[TK16]

Ordered 2 sets of the HFM mounting rings and another set of the Ori`s for my HE500`s..

 

[mandrake50]

 

  Did you ever try the Jerg pads . I know it has been a while since they were being made for sale, but the plans for  making them are out there. I found that, of the few I tried, they were the best at taming some of that :glare" that you mention.

 
Yeah, I made a pair based on the guide modular(?) put together.  Not a big fan of velour.  I tried them some time last year and quickly put them back in their bag.  Since I'm about to try some different mods on the HE-560, maybe I'll throw them on for schiits and grins.

I get the velour thing. I was more wondering about the sound. As I seldom have the ability to listen for hours on end, I can deal with some comfort issues. I am considering the Ori due to your positive comments on them. But the big reason I went with the Jerg pads was, again to tame some of the peakiness and glare that I find objectionable with the 560.
Would I be going in the wrong direction with the Ori?

 

[ThurstonX]

  I get the velour thing. I was more wondering about the sound. As I seldom have the ability to listen for hours on end, I can deal with some comfort issues. I am considering the Ori due to your positive comments on them. But the big reason I went with the Jerg pads was, again to tame some of the peakiness and glare that I find objectionable with the 560.
Would I be going in the wrong direction with the Ori?

 
I'm in the mood to make these new-ish leather pads work, esp. on the HE-560.  For now I've settled on a thin foam disc insert under the shelf liner mod, paired with the HM5 angled leather pads.  We'll see how it goes after a couple days.
 
For me, the Ori pads without any further modding had that same peakiness on the HE-560.  I didn't try them with this foam disc mod, but I suspect they'd be pretty similar to the HM5 pads in that frequency range.  The only way you'll know with your ears and the Oris is to hear them.  Sounds like comfort is not a big deal for you, so maybe you're better off with the jerg pads.  $60+ can be a lot of $$$, esp. if you end up not using the pads.

 

[keroro0071]

How bad is the sibilance on HE560? If it is bad is there anyway to reduce it?

 

[Vu Chau]

  How bad is the sibilance on HE560? If it is bad is there anyway to reduce it?

 
There was a lot of treble peak and sibilance when I first got the HE 560, but once burned in (the duration of which varies), both have been tamed. That said, my amp allows me to scale down the upper half of the octaves so I don't notice much sibilance. You likely also won't notice this, either.

 

[Russian1]

  How bad is the sibilance on HE560? If it is bad is there anyway to reduce it?

For me it's not bad, it's just right. 
But if you have allergy to highs, better listen to the cans before buying them. 
If there's need for you to reduce smth... better buy other cans, the choice is insane - you'll find your sound. 

 

[keroro0071]

   
There was a lot of treble peak and sibilance when I first got the HE 560, but once burned in (the duration of which varies), both have been tamed. That said, my amp allows me to scale down the upper half of the octaves so I don't notice much sibilance. You likely also won't notice this, either.

 
Thx for the reply. Btw, what amp do you use with he560?

 

[keroro0071]

  For me it's not bad, it's just right. 
But if you have allergy to highs, better listen to the cans before buying them. 
If there's need for you to reduce smth... better buy other cans, the choice is insane - you'll find your sound. 

 
thx man. Would it be a bad idea to mess with amp and dac to reduce sibilance?

 

[Russian1]

   
thx man. Would it be a bad idea to mess with amp and dac to reduce sibilance?

If you do enjoy the process of messing and can afford loosing some money and time doing it - definitely yes! 
 
If not - there are plenty of cans without any sibilance as such to get the needed result instantly. 
 
p.s. saying that I am in love with my HE-560 and can heartily recommend them; excellent non-fatiguing highs for my taste

 

[mandrake50]

  How bad is the sibilance on HE560? If it is bad is there anyway to reduce it?

I didn't find that sibilance was the big problem for me. There are the peaks in the upper midrange and treble regions that bothers me. It gives guitars and especially voices a somewhat unnatural timbre for my tastes.
If you are willing to play with mods, cables, and pads, equalization, as well as amplification and DAC selection, much of this can be brought in line. The other characteristic such as speed, detail, layering, and that planar bass make all of the time I put into them almost worth it. I have maybe 400 hours on mine. When I have brought them back to stock, I don't find any huge differences (that I remember) from when I first put them on my head.
 
All of that having been said, it is apparent that many other people here think they are ok out of the box. If you are sensitive to tonality/timbre accuracy and especially upper midrange and treble unevenness, I would definitely listen before buying.

 

[keroro0071]

 
I didn't find that sibilance was the big problem for me. There are the peaks in the upper midrange and treble regions that bothers me. It gives guitars and especially voices a somewhat unnatural timbre for my tastes.
If you are willing to play with mods, cables, and pads, equalization, as well as amplification and DAC selection, much of this can be brought in line. The other characteristic such as speed, detail, layering, and that planar bass make all of the time I put into them almost worth it. I have maybe 400 hours on mine. When I have brought them back to stock, I don't find any huge differences (that I remember) from when I first put them on my head.
 
All of that having been said, it is apparent that many other people here think they are ok out of the box. If you are sensitive to tonality/timbre accuracy and especially upper midrange and treble unevenness, I would definitely listen before buying.

 
thx man. Do you think he560 is a good all-rounder?

 

[mandrake50]

 

 

 
thx man. Do you think he560 is a good all-rounder?

I am not a big fan of changing headphones for different genres. Once I have something that has the tonal balance the I require, I typically use them for anything that I play quite happily. So I am not the person to ask about this.
Maybe I am just lazy.
 

 

[Vu Chau]

   
Thx for the reply. Btw, what amp do you use with he560?

I use the Garage1217 Project Polaris amp I linked in the reply. It gives you options to adjust the treble (called "bandwidth " - low, mid, and high), impedance (I set mine to low for ortho cans), and gains (typically mid to high for the HE 560). On this thread you will see a lot of people think the Polaris and the HE 560 is a match made for each other, and I agree. I also have a DAC somewhere in the chain that bumps up the bass a little bit for songs that need it.
 
Give the HE 560 a few dozen of hours (I recommend that you listen with it on your head so you hear the change yourself) and it will turn into an all-rounder. I use mine for classical and a lot of pop that has punchy bass. No longer a bright headphone that I used to consider returning. My other headphone is the HD 650 and that has an excellent midrange and is very laid back / warm, so depending on where you are coming from, you might or might not like the HE 560 ... at first. I bought mine from Amazon and had a 30-day return window, so I used up that time to burn in the HE 560 to something that I now love.

 

[mandrake50]

 

   
Thx for the reply. Btw, what amp do you use with he560?

I use the Garage1217 Project Polaris amp I linked in the reply. It gives you options to adjust the treble (called "bandwidth " - low, mid, and high), impedance (I set mine to low for ortho cans), and gains (typically mid to high for the HE 560). On this thread you will see a lot of people think the Polaris and the HE 560 is a match made for each other, and I agree. I also have a DAC somewhere in the chain that bumps up the bass a little bit for songs that need it.
 
Give the HE 560 a few dozen of hours (I recommend that you listen with it on your head so you hear the change yourself) and it will turn into an all-rounder. I use mine for classical and a lot of pop that has punchy bass. No longer a bright headphone that I used to consider returning. My other headphone is the HD 650 and that has an excellent midrange and is very laid back / warm, so depending on where you are coming from, you might or might not like the HE 560 ... at first. I bought mine from Amazon and had a 30-day return window, so I used up that time to burn in the HE 560 to something that I now love.

The Ember with select tubes is one of the things I use to tame the 560. It is very good with them. I also like the H10 for it's slightly warm character and great bass.. The best I heard them was with a Cavalli Liquid Gold...
 
I still say I did not notice a huge difference in the character of the 560 over time. At one point I spent all of my listening time with them. After a month I felt they were much better, until I changed out the phones for others, then switched back. I then realized that not much had changed in reality. I believe the term "Brain Burn" definitely applies. Bottom line is that I still have the 560. They do lots of things very well. Stock tonality is simply something that I struggled with.  I just feel the need to let people know of my subjective experience with them. It is very apparent that is experience does not match what some others here perceive. The fact that there is so much motivation for people to mod these, and that way back in the beginning, many notably, Jerg went to great lengths to fix some of the problems that he heard, sort of indicates that there are problems with them. At least for some listeners.
 
 I judge them to not be for everyone. This is why I recommend that anyone considering them try before they buy if at all possible.
 
One thing to throw out there. Mine are very early production. I was on the initial demo plan and bought them at a discount. I always wonder with Hifiman, how much variability is there in the sound of these from unit to unit?  How much has production changed over the time since they were released?  We could possibly be talking about quite different headphones. I will be going to a local meet later this month. A few people will have their 560s. I hope to get some time with them to see if there are significant differences from my set.

 

[FiGuY1017]

Here's a he560 endgame amp I can recommend. Fatigue free listening with my stock 560,huge layered stage 3d imaging transparent but warm.. Airist Audio Heron 5.