[Hifi59]

I have owned my HE-560's for some months now. In that time,I have gone back and forth between the Focus pads and the Focus -A pads. They both are excellent IMO.
Each have their respective strengths and weaknesses. The Focus pads are great for deep powerful bass but you get a bit more of that 4khz peak. The Focus-A pads
don't go quite as deep,nor is the bass as tight as the Focus pads but they kind of even out the FR of these phones. I like them both.
Just recently I purchased a spare set of Focus Pads. I put them on and it was a WOW moment! The bass was thunderous! Super tight,deep and powerful! More so than the original Focus Pads that came with them. I don't know why this is,but it is what it is! Even the soundstage is wider and deeper. Amazing! I am sitting here switching pads between the originals and the new focus pads and it's a definite improvement. About as large a diff than the Focus pads are to the Focus -A pads. The only difference I notice between both sets of Focus pads are that the new ones are a bit stiffer. The originals were not this stiff when new. This a breathed new life into an already fantastic headphone. More lively without harshness and a bass to die for!

Any ideas besides calling me crazy?

 

[Wildcatsare1]

So I'm trying to figure this out. I assume you meant you went to classical performances with your ex wife despite her not enjoying them? So were you intentionally taking her there to punish her? Or do you mean you had to go alone because she hated classical?

The reason I went to the Saturday Matinée was so I could enjoy the music and not drag her along. Couldn't justify the cost of going alone to the regular performances. Part of why she is an Ex., Wife number 2 loves classical music, live concerts and music. Working on headphones, almost there now that she absconded with the K7XXs!

 

[JimmyJohns99]

I dont know how to define bright other than a sharp sound that causes one of my ears to ache a bit (sensitive ear). I am likely down to the he-560 and el-8 open and just saw a post reference the 560s as brighter so i thought I would ask. I can return the 560s on amazon if I dont like them right?

 

[DreamKing]

@Hifi59 Is it possible for you to photograph the old focus pads with the new side by side with the inside pleather visible too? I think I have the newer ones but I don't know for sure.
 
But if they're identical, disregard this...

 

[cs098]

  I dont know how to define bright other than a sharp sound that causes one of my ears to ache a bit (sensitive ear). I am likely down to the he-560 and el-8 open and just saw a post reference the 560s as brighter so i thought I would ask. I can return the 560s on amazon if I dont like them right?

 
The he- 560 while not perfectly neutral, basically is. The amp and dac you use is more than enough to turn this headphone dark or bright sounding.

 

[Hifi59]

@Hifi59
 Is it possible for you to photograph the old focus pads with the new side by side with the inside pleather visible too? I think I have the newer ones but I don't know for sure.

But if they're identical, disregard this...

I just PM'd you

 

[mandrake50]

  I dont know how to define bright other than a sharp sound that causes one of my ears to ache a bit (sensitive ear). I am likely down to the he-560 and el-8 open and just saw a post reference the 560s as brighter so i thought I would ask. I can return the 560s on amazon if I dont like them right?

I would agree that they are pretty neutral except between 2K and maybe 6K. If you have sensitivity in that range, you may have problems with them.
If I was worried about my ears aching with "sharpness" I might consider the HE 400i. They may not be as technically sound as the 560, but they definitely, to my ears, are smoother, or more mellow, in that range. 
 
Of course, not knowing where your sensitivity lies (frequency) it is hard to judge.
What have you listend to that either caused you problems or that did not? It may be easier to attack it from that angle.

 

[tvnosaint]

  Do you all agree or disagree that the 560 is bright?

no. I don't find it bright at all. I think its perfectly balanced. Its not dark at all either of course. I think the material might be at fault when or if that issue arises. but I mostly listen to the Vibro of late as the 560 are still new to me. That has been called a dark presentation.

 

[playmeoasis]

  Do you all agree or disagree that the 560 is bright?

 
They are in no way bass head cans, but I wouldn't call them bright either.
Having listened to HD800 and Beyer cans, I can say those sound bright.
But 560s are very neutral.
One thing is that you REALLY need to invest in a good amp for them to sound good though.
I paired mine with Lyr 2 for a bit of warmth and could not have been happier.
But they sound great with SS amps too

 

[d1sturb3d]

I am wondering how can people say they are bright hehe..but of course we don't hear the same thing..HD800 for me is bright..my SR80i is bright..but not the HE-560..I guess you have to try them and check if they are bright for your tastes..I like bright by the way lol..I use a micro iCAN to power the 560..

 

[TMRaven]

he-560 is brighter than hd800 through the upper midrange, some people might be sensitive to that.

 

[JimmyJohns99]

   
They are in no way bass head cans, but I wouldn't call them bright either.
Having listened to HD800 and Beyer cans, I can say those sound bright.
But 560s are very neutral.
One thing is that you REALLY need to invest in a good amp for them to sound good though.
I paired mine with Lyr 2 for a bit of warmth and could not have been happier.
But they sound great with SS amps too

Thanks. That reminds me. I have a 1 year old $1200 peach tree nova 125 integrated amp made for tower speakers. This should be just as good as any $500 headphone amp right? It was amazing with my B&w towers. 
 
Secondly, with the lyr 2, assuming people connect this to laptops, why are there rca connectors? How do u connect laptop ---> RCA?

 

[rawrster]

 
Thanks. That reminds me. I have a 1 year old $1200 peach tree nova 125 integrated amp made for tower speakers. This should be just as good as any $500 headphone amp right? It was amazing with my B&w towers. 
 
Secondly, with the lyr 2, assuming people connect this to laptops, why are there rca connectors? How do u connect laptop ---> RCA?

 
I don't think most people connect them directly out of a computer. I'm assuming (of course I could be wrong) that they are using some kind of dac so it's just RCA on both ends. If you want to use your laptop you would have to use the headphone output and connect it with a 3.5mm to RCA cable.

 

[JimmyJohns99]

Oh ok i thought the Lyr was an all in one with Dac, my bad.

 

[Sonic Defender]

 
I would agree that they are pretty neutral except between 2K and maybe 6K. If you have sensitivity in that range, you may have problems with them.
If I was worried about my ears aching with "sharpness" I might consider the HE 400i. They may not be as technically sound as the 560, but they definitely, to my ears, are smoother, or more mellow, in that range. 
 
Of course, not knowing where your sensitivity lies (frequency) it is hard to judge.
What have you listend to that either caused you problems or that did not? It may be easier to attack it from that angle.

So funny how we hear differently. I can't find it just now, but I know somewhere in this thread there was a 560 owner who was a classically trained pianist who thought the 560 was one of the only headphone that made a piano sound like a piano. I'm saying this as in a previous post you mentioned finding the 560s not quite right with piano sounds. I'm not saying you're wrong and the other poster was right, just pointing out how differently people can perceive the same thing!