[peter123]

Right on. That was what I was assuming regarding the HD650, and hearing you confirm that makes my want to buy and try significantly less. Are there any other engaging cans you would recommend, open or closed that are a little easier to drive? I currently have an HD 25, M-Audio Q40, and Meze 99 Neo (Should have got the Classics). They all manage to keep me rocking in a good way. I've purchased and returned close to 3X that many cans, and got a little burnt out on the buy and try madness method lol

Have you tried any Grado offerings? If not they might be worth a shot. I haven't heard any of the "new" e-series myself though, only the older ones.

Another option to look into could be the HD660S but unfortunately I haven't heard those either.

Personally I find the Fidelio X2's to be a really fun pair of headphones but maybe you've tried those already? They're also easy to drive....

 

[Mhog55]

Have you tried any Grado offerings? If not they might be worth a shot. I haven't heard any of the "new" e-series myself though, only the older ones.

Another option to look into could be the HD660S but unfortunately I haven't heard those either.

Personally I find the Fidelio X2's to be a really fun pair of headphones but maybe you've tried those already? They're also easy to drive....

I have not found a place to demo any Grados. Sounds like they are a love or hate type of deal. The X2 has aroused my curiosity quite a bit, but I kinda got the impression they may not be aggressive enough for rock. Are they more in line with the HD650 or the Edition S ...... Maybe somewhere in the middle?

 

[SuperNovaGoesPop]

It does indeed do a lot of things right. Bass became more taut with greater impact with some added juice. Treble is a little more up front, but never harsh. Fun is a good way to describe them. I've almost pulled the trigger on the 560s a few times. I had a pair of he400s that I just sold. I really liked them, but I don't think my phone made them as happy as they wanted to be. Same thing that keeps me away from the 560s. On paper, the Hifiman are more efficient. I think my next open back will be the hd6xx. I'm just worried I will find them a little too mellow and laid back for rock. Wish I could demo the 650 somewhere. Anybody who owns both the HD650 and the Edition S care to provide a comparison? I assume everything would be a little more held back and neutral with a richer sound, but likely a bigger stage. I wonder which ones have better imaging, accuracy and separation. If it's the HD650, I'll have to get it.

The 560s are not terrible to drive at all; they're the planar equivolency of the Edition S for the most part. I have a very...very schitty Snapdragon Galaxy S8, which has the world's worst amp and a dac that doesn't exactly make my ears melt, and the 560s work at the highest volume levels. With a real phone, or even just a small dac/amp, the 560s are beyond fine. My Q1 drives them to the point of ear-pain, and my little Zuperdac S requires lots of volume, but it solves the problems of the S8 for truly portable use.

I can run some direct comparisons with the Edition S for kicks if you want. The S defi itely is more efficient, but the 560 is closer than further...the big brother m1060s, however, are a no-go with the S8 and its anemic amp.

 

[Mhog55]

The 560s are not terrible to drive at all; they're the planar equivolency of the Edition S for the most part. I have a very...very schitty Snapdragon Galaxy S8, which has the world's worst amp and a dac that doesn't exactly make my ears melt, and the 560s work at the highest volume levels. With a real phone, or even just a small dac/amp, the 560s are beyond fine. My Q1 drives them to the point of ear-pain, and my little Zuperdac S requires lots of volume, but it solves the problems of the S8 for truly portable use.

I can run some direct comparisons with the Edition S for kicks if you want. The S defi itely is more efficient, but the 560 is closer than further...the big brother m1060s, however, are a no-go with the S8 and its anemic amp.

Interesting. The 560s have a higher impedance and lower sensitivity than the 400S I just sold, and those were doable from my V30, but I don't think capable of unlocking their full potential. Are the 560s more efficient than the 400S?

 

[SuperNovaGoesPop]

Interesting. The 560s have a higher impedance and lower sensitivity than the 400S I just sold, and those were doable from my V30, but I don't think capable of unlocking their full potential. Are the 560s more efficient than the 400S?

No clue about the 400s comparisons, but it's a lot better than the m1060 that I have....the m1060 absolutely needs an amp to get it to where it needs to be, at least through my S8. I'll run a quick volume comparison between the Edition S and m560 later tonight or tomorrow when I get back home and let you know where they are. Personally, I feel like every single set of headphones that I own, even down to the KSC75s, benefit greatly from an external amp pushing them. I'd think that a V30 in aux mode or tricked into high inpedence mode would be no problem...Comcast needs to pick up the V Series or G Series phones for Xfinity Mobile so that I can get away from Samsung already.

 

[Mhog55]

No clue about the 400s comparisons, but it's a lot better than the m1060 that I have....the m1060 absolutely needs an amp to get it to where it needs to be, at least through my S8. I'll run a quick volume comparison between the Edition S and m560 later tonight or tomorrow when I get back home and let you know where they are. Personally, I feel like every single set of headphones that I own, even down to the KSC75s, benefit greatly from an external amp pushing them. I'd think that a V30 in aux mode or tricked into high inpedence mode would be no problem...Comcast needs to pick up the V Series or G Series phones for Xfinity Mobile so that I can get away from Samsung already.

Absolutely!! Please do. That would be extremely helpful to see a volume comparison between the Edition S and the Monolith 560. Thx!

 

[SuperNovaGoesPop]

Absolutely!! Please do. That would be extremely helpful to see a volume comparison between the Edition S and the Monolith 560. Thx!

God...this made me remember just how woefully underpowered the S8 amp is and how bad it sounds on its own. Honestly, on second thought...I don't think either the Edition S or m560 can be powered properly by this thing; so keep that in mind. But regardless of straight into the phone or through the Q1, I would say that the m560 is about 1ish-2ish clicks away from the Edition S as far as efficiency goes. The Edition S wakes up quicker when amped, but the m560 really isn't all that far behind at all to be honest. They equally sound like butt straight through the S8 and the same 1ish to 2ish clicks applies for volume...there's only 15 volume steps on the S8.

 

[Mhog55]

God...this made me remember just how woefully underpowered the S8 amp is and how bad it sounds on its own. Honestly, on second thought...I don't think either the Edition S or m560 can be powered properly by this thing; so keep that in mind. But regardless of straight into the phone or through the Q1, I would say that the m560 is about 1ish-2ish clicks away from the Edition S as far as efficiency goes. The Edition S wakes up quicker when amped, but the m560 really isn't all that far behind at all to be honest. They equally sound like butt straight through the S8 and the same 1ish to 2ish clicks applies for volume...there's only 15 volume steps on the S8.

Nice. Well I want a pair of planars, but I figured they were all out of reach to be properly driven by my V30. I might give these a go in the near future. Can you give me a sample of their SQ - Maybe use the Edition S for reference purposes. Some say they are too bright and lack low end punch, and some say that resolves after 2,427 hours of burn in. Good for rock? I'm assuming they would be. Thx!

 

[DavidA]

It does indeed do a lot of things right. Bass became more taut with greater impact with some added juice. Treble is a little more up front, but never harsh. Fun is a good way to describe them. I've almost pulled the trigger on the 560s a few times. I had a pair of he400s that I just sold. I really liked them, but I don't think my phone made them as happy as they wanted to be. Same thing that keeps me away from the 560s. On paper, the Hifiman are more efficient. I think my next open back will be the hd6xx. I'm just worried I will find them a little too mellow and laid back for rock. Wish I could demo the 650 somewhere. Anybody who owns both the HD650 and the Edition S care to provide a comparison? I assume everything would be a little more held back and neutral with a richer sound, but likely a bigger stage. I wonder which ones have better imaging, accuracy and separation. If it's the HD650, I'll have to get it.

While I've only heard the Edition-S a few times I did like its sound and its fairly easy to drive where it sounded good even from a phone or low power DAP. With the HD650 and HE560 you will need to chose your amp carefully since the HD650 is really designed for use with a high impedance OTL amp (BH Crack for me) and the HE560 sounds best with hybrid amps (Lyr2 or Ember for me) IMO. The HD650 will benefit with better gear and for a few of my friends its an end game headphone used with some better amps (Liquid Glass, Mainline, Icon HP-8 mk2, DarkStar, MHA-100, and EC Balancing Act)

I still have my HE400 (modded) and to me its a pretty good headphone since the bass is hard to beat, highs are smooth and well extended, mids are a tad recessed but it makes for a fun sound for me, again its a little amp picky where I tend to like it best with my Asgard2. Between the HD650 and Edition-S I'd take the HD650 but only due to the amps that I have for it, for those that don't want to deal with amps then the Edition-S is a better buy.

The HE560 is quite a bit different form the Edition-S and HD650 and its not a headphone I'd usually recommend to friends since it really needs an amp that pairs well with it, usually a slightly warm SS or hybrid works well for me. Another thing to consider with the HE560 is how loud you will listen with them since they are not very efficient and one reason many say they need a powerful amp but if you listen at reasonable levels (under 85dB) then you can get away with lower powered amps (headphone jack of UD-301 DAC only has 100mW and its more than enough for me)

 

[Mhog55]

While I've only heard the Edition-S a few times I did like its sound and its fairly easy to drive where it sounded good even from a phone or low power DAP. With the HD650 and HE560 you will need to chose your amp carefully since the HD650 is really designed for use with a high impedance OTL amp (BH Crack for me) and the HE560 sounds best with hybrid amps (Lyr2 or Ember for me) IMO. The HD650 will benefit with better gear and for a few of my friends its an end game headphone used with some better amps (Liquid Glass, Mainline, Icon HP-8 mk2, DarkStar, MHA-100, and EC Balancing Act)

I still have my HE400 (modded) and to me its a pretty good headphone since the bass is hard to beat, highs are smooth and well extended, mids are a tad recessed but it makes for a fun sound for me, again its a little amp picky where I tend to like it best with my Asgard2. Between the HD650 and Edition-S I'd take the HD650 but only due to the amps that I have for it, for those that don't want to deal with amps then the Edition-S is a better buy.

The HE560 is quite a bit different form the Edition-S and HD650 and its not a headphone I'd usually recommend to friends since it really needs an amp that pairs well with it, usually a slightly warm SS or hybrid works well for me. Another thing to consider with the HE560 is how loud you will listen with them since they are not very efficient and one reason many say they need a powerful amp but if you listen at reasonable levels (under 85dB) then you can get away with lower powered amps (headphone jack of UD-301 DAC only has 100mW and its more than enough for me)

Yeah, I've decided to stay away from planars. The HE400S is about as efficient as they come from what I've seen, and my phone didn't quite cut the cheese. I know a lot of people are very satisfied with the hd6xx and V30 pairing. I may try the Monolith m560 with my phone at some point. I think dynamic drivers are best with this phone. I was tempted to buy a portable amp, but there's a lot of cans available that sound great with the V30 in high impedance mode. Enough to keep my brain and my wallet plenty occupied.
The person posting above was referring to the Monolith m560, not the hifiman he560. I was a little confused at 1st glance

 

[golfinggino]

I picked up a pair of the edition s used for $75 USD today - my main use will be at the office when I dont use my isine 10.
I have tested it out for awhile with my LG V30 in high impediance mode and they do sound pretty good. I recently bought the HE-4XX but they were just too bulky to wear at work so I sold them. The clamp is pretty strong on the edition s but they are comfortable. I cant believe how small the edition s is compared to my edition x

 

[Mhog55]

I picked up a pair of the edition s used for $75 USD today - my main use will be at the office when I dont use my isine 10.
I have tested it out for awhile with my LG V30 in high impediance mode and they do sound pretty good. I recently bought the HE-4XX but they were just too bulky to wear at work so I sold them. The clamp is pretty strong on the edition s but they are comfortable. I cant believe how small the edition s is compared to my edition x

Yeah, even though the Edition S isn't really a small can, it's a dwarf compared to the HE series.

 

[kompa]

So after 2 years of normal use my right speaker has a bad connection so i need to push the wire on the left one towards my neck to have audio in both. Also the headband is just about to snap.

Any ideas what to do with these? I'd like to take them apart i guess to repurpose the drivers somehow.

And more importantly: any recommendations for wireless headphones that are somewhat similar to these?

 

[Tz2000]

How do they sound open compared to the he400i?

 

[der luda]

I'll bring this old thread in memory.

The Edition S is currently available for 149.-, I have been looking for headphones for my many business trips and weekend trips.
The expensive models are a shame.

I am very positively surprised by the Edition S for my requirements.
Meets my hearing desire very well, fine and small to transport ... and can be comfortably carried in bed in the evening to fall asleep.

He also gets along very well with the Ibasso DX160.