[anson67]

Like Mike in Bama I also received an open box HE-560 earlier this week from Razordog.  I don't know how many hours it has, if any, so I'll give it some time before some serious judgment.  At the moment, driven by a Lyr 2, it sounds a lot like my HD600 only the bass is much, much tighter and more enjoyable and while I never thought the HD600 has any type of veil the HE-560 is "clearer" and "cleaner" that it sounds like my HD600 with the absolute thinnest of veils removed.
 
My observations bulleted like Mike (thanks):
 
• The cord is just right for me.  My Schiit stack is on a shelf next to my desk and there's plenty of play for me.

• The 1/4" connector seems solid enough.  The Lyr 2 runs hot and after after a few hours the connector gets just a bit of heat transfer from it.

• Headphone connectors.  Due to the stiffness of the cable I figured out right away that you have give each connector a reverse twist before screwing onto the headphone to avoid a twisted cable.  Physically screwing on the cables was not a problem at all.

• Comfort.  My HD600's are super comfortable after years of use but the HE-560 feels even better.  FWIW my hat size is 7 5/8"

• The box is very nice, but I would have easily accepted a plastic bag for all I care.  To me the nice box just adds overall cost and is not necessary.  The headphone itself is very nicely designed, and I hang it on a headphone stand for easy access, so the box is essentially useless to me except as an expensive but very protective shell for shipping.  I just leave it in the closet sitting in the original cardboard box in which the headphone was shipped.
 
So far I'm quite pleased with the HE-560.  I won't be entertaining any mods until I've put on a couple hundred hours and then we'll see!

 

[ThurstonX]

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 waves goodbye to page 666 

 

[Ron12]

  After trying out HD800, he-560, LCD-X and HD600 at a meet, I really realized how close and similar the HE-400 sounded. At the meet I  had so high expectations and now listening to the "top" headphones, I feel like one can buy the hd600, or the he-400 in my case and just enjoy the music instead of creating a pissing contest. 
 
It feels good knowing no longer having a thought at the back of your mind telling you to keep upgrading. Maybe we're doing this hobby for fun, or maybe it's a scapegoat from real life. Who knows.

 
You can definitely enjoy listening to music with pretty much everything as long as its comfortable enough to wear (or listen to which may not be true in some specific cases like with painful low treble resonances) + fully functioning. Yes, even crappy 5USD earbuds. Why do you think the vast majority of people on this planet doesn't want to spend much for headphones or speakers (not even talking about amps, DACs, cables etc.)? It's because they can enjoy music and have a good time with what they have... They are happy with what they have, perfectly happy.

 

[Bill-P]

  After trying out HD800, he-560, LCD-X and HD600 at a meet, I really realized how close and similar the HE-400 sounded. At the meet I  had so high expectations and now listening to the "top" headphones, I feel like one can buy the hd600, or the he-400 in my case and just enjoy the music instead of creating a pissing contest. 
 
It feels good knowing no longer having a thought at the back of your mind telling you to keep upgrading. Maybe we're doing this hobby for fun, or maybe it's a scapegoat from real life. Who knows.

I'd note that driving the above headphones (HD800, HE-560, LCD-X, and HD600) out of the right setup would definitely show them to have benefits above the HD600 and HE-400. As someone who heard my HE-560 setup recently can attest to.
 
But still, no offense to anyone but... I often find that most of the time, the setup is just not "right".
 
It's not true that you can throw top dollars at your gears and expect great results.
 
Synergy is important here, and without synergy, the top headphones are actually just about average, and then someone would remind you of the 5% rule.
 
In my case, upgrading has been worth it, especially when I discover the right setup that would take me to that next level. But when I first put on a pair of 'phones, it's very often that I'd feel it's not worth an upgrade. So I'd agree with your assessment that the HD600 can be good (especially if you hear it with the right setup), but I'd also encourage you to give the top headphones a try out of another setup if you get the chance. Chances are, they may sound very different the next time over. And then you'd realize how much any of this (amp, DAC, cabling, etc...) makes a difference.
 
People don't spend thousands on a DAC just because.

 

[swspiers]

   
You can definitely enjoy listening to music with pretty much everything as long as its comfortable enough to wear (or listen to which may not be true in some specific cases like with painful low treble resonances) + fully functioning. Yes, even crappy 5USD earbuds. Why do you think the vast majority of people on this planet doesn't want to spend much for headphones or speakers (not even talking about amps, DACs, cables etc.)? It's because they can enjoy music and have a good time with what they have... They are happy with what they have, perfectly happy.

Thanks for the reminder!  I have in excess of $20 K wrapped up in audio right now.  But I was never happier than with the Craig 8-Track stereo my parents bought me when I was 13.  Coupled with the Sennheiser HD-414's I had back then, I was in heaven.

 

[mandrake50]

   
You can definitely enjoy listening to music with pretty much everything as long as its comfortable enough to wear (or listen to which may not be true in some specific cases like with painful low treble resonances) + fully functioning. Yes, even crappy 5USD earbuds. Why do you think the vast majority of people on this planet doesn't want to spend much for headphones or speakers (not even talking about amps, DACs, cables etc.)? It's because they can enjoy music and have a good time with what they have... They are happy with what they have, perfectly happy.

Mark Twain said "Comparison is the death of joy"  I would say that  the same statement is true but only changing it to Analysis, from comparison. We tend to compare and analyze things to the point of always being dissatisfied. When a more typical person finds something that they are happy with, even if it is a Sansa Clip and $10 IEMs, most of them find no reason to spend hundreds or thousands of more dollars to change anything. It seems that we are among a select few in these forums that are never really happy unless we are trying the next best thing. I know students that eat Ramen noodles 5 nights per week, and need new shoes, but have $3K plus in their headphone systems (and run a hefty credit card balance). It is all quite irrational to a non-afflicted observer... one not afflicted by this thought that they "NEED" to have something that is perceived to be somehow "better" than what they have. Even though what they have may be already in the top 10 to 20% of what is available.
 
I have been itching to get a pair of HE 560s, I may yet do it, if we see some decent sales coming up, but I .. in moments of rationality, ask myself if I really "need" them. After all I have many very good sounding headphones and IEMs that allow me to quite enjoy listening to music. Unfortunately I come here and read that the 560 is 20% to 25% better (whatever that means) than my 400i. 

 
 
I found Headfi back in 2007 because I was innocently looking for a replacement for some 20 year old  Azden DM 90 phones (marked digital at that) headphones.(btw, they still sound good, the pads are just falling apart) Eight plus years later and several thousand dollars poorer, I can't really say that I am enjoying music more than I did with the  DM 90 out of the headphone jack of a circa 1968 Sansui receiver playing vinyl records.
 
Oh well, if everyone was rational, and spent money only in productive ways, Headfi probably would not exist. What would we all do with our time and money then...??

 

 

[money4me247]

  After trying out HD800, he-560, LCD-X and HD600 at a meet, I really realized how close and similar the HE-400 sounded. At the meet I  had so high expectations and now listening to the "top" headphones, I feel like one can buy the hd600, or the he-400 in my case and just enjoy the music instead of creating a pissing contest. 
 
It feels good knowing no longer having a thought at the back of your mind telling you to keep upgrading. Maybe we're doing this hobby for fun, or maybe it's a scapegoat from real life. Who knows.

 
It's actually pretty true. The actual sonic upgrades moving up the chain is pretty subtle. You can easily enjoy music on a nice mid-fi set-up & basically get 80-90% of the performance of ultra-high-end headphones. Some people like to upgrade & that's cool, but you aren't really missing out on anything major. There are a lot of small subtle improvements that you can pick up over long periods of dedicated listening & comparisons, but the point of music is enjoyment. As long as you are enjoying your set-up, it's all good
 
Remember back in the day, the HD600/HD650 were the "ultra-high-end" headphones. The $1000+ ultra-high-end is relatively new with the HD800. The Orpheus and that kinda stuff were super niche.

 

[Mike In Bama]

Even now with a new amp and headphone breaking in, I'm planning my next and hopefully last step. I'm in the market for a reasonable priced, longer cable.

When I find that, I'm done.

Well.....
Until I start trying some of these mods!

 

[Ron12]

   
It's actually pretty true. The actual sonic upgrades moving up the chain is pretty subtle. You can easily enjoy music on a nice mid-fi set-up & basically get 80-90% of the performance of ultra-high-end headphones. Some people like to upgrade & that's cool, but you aren't really missing out on anything major. There are a lot of small subtle improvements that you can pick up over long periods of dedicated listening & comparisons, but the point of music is enjoyment. As long as you are enjoying your set-up, it's all good
 
Remember back in the day, the HD600/HD650 were the "ultra-high-end" headphones. The $1000+ ultra-high-end is relatively new with the HD800. The Orpheus and that kinda stuff were super niche.

 
My personal experience with each improvement of my audio chain is that I am actually not enjoying listening to music more than before... I love music the same way I did ten years ago. I get the same enjoyment from great albums and the same disappointment with the bad ones.
 
However, I do experience an additional way of enjoyment - enjoyment of better sound. These two things relate to each other and yet they are not the same - enjoyment of music and enjoyment of quality of its reproduction. Being a music lover and audiophile is simply not the same thing but the great thing about these two hobbies is that you can spend your time focusing on both at the same time! Very efficient way of spending your time
 
So that's my opinion on why people can enjoy music with any sort of audio chain... However, one can definitely get accustomed to HQ sound reproduction and therefore miss it when trying to get fully into music with lesser quality gear - in this case, it's more or less possible to overcome that limitation with time, especially when you simply have no choice.

 

[retskrad]

I heard a statement somewhere that read: "audiophiles test their equipment and compare them when listening to music, casual listeners just enjoy their music".
 
In my opinion, constantly thinking how good your things are or thinking if there's 5% improvement  around the corner, is compared to any other addiction. 
 
In my car today, I have average speakers but oh my god. it feels so long time ago I just enjoyed the song instead of thinking how good the vocals or how good the bass is. it was refreshing.  

 

[swspiers]

It's interesting to me that the 560's and now the 400i's restored a lot of that for me.

 

[Bill-P]

Even now with a new amp and headphone breaking in, I'm planning my next and hopefully last step. I'm in the market for a reasonable priced, longer cable.

When I find that, I'm done.

Well.....
Until I start trying some of these mods!

Check with BTG cable?
 
http://btg-audio.com
 
Their pricing is very reasonable IMO. If nothing else, the comfort is superb as well. My BTG midnight cable is so soft and light that I don't even feel that it's there most of the time.

 

[q2klepto]

Even now with a new amp and headphone breaking in, I'm planning my next and hopefully last step. I'm in the market for a reasonable priced, longer cable.

When I find that, I'm done.

Well.....
Until I start trying some of these mods!

 
http://www.bestintheversecables.com/gallery/ this guy makes amazing looking cables - and not too pricey compared to other high end cables

 

[richard51]

 
I'd note that driving the above headphones (HD800, HE-560, LCD-X, and HD600) out of the right setup would definitely show them to have benefits above the HD600 and HE-400. As someone who heard my HE-560 setup recently can attest to.
 
But still, no offense to anyone but... I often find that most of the time, the setup is just not "right".
 
It's not true that you can throw top dollars at your gears and expect great results.
 
Synergy is important here, and without synergy, the top headphones are actually just about average, and then someone would remind you of the 5% rule.
 
In my case, upgrading has been worth it, especially when I discover the right setup that would take me to that next level. But when I first put on a pair of 'phones, it's very often that I'd feel it's not worth an upgrade. So I'd agree with your assessment that the HD600 can be good (especially if you hear it with the right setup), but I'd also encourage you to give the top headphones a try out of another setup if you get the chance. Chances are, they may sound very different the next time over. And then you'd realize how much any of this (amp, DAC, cabling, etc...) makes a difference.
 
People don't spend thousands on a DAC just because.

Very astute remarks... I had read all pages here for example  about the he 400, and i know for sure that many have not heared them really   because they dont have the right settings and the  right gear... I know that because  i am sure that  Dr. Fang Bian has not designed his headphones potential sound with  a necessary future equalization in his mind.... the truth is that there exist no headphone that sounded marvellous with any gear, cable, dac, or amp.... any headphone only shine with the right synergy.... Best regards to all of you

 

[Mike In Bama]

Thanks Bill and q2klepto!

Initial impression is great on these cans. They are not as "unboxed" sounding as my Magnaplaners, but VERY open. I'm tremendously pleased so far. This is truly world class sound.

If you don't carefully straighten the cables before you get into position, they twist terribly. This won't do at all.

A brief attempt at using my iPhone to power these phones was useless. In a quiet room, there is still not enough volume. What's there is good but there isn't enough of it.

With my equally new Project Polaris, oh my! I tried a TDK CD that came free with a case of cassette tapes from way back. There is an excerpt of the 1812 Overture with real cannon blasts. Bass is not a problem here. Deep, rich and glorious are a few words that come to mind. Not too much. Not at all out of control. Just what I wanted.

It's still far too early for a full assessment, but I'm keeping these! My appreciation for the tens of thousands of words on this thread cannot be expressed.

Margo Timmons did indeed visit me last night. I enjoyed the intimate, one-man show. Only when I opened my eyes could I tell she wasn't truly next to me.

It's taking a lot to not gush like a school girl here. I'm not one to rush into an opinion. These phones are just that impressive out of the box.

I've invited Stevie Nicks over tonight. I'll let all of you know how that goes.