[DavidA]

I'm considering these Ori pads not because of sound but for comfort compared to the stock pads. Can you say a few more words about this? Although the he560 is considered over ear, it actually feels more like on-ears to me. Cups are way too small, and they squash my ears/make them sore.

Are they relatively easy to put on? ZMF website says they fit Hifiman headphones.

As for the sonics, my initial impression of these headphones has only deepened. They are better than the 400i but also share the 400i's sibilance problem with pop and rock music. On both headphones, classical music sounds excellent with not a trace of sibilance that I can hear. I wonder if anybody can account for why pop and rock sounds sibilant on the he560 and 400i and why this problem doesn't affect classical music.

Fitting the Ori pads should not be hard but you will either have to buy some velour pads ($10) to get a pair of mounting rings or cut them out of the stock Focus pads ($40 replacement cost).
You might also want to bend the metal headband so that the ear pads are not smashed together when not being used which is what I think might shorten the life of the Focus pads. I had to bend mine quite a bit since the clamping force was way too high for me and like I noted I don't like having the pads always pressed together.

 

[Brahmsian]

Fitting the Ori pads should not be hard but you will either have to buy some velour pads ($10) to get a pair of mounting rings or cut them out of the stock Focus pads ($40 replacement cost).

I have to destroy the stock pads that the headphones come with or buy which velour pads?

 

[DavidA]

I have to destroy the stock pads that the headphones come with or buy which velour pads?

Yup

 

[Brahmsian]

You missed the second part: what are the $10 velour pads you mentioned?

 

[DavidA]

The $10 pads: http://hifiman.com/products/detail/95
Get the normal Ori pads, not the perforated ones

 

[thebkt]

I'm considering these Ori pads not because of sound but for comfort compared to the stock pads. Can you say a few more words about this? Although the he560 is considered over ear, it actually feels more like on-ears to me. Cups are way too small, and they squash my ears/make them sore.

Are they relatively easy to put on? ZMF website says they fit Hifiman headphones.

As for the sonics, my initial impression of these headphones has only deepened. They are better than the 400i but also share the 400i's sibilance problem with pop and rock music. On both headphones, classical music sounds excellent with not a trace of sibilance that I can hear. I wonder if anybody can account for why pop and rock sounds sibilant on the he560 and 400i and why this problem doesn't affect classical music.

If you've got big ears like me, then I'd highly recommend the Ori pads. I had the same issue you described with the stock pads, which was mostly fixed with the hm5 pads, but the top of my ear still got squished. My ears fit snuggly into the Ori's, but can sometimes take a little adjustment to sit without any squish.

Regarding sibilance, I think the Ori's are slightly brighter than the hm5's, however I've had some good head time now so I'll do some comparisons over the weekend to see.

It's worth asking, which amp/DAC combo are you using the 560's with? When researching for my mimby/nfb1 combo I came across a lot of warnings about amp pairings thanks would be too bright for the 560's, eg. The Jot.

Like I mentioned, I'll do a few comparisons with different pads this weekend to see if the hm5/focus pads are brighter/darker at all.

 

[peter123]

Here's my pair with the round Brainwavz lambskin pads that arrived a couple of days ago:

 

[phthora]

You missed the second part: what are the $10 velour pads you mentioned?

For the same price, you can just buy the rings themselves, saving yourself some DIY:
http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/earpad-mounting-rings.html

As to your previously mentioned sibilance issue, I've never noticed any exaggerated sibilance through my slightly warmish Black Label. Through my dead neutral Violectric amp, there is more upper mids/lower treble presence, but I've actually found that the 560 cuts down on sibilance that I hear through other 'phones. With my test track (Supermassive Black Hole by Muse), I hear sibilance on many of the S's, but less than on other 'phones and with less duration. I'm wondering if yours is a source-matching issue.

 

[peter123]

For the same price, you can just buy the rings themselves, saving yourself some DIY:
http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/earpad-mounting-rings.html

As to your previously mentioned sibilance issue, I've never noticed any exaggerated sibilance through my slightly warmish Black Label. Through my dead neutral Violectric amp, there is more upper mids/lower treble presence, but I've actually found that the 560 cuts down on sibilance that I hear through other 'phones. With my test track (Supermassive Black Hole by Muse), I hear sibilance on many of the S's, but less than on other 'phones and with less duration. I'm wondering if yours is a source-matching issue.

I'm considering getting a IFi BL, would you say that it pairs well with the HE560?

I did also notice that you've had the Ibasso D14, did you by any chance have the BL at the same time and compared the two?

 

[thebkt]

I'm considering getting a IFi BL, would you say that it pairs well with the HE560?

Likewise, though I'd mostly use it away from home with other cans, I'm curious nonetheless, as I've got nothing to drive my 560's beyond my desktop set up.

 

[peter123]

Likewise, though I'd mostly use it away from home with other cans, I'm curious nonetheless, as I've got nothing to drive my 560's beyond my desktop set up.

Yeah, I was thinking the same about using it away from home but I'd like something that I can also use around the house with the HE560.

I really liked the design and features on the original IDSD but I didn't find its sound to be quite up to the Mojo, Burson Air and Geek Out V2+.

 

[phthora]

I'm considering getting a IFi BL, would you say that it pairs well with the HE560?

I did also notice that you've had the Ibasso D14, did you by any chance have the BL at the same time and compared the two?

The iFi Black Label is an ideal pairing for the 560. I run mine on Turbo (high gain), but they are also well-driven on Normal (medium gain). Plenty of power and headroom. The Black Label is more musical and has better low-end texture than the DAC section of my Onkyo DP-X1 or the iBasso D14 (both of which run on the ES9018K2M), and it is also a bit more mid-forward and less bright overall. Both characteristics work well to keep the 560 from being harsh. My Violectric preserves more detail and has noticeably better soundstage and imaging, but it verges on too bright for me with the 560 (fantastic with the 400i though). Small doses with that amp. My iBasso P5 running off batteries sounds great, but is near maximum output getting there. The 560 with BL is my favorite headphone/DAC/amp pairing at the moment. Truly impressive, and it has made me rethink some of my "endgame" plans.

Lastly, on the D14, the 560 is way too harsh in the upper mids/lower treble, lots of unpleasant glare. I sold my D14 because it was simply outclassed in every regard by the Black Label. Even without the comparison, I felt that the D14 made my 400i and my X2 sound harsh, which I haven't experienced in any other set-up. Great resolution, but too bright for me. As a DAC it was very good, but again it became redundant after buying my DAP.

 

[mandrake50]

@Brahmsian
You must have large ears. No criticism intended, but my, slightly larger than average ears fit confortably inside the stock pads. I haven't yet received my Ori pars yet, but should get them within the next week. I would be happy to comment when I get them.
Sibilance is defined by as Sound made by the human mouth. From Wikipedia:
"Sibilance is a manner of articulation of fricative and affricate consonants, made by directing a stream of air with the tongue towards the sharp edge of the teeth, which are held close together".
By definition musical instruments do not produce sibilance.
That having been said, there is a lot of variability in how recordings are mixed and mastered. I have recordings of pop and rock that sound harsh and sibilant on any headphone.
Dou you have a list of some of the recordings that produce this sibilance for you? What are you using for your reproduction chain when listening to the HE 560?

There are a large number of things that can be responsible for what I label as sibilance. I find the 560 to be a bit thin and a touch harsh in the 4 to 6k range (this shows on the FR graphs), but have never found them to be sibilant per se. At least not on their own. Generally though that people refer to as sibilance is usually in the 5 to 8K range (see the relationship) , so if your ears are exceptionally sensitive in this range, perhaps the 560 is not for you.

 

[mandrake50]

I have to destroy the stock pads that the headphones come with or buy which velour pads?

You can also by a set of rings from the Hifiman store. I don't remember the price now, but it is under the cost of the velour pads IIRC.

 

[mandrake50]

The iFi Black Label is an ideal pairing for the 560. I run mine on Turbo (high gain), but they are also well-driven on Normal (medium gain). Plenty of power and headroom. The Black Label is more musical and has better low-end texture than the DAC section of my Onkyo DP-X1 or the iBasso D14 (both of which run on the ES9018K2M), and it is also a bit more mid-forward and less bright overall. Both characteristics work well to keep the 560 from being harsh. My Violectric preserves more detail and has noticeably better soundstage and imaging, but it verges on too bright for me with the 560 (fantastic with the 400i though). Small doses with that amp. My iBasso P5 running off batteries sounds great, but is near maximum output getting there. The 560 with BL is my favorite headphone/DAC/amp pairing at the moment. Truly impressive, and it has made me rethink some of my "endgame" plans.

I agree with the BL and 560. A very nice match. Interestingly, I can, and do, run mine on ECO mode and it has plenty of power for my preferred listening levels (75 to 80 DB or so).
It also gains a few DB of SNR. Though this is highly unlikely to be audible, it makes me feel better.