[SoAmusing777]

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/hifiman-he-5-he-5le-he-6-and-he500-planar-magnetic-headphones-page-2 << Combine this and this post, the HE-4 comes out as the best can. O.o

 

[SoAmusing777]

Then reading this http://www.head-fi.org/t/558060/he-500-vs-he-4-comparison-review/90#post_10655948
Just confuses me on which one to get.
Then I think about getting Thunderpants as well, lol.

 

[hemipowered007]

What are you looking for in an hp? What kind of amp do you have or are you willing to buy?

 

[SoAmusing777]

What are you looking for in an hp? What kind of amp do you have or are you willing to buy?

An all rounder with great bass extension, quality, and quantity (not looking to rattle my head, but definitely something with more oomph than previous AKG annies). I like a linear, neutral, reference headphone. I want to hear the sound as it was originally produced. Soundstage/imaging is pretty important as well, as I want to game with this headphones too.

Amps later on will be Creative X-fi Titanium HD and right now just an Harmon Kardon AVR 254. Not really looking to buy anything expensive.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Crickets in this thread.

 
I'll have to inject some life into it with a HE560 vs HE4 comparison very soon. The HE560 is definitely a league above the HE4 in the way it presents music, it's an immersing feeling with the HE560 where as the HE4 sounds like a stereo on your head (planar wall sound). The HE6 has a warmer sounding signature, but the 560 takes on it's imaging and couples it with traits from the HE500 with mids being forward and well presented but does so with speed (not that lushness the HE500 has), it also has the HE4s treble but with the new padding, tones down the air which plays in role of the imaging..more on that when I make the comparison.

Until then, the HE4 in my book is still a helluva pickup at $450 but the HE560 price is justified for it's advantages.

 

[money4me247]

  Crickets in this thread.

 
I'll have to inject some life into it with a HE560 vs HE4 comparison very soon. The HE560 is definitely a league above the HE4 in the way it presents music, it's an immersing feeling with the HE560 where as the HE4 sounds like a stereo on your head (planar wall sound). The HE6 has a warmer sounding signature, but the 560 takes on it's imaging and couples it with traits from the HE500 with mids being forward and well presented but does so with speed (not that lushness the HE500 has), it also has the HE4s treble but with the new padding, tones down the air which plays in role of the imaging..more on that when I make the comparison.

Until then, the HE4 in my book is still a helluva pickup at $450 but the HE560 price is justified for it's advantages.

informative comparison! yaaa, it wld b realllyyy sad if the new he560 weren't sonically better than the old he-4 considering the amount of research or whatever they did to improve it and the price tag.

 

[148124]

he-560 is not bad headphone but comparing it to he-4 is super silly, heard it just after releasing to the markets but it can't match clarity, imaging and detail level thus losing a lot of realism
 
only he-6 can match he-4 in many aspects, he-560 is much more like 500 which is not a good thing, love people that are so naive thinking 'damn, they did so much research - so it is better in so many aspects', so pathetic, grow up kids, stop reading sponsored reviews and use your own ears, one thing you won't regret will be the sound you really like with no burn-in time needed and rest of audio voodoo ****

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

I call bs on magic man...

butterscotch that is!

I really want to hear the he4 again, I really miss the sound and would love to hear it again with better trained ears. The he4 to me was quite an amazing phone when paired with the balanced nfb-10se, just really a great pairing. The attack on the he4 with the multiple filters the 10se as well as the treble of both headphone/dac+amp was perfectly matched. The audio-gd had gobs of power to move the he4 drivers as well!

 

[Thujone]

I would like to hear the HE-560 eventually. I have the HE-4 and HE-6 currently and the HE-6 does beat out the HE-4 in terms of resolution but it still doesn't have the staging/separation of the HE-4. Everything is just simply cleaner sounding on the HE-6. Treble is pronounced but not nearly as sibilant, the bass is very textured and clean, etc.
 
I also just picked up a used HE-400S and I'm very impressed. For the price, you can't go wrong. They sound great out of anything. Not a super balanced signature but they are way fun.

 

[gauchotodd]

  only he-6 can match he-4 in many aspects, he-560 is much more like 500 which is not a good thing, love people that are so naive thinking 'damn, they did so much research - so it is better in so many aspects', so pathetic, grow up kids, stop reading sponsored reviews and use your own ears, one thing you won't regret will be the sound you really like with no burn-in time needed and rest of audio voodoo ****

 
I've spent a lot of time with my dampened HE-500s, and recently got the HE-560 and was amazed at how much more natural, fluid, and textural it is than the HE-500 is, even in stock form (the 560, that is). Without having heard the HE-4, I still have to disagree that the -560 is very much like the -500. It's such a better headphone.

 

[Thujone]

Most reviews have called the HE-560 a little on the bright side, even having some strident treble, which is opposite of the HE-500. I wouldn't be surprised if they kept that really forward midrange though, maybe that's what magicman is referring to? Again, I've never had the privilege of listening to the 560.

 

[money4me247]

  Most reviews have called the HE-560 a little on the bright side, even having some strident treble, which is opposite of the HE-500. I wouldn't be surprised if they kept that really forward midrange though, maybe that's what magicman is referring to? Again, I've never had the privilege of listening to the 560.

midrange isn't really very forward. its bass through lower midrange measures extremely linearlly until the upper mids where there is a bit of a dip as typical with all hifiman headphones. lower treble a bit accentuated over upper treble. overall still quite close to neutral, but can be a bit bright if you prefer warmer headphones.

 

[Haris Javed]

I call bs on magic man...

butterscotch that is!

I really want to hear the he4 again, I really miss the sound and would love to hear it again with better trained ears. The he4 to me was quite an amazing phone when paired with the balanced nfb-10se, just really a great pairing. The attack on the he4 with the multiple filters the 10se as well as the treble of both headphone/dac+amp was perfectly matched. The audio-gd had gobs of power to move the he4 drivers as well!

You know something. I happen to own both the HE-560, and the HE-4. Guess What...HE-4 vs HE 560 is no match. They are very different headphones. I stopped listening to my HE-4's since I thought they sounded cynical, but I was using the wrong Amp. Now with my new Amp [iFi Micro idsd] I find the HE-4 to be an absolute beast. Very Clear, Seperated, and Tons of Tight Tight Bass.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

(glad to see this thread bumped btw, it's what started me in the journey thay literally turned into so much money spent and my wallet getting crushed)

So... you like the he4 now. Right?

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

^^^

You know something. I happen to own both the HE-560, and the HE-4. Guess What...HE-4 vs HE 560 is no match. They are very different headphones. I stopped listening to my HE-4's since I thought they sounded cynical, but I was using the wrong Amp. Now with my new Amp [iFi Micro idsd] I find the HE-4 to be an absolute beast. Very Clear, Seperated, and Tons of Tight Tight Bass.