[tinyman392]

I ordered the pads last week to try on my HE-6 (beats me what version I have coming but think it's the production ones) and got an email from Lu saying to give them a day or two more due to popularity as they are sold out. This email came in Thursday. Not a peep since then but based on all you guys ordering maybe they are shipping?!

They are hard to love and yet hard not to love, this HiFiMan gang..........

 
They'll get here when they get here   I'm reviewing the 560 with the production pads anyways   The pre-production is more or less due to curiosity. 

 

[Aaranu]

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the low quailty pictures, i need to get my DLSR out on these.
First impressions. My God they are soooooooo light! Hifiman's are no longer heavy and uncomfortable! Not quite as good as the benchmark HD800 but still, out of the box, better than my HD650. Sorry hifiman but these screw in connectors need to die! When i first hit play i got no sound out of the left cup.. Connector not screwed in enough, it was difficult due to my cable wanting to turn with it..

Sound wise.. Wow im very impressed, i was expecting this tbh but damn, soundstage is very very very good, nice hard hitting bass, well presented mids and very nice highs as well.. for 1k (australia), guys.. i think we might have a new king.

Ill get a real camera on these soon, as my phone doesn't do them justice.

For anyone thats concerned about these headphones. Dont be. 

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
I'm going to only talk about the mids on the 560s briefly here in this thread - for my 400i reply, I think it's best if I reply in the 400i thread.
 
To be honest, I think you should probably read the posts of whomever has actually received the 560s by now for a better idea of how they sound like. However, I will say that I thought the mids of the 560s were overall neutral, but definitely more on the bright side (but not extremely bright). Mids on the 560s were also highly detailed, and overall they just sounded right/realistic to me. This is opposed to the 400i mids, which also sounded natural but definitely weren't as bright as the mids on the 560s. Both the 560 and 400i presented vocals in a slightly different, but equally well manner if you don't take into account the placement of those vocals. Sorry I can't give a more detailed impression, as it's been a while since I listened to the two and I'd probably need more time to compare the two to actually say any more.

Frankly, a slightly bright headphone is much easier to deal with than a slightly darker headphone IMO. I liked the HD650, but damn I have to admit that I did perceive that shelved feeling of missing some of the higher energy frequency really needed to make the music engaging. Sure, the 650 are fatigue free, but I always felt there was a slight veil (I had the newer version and drove them with an SPL Auditor which is a very good amp). So to fix that, I would need to parametric EQ up, and that is never the best choice. On the flip side, if the 560 are slightly bright it is better as far as I know to slightly parametric EQ down. I specify parametric as I am quite sure the majority of readers will know messes with adjacent frequencies much less than a normal graphic EQ would do (assuming you take the time to make the notches narrow enough).
 
That is a bunch of babble when really all I need to say is that a little sparkle sounds great to me, then again, I loved my DT880 so no surprise there.

 

[chowmein83]

 
Frankly, a slightly bright headphone is much easier to deal with than a slightly darker headphone IMO. I liked the HD650, but damn I have to admit that I did perceive that shelved feeling of missing some of the higher energy frequency really needed to make the music engaging. Sure, the 650 are fatigue free, but I always felt there was a slight veil (I had the newer version and drove them with an SPL Auditor which is a very good amp). So to fix that, I would need to parametric EQ up, and that is never the best choice. On the flip side, if the 560 are slightly bright it is better as far as I know to slightly parametric EQ down. I specify parametric as I am quite sure the majority of readers will know messes with adjacent frequencies much less than a normal graphic EQ would do (assuming you take the time to make the notches narrow enough).
 
That is a bunch of babble when really all I need to say is that a little sparkle sounds great to me, then again, I loved my DT880 so no surprise there.

 
No arguments here - even though I've never really owned what you could call a dark headphone, I have changed the tubes on my Aune T1 - and I immediately went for something else when I tried the tubes that just lacked that bit of sparkle.

 

[SoAmusing777]

   
I'm going to only talk about the mids on the 560s briefly here in this thread - for my 400i reply, I think it's best if I reply in the 400i thread.
 
To be honest, I think you should probably read the posts of whomever has actually received the 560s by now for a better idea of how they sound like. However, I will say that I thought the mids of the 560s were overall neutral, but definitely more on the bright side (but not extremely bright). Mids on the 560s were also highly detailed, and overall they just sounded right/realistic to me. This is opposed to the 400i mids, which also sounded natural but definitely weren't as bright as the mids on the 560s. Both the 560 and 400i presented vocals in a slightly different, but equally well manner if you don't take into account the placement of those vocals. Sorry I can't give a more detailed impression, as it's been a while since I listened to the two and I'd probably need more time to compare the two to actually say any more.

Thank you very much.

 

[SoAmusing777]

Forget the he400i.. !!
Why?

I can say for sure, that if you can still get the he560 for $720,
It is not only a bargain but a steal, not for the price or for the quality,
But only for THE SOUND"..

I own the hd800.
I only been listening to my new he560 for just an hour on my oppo Ha1. .

The sound is definitely in top-tier "end game" class, if you consider the hd800 to be..

The spatial cues are very clear and evident and there is a clarity and realism here that rivals my hd800.

I haven't received my balanced cable yet so this is only out of the 1/4" jack so far (!)..

This opinion may be taken lightly as I only have one hour "break-in" on them !

My bet is that this is a solid top tier can, and it is insanity to not jump on it for $720!!

Well then!

 

[Wildcatsare1]

You Guy's that were able to get orders through at Headroom, how did you do it? I was on the "Deals" Thread when Jamey Warren posted the 20% discount, attempted to buy a pair of 560's, but the site wouldn't allow it to go through. I called Headroom, headphone.com repeatedly, left messages for Ben, but was unable to get through ! Not sure I'll ever buy anything from them again, it is apparent that they "were laying low"!

 

[Khragon]

You Guy's that were able to get orders through at Headroom, how did you do it? I was on the "Deals" Thread when Jamey Warren posted the 20% discount, attempted to buy a pair of 560's, but the site wouldn't allow it to go through. I called Headroom, headphone.com repeatedly, left messages for Ben, but was unable to get through ! Not sure I'll ever buy anything from them again, it is apparent that they "were laying low"!

I too couldn't get my order in.. Looking at their inventory all of the most desirable headphones are conveniently "out of stock". Seems like marketing ploy to me.

 

[zxc]

Some people who called headroom before 5pm got their orders in. The last one in stock was sold to a recent poster. I am not affiliated to headroom, but I've experienced their decent customer service. They are also one of the rare dealers that accept a return without charging an arm and a leg (restocking fee). So, I wouldn't ditch them that quickly. Also, people who were able to order got a ridiculous deal on a long-awaited headphone that just came out. That wasn't supposed to happen at least until Black Friday or Xmas!

 

[NA Blur]

Were your orders placed over the 4th of July weekend?  Perhaps they gave their employees a break.
 
I am sure they will continue to treat you well if you give them a chance.  I have ordered so much gear from Headroom and have never once had a problem.

 

[woody88]

You Guy's that were able to get orders through at Headroom, how did you do it? I was on the "Deals" Thread when Jamey Warren posted the 20% discount, attempted to buy a pair of 560's, but the site wouldn't allow it to go through. I called Headroom, headphone.com repeatedly, left messages for Ben, but was unable to get through ! Not sure I'll ever buy anything from them again, it is apparent that they "were laying low"!

when did you attempt to try to buy the headphones? and did you see an add to cart button, or notify me when available?

 

[Maxx134]

...First impressions....
...Sound wise.. Wow im very impressed, i was expecting this tbh but damn, soundstage is very very very good, nice hard hitting bass, well presented mids and very nice highs as well.. for 1k (australia), guys.. i think we might have a new king....

Exactly, and they're sounding more supple and enveloping as they break in..

I agree, for under $1k, there is nothing that can touch this..

This is the sound I wanted out of the LCD X..

Edit:
Except a bit more bass but it is a nit pick as the bass does go strong but not on every song as this is very accurate

 

[SoAmusing777]

   
The way things are going they should perhaps call them Hocus Focus pads.

Ahahahaha.
 

The people of this thread must be the focus group lol

Yup, we are, lol. IN the description it even says "head-fiers".
 

Forget the he400i.. !!
Why?

I can say for sure, that if you can still get the he560 for $720,
It is not only a bargain but a steal, not for the price or for the quality,
But only for THE SOUND"..

I own the hd800.
I only been listening to my new he560 for just an hour on my oppo Ha1. .

The sound is definitely in top-tier "end game" class, if you consider the hd800 to be..

The spatial cues are very clear and evident and there is a clarity and realism here that rivals my hd800.

I haven't received my balanced cable yet so this is only out of the 1/4" jack so far (!)..

This opinion may be taken lightly as I only have one hour "break-in" on them !

My bet is that this is a solid top tier can, and it is insanity to not jump on it for $720!!

Woo, certainly a glowing impression. Gotta stick to my guns on the 400i for $450 though. It's the safe buy. I can always sell later and upgrade to a price dropped and possible revised 560.

 

[SoAmusing777]

nice hard hitting bass, well presented mids and very nice highs as well

Really!? This was the only reason other than the lower price that I was gonna go for the 560. Maybe I'll just go with the 560 after all, considering that the soundstage is wonderful as well.

 

[Ultrainferno]

Hard hitting is something personal though. What is hard hitting for one is soft for the other.
To me it has good bass, more quality over quantity. The LCD2's bass (of course) is bigger in example