[billqs]

These are both a couple of well respected classic phones. I've had the HE560 and just got in the HE500. I'm trying to decide which of the two would be better to keep.

 

[Tjj226 Angel]

HE-500 for sure. The 560s sounded too dry and boring to me (by comparison of course).

 

[Kukuk]

I've grown to like the HE-560 a fair bit, but I don't find that they do anything better than the HE-500. Maybe detail retrieval? The HE-500, by contrast, has better bass extension, more coherent mid range, smoother treble, and is just overall more musical. That being said, the margin between the two headphones is pretty small. The HE-500 isn't so much a drop-in upgrade to the HE-560, it almost sounds like it's the newer revision of the HE-560.

Your mileage may vary of course, but I would absolutely recommend the HE-560 to someone who can't find an HE-500, but since you do have one, hold on to that headphone with both hands!

 

[descloud]

I don't have experience with the HE-560, but I did have the HE-400i at one point and I think they sound fairly similar to the HE-560, but the HE-560 is more balanced and has a wider soundstage than the HE-400i.

That being said, I think the HE-500 has better extension and and more balanced sound than the HE-400i, but only just. Further comparisons show they come from the same house sound with small variations.

I think you should keep comparing the two yourself with different music and see which you'd prefer to keep, or keep them both why not lol. Personally, I would definitely keep the HE-500 since I find their midrange very similar to the HD650, but presented slightly differently - a little more energetic if I may say.

Other than that, from what I've read, they're fairly similar in sound that keeping both is redundant and you should keep which gives you more pleasure in listening.

 

[bagwell359]

I've owned the HE-500, HE-400i, MD-4XX, HE-5LE, HE5SE, HE6SE - and heard the HE-6, Sundara, 400s, and the 560 - pretty much all the round form HFM cans of the past 11 years.

For my money, the HE-500 nestles in #2 after the HE-6, and ahead of the HE6SE (Adorama - read about my issues) and 560 (v1) - the next two best.

The HE-500 is amazing in how much a mid centric can it is - and yet the bass and treble are both obviously excellent in their own way. It needs 2 wpc at 50 ohms to get the best out of it.

It along with the HE-6 are among the most modded cans of all time - not because the driver stinks, but because it is superb, but the stock cable, headband, rear screen, and pads are all haphazard/low quality.

I've got the HE6SE, HEX v2, HD-600 also and the 500 is still getting 50-70% of my listening.

The 560 is clean, has a bit of bite around 9 kHz, quite nice, just not a 500. Let's try this way if the he-6 is a 97/100, the 500 is a 94/100 and the 560 is an 88/100 and an unmodified 4XX is a 78/100. The 500 and 6 with mods are a lot closer to real music than other round form HFM no matter what u do to them. The Arya is better outside bass impact then the 6. But even used - Arya (~1100) and HE-6 (~900) cost a lot. The 500 is less than half that (~400).

 

[billqs]

So, I'm going to keep the HE-500 and sell the HE-560 which still sound really good. Thanks for your help!