[garunamodi]

Just to point out, on Headdirect the HE-560 is said to be 50+/-8 ohms - http://head-direct.com/Products/?act=detail&id=197

 

[jerg]

  Just to point out, on Headdirect the HE-560 is said to be 50+/-8 ohms - http://head-direct.com/Products/?act=detail&id=197

Seems to be a later edit, because the font and size of the "50+/8 ohms" part is different from everything else lol.

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

  True.  And I think he would agree with that statement.

 
I do try to characterize headphones relative to neutral (not that I or anyone else really knows what that means yet), so when I say bright, I mean bright relative to neutral and not relative to my preferences. Bias is no doubt likely to slip in there, however. 

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
Good to know, that shows they are scalable, but I would be staying around 400-500 $ for the amp. I was just afraid there might be a great difference between the Crack+SB and another amp in the same price range (which appears to be the case with the HE-500, for instance).

I know we like to suggest what we are familiar with/have, so if you can find a used Yulong A18 I would think you would be quite pleased with the sound. The nice thing (to my ears) is that the A18 does ever so slightly roll off a little up top which helps the 560 when listening to hot/bright mastered material. I would also say from memory the Graham Slee Novo discrete amp would be another great contender, but I need to check and see if it has enough grunt power for the 560. I was very happy with how it drove my DT 880 600ohm, but they are certainly more efficient than the 560 so that is one possible caveat.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Funny, when I read the specs for the Novo it seems like it should perform as quite under-powered 40mW into 600ohm? That just doesn't jive with my experience with the amp as I had it for I think a couple of months and was always surprised by the Novo. Okay you techies in the thread, how can one reconcile an amp that seems to be fairly low on output power, yet subjectively seemed quite capable?

 

[Kyno]

No Kyno, I was not being aggressive, I just know that a few careless words can have a damaging effect on the reputation of people, products and companies. I have had my coffee now, and apologize if my post appeared to aggressive. I am guilty of hyperbole as well, this is a passionate hobby, and I tend to be a passionate person when it comes to my Friends.

So cheers, happy listening !

Sorry if I took it too much at heart then, I'm still rather new and sincerely did not realized it. I'll make more research next time and try things before writing what could appear as conviced statements

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Kyno, I will completely willing to forgive you if you post a wonderful bottle of Red Wine, or a six pack of excellent local beer ! Welcome too an interesting hobby, full of very unique people !

Cheers, happy Sunday!

 

[Jepu]

  Funny, when I read the specs for the Novo it seems like it should perform as quite under-powered 40mW into 600ohm? That just doesn't jive with my experience with the amp as I had it for I think a couple of months and was always surprised by the Novo.

I gave my Novo to my father, but I'll be able to test it within a week or so. Might do it out of curiosity.
I did listen to the HE-560 on Solo Ultra-linear already before ordering them though, and with those it at least worked perfectly. Didn't need to crank the volume even halfway up, and it has reportedly even LESS power than the Novo.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  I gave my Novo to my father, but I'll be able to test it within a week or so. Might do it out of curiosity.
I did listen to the HE-560 on Solo Ultra-linear already before ordering them though, and with those it at least worked perfectly. Didn't need to crank the volume even halfway up, and it has reportedly even LESS power than the Novo.

That would be great as I suspect the signature of the Novo might actually be pretty good for the 560, as long as it can generate enough current. As I said, from memory the Novo had quite good performance and I think Slee, despite being a little full of himself (based on reading his soapbox rants) he has an excellent ear and voices his gear to be very musical.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Sorry if I took it too much at heart then, I'm still rather new and sincerely did not realized it. I'll make more research next time and try things before writing what could appear as conviced statements

For sure try to not to form opinions quickly as sometimes posters are either far too much in favour, or far too against a product. What I do is read many posts and reviews on a product and form my opinion based on the largest consensus available. At that point I take a gamble unless I am able to try before I buy, which is rare. Frankly, there are enough very experienced members here who try very hard to not hype their impressions. There are times where you will read that member x just think headphone A is the best thing out there and can't be beat for the money. Then when you go to their profile you notice they have very little experience with gear at all so their claim is almost meaningless. Anyway, I'm sure what I have just said is common knowledge around here. Cheers.

 

[Keithpgdrb]

In picking an amp. One should get the requirements from Hifiman, and then make a short list of amps with the appropriate specs. THEN get opinions on the list of amps. Too many people are assuming that if an amp sounds good with one headphone, then it will for all. There is a difference between voltage and current. And it's important. That's how I do it. And it's worked so far.

 

[StanD]

In picking an amp. One should get the requirements from Hifiman, and then make a short list of amps with the appropriate specs. THEN get opinions on the list of amps. Too many people are assuming that if an amp sounds good with one headphone, then it will for all. There is a difference between voltage and current. And it's important. That's how I do it. And it's worked so far.

Power = Voltage  X Current
Combine that with Ohms law to relate Voltage, Current and Impedance (Resistance) and you can figure out what works at static and dynamic (peak for headroom) conditions. As long as you can get the specs for the amps you are interested in. Unfortunately, distortion specs are usually given under polite conditions not peak or transient. Most quality amps have less distortion than we can perceive, some better than others, unfortunately, upon occasion a rat slips in the pack.

 

[conquerator2]

A bit more info on my controlled listening tests and what's to come in the near future:
 
Smile Venomously - Hidenori Shoji - Ryu Ga Gotoku 4 [Yakuza 4] original soundtrack - 250kbps mp3 [best available quality] - 1:10 - 1:45
EP 16 Score - Black and White - Jeff Williams & Alex Abram - RWBY Volume 1 original soundtrack - 256kbps m4a [FLAC coming soon] - 2:40 - 3:05 
EP 13 Score - Forever Fall pt. 1 - Jeff Williams & Alex Abram - RWBY Volume 1 original soundtrack - 256kbps m4a [FLAC coming soon] - 0:00 - 0:30
EP 8 Score - Players and Pieces - Jeff Williams & Alex Abram - RWBY Volume 1 original soundtrack - 256kbps m4a [FLAC coming soon] - 5:15 - 5:50
EP 7 Score - The Emerald Forest pt. 2 - Jeff Williams & Alex Abram - RWBY Volume 1 original soundtrack - 256kbps m4a [FLAC coming soon] - 1:10 - 1:35
EP 6 Score - The Emerald Forest pt. 1 - Jeff Williams & Alex Abram - RWBY Volume 1 original soundtrack - 256kbps m4a [FLAC coming soon] - 1:00 - 1:20
EP 5 Score - The First Step pt. 2 - Jeff Williams & Alex Abram - RWBY Volume 1 original soundtrack - 256kbps m4a [FLAC coming soon] - 0:15 - 0:40
EP 4 Score - The First Step pt. 1 - Jeff Williams & Alex Abram - RWBY Volume 1 original soundtrack - 256kbps m4a [FLAC coming soon] - 2:25 - 2:55
Ep 1 Score - Ruby Rose - Jeff Williams & Alex Abram - RWBY Volume 1 original soundtrack - 256kbps m4a [FLAC coming soon] - 1:40 - 2:10, 2:10 - 2:35 & 2:55 - 3:30
Time To Say Goodbye - Jeff Williams & Casey Lee Williams [vocals] - RWBY Volume 1 original soundtrack - 256kbps m4a [FLAC coming soon] - 0:00 - 0:50 & 1:05 - 1:40
Pink Noise - 705kbps wav 0:00 - 0:10 [loop]
 
I'll extend the length and amount after tomorrow, when the grill mod is done for both. Of course comparing the 400i & 560 in stock form, the difference is obvious. We'll see how they fare with a more open grill 

 
 
If I find the more open grills to perform better than stock and similarly to no grills [I'll test right away tomorrow w/ the most reliable source - pink-noise and possibly female vocals as the mod would open up treble the most - by hovering the stock/open grills over] then I'll say so. I have decided I will not be using the headphones with no grills regardless because a] the difference vs the stock grill is little [and should be practically none vs a more open grill] b] I am not willing to take the risk to use the headphone without any protection for a long time and c] the difference the more open grill [without fabric, later possibly with organza fabric] provides should be quite sufficient - sonically similar to no grills - with comparable performance and at least minimal protection.

 

[conquerator2]

I've also tried the 400i without the grills and compared it to the 560 with the grills to see whether the openness difference would be reduced. It is slightly, but they both gain about the same from the mod.
The slight resonance/bounce-backs are the same with the grills [vs. without] on both headphones as verified via pink-noise.
So while the 560 sounds already very with the grills and gains just a tiny bit of openness, so does the 400i, except it still sounds closed because that's how it sounds with the grills.
The gains would be a slight increase in treble energy, a slight increase in imaging accuracy and a slight increase in air.
But even when the 560 is handicapped with the grills and the 400i is not, they still sounds leagues apart in the timbre, realism and openness - as the benefit really is comparatively little and does nothing to change the core performance of a headphone, just nuances.
After the mod is done then, I'll compare again but the results won't change much, I'll just have more time to compare them in this closer-to-no-grills state [and run the sweeps].
 
The 400i slight air gain might be just a tiny bit more desirable overall, especially with treble-bound female vocals, but the quantity gain is about the same.
 
For openness/realism/timbre I used the 'Episode 13 Score - Forever Fall pt.1' track from RWBY. as it is just a recurring theme of piano and violin switching places/intensity coupled with other background instruments backing them up, along with a short choir part. I find the differences very easy to discern between the two headphones in this song and it serves as an ideal source for this specific task. It also sounds awesome
 
Other miscellaneous facts - the 560 seem to be using stronger magnets than the 400i - the 560 was far likely to pull the grills towards them than the 400i was by a lot. As soon as the grilles got anywhere close to the magnets they just stuck to them very tightly, while the 400i was much less likely to do this and stuck with less friction/
The 400i plastic retaining rings seem to fit tighter to the grilles than the 560 and they were harder to remove.
As for the retaining rings themselves, they seem actually pretty solid and while I might have chipped the paint a bit, they seem sturdy enough to withstand many removals 'touches wood' 
 
More tomorrow.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

conquerator2

Have you tried removing the dust cloth on one set of grills and comparing to no grill? I find the same positive gains but not in the same extent although close. Have protection and an open sound, win-win.