[Soundsgoodtome]

Ok then. $45 for pads are overpriced, gotcha.

Your opinion is so humble though

They are overpriced regardless their FR... So I don't find your arguments about HE-4+focuspads valid here.

And no, HE-500 does not compete with LCD-2, HD800 or even entry-level Stax. IMHO.

We will agree to disagree.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Yesterday I was listening to the 560's using the Lyr, Siemens 6922 tubes, with the Dac of the Chord Hugo and also the 901 and the sound was beautiful. The sound was in front of me, spread right and left and well layered. Dynamics were natural and very enjoyable. Besides the sound, I love that I don't notice the 560's on my head. The Waterboys is plain fun with these as is much of the classical music I listened to. Oh, and comparing to the much more expensive Fostex TH900, there is a more open sound, to be expected and no less the sound quality and an improvement in bass articulation. 

Interesting that you mention the bass articulation compared to the TH900. For the longest time my plan was to get a TH900, but I always held back due to my experience owning the D7000. The D7000 was gorgeous, but the amount of bass was too much for me and I felt more detail in the bass was needed. That is why I ended up getting the 560 and so far I am extremely glad  I did. My A18 should arrive next week and at that point I will really be spending quite a bit of time getting to know the 560. So far, I really like what they are all about. I do not expect perfection, compromises can not be avoided, but as said before I feel that the price represents an appropriate ratio to performance return.

 

[hifimanrookie]

They are overpriced regardless their FR... So I don't find your arguments about HE-4+focuspads valid here.

And no, HE-500 does not compete with LCD-2, HD800 or even entry-level Stax. IMHO.

We will agree to disagree.

Sorry to butt in here..i had a modded he500 and compared it on a meet with a lcd 2.2 on the modded 337 i had and for sure the he500 was better in detail and midrange then the lcd 2.2.. Only thing the lcd 2.2 shined was on bass..unbelievable how low that bass goes...but for almost double the price..here the lcd goes for 1299euro! The he500 was 599 euro new acording to last pricing. Thats.a steal..

and yeah..i agree thatbthe he400 was rubbish..soundwise..but do u scream me about that? Others love that phone..metallica etc. affectionees i understand....thats also why i sold it after 3 months to replace it with the he500 which i had for 2 years i think.. Wonderful phone. Still is.. But everyone has his own tastes and opinions... Same thing with the he560 i guess..or the pads..although i am surprised hifiman did this..two pads...that costs a lot! And now even thats not enough..well u can never ever satisfy all customers..

If u dont like hifiman..so be it..but pls..others do..for the right reasons..no fanboy'ish here...if i was a fanboy then i would be a fanboy of all the things i buy for fun...it would be a dayjob then..being a fanboy.
So lets us get back on topic guys...thanks my fellow headfi'ers

 

[Ony38]

Just get a hifiman he560 for the next 3 weeks (review against LCD3 and he-6 powered by a Liquid Gold)
 

 

[rgs9200m]

Imho, the HE560 is worth the same as the Senn HD800.

 

[tuna47]

Ron
If you hate them so much why not return them and get something else to slam

 

[davidsh]

 
Will you be appending your review with the focus-a pads, if you haven't already tried em? That might be the fix you are looking for with regards to the noted upper midrange pecularity.

I am going to send them back to the dealer who kindly lended it to me, so no sorrily.
 

 

No one said the new pads were going to work with the HE4 so saying they're overpriced is void.

As for the he500 being a good deal or not... if that were the case then what do you make of Audeze, Sennheiser, Stax in the +$1000 category? Ever heard them? The he500 competes/compared with those headphones imo

 
They are overpriced regardless their FR... So I don't find your arguments about HE-4+focuspads valid here.
 
And no, HE-500 does not compete with LCD-2, HD800 or even entry-level Stax. IMHO.
 
We will agree to disagree.

HE-500 compares to both entry level stax and lcd2 imo

 

[TMRaven]

I think my HE-400 competes with LCD-2 and LCD-X pretty fairly on a good number of facets outside of frequency response.
 
In before the 'they're 1/5th the price that's a ridiculous statement!' retorts.  Guess what, price is the last deciding factor of performance in high-end audio.

 

[SBranson]

Interesting observation about the pads... As I mentioned, I received my HE560s with one new pad and one old pad.  The new pads are being shipped to me but I had already bought the Focus-A pads which arrived today.
They are thinner than the original old pad and a little less "cushy".  It's not much different but but there is less loft to the new-old pads.. 
So.. unless my old-old pad is an anomaly, it's almost as if there's 3 versions.. Ha...

 

 

[zxc]

I prefer HE-500 to HD800 and LCD-2. I'd get the HE-500 even if all three were priced equally. This is not to say that HD800 is not better in other areas. It's a fabulous headphone no doubt.

Anyhoo... I wonder why some users gravitate around a product that they hate so much. Why not go to the sales forum instead? I mean, share your opinion as to what you find lacking and why you prefer other products... and then... leave already. Am I too harsh?

You might not like Hifiman. But apparently many people do, which is true for any surviving brand. Their goal is not to satisfy you, but enough people.

If you're for well executed boxes and perfectly symmetrical well stitched pads, spend some at the Audeze and OPPO forum. And if you dread waiting for a not so well finished product for three months, than stay away from Hifiman.

I mean, why would I hang around the Audeze and HD800 forum and constantly bitch about the negative aspects of their products? Exactly.

 

[hifimanrookie]

I prefer HE-500 to HD800 and LCD-2. I'd get the HE-500 even if all three were priced equally. This is not to say that HD800 is not better in other areas. It's a fabulous headphone no doubt.

Anyhoo... I wonder why some users gravitate around a product that they hate so much. Why not go to the sales forum instead? I mean, share your opinion as to what you find lacking and why you prefer other products... and then... leave already. Am I too harsh?

You might not like Hifiman. But apparently many people do, which is true for any surviving brand. Their goal is not to satisfy you, but enough people.

If you're for well executed boxes and perfectly symmetrical well stitched pads, spend some at the Audeze and OPPO forum. And if you dread waiting for a not so well finished product for three months, than stay away from Hifiman.

I mean, why would I hang around the Audeze and HD800 forum and constantly bitch about the negative aspects of their products? Exactly.

U said it so right..well said my friend!

 

[rgs9200m]

As for the he500 being a good deal or not... if that were the case then what do you make of Audeze, Sennheiser, Stax in the +$1000 category? Ever heard them? The he500 competes/compared with those headphones imo

Yeah, exactly. That's exactly how I felt when I got my HE500. What a bargain for these sonics. When I heard the 560s would improve on them, it was a done deal that I would try them, and now they are keepers, too.
These headphones are on the revealing side of the house, but that just means you need to take care with upstream stuff, but the rewards sound great to me in terms of a sense of realism and details and texture
in a pretty startling way. But they are not raspy or metallic or scratchy.
And you get high-end electrostatic-level texture and exposure for a bargain price.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I prefer HE-500 to HD800 and LCD-2. I'd get the HE-500 even if all three were priced equally. This is not to say that HD800 is not better in other areas. It's a fabulous headphone no doubt.

Anyhoo... I wonder why some users gravitate around a product that they hate so much. Why not go to the sales forum instead? I mean, share your opinion as to what you find lacking and why you prefer other products... and then... leave already. Am I too harsh?

You might not like Hifiman. But apparently many people do, which is true for any surviving brand. Their goal is not to satisfy you, but enough people.

If you're for well executed boxes and perfectly symmetrical well stitched pads, spend some at the Audeze and OPPO forum. And if you dread waiting for a not so well finished product for three months, than stay away from Hifiman.

I mean, why would I hang around the Audeze and HD800 forum and constantly bitch about the negative aspects of their products? Exactly.

All are welcome of course, but like you I wonder why anybody would stay in a thread that was about a headphone that just didn't work for them? I think your point is well taken, by all means make your point, even if it is critical or provides an unfavourable impression it is a welcome and valuable part of what head-fi is all about as a community. People need all perspectives to help make informed decisions. That said, it does get tiring to listen to somebody keep beating the drum long after their point has been well made and discussed. At a certain point continued negative banter side tracks the true purpose of the thread, plus frankly it turns it un-necessarily sour if you ask me. As they say in court, asked and answered.

 

[jamato8]

Ok today, listening to Greg Brown, "Slant 6 Mind". I love this album, just strange but very interesting and well recorded. On the 560's, the sound is nailed. Brown's voice comes through clean and drives through you, the way it should. There is body to it, presence and the bass, as often in his recordings, solid yet tuned, as in notes that you hear in good bass playing. Sweet. 

 

[zxc]

  We greatly appreciate all the interest in our new HE Series headphones. Clearly, all our hard work and listening to valuable feedback from Head-Fiers has paid off. There seems to be some questions about the FocusPad, the new beveled hybrid earpad we designed for the new HE models. It seems that everyone agrees this is a much improved design over what we had before. The combination of pleather and velour represents the best of both worlds. Initially, I had a particular ear pad that was used on our first shipments, many of those being pre-orders. I was not satisfied with the finish quality of these earpads and the opening was not quite large enough for the largest ears to be comfortable. So we modified that ear pad to have a larger opening and a better finish and called it FocusPad. We believe this is a significant improvement cosmetically and that it sounds very similar to the original pad.  In the spirit of HeadFi, I understand that some may disagree and for whatever reasons, prefer the original earpad. For them, we have made the original pad available for sale on Head-Direct and through our dealers. For our ongoing HE production though HiFiMAN will use the current FocusPad as we believe it to be the best overall choice. Rest assured, I will always keep looking for ways to improve our products. As always, many thanks for your interest and enthusiastic support.
 
Fang

Dear Fang,
 
Production focus pads are better made for sure; but while the opening might be larger, the Focus-A pads have more volume inside, and are significantly more comfortable. There might be small differences in sound, but I am sure many people would appreciate comfort more so than the looks. Any way you think Focus-A pads will be in production? If not, we better stock up.
 
Thanks.