[DavidA]

I think the various impressions is also caused by the different volume levels that individuals listen at. Since I listen at relatively low levels (65-75dB) the HE560 does not sound bright to me but if I turn up the volume to 80-85dB the HE560 becomes a bright/harsh sounding headphone and will cause fatigue in a short period.

Agree with @mandrake50 and @peter123 about pricy cables, not worth it for very little or no difference.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Sure we can agree to disagree. There is really never any right or wrong when talking about audio perceptions and/or preferences.

Every so often a post shows up that says the some sort of thing that I have. It seems that there are enough of these to make mentioning this perception of the 560s sound worthwhile.

Jerg, the thread starter here, started his mod thread to address the same sort of things that I am talking about. In the early parts of the thread there were also many others who felt the need to extensively mod the 560 due to their perceived problems with FR. So there are opinions on both sides of this discussion. Still it doesn't make one position wrong and the other right, this information is simply a data point. One worth considering.

When someone asks about the headphone, it is good to have opinions from people other than the ones that just love the headphones. Simply a counterpoint that should be valuable for anyone considering buying the headphones. I can't see a situation in which a broad spectrum of opinions would not be preferable.

Obviously, that is why I recommend listening before buying. Especially in the case of the 560, which obviously can be quite polarizing.

Agree with everything you said. However...

when a poster says 'They sound thin with anything, that is their nature', in the same discussion line with your comments it leads to the impression that all ears hear them that way, which is not the case.

I'm not sure what the mid-point between 'thin' and 'full' is -- 'neutral' already in uses as the mid-point between 'warm' and 'bright'. I guess we could use 'fit' if 'full' is taken as shorthand for 'full-bodied'. Or maybe 'Goldilocks'

Whatever, I find my 560s (via Soncia --> v280) neither thin nor full. I love the fact that the bass extends deeply with very good impact without bloat. and mids also feel 'just right'. For example, guitar in Joni Mitchell 'Ladies of the Canyon' title track. I've heard them thin, and I've heard them full (fat). Just right on 560s.

I will add that I especially agree with the discussion of source chain sensitivity. They do sound thinner coming out of my Matrix HPA-3b.

IMHO of course.

 

[mandrake50]

Obviously all simply my opinions... Must people always say.. in my opinion, YMMV etc. Is that not always obvious? Nothing I said "made it sound" as if it was a universal truth. That was your interpretation only. Last I checked there was no sound to text at all.

OK.. to clarify. In my opinion, to my perceptual, system, with my ears, on my equipment, based upon my experience and tastes, being thin and peaky is the nature of the 560. I don't intend to waste all of those keystrokes every time I share my thoughts, however. All of this should be intuitively obvious to even the most casual of observers.

Now I must ask, what is the point? Any interpretation does not invalidate the opinions that I hold and chose to share.

I thought we were going to agree to disagree. The digression will most certainly will not help the OP who asked whether the purchase of the 560 for $500 was worth it.
That is all I started out to do.

BTW, I am glad you like the 560s. Obviously I must find that they have some redeeming characteristics. I have spent lots of time and energy modding one set, and recently bought a second set..

 

[LCMusicLover]

Obviously all simply my opinions... Must people always say.. in my opinion, YMMV etc. Is that not always obvious? Nothing I said "made it sound" as if it was a universal truth. That was your interpretation only. Last I checked there was no sound to text at all.

OK.. to clarify. In my opinion, to my perceptual, system, with my ears, on my equipment, based upon my experience and tastes, being thin and peaky is the nature of the 560. I don't intend to waste all of those keystrokes every time I share my thoughts, however. All of this should be intuitively obvious to even the most casual of observers.

Now I must ask, what is the point? Any interpretation does not invalidate the opinions that I hold and chose to share.

I thought we were going to agree to disagree... Let's just do that and quit this pointless exchange. It most certainly will not help the OP who asked whether the purchase of the 560 for $500 was worth it.
That is all I started out to do.

I think when a 'Headphonus Supremus' says 'They sound a bit thin with anything, it is their nature', it doesn't seem like an opinion -- more like an objective statement of fact imbued with a certain amount of athorita.

Happy to end discussion.

 

[mandrake50]

It is a good idea for anyone reading posts here to understand that unless you have followed someone's writing over time and they agree with your assessments consistently, you should take their opinions as being worth the proverbial grain of salt. Every thing anyone here writes is only their opinion.

I can't control your perception of what I meant... much less its importance, but I have clarified this as much as I can.

 

[DavidA]

@LCMusicLover , having the title of "Headphoneus Supremus" really doesn't mean much, to me it just means that one has a lot of free time (like be being retired for me) but if you are on this site long enough I would agree with @mandrake50 that you will find a few others that have similar taste as yourself and those are the ones that I would put more credibility in their assessments / impressions. Another thing to consider is the number of headphones that a person has heard since it gives more data points for comparisons but since audio memory is pretty poor its not something that I would put too much importance on, but if someone says "I just compared my ________ to ________ at home on my system" it makes a more compelling evaluation IMO.

While I don't consider the HE560 thin sounding, I wouldn't call it full or warm either, could it be considered neutral...., just kidding.

 

[Gavin C4]

For the product lineup HE560 and HE1000. These hifiman planners are slightly bright at the top. They might sound harsh to some ears. While the HE1000 has a lay back presentation, the treble is soft and great for long listening. But for the HE560 where the presentation is more close or aggressive, it maybe slightly on the bright side. But they are definitely not V-shape sound signature. (For V-shape I refer to headphones like TH-X00, TH-900) Please do audition it before pulling the trigger if you are sensitive to the issue discussed by others.

 

[raybone0566]

You can put shelf liner between the pad & driver and it tamed the brightness.

 

[Guidostrunk]

Well said. I agree completely.

I find my 560s ............... neither thin nor full. I love the fact that the bass extends deeply with very good impact without bloat. and mids also feel 'just right'.

 

[LCMusicLover]

@LCMusicLover , having the title of "Headphoneus Supremus" really doesn't mean much, to me it just means that one has a lot of free time (like be being retired for me) but if you are on this site long enough I would agree with @mandrake50 that you will find a few others that have similar taste as yourself and those are the ones that I would put more credibility in their assessments / impressions. Another thing to consider is the number of headphones that a person has heard since it gives more data points for comparisons but since audio memory is pretty poor its not something that I would put too much importance on, but if someone says "I just compared my ________ to ________ at home on my system" it makes a more compelling evaluation IMO.

While I don't consider the HE560 thin sounding, I wouldn't call it full or warm either, could it be considered neutral...., just kidding.

All good. I get the underlying meaning of the 'Supremus' label. Still creates a bit of an aura. Mostly I just reacted to that one sentence.

Like @mandrake50 I'm more than ready to end this discussion.

 

[pataburd]

I find vocals to be a little lean or distant when driving my HE-560 with any of the solid state amplifiers I have on hand. For me, tubes fill in the mids tonally and make the 560s sound their best.

 

[rgs9200m]

Nice choice of music LCmusiclover; Court and Spark is one of my all time favorite albums.

 

[ZekeAdebayo]

Those are the oval ones, I was never able to get them to fit properly on the HE400i but the round ones are much easier to fit:



You'll need to use the original Hifiman plastic rings to get them to fit though. I've used the oval HM5 pads on a lot of headphones over the years and it's my experience that they're very durable.

https://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-ROUND-Replacement-Memory-Earpads/dp/B072PPPWBF/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1502675668&sr=1-9&keywords=brainwavz+earpads&th=1

Looks like these are the pads you were talking about sir, now to either go with the Velour (like you have in your pic) or the regular black ones that they have on that page. I would prefer not to make my headphones sound darker but I'll give these earpads a go. Can I use the plastic rings from my current earpads then? Anyways, thanks for all the suggestions. If these don't work out then I may look into the Ethers ( C or Aeon) to replace my 560's, the 560 has been solid, it's just a shame the earpads weren't up to par for me.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Nice choice of music LCmusiclover; Court and Spark is one of my all time favorite albums.

Cheers! Lovely voice, great songwriter, outstanding guitarist. Produced wonderful music throughout her career. Sad that she's probably done, although we can still hope for her recovery.

 

[abvolt]

Well I got from a friend of mine today a very nice balanced cable for my 560's (he made it), I've been using the original stock cable which is a good cable. I use balanced on all my other hp's so this was a very nice treat for me. It made a nice difference that I noticed right a way with the low end more impactful and the overall sq is more spacious. If you've got the dac & amp to run balanced imo it's well worth it, I got to say these 560's are truly outstanding hp's..enjoy