[LaPierre]

Well said, and that's exactly why I'm selling off beloved headphones to afford the 560 instead of buying the 400i, which I could do without selling anything. 

 

[AgentXXL]

The way I see it,
The change is not substantial enough to upset us who have not heard the preproduction version but it is not inaudible to those who did

 
That's a very good way of putting it... I've only had the opportunity to use my HE-560s for about 30 hours, but I'm enjoying them immensely. I remember the signature of the HE-500 compared to my Sennheiser HD800s and the production HE-560s are a definite refinement of the HE-500 sound. As others have noted, the 560 appears to have tighter, more accurate bass, but seems lacking in quantity ever-so-minutely when compared to the older HE-500. I'm not noticing the 4Kz issue at all.
 
As I never had the opportunity to hear the pre-production 560, I have to admit that I'm glad I didn't. As it stands I'm very happy with the production 560s and will continue to enjoy them. Even more so since I've been using them with a balanced cable for the last 20 or so hours. The bass definitely improved when I switched to the balanced cable - well worth it if you have a balanced DAC/amp.
 
Dale 

 

[tinyman392]

The way I see it,
The change is not substantial enough to upset us who have not heard the preproduction version but it is not inaudible to those who did

 
More or less, this.  Sometimes ignorance is truly bliss. 

 

[SoAmusing777]

   

 
 

 

Just wanted to let you know, as well as everyone else following (dunno how important people see my post) I've updated it to include what chowmein just let me know. Nearing the absolute tipping point I suppose.

 

[chowmein83]

  The only thing that concerns me is the fact Chowmein says the HE-500 was slightly less veiled sounding than the 400i.

OK, now that I look back upon how I feel about the new HiFiMans, and seeing what other people have written about their impressions about the 400i, I think I have to clarify what I meant by "less veiled." To be honest, I don't think there really is a significant difference in the amount of detail presented by the 500 and 400i. I think the term that I'm looking for is that the 400i sounded slightly "thicker" than the 500. And you do have to note, I listened to the 400i on one setup, and the 500 on another, which may make all the difference.
 
There's no doubt that if you want a bigger soundstage, more details, and a more neutral signature (but not a "boring" one), then you should definitely go for the 560. In fact, I'd probably actually go for the 560 myself, if it wasn't for the fact that I'm currently a student and don't have that much money now.
 
And one more thing - I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but I thought the 560 sounded very very similar to the HE-6 both in terms of sound signature and performance. (Closer than the HE-500 is to the HE-6). I listened to both of these on the same setup that HiFiMan had at their booth - which I believe was a HiFiMan HM-901 DAP and a EF-6 amp. Both the 560 and the HE-6 sounded great, but the 560 was obviously superior in terms of comfort and the headphone fitting and staying on your head, so between those two I would probably choose the 560 (unless there's some ridiculously resolving setup that would more obviously show the differences between the 560 and the HE-6, and I happened to have that setup

).

 

[fccn75]

Anyone knows if headroom.com will honor 20% coupon tomorrow for the 560's even though it's not in stock? The discount last until 7/7, is that inclusive till end of day?

 

[SoAmusing777]

  OK, now that I look back upon how I feel about the new HiFiMans, and seeing what other people have written about their impressions about the 400i, I think I have to clarify what I meant by "less veiled." To be honest, I don't think there really is a significant difference in the amount of detail presented by the 500 and 400i. I think the term that I'm looking for is that the 400i sounded slightly "thicker" than the 500. And you do have to note, I listened to the 400i on one setup, and the 500 on another, which may make all the difference.
 
There's no doubt that if you want a bigger soundstage, more details, and a more neutral signature (but not a "boring" one), then you should definitely go for the 560.

If you don't mind, could you go back a page towards the bottom and read my post then tell me what you think? It's my next to last post on that page.

 

[SoAmusing777]

Anyone knows if headroom.com will honor 20% coupon tomorrow for the 560's even though it's not in stock? The discount last until 7/7, is that inclusive till end of day?

Yes, I know of at least 1 user that has already bought it on the 4th for 20% off. Besides, they are arriving tomorrow anyway. If any problems, just call. Coupons that expire on a day expire at midnight, not when the day starts.
My response is based off my correspondance with the CEO on the 4th. I'm actually the one to blame that you can't still purchase it 20% off before it's actually in stock. It was a glitch though.

 

[Sonic Defender]

 
Couldn't have said it better myself. Sweet name btw.

Thanks, I have no idea how that name came to be; likely a few too many rye and gingers one night after a long winter ....

 

[monkeysixtysix]

I also was able to order the 560's from headroom using the 20% off coupon. Got an order confirmation and my CC has a pending charge... I'm hoping they will ship out tomorrow or Tuesday.

 

[SoAmusing777]

 
Thanks, I have no idea how that name came to be; likely a few too many rye and gingers one night after a long winter ....

Anytime. Haha. Mine comes from my last name and me being a goof

 

[chowmein83]

  If you don't mind, could you go back a page towards the bottom and read my post then tell me what you think? It's my next to last post on that page.

 
First, just a few words about what I think the gaming experience is going to be like on the 400i (because you mentioned MLE's thread and you have a X-Fi, like what I'm using in my gaming computer). I agree that most people should be more than satisfied with the 400i when gaming. You're going to lose some of that immersion factor because the soundstage isn't as large as something like the AKG 70x series or the Sennheiser HD598, but it'll more than make up for that with its imaging performance. And also, the bass that the 400i can produce will be absolutely fantastic for gaming and movies - somewhat making up for the immersion factor lost with the smaller soundstage.
 
I pretty much agree with you in assessing how good a of deal are these headphones in relation to each other. Though I will say this - as it stands, I feel that the HE-400i is a better deal. However, if the 560's price ever dropped down to something like $700, then I think that would be the better deal - hell, it'd be a killer deal at that price. Then again, like you said, if the 400i's price were to drop down to like $400 or even $300, then that's a no-brainer. But if the 560 dropped down to $720 and the 400i dropped down to $400 (both 20% discounts), then I would probably spend the extra money to go directly for the 560 to get an end-game setup, rather than buying the 400i first and then upgrading to the 560.  Also, you have to keep in mind that both the 400i and 560 are extremely comfortable - to me, that's definitely worth some money right there.
 
There's also one more thing I have to mention - I think your preferences in how you want a headphone to sound will also affect which one you think is the better buy. Do I think the 560's are better than the 400i overall? Yes. But do I think that the 560 is better than the 400i in terms of vocals? No - I prefer the more intimate feeling of someone singing almost right in front of me that the 400i provides, and I would gladly trade that off for some more details in the vocals considering my budget.
 
EDIT: Oh man, now that I think about it, considering we can get 20% off for the 560, should I instead go for those headphones rather than the 400i's myself? I'd love to, but I'd have to see if my budget really allows it...

 

[fccn75]

Thanks for the clarificatin, SoAmusing777.  Guess I'll try tomorrow and hopefully without the frustration of having the product in the cart and with a little time passed, gone out of stock!  

 

[chengsta]

So the new 560 pads provide a bump in the mids, which should counteract the he400's recessed mids, am I right?

 

[fccn75]

I also was able to order the 560's from headroom using the 20% off coupon. Got an order confirmation and my CC has a pending charge... I'm hoping they will ship out tomorrow or Tuesday.

Monkeysixtysix, just curiousity, when you order the 560 using the 20% off coupon, was the headphone in stock?  I know it's only a few more hours till Monday, any way of ordering when it's out of stock?