= HiFiMAN HE-560 Impressions & Discussion Thread =
Jan 14, 2019 at 6:34 PM Post #20,521 of 21,166
Guys, I've read several dozen of last pages and still am confused about versions. I am trying to buy myself a pair of HE560 now (switching from 400i due to its peak at 8 KHz). Is there a guide to see what version is sold at used market? What are those v1, v1.5, v2 Hifiman, v2/v3 Adorama version differences? From what I saw in the thread, there can be different cable jacks at headphone end (SMC, 2.5, 3.5 mm), there can be a backplate or no backplate, wood or aluminum cups, different headbands, and headbands lengths, and most of all, different sound signatures.

OMG, for what version should I go and how to know what version I am buying? Is there some table with all of these differences listed for all versions? :)
 
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Jan 14, 2019 at 6:58 PM Post #20,522 of 21,166
Guys, I've read several dozen of last pages and still am confused about versions. I am trying to buy myself a pair of HE560 now (switching from 400i due to its peak at 8 KHz). Is there a guide to see what version is sold at used market? What are those v1, v1.5, v2 Hifiman, v2/v3 Adorama version differences? From what I saw in the thread, there can be different cable jacks at headphone end (SMC, 2.5, 3.5 mm), there can be a backplate or no backplate, wood or aluminum cups, different headbands, and headbands lengths, and most of all, different sound signatures.

OMG, for what version should I go and how to know what version I am buying? Is there some table with all of these differences listed for all versions? :)

Ummm, moving from the 400 due to a peak? The 560 may not be the thing unless you know it well.
 
Jan 14, 2019 at 7:02 PM Post #20,523 of 21,166
Guys, I've read several dozen of last pages and still am confused about versions. I am trying to buy myself a pair of HE560 now (switching from 400i due to its peak at 8 KHz). Is there a guide to see what version is sold at used market? What are those v1, v1.5, v2 Hifiman, v2/v3 Adorama version differences? From what I saw in the thread, there can be different cable jacks at headphone end (SMC, 2.5, 3.5 mm), there can be a backplate or no backplate, wood or aluminum cups, different headbands, and headbands lengths, and most of all, different sound signatures.

OMG, for what version should I go and how to know what version I am buying? Is there some table with all of these differences listed for all versions? :)

Don't stress.

HiFiMan v1: SMC connectors, backplate, wooden cups, plastic yokes, basically unavailable these days.
HiFiMan v2: 2.5mm connectors, no backplate, wooden cups, plastic yokes, slightly revoiced, about $300 in the US.
Adorama v2/v3: 3.5mm connectors, no backplate, plastic cups, metal yokes, major revoicing (according to many), price varies but around $300 on sale. Differences between these two very close models detailed in a post below.

Get the v2. That's the easiest to find, usually the cheapest, and it's the one that people are talking about when they talk about the 560. Meaning, reviews and user impressions will be more accurate. They are also said to sound better than the v3, from what I've read.
 
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Jan 14, 2019 at 9:44 PM Post #20,525 of 21,166
Yeah, v2 vs v3 confuses me. I bought mine on Amazon from Adorama (as seller on Amazon) and the listing described it as a v2, but from the description given by @phthora above, it is definitely v3. I've never heard the other versions of the 560, but I previously had the 500, and there are some differences from memory from that, but I never had the 560 (v3 I guess) and the 500 concurrently.
 
Jan 14, 2019 at 10:10 PM Post #20,526 of 21,166
okay so.... originally there was the first model v1 with the smc connections with the wood cups and the headband was the one that was flat on top with the yokes that liked to break all the time, hifiman then released the "v1.5" i personally call it which was the same but with the 2.5mm connectors but all else was basically the same as far as wood cups and band. they told me they fixed the yokes but mine broke on that set as well. there are then 2 "adorama specific" models the v2 and v3 the v2 now has silver painted cups and the headband is basically that of the sundara but the strap was to short for some width wise. then adorama released the "v3" which is exactly the same as the v2 but they made the strap on the headband a tiny bit longer other wise they are the same as the adorama v2.
 
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Jan 14, 2019 at 10:11 PM Post #20,527 of 21,166
Yeah, v2 vs v3 confuses me. I bought mine on Amazon from Adorama (as seller on Amazon) and the listing described it as a v2, but from the description given by @phthora above, it is definitely v3. I've never heard the other versions of the 560, but I previously had the 500, and there are some differences from memory from that, but I never had the 560 (v3 I guess) and the 500 concurrently.

I skipped the Adorama v2 in my list, because it's essentially the same as the v3, but I can see that just caused some confusion. @Th3Drizzl3 explained the Adorama v2 and v3 differences perfectly.
 
Jan 14, 2019 at 10:14 PM Post #20,528 of 21,166
I agree, I had the V3 before and it sound nothing like the older version which I did like. The seller thought it was a V2. I return it the next day. I should had brought the V2 since the SMC connectors were a PITA on my HE400.

i agree they do sound different but its not as drastic for me as for others (going from say the v3 to the older model i have with smc connectors. .
 
Jan 15, 2019 at 12:12 AM Post #20,529 of 21,166
Don't stress.

HiFiMan v1: SMC connectors, backplate, wooden cups, plastic yokes, basically unavailable these days.
HiFiMan v2: 2.5mm connectors, no backplate, wooden cups, plastic yokes, slightly revoiced, about $300 in the US.
Adorama v2/v3: 3.5mm connectors, no backplate, plastic cups, metal yokes, major revoicing (according to many), price varies but around $300 on sale. Differences between these two very close models detailed in a post below.

Get the v2. That's the easiest to find, usually the cheapest, and it's the one that people are talking about when they talk about the 560. Meaning, reviews and user impressions will be more accurate. They are also said to sound better than the v3, from what I've read.
So all other versions beside the SMC don't have the backplates? And i thought the v1 and v2 are identical besides the connectors.
What's the purpose of the backplate anw, for protection? Is that why the later revisions sound different from the original SMC version?
 
Jan 15, 2019 at 6:13 AM Post #20,531 of 21,166
Ummm, moving from the 400 due to a peak? The 560 may not be the thing unless you know it well.

Well, they have different peaks, from what I've found out. 400i at 8 Khz, and 560 at 4 KHz. I plan to listen to the version I am buying before paying for it. But in my city, in shops, we have only wooden cups version with 2.5 mm jacks available for auditioning (not for purchase as the price is ridiculous). While the version I am planning to buy is Amazon V2 version, which I guess is the metal headband version and is different in sound. That is a problem. Guess I have to look for a wooden cups version to buy in order to avoid an unknown sound. That sucks as I wanted to have a metal band version.
 
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Jan 15, 2019 at 6:16 AM Post #20,532 of 21,166
Don't stress.

HiFiMan v1: SMC connectors, backplate, wooden cups, plastic yokes, basically unavailable these days.
HiFiMan v2: 2.5mm connectors, no backplate, wooden cups, plastic yokes, slightly revoiced, about $300 in the US.
Adorama v2/v3: 3.5mm connectors, no backplate, plastic cups, metal yokes, major revoicing (according to many), price varies but around $300 on sale. Differences between these two very close models detailed in a post below.

Get the v2. That's the easiest to find, usually the cheapest, and it's the one that people are talking about when they talk about the 560. Meaning, reviews and user impressions will be more accurate. They are also said to sound better than the v3, from what I've read.

Thank you very much for a detailed reply! I'll try to make a table in Google Docs for it. ) What about new version from HIFIMAN that has 3.5 mm jacks?
 
Jan 15, 2019 at 7:30 AM Post #20,534 of 21,166
I've made a Google Docs spreadsheet, anyone welcome to correct and replace question signs with actual info.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MFajeRNHs2rQNUZ-f46h2nME1tIQiYuiY5dWNm7esJ8/edit?usp=sharing

The plot thickens! LOL... I bought what was listed as "v2" on Amazon and sold by Adorama, but it has 3.5mm jacks on the cups, not 2.5mm like my HE-4XX and HD 700. (And yeah, it appears that the newest HE-4XX are now using 3.5mm, too, from what I've heard, so my HE-4XX are older I guess.) I can't tell whether the yokes are long or short, though, since that's a relative thing, and I have nothing to compare against, but they fit my head fine.
 

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