HIFIMAN Headphone Compendium

I just purchased the HE-5LE from Ray - at some point I'd be happy to meet in the greater LA area to finish off this compendium and add official measurements for the HE-5LE. I'll be modding it as well.

 

Hey! I'm interested in the Hifiman HE-560 deal going on in Amazon right now. Do these headphones go on sale for $500 regularly? I currently own a Massdrop HD-6xx. How big of an upgrade are the 560s compared to 6xx? How about build quality, driver issues etc? There aren't any hifiman shops in my city so if issues are fairly common I wouldn't buy them as it's going to be a pain to get it repaired

 

Dynamic driver vs. Planar driver. Different pros and cons between those two headphones. In the grand scheme of things - the HD650 is probably my all around favorite headphone, but the HE560 does some things that the 650 just can't - and I enjoy them for those reasons.

 

How big of an upgrade? Depending on your source or amp, the transition from HD6XX to HE560 might be a downgrade. Sound quality aside, the HD6XX beats most HFM headphones in terms of build quality and driver QC.

 

Interesting. I use Mac (Audirvana) -> Aune X1s -> Matrix M-stage hpa-3u amp -> Hd6xx. Sounds pretty decent; a bit too warm for my taste, but definitely not bad.

 

@Marvey I haven't seen the 560 in person; so can't judge its build quality myself. Is the 560 built to last at least a few years? I have seen people complain about Focus pads getting ripped, which is bad but still isn't too serious. I am wondering about driver quality specifically as it might be way too costly to replace if things start breaking after warranty.

Side note: Thank you for your HD-650 mods thread. Pretty much followed your instructions all the way through (still haven't done the dynamat mod though). It has really changed my 650 for the better!

 

My 560 have been solid for this most part. The veneer wood is questionable, but it's not going to spontaneously fall apart on me anytime. I sleep with them with no issues. The 650 is more ergonomic and better quality overall, but I'm really not worried about anything going wrong with my 560.

 

And about driver longevity & driver matching? I am planning on asking one of my friends to bring it to me from the US. He doesn't know (or care) much about audio so I can't ask him to do a lot of testing. So if things go wrong they can reaaaaly go wrong. I've never had any issues with my past Sennheiser purchases (6XX, 598) in the past. I don't know much about Hifiman, and hence the question.

 

My pair are an older version with the SMC connectors - I have not had any driver issues and the matching is not an issue for me personally. I've used the Focus and Focus A pads - and they both seems like decent quality. You are getting a much better product than a Grado.

 

I only preferred the Hifiman cans for metal. I really think the planars excell there. Everything else senns rule

 

I'm 50/50 on what kinds of Metal I like my HE 4 with. It's got a LOT of energy, excitement and attack so for some bands it's amazing. For others... not so much

Though I watched through some action flicks this weekend, the HE 4 had a TON of dynamics and energy! Really pair'd well with the film especially compared to the more controlled Eikon I have

 

Here's my dilemma, I love the 650s esp for vocals (which I listen to a lot), I also have the K7xx. If I have to a $500 to spend am I better off buying a better headphone or upgrading my setup & if so which one. I have the following dac/amps

• Aune X1s ( dac + amp )
• Matrix M-stage hpa 3u+ ( dac + amp )
• Nuforce Ha-200 (amp) - I have already purchased this, but don't have it in hand yet

 

500 is kind of no mans land for amps and dacs that will really push the HD650 further. I think a few people here suggest the LH Labs GO2A balanced with the 650, but I still feel like the HE560 will be a bigger change at that price.

 

I know it's purely subjective, in your experience how big of a difference does balanced vs unbalanced make for the 650? I see that I could buy a Emotiva Stealth DC-1 balanced dac and later buy another ha-200 and try to get a monoblock setup. Is the emotiva a good enough dac? I don't think i get a tube amp in the US and transport it to my place as most of them are too heavy

 

And more importantly, if I have to move a bit closer to an end game setup what would be the right approach? ( I might sound like a noob because I am a noob )

 

This is the wrong thread to discuss amplifier design and end-game with the 650. Try reading some threads in the amplifier sub-section of this forum and the dedicated HD650 thread (It should cover almost everything in there)

 

Sure, thanks for the pointers!

 

Contact @Koth Ganesh at the earliest. Listen to HD650 on this setup to realize how much the mstage sucks.
Haven't heard the X1S but the Aune S6 sucked only a little less than the Mstage.