[Th3Drizzl3]

the adorama h560 imo have a MUCH better build quality for me so far. granted my paid does differ dlightly from my wood covered pair but all in all still a great headphone and so far no broken parts at all. the new haedband and yolks on the v3 version are great imo. (v2 from adorama is also great but they have a slightly shorter headband then thier v3 version. some people found them fine others said to tight. i personally prefer the v3 for a bit more room. but just a thought if you really want a new h560 set they go on sale all the time.

and in my experience hifiman just has been poor build quality for the most part. now with the newer designed head band and yolk assembly like on the sundara for example you will not have to worry about the plastic yolk issues. but overall hifiman doesnt have the best track record for many people. some have had zero issues though.

 

[kelvinwsy]

Same here! New pads.. had to resolder the left connector 3 x as it became loose and too much tightening broke the inner ground wire connection. The screwing arrgt to seal the drivers into the housing and the outer screw arrgt to hold down the plastic catch for twist lock of the pads is so lousy quality I gave up ! My left side has the plastic twist ring held by double sided 3M tape ( the self taping screws just dont hold anymore!
BTW I hv a Verum 1! It is close to a He560!bass is as good .?very slightly smaller Soundstage( very similar)
But the treble and mids are sweeter than the HE560

 

[bagwell359]

the adorama h560 imo have a MUCH better build quality for me so far. granted my paid does differ dlightly from my wood covered pair but all in all still a great headphone and so far no broken parts at all. the new haedband and yolks on the v3 version are great imo. (v2 from adorama is also great but they have a slightly shorter headband then thier v3 version. some people found them fine others said to tight. i personally prefer the v3 for a bit more room. but just a thought if you really want a new h560 set they go on sale all the time.

and in my experience hifiman just has been poor build quality for the most part. now with the newer designed head band and yolk assembly like on the sundara for example you will not have to worry about the plastic yolk issues. but overall hifiman doesnt have the best track record for many people. some have had zero issues though.

Hifiman seems to produce cans with great drivers, but haphazard on everything else, and some have serious QC issues. I own a fistfull, but thankfully have never had a serious or even medium QC issue. There are lots of 560's kicking around used, so you could get a pair fairly cheap and use both to come up with one workable pair. I think the 560 is fairly close to the Ananda, but Ananda has more bass (even too) under 75 Hz - down to about 15 Hz. My tastes run to the HFM's with flatter trebles - HE-500, HEX v2 - the MD XX might be an option too (used), but I have yet to hear it.

The Sundara is a lot like the HE5SE (although it has even less bass then the Sundara. Fairly flat, boring. I have to say of all the HFM's with circular cups - it's the ones with magnets on both sides: HE6, HE500, and to a more troublesome extent - the HE5LE that hold up.

 

[Daveed84]

Hifiman seems to produce cans with great drivers, but haphazard on everything else, and some have serious QC issues. I own a fistfull, but thankfully have never had a serious or even medium QC issue. There are lots of 560's kicking around used, so you could get a pair fairly cheap and use both to come up with one workable pair. I think the 560 is fairly close to the Ananda, but Ananda has more bass (even too) under 75 Hz - down to about 15 Hz. My tastes run to the HFM's with flatter trebles - HE-500, HEX v2 - the MD XX might be an option too (used), but I have yet to hear it.

The Sundara is a lot like the HE5SE (although it has even less bass then the Sundara. Fairly flat, boring. I have to say of all the HFM's with circular cups - it's the ones with magnets on both sides: HE6, HE500, and to a more troublesome extent - the HE5LE that hold up.

Interesting, do the Ananda use ear pads that are glued together, like the FocusPads? Or are they properly stitched? Really I just want something that's going to hold up longer than a year. The FocusPads are basically guaranteed to fall apart at some point, and they aren't cheap to replace...

 

[bagwell359]

Interesting, do the Ananda use ear pads that are glued together, like the FocusPads? Or are they properly stitched? Really I just want something that's going to hold up longer than a year. The FocusPads are basically guaranteed to fall apart at some point, and they aren't cheap to replace...

I don't own the Ananda, just heard them twice. I have the HEX v2 - made about 1.5 years earlier to higher standards overall - and they are nicely sewn up. However several have complained (Amazon perhaps) about the longevity of their pads (like just a year). I bought mine used about 8 months ago and they are in fine shape IMO.

YMMV

 

[Voxata]

I've never had a part fail on my HE-560, I'm very gentle on them though.

 

[Draknodd]

Hi everybody,
I owned my he560 for 4 yrs and only recently I find out how well this hp respond to EQ.
I tried in the past the EQ profile that is available on jaakkopasanen's github but I was not totally satisfied.
So I created an EQ based on innerfidelity mesaurements and having as a target the Harman HP target response curve, more or less (and a bit of my own sound preference)
In the zip you can find the .wav impulse response.

# If you use windows you need eqAPO installed
# Copy the .wav file in C:\Program Files\EqualizerAPO\config
# To add the eq to eqAPO from the gui: Add filter-> advance-> convolution

Or write in config.txt:

Convolution: HE560_samplerate.wav

Link: https://mega.nz/#!K9QBkSJD!0jOJW-OszYdCr9kmWtfYVa4SNHDuFLa_UXrlxSzc01k

EQ Curve applied:

I made this eq for me but if anybody else can enjoy it it's better!

 

[DavidA]

My HE-560s are on their last legs and I'm looking for a suitable replacement (not necessarily an "upgrade", just something similar). I love my HE-560s dearly, and with a little bit of EQing for increased bass, I think they're the perfect sounding headphones. Unfortunately the build quality is probably the worst I've ever experienced with a pair of headphones, and I've had to replace almost every part, sometimes multiple times. I've replaced the cable, the headband, and the earpads, and now the audio jack on the left ear cup is starting to die. The HE-560s are apparently discontinued and Hifiman said I should order a replacement pair soon if I intend to do so, because they are low on stock. I think I've spent close to $350 on parts alone, and a replacement pair would run me almost another $200.

So what I'm really looking for is a pair of headphones that sounds similar, with the same amount of clarity and detail, and a slightly recessed/dry midrange. Are the higher end Hifiman headphones any better, in terms of build quality?

Seems you have one of the "bad" builds which I'm thankful that I've yet to encounter. My HE560 is just over 5 years old and it still looks fairly new with original ear pads and my first pair which I gave to my son is about 5.5 years old and it also looks good considering the life of a college student and it also still has its original ear pads. FYI both are original shipping versions with SMC jacks, back plates and wood veneer cups and cost $670 and $595 back in early/mid 2014.

 

[Dam1x]

Hi everybody,
I owned my he560 for 4 yrs and only recently I find out how well this hp respond to EQ.
I tried in the past the EQ profile that is available on jaakkopasanen's github but I was not totally satisfied.
So I created an EQ based on innerfidelity mesaurements and having as a target the Harman HP target response curve, more or less (and a bit of my own sound preference)
In the zip you can find the .wav impulse response.

# If you use windows you need eqAPO installed
# Copy the .wav file in C:\Program Files\EqualizerAPO\config
# To add the eq to eqAPO from the gui: Add filter-> advance-> convolution and then apply a preamp of -4db

Or write in config.txt:

Convolution: HE560_EQ_32bit-384k.wav
Preamp: -4 dB

Link: https://mega.nz/#!b9IUnKaR!XrELK1BqhZDPw3acG81VX8Ch7vKAW9c_v_haqCv5ULE

I made this eq for me but if anybody else can enjoy it it's better!

Could you upload config file 24bit 96Khz? Because my DAC can't run in different mode :/

 

[Draknodd]

Could you upload config file 24bit 96Khz? Because my DAC can't run in different mode :/

Updated the link in the post right now. No need to apply pre-gain anymore. Try and let me know if you like it! For me it took some hours to get used to the EQed sound, but every time I try to switch it back disabling autoEQ the headphone just sounds worse!

 

[Dam1x]

Updated the link in the post right now. No need to apply pre-gain anymore. Try and let me know if you like it! For me it took some hours to get used to the EQed sound, but every time I try to switch it back disabling autoEQ the headphone just sounds worse!

Thanks, now its working. I will let you know when i get use to new EQ settings .
Well i can share my setting too:
Paste to config file:
Preamp: -5 dB
# Filter: ON LS Fc 250 Hz Gain 3.6 dB
# GraphicEQ: 19.9 0; 25 0; 31.5 0; 40 0; 50 0; 63 0; 80 0; 100 0; 125 0; 160 0; 200 0; 250 0; 315 0; 400 0; 500 0; 600 3; 800 0; 1000 0; 1250 0; 1600 0; 2000 5; 2500 0; 3500 -3.5; 4000 0; 5000 0; 6000 3; 6500 -4; 9500 -3; 11000 5; 16000 0; 20000 0

 

[Dam1x]

Updated the link in the post right now. No need to apply pre-gain anymore. Try and let me know if you like it! For me it took some hours to get used to the EQed sound, but every time I try to switch it back disabling autoEQ the headphone just sounds worse!

Well, your settings are definitely smoother on highs, nice. But for my ears i had to add some of higher bass: 160-250 Hz +2db .
Is there any way to convert it to normal EQ settings? Applying convolution filter adds over 300ms latency . It doesn't matter for music, but for video its not usable.

 

[LikeABell]

Do any HE-560 owners here also own Ananda/Edition X v2/Edition XX?
I would appreciate some comparisons.
Thanks!

 

[raoultrifan]

@Draknodd, I would notch down the EQ'ing below 25Hz because you won't hear anything there and the drivers might start rattling. It's more like a "safety" feature to not add 4dB around below 25-30Hz, sort of a high pass filter to protect the drivers.

I do EQ all of my cans myself to get the output sound as close to my personal hearing curve, which is very close to Harman's curve. The least EQ'ed cansI have are Solo2 and T50RPmk3, having only 2-3 point/freq to adjust!

 

[sakujou]

Hey fellow HE560 owners.

I just got my pair a week ago and have been struggling so far. Driving them with a Schiit Magni 3 amp and a SMSL M8A DAC. They seem veeeery bright to me. Is it the Magni distorting at high levels or is this just the HE560's sound signature? They sure are very detailed, I like the bass extension, but I just can't handle the brightness.
People at audioscience forums have recommended replacing the Magni 3 with a JDS Labs Atom, since it has very low distortion. Has anyone tried this combo? Do I need to aim for an expensive amp? Or there wouldn't be a vast change in terms of the brightness/distortion?

One week in and I am already considering selling them. :/