[Exacoustatowner]

Thanks Headwhacker. Bad wording on my part. The Lyr has more than enough power at the input level my Oppo BDP105D puts out.
Listening typically at 12 Noon for Classical SACD. Otherwise some of the peaks are too loud. For most other music 10:30 is good.
I keep my average down under 85db

quote name="headwhacker" url="/t/711824/hifiman-he-560-impressions-discussion-thread/12510#post_11467934"]Planar's impedance is linear and purely resistive across the frequency range. So it's most likely the power requirement is also linear and doesn't need much headroom from your target SPL. 

If you find the 6-Watt Lyr just good enough for HE-560 it may not have enough gain or the source output is weak. To put that into perspective my O2 at 3.5x gain and ODAC as source is more than good enough for most music genre. Volume pot position is between 12 o'clock to 3o'clock. But it's just good enough for classical music because the volume pot needs to be at 3 o'clock minimum. 

If I use my G109 (2W @ 50ohms) with ODAC and overall gain set to 14dB, the volume pot travels between 11 - 1 o'clock for most genre. For classical music I can only push it to 2:30 position maximum. I imagine a 1W amp is the ideal for HE-560.

120dB is on the high side and at this level you risk hearing damage. I don't mind have an amp capable of driving a headphone at this level or even more as long as the source/gain combination is somewhere less than that. 

When I look for an amp to power a headphone my target SPL is 115 dB with 1-3 dB headroom. So anything between 116dB to 118dB for me is the ideal amp for a given headphone.
[/quote]

 

[headwhacker]

Thanks Headwhacker. Bad wording on my part. The Lyr has more than enough power at the input level my Oppo BDP105D puts out.
Listening typically at 12 Noon for Classical SACD. Otherwise some of the peaks are too loud. For most other music 10:30 is good.
I keep my average down under 85db

quote name="headwhacker" url="/t/711824/hifiman-he-560-impressions-discussion-thread/12510#post_11467934"]Planar's impedance is linear and purely resistive across the frequency range. So it's most likely the power requirement is also linear and doesn't need much headroom from your target SPL. 

If you find the 6-Watt Lyr just good enough for HE-560 it may not have enough gain or the source output is weak. To put that into perspective my O2 at 3.5x gain and ODAC as source is more than good enough for most music genre. Volume pot position is between 12 o'clock to 3o'clock. But it's just good enough for classical music because the volume pot needs to be at 3 o'clock minimum. 

If I use my G109 (2W @ 50ohms) with ODAC and overall gain set to 14dB, the volume pot travels between 11 - 1 o'clock for most genre. For classical music I can only push it to 2:30 position maximum. I imagine a 1W amp is the ideal for HE-560.

120dB is on the high side and at this level you risk hearing damage. I don't mind have an amp capable of driving a headphone at this level or even more as long as the source/gain combination is somewhere less than that. 

When I look for an amp to power a headphone my target SPL is 115 dB with 1-3 dB headroom. So anything between 116dB to 118dB for me is the ideal amp for a given headphone.

[/quote]

 
85dB appears to be the average for most people. But classical music has peaks up to 30dB. Hence, the 115dB target.

 

[nicolo]

Whoa. Even 85db id super loud. 70-75db is bearable for me and most of my friends. 

 

[headwhacker]

  Whoa. Even 85db id super loud. 70-75db is bearable for me and most of my friends. 

 
That is taking into account all type of music, compression and dynamic range. Have you listen to a classical music? Compare it to modern pop and I'm sure you will find yourself turning the volume higher than usual. Music is not a flat line signal. It has a peak and trough.

 

[DreamKing]

Vinyl also needs more volume than CD's. Higher bitrate digital files too. Masters are compressed differently. There's so many different variables that getting maximum 120dB (short term exposure can cause permanent hearing impairment)  is ideal in all cases. That isn't to mean you literally can listen to anything at 120dB (average should be 85 dB max for most music), it's to take into account peaks and all recordings. 115 db is much safer though because it takes into account, like headwhacker said, of the +30 dB from the average sustained 85 dB's for typical music (more can cause hearing damage). 
 
Movies are a different story for me though and in most cases require a little more volume than what I set classical music to. 

 

[StanD]

  Vinyl also needs more volume than CD's. Higher bitrate digital files too. Masters are compressed differently. There's so many different variables that getting maximum 120dB's (short term exposure can cause permanent hearing impairment)  is ideal in all cases. That isn't to mean you literally will listen at 120dB's (average should be 85 dB's max for most music), it's to take into account peaks and all recordings. 115 db is much safer though because it takes into account, like headwhacker said, of the +30 dB from the average sustained 85 dB's for typical music (more can cause hearing damage). 
 
Movies are a different story for me though and in most cases require a little more volume than what I set classical music to. 

Yeah, all the shoot'in, kill'in and blowing Schiit up is a very loud experience.

 

[DreamKing]

  Yeah, all the shoot'in, kill'in and blowing Schiit up is a very loud experience.

 
The action stuff is of course set to a lower volume lol but I mostly watch stuff with subtler volume and when they're set to a volume I'd listen to the majority of my classical recordings at, it is quieter than desired.

 

[jon1]

  These ****ing cans are so comfortable....like holy ****. Weightless.  The sound:  effortless natural sound. Soundstage and imaging, in particular, is unlike anything I've heard (I'm coming from AKG K550's as my main headphone). I don't hear any harshness whatsoever in the treble or upper mids, probably thanks to my amp. Just smooth, natural sound. Coherent succession of notes, every instrument is distinct in the plane of sound. I'm in love. Will upgrade my dac next, maybe add a power amp right after to use my current amp as a pre and then I'm done for awhile.
 
Similar sound signature to my k550's; first thing I noticed in comparison is the soundstage is much larger (3d holographic), my 24 bit/96khz or greater rips sound astounding and the details are elevated by a good margin. Sound artifacts (in vinyl rips for example) stick out plain as day. Goes without saying, I'm hearing things I hadn't with material I'm extremely familiar with. 320 kbps of competently mastered records sound sublime though. It doesn't ruin any of my lower bitrate content. Artifacts already present on the recording are the only thing I notice more clearly now.
Bass is robust and textured with my content with heavy low bass (hip hop, edm, etc.). Much more details in the lows vs the k550s. 
 
Nothing in the frequency response sticks out to me. With dynamic headphones/iem's I notice certain areas of the sound being highlighted, with the HE-560, however,everything is on the same vast plane. I don't know if this is a characteristic of planar magnetic headphones but I like it. The combination of its comfortable design added with this non-fatiguing sound makes it a perfect choice for an all-rounder for long sessions.
The only thing I'd like is a little more euphony in the dynamics but maybe that has to do with the burn-in time (at least 150 hours, going by the owner's guide). 
 
So far, I'm impressed.

Well it looks like i will have to try a pair

 
 
 
 
 
jon

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Well it looks like i will have to try a pair

 
 
 
 
 
jon

A very good decision. Well driven the 560s are very, very good.

 

[jon1]

 
A very good decision. Well driven the 560s are very, very good.

See how they fair up against my lcd-2

 
 
 
jon

 

[Sonic Defender]

  See how they fair up against my lcd-2

 
 
 
jon

If you do that make sure to listen to just the 560 for at least a solid week. In my experience (and most people it seems) when coming from a warm headphone more neutral headphones can be less engaging. Give your brain some time to adjust to the new sound signature and then you can tell how they fit into your listening habits. I heard an LCD 2 recently and they are very nice. I still prefer the 560 myself, but I could easily live with the LCD so I think for you that is a nice combination of two excellent sounding headphones.

 

[money4me247]

  If you do that make sure to listen to just the 560 for at least a solid week. In my experience (and most people it seems) when coming from a warm headphone more neutral headphones can be less engaging. Give your brain some time to adjust to the new sound signature and then you can tell how they fit into your listening habits. I heard an LCD 2 recently and they are very nice. I still prefer the 560 myself, but I could easily live with the LCD so I think for you that is a nice combination of two excellent sounding headphones.

+1. jumping between the he-560 vs dark audeze headphones is quite a difference. definitely need some 'brain burn-in' time to appreciate their different sound signatures.

 

[DreamKing]

 
If you do that make sure to listen to just the 560 for at least a solid week. In my experience (and most people it seems) when coming from a warm headphone more neutral headphones can be less engaging. Give your brain some time to adjust to the new sound signature and then you can tell how they fit into your listening habits. I heard an LCD 2 recently and they are very nice. I still prefer the 560 myself, but I could easily live with the LCD so I think for you that is a nice combination of two excellent sounding headphones.

 
I can see it taking time to get used to the sound signature (still rediscovering my music with this sound). For me, coming from a bright headphone, the bite I got used to for about 2 years is the most drastic change. I wouldn't call the HE-560 bright at all out of my chain. Neutral describes it best. It has control in balancing the sound. I'm still getting accustomed to hearing my music like this. At this point, I think bright headphones have a tendency to sound, deceivingly in a lot of cases, more detailed when doing a quick A/B comparison with more subdued headphones. For long listening sessions, however, neutral is the way to go for me. Less fatiguing and more pleasing long term. Especially when you take into account the jump I went from in realism, natural decay, transparency and the rest of the qualities expected from high end headphones...terrific. 

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

  See how they fair up against my lcd-2

 
 
 
jon

From all the reading I've done, I think the HE560 is better than the LCD2 as far as being technical. The LCD2 does offer colouring of the sound if that's what you're after or used to but then even more reading has me believing that PM1 or PM2 should be a better buy over an LCD2. Just my 2 strips

 

[money4me247]

  From all the reading I've done, I think the HE560 is better than the LCD2 as far as being technical. The LCD2 does offer colouring of the sound if that's what you're after or used to but then even more reading has me believing that PM1 or PM2 should be a better buy over an LCD2. Just my 2 strips

no need to read. I have the lcd-x (which is technically better than the lcd-2, have demoed the lcd-2 briefly) and I personally find the HE-560 to have superior technically abilities regarding sound quality.
 
HOWEVER, sound signature preferences weigh a lot more heavily than the subtle technical differences in performance, so one can easily find the audeze sound signature more enjoyable. click the lcd-x vs he-560 link in my sig if you want to read my personal comparative impressions.