[DreamKing]

Do you hear the rattle if you run a flat response curve on the EQ?
3 db doesn't sound like much to most, but depending on the EQ you are using can mean a doubling of power at the selected frequency.

 
Yeah, I still hear it even without it. It's not about 30Hz and down but sub-bass in general. I can see the dead air between the earpad and cup in one area though so I can understand how sealing would improve it.
 

Too bad about the driver problem. A couple of things. Several people have mentioned that they did a sort of quick and dirty sealing mod. Simply used some kind of tape to seal around the seam between the pad and the housing. This might allow you to see if the mod would actually fix your problem without going to the ...much harder to reverse, Hot glue mod. Second, at one point Jerg was recommending using any one of many Silicon, Room Temperature Vulcanizing sealer. You can pick up a tube of GE or similar RTV sealer just about anywhere that sells any kind of glue. Using the correct type and using it sparingly, it releases fairly easily and is pretty easy to peel off if you need to work on the drivers later. Or is you just decide to reverse the mod.

 

I'm not using hot glue. I'm going to be using the exact same sealant RTV Jerg recommends. I said "glue" because he referred to the mod as "silicone glue method" in PM. So, it's completely reversible.
 

Thanks for the heads up on this rattle. I haven't heard any yet on my pair, bought in May recently, and in retrospect, I don't have that many tracks with really deep sub bass below 20 Hz. Maybe will play some Mezzanine or something, to check.

 
I didn't say below 20 Hz nor meant it, so apologize for the confusion. This is 20-60Hz, all hearable. I ran test tones of all those frequencies to make sure. More audible the lower you go from 60hz. I do hear it a lot on quiet deep sub bass resonance but I can hear it from deep piano resonance in the sub bass a lot too or any instrument/effect that has resonance that low, so genre doesn't matter. So it has/can happen in any movie/video or game as well. I turned off the Windows error sound because it happens there too.
 
The piano, as an instrument, inherently has a resonance at ~40-60Hz. Chopin is unplayable for me and so is anything I have piano related with moderate use of resonance..

 

[plektret]

My stock Hifiman cable is broken. Would anyone recommend this cable for HE560?:
Handmade Dyson Audio Gotham Starquad Hifiman Headphone Cable 3 Meter 1/4"
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Handmade-Dyson-Audio-Gotham-Starquad-Hifiman-Headphone-Cable-3-Meter-1-4-/261862061115?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cf831f43b

BTW: I had a awful rattle in the left driver after dropping them on the floor. The rattling disappeared when I opened them and tightened the screws/nuts holding the driver.

 

[JamesBr]

Not if you do it with a spare set of pads.

 
What would be the difference with another pair?

 

[DreamKing]

BTW: I had a awful rattle in the left driver after dropping them on the floor. The rattling disappeared when I opened them and tightened the screws/nuts holding the driver.

 
I never dropped them but tried this anyway since I noticed the screws were a bit loose in the rattling driver. Still rattles on sub-bass resonance. Getting the silicone sealant in a few hours.

 

[mandrake50]

Money Wrote:
I've always had difficulty hearing differences between earpads, though I did not try jerg-mod earpads for the HE-560 as that seems a bit too permanent of a mod for me

And I answered him!

The mod to the pads is permanent looking at it from the perspective of the pads, but the pads can be changed on the headphone. So using a spare set of pads... one can always put the stock ones back on.. hence, the mod is not permanent from the perspective of the headphone.

 

[DreamKing]

Maybe he meant the "glueing" seems permanent, because by glancing at the pics in the mod thread one can mistake it for hot glue. It's only after I pm'ed jerg about the rattling that I discovered it's just RTV silicone sealant.

 

[DreamKing]

LOL, I fixed it without the RTV sealant. I did two things: I noticed the screws were a bit "loose" but the aluminium ring was uneven in the spot where I notice the rattle, not entirely flat to the cup. The fact that the screws were a bit loose didn't make the ring loose in any way though. I evened out the ring by unscrewing the screws in that spot and flattening the ring. The screws weren't straight in that spot apparently. I screwed them in tight again when the ring was flat. I think this fixed it.
 
Then I noticed a very slight part of the bottom of the left earpad, where it seals to the plastic-clip ring, was unglued (the spot is exactly where I notice the rattle too). So Hifiman apparently uses RTV silicone on their earpads, to seal it to the plastic-clip ring. I re-sealed it with duct tape pieces. Don't know if this did anything.
 
Put on the headphones and listened...No more rattle and sub-bass is tighter. So tight that I removed the low shelf filter EQ I said I was using because it audibly messes up the sound now. I wanna thank @plektret for making me focus on the aluminium ring. 
 
I'm gonna switch the tape and do a full RTV silicone mod tonight maybe the resonant sub-bass can get tighter to my ears, as jerg suggests. Close proximity solo piano resonance is slightly grainy or unnatural at high notes, easily audible in a cascade of high notes but it doesn't rattle the driver in any way now. No noticeable grain for pianos at more normal distances. Really interesting that a slight difference can destroy resonance. I'm not that disappointed with Hifiman quality control anymore. Build quality could be more resistant and tight, but that's it.

 

[tretneo]

I've been reading so many positive opinions of the Gustard H10 > HE-560 pairing that I'm considering picking one up (right now my main dac/amp is the Marantz HD-DAC1) to "hear" what all the fuss is about. What sub $500 DAC should I be looking at to complete the stack? I'd love something iDevice compatible but it isn't a requirement.
 
PC > ???? > H10 > HE-560

 

[money4me247]

maybe the gustard x12

 

[tretneo]

  maybe the gustard x12

 
I've been looking at that one, there doesn't appear to be as much discussion about it as other DACs. Not sure if that's a bad thing but I'm wondering if there are other options that people generally prefer or feel is a better fit.

 

[money4me247]

 
I've been looking at that one, there doesn't appear to be as much discussion about it as other DACs. Not sure if that's a bad thing but I'm wondering if there are other options that people generally prefer or feel is a better fit.

I think with dac preferences it is really a lot more subjective & personal which one you like. don't think there is really any universal consensus. people have different preferences.
 
I personally just went for the complimentary dac made by the same company as they may tune their products relative to each other. So if Lyr2 > Bifrost, if H10 > X12. it's really hard to get an opportunity to demo a lot of different dacs, so after you own one, you may be able to better gauge what sort of presentation you are looking for and then look to comparative reviews for your next purchase.

 

[cs098]

I quite like my fostex hp-a4. Very small and can double as a semi portable all in one amp/dac.

 

[Jozurr]

Here is some headphone porn for you guys to drool over 

:
 
HE-560 with hand made teak wooden cups http://imgur.com/a/Ev27o

 

[cs098]

heh that's Paul de groot he-560s. He posted those here quite a while ago. 
 
I'm still meaning to ask him if I could ship mine to him to do a similar recupping.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Yah, he did an amazing job. Looks sick. I say he should simply sell detailed plans that people could buy and take to a local carpenter/woodworker. Better than shipping stuff around.