My first impressions of the 560 quoted from head-fi:
"HE-560 Impressions:
I won't go too much into looks and build quality because most of it has been covered. I have the pre-order version and emailed hifiman to send me it anyways without the currently worked upon upgrades. As is with most anything wooden, the HE-560 looks considerably better in person than in pictures. The teak cups have a deep richness to them with an eggshell finish, so they're not completely matte. The transition from cup to the pleather of the earpad is solid feeling, and I'm glad the new pads don't have the little rubber lip to them as the previous velours did. The headband both looks and feels very nice and sturdy, the stitching and finish of the suspension strap is top notch. Overall the 560 is a big leap in build over the HE-400 at least, and I'm sure the other previous HE models as well. Comfort is for the most part outstanding: I haven't had a headband disappear on the top of my head like this other than the AD700 with its wing system. The earpads are a mixed bag. I'm not too upset over the choice to use velour on the surface of the pads over pleather or leather, but from time to time they can get slightly itchy-- is as with most things velour on the skin. The openings of the earpads themselves are big enough for me, although I take bigger issue in the actual depth of the pads, as my ears gently touch the fabric covering the diaphragm, and I assume will touch them even more as the pads compress over time due to their plush nature. I will be getting the larger earpads and see how those pan out when Hifiman eventually rolls them out. A couple of people have mentioned the yokes being too close to the cups and wearing the finish of the wood some. That is indeed true and I hope it gets resolved. I'm surprised something so glaring would make it past alpha stage. I went into a lot of detail afterall-- oh well.
When I ran my first song through the HE-560 I thought it sounded cold and a bit diffused (keep in mind I'm coming from an EQ'd HE-400, but other neutralish headphones like the Focal Spirit Pro and Audeze LCD-XC were warmer even still.) I wasn't too happy with what I heard. The bass hit a bit soft, and the mids sounded the tiniest congested. However multiple hours later I realized that it's actually pretty hard to pinpoint an actual overall sound characteristic of the HE-560, it tends to transform sonically according to whatever recording is being played through it, more so than any other headphone I've heard. This is most likely attributed to its neutrality. However through careful listening, observation, and pink noise, I've come to realize that there might be a little of a trouble spot in the lower treble area-- somewhere along the lines of 'ch' and 'th' sibilance-- I'm guessing the 6-8khz area. The HE-560 exhibited sibilance in this area in some songs that my EQ'd HE-400 did not (and my EQ'd HE-400 still has quite a bit of treble, more so than the HE-560 in the 10-12khz range.) On certain songs the lower midrange of the HE-560 tends to sound too soft and lacking focus/body, but on others it's fine. I'm thinking it actually might not be linear to 1khz like most others and starts rolling off gently after the upper bass of 250hz down to 2khz or so, giving it less thickness than the usual planar magnetic, and making it a bit dry sounding... depending on the song. However on other recordings it can sound very low-mid heavy, so it's hard to be conclusive about this-- I know it's weird but at times I think I'm listening to the EQ'd HE-400 when I still have the HE-560 on my head. That says something about this headphone's ability to change its sonic presentation depending on
the recording and the consistency of Hifiman's house sound between their products.
The bass extension is about on par with the HE-400. The bass of the HE-560 might have slightly more presence in the 25-30hz area, but the difference shouldn't be enough to make any appreciable difference while listening; it doesn't extend as well as an Audeze. The impact of the bass feels soft in general, especially compared to the HE-400, which is more authoritative and snappy down low in general. I think it was Jerg who mentioned that Hifiman will be working on improving the bass for the 'production' release of the HE-560, and I think that will be a warm welcome. The balance of the HE-560's bass is well in line to my ears, but the impact could use a bit of strengthening.
The actual soundstage of the HE-560 seems to be on par with the HE-400, which isn't a bad thing but a good thing. It's not massive like the HD800. That's that.
The HE-560 is the most detailed pair of headphones I've had the pleasure of listening to so far. I've listened to the HD800 multiple times, but never had sessions long enough to my own to really get a sense for their detail. The treble of the HE-560 is very articulate, well in balance in the 10-12khz region, decently extended, and a little hard in the lower region around 6-8khz. Strings are rendered extremely well on the HE-560, and I've been able to pick out subtle details in recordings I'm well familiar with that other headphones just plain glaze over (common expression I know.) The lower midrange is as good as the HE-400 when it comes instrument separation when multiple instruments harmonize together, and giving a wealth of textural layering as a result-- which is to say it's better than the Audeze offerings.
When Hifiman eventually releases the 'production' model with supposedly improved bass performance for more impact and a sweeter sound, plus larger earpads for improved comfort, I think you'd be extremely hard-pressed to find a better all-rounder under 1000 dollars than these. Aesthetics, comfort, build, neutrality and detail retrieval, the HE-560 has it all.
I will be getting the Audeze LCD-X next week and I'll be posting a short but concise comparison between the two then. If the LCD-XC was any indication, I might like the LCD-X better, but who knows."
