[Motocrossman24]

Is there much difference between, the earlier Wooden box version and later leather clad boxed version, in terms of sound and build quality??

There were no production wood he560’s only the pre production versions were made from wood, all production units have the wood vernier and should be the same sonics. That said I have heard that somewhere along the line they did change them sonically and I believe it was rather soon into production. Just grab a new pair, they’re dirt cheap and sound utterly fantastic.

 

[hackstu]

I live in sunny UK, where the cheapest price is £599, no super low $499 deal to be found.

 

[peter123]

There were no production wood he560’s only the pre production versions were made from wood, all production units have the wood vernier and should be the same sonics. That said I have heard that somewhere along the line they did change them sonically and I believe it was rather soon into production. Just grab a new pair, they’re dirt cheap and sound utterly fantastic.

I believe his talking about the box which was indeed made from wood to start with.....

 

[Motocrossman24]

I believe his talking about the box which was indeed made from wood to start with.....

What would he box have to do with sonic quality?

Edit: I re read the question, my fault

 

[hackstu]

Compared to a Grado rs-1, is the he 560 as bright in anyway?

I ask this because the Grado is far to bright for me.

 

[DavidA]

Compared to a Grado rs-1, is the he 560 as bright in anyway?

I ask this because the Grado is far to bright for me.

The "brightness" of the RS-1e (only had it for a few weeks, returned it for a RS2e) is different from the "brightness" of the HE560. HE560 is more forward in the upper mids and lower treble while the RS-1e is more forward in the mid treble and upper treble so it depends on the track and ones hearing on how bright each will be perceived.

 

[hackstu]

The "brightness" of the RS-1e (only had it for a few weeks, returned it for a RS2e) is different from the "brightness" of the HE560. HE560 is more forward in the upper mids and lower treble while the RS-1e is more forward in the mid treble and upper treble so it depends on the track and ones hearing on how bright each will be perceived.

would you say it's a smooth headphone??

 

[hyperactiveaudiophile]

I decided to return my he560 after about 60 hr burn in. The he 5 still sounds better , the sound has more body. It costs $350, anyone interested?

 

[hyperactiveaudiophile]

It’s a very good headphone, very smooth, good, adequate bass, clean clear sound, good stage and instruments separation. Actually I think it has better instruments separation than the he 5.

 

[SilverEars]

would you say it's a smooth headphone??

It's not totally smooth, but most headphones arn't(varies in what treble has empahsis). I hear a peak at about 7k for sibilant passages, so it can come off bright on certain track passages. It's the lower treble for me and that's the part my ears maybe more sensitive to than the upper-mids. Sundra I find reduced the lower treble, but some may think upper-mids treble is beyond what they like.

 

[abvolt]

Compared to a Grado rs-1, is the he 560 as bright in anyway?

I ask this because the Grado is far to bright for me.

I owned the PS500's and enjoyed them but imo the 560's are much nicer sounding not at all bright like the Grado's..enjoy

 

[DavidA]

would you say it's a smooth headphone??

The HE560 is fairly smooth but the RS2e is even smoother to me even if its a bit brighter than the HE560. I'm not sure which RS1 you listened but since there are various generations of them and even the latest RS1e has two different versions so it hard to give accurate impressions.

I owned the PS500's and enjoyed them but imo the 560's are much nicer sounding not at all bright like the Grado's..enjoy

As I noted above the generation that you listened to makes a difference, I've owned the original PS500 which was bright and not a sound that I cared for but a friends PS500e was a better all around sounding in comparison and in some ways better the HE560 in treble extension, sound stage (with G-pads) and smoother mids to me. He also modded the PS500e with dynamat in the cups and on the magnet housing which helps the bass go just a touch lower and cleans up the whole sound.

 

[hackstu]

The Grado RS-1's I have are around 15 years old, I bought them new as an implulse purchase. But have never really liked their forwardness.

 

[DavidA]

The Grado RS-1's I have are around 15 years old, I bought them new as an implulse purchase. But have never really liked their forwardness.

If you don't like the RS-1 you might want to sell them since they may be worth a lot to someone looking for a older model. The later generation "i" and especially the "e" series sound quite different from their predecessors and some like the PS500e and PS1000e don't quite have the forwardness/in your face sound of older Grado's and have a tuning that is more pleasing to me. Another thing to consider is changing the ear pads (OEM or generic) since it affects the sound of most Grado headphones quite a bit.

 

[JediMa70]

I got today the 3printed yokes, 1 screw for each side was glued, but in the end they are back in action. Hifiman is going to ship me the whole headband, to be safe I asked to get the Sundara one, but in the meantime I can use them again and it's already something fantastic!
These yokes are much better than the original !