[Theogenes]

 
Also guys,  there's a new kid on the block.  The "Code-X".  I have a pair on my head right now.   Pretty damn good headphone..

 
You think it's in the same sandbox as the HE-6, Preep? 

 

[preproman]

   
You think it's in the same sandbox as the HE-6, Preep? 

 
Stock - yes (well almost, very close).  The HE-6 with all the mods applied NO WAY...

 

[Theogenes]

Stock - yes (well almost, very close).  The HE-6 with all the mods applied NO WAY...

Interesting. Seems Luis really knows what he's doing... Need to hear the Paradox someday.

Back on topic: is the finish on the 560 really that bad in person? I actually like the wood accents in the pictures I've seen.

 

[rgs9200m]

Interesting. Seems Luis really knows what he's doing... Need to hear the Paradox someday.

Back on topic: is the finish on the 560 really that bad in person? I actually like the wood accents in the pictures I've seen.

Being an ordinary guy, the way the 560 looks is barely on my radar as far as what makes me like them or not. I bet most others here are in the same camp unless they are into fashion or something.
Maybe if they were neon green or purple it would catch my eye, but the 560s are perfectly fine aesthetically. 

 

[anetode]

   
Ha! Fair enough. Btw, I'm willing to give props to anybody whose avatar shows the most infamous of droogs in full regalia offering a quick refreshment from the Korova Milk Bar to Snow White... No idea where you found that, but I flippin' love it!! 

 
Little devotchkas simply lose their gulliver over the Moloko Plus. Courtesy of José Rodolfo Loaiza Ontiveros.
 
The HE-560's finish is not that good compared to, say, an LCD 2's. But it does sound better than the Audeze 'phone.

 

[Theogenes]

  Being an ordinary guy, the way the 560 looks is barely on my radar as far as what makes me like them or not. I bet most others here are in the same camp unless they are into fashion or something.
Maybe if they were neon green or purple it would catch my eye, but the 560s are perfectly fine aesthetically. 

 
Don't know how you define an ordinary guy, but aesthetics aren't my first priority either. All other things being equal, though, I'd prefer to have a good-lookin' headphone to Jecklin floats something ugly. And if I'm being totally honest, I would at least listen to the Edition 10, no matter how much people said it sucked, just because I think it's drop-dead gorgeous. Now, if it sucked, I'd laugh and take 'em right back off... But aesthetics matter. Look at the PM-1 . 
 

 
Little devotchkas simply lose their gulliver over the Moloko Plus. Courtesy of José Rodolfo Loaiza Ontiveros.
 
The HE-560's finish is not that good compared to, say, an LCD 2's. But it does sound better than the Audeze 'phone.

 
As long as it's been sitting on my bookshelf, I've never gotten around to actually reading it. Boo to me, I know. I did check out that artist, and ended up browsing around on the site a bit. Some really, really cool stuff there, thanks for the link! 
 
Yeah, all my headphones are basically ugly, except the T5p, which I've gone on record as stating is the hot librarian of the headphone world. I'm still hoping to hear the HE-560s at the Nashville meet, pretty in person or not! 

 

[SilverEars]

I know for some people aestetics have a lot of weight, but sound has aways been at the top no matter how ugly the phones are for me.  Although, I did dismissed the HE-6 for the LCD2.2 and it's probably becasue the LCD looks more sophisticated, but in the end I learned a valuable lesson.  Don't judge a book by it's cover.  What you hear is what you hear, and it's best to get rid of any expectation bias or preconceived notions.  Running into HE-6 was more of an accident as I wanted to see if my Beta 22 could drive it well, and learned find that it was much better than LCD2.2. I dismissed it because the exterior didn't allude pretty design or craftsmanship, it looked like a cheap phone to be honest.  Boy was I wrong to judge by it's looks.  Lesson learned.
 
HE-6 doesn't have sophisticated looks like others, but that's just looks.  How it sounds is something else.

 

[kkcc]

I went thru three pairs of the he560 with my local dealer and all of them has poorly applied veneer with in ever edge and one even has glue spilled over to the grill. The dealer told me it's pretty much like this for the ones he had handled.

It looked worse for me compared to their own cheaper he400/he500. I would rather they went back to the plastic housing once the teakwood experiment failed. It was much nicer looking and really lightweight too. They should consider making the wood an option for folks living in more humid part of the world.... maybe with a disclaimer that wood cracking after 30 days is not covered by warranty and need to be charged for replacement for change to veneer... or sth like that. It would be a good alternative to the HE6...

 

[estreeter]

We're dancing around the elephant in the room here - even with the reviews and clearly world-class build quality, how many of us would seriously consider the Abyss even if the price was 50% less than it is now ?
 
Here we have a headphone which *might* remove the need to sit in a queue at Headamp for ~6 months but most of us would agree that it's got to be one of the nastiest looking contraptions ever devised - that headband is straight out of the 1940s but clearly the designers needed it to be some sort of Steampunk nightmare. I rarely wear headphones outside the confines of my current abode, and then only IEMs, but I just cant reconcile the cost of the Abyss with the aesthetics - if that means I've lost on a world-class product then so be it. I just dont know how tragic the HE560 would have to be to have the same dollars-to-ugliness ratio as the Abyss, but no amount of leather manbags could salvage the latter for me. Happy to hear from Abyss owners who feel I've thrown the baby out with the bathwater here. 
 

 

[NZtechfreak]

We're dancing around the elephant in the room here - even with the reviews and clearly world-class build quality, how many of us would seriously consider the Abyss even if the price was 50% less than it is now ?

Here we have a headphone which *might* remove the need to sit in a queue at Headamp for ~6 months but most of us would agree that it's got to be one of the nastiest looking contraptions ever devised - that headband is straight out of the 1940s but clearly the designers needed it to be some sort of Steampunk nightmare. I rarely wear headphones outside the confines of my current abode, and then only IEMs, but I just cant reconcile the cost of the Abyss with the aesthetics - if that means I've lost on a world-class product then so be it. I just dont know how tragic the HE560 would have to be to have the same dollars-to-ugliness ratio as the Abyss, but no amount of leather manbags could salvage the latter for me. Happy to hear from Abyss owners who feel I've thrown the baby out with the bathwater here. 

If the price were remotely rational I'd get the Abyss if it sounded all that, could care less about its ugly looks. No interest in the Abyss though, side by side the HE-6 off the Luxman sounded better to me than the Abyss off a Cavali. Unfortunately for the salesman in store that day, the guy about to pull the trigger on an Abyss when I arrived agreed...

Personally I think an awful lot of expectation and confirmation bias is present in reviews for the Abyss. To mention (almost) nothing of the companies previous foibles...

 

[estreeter]

If the price were remotely rational I'd get the Abyss if it sounded all that, could care less about its ugly looks. No interest in the Abyss though, side by side the HE-6 off the Luxman sounded better to me than the Abyss off a Cavali. Unfortunately for the salesman in store that day, the guy about to pull the trigger on an Abyss when I arrived agreed...

Personally I think an awful lot of expectation and confirmation bias is present in reviews for the Abyss. To mention (almost) nothing of the companies previous foibles...

 
Sadly I'm unlikely to find out either way but I can only image what that Cavalli/Abyss rig would cost in NZD ! Ironically, your dollar is one of very few currencies to consistently gain ground on the Thai Baht over the last 10 years, but I expect that's cold comfort when an importer passes on the cost of bringing in a rig like that  
 
http://www.jetliveaudio.com/index.php?mo=29&keyword=Abyss
 
The Yanks just dont know how good they've got it  

 

[NZtechfreak]

  I expect that's cold comfort when an importer passes on the cost of bringing in a rig like that  
 
http://www.jetliveaudio.com/index.php?mo=29&keyword=Abyss
 
The Yanks just dont know how good they've got it  

 
Cold comfort indeed, we tend to get pretty savaged here in NZ for most things, particularly tech.
 
I was lucky enough to make a trip into the fantastic Addicted to Audio in Melbourne to try the gear I mentioned above, there is one truly great place in NZ to try headphone gear (the also excellent Computer Lounge), but Addicted to Audio has a larger range still.

 

[purplegoat]

As a professional artist and a fashion enthusiast, look wise I feel HE-6 > Abyss > PM-1 -- I think the latter is a pretty meh looking headphone but I find the Abyss attractive and the HE-6 gorgeous.. 
 
Anyway, estreeter, did you ever A/B the two headphones?

 

[pataburd]

  As a professional artist and a fashion enthusiast, look-wise I feel HE-6 > Abyss > PM-1 -- I think the latter is a pretty meh looking headphone but I find the Abyss attractive and the HE-6 gorgeous.. 

As fashion statement, PM-1 > HE-6 >> Abyss for us "plain-clothed", meh-in-the-street types.

 
Ditto for relative functionality/comfort, w/PM-1 >>> HE-6 in that regard.  Caveat: I have not owned/auditioned the Abyss.
 
Given my "d'ruthers", I would probably reach for the PM-1 seven-and-a-half out of ten times.

 

[AngryAudiophile]

I own and enjoy both.  Each has their strong suits, depends on what type of listener you are.  Those who want a more intimate experience may enjoy the Oppo more.  Those who want a more bright treble response with a more relaxed sound signature would probably enjoy the HE-6 more.