[daerron]

From the photos I would prefer a teak veneer. The look seems to fit better with the rest of the headphone. The other veneer choices make it pretty obvious that they are wood veneer.

 

[whirlwind]

  From the photos I would prefer a teak veneer. The look seems to fit better with the rest of the headphone. The other veneer choices make it pretty obvious that they are wood veneer.

I thought the exact same thing.....great minds think alike 

 

[davidsh]

 

  From the photos I would prefer a teak veneer. The look seems to fit better with the rest of the headphone. The other veneer choices make it pretty obvious that they are wood veneer.

I thought the exact same thing.....great minds think alike 

Tbh, the veneer versions do look like veneer.. Okay with me, though.
 
I'm glad to hear they'll strive for Stax amp compatibility with the upcomming e-stat, though statement product and high price scares me.
 
Just don't hope it's the "new headband's compatibility with older series" story all over, hope they'll be honest with us as soon as the decisions have been made and not just silence and doubtful posts once in a while.

 

[Chris F]

Apologies for the question in the impressions thread but would 45mW + 45mW (into 32 ohms) be enough power to drive the 560 properly?  This is the headphone spec for my Tascam DA-3000.  I don't have a dedicated headphone amp and am considering the 560 vs the upcoming PM-2.  Thanks!

 

[conquerator2]

  Apologies for the question in the impressions thread but would 45mW + 45mW (into 32 ohms) be enough power to drive the 560 properly?  This is the headphone spec for my Tascam DA-3000.  I don't have a dedicated headphone amp and am considering the 560 vs the upcoming PM-2.  Thanks!

Sorry but that's not really enough for the 560. It won't drive the PM-2 to it's best either.
So the 560 would be lacking and the PM-2 would be just so-so...
Getting something as cheap as Schiit Magni and adding that to the chain would drive the 560 and/or PM-2 much better.

 

[Zagfan]

Conquerator2,  Do you think the AK240 is powerful enough to drive either the PM-2 or the 560 to satisfactory SQ levels?

 

[conquerator2]

  Conquerator2,  Do you think the AK240 is powerful enough to drive either the PM-2 or the 560 to satisfactory SQ levels?

I believe Frank or someone else tested them both off the AK240 and reported that both sound good off it.
The 560 might perform a bit worse straight off it but it might still outperform the PM-2 [as the consensus so far is [or seems to be] that the 560 is a better headphone than the PM-1, whose cheaper sibling is the PM-2].
 
Don't take my word for it though, not 100% sure on this one. Rest assured, the 560 benefits from any additional amping more than the PM-2.

 

[7ryder]

  I believe Frank or someone else tested them both off the AK240 and reported that both sound good off it.
The 560 might perform a bit worse straight off it but it might still outperform the PM-2 [as the consensus so far is [or seems to be] that the 560 is a better headphone than the PM-1, whose cheaper sibling is the PM-2].
 
Don't take my word for it though, not 100% sure on this one. Rest assured, the 560 benefits from any additional amping more than the PM-2.

 
agreed, the PM-1 doesn't really scale, which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it.  FWIW, my AK120 easily drove the PM-1s, I don't have a cable to try the HE560s with the AK120, so I haven't tried yet.

 

[cute]

Just put the new Shure Alcantra pads on my HE-560, surprisingly good fit, very comfortable, excellent sound......maybe a little more comforatable than the stock Hifiman pads.  They are slightly thicker than the stock pads, and may not get flat, like the stock pads, and.............whey look way better than the stock pads!  Will continue to listen with them for a while before I switch back to the stock pads!

 

[.Sup]

Just put the new Shure Alcantra pads on my HE-560, surprisingly good fit, very comfortable, excellent sound......maybe a little more comforatable than the stock Hifiman pads.  They are slightly thicker than the stock pads, and may not get flat, like the stock pads, and.............whey look way better than the stock pads!  Will continue to listen with them for a while before I switch back to the stock pads!

Thats good news cos I hate Hifiman velour. Could you please post some pics?

 

[conquerator2]

Thats good news cos I hate Hifiman velour. Could you please post some pics?

Didn't they go with better velour material?
True, the old velour was terribly itchy but I thought the new one was substantially better.

 

[jerg]

  Didn't they go with better velour material?
True, the old velour was terribly itchy but I thought the new one was substantially better.

It is, I have no qualms with the new material. The old stuff was the devil. It is also a factor of the fit too, the old velour pads were rounded in cross-section so it pressed against the face unevenly, the new one is flat, meaning no part of the fabric is digging into the face.
 
The HD800 alcantara was awesome though, it was like a rubber/leather/suede hybrid kind of texture. Surely the Shure pads feel just as good in terms of material, still it is a circular-cross-section earpad which means the pressure distribution isn't optimized. Now if only there is an alcantara angular earpad with the exact same dimensions as the new Hifiman earpads, that'd be something.

 

[.Sup]

The HD800 alcantara was awesome though, it was like a rubber/leather/suede hybrid kind of texture.

What HD800 Alcantara? Pre-production HD800?

 

[MattTCG]

Oh the semantics of it all. I think he is referring to the material used. 

 

[.Sup]

Oh the semantics of it all. I think he is referring to the material used. 

He was, yes, so was I.