[Hifi59]

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.

No, I would NOT recommend that cable. I bought that same one from Dyson. The company is excellent, but I heard no difference with that cable. Step up to a Cardas cable 24x4 will do fine. Dyson will build to order. He's a great guy and wants you to be happy with product.

 

[Hifi59]

Here is some headphone porn for you guys to drool over  :

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

Gulp! I want them now!

 

[plektret]

No, I would NOT recommend that cable. I bought that same one from Dyson. The company is excellent, but I heard no difference with that cable. Step up to a Cardas cable 24x4 will do fine. Dyson will build to order. He's a great guy and wants you to be happy with product.

 

Both Cardas cables and Hifiman cables are too expensive for me, especially since I need 3 meters. I've already ordered the Dyson, but as long as it has at least equal SQ compared to Hifiman stock + great durability, I'm happy.

 

[cs098]

Was about to recommend these ones.
 
www.bestintheversecables.com. But I guess I was too late.

 

[rawrster]

  Was about to recommend these ones.
 
www.bestintheversecables.com. But I guess I was too late.

 
Do you have any of those? I ran into that website a few weeks ago but didn't see any information about them. I have enough Hifiman cables but good to know for future refernce.

 

[DreamKing]

   
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.

 
In this same thread someone compared their Gungnir + Lyr 2 and H10 + X12 and also interchangeably, in detail. They came to the conclusion that keeping the same brand for the the dac + amp worked better. It was pollitbureau (or I'm probably spelling that wrong). 

 

[conquerator2]

I think sticking to the same brand for DAC and amp is not necessary. If anything it might be convenient (like audiogd and their ACSS) but synergy is not the reason I would bother to stick to one brand. I have a 90s American R2R DAC and a modern Chinese diamond differential amp
Not exactly matched but the synergy is out of this world with my HE560
That said, +1 for the Gustard stack. The X12 is great and the H10 reportedly too!
Gungnir was a personal letdown :/ a D-S R2R wanna be...

 

[398698]

I've run into some trouble with He-560 headphones over the past year. I've had to return the headphones multiple times due to the strange "popping" sounds in the drivers, scratches on the gimbals, etc. With the qc issues at Hifiman, I asked for a replacement but this time they said they will be giving me a refund on the headphones. A rep emailed me to return the headphones where I pay for shipping. Okay that's fair, but over the past several months I've had to pay an exorbitant amount of fees for shipping and wait quite a bit while I received my new pair. Now since I'm receiving a "refund," I shipped my cans yesterday and the company informed me today that they don't have the figures on how much I will be refunded. I'm pissed beyond belief now because they can technically say that they'll refund me half the price and I'll have lost the fees on shipping once again. This company has been driving me crazy but hopefully I can get the whole refund because they aren't replacing my cans. I thought customer service was plus for this company; I've had to deal with a myriad of issues in the short time I've had these.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I've run into some trouble with He-560 headphones over the past year. I've had to return the headphones multiple times due to the strange "popping" sounds in the drivers, scratches on the gimbals, etc. With the qc issues at Hifiman, I asked for a replacement but this time they said they will be giving me a refund on the headphones. A rep emailed me to return the headphones where I pay for shipping. Okay that's fair, but over the past several months I've had to pay an exorbitant amount of fees for shipping and wait quite a bit while I received my new pair. Now since I'm receiving a "refund," I shipped my cans yesterday and the company informed me today that they don't have the figures on how much I will be refunded. I'm pissed beyond belief now because they can technically say that they'll refund me half the price and I'll have lost the fees on shipping once again. This company has been driving me crazy but hopefully I can get the whole refund because they aren't replacing my cans. I thought customer service was plus for this company; I've had to deal with a myriad of issues in the short time I've had these.

No, not a strength at all, very short-sighted if you ask me. I would have offered you a full-refund long ago simply to avoid having you invested in my company with continued reasons to post negative impressions. That is the smart business protection rationale, and then of course there is doing the right thing. As you know, I have spoken out quite strongly against HiFi Man allowing customers to get killed by these multiple time shipping fees for product defects.
 
I will admit, as good as my experience was with the 560, quite the opposite of yours, I'm not sure I want to take my chance again on their quality control issues. For those people buying with the Canadian dollar for instance, the exchange rate already inflates our real cost and I can't imagine how quickly adding extra shipping into the mix would make the cost of ownership versus rewards unfavourable.
 
Too bad HiFi Man can't see that in some situations you can't hold the customers feet to the fire like this. Very sad really.

 

[conquerator2]

It is even worse if you are in Europe... My local curency is banking hard (dolar is about 20% more now than it used to be). Plus imports and taxes.
Now, Hifiman has always done good by me, just as their dealers have (thumbs up for headamp and stereodesk!) but the QC issues are a significant issue.
Then again, I have had issues with other Chinese companies like Agd and Gustard, so I am not sure how much worser HFM is.
Still, great sounding products! They just need to do something about QC.
Hopefully the HEK is the step in that direction. The 400S should show whether the same standards will be kept for lower priced models...

 

[cs098]

 
No, not a strength at all, very short-sighted if you ask me. I would have offered you a full-refund long ago simply to avoid having you invested in my company with continued reasons to post negative impressions. That is the smart business protection rationale, and then of course there is doing the right thing. As you know, I have spoken out quite strongly against HiFi Man allowing customers to get killed by these multiple time shipping fees for product defects.
 
I will admit, as good as my experience was with the 560, quite the opposite of yours, I'm not sure I want to take my chance again on their quality control issues. For those people buying with the Canadian dollar for instance, the exchange rate already inflates our real cost and I can't imagine how quickly adding extra shipping into the mix would make the cost of ownership versus rewards unfavourable.
 
Too bad HiFi Man can't see that in some situations you can't hold the customers feet to the fire like this. Very sad really.

Ihat's why I buy it from a local dealer, I get to at least check if the headphone is fine before buying and he will guarantee a good warranty if something goes wrong within a year.
 

   
Do you have any of those? I ran into that website a few weeks ago but didn't see any information about them. I have enough Hifiman cables but good to know for future refernce.

 
I haven't tied them yet but the guy behind does have a reddit account and posts quite often. Couldn't find the ama but.
 
http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/2j8r4v/i_got_some_of_those_fancy_cables_from/
 
http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/288jhc/so_my_website_is_up_and_running_best_in_the_verse/
 
 
He doesn't claim the cables will change the sound.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Ihat's why I buy it from a local dealer, I get to at least check if the headphone is fine before buying and he will guarantee a good warranty if something goes wrong within a year.
 
 
I haven't tied them yet but the guy behind does have a reddit account and posts quite often. Couldn't find the ama but.
 
http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/2j8r4v/i_got_some_of_those_fancy_cables_from/
 
http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/288jhc/so_my_website_is_up_and_running_best_in_the_verse/
 
 
He doesn't claim the cables will change the sound.

Even local dealers will put you to HiFi Man directly if there is a continued issue, you can bet on that. They aren't going to absorb a huge hit either. Seriously, even though the HFM reps come through this thread they don't even defend their record in an open and transparent manner. I guess they think if they just pretend these posts don't keep coming up the problems will go away.
 
News flash HFM, thousands of people read these posts and you have no way of knowing how many customers never give your products a chance after reading so many such posts. I think this is beyond the pale. How company's survive when they ignore huge issues like this is beyond me. Seriously HFM, Dr. Fang should post a response in this thread, let his customers and customers to be know that he takes these issues seriously.

 

[rawrster]

  Ihat's why I buy it from a local dealer, I get to at least check if the headphone is fine before buying and he will guarantee a good warranty if something goes wrong within a year.
 
 
I haven't tied them yet but the guy behind does have a reddit account and posts quite often. Couldn't find the ama but.
 
http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/2j8r4v/i_got_some_of_those_fancy_cables_from/
 
http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/288jhc/so_my_website_is_up_and_running_best_in_the_verse/
 
 
He doesn't claim the cables will change the sound.

 
Thanks for the info. I'm almost never on reddit and not for headphone stuff. I've been looking for a cheap cable for my Shure iem's so this could certainly be an option. The cheaper the better for me assuming it is built well. I don't believe in any sound changes although I've tried. I have too many cables for someone who doesn't believe in sound changes as well...

 

[Sonic Defender]

I get extra pissy about the quality control as I really, really liked my 560s, and I'm quite disappointed that I can't just purchase HFM gear without really being nervous about quality issues. I hope that if enough people get tough on them in public they will step up and put better quality control checks in place. I know there will always be issues, but clearly the issues HFM seems to stumble with are rather low-hanging fruit. For the record love their gear so I don't have an axe to grind, I just want them to improve so I can lay out more money without worry about tiny annoyances.

 

[StanD]

  I get extra pissy about the quality control as I really, really liked my 560s, and I'm quite disappointed that I can't just purchase HFM gear without really being nervous about quality issues. I hope that if enough people get tough on them in public they will step up and put better quality control checks in place. I know there will always be issues, but clearly the issues HFM seems to stumble with are rather low-hanging fruit. For the record love their gear so I don't have an axe to grind, I just want them to improve so I can lay out more money without worry about tiny annoyances.

These are not cheap headphones so there is no excuse for not delivering a proper quality product that should please almost all customers and they should make good on the units that don't live up to reasonable expectations.