[conquerator2]

I've been waffling back and forth on my 560 pre-order for a couple of weeks. Yesterday, I finally decided to cancel the order and wait to see what unfolds. I was disappointed with the teak wood/veneer changeover. The delays, although necessary I'm sure, don't leave me with an inspired sense of confidence about this $1k purchase. I felt that hifiman was putting to much into the Newport show reaction...I could be wrong, I have been before.

Be confident in the product. Take it back to beta testing if necessary. My sense is that when these issues popped up a "quick fix" was applied in an effort to get the product to market and keep people happy. Again, this is just my speculation. But with new cups, new damping materials, new cable...I'd take it back to beta testing even as much as we all hate delays. 

I really like hifiman and their products. The level of performance per dollar is the best out their IMO. But like other companies they've had QC issues. The new line is a chance to fix that reputation. So my message to Fang...take your time and get it right. 

My original plan was to purchase the he400i and not the 560. I'm back on that plan.

Easy for you to say, since you just canceled your order :rolleyes:
I don't think HFM is rushing anything honestly, QC won't improve much by further delays, it rarely ever does... It improves with practice, so the more new headphones they make, the better they'll be.
I imagine the last few months have been incredibly stressful for HFM and further delays will only make matters worse at this point IMO.
The 560 has been delayed enough, don't you think?
To me the headphone seems ready at this point and the veneer has already went past the final testing stage a few days ago (2 weeks I think) so it seems ready to me

 

[ThurstonX]

  Yeah, just give me  link to your advertisement. How's the Monkey Vines business doing? You have a cable for the 560 available?

 
In true HFM fashion, I have to recall my Shure HPAEC1540 Alcantara Ear Pads.  As with HFM's HE-560 pads, the openings need to be enlarged.  Oh wait.  I'm not a company 

 
Truth be told, the Shure pads are on the uncomfortable side for my big ol' white boy ears (Racist! he shouted at himself  At 6'5" I have a proportional head and ears (contrary to popular opinion, I am not a pinhead).  The Shure pads, while nicely cushioned, do not surround my ears, but sit on top of the edges.  At first, that is very annoying, but I left them on to see if it would stop bothering me, and also to get a sense of the sound.  While they became less annoying, it was impossible not to be aware of them.  Soundwise they are a bit muddled.  I won't say veiled, but compared to the Q701 pads, the Shure's are congested, I assume due to the narrower opening and possibly the softer foam.  Some mid frequencies could be slightly peaky, but nothing unbearable.  But with the compressed soundstage, music lacked a certain amount of cohesion, causing it to sound... off; not natural, for lack of a better phrase.  I gave them a fair shot.
 
Switching back to the Q701 pads simply confirmed the above.  The soundstage opened up nicely and all the instruments had space to interact naturally.  Definitely no congestion there.  They also have the ability to eliminate those pesky peaks that other pads introduce.  And they fully encompass my ears.  The stock pads (so, that includes jergpads) are pretty close in terms of the size of the openings, but are shallower than the Q701 pads, which also benefit from being angled.
 
So, that's that.  I won't bug you, or any other Head-fiers, about pads again.  If someone asks, I'll offer up my recommendation, but that's about it.
 
Pheeeeeeew.
 
Of course I have Magic Monkey Cables available for the HE-560s.  HFM was kind enough not to change the connectors.
(I don't actually make cables for sale, for anyone who might be confused

 

[MattTCG]

Of course for those who already owned after market cables for the hifiman connectors will be happy that there wasn't a change of the connectors. Even though I own an after market cable, I would have been happy to see a connector change to mini xlr. That would have been a nice improvement IMO, and removed a weak link.

 

[conquerator2]

In true HFM fashion, I have to recall my Shure HPAEC1540 Alcantara Ear Pads.  As with HFM's HE-560 pads, the openings need to be enlarged.  Oh wait.  I'm not a company 

Truth be told, the Shure pads are on the uncomfortable side for my big ol' white boy ears (Racist! he shouted at himself  At 6'5" I have a proportional head and ears (contrary to popular opinion, I am not a pinhead).  The Shure pads, while nicely cushioned, do not surround my ears, but sit on top of the edges.  At first, that is very annoying, but I left them on to see if it would stop bothering me, and also to get a sense of the sound.  While they became less annoying, it was impossible not to be aware of them.  Soundwise they are a bit muddled.  I won't say veiled, but compared to the Q701 pads, the Shure's are congested, I assume due to the narrower opening and possibly the softer foam.  Some mid frequencies could be slightly peaky, but nothing unbearable.  But with the compressed soundstage, music lacked a certain amount of cohesion, causing it to sound... off; not natural, for lack of a better phrase.  I gave them a fair shot.

Switching back to the Q701 pads simply confirmed the above.  The soundstage opened up nicely and all the instruments had space to interact naturally.  Definitely no congestion there.  They also have the ability to eliminate those pesky peaks that other pads introduce.  And they fully encompass my ears.  The stock pads (so, that includes jergpads) are pretty close in terms of the size of the openings, but are shallower than the Q701 pads, which also benefit from being angled.

So, that's that.  I won't bug you, or any other Head-fiers, about pads again.  If someone asks, I'll offer up my recommendation, but that's about it.

Pheeeeeeew.

Of course I have Magic Monkey Cables available for the HE-560s.  HFM was kind enough not to change the connectors.
(I don't actually make cables for sale, for anyone who might be confused

I have a feeling that our ears are shaped in a very similar fashion. As with most pads I suffer the same predicaments

 

[ThurstonX]

I have a feeling that our ears are shaped in a very similar fashion. As with most pads I suffer the same predicaments

 
It's too bad you're in Europe, at least in terms of being able to get the AKG pads easily and inexpensively, or so it seems from others.  Other than that, maybe it's better to be in Europe 

 

[conquerator2]

It's too bad you're in Europe, at least in terms of being able to get the AKG pads easily and inexpensively, or so it seems from others.  Other than that, maybe it's better to be in Europe 

I have the K702 pads and they're honestly one of the most comfy ones I've used.
They sound bad with the K612 though but the K612 pads ain't half bad either.
Other great pads being the X1 pads (which cannot be bought :/) HM5 pads ( but these are too inconsistent) or the HFM leather pads with foam inserts/rings.
I hope the enlarged 560 pads will fare similarly.

 

[pachoo5]

  IMO, if the Audez'e release last year is any experience, I do not think they will lower the price of the highest end HP. If anything they could do some upgrades and keep the price the same (at the least) or even increase it a bit. In terms of the first part of your question, I briefly heard the 6 with a very good integrated receiver and it was very very good. I have not heard the 560 yet but the 6 with the proper set up still beats my HE 4 (which could be the nearest approximation to the 560). Again, all IMO.

Thanks for the reply. I am very tempted to buy a good home speaker amp (not a headphone amp) and try it out. At the same time, I don't want to use them and make the resell value go down.
 
Decisions, decisions.

 

[tuna47]

I feel it's time for Fang to stop reacting to what other people (us) have to say and let his sound engineers get this product ready and for sale

 

[MattTCG]

I feel it's time for Fang to stop reacting to what other people (us) have to say and let his sound engineers get this product ready and for sale

This

 

[jerg]

If they are planning to ship this month, right now the production / assembly line is probably in full force.

 

[pachoo5]

I went to AC Gears to listen to the HE-560 this weekend and was completely surprised to hear that the HE-560s weren't out yet. I guess I haven't been paying attention because I thought that they had officially been released all the way back in March. Haven't at least some people actually bought HE-560s already?

 

[conquerator2]

  I went to AC Gears to listen to the HE-560 this weekend and was completely surprised to hear that the HE-560s weren't out yet. I guess I haven't been paying attention because I thought that they had officially been released all the way back in March. Haven't at least some people actually bought HE-560s already?

A few pre-orders were shipped, but they're being rolled back and exchanged for the newest most recent version, because even though a few cans were sold, the official launch is still to come.

 

[Clemmaster]

I went to AC Gears to listen to the HE-560 this weekend and was completely surprised to hear that the HE-560s weren't out yet. I guess I haven't been paying attention because I thought that they had officially been released all the way back in March. Haven't at least some people actually bought HE-560s already?

Few people were sent the pre-order version early May. This version features the Teak wood cups and the baffle fix provided by Jerg to Hifiman a couple of weeks before that.
Since then, some reliability issues emerged and HFM decided to switch to a more reliable plastic cups with veneer finish. This version is said to sound even better than the pre-order HE-560 due to a better baffle mounting made possible by using the plastic cups.
We are all awaiting this release version (which will feature new earpads with bigger openings).

 

[hifiman-us]

Once again, HiFiMAN regrets the delays on HE-560 and HE400i. They looked, felt and sounded great at Newport so we hope you will find them worth the wait. 
 
To properly manage everyone's expectations on delivery, Fang is looking at third week of June for production. That is barring any other unexpected delays. With that time frame though, it will take some additional time to ready them for shipment and to arrive here. With that in mind, I don't expect any units will be in your hands before early July. 
 
Same thing for HE-400i. Production hopefully in July but they will probably not be here until early August. 
 
If we do better than that, it will be a plus.
 
Peter

 

[pachoo5]

Few people were sent the pre-order version early May. This version features the Teak wood cups and the baffle fix provided by Jerg to Hifiman a couple of weeks before that.
Since then, some reliability issues emerged and HFM decided to switch to a more reliable plastic cups with veneer finish. This version is said to sound even better than the pre-order HE-560 due to a better baffle mounting made possible by using the plastic cups.
We are all awaiting this release version (which will feature new earpads with bigger openings).

Interesting. At least they are worried about quality control which I truly appreciate from a manufacturer. I am sure it will be worth the wait.
 
I am actually thinking about asking HiFiman if I can exchange my new, not listened to HE-6 for a brand new HE-560 when it comes out. I know the HE-6 is worth more but I would actually save money not having to buy another amp. 
 
I can't return the HE-6, I don't think, because I bought it from someone else.