[Rudiger]

Ah, ok...
I will definitively try this mod soon.

 

[MattTCG]

NM...got it.

 

[davidsh]

How's the 400i release progressing anyway?

 

[Skooks]

  I think I'll try.

But the HE-560 does not have too much treble with removing the grills ?

No... the treble does not increase. Nothing of the scale increases. The soundstage increases in size... width and depth. And all the instruments and voices become more focused and in their place... transparency is more pronounced. I've always found that removing grills off of speakers opens the sound and let's them "breathe." And it happens with the HE-560 as well.
 
Think of it like this... if the birds are singing in the trees outside your window... open your windows and the sounds of nature increase and the sense of where they are coming from increases. And it's not just the "tweeting" highs of the sparrow that you hear better, but you will hear the hoot owl better. I'm not telling you something out of a book... but we used to live in a restored antebellum house in Madison, GA, with a huge magnolia tree close to the back of the house that was probably there since the house was initially built in 1850... and in that tree, a big owl hung out. When we opened a back window, we heard even the mid/low hoots of that owl more well defined... not just the tweets of the birds.
 
Taking the grill off allows the 560 to really do what it is capable of doing... and I know it would help the 500 and 400, but I don't have mine anymore, and for some reason I never tried with them. But, you try it with yours... they are easy to remove... takes less than a minute to remove both using your thumbnail. Now, putting them back on takes a little longer, but not much.
 
Let me make one more prodigious statement: the HE-560 has a well defined scale, including the upper end. Nothing stands out over the rest... it is the most evenly defined scale of any headphones or speakers I've ever owned. I have a solo Steinway piano CD... an old one that I bought before some of you were born... at least 30 years old. It was recorded in analog and then transformed to digital. The upper end of that keyboard has always caused a tiny "screech", and having had a Steinway in our home, you don't hear that screech, obviously. But, with my other headphones, it happens... but with the 560's... it don't happen! Just as smooth as a baby's behind.
 
Try it... you might like it. But, remember... garbage in, garbage out. If you don't have a good source... player and DAC... good interconnects... good amp... and a good headphone cable... you will also be producing the noise of inferior components in front of the headphones... or speakers. I have found out that you don't have to spend the price of a Porsche 911... not even close... to have good sound. The Lyr 2 is proof of that.

 

[MattTCG]

I realize that this is the wrong thread but wanted to share my comment in the 400i. 
 
"Okay, I don't have a doubt that the grill mod appreciably improves the quality of the mids on this hp. There is more air around instruments and voices. The naturalness that I was not quite hearing in the mids before is now there and wonderfully rendered. "
 
I wish that I had taken the grills off when I auditioned the 560. My opinion might have been different. I'm surprised given the responsiveness of hifiman to the community (ie jergpads) that they didn't redesign the grill on these new models. 

 

[jerg]

  I realize that this is the wrong thread but wanted to share my comment in the 400i. 
 
"Okay, I don't have a doubt that the grill mod appreciably improves the quality of the mids on this hp. There is more air around instruments and voices. The naturalness that I was not quite hearing in the mids before is now there and wonderfully rendered. "
 
I wish that I had taken the grills off when I auditioned the 560. My opinion might have been different. I'm surprised given the responsiveness of hifiman to the community (ie jergpads) that they didn't redesign the grill on these new models. 

Obviously it is out of respect for the modding community 

 If they fix everything then what's left for us tinkerers to do?!

 

[Garraty]

  How's the 400i release progressing anyway?

 
It's set to release in mid-August. There's a loaner program going around as well. Hope that helped!

 

[HiFlyMan]

  Just ordered the new HE-560 travel case from Head-Fi. I will now have a new favorite travel companion

FYI, I ordered the new 560 travel case within hours of it going on sale and here is an email I received from Head-Fi this morning. It looks like the new case is in high demand:
 
Hi,
Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. We are so sorry for the inconvenience we brought to you. 
Your order is not shipped yet because the travel case for HE-560 are in high-demand while our stock is limited. It is what we have not expected.
We have sent a batch of travel case for HE-560 to our USA warehouse and we will arrange the US orders in this week.
Thanks for your understanding.
 
Best Regards,
Yan
HIFIMAN Customer Service Team  

 

[tinyman392]

  FYI, I ordered the new 560 travel case within hours of it going on sale and here is an email I received from Head-Fi this morning. It looks like the new case is in high demand:
 
Hi,
Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. We are so sorry for the inconvenience we brought to you. 
Your order is not shipped yet because the travel case for HE-560 are in high-demand while our stock is limited. It is what we have not expected.
We have sent a batch of travel case for HE-560 to our USA warehouse and we will arrange the US orders in this week.
Thanks for your understanding.
 
Best Regards,
Yan
HIFIMAN Customer Service Team  

 
I got a similar email for the FocusPad A...  Mine shipped a couple days later  

 

[Rudiger]

So I tried to remove the grills of my HE-560. Like I said on the dedicated thread, to my ears the difference is much smaller than I thought but it's still a (small) improvement.

 

[MattTCG]

  So I tried to remove the grills of my HE-560. Like I said on the dedicated thread, to my ears the difference is much smaller than I thought but it's still a (small) improvement.

 
Not a small difference for me. In additional to improved mids, the sound stage is wider and a little deeper. 

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Could be the different amp and DACs playing a role on how much of a change it makes.

 

[MattTCG]

Could be the different amp and DACs playing a role on how much of a change it makes.

 
Maybe. All I know for sure is that the only thing that changed in my chain was the removal of the grills. 

 

[davidsh]

Could be the different amp and DACs playing a role on how much of a change it makes.

And placebo and general hearing capability..

 

[Rudiger]

I redid the tests to remove the grids. 
I confirm that this is really simple to do, in fact, being myself not handy I recommend to all. 

So I redid the tests in presenting ans removing the grid while playing music, without removing the headphones (and without the rings). 
An interesting thing is that the grid is magnetized, it is once adhered strongly to the driver so be careful! The effect is very strong.
 
Ok, finally ... There is an improvement when the grid is removed. Small or large it is a matter of appreciation of differences. Psychology should play a bit too (placebo) ... But I feel that the final improvement is perhaps less light than I thought, I think I'll do this mod! 
Excuse my caution I will not say that the effect is huge, but it is significant. 

Thank you all for your advice and clarification.