[jerg]

Hoping to hear some news about the status on the test samples next week. By my count it will be exactly 2 weeks by next Wednesday, from when Eric@Hifiman posted the 1-2 weeks notice on the test samples being sent out. Hype!

 

[Amleth]

   
The costs went into tuning the single-sided magnet to having more sensitivity than the dual magnet...  That's not the easiest thing to do.  HiFiMan could have easily went with a dual-magnet design to get this (the easier route out), but wanted to lighten the headphones as well.  A lot of R&D went into this...  Fang is probably still tuning and adding the final touches as we speak...  The costs tend not to come from materials, but the R&D that goes into getting the sound just right with that setup and hitting the goals that wouldn't seem possible.  I don't think I know of any planar that could be driven on an iPhone alone (no amp) before HiFiMan did it, let a lone a single-magnet model... 
 
You're not just paying for the materials that makeup the headphone, you're paying for the skill and work that went into it.  That includes the R&D, and everything else. 

 
 

  ...R&D lol. Research and development. That is almost always the bulk of the cost for high tech products.

 
If it's only sunk R&D costs, it's still important to ascertain because it means that the eventual price the 560 settles on should be well below the one the 500 does, since the actual production cost per unit should be lower. The simpler design uses a lower total material volume per unit, plus has fewer parts, so fewer manufacturing steps per unit. Once that R&D is recouped there's no justification for maintaining the higher price, as this is just what the big headphone companies do, and is the exactly the opposite of what HiFiMan is often lauded for.
 
Hence asking if there's some additional cost or complexity to the design compared to the He-500 of which we're not yet aware. If it can really sound better while using the inherently less-linear field the single-sided magnets produce, they must have made other changes to achieve this. I'm interested to know what they are. Unless a rep feels like commenting, though, we're just gonna have to wait for end users to get 'em to see what the differences are. I'm hoping it's not just a tweaked 500 with half the magnets and a different headband, it'd be nice if there's some new technology in there too.

 

[Ultramus]

Keep in mind, given the sensitivity increased compared to he-400/500, with only magnets on one side, the total gauss of the magnets has likely increased, and higher gauss magnets are generally more expensive, it's also not entirely improbable that there are just as many magnets as the he-400/500, just all on one side, and it's also probably that the diaphragm is of a stiffer material to accommodate the single sided design, I'm not entirely convinced the production costs will be lower than the existing models.  

 

[Maxx134]

Yes and we Don't know if price is set at a profitable enough margin for them either. .
They know they have quite a few potential competition to beat.

 

[erikfreedom]

price wise, hifiman has no competition. certainly not from other planar makers. and sound wise, they are up there with the best.
 
he 560 is gonna be a hell of a pair of cans. they have addressed every weaknesses planars are know to have like very heavy weight, high power requirement and comfort for long listening sessions all of this at lower price for the performance you get.
 
c'ant wait to have my pair and compare it to my he-500 and he-6. if they really managed to have the he 560 to sound as good as the he-6 or better, someone is gonna be in trouble.
 
I predict 2014 is gonna be a hell of a year for hifiman.  and there is that jade2 thing...

 

[DoctaCosmos]

Yeah I think I might wait for the jade as I'm sure it will be more detailed. Just hope there's some excitement factor to it as David from battle of the flagships leaves comments with most of the stax saying they are not exciting. I doesn't say that about the jade 2 or the Orpheus so maybe it's just stax.

 

[zenpunk]

Just looking at prices I can tell the 560 won't be near the SQ of the HE-6, but I am pretty sure they will be lighter. 

Saying that many people prefer the 500 to the 6 so I am sure few people will also like the 560 better than the 6.

 

[RebelRising]

  Just looking at prices I can tell the 560 won't be near the SQ of the HE-6, but I am pretty sure they will be lighter. 

Saying that many people prefer the 500 to the 6 so I am sure few people will also like the 560 better than the 6.

 
If I've learned anything about this industry, it's to never judge something by its cost. For instance, there are quite a few people who think that the LCD-X is superior to the LCD-3. At this moment, there's no real reason to believe that the 560 "won't be near" the HE-6. For all we know, the HE-6 might end up not justifying the price difference at ALL (I'm looking at you, Sennheiser HD6XX line).

 

[mrscotchguy]

Just looking at prices I can tell the 560 won't be near the SQ of the HE-6, but I am pretty sure they will be lighter. 
Saying that many people prefer the 500 to the 6 so I am sure few people will also like the 560 better than the 6.

Hifiman already commented that they are targeting the HE-560 to be of equal/greater quality to the HE-6, they didn't mention that it will or will not sound the same. Likewise with the HE-400i vs the HE-500. Quality doesn't equal sound signature per-say.

Please try to be patient, quit making assumptions that no one has answers to. And, anyone new to the thread, please go back and re-read.

Be happy that the HE-560 is just around the corner... We are still waiting for even a single announcement from Oppo about their new releases. I for one have been impressed with Hifiman' transparency since the first announcement. Give credit where credit is due...

I found this banter amusing at first, until every point has been remade dozens of times. Chill out.

 

[conquerator2]

   
If I've learned anything about this industry, it's to never judge something by its cost. For instance, there are quite a few people who think that the LCD-X is superior to the LCD-3. At this moment, there's no real reason to believe that the 560 "won't be near" the HE-6. For all we know, the HE-6 might end up not justifying the price difference at ALL (I'm looking at you, Sennheiser HD6XX line).

Especially since HiFiMAN themselves said so... They confirmed that the 560 and 6 will be similar in [sound] quality, not identical sonic wise, though.
EDIT-mrscotchguy beat me to it

 

[DoctaCosmos]

I agree with you Eric. But even with dynamic drivers so far it seems that hifiman simply is the best bang for your buck. I was just in the th900 thread and people say you have to FIND the proper synergy and that really just.. Inflamed me. $1500 for a headphone and have to spend a ton of money to get it to sound good. With hifiman, if the headphone is your style of sound then any amp will work BUT if you do want to invest in higher gear then you will reap the true benefits of the money you spent.

 

[OldSkool]

I just really hope Fang understands the order-frenzy that his new pads will create and has stockpiled accordingly.

 

[DoctaCosmos]

+1 lol.

 

[MattTCG]

I agree with you Eric. But even with dynamic drivers so far it seems that hifiman simply is the best bang for your buck. I was just in the th900 thread and people say you have to FIND the proper synergy and that really just.. Inflamed me. $1500 for a headphone and have to spend a ton of money to get it to sound good. With hifiman, if the headphone is your style of sound then any amp will work BUT if you do want to invest in higher gear then you will reap the true benefits of the money you spent.

 
Seems about the same with the hd800 IMO

 

[jerg]

  I just really hope Fang understands the order-frenzy that his new pads will create and has stockpiled accordingly.

The only thing I worry about is that in my experience one earpad does not rule all, sure you can have great damping but ultimately different thicknesses and foam consistencies will attenuate the frequency response in different ways, meaning an earpad type might complement some drivers and not others in terms of tonal balance.
 
Audeze has it easy because all the cans in their product line past to present have strikingly similar tonal balances, not-so with Hifiman though.