[SBranson]

As the impressions come flooding in I am getting more excited by these.  Still no movement on the tracking since the 8th... I thought expresspost would get them here by the weekend but hopefully Monday or Tuesday.  
 
I will be trying these with a Fostex HP-P1, a CLAS(original)/ALO Continental set up and on the way from out east is  CEntrance HiFi-M8.    It will be an interesting test as I'm very familiar with the first two but not the CEntrance.
 
For now lossless files on my Ipod but damn, I'm wanting an Astell & Kern to get to play some of my 24/192 tracks..  Must resist....

 

[fccn75]

Ok, I must be in the minority since most of you are satisfy with the 560. Played over 30 hrs on a SOHA2 with Halide DAC via ripped FLAC files mostly acoustic guitar and vocals, I am not impressed and prefer my LCD2.2 pre-fazor.

On the audgd 11.32, I can forget about it because being already too sterile, the 560 sounds extremely thin and light. Definitely not the right synergy for my ears.

Although the highs are a bit more airy but I agree with another member here in regards to the "tizz" being characterized as more husky voicing like the AD1000x has. The other sonic character heard IMO is the size of the presentation being perceived a bit smaller than my LCD. I have to admit one thing though, separation is good.

All in all, the tizz in female vocals sounds unnatural to me and I much prefer the syrupy mids the LCD provides plus the extra quantity of low end which only the LCD can provide.

Perhaps HE-6 is the way to go at this point.

 

[tuna47]

Love female vocals hear no tizz at all

 

[MattTCG]

Ok, I must be in the minority since most of you are satisfy with the 560. Played over 30 hrs on a SOHA2 with Halide DAC via ripped FLAC files mostly acoustic guitar and vocals, I am not impressed and prefer my LCD2.2 pre-fazor.

On the audgd 11.32, I can forget about it because being already too sterile, the 560 sounds extremely thin and light. Definitely not the right synergy for my ears.

Although the highs are a bit more airy but I agree with another member here in regards to the "tizz" being characterized as more husky voicing like the AD1000x has. The other sonic character heard IMO is the size of the presentation being perceived a bit smaller than my LCD. I have to admit one thing though, separation is good.

All in all, the tizz in female vocals sounds unnatural to me and I much prefer the syrupy mids the LCD provides plus the extra quantity of low end which only the LCD can provide.

Perhaps HE-6 is the way to go at this point.

 
The answer here is that you're judging the 560 relative to the lcd2.2 C.  The old lcd produces bass like a good sub woofer does. It's tight and extends forever. When compared to the lcd2.2 C, the 560 would seem bass light and "thin" as you say. 
 
But judged on it's own merits, the 560 actually has impressive bass response. YMMV

 

[Ron12]

   
The answer here is that you're judging the 560 relative to the lcd2.2 C.  The old lcd produces bass like a good sub woofer does. It's tight and extends forever. When compared to the lcd2.2 C, the 560 would seem bass light and "thin" as you say. 
 
But judged on it's own merits, the 560 actually has impressive bass response. YMMV

 
I am quite confused so far... So where does the HE-560 stand in comparison to LCD-2 rev2, HE-500, HE-400 or HE-4 (use at least 2 of these headphones please) in terms of bass quantity and tightness?
 
Anyone could answer this... If you know the answer, please share your opinions!
 
Btw, I am really confused by the HE-560... I am even confused by the measurements posted on the other site. I cannot get where does the HE-560 stand. Is it in between HE-500 and HE-6? Is it similar to HE-5LE? Is it more HD800like (sharp, very resolving, spacious) or more HE-500like (smooth, quite unresolving, quite intimate)?

 

[MattTCG]

lcd2.2c>he4=he400>he500=he560  IMO
 
I think that the he4 actually beats the he400 on quantity but it's very close. 

 

[Ron12]

  lcd2.2c>he4=he400>he500=he560  IMO
 
I think that the he4 actually beats the he400 on quantity but it's very close. 

 
Oh, do you really see the HE-4 as that bass-heavy? I would even place it after the HE-500 in terms of quantity personally... Impressions from purrin on the other site suggest that HE-4 are definitely lighter in terms of bass quantity (in relation to the rest of frequency spectrum, and to other Hifiman headphones).
 
I would rate it personally like this (subjectively perceived bass quantity):
HE-400 >= LCD-2.2c > HE-500 > HE-4
 
Maybe it's overall system dependent... Or my memory is not so good

 

[maricius]

Regarding headphone size, are the headphones themselves noticeably or even slightly smaller than the older HiFiMan models. This is in terms of the ear cup size and the amount one can adjust the headband. I had quite a problem even with the HE-500 not in weight but in size as it would reach my jaw… and that even with the slide adjusters at its smallest setting would be slightly too big for my head. Is this problem addressed with the HE-560?

 

[MattTCG]

It's very easy to hear people say that he4 sounded poorly or didn't have good bass response until you asked asked them what amp was used. I would venture to say that many of those who tried the he4 never amped it properly. When you realize that the he4 has essentially the same amping required of the he6, then you'll get a better idea. 
 
On a speaker amp with taps, the he4 will rock your molars. The he4 just loved my vintage Pioneer sx1280 at 165 watts into 8 ohms.  That setup would get down to crazy levels with good punch still be tight.   

 

[davidsh]

  Regarding headphone size, are the headphones themselves noticeably or even slightly smaller than the older HiFiMan models. This is in terms of the ear cup size and the amount one can adjust the headband. I had quite a problem even with the HE-500 not in weight but in size as it would reach my jaw… and that even with the slide adjusters at its smallest setting would be slightly too big for my head. Is this problem addressed with the HE-560?

The sliders are much better for smaller heads
 
Besides, I got the HE-560 (on loan). I'll have it for a week from now. It's very comfortable, though it clamps a bit hard.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  As the impressions come flooding in I am getting more excited by these.  Still no movement on the tracking since the 8th... I thought expresspost would get them here by the weekend but hopefully Monday or Tuesday.  
 
I will be trying these with a Fostex HP-P1, a CLAS(original)/ALO Continental set up and on the way from out east is  CEntrance HiFi-M8.    It will be an interesting test as I'm very familiar with the first two but not the CEntrance.
 
For now lossless files on my Ipod but damn, I'm wanting an Astell & Kern to get to play some of my 24/192 tracks..  Must resist....

I think both of our 560s left at the same time from RazorDog. There was no update from the 8th until now showing the package made it out of processing in Chicago yesterday around 4:30pm. Man that is slow, at this pace mine won't arrive until late next week. Once you get an update let me know what path your 560s are taking. I would be curious to know if it went the same route given that you are on the west coast and I am central/east. I hope we get ours soon, the wait is killing me!

 

[TMRaven]

Purrin has an Eddie Current 4-45 and some pro power amplifier that he uses for his HE-500, there's no way he's not powering the HE-4 properly. 
 
He did make a remark that he thought the HE-4 was too thin and had too much treble, while he made no mention about the HE-560 being thin and thought its treble was great.
 
It was at the same time that Purrin, and I believe it was Thujone, the guy who lent him the HE-4, both concluded that they thought the HE-4 sounded better out of the lowly Vali than the Emotiva Mini-X.  In short, Head-Fi highly, highly, highly overvalues raw power when it comes to amping.  If you're listening to your headphone at the same volume out of an O2 vs out of a Lyr, chances are you're using the same amount of power, which is probably only in the mws of power.
 
 
 
If I would rate bass quantity based on pure numbers (5 being neutral) I would rate:
 
HE-400: 7
LCD-X: 6.7
LCD-2: 6:  
HE-560: 5.7
 
Again the LCD-2 I demo'd was pretty bass lite.  I kept making remarks in my impressions of it vs the HE-400 about how tight, controlled and mid-focused the LCD-2 was compared to the HE-400.
 
Also in my initial impressions of the HE-560, I noted that its bass can often sound like the HE-400's depending on the song, and that it mostly only seems less in quantity because the upper midrange isn't recessed, so the bass isn't brought out as much.

 

[Ron12]

  Purrin has an Eddie Current 4-45 and some pro power amplifier that he uses for his HE-500, there's no way he's not powering the HE-4 properly. 
 
He did make a remark that he thought the HE-4 was too thin and had too much treble, while he made no mention about the HE-560 being thin and thought its treble was great.
 
It was at the same time that Purrin, and I believe it was Thujone, the guy who lent him the HE-4, both concluded that they thought the HE-4 sounded better out of the lowly Vali than the Emotiva Mini-X.  In short, Head-Fi highly, highly, highly overvalues raw power when it comes to amping.  If you're listening to your headphone at the same volume out of an O2 vs out of a Lyr, chances are you're using the same amount of power, which is probably only in the mws of power.
 
 
 
If I would rate bass quantity based on pure numbers (5 being neutral) I would rate:
 
HE-400: 7
LCD-X: 6.7
LCD-2: 6:  
HE-560: 5.7
 
Again the LCD-2 I demo'd was pretty bass lite.  I kept making remarks in my impressions of it vs the HE-400 about how tight, controlled and mid-focused the LCD-2 was compared to the HE-400.
 
Also in my initial impressions of the HE-560, I noted that its bass can often sound like the HE-400's depending on the song, and that it mostly only seems less in quantity because the upper midrange isn't recessed, so the bass isn't brought out as much.

 
HE-4 definitely doesn't require a lot of power... At least this is from my experience. My feeling is that HE-500 are may be more power-hungry while HE-400 or HE-4 can sound good even out of a smartphone (synergy with my warm-sounding Fonepad is really good, I can tell you this... though not as great as with DA8 as expected). They just require rather warmer amp/DAC (and by warmer I don't mean bassy... rather forgiving and mellow).
 
So I agree with you... And thank you for your comparison!

 

[Keithpgdrb]

HE-4 definitely doesn't require a lot of power... At least this is from my experience. My feeling is that HE-500 are may be more power-hungry while HE-400 or HE-4 can sound good even out of a smartphone (synergy with my warm-sounding Fonepad

Seriously?

 

[Ronnietron]

  On a speaker amp with taps, the he4 will rock your molars. The he4 just loved my vintage Pioneer sx1280 at 165 watts into 8 ohms.  That setup would get down to crazy levels with good punch still be tight.   

 
Waaaaoooohh... and I thought 6 Watts into 32 Ohm was a lot.. hahaha so badass