HiFiMan HE-560 V2

I’m waiting for V4. Should be out by the end of September.

 

Innovations after innovations

 

At $300 the v3 seemed like a good deal. Hope I will not regret the impulse buy... These are best paired with focus-A pads right?

 

They should come stock with FocusPads. Hopefully they fixed the V2's headband since the clamp was overly strong and uncomfortable. The clamping force compressed the FocusPads on my head a bit too much, which made my ear touch the baffle area. That along with the driver failure after a day of use was why I returned it. Hopefully your luck is better than mine. Adorama has a pretty good return policy though if you change your mind.

 

I certainly enjoyed it more with the FocusPad-A. It's been a while, but I remember a more coherent sounding soundstage and more organic? sounding mids (mids sounding closer to HD650 - emphasis on "closer" as in there being a slight shift towards that direction).

 

Welp, buying the V3 has proven to be a terrible decision. On other forum some described "distortion and flutter" of bass in one earcup. I thought well, maybe I'll not be unlucky and have a perfectly functioning pair for a great pair!

Nope. Bass distortion in both earcups. Unlistenable as soon as I reach my normal listening volume which isn't even super loud. Hifiman QC, for these Adorama rebranded ones in particular seems TERRIBLE.

Lastly, the V3 has a better headband than the V2, supposedly. Well, it still doesn't fit my head. Maybe I have way above average head-sizing but these seem to be made with asian market in mind in particular, my ears are just squashed against the bottom of the earcups, putting extra strain on the whole thing which just can't be a good idea all things hifiman considered..

I'm guess all I'll be losing is return postage money, but this was a sad experience to say the least.

 

I have completely lost faith in Hifiman... this is just ridiculous! How the former "asian tiger of headphone world" became "yet another chi-fi hoax" in just few years?

 

Fame and greed.

 

HE-560 had the bass crackling/tizz issue since beginning. I warrantied my pair _three_ times three years ago, without much luck.. if not distorting then channel matching way off.

 

Damn. My dads pair of HE560 that I bought for him for Christmas appears to still be going strong. I had a listen to them a few days ago and they were just fine. Hope you guys that have had trouble with the V2's (V3's?) get sorted out quickly, and painlessly. Jeez, I hope the HE6se isn't as much of a shitshow.

 

Found a pair of early-run HE560's laying around the warehouse today... the ones with the old HFM style SMC connectors that some love and some hate.

Honestly I'm pretty impressed with these. They've got much mellower treble than I remembered from other pairs, pretty solid slam for a planar with enough juice, and no complaints with regard to quality or quantity of bass.

Usually you'd think companies would aim to make incremental design changes incremental improvements. Seems like they've been downhill since the beginning (apparently the pre-production ones were even better).

SMH Hifiman. I say they ditch everything made after the HE500 and bring back the classics... permanently.

 

The first HE-560 was awesome.
Like a baby HE-6.

 

I was literally A/B'ing them on the same chain last night and thinking about how similar they sounded. If anything the 560 was a little darker (less upper mid presence and HF extension) than the LFF HE-6 but the tone was remarkably similar. This is with stock pads on the 560 and Ori pads on the 6.

HE-6 of course will always have better technicalities, especially in dynamic contrast, and it'll scale further... but the OG 560 seems like a great value (especially for someone who doesn't have a chain capable of flattering the 6)... and lightweight too.

I've seen them bouncing around on the used market for around $250. Nobody should buy this Adorama crap.

 

You guys are nuts the og 560 is a good can but in direct comparison with he6? Nahhhh! Fughettaboutit.

 

I've seen anecdotal accounts of the new versions (v2 and v3) of the HE-560 having significantly less bass impact, but has anyone seen any actual measurements reflecting this? I'm just wondering to what degree the bass is attenuated vs the v1. I received the v3 (with the lengthened headband strap) recently and I'm actually quite happy with it ASIDE from the bass impact and I'm trying to decide whether or not to return it in favor of a different purchase; possibly an HE-560 v1 or maybe putting the $300 I spent towards a Sundara or LCD-2C. But if the bass impact of the Sundara isn't going to be significantly greater than the 560 v3, I don't think I would bother. I'm hoping someone with the proper equipment has gotten their hands on the v2/v3 and put out some measurements.

 

V2 is now down to $250 at Adorama.

https://www.adorama.com/hmhe560v2.h...t&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_source=rflaid62905

Crazy low price. I have V1 which sound good to me but have a fragile headband that I have had to use warranty on twice. Is there any reason to buy V2 and sell V1 or is V1 definitely superior?

 

Anybody gonna take a chance?

I'm too scared for the buzz.

 

Got my V2 today. Adorama said the handband should be fixed. But I still feel uncomfortable with the head strap. Maybe my head is “oversized”? Is it the only difference between V2 and V3 is the length of the head strap? If so, what’s the length of V3? Mine is 20cm(exclude the head band. Only the head strap). Thanks.

 

The strap on the v3 is 8.6" or roughly 22cm. Edit: apologies, I just saw that this measurement was for someone's just-received v2 rather than a v3.