[Kyno]

  ^^ The hd800 is still my favorite. On a good tube amp with a simple Anax mod they are just heaven. The 560 is different and impressive in it's own right. There is more warmth and visceral impact in the sub bass region and I love the hifiman house sound. The hd650 is my old worn blanket hp. I can listen to them no matter how tired I am or how poor the recording is. The 650 has more scale than some people realize and with an amp like the BHC, they will surprise you with an incredibly natural tone.  All are very good headphones.

Dang, who am I kidding, I know I'm going to try the HE-560 anyway... 

 
HD-650 are kind of my safe boat right now, I'll need to feel really secure to let these ones go

 

[tigon_ridge]

  ^^ I buy, sell and sometimes "rebuy" things that I come to regret selling in the first place.

  I regretted selling the he560 almost immediately and am very to have it back.

I can definitely understand why a few people have had issues with the HE-560. I think at least 95% of the time, their issue is with the treble. I've fixed mine with EQ, so I no longer experience those issues. The thing about the 560 is that since it's has less bloom than its previous siblings, its treble stands out more. If you examine their frequency response graphs, the 560 technically has less treble than pretty much all of its siblings in terms of sound pressure level. However, due to its relative non-bloominess in the lower mids and bass, its treble stands out and especially the upper midrange and lower treble, which is supposedly alleviated by the focus-a pads. 

 

[mandrake50]

 
The OP was about full tube and nothing about OTL or not. I quote “full tube is generally bad for HE-560”.

Where is the quote from...please?

 

[Bill-P]

  Someone here tried the T1 against the HE-560? 
 
Got one T1 right now, and there are VERY decent with anything BUT the treble 

 
I remember we were talking with Bill-P earlier about its high frequencies sensivity. If I have any, this one really fall into it.
Tried it with a O2, awful, a Garage1217 Polaris, better, more warmth, Gustard H10, even better, also warm. 
Tried it with the ODAC, not too good, with the AMB Labs Gamma2: warmth! Gooood
 
I come from an HD-650 (talk about warmth!!

) and I can say with confidence the H10/Gamma2 brings a warm overall sound to it. It's too bright with anything else, such as the ODAC, but it has that warm tone I like with this combo without going too much there (HD-650, if you listen to me...).
Yet I still need to heavily EQ down the 4-10 kHz region so that my ear don't bleed, or at least hurt. I stop before the bleeding. But then the treble starts to sound a bit off, an apnea contest of some sort.
 
Can't emphasis how much I'm starting to like the controlled and tight bass over the HD-650, the more neutral sound as well as the great amount of details. BUT DAMN THAT TREBLE.
 
Truth is I would prefer to stay with solid state amps, and it seems like the Polaris and H10 are already stepping a bit across that tubey sound border, so I'm not sure how I could decently accomodate my T1 to be a 180° turnaround game changer on its treble with something else in that budget range.
 
Anyway I could get away with the HE-560, if ever someone experienced both?

 
Well, over the summer, I heard 2 rigs...
 
Beyerdynamic T1
Bottlehead Crack w/ Speedball w/ tube upgrade w/ other mods
Audio GD-NFB7 as DAC
 
That setup was the best I have ever heard of any T1. Ever. Sibilance was very rarely an issue. In fact, that T1 could hardly be described as "bright".
 
And that's something coming from me, because I'm the first guy to kick and scream about a 0.5dB rise at 8-10KHz.
 
Though... having said that, the HE-560 was the one that I decided to hunt down when I got back to the States. And I heard it with an earlier prototype of my DIY amp... with 2 9V batteries. Hardly enough power, and yet I could hear that the HE-560 was far better than the T1 to my ears.
 
My memories may be hazy, so please take this with a grain of salt, but to me, the HE-560 is more neutral than T1, bass is even tighter and somewhat more impactful than T1. T1 has a lot more sub bass if you're into that, but it can sound bloated and uncontrolled. HE-560 has more euphonic, detailed, and transparent midrange. HE-560 has smoother, less sibilant and peaky treble. And last but not least, the thing about the HE-560, I think, is that its soundstage is surprisingly large even though it doesn't sound like it has enough "air" at higher frequencies.
 
But that's the stock HE-560. I think... my modded HE-560 sounds perfect, and far better than stock, which practically means the T1 won't compare.
 
Oh, and just to give you an idea, I had a chance to compare my DIY amp to the Gustard H10 earlier. The H10 is brighter, with more nuance, and somewhat more details, but it also sounds thinner, a bit too distant with the midrange, lacking warmth and body, and its bass is a bit too withdrawn. Soundstage-wise, they're both about the same.
 
So I hope you can see my frame of reference now, and understand why I prefer the HE-560 overall. 

 

[Kyno]

   
Well, over the summer, I heard 2 rigs...
 
Beyerdynamic T1
Bottlehead Crack w/ Speedball w/ tube upgrade w/ other mods
Audio GD-NFB7 as DAC
 
That setup was the best I have ever heard of any T1. Ever. Sibilance was very rarely an issue. In fact, that T1 could hardly be described as "bright".
 
And that's something coming from me, because I'm the first guy to kick and scream about a 0.5dB rise at 8-10KHz.
 
Though... having said that, the HE-560 was the one that I decided to hunt down when I got back to the States. And I heard it with an earlier prototype of my DIY amp... with 2 9V batteries. Hardly enough power, and yet I could hear that the HE-560 was far better than the T1 to my ears.
 
My memories may be hazy, so please take this with a grain of salt, but to me, the HE-560 is more neutral than T1, bass is even tighter and somewhat more impactful than T1. T1 has a lot more sub bass if you're into that, but it can sound bloated and uncontrolled. HE-560 has more euphonic, detailed, and transparent midrange. HE-560 has smoother, less sibilant and peaky treble. And last but not least, the thing about the HE-560, I think, is that its soundstage is surprisingly large even though it doesn't sound like it has enough "air" at higher frequencies.
 
But that's the stock HE-560. I think... my modded HE-560 sounds perfect, and far better than stock, which practically means the T1 won't compare.
 
Oh, and just to give you an idea, I had a chance to compare my DIY amp to the Gustard H10 earlier. The H10 is brighter, with more nuance, and somewhat more details, but it also sounds thinner, a bit too distant with the midrange, lacking warmth and body, and its bass is a bit too withdrawn. Soundstage-wise, they're both about the same.
 
So I hope you can see my frame of reference now, and understand why I prefer the HE-560 overall. 

 
Thanks for very helpful feedback!
 
A few short questions if you don't mind:
I'm not sure I remember, what have you changed to your stock HE-560? Despite the headband... 

Have you tried the HE-560 with the Crack+SB?
When is that DIY amp coming out? 

 

[MattTCG]

   
Thanks for very helpful feedback!
 
A few short questions if you don't mind:
I'm not sure I remember, what have you changed to your stock HE-560? Despite the headband... 

Have you tried the HE-560 with the Crack+SB?
When is that DIY amp coming out? 

 
Not good at all, bordering on awful. I tried it just for giggles, but it really was very funny.

 

[conquerator2]

I continue to be impressed with my most recent pair of 560's. They sound somewhat warmer and are more engaging to listen to, even with no burn in time. They were instantly pleasing the minute that I put them on.

The 560 loves the power from the speaker taps on my vintage Fisher receiver. I was thinking of picking up the lyr 2 and some nice tubes, but I'm enjoying the sound too much right now to make any changes.

Seems like there's some definite change or variance with the HE-560?
I like my own pair very much I just wonder.

As for soundstage comments, I think it is very good in terms of depth and height, the width is ok. The overall size is definitely on the smaller and intimate 'planar' side, especially compared to AKG, Phillips or other large soundstage open HPs.

 

[amigomatt]

Just received my HE560 this morning.  All I can say is WOW.  Just. Wow.

 

[snip3r77]

Just received my HE560 this morning.  All I can say is WOW.  Just. Wow.

Is 560 an upgrade or sidegrade / different flavor?

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
Not good at all, bordering on awful. I tried it just for giggles, but it really was very funny.

What was so bad in your experience with the Crack? Sort of sad as I was wondering if this combination had potential.

 

[amigomatt]

 

Just received my HE560 this morning.  All I can say is WOW.  Just. Wow.

Is 560 an upgrade or sidegrade / different flavor?

It's an upgrade without doubt.  I'm realising I need better amplification now though.  My old Arcam Alpha 8 integrated amp runs them with great sound, but at 50% volume and over, there is some distortion creeping in on louder/bassier material.  It is at a good and loud listening volume there but I'd like to be able to crank it a little higher every now and again, especially with sound THIS good and THIS non-fatiguing.  I do not know how it manages such detail without niggling treble.  I have never heard such realistic sounds from a headphone before.  I've only had about an hour with them and have to go out for a while now.  I will chime in with more impressions when I've spent more time with them.  For now though, I'll just say that I understand what high end sounds like now.  The way these headphones are imaging/separating/placing/layering sounds is beyond anything I've heard up to now.  I am hearing right into my recordings now in a way I never have done and apart from possibly a slight something in the treble, I can't find anything negative to say about their presentation or tonality straight out of the box, which for me is a very good sign because I'm used to initial disappointment and a need to go through some brain burn-in when I get a new headphone.  Truly revelatory for me.  Possibly the end of my search (once I've found more suitable amplification).
 
Any quick ideas to throw at me regarding amping?  I had the Lake People G109 in mind some time back, or the Violectric V100?  I presently have this Arcam Alpha 8 integrated amp, Fiio E11 and Bravo Audio Ocean tube amp.
 
Happy listening, kids!

 

[Rudiger]

The garage1217 polaris have a very good synergy with the 560.

 

[Mike In Bama]

The Polaris is certainly a good match for the HE-560! I've had this setup for a couple of weeks now. I keep trying to listen more critically, but I can't stop trying to test the limits.

The most overwhelming quality is that I can't stop smiling. I have Annie Lennox's Diva playing right now. Pure heaven. I'm very into women that sing, "with balls", for lack of a better term. Annie is flat out singing with power. But it's controlled power. She hasn't hit her limit and neither have these headphones. The Polaris is daring me to turn it up. It isn't even breaking a sweat.

 

[YtseJamer]

The garage1217 polaris have a very good synergy with the 560.

 
X2.  Great match!

 

[FredrikT92]

Anyone heard HE-560 with V281 yet?