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Hifiman HE-400i and HE-560: From CES to Pre-Launch
Mar 27, 2014 at 7:55 AM Post #2,911 of 3,091
davidsh said:
  Nice.. I like your new profile pic btw 
wink.gif
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But not nearly as "tough" as the old profile pic. 
 
Mar 27, 2014 at 9:12 AM Post #2,912 of 3,091
Mar 27, 2014 at 2:48 PM Post #2,913 of 3,091
edwood said:
  The Hybrid Pads are my favorite now.
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have they been relased yet? I'm hoping the new Angled Velours come out soon. I've got Beyer Velours on my HE 4 atm...
 
Mar 28, 2014 at 2:42 AM Post #2,917 of 3,091
HE-560 INITIAL IMPRESSIONS (before my review): I probably won't post much more after this until I've had several intensive listening sessions with the HE-560 for my review, which will include these comments below.
 
I received the HE-560 today, and plugged them into my Nuforce CDP-8 > PWD Mk2 coax > ZDT amp right away.  I was impressed right away in the first 5 minutes. Again, the following was with just a 60 second listen with 5 or 6 songs off the CD player before heading out the door tonight.  I'll need to spend many days with them to get a more accurate idea of how they perform.
 
My initial thoughts about them when I put on the HE-560 to listen were (1) spacious (2) detailed and crisp (3) fast.  I'd say that my 1st thought was actually on the soundstage, where the HE-560 reminded me a little of my HE-60 - the sound seemed to come from everywhere except the ear cups. I need to listen more to see if they have a somewhat more vague & wide imaging and/or placement of instruments, there just wasn't time tonight. The HE-5 had that issue with imaging which was improved with the HE-5LE and then HE-500, but the others never had this large of a head-stage.  Their soundstage may very well belong in the elite group with HD800, SR-009, and HE-60.
 
I can say that they are not as forward sounding as the HE-500, and they sound more light and airy or delicate than my HE-500 which sound a little more rich and organic at times. Maybe the description would be, they have more finesse and speed (like a stat) than the HE-500.  This probably brings them closer to the HE-6 (which I did not compare to yet tonight).  PRAT is excellent.
 
From this brief exposure I'd say they are fairly well balanced sounding, as far as frequency response goes. Bass is tight and fast, mids are crisp and clear, and treble for me was sparkly or plucky.  You could almost believe the guitar was in the room with you.  With my 52 year old ears I won't know if they are more or less extended in the treble than the HE-500 or HE-6 though, even when I compare them side by side later with test tones and music.  They may still turn out to be a little more dry and analytical than my HE-6 when I compare them later, but they were just as smooth and grain free during my brief listen. 
 
The 560's disappear pretty quickly, physically and audibly, due to excellent transparency, out of head projection, and light weight. Comfort is improved with the ear pads being more like the HE-60 pads, and due to the big drop in weight vs all of my other orthodynamics (although I think these are planar dynamic not ortho, right?).  Compared to the HE-500 these things could float away.
 
I was heading out the door and couldn't listen much till tomorrow, but I did try them briefly with my iPad Air and I felt that it could drive them fairly well, although the volume was set at 75-95% most of the time.  Lack of power didn't result in a lack of bass, and with the iPad at 100% there was no distortion - it was louder than I like for casual listening but not close to concert levels.  They definitely benefit from an amp, but they are not unusable at all un-amped.
 
Most of the time I know immediately after putting on a headphone if I would enjoy owning them or not.  Occasionally a headphone sounds nice when listened to by itself at first, but over time when you compare them to others then their flaws become quite apparent when you switch back (Edition 9 for example).  This is not one of those - it's a headphone I would absolutely want to own, and it doesn't fall down in comparison to the HE-500.  I'm sure it will stand up to my other phones as well.
 
Mar 28, 2014 at 9:09 AM Post #2,920 of 3,091
So... When can we expect the first batch to start shipping/be sent to dealers?
The production begun this week from what Dr. Fang Bian wrote :wink:
 
Mar 28, 2014 at 9:23 AM Post #2,921 of 3,091
Gave the same question to the only swedisch dealer offering the HE-560 and he talks abaut weeks.
 
WEEKS!!!!!!
 
Mar 28, 2014 at 3:33 PM Post #2,923 of 3,091
Mar 28, 2014 at 4:34 PM Post #2,925 of 3,091
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