[FlySweep]

 

 

[hifimanrookie]

Yep.. that's what I picked up last night.. $3.. seems flexible enough to cut through fairly easily.. but won't collapse in a stiff breeze.

Yep..i found them very good also..sturdy but also flexible enough to keep them fixed and on their spot..Just be careful when handling with the sharp sides..i cut two fingers open...oops i see u already posted the pics..lolz
Good job..looks very professional...my he500 looked almost the same...only without the brown circle.

 

[Odium Child]

More something like the asgard, then use the asus, I guess. Not really a believer in spending extreme amounts on amps and DACs. I'm like 85% with StanD on that one.
Pick your poison and don't hesitate to ask questions. And I think the first question you should ask yourself is what you actually expect and want from a great amp/DAC

I primarily listen to metal and ska, but I do listen to a bunch of other genres as well. I want to hear everything the guitars have to offer and I also want to have a pleasant experience with the brass in ska.

I'm also a big gamer so I know the sound stage will work well for me along with watching movies as well.

I just don't want to "waste money" by getting something subpar and I also don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for a "5%" difference in quality.

I hope I'm conveying what I want well enough.

 

[MattTCG]

 
 

 
Looks really good N...

 

[davidsh]

 

More something like the asgard, then use the asus, I guess. Not really a believer in spending extreme amounts on amps and DACs. I'm like 85% with StanD on that one.
Pick your poison and don't hesitate to ask questions. And I think the first question you should ask yourself is what you actually expect and want from a great amp/DAC

I primarily listen to metal and ska, but I do listen to a bunch of other genres as well. I want to hear everything the guitars have to offer and I also want to have a pleasant experience with the brass in ska.

I'm also a big gamer so I know the sound stage will work well for me along with watching movies as well.

I just don't want to "waste money" by getting something subpar and I also don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for a "5%" difference in quality.

I hope I'm conveying what I want well enough.

Prepare to broaden your taste.. One of the few genres where I thought HE-560 didn't excel was metal. Lacked some energy in the upper mids, bass could have been more present too aka. not offering all the guitars have to offer. Of the bunch I own, I prefer my Stax Sigma and 5LE for metal, 2 different flavors that work well. 5LE for energy and in-face, Sigma for up-close, present vocals/mid-ragne and fleshed out bass, though with good space (obviously).
 
I am happy with my setup, at least until I find my end-game 'phone. Then I might invest a bit, though not through the roof. Just for something reference like an ODAC and whatever solid state amp that appeals.
 
Good luck.
 
As you game, that's an even bigger reason to keep the asus in your chain, though it does have digital out which could work fine too.

 

[hifimanrookie]

I primarily listen to metal and ska, but I do listen to a bunch of other genres as well. I want to hear everything the guitars have to offer and I also want to have a pleasant experience with the brass in ska.

I'm also a big gamer so I know the sound stage will work well for me along with watching movies as well.

I just don't want to "waste money" by getting something subpar and I also don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for a "5%" difference in quality.

I hope I'm conveying what I want well enough.

I like metal..like rammstein, evenasence, within temptation etc etc..and for me the he500 with the 337and tungsol tubes gave the guitars flesh and those low voices of the lead singers..scary low..and the opera voice of the lady singer of evenascence..and those fast main guitarists..as fast as they can be....u cant ask for anything more..never the treble got to aggressive or the bass lacking..i used it with classica, and modern and more vintage hiphop (ice t, eminem etc) with huge swings from very low basses to violins playing in the back of the song...even enya, enigma etc. Did well... What about art of noise..those dudes used all kinds of sounds found in daily things and put that into tracks..all sounded real..lolz..try to find good quality of them..it will surprise u.

And those amps wont break the bank...so no one can accuse u for throwing money out the window for that 5 procent (using somebodys words) improvement...but i would go for a dac not being the asus...yulong, shiit, woo audio, violectric etc all have good dacs that will allow u to buy the 339/337 as well and some tubes...lolz

Hey david...how is that possible? That the he560 doesnt do well with metal? Did the sound signature change that much from the he500?... Or is it maybe just a matter of amp mismatch in ur case? As one of the genres of which i loved the he500 the most was with metal... Less with hiphop..but hey most of that is heavily compressed recorded anyway...for the rest the he500 was a wonderful phone with all genres..even huge church organs sounded pretty good...very low..not as low as the lcd2.2. But it was good..
But maybe ur just spoiled with the sound of what ur stax and ur he5le give u

I think reading ur words that maybe hifiman went in another way..more into detail..more a technically phone then what the he500 stood for: passion...have to listen to one to find out for real...but what i read here on this thread gives me a good indication of what the he560 is all about...

 

[FlySweep]

Just be careful when handling with the sharp sides..i cut two fingers open...oops i see u already posted the pics..lolz
Good job..looks very professional...my he500 looked almost the same...only without the brown circle.

 
Thanks.. and yes, the grill topper's edges are indeed sharp.. I suffered a few nicks (that I only realized after I was done cutting).. lol.  I kind of like the look, as well.. not as 'drab' as the stock 560.. but the new grill gives it a DIY feeling for sure..haha.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I primarily listen to metal and ska, but I do listen to a bunch of other genres as well. I want to hear everything the guitars have to offer and I also want to have a pleasant experience with the brass in ska.

I'm also a big gamer so I know the sound stage will work well for me along with watching movies as well.

I just don't want to "waste money" by getting something subpar and I also don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for a "5%" difference in quality.

I hope I'm conveying what I want well enough.

There are so many decent headphones out there, and I will dare say that if you are listening mostly to metal and other really energy filled genres you might not want a super detailed headphone anyway. I would take some time and not rush into a decision, although patience can be hard. Grado might be a sound signature you like, and perhaps even waiting to hear what happens with the HE 400i is a wise decision if you want to try the planar sound. I am not a total you must spend more to get better, but I still feel a decent amp and DAC is never wasted, as long as you don't get stupid about it. The Bifrost Uber is quite well respected as really good entry level gear (and entry level doesn't mean big sonic compromises, at least it doesn't have to mean that). The Grado PS500 might be worth considering (tons of Grad threads around here to read) and from my past experience I really liked the DT 880 with rock/metal, especially with tubes as they shave some of that nasty edge off. Again, this is very subjective, maybe you want all the nasty parts of the genre, and hey, more power to you (pun intended), but as a long time fan of rock/metal I am myself quite happy to not hear all of it as much of the energy is of the wall of sound variety and I am happy to listen with a portable rig to that.
 
The lake people amps are well respected, I almost picked one up, but I scored my A18 which I really like. I would have no issue saying if you see an A18 around the $600 mark that it is worth considering. Again, so many choices, I would start by really nailing down your headphone selection, buy a decent DAC (no need to go nuts there) and the amp can be decided on once the headphones are dealt with. Just some thoughts. 

 

[davidsh]

The HE-560 is actually very very different from HE-500.

 

[Rudiger]

Here is my new modded HE-560 !
More about that tomorrow on the dedicated thread.
 

 

 

[garunamodi]

I'm going to point out that (by specs alone) the O2 is comfortably able to drive the HE-560, for those looking for a solid-state solution.
 
This is not intended as a bash non-science post, but to point out a relatively cheap and very capable option for those who are tight on money but really like the HE-560's sound, and want something that'll work, at least until they wish to try out more expensive and varied tube amps.
 
For those who dispute this claim:

Spoiler: Warning: Numbers!

these have an impedance of 35R. The O2 can maximally output 140mA (current). V=IR=35*0.14=4.9V. This is well below the O2's 7Vrms.
 
Now using P=I^2 *R= 686mW. This is log10(686)=28dB more than the efficiency rating. For the HE-560 this is 90dB/mW, so the O2 can drive it to 118dB without distortion.

 

[moshen]

  I'm going to point out that (by specs alone) the O2 is comfortably able to drive the HE-560, for those looking for a solid-state solution.
 
This is not intended as a bash non-science post, but to point out a relatively cheap and very capable option for those who are tight on money but really like the HE-560's sound, and want something that'll work, at least until they wish to try out more expensive and varied tube amps.
 
For those who dispute this claim:

Spoiler: Warning: Numbers!

these have an impedance of 35R. The O2 can maximally output 140mA (current). V=IR=35*0.14=4.9V. This is well below the O2's 7Vrms.
 
Now using P=I^2 *R= 686mW. This is log10(686)=28dB more than the efficiency rating. For the HE-560 this is 90dB/mW, so the O2 can drive it to 118dB without distortion.

Yep, O2 is perfectly adequate with the HE-560!

 

[Rudiger]

Your post is very interesting to me. But i'm sure that listening is important too (and operating by comparisons).
For example I think that Magni also measure well ? However to my ears it does not sound good with the HE-560 compared to the C 356 BEE Nad (from the same Dac / source of course). Thin and lack of details. I'm far from being a supersonic audiophile (I can't hear the difference between Flac and 320 kbs MP3, sacrilege !) but yet I hear well the difference. But I do not know why !

 

[Sonic Defender]

  I'm going to point out that (by specs alone) the O2 is comfortably able to drive the HE-560, for those looking for a solid-state solution.
 
This is not intended as a bash non-science post, but to point out a relatively cheap and very capable option for those who are tight on money but really like the HE-560's sound, and want something that'll work, at least until they wish to try out more expensive and varied tube amps.
 
For those who dispute this claim:

Spoiler: Warning: Numbers!

these have an impedance of 35R. The O2 can maximally output 140mA (current). V=IR=35*0.14=4.9V. This is well below the O2's 7Vrms.
 
Now using P=I^2 *R= 686mW. This is log10(686)=28dB more than the efficiency rating. For the HE-560 this is 90dB/mW, so the O2 can drive it to 118dB without distortion.

 
I think we all accept that the O2 is capable, but the OP wasn't expressing budgetary constraints, a $1100 budget for DAC/amp is quite decent. I would of course encourage the OP to buy second hand from the forums to save some money. What seems to be debated consistently is the notion that an amp with a little more capability/refinement/reserve power may be part of the synergy picture for harder to drive headphones such as the 560, and please don't say they aren't hard to drive, they are. I will not pretend to be an expert by any means, but I do believe that within the law of diminishing returns, there can be a difference in components and their respective capability. Now the real question is, could I in a blind test tell the difference between say my A18 and the O2 with volume matching? I really can't answer that, but seeing as how the O2 is so reasonably priced, I may pick one up and actually test this.

 

[ieee754]

I'm not sure if O2 is good in all cases. When I listen to music with low dynamic range (like trance), 9-10 o'clock is loud enough for me, for classical I usually have to turn volume up to 12-2, but when I play games or watch movies often I can turn it to max and it's still not deafening loud (although I have 80% in my mixer settings as I have heard that ODAC might have issues with 0 dBFS peaks).