[ThurstonX]

  Hey guys I'm about to order the Alu trim ring, does the $10 item on Head-Direct come with a pair or is that price for a single ring?

 
I paid $10 for the pair.

 

[jerg]

So it's been well over a month since I revised the mods and updated my own HE560s too. The silicone glue holds up extremely well in keeping the air-tight coupling between the earpads and the cup baffles, much better than double-sided tape which tended to lose the adhesion from time to time. The modifications being maintenance-free makes me a happy man.

 

[pauldgroot]

I made a new in-ear microphone which sits about 2cm into my ear canal, the nice thing about it is that it's always in the same position and orientation which makes measurements in between sessions much more accurate.
 
The following measurements are taken with this new microphone and are to illustrate differences between pads and seal. Take note that because this microphone is in my own ears, measurements are distorted because of my ear canal's own resonance. If I were to place a microphone outside of my ear you would see a flat bass response but some weird dips and spikes because of resonaces between my head and the headphone. So even though this measurement might not be actual response of the headphone it's still a valid way to compare changes. All measurements were taken five times with different positions of the headphone, the changes I've observed in between positions were minimal just like the review of Innerfidelity mentions.
 
 
 
As you can see, the Focus-A pad lifts response in between 1 and 3KHz and pushes down the repsonse in between 3.5 and 5.7Khz. To me personally, this makes all the difference in the world. Measurements of FR doesn't show that sealing the pads makes any difference .
 
I've also plotted a 30Hz square wave, zoomed in and overlaid them. I don't really know what to make of them but maybe it's useful for somebody. I'd say the sealed decay looks a tad smoother.
 

 
Bigger version here: http://i.imgur.com/vfiYDMG.png.

 

[jerg]

  I made a new in-ear microphone which sits about 2cm into my ear canal, the nice thing about it is that it's always in the same position and orientation which makes measurements in between sessions much more accurate.
 
The following measurements are taken with this new microphone and are to illustrate differences between pads and seal. Take note that because this microphone is in my own ears, measurements are distorted because of my ear canal's own resonance. If I were to place a microphone outside of my ear you would see a flat bass response but some weird dips and spikes because of resonaces between my head and the headphone. So even though this measurement might not be actual response of the headphone it's still a valid way to compare changes. All measurements were taken five times with different positions of the headphone, the changes I've observed in between positions were minimal just like the review of Innerfidelity mentions.
 
 
 
As you can see, the Focus-A pad lifts response in between 1 and 3KHz and pushes down the repsonse in between 3.5 and 5.7Khz. To me personally, this makes all the difference in the world. Measurements of FR doesn't show that sealing the pads makes any difference .
 
I've also plotted a 30Hz square wave, zoomed in and overlaid them. I don't really know what to make of them but maybe it's useful for somebody. I'd say the sealed decay looks a tad smoother.
 

 
Bigger version here: http://i.imgur.com/vfiYDMG.png.

 
Very cool measurements! I think a more telling measurement for the effect of improved seal on low frequencies would be harmonic distortion as well as non-harmonic noise in the 20-50 Hz region at loud levels, because again, I know first-hand that the proper seal allows HE560 drivers not to rattle or get out of control with strong sub-bassy segments in music, or with pure tones.
 
The validity of this HE560-specific sub-bass control phenomenon was outlined beautifully by @Bill-P, who dissected a HE560 driver and showed that this loss of diaphragm control is most likely due to over-excursion and the diaphragm hitting the inner cage piece of the drivers, at very low frequencies.

 

[ThurstonX]

.

 

[Stillhart]

Okay, well I got my replacement Focus-A pads in.  This time they match!  I slapped them on and I'll be honest, I'm having a hard time telling them apart.  The most obvious difference is that they're shallower and my ears touch the felt now...which I'm not a huge fan of.  Can anyone suggest a song that highlights the areas where the sound is different?

 

[jerg]

  Okay, well I got my replacement Focus-A pads in.  This time they match!  I slapped them on and I'll be honest, I'm having a hard time telling them apart.  The most obvious difference is that they're shallower and my ears touch the felt now...which I'm not a huge fan of.  Can anyone suggest a song that highlights the areas where the sound is different?

Edgier female vocals tend to emphasize this range of frequencies.
 
E.g. 
 
 
 
Note the chorus parts of the track.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

  Okay, well I got my replacement Focus-A pads in.  This time they match!  I slapped them on and I'll be honest, I'm having a hard time telling them apart.  The most obvious difference is that they're shallower and my ears touch the felt now...which I'm not a huge fan of.  Can anyone suggest a song that highlights the areas where the sound is different?

 
Joe Satriani's "Super Colossal" has a large part of the guitar effects in the 3 kHz range.  Especially the title song "Super Colossal".  Get the original 2006 mastering.  The remastering for the 2014 box set, and the 24/96 high-res on hdtracks, has changed the mixing and mastering.  But on the 2006 release the guitar effects are really boxed in to the 3 kHz range.  The Focus pads accentuate the 4 kHz range, but it's close enough and overlaps enough to the 3 kHz range that the change from Focus pads to Focus-A pads should be obvious.  It was obvious to me.  It's actually obvious to me on anything. Any recording.  Any album.  I got my HE-650 about a month ago and the Focus-A pads went out of stock.  So I was stuck trying to listen to the HE-560 with the Focus pads for a month.  I actually chose to put the HE-560 away for the entire month rather than listen to them with the Focus pads.  The Focus pads are awful to me.  Really awful.  I didn't even want to listen to a complete song with them.  With the Focus-A pads I can almost listen to a complete album.  Major difference.  It should be obvious.
 
I'm still not happy with the HE=560 with the Focus-A pads.  If I keep this headphone it will need to be modded and the mods will need to get them to something that I can enjoy listening to.  If I died and went to hell these are the headphones the devil would force me to listen to.  Heaven would be Audeze headphones, but with the appropriate midtrange and treble for enjoying classical music.  My reason for getting the HE-560 was to try to get a headphone that does classical music better than Audeze.  Unfortunately I don't think the HE-560 are the headphone I was looking for.  Unless the mods are magic.

 

[Stillhart]

  Edgier female vocals tend to emphasize this range of frequencies.
 
E.g. 
 
 
 
Note the chorus parts of the track.

 
Weird, I find it actually a little more annoying to listen to with the Focus-A pads.  It's a tad sibilant on the Focus pads but there's a resonance or something on the Focus-A pads that just cuts.
 

   
Joe Satriani's "Super Colossal" has a large part of the guitar effects in the 3 kHz range.  Especially the title song "Super Colossal".  Get the original 2006 mastering.  The remastering for the 2014 box set, and the 24/96 high-res on hdtracks, has changed the mixing and mastering.  But on the 2006 release the guitar effects are really boxed in to the 3 kHz range.  The Focus pads accentuate the 4 kHz range, but it's close enough and overlaps enough to the 3 kHz range that the change from Focus pads to Focus-A pads should be obvious.  It was obvious to me.  It's actually obvious to me on anything. Any recording.  Any album.  I got my HE-650 about a month ago and the Focus-A pads went out of stock.  So I was stuck trying to listen to the HE-560 with the Focus pads for a month.  I actually chose to put the HE-560 away for the entire month rather than listen to them with the Focus pads.  The Focus pads are awful to me.  Really awful.  I didn't even want to listen to a complete song with them.  With the Focus-A pads I can almost listen to a complete album.  Major difference.  It should be obvious.
 
I'm still not happy with the HE=560 with the Focus-A pads.  If I keep this headphone it will need to be modded and the mods will need to get them to something that I can enjoy listening to.  If I died and went to hell these are the headphones the devil would force me to listen to.  Heaven would be Audeze headphones, but with the appropriate midtrange and treble for enjoying classical music.  My reason for getting the HE-560 was to try to get a headphone that does classical music better than Audeze.  Unfortunately I don't think the HE-560 are the headphone I was looking for.  Unless the mods are magic.

 
Thanks, I'll look for that album.
 
Have you tried the Oppo's?  To me, the PM-2 sounds a lot like the LCD-2 but with slightly better bass and treble... also it's lighter, more comfortable, better looking, sturdier, easier to drive and cheaper.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Just skip the he560 and get the he1k, problem solved.

Joe Satriani's "Super Colossal" has a large part of the guitar effects in the 3 kHz range.  Especially the title song "Super Colossal".  Get the original 2006 mastering.  The remastering for the 2014 box set, and the 24/96 high-res on hdtracks, has changed the mixing and mastering.  But on the 2006 release the guitar effects are really boxed in to the 3 kHz range.  The Focus pads accentuate the 4 kHz range, but it's close enough and overlaps enough to the 3 kHz range that the change from Focus pads to Focus-A pads should be obvious.  It was obvious to me.  It's actually obvious to me on anything. Any recording.  Any album.  I got my HE-650 about a month ago and the Focus-A pads went out of stock.  So I was stuck trying to listen to the HE-560 with the Focus pads for a month.  I actually chose to put the HE-560 away for the entire month rather than listen to them with the Focus pads.  The Focus pads are awful to me.  Really awful.  I didn't even want to listen to a complete song with them.  With the Focus-A pads I can almost listen to a complete album.  Major difference.  It should be obvious.

I'm still not happy with the HE=560 with the Focus-A pads.  If I keep this headphone it will need to be modded and the mods will need to get them to something that I can enjoy listening to.  If I died and went to hell these are the headphones the devil would force me to listen to.  Heaven would be Audeze headphones, but with the appropriate midtrange and treble for enjoying classical music.  My reason for getting the HE-560 was to try to get a headphone that does classical music better than Audeze.  Unfortunately I don't think the HE-560 are the headphone I was looking for.  Unless the mods are magic.

 

[Stillhart]

   
Joe Satriani's "Super Colossal" has a large part of the guitar effects in the 3 kHz range.  Especially the title song "Super Colossal".  Get the original 2006 mastering.  The remastering for the 2014 box set, and the 24/96 high-res on hdtracks, has changed the mixing and mastering.  But on the 2006 release the guitar effects are really boxed in to the 3 kHz range.  The Focus pads accentuate the 4 kHz range, but it's close enough and overlaps enough to the 3 kHz range that the change from Focus pads to Focus-A pads should be obvious.  It was obvious to me...

 
Okay, yeah, very noticeable on that song.  The hi-hat is really in an annoying peaky range, as well as some of the guitar effects as you mentioned.  The Focus-A pads make the song much easier to listen to.  The thing is, on songs that aren't so focused in that range, I feel like the Focus has a bit more air and sparkle.  Interesting choice there between the two...

 

[Ham Sandwich]

 
Have you tried the Oppo's?  To me, the PM-2 sounds a lot like the LCD-2 but with slightly better bass and treble... also it's lighter, more comfortable, better looking, sturdier, easier to drive and cheaper.

 
I haven't tried the Oppos yet.  They're on my list to try.  There's a local shop that has them.  I've just been waiting for them to get the PM-3 so I could try both the PM-2 and PM-3 in one trip.
 
I'm not expecting much though from the Oppos.  They might be suitable for portable use for me.  But I doubt they'll be good enough for home use for me.  I need detail resolution on the level of the LCD-2.  I'm not expecting the Oppo headphones to live up to that expectation.  At a minimum I need detail resolution better than the Senn HD600.  Anything not better than the resolving abilities of the HD600 isn't worth bothering with as a home listening headphone to replace or compliment the LCD-2.  The HE-500 wasn't resolving enough for me compared to my LCD-2.  The HE-560 has potential.  I hear the detail resolution.  But the rest of the sound is so fatiguing and off the mark that I don't know if I'll be able to keep them.  The LCD-2 rev 2 that I have is good for rock and such.  I need something now that is equally resolving but more tonally suitable for classical.  Violin and other strings have a lot of subtleties that need a resolving headphone to bring out.  If a headphone doesn't bring out those subtleties then it's not worth bothering with given the headphones I already have.  
 
I've been really hoping that I'd be able to have the LCD-2 rev 2 as my rock and other headphone and the HE-560 as my classical headphone.  But the more I listen to the HE-560 (with both the Focus and Focus-A pads) the more I'm thinking that the HE-560 just isn't going to work out for me.  Unless the HE-560 mods are magic.

 

[Stillhart]

   
I haven't tried the Oppos yet.  They're on my list to try.  There's a local shop that has them.  I've just been waiting for them to get the PM-3 so I could try both the PM-2 and PM-3 in one trip.
 
I'm not expecting much though from the Oppos.  They might be suitable for portable use for me.  But I doubt they'll be good enough for home use for me.  I need detail resolution on the level of the LCD-2.  I'm not expecting the Oppo headphones to live up to that expectation.  At a minimum I need detail resolution better than the Senn HD600.  Anything not better than the resolving abilities of the HD600 isn't worth bothering with as a home listening headphone to replace or compliment the LCD-2.  The HE-500 wasn't resolving enough for me compared to my LCD-2.  The HE-560 has potential.  I hear the detail resolution.  But the rest of the sound is so fatiguing and off the mark that I don't know if I'll be able to keep them.  The LCD-2 rev 2 that I have is good for rock and such.  I need something now that is equally resolving but more tonally suitable for classical.  Violin and other strings have a lot of subtleties that need a resolving headphone to bring out.  If a headphone doesn't bring out those subtleties then it's not worth bothering with given the headphones I already have.  
 
I've been really hoping that I'd be able to have the LCD-2 rev 2 as my rock and other headphone and the HE-560 as my classical headphone.  But the more I listen to the HE-560 (with both the Focus and Focus-A pads) the more I'm thinking that the HE-560 just isn't going to work out for me.  Unless the HE-560 mods are magic.

 
Have you tried the Fazor version of the LCD-2?  
 
Also, I just noticed your sig after posting my last post.  It made me laugh.  
 

Sparkle is for Twilight vampires not headphone treble

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Just skip the he560 and get the he1k, problem solved.

 
Who is going to be first in the Seattle area to get them so I can hear them at a meet before buying them?  

 
At $3K the HE-1000 is going to have to be perfect for what I'm after in a headphone.  I don't know if any one headphone can live up to that expectation.  $3K is a lot of money for a headphone.  More than I've contemplated spending on a single headphone.
 
Good news is that if I don't like the HE-560 they could be up for sale at a future Seattle area meet.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Too much for my blood but the he1k is suppose to be the mothership according to every single person that's tried it with talks of Stax mids/highs and a planar magnetic low.

Although Jude seems to hold the SR009 over them by a hair it seems, which imo isn't worth its tag. So now I'm taking the whole shaker of salt with his comparison.

Who is going to be first in the Seattle area to get them so I can hear them at a meet before buying them?  

At $3K the HE-1000 is going to have to be perfect for what I'm after in a headphone.  I don't know if any one headphone can live up to that expectation.  $3K is a lot of money for a headphone.  More than I've contemplated spending on a single headphone.

Good news is that if I don't like the HE-560 they could be up for sale at a future Seattle area meet.