[Ultrainferno]

Old velour: 6cm
 


New Velour: 5 cm
 

 
Don't want people to get upset. Just showing I wasn't making things up.

 

[TMRaven]

Guess we'll have to see.  As long as there's a lip of the pads where you can tuck your ear behind.  That's what the back of my ears are doing right now-- tucked away nicely behind the lip of the old velours.

 

[Ultrainferno]

there is, no worries.

 

[MattTCG]

  Old velour: 6cm
 


New Velour: 5 cm
 

 
Don't want people to get upset. Just showing I wasn't making things up.

 
Not to start trouble but it looks like those pics were taken at different angles. Could you use a micrometer? 

  I kid of course. 

 

[jerg]

   
Not to start trouble but it looks like those pics were taken at different angles. Could you use a micrometer? 

  I kid of course. 

It's actually not 5cm vs 6cm, more like 5.2cm vs 5.8cm, if you scrutinize.
 
Regardless, the ears would tuck under the earpads anyway, so the opening diametre doesn't matter nearly as much as how comfortable / spacious the underside is.

 

[jaywillin]

pads, pads

 

[whirlwind]

My little ears will fit in there nicely 

 

[MattTCG]

The oval shaped pads on the pads on the pm-1 are 38x58 and I haven't heard one person complain. I have medium sized ears and they fit just fine. 
 
Regardless I certainly appreciate the effort by hifiman. 

 

[JohnYang]

Hey guys this is my first post on Head-Fi.
Just wanted to share with you guys that my pre-ordered he-560 just arrive! I will follow up with some pictures and impression later =D

 

[MattTCG]

Very nice and welcome to headfi. Looking forward to your impressions and pics!

 

[Clemmaster]

Got the headphone at work today. Couldn't resist and opened them up and plugged them in the Dangerous Source.
 
Few comments on the aesthetic and ergonomics aspect. Negative first (of course):
- The new case looks elegant but still feels a bit cheap and not very sturdy. It is made of wood and mine already has a small crack in one corner.
- The metal plate on the case also had finger prints and has few scratches.
- There is no rubber on the bottom side so it is prone to scratches.
- There are 2 pairs of small holes at the bottom that have some drilling traces.
- One of my ear-cups looks a bit porous (for lack of better word): it has tiny holes on the surface. I don't know if that can affect durability. It is just a comment.
- The plastic swivel are not perfectly finished. There are some traces of machining left.
- The cable looks and feels cheap (the sleeve is "loose" so it pinches when you bend the cable). It is heavy, too, which goes against all the effort in reducing the headphones weight...

 Please bring back the HE-4 cable, I'm begging you...!
- This would need confirmation when I get home tonight, but these don't feel much lighter than my HE-5LE.
 
Now on the good side:
+ The headband system adjusts very nicely to my head.
+ The pads are extremely comfy. Looks like they finally brought back the old plush velour feeling of my HE-4. I love that! No issue with the smaller opening so far. If anything, the contact with the velour is welcome.
+ The angling of the cable is a good improvement.
 
Overall the finish is still not a strong point with these headphones and their packaging... but I didn't have particularly high expectations, even at this price. The box looks nice and all, but its durability is uncertain (the crack is getting bigger while I'm typing this...) and I can't find a justification for the 2 wholes at the bottom 

. It's definitely no Oppo here.
The headphone itself is definitely an improvement over the previous line, but the competition (PM-1; I didn't find my LCD-X particularly better than Hifiman) pushed the bar much further than the HE-560.
 
I cannot listen to these very loud in the open space, but the few minutes I had listening to these is very promising! Like the best traits of both the HE-4 and HE-5LE. Treble, while nicely present, don't sound aggressive at all to me! Good stuff.
 
More in due time.

 

[jerg]

  Got the headphone at work today. Couldn't resist and opened them up and plugged them in the Dangerous Source.
 
Few comments on the aesthetic and ergonomics aspect. Negative first (of course):
- The new case looks elegant but still feels a bit cheap and not very sturdy. It is made of wood and mine already has a small crack in one corner.
- The metal plate on the case also had finger prints and has few scratches.
- There is no rubber on the bottom side so it is prone to scratches.
- There are 2 pairs of small holes at the bottom that have some drilling traces.
- One of my ear-cups looks a bit porous (for lack of better word): it has tiny holes on the surface. I don't know if that can affect durability. It is just a comment.
- The plastic swivel are not perfectly finished. There are some traces of machining left.
- The cable looks and feels cheap (the sleeve is "loose" so it pinches when you bend the cable). It is heavy, too, which goes against all the effort in reducing the headphones weight...

 Please bring back the HE-4 cable, I'm begging you...!
- This would need confirmation when I get home tonight, but these don't feel much lighter than my HE-5LE.
 
Now on the good side:
+ The headband system adjusts very nicely to my head.
+ The pads are extremely comfy. Looks like they finally brought back the old plush velour feeling of my HE-4. I love that! No issue with the smaller opening so far. If anything, the contact with the velour is welcome.
+ The angling of the cable is a good improvement.
 
Overall the finish is still not a strong point with these headphones and their packaging... but I didn't have particularly high expectations, even at this price. The box looks nice and all, but its durability is uncertain (the crack is getting bigger while I'm typing this...) and I can't find a justification for the 2 wholes at the bottom 

. It's definitely no Oppo here.
The headphone itself is definitely an improvement over the previous line, but the competition (PM-1; I didn't find my LCD-X particularly better than Hifiman) pushed the bar much further than the HE-560.
 
I cannot listen to these very loud in the open space, but the few minutes I had listening to these is very promising! Like the best traits of both the HE-4 and HE-5LE. Treble, while nicely present, don't sound aggressive at all to me! Good stuff.
 
More in due time.

It calls into question whether incorporating the wood is more trouble than it's worth for Hifiman. The HE5s which also had wooden cups, had cracking issues due to the cheaper wood type.
 
Teak with HE560 in theory is much more rugged in the long term, but still the finish on the cups is passable at best, certainly when compared against other top-tier cans that happen to use wood cups.

 

[Zoom25]

Waiting to hear more from you Clemmaster about how the HE-560 plays with the DM Source in particular. That's what I will be using it with, if I do get it. Are you getting enough current for proper bass response?

 

[cute]

  Got the headphone at work today. Couldn't resist and opened them up and plugged them in the Dangerous Source.
 
Few comments on the aesthetic and ergonomics aspect. Negative first (of course):
- The new case looks elegant but still feels a bit cheap and not very sturdy. It is made of wood and mine already has a small crack in one corner.
- The metal plate on the case also had finger prints and has few scratches.
- There is no rubber on the bottom side so it is prone to scratches.
- There are 2 pairs of small holes at the bottom that have some drilling traces.
- One of my ear-cups looks a bit porous (for lack of better word): it has tiny holes on the surface. I don't know if that can affect durability. It is just a comment.
- The plastic swivel are not perfectly finished. There are some traces of machining left.
- The cable looks and feels cheap (the sleeve is "loose" so it pinches when you bend the cable). It is heavy, too, which goes against all the effort in reducing the headphones weight...

 Please bring back the HE-4 cable, I'm begging you...!
- This would need confirmation when I get home tonight, but these don't feel much lighter than my HE-5LE.
 
Now on the good side:
+ The headband system adjusts very nicely to my head.
+ The pads are extremely comfy. Looks like they finally brought back the old plush velour feeling of my HE-4. I love that! No issue with the smaller opening so far. If anything, the contact with the velour is welcome.
+ The angling of the cable is a good improvement.
 
Overall the finish is still not a strong point with these headphones and their packaging... but I didn't have particularly high expectations, even at this price. The box looks nice and all, but its durability is uncertain (the crack is getting bigger while I'm typing this...) and I can't find a justification for the 2 wholes at the bottom 

. It's definitely no Oppo here.
The headphone itself is definitely an improvement over the previous line, but the competition (PM-1; I didn't find my LCD-X particularly better than Hifiman) pushed the bar much further than the HE-560.
 
I cannot listen to these very loud in the open space, but the few minutes I had listening to these is very promising! Like the best traits of both the HE-4 and HE-5LE. Treble, while nicely present, don't sound aggressive at all to me! Good stuff.
 
More in due time.

I received my pair this afternoon!  I agree with all of the comments you made....my box was full of fingerprints, scratched metal and the extra holes on the bottom.....pads are comfy but small ear holes, also very poor workmanship on the pads, about a 5 on a 1 - 10 scale.  The pad workmanship takes away from the total product, the rest being very nice, $10 pads on a $899 headphone, really looks bad.  Hifiman needs to take a good look at the workmanship of the Oppo pads, which are a perfect 10 for me in both the leather and velour offering!  I won't make any comments on the sound until after they get some hours burn in!

 

[HasturTheYellow]

  It calls into question whether incorporating the wood is more trouble than it's worth for Hifiman. The HE5s which also had wooden cups, had cracking issues due to the cheaper wood type.
 
Teak with HE560 in theory is much more rugged in the long term, but still the finish on the cups is passable at best, certainly when compared against other top-tier cans that happen to use wood cups.

 
I believe Clemmaster is talking about the woodbox the HE-560 was shipped in, and not the wooden earcups. From a packaging standpoint, it is somewhat acceptable that this would not be particularly high-end/indestructible as it is mere dressing to ensure that the main component, the headphones, arrive in a safe manner.