phthora
Headphoneus Supremus
Just received my HE-560 from Amazon, no sound from the Right ear-cup, I did the trrick of swapping the cable L-R, still no sound in the right so it will have to go back.
What's the reliability like when/if I get a working one?
The drivers themselves are pretty reliable for thin planars. Anecdotal evidence suggests that they are more robust than Audeze, which seem to have a higher fail rate. (However, there isn't any real data of that sort of thing available.) In my own experience, a few hundred hours of listening and a few dozen times being transported, I have had no issues. Of course, failures are always a possibility. Something to consider, however, is that driver damage is most likely to occur in transit, when apathetic strangers are manhandling the boxes into and out of various means of conveyance, or in the burn-in period, when initial stresses will wreak havoc on any manufacturing issues. After that, short of trauma, misuse, or habitual ill treatment, they are going to be pretty stable. Ignoring the Pandora's box question of whether or not burn-in changes sound, it would help you get through that critical time when drivers are most likely to fail much quicker and within the limits of the warranty.