[Stillhart]

  Speaking of whisky .... I just put a little Islay on my melting cheddar cheese hamburger with spicy avocado salsa. Very nice, you actually taste a little peaty smoke. How many ways can I find to consume whisky?

 
I wonder.
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Suppository?

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
I wonder.
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Suppository?

So nasty, but what the hell, seems worth a go. For that I shant waste the good stuff mind you, some cheaper hooch will suffice.

 

[Stillhart]

 
So nasty, but what the hell, seems worth a go. For that I shant waste the good stuff mind you, some cheaper hooch will suffice.

 
I'd think you'd want it to be as smooth as possible.  But let me know. 

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
I'd think you'd want it to be as smooth as possible.  But let me know. 

Nope, the cheap stuff was fine, you try it and tell me what you think. Remember, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Well, except that nasty little infection, but that is another story.

 

[Stillhart]

 
Nope, the cheap stuff was fine, you try it and tell me what you think. Remember, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Well, except that nasty little infection, but that is another story.

 
Sorry, not a fan of whiskey.  Let me know if you need more ideas on how to imbibe it tho.  I got plenty:  eye drops, snorting, IV, freebasing, etc.  I like my first idea best tho.

 

[Boban85]

  I am sorry mate, did you also contribute in this thread? 

Sonic Defender, sorry for the tease, I always find your posts very sensible, thoughtful and funny when you want to be funny. I also appreciated your strong remarks about HiFiMAN's Quality Service when they were deserved. Anyway, hope you enjoy your whisky. Over here, we use wine with music, but would love to try your approach... Cheers! 

 

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Sonic Defender, sorry for the tease, I always find your posts very sensible, thoughtful and funny when you want to be funny. I also appreciated your strong remarks about HiFiMAN's Quality Service when they were deserved. Anyway, hope you enjoy your whisky. Over here, we use wine with music, but would love to try your approach... Cheers! 

 

Not to worry, I was actually going to reply to your funny post, and you didn't offend me at all. I knew how you meant what you said. Over here, are you in Europe somewhere? Wine, Europe, good guess right? I spent quite a few years drinking very nice wines. Almost out of the blue I developed a sensitivity to red wine and I would get headaches very quickly. That went on for years and took the wind out of my wind drinking sail. At one point I was seriously considering taking wine making at Berkley in California (until I saw the costs as a foreign student). So all in good fun, I love being a joker and I can enjoy being chided so not to worry mate. Cheers.

 

[michaelkeeney]

  Well, I used to own a WA22, and I now own HE-560s, but unfortunately I haven't head them together.  However, my feeling is that they would be an excellent pairing. The WA22 (with 7236 tubes) has plenty of power and for my ears a smooth sounding amp is essential for the HE-560s to avoid some potential for harshness. Currently I pair mine with a warm 1970s amp (similar characteristics to typical tube flavour) and it works well for me.

Thanks pedalhead.  I figured the only way to find is to test drive the combo together, but figured I'd ask again.  Thanks for the feedback.  

 

[lazure]

Just got a pair of 560s yesterday.  Been A/Bing them incessantly with my Sennheiser HD-600.  I fancy myself a junior audiophile, but I don't master much of the lingo.  That being said, I think my impressions would seem to be in line with what is known about these two:
 
- I find them both to be quite neutral headphones, but the HE-560 is a fair bit ahead in terms of bass and treble.  I wouldn't say this makes their sound colored or V-shaped.  It's just I'd never noticed the lack of treble energy in the Senns before because I had little to compare them with.  As well, I'd never noticed how the bass on the Senns is not as precise as the HE-560, it sounds a bit muddled.  You can make out distinct notes much more of the time on the 560, and it was a bit more bass impact as well.  Not that that makes the 560 Beats-sounding or particularly impactful.  It's just that bass on the Sens is okay/good, and on the 560 it's great;
 
- The mids are great on both, though I've now found out that the Senns are very mid-forward;
 
- I'm going back and forth on soundstage width, but they're similar enough, maybe a slight nod to the 560;
 
- For clarity and detail retrieval, the 560 wins hands down.  Upon A/Bing, I do distinctly hear things in most recordings with the HE-560 that I don't when using the HD-600;
 
- The 560 are fairly harder to drive from my Centrance HiFi-M8.  It drives the HD-600 with relative ease, you can even use the middle gain setting, while the HE-560 clearly require the high gain setting, as well as at least "2 o'clock" volume most of the time, if not 3 or 4 o'clock;
 
- Comfort-wise, I've found that the HD-600 are the most comfortable headphones I've ever used, and the HE-560 is only slightly behind;
 
So 560s better?  Yes.  A planar for HD-600 fans?  For sure.  I'm just not quite sold on them yet due to the, oh, $500 (Cdn) price difference I could get for either on the market...that I'm thinking about it is a testament to the HD-600.  Though the HE-560 is unreservedly better, I just don't find myself wanting a whole lot more when I'm listening to my HD-600...that and the fact that my amp is working at 75-90% capacity most of the time with the HE-560 is giving me pause.  Yes, I could scale up my amp eventually, but that's likely not in the cards for a couple of years... (and no, I can't keep both)

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Good choice, and yes, we are hilarious in this thread. Even when we're boring we're interesting, well at least I am, the rest of them are snore-ville.

Really, I may take that on as a personal challenge to be "interesting " !!!

 

[Wildcatsare1]

I wonder.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Suppository?

It might make his breath malodorous, via that route !

 

[Stillhart]

  Just got a pair of 560s yesterday.  Been A/Bing them incessantly with my Sennheiser HD-600.  I fancy myself a junior audiophile, but I don't master much of the lingo.  That being said, I think my impressions would seem to be in line with what is known about these two:
 
- I find them both to be quite neutral headphones, but the HE-560 is a fair bit ahead in terms of bass and treble.  I wouldn't say this makes their sound colored or V-shaped.  It's just I'd never noticed the lack of treble energy in the Senns before because I had little to compare them with.  As well, I'd never noticed how the bass on the Senns is not as precise as the HE-560, it sounds a bit muddled.  You can make out distinct notes much more of the time on the 560, and it was a bit more bass impact as well.  Not that that makes the 560 Beats-sounding or particularly impactful.  It's just that bass on the Sens is okay/good, and on the 560 it's great;
 
- The mids are great on both, though I've now found out that the Senns are very mid-forward;
 
- I'm going back and forth on soundstage width, but they're similar enough, maybe a slight nod to the 560;
 
- For clarity and detail retrieval, the 560 wins hands down.  Upon A/Bing, I do distinctly hear things in most recordings with the HE-560 that I don't when using the HD-600;
 
- The 560 are fairly harder to drive from my Centrance HiFi-M8.  It drives the HD-600 with relative ease, you can even use the middle gain setting, while the HE-560 clearly require the high gain setting, as well as at least "2 o'clock" volume most of the time, if not 3 or 4 o'clock;
 
- Comfort-wise, I've found that the HD-600 are the most comfortable headphones I've ever used, and the HE-560 is only slightly behind;
 
So 560s better?  Yes.  A planar for HD-600 fans?  For sure.  I'm just not quite sold on them yet due to the, oh, $500 (Cdn) price difference I could get for either on the market...that I'm thinking about it is a testament to the HD-600.  Though the HE-560 is unreservedly better, I just don't find myself wanting a whole lot more when I'm listening to my HD-600...that and the fact that my amp is working at 75-90% capacity most of the time with the HE-560 is giving me pause.  Yes, I could scale up my amp eventually, but that's likely not in the cards for a couple of years... (and no, I can't keep both)

 
Have you tried the HE-560 through the balanced output on your M8?  I found that that opened up the soundstage a bit.  I have the HD650 and I find the soundstage on the HE-560 to be notably better, even without going balanced.  
 
I recommend listening to the HE-560 exclusively for a few days to let the brain burn-in happen and then A/B again.  You might find that it's hard to go back to non-planar bass.
 
Then again, there's something to be said for being happy with your $300 HD600 and not needing to spend the extra $500 on the HE-560!  I love the HE-560 but if I could be just as happy with something cheaper, I certainly would love to spend that money elsewhere.  lol

 

[Terja]

  Just got a pair of 560s yesterday.  Been A/Bing them incessantly with my Sennheiser HD-600.  I fancy myself a junior audiophile, but I don't master much of the lingo.  That being said, I think my impressions would seem to be in line with what is known about these two:
 
- I find them both to be quite neutral headphones, but the HE-560 is a fair bit ahead in terms of bass and treble.  I wouldn't say this makes their sound colored or V-shaped.  It's just I'd never noticed the lack of treble energy in the Senns before because I had little to compare them with.  As well, I'd never noticed how the bass on the Senns is not as precise as the HE-560, it sounds a bit muddled.  You can make out distinct notes much more of the time on the 560, and it was a bit more bass impact as well.  Not that that makes the 560 Beats-sounding or particularly impactful.  It's just that bass on the Sens is okay/good, and on the 560 it's great;
 
- The mids are great on both, though I've now found out that the Senns are very mid-forward;
 
- I'm going back and forth on soundstage width, but they're similar enough, maybe a slight nod to the 560;
 
- For clarity and detail retrieval, the 560 wins hands down.  Upon A/Bing, I do distinctly hear things in most recordings with the HE-560 that I don't when using the HD-600;
 
- The 560 are fairly harder to drive from my Centrance HiFi-M8.  It drives the HD-600 with relative ease, you can even use the middle gain setting, while the HE-560 clearly require the high gain setting, as well as at least "2 o'clock" volume most of the time, if not 3 or 4 o'clock;
 
- Comfort-wise, I've found that the HD-600 are the most comfortable headphones I've ever used, and the HE-560 is only slightly behind;
 
So 560s better?  Yes.  A planar for HD-600 fans?  For sure.  I'm just not quite sold on them yet due to the, oh, $500 (Cdn) price difference I could get for either on the market...that I'm thinking about it is a testament to the HD-600.  Though the HE-560 is unreservedly better, I just don't find myself wanting a whole lot more when I'm listening to my HD-600...that and the fact that my amp is working at 75-90% capacity most of the time with the HE-560 is giving me pause.  Yes, I could scale up my amp eventually, but that's likely not in the cards for a couple of years... (and no, I can't keep both)

 
Good post and very accurate assessments of the Senns vs Hifimans (I have the HD650). It's quite surprising how a very capable phone (ala 560) can make it very clear what the limitations of other phones are, in your case the HD600. Go with your true impression here - the HE-560 is a far superior headphone; guess what you'd be missing out on if you hadn't heard it -- all those nuances you can now pick out in the music. With a little creativity amping the 560 won't be that difficult. If you really can't keep them both I'd say go for the 560 - most defo . . .
 
[Didn't see Stillhart's post before I posted]

 

[lazure]

Yeah, I have a feeling it's going to be a busy weekend of going back and forth...the Senns have a bit of an advantage of having a Cardas balanced cable from Charleston Cable Co.  I'll surely get one for the 560s if I keep it, but considering I think you'll get pennies from the dollar reselling a cable (I may be about to find out if I sell my HD-600 with the cable), I'll have to stick to evaluating the 560s with the stock one...
 
They're definitely both headphones worth having.  The Senns are huge value for under $300-400, an iconic audiophile's headphone, the wily veteran on the scene, while the HD-560 are the young go-getter, and may be best in class for under $1K.  Wish I could justify keeping both, but that's a non-starter.  Decisions decisions...

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Yeah, I have a feeling it's going to be a busy weekend of going back and forth...the Senns have a bit of an advantage of having a Cardas balanced cable from Charleston Cable Co.  I'll surely get one for the 560s if I keep it, but considering I think you'll get pennies from the dollar reselling a cable (I may be about to find out if I sell my HD-600 with the cable), I'll have to stick to evaluating the 560s with the stock one...
 
They're definitely both headphones worth having.  The Senns are huge value for under $300-400, an iconic audiophile's headphone, the wily veteran on the scene, while the HD-560 are the young go-getter, and may be best in class for under $1K.  Wish I could justify keeping both, but that's a non-starter.  Decisions decisions...

Find a used class A speaker amp that has a decent signal to noise ratio and a good power supply. Get a speaker tap cable made and power the 560 from the speaker terminals. There are a few threads here about doing just this to power current hungry headphones and there are a few compelling reasons to do so:
 
1) you can find really good used Class A integrated amps very affordably (check out Audiokarma.org)
2) the cost of a really well done speaker tap cable depending on the length and cable can be less than a modest headphone amp (although they are always nice to own as well)
3) you can drive either speakers or headphones
4) if you put some thought into the cable (have two sections made) even if you decide not to use speaker amps, you now have a great custom cable
 
I know that a custom cable isn't for everybody, but if you do like the idea then this is for you. Again, it all depends on how much room you have, what your goals are etc. Anyway, there are plenty of ways to skin a cat as they say (although I love cats so I hate that figure of speech) so you can find several routes to powering the 560s really well. I liked the 560s with an Asgard 2, I really, really liked them with a Yulong A18 and I am astounded by them driven by my speaker amp, but that is just me.