CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => Headphone, IEM, and Other Audio Related Discussion => Topic started by: GESTALT on July 03, 2015, 12:46:17 AM
-
Anyone have been able to compare the new HE400S with the year old HE560?
Which one has better detail, resolution...? I like clear bass, sure, but if I had prefer more detailed upper mids and treble more if I had to choose between the two. Smoothness matters next.
Oh, compared to stock HE400S (if you got them or listened to them at the shows) how much better is the HE560 modded no grill? In the above sense of microdetail (EDIT: Better question.)
First post, btw, Hi there! :)p2
-
HE560 is easily better in plankton and clarity. I didn't try enough tracks to see of HE400S has the upper mid and treble bumps HE560 has. My impression is HE400S might be a bit smoother in FR.
-
So a grill modded 560 is best for detail. Ok. Yes, about the large bump or V on the FR at the high end. How does that affect the sound? Seems a pretty steep fall and then a rise. Can it be easily equalized out?
BTW, anyone tried a closed or semi closed mod? Maybe cups that come on or can be taken off without ruining the sound too much?
I've neglected the DIY scene with hifimans for the past year or so for the most part, so I don't know if anyone tried something like this. (And I have a pair of good wooden cups that would fit I think.)
-
Hmm I always ignored the 560 as I didn't like it with the amps I heard it with but I really liked the 400s maybe I should try the 560 again
-
I'll try to see if I can get a pair to Marv to measure.
-
I ordered a pair of the 400s this week. will compare them against 560 soon after.
-
Thanks, ray
-
UPDATE: A pair of 560s is going to be with me in a day or two. I know some phones lovers nearby. Maybe one of them ordered the 400S, in which case I'll compare too.
-
Judging by peoples impressions so far, it seems the 400s is slightly on the warmer side and is closer to the HE-400i in sound. The HE-560 is an aggressive headphone with potent treble so detail is going to stand out. The HE-560 will without a doubt be the more detailed headphone going by impressions.
I didn't enjoy the 560 at all, it didn't sound natural to me. It was a good technical performer though.
-
I got the 560 now.
I had to equalize it a bit to sound nice, but less equalization needed than some of my other headphones.
Quite detailed, but needs a powerful amp to get that detail. My amp with the stock 560 cable needs to be put at 3/4 full volume to get all detail.
560 it seems to me works best for horns or woodwinds (flutes, etc) dominant music. I still like my closed AT woodies for classical in general.
Will listen to 560 more and later somebody nearby is bound to get the 400S so will compare.
But if it's much less detailed than 560 as you say, then it's not for me.
The 560 is about as detailed as my woodies to my ears, which is the minimum.
I only have 2 (<1000$) amps to work with though, so maybe the 400S scales well with a better amp?
-
Tyll has HE-400S measurements up, and they look awfully similar to the HD600 measurements:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/HiFiMANHE400S.pdf
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD600.pdf
Has anyone been able to compare the two? I was thinking about grabbing a pair of HD600/650 as a complement to my HE-400, but should I look into the 400S instead?
-
I recently had the pleasure of listening to both of these headphones and the 400i as well. These were my impressions and the final choice I made:
Music: I listen primarily to electronic, rock and roll, and hip hop. I did not use electronic tracks to test these headphones. If they sounded good with my rock and roll recordings I know these will sound good with my electronic recordings.
HE-400s: I felt had a little too smooth sounding and I didn't really feel the lower end bass kick. Please note I was looking for something to replace my HE-500 and figured that this might be a decent fit. I was wrong. Very comfortable though.
HE-560: I felt this headphone was a little too bright and to my ears didn't have the great sound signature the HE-500 brought on. It was more analytical like a reference phone than say a fun headphone to listen to the types of music I listen to. Also very comfortable.
HE-400i: I enjoyed the bass and overall sound the best on these. The bass I found to be tight and the sound signature was what I would call more fun than the 560. Maybe I am just too much of a noob to realize what a good set of headphones sounds like but I felt these sounded superior to both the 400s and the 560. I thought these sounded the closest to my HE-500 and overall picked these up. I like the fact that when I put these on I could listen to music with little to no fatigue for long periods of time. This headphone is very fun and for the price I think is a great buy.
-
I recently had the pleasure of listening to both of these headphones and the 400i as well. These were my impressions and the final choice I made:
Music: I listen primarily to electronic, rock and roll, and hip hop. I did not use electronic tracks to test these headphones. If they sounded good with my rock and roll recordings I know these will sound good with my electronic recordings.
HE-400s: I felt had a little too smooth sounding and I didn't really feel the lower end bass kick. Please note I was looking for something to replace my HE-500 and figured that this might be a decent fit. I was wrong. Very comfortable though.
HE-560: I felt this headphone was a little too bright and to my ears didn't have the great sound signature the HE-500 brought on. It was more analytical like a reference phone than say a fun headphone to listen to the types of music I listen to. Also very comfortable.
HE-400i: I enjoyed the bass and overall sound the best on these. The bass I found to be tight and the sound signature was what I would call more fun than the 560. Maybe I am just too much of a noob to realize what a good set of headphones sounds like but I felt these sounded superior to both the 400s and the 560. I thought these sounded the closest to my HE-500 and overall picked these up. I like the fact that when I put these on I could listen to music with little to no fatigue for long periods of time. This headphone is very fun and for the price I think is a great buy.
Your choice makes perfect sense for your genre preferences...
I agree that the 400i is a good value.
-
could anyone make an educated comment on the 560 vs 1000?
-
could anyone make an educated comment on the 560 vs 1000?
If I may as a modded 560 owner and having tried the 1000 on a few rigs, they have similar tonal characteristics with a more elevated upper midrange compared to the older HE-5/HE-500. In most respects the HE-1000 is noticeably better, with more clarity and an even better low-end, and smoother FR wise at stock compared to the 560. Imaging is wider but more diffuse on the 1000, and it throws a much taller stage.
What's more interesting to me is how they behave with sources. Both won't fail to function with modest amplification and scale quite far, and your experience with them is pretty dependent on what you use. As many other members here have noted, the HE-1000 with less than excellent gear can sound soft and lacking in leading edge. I found it un-engaging on a Asgard/Uberfrost stack, which more than suffices to get good performance out of the 560. On my Yggy and a borrowed amp the superiority of the HE-1000 is quite apparent.
-
I have to disagree with the yggy/rag the 560 was tight and well controlled throughout the frequency range (did have a tremble spike thought). The 1000 had loose bass and recessed mids (though mids to highs were less analytical than 560)