= HiFiMAN HE-560 Impressions & Discussion Thread =
Jun 2, 2014 at 3:45 PM Post #3,256 of 21,171
UP-OCC cable :)
 
Jun 2, 2014 at 3:57 PM Post #3,258 of 21,171
 
Hifiman-US/Dr Fang said new OCC cable for better musicality on the new release!

 
will this same new OCC cable be delivered with the HE-400i as well?
 
Jun 2, 2014 at 3:59 PM Post #3,259 of 21,171
6N OCC cable will be fantastic !
 
Jun 2, 2014 at 4:17 PM Post #3,261 of 21,171
OCC is the way to go (from my headphone cable experience).


Hope HE-560 OCC cable will be without aging problems HE-6 one had (oxidation, contact loss).


You need Litz wire to eliminate oxidation, it is coated with enamel and never oxidizes!

How do you solder it? Melt the enamel first?
 
Jun 2, 2014 at 6:33 PM Post #3,265 of 21,171
Someone has already mentioned that Fang said at the Newport show, he was hoping for the third week in June. I wouldn't be surprised if the actual date ended up being early July. New cups, new damping materials and new cable are fairly significant changes. 


I think they explicitly promised it won't be July :D
So I guess mid to late June... Or August :D
 
Jun 2, 2014 at 8:03 PM Post #3,267 of 21,171
i have been waiting too long for the he560. any further delays and i give my cash to audeze.
If you do, don't complain that your pair doesn't sound like your neighbors and your neck pain :p
What gears and sound preference do you have? It's hardly conceivable to like both the 560 and any Audeze on the same setup.
 
Jun 2, 2014 at 8:09 PM Post #3,268 of 21,171
 
 
OCC is the way to go (from my headphone cable experience).


Hope HE-560 OCC cable will be without aging problems HE-6 one had (oxidation, contact loss).


You need Litz wire to eliminate oxidation, it is coated with enamel and never oxidizes!

How do you solder it? Melt the enamel first?


How need a solder pot to tin it so the enamel burns off and the solder penetrates into the wire, 750 F........
 
Jun 2, 2014 at 8:22 PM Post #3,269 of 21,171
I got back from the Newport show late last night.  It was a pleasure to speak with Eric from HiFiMan's NY office on several occasions on Sunday at the show.  I think Fang must have left for home by then.  
 

 
The HE-560 on the left is the reddish finish, the middle phone is the lighter, more natural finish, and the one on the right is my pre-order teak, which actually looks darker and less red and more boring in person than shown in the picture.  These pictures were taken without a flash, but with indoor lighting of course.  I preferred the more natural color to the reddish color.  The reddish color makes a bigger impression initially but I think long term I would be happier with the natural, but I could live with either one.  They will pick only one for production however.  That is smart decision for a small company like them.  The new models definitely look like they have wood veneer trim vs solid wood, which is of course is what they are.  Anyone who has the pre-order versions can keep theirs if they prefer not to get the latest version because of looks.  
 
I compared the new version with my pre-order set using their EF6 amp, and based on that, I want the new version regardless of looks.  Comparing open headphones in a large busy and fairly noisy room makes hearing small differences hard, but I thought the improvement in the new version was fairly significant.  The overall balance remains about the same, but the new version is much more transparent...like veils were lifted.  This was evident across the frequency range.  I asked Eric how much was due to the change in the cable vs the headphone itself, and he said it was mostly due to the added baffling that the new housing allowed them to add that was not possible with the solid teak housing.  He said the cable change, which was to upgrade the purity of the copper conductors (used along with silver) was more of a minor tuning tweak.  I noticed that the new cable seemed to be a little less stiff, even though it seemed slightly thicker in that it filled the pvc cover better.  By the way this new version still had the old pads, although that will be changed for the production version to one with a large opening.
 

Here is a picture of another pair that used a WyWires balanced cable on a Schiit amp.  
 
I also briefly discussed with Eric the upcoming electrostatic headphone and amp.  They will start out with a statement product that will be pretty expensive, and then try to trickle down from there with other models eventually.  They will try to make the headphone compatible with Stax amps but that is secondary to getting the best sound.  They are also working on some ear buds that will have really deep bass for a change.  I hope they can pull that off, as I don't care for IEMs myself.
 
FYI, you can click on the pictures for a bigger view.
 

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