Got the headphone at work today. Couldn't resist and opened them up and plugged them in the Dangerous Source.
Few comments on the aesthetic and ergonomics aspect. Negative first (of course):
- The new case looks elegant but still feels a bit cheap and not very sturdy. It is made of wood and mine already has a small crack in one corner.
- The metal plate on the case also had finger prints and has few scratches.
- There is no rubber on the bottom side so it is prone to scratches.
- There are 2 pairs of small holes at the bottom that have some drilling traces.
- One of my ear-cups looks a bit porous (for lack of better word): it has tiny holes on the surface. I don't know if that can affect durability. It is just a comment.
- The plastic swivel are not perfectly finished. There are some traces of machining left.
- The cable looks and feels cheap (the sleeve is "loose" so it pinches when you bend the cable). It is heavy, too, which goes against all the effort in reducing the headphones weight...
Please bring back the HE-4 cable, I'm begging you...!
- This would need confirmation when I get home tonight, but these don't feel much lighter than my HE-5LE.
Now on the good side:
+ The headband system adjusts very nicely to my head.
+ The pads are
extremely comfy. Looks like they finally brought back the old plush velour feeling of my HE-4. I love that! No issue with the smaller opening so far. If anything, the contact with the velour is welcome.
+ The angling of the cable is a good improvement.
Overall the finish is still not a strong point with these headphones and their packaging... but I didn't have particularly high expectations, even at this price. The box looks nice and all, but its durability is uncertain (the crack is getting bigger while I'm typing this...) and I can't find a justification for the 2 wholes at the bottom
. It's definitely no Oppo here.
The headphone itself is definitely an improvement over the previous line, but the competition (PM-1; I didn't find my LCD-X particularly better than Hifiman) pushed the bar much further than the HE-560.
I cannot listen to these very loud in the open space, but the few minutes I had listening to these is very promising! Like the best traits of both the HE-4 and HE-5LE. Treble, while nicely present, don't sound aggressive at all to me! Good stuff.
More in due time.