[Bill-P]

If you open the vent in the back, you'll find the cables coming from the connector into the driver baffle.
 
Mine are long, and so they obstruct the driver pretty blatantly. I can pull them to the sides and fix them with tape, but then that makes the sound brighter by a good margin.
 
Seeing as planars are sensitive to dampening, that comes as no surprise to me.
 
I did bend the headband before, but when the headphone came from Grizzlybeast, it was not as tight as a factory pair, which is really really really tight. The initial clamp is so tight that my ears almost touch the filter cloth inside the smaller Focus Pads A.
 
On the other hand, TMRaven just confirmed that my Focus Pads A are thinner than most, so perhaps this would only apply to my specific pair of pads.

 

[jerg]

  If you open the vent in the back, you'll find the cables coming from the connector into the driver baffle.
 
Mine are long, and so they obstruct the driver pretty blatantly. I can pull them to the sides and fix them with tape, but then that makes the sound brighter by a good margin.
 
Seeing as planars are sensitive to dampening, that comes as no surprise to me.
 
I did bend the headband before, but when the headphone came from Grizzlybeast, it was not as tight as a factory pair, which is really really really tight. The initial clamp is so tight that my ears almost touch the filter cloth inside the smaller Focus Pads A.
 
On the other hand, TMRaven just confirmed that my Focus Pads A are thinner than most, so perhaps this would only apply to my specific pair of pads.

I think you are exaggerating things. The wire leads in the back of the drivers are absolutely negligible in terms of affecting acoustics, moving it is equivalent to maybe 2% of the regrilling mod - a mod which provides a noticeable but already minor effect.

 

[Kyno]

Thanks for the info. I can now picture the cable obstruction a bit better, funny how this came as standard, and with a better sound.
 
Never had planars before, but the more I read about this one the more it seems very sensitive on small changes brought to the ergonomics as well as its setup.
 
Good news is that it can be adjusted to a certain extent, espacially nice if it can avoid too much brightness/sibilance/harshness for one's taste.
 
By the way, did you manage to retrieve the exact same warmer sound you liked with the clamp new Focus Pad once you loosened up the headband and put Focus Pads A back on?

 

[Bill-P]

  I think you are exaggerating things. The wire leads in the back of the drivers are absolutely negligible in terms of affecting acoustics, moving it is equivalent to maybe 2% of the regrilling mod - a mod which provides a noticeable but already minor effect.

I thought it was placebo, so I performed it a few times to make sure. They do affect the upper midrange for me.
 
I think it may be because I am extremely sensitive to brightness in the 6-9KHz region. Plus I do listen to music that exaggerates that region (closed-mic recordings), so that just makes it worse.
 
Even the LCD-2 can sometimes be sibilant to me, so you know how sensitive my ears are.
 
It's because I'm this sensitive to treble that most of the top-tier headphones aren't for me. IMO, the HE-560 is the least offensive in that region compared to many non-Stax alternatives.
 

  Thanks for the info. I can now picture the cable obstruction a bit better, funny how this came as standard, and with a better sound.
 
Never had planars before, but the more I read about this one the more it seems very sensitive on small changes brought to the ergonomics as well as its setup.
 
Good news is that it can be adjusted to a certain extent, espacially nice if it can avoid too much brightness/sibilance/harshness for one's taste.
 
By the way, did you manage to retrieve the exact same warmer sound you liked with the clamp new Focus Pad once you loosened up the headband and put Focus Pads A back on?

 
I think I still prefer the Focus Pads with strong clamp. The warmth that the Focus Pads A brings at looser fit is a bit on the leaner and forward side still. The Focus Pads with strong clamp gives a fuller and more relaxed sound.

 

[jerg]

 
I thought it was placebo, so I performed it a few times to make sure. They do affect the upper midrange for me.
 
I think it may be because I am extremely sensitive to brightness in the 6-9KHz region. Plus I do listen to music that exaggerates that region (closed-mic recordings), so that just makes it worse.
 
Even the LCD-2 can sometimes be sibilant to me, so you know how sensitive my ears are.
 
It's because I'm this sensitive to treble that most of the top-tier headphones aren't for me. IMO, the HE-560 is the least offensive in that region compared to many non-Stax alternatives.
 
 
I think I still prefer the Focus Pads with strong clamp. The warmth that the Focus Pads A brings at looser fit is a bit on the leaner and forward side still. The Focus Pads with strong clamp gives a fuller and more relaxed sound.

Doesn't matter how sensitive your hearing is, those wires obstruct way too little to do anything. Saying you think it's not placebo doesn't mean it cannot be placebo .

 

[Bill-P]

  Doesn't matter how sensitive your hearing is, those wires obstruct way too little to do anything. Saying you think it's not placebo doesn't mean it cannot be placebo .

Well, what can I say? I can hear it, so... at least to me, it's audible. Placebo or not.
 
I do use another headphone (my ES10) to compare to make sure I'm not just imaging it, too.
 
It's funny how I was ready to write it off, but it turns out these differences are amplified to my ears. 

 

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Wow, get busy with a project from work and by the time I get back to the thread Dr. Fang has started shipping revised 560's with a metal retainer and new Focus Pads! Wow, thought I had accomplished something by ordering my full compliment of materials for the Jerg Mods.

Bill-P, could you please send pictures of your new Focus Pads, pretty please! Jerg, what sonic changes do you think the new metal parts have? Thurston have you heard from HiFiman about ordering the new parts?!?! Interesting times for 560 Owners!

 

[Bill-P]

Well, check the last page or so. I already posted a photo of my pads.

 

[money4me247]

Wow, get busy with a project from work and by the time I get back to the thread Dr. Fang has started shipping revised 560's with a metal retainer and new Focus Pads! Wow, thought I had accomplished something by ordering my full compliment of materials for the Jerg Mods.

Bill-P, could you please send pictures of your new Focus Pads, pretty please! Jerg, what sonic changes do you think the new metal parts have? Thurston have you heard from HiFiman about ordering the new parts?!?! Interesting times for 560 Owners!

would be nice to have a ruler next to the newer thicker pads vs old pads so we can see exactly how they measure & if the difference would be worth it.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Bill-P, thanks, found the pic, the post wasn't show on my phone when I posted the request. there appears to be a difference, hmmmm........

 

[Bill-P]

I found that the difference is most likely due to the fit more than anything, though.
 
With stronger clamping force, the Focus Pads seem to get warmer.
 
So maybe try that before running out to purchase new pads?

 

[Shazb0t]

I would say there are no new pads.  Maybe some variation in manufacturing.  The huge differences you are proclaiming were enough to make me hesitant.  The small part of the wire obstructing the diaphragm being audible made it pretty obvious.  Buy a blindfold?  Thanks for the pictures though.

 

[Bill-P]

It's not "small", though.
 
The wires from each of the driver baffles in my HE-560 obstruct up to half of the enclosure.
 

 
 
Seriously, if you don't believe me, put a finger up next to the opening in the back, and then tell me the sound doesn't change?
 
If something as small as "fazor" could make a difference, then that "small wire" would make a difference acoustically because it's diffusing the wave that's traveling to the back.

 

[ThurstonX]

Wow, get busy with a project from work and by the time I get back to the thread Dr. Fang has started shipping revised 560's with a metal retainer and new Focus Pads! Wow, thought I had accomplished something by ordering my full compliment of materials for the Jerg Mods.

Bill-P, could you please send pictures of your new Focus Pads, pretty please! Jerg, what sonic changes do you think the new metal parts have? Thurston have you heard from HiFiman about ordering the new parts?!?! Interesting times for 560 Owners!

 
No, no reply from HFM yet, but in the past their emails come when I'm sleeping, which must be presently.  Fear not, WildCat, I'll let the thread know if/when I get a reply.  My suspicion is they'll say, Sorry, no, but I'll hold out a wee bit of hope.

 

[ThurstonX]

Bill-P, thanks, found the pic, the post wasn't show on my phone when I posted the request. there appears to be a difference, hmmmm........

 
FWIW, the difference seems equivalent to the difference I see between the foam of my deconstructed FPs and FPAs.