put in my ears to drain.It is possible it has affected the sensitivity of my hearing slightly. But I have no problem hearing people, whispers across the room and such. Some comment on my hearing as being good. So I'm highly doubting that is a major issue hear. 
 
The volume between the 2014 and 2015 model is different according to the graphs... note the HIGH AND LOW gain on 2014 is different ...the 2015 doesn't really have a high and low, its more a fast and slow...maybe the curve is completely different than 2014 and max volume is not anything like the older 2014? who has a 2015 model and who has a 2014 model?
let me add that the SE full volume is crisp, clean and beautiful at this level. Its loud, but not where my ears are bleeding, and I'd say a concert is louder imho.  If I was to judge, i'd say maybe 90-94db. I downloaded that app someone mentioned above to test DB levels for fun... the loudest I could get was 104db with screaming as loud as I could into the mic... no way, NO WAY is my headphones getting to that volume level at max.My throat hurt after trying to get there... 100db was first attempt, 103 second, and 104db last and painful attempt. yes, I feel like screaming after having issues with my gear. So it felt good to let it out a bit j/k
 
I'll do some more specific tests tonight and get back with you all. Thanks for chiming in and helping with some constructive and well thought out solutions and tests to target in on this issue i'm having. I can't imagine people listening at level 15 or 26 like I see in the photos of peoples NFB 28's... boggles my mind. I will take a sample reading at these volume levels and report back.

 

[bimmer100]

@bimmer100, do you have a volt meter? You could try to see if there's something wrong with your cable by testing the resistance, both with and without the cable connected to the headphones. If the resistance (in ohms) is exceptionally high, there's something wrong with your cans, and you'll want to get it sorted out with Hifiman.

Now it seems like its a combination of issues, but that doesn't sound right for the HE-560, or any Hifiman (except maybe the HE-6). Additionally, it seems like you like to listen to music louder than average... so we have to factor that in.

Try testing the following (if you can) and report back to us:

1) Compare volume of the HE-560 and at least one other headphone on the NFB-28, low gain only. Record the volume positions
2) Compare volume of the HE-560 and at least one other headphone on the NFB-28, high gain only. Record the volume positions.
3) Compare volume of the HE-560 and at least one other headphone on your phone. Record the positions.
4) If the results are wonky, try switching your source for the NFB.

Volume can change depending on settings on your PC. Sometimes windows/mac will be set low and if you're not using ASIO/Kernal Streaming/etc, and that would explain the low volume on the NFB.

Additionally, my USB volume is noticeably higher than using digital coax, and digital coax is noticeably louder than BNC. Cables can play a factor in this. So be sure you're using the correct cables if you're not going the USB route.

about you mentioning ASIO/Kernal streaming... I'm not sure what it is set at. I just installed the driver from Audio-NG website and Set the NFB to source 1...or USB. I'm using a usb 3.0 port. The device is labeled as SPDIF and has a volume option that seems to make NO DIFFERENCE in the volume of output. at 0 or 100....
Maybe this is my issue? 

 

[Solude]

So in this case I'm tripling the power and going balanced. So should be 6+6 or 12db increase?

 
No because doubling is 3dB, three times would be closer to 4.5dB.  Given the specs on the 28 and 560 you should be getting 120dB out of the single ended output assuming a signal stronger enough to reach the cap voltage after gain.

 

[Stillhart]

I'm not sure if I have a bad pair of he-560's but they have always been super quiet in my opinion. They seem to be rediculously power hungry. Albeit when they are maxed it sounds like a concert level. on 15 it sounds like someone is whispering. From 0-10 it's almost no volume. Am I missing something? I know my hearing is perfectly fine. I've been tested and am not deaf or deaf tone etc etc. something is weird if you are at 15. Once I get a balanced cable I will reply again. SE is less than one third of the power. So maybe 45 would be about where you listen? That sounds reasonable. It's hard to believe only 6db for three times the power.
The specs are
9500mW / 25 ohm
8000MW / 40 ohm
3500MW / 100 ohm
1200MW / 300 ohm
600MW / 600 ohm
And SE
3600mW / 25 ohm
2500mW / 40 ohm
1100mW / 100 ohm
400mW / 300 ohm
200mW / 600 ohm

 
SE is definitely quieter, but it's not THAT bad.  I think I had it around 20-25.  I'll check again when I get home.