[PCX]

@PCX. The spring came from one of those retractable cord winders...something like this..you should be able to find for cheap...
https://www.littlecreate.com/produc...headphones-small-cable-retractor-cable-winder

If i were to do it again, i would glue the end points of the strip first, let it set (jd weld takes about 1 hr) then put on the ear cups then glue the remainder of the strip. Gluing the whole strip at once makes the yolk rigid thus harder to put the cup on.

Thank you for sharing your experience, truly appreciated!

 

[abvolt]

I would be able to recreate the yokes in CAD, 3d print them in ABS and ship them if there is interest in them. I could do this for less than the $50 charged by Hifiman.

You will need to break open your broken yokes and take out the metal insert, transfer this to the replacement and glue the two parts together.

I did the same process here to adapt de HD600 to a HE-560 band.

[/QUOT

Ingenuity, very cool good job..

 

[BobG55]

Plus one on broken yokes...

Bought my HE 560 in November 2017. First pair lasted less than 2 months. Paid $50 to Hifiman for another headband... One month in and it already has cracks on both left and right yokes. I bought mine from Amazon UK. They were heavily discounted, bought them new for £383... Now I know why.

Sent another email to Hifiman's customer support, asking them from a new headband (this time free), assuming they managed to address the matter. Waiting for an answer.

A shame since I love the sound on these. I would even consider buying a headband from another headphone if I knew it fit (for example, the Sundara's).

If you can find a cheap pair of Massdrop used HE350 (although you do live in the UK) or a used pair of HE400i or s, the headbands will fit the HE560. I live in Canada and on a site called Canuck Audio Mart a pair of HE350 were selling for $95 Cdn. which is approximately $74 US. Apparently the HE350 is a horrible sounding headphone which is why it can be found at a very cheap price, used. But, I don't know if the Hifiman headbands for these models are also breaking easily. I haven't read anywhere elsea about HFM headbands breaking save for the HE560 ones.

 

[BobG55]

Wow, bizarre.

Interesting thing about the HE560 is that the headband is extremely easy to replace; I took the broken one off of my cans and there's just 2 posts on each yoke that plug into holes on either side of the cans.

If a better-built headband was made available it'd be trivial to refurbish a whole bunch of broken HE560s.

This batch was weird from the start, between the registration card that was entirely in Chinese and the fact that a balanced XLR cable was "accidentally" included.

I have a (free) replacement headband on the way from HiFiMan but my return window with Adorama is about to expire and I think it's time to just forget these ever existed and send them back for a full refund. I don't want to end up with a second broken headband and then have no way to get my money back.

I had the same box and also found it weird that the registration card was in Chinese only. At first I wondered if they were legitimate. After the yolk broke I also got a replacement headband via Customer service but they charged me $50 + $10 for s&h. Well that one lasted two days before it also broke. So I decided, right then & there to return everything for a refund. Customer service refunded me yesterday for the headband + the s&h (which surprised me). I'm waiting for Adorama to receive the headphones/ return, sometimes next week (I shipped them back this past Tuesday). I filled out the return/ refund form they emailed me and included the sales receipt as asked. No way was I putting up with anymore "aggravation" with these headphones. Worst experience I've had with an audiophile product since I've been in this hobby & I shared this sentiment in my email with the Customer Service representative (politely).

 

[antdroid]

I had the same box and also found it weird that the registration card was in Chinese only. At first I wondered if they were legitimate. After the yolk broke I also got a replacement headband via Customer service but they charged me $50 + $10 for s&h. Well that one lasted two days before it also broke. So I decided, right then & there to return everything for a refund. Customer service refunded me yesterday for the headband + the s&h (which surprised me). I'm waiting for Adorama to receive the headphones/ return, sometimes next week (I shipped them back this past Tuesday). I filled out the return/ refund form they emailed me and included the sales receipt as asked. No way was I putting up with anymore "aggravation" with these headphones. Worst experience I've had with an audiophile product since I've been in this hobby & I shared this sentiment in my email with the Customer Service representative (politely).

Why did they charge you for a headband? it should be covered under warranty

 

[BobG55]

Why did they charge you for a headband? it should be covered under warranty

I'll try and answer this as simply as I can because at the time it was complicated and I was quite aggravated because of that. The HE560 came from Adorama but I bought them from a seller on eBay who after buying them was selling them at a higher price (which is not allowed on Head-fi, for example) & I didn't know they came from Adorama. The seller had a "no returns policy" which I was aware of & at the time I wasn't aware of the headband problem. I tried to register the headphone on the Hifiman site but everything inside the headphone box was written in Chinese.

When the headband yolk broke I contacted the seller who never got back to me. So I opened a case vs him with eBay. Meanwhile I became aware of the headband problem via this thread. The seller finally contacted me & asked me why I opened a case vs him. That's when I also learned that he bought them from Adorama. Are you still w/ me ? Told you it was complicated ...

In between hearing from the eBay seller and learning where the HF came from I had contacted Hifiman Customer Service & they offered to send me a replacement headband for a total of $60 & since I liked the HE560 I figured F#(+ it, & paid the money* figuring that most likely the headband problem existed only with the Adorama batch which, I figured, was the reason for them selling them cheaper than other retailers.

When the replacement headband also broke, by this time, I knew the HE560 was from Adorama & although I lost the case with the eBay seller he sent me a copy of the sales receipt so I could return them to Adorama which I did (but the eBay seller still kept his profit on the sale = not getting that money back) & I contacted Customer Service & asked for a reimbursement. They asked for photos of the broken headband which I provided & received my refund yesterday via PayPal.

In the end : I lost money to the eBay seller, Canadian Customs & having to pay for the return shipment to Adorama because I live in Canada. But I'll take back, money wise, anything I can from this horrendous experience.

I couldn't come up with an easier way of answering your question.

 

[antdroid]

I'll try and answer this as simply as I can because at the time it was complicated and I was quite aggravated because of that. The HE560 came from Adorama but I bought them from a seller on eBay who after buying them was selling them at a higher price (which is not allowed on Head-fi, for example) & I didn't know they came from Adorama. The seller had a "no returns policy" which I was aware of & at the time I wasn't aware of the headband problem. I tried to register the headphone on the Hifiman site but everything inside the headphone box was written in Chinese.

When the headband yolk broke I contacted the seller who never got back to me. So I opened a case vs him with eBay. Meanwhile I became aware of the headband problem via this thread. The seller finally contacted me & asked me why I opened a case vs him. That's when I also learned that he bought them from Adorama. Are you still w/ me ? Told you it was complicated ...

In between hearing from the eBay seller and learning where the HF came from I had contacted Hifiman Customer Service & they offered to send me a replacement headband for a total of $60 & since I liked the HE560 I figured F#(+ it, & paid the money figuring that most likely the headband problem existed only with the Adorama batch which, I figured, was the reason for them selling them cheaper than other retailers.

When the replacement headband also broke, by this time, I knew the HE560 was from Adorama & although I lost the case with the eBay seller he sent me a copy of the sales receipt so I could return them to Adorama which I did (but the eBay seller still kept his profit on the sale = not getting that money back) & I contacted Customer Service & asked for a reimbursement. They asked for photos of the broken headband which I provided & received my refund yesterday via PayPal.

In the end : I lost money to the eBay seller, Canadian Customs & having to pay for the return shipment to Adorama because I live in Canada. But I'll take back, money wise, anything I can from this horrendous experience.

I couldn't come up with an easier way of answering your question.

Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm surprised they were allowed you to return it back despite not being the original owner. I think that's pretty good of them. But unfortunate for your case.

I haven't heard the Sundara, but I'm interested in it since it looks like they did a better job on the construction of it.

 

[BobG55]

Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm surprised they were allowed you to return it back despite not being the original owner. I think that's pretty good of them. But unfortunate for your case.

I haven't heard the Sundara, but I'm interested in it since it looks like they did a better job on the construction of it.

The strange part about the Adorama sales receipt was that it had my name on it but a mailing address located in Kentucky. The eBay seller I bought the HE560 from lives in Seattle. Can you hear the Twilight Zone theme playing right now ? I mean nothing about this transaction made sense to me not to mention the faulty product.

What I forgot to mention was that Adorama sent me another sales receipt, this one with my name and proper address to print out and include it w/ the refund form. At this point in time I didn't care anymore & didn't want to ask any more questions. I felt emotionally exhausted. I'm not trying to appear as a victim when I write out the following but I'm in my sixties now & although I've learned not to sweat the small things and most, more serious things, this one eventually got to me and well, it's a fact of life, you wear out faster when you're older.

It's behind me now and although I don't anticipate any problems w/ the Adorama refund. If for some reason there is a problem, well, the hell with it. The money won't be worth any more aggravation. Time to move on & it would be "lesson learned". Buy directly from a retailer and ask all the questions about warranty in advance.

Hope you enjoy the Sundara if you buy it.

 

[BobG55]

Good luck to all of you who are experiencing problems w/ the HE560. I hope everything works out well for all of you.

 

[antdroid]

The strange part about the Adorama sales receipt was that it had my name on it but a mailing address located in Kentucky. The eBay seller I bought the HE560 from lives in Seattle. Can you hear the Twilight Zone theme playing right now ? I mean nothing about this transaction made sense to me not to mention the faulty product.

What I forgot to mention was that Adorama sent me another sales receipt, this one with my name and proper address to print out and include it w/ the refund form. At this point in time I didn't care anymore & didn't want to ask any more questions. I felt emotionally exhausted. I'm not trying to appear as a victim when I write out the following but I'm in my sixties now & although I've learned not to sweat the small things and most, more serious things, this one eventually got to me and well, it's a fact of life, you wear out faster when you're older.

It's behind me now and although I don't anticipate any problems w/ the Adorama refund. If for some reason there is a problem, well, the hell with it. The money won't be worth any more aggravation. Time to move on & it would be "lesson learned". Buy directly from a retailer and ask all the questions about warranty in advance.

Hope you enjoy the Sundara if you buy it.

I think that address is their return center address. A lot of companies seem to use Kentucky for that, including Amazon. That's unfortunate though. I am from Seattle. Not all of us are dishonest.

I hope everything turns out for you.

 

[BobG55]

I am from Seattle. Not all of us are dishonest.

I would never think that Antdroid. Thanks.

 

[TWidXugA]

If you can find a cheap pair of Massdrop used HE350 (although you do live in the UK) or a used pair of HE400i or s, the headbands will fit the HE560. I live in Canada and on a site called Canuck Audio Mart a pair of HE350 were selling for $95 Cdn. which is approximately $74 US. Apparently the HE350 is a horrible sounding headphone which is why it can be found at a very cheap price, used. But, I don't know if the Hifiman headbands for these models are also breaking easily. I haven't read anywhere elsea about HFM headbands breaking save for the HE560 ones.

Thanks for the suggestions! As it turns out I've contacted Hifiman's support, from whom I had already bought a replacement headband, and they said they will send me a new one free of charge, hopefully one that doesn't crack as easily, which was part of my request. I imagine that by now they are aware of the problem, and so far my email exchanges with Hifiman went smooth. Failing that I might consider following your suggestions and getting a cheap350 or a second hand 400, etc. Even factoring in the cost of the replacement, I still think I get better sound out of these headphones than I could out of anything in the market right now in the same price range (~£400 that is).

 

[SgtPepper]

My replacement headband is still going strong for over a month now. I was a little nervous when I put on Dekoni elite hybrid pads a couple weeks ago because of the headband issue but everything went OK. I've since also put on a wool cover and made my own cable for these. I'm planning on making a balanced cable whenever my AliExpress orders arrive. This headphone, despite it's recent string of issues, is really fantastic. If it were just a bit more lightweight, I think I'd really consider this a very ideal headphone for my listening needs.

How do you like the Dekoni pads? Do they smooth out the treble at all?

 

[MarkArtz]

Just reporting... My 2nd HE-560 Adorama replacement broke from the Yoke... Again! Hopes and happiness only lasted 2 weeks. Now, I am convinced, there is no hope with these headphones. The old ones might be better built, but the new HE-560 are a disgrace.

 

[SilverEars]

Ok, I'm curious when the Adora sale started, and if anybody have a pair of HE560 bought from Adorama recently that has been in use extrensively that doesn't have a yoke crack/breaking issues.

The issue is in whatever version of HE560 that Adorama recently put out. I've looked at the older version, it has the old Hifiman connectors, obviously that isn't the only difference, but at what point did they start to put in the defective yolks? Is it all the recent Adorama ones considered that batch? Is there HE560 that is the same version, but has a different yoke?

If they changed the yoke quality like this, is there a possibility that there could be difference in the driver from the older version? Have anybody compared them?