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Author Topic: Bill-p HE-560 mod  (Read 11841 times)

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TMRaven

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Re: Bill-p HE-560 mod
« Reply #80 on: March 20, 2015, 03:36:34 AM »
EQ +3db 2khz and -3db 4khz with focus pads-a.

If that's still too harsh then get an Oppo.
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Hammy

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Re: Bill-p HE-560 mod
« Reply #81 on: March 20, 2015, 06:58:28 AM »
I'm playing with EQ with the Focus-A pads.  And it's helping.
Complicated though by the fact that the headphones are sensitive to how they're positioned over the ear and where the ear fits inside.  Makes it difficult to get consistent evaluation of EQ changes when slight changes in ear cup position can overwhelm those EQing differences.  My LCD-2r2 aren't so fussy.  These headphones are turning into more of a PITA than I intended.  But that's part of the fun and exploration.
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CCS

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Re: Bill-p HE-560 mod
« Reply #82 on: March 20, 2015, 02:09:10 PM »
Huh, that's quite interesting. Measurements at IF suggest that the headphones aren't very position sensitive at all and I've never noticed a very large differences in sound when changing the position of the cups relative to my ears.

I wonder why yours seems to be so sensitive to it. Any ideas?
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Bill-p

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Re: Bill-p HE-560 mod
« Reply #83 on: March 27, 2015, 02:08:05 PM »
Final set of measurements of the modded HE-560.

I've got photos... just need to write up some simple instructions. Since I'm a bit trapped for time now... what with preparing for CanJam and all, I'm not sure I can post it all today, but will try to shoot for this weekend for sure. Probably when I have time to relax at my own pace as CanJam takes place!

CSD is a lot cleaner than when I first got this headphone in. Left channel looks like it's still ringing, and that's because... well, it "rang" to begin with. Look at Marv's CSD and you can see a lot of ringing. Apparently, I think that's due to a particle or hair or something stuck to the conducting trace on the diaphragm, and it's grazing against the magnetic structure at higher excursions. There were some quality control issues with the early batch of HE-560, so this does not come as a surprise to me. I actually did open up my 2nd HE-560 and found there to be hair stuck to the trace, so I removed it with a tweezer (carefully, of course). I didn't attempt to open this pair up that far, since it's not my decision to make, and I'm sure Hifiman can take care of the user, etc... Sorry, anetode. I should have realized this when I saw Marv's CSD graphs.  facepalm

In actual listening, I don't think I heard the ringing as such. Please note that measurement is done at 90dB, which is... way more than I'd listen to comfortably. If you're one of those folks who listen at 90dB... well, who knows? It may just bother you enough. At lower volumes and lower excursions, though, I think there is very little chance that this will annoy at high frequencies. At extremely low frequencies, though, that's a different matter altogether...

Anyway, other than that, 4KHz peak was push down as much as 6dB, due in no small part to some back damping. I reckon those who aren't bothered by this peak (using Focus A pads) and want the utmost clarity can ignore this part, so I will make sure to reflect that in the instructions in the front.

And that's it. Will post instructions as soon as I can. For now... gotta run. I must say... after modding it this far, this HE-560 has gotten quite close to the Code-X, which was my target response, so... I'm satisfied.  :)p1 It's still somewhat more airy and with a bigger soundstage, of course.
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jerg

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Re: Bill-p HE-560 mod
« Reply #84 on: March 27, 2015, 05:02:44 PM »
Quote from: Bill-p on March 27, 2015, 02:08:05 PM
Final set of measurements of the modded HE-560.

I've got photos... just need to write up some simple instructions. Since I'm a bit trapped for time now... what with preparing for CanJam and all, I'm not sure I can post it all today, but will try to shoot for this weekend for sure. Probably when I have time to relax at my own pace as CanJam takes place!

CSD is a lot cleaner than when I first got this headphone in. Left channel looks like it's still ringing, and that's because... well, it "rang" to begin with. Look at Marv's CSD and you can see a lot of ringing. Apparently, I think that's due to a particle or hair or something stuck to the conducting trace on the diaphragm, and it's grazing against the magnetic structure at higher excursions. There were some quality control issues with the early batch of HE-560, so this does not come as a surprise to me. I actually did open up my 2nd HE-560 and found there to be hair stuck to the trace, so I removed it with a tweezer (carefully, of course). I didn't attempt to open this pair up that far, since it's not my decision to make, and I'm sure Hifiman can take care of the user, etc... Sorry, anetode. I should have realized this when I saw Marv's CSD graphs.  facepalm

In actual listening, I don't think I heard the ringing as such. Please note that measurement is done at 90dB, which is... way more than I'd listen to comfortably. If you're one of those folks who listen at 90dB... well, who knows? It may just bother you enough. At lower volumes and lower excursions, though, I think there is very little chance that this will annoy at high frequencies. At extremely low frequencies, though, that's a different matter altogether...

Anyway, other than that, 4KHz peak was push down as much as 6dB, due in no small part to some back damping. I reckon those who aren't bothered by this peak (using Focus A pads) and want the utmost clarity can ignore this part, so I will make sure to reflect that in the instructions in the front.

And that's it. Will post instructions as soon as I can. For now... gotta run. I must say... after modding it this far, this HE-560 has gotten quite close to the Code-X, which was my target response, so... I'm satisfied.  :)p1 It's still somewhat more airy and with a bigger soundstage, of course.

Looks sick!

Do you have your baseline FR/CSD measurements for your HE560s in stock form in the same format? I can't find it and it's kind of hard to compare these measurements with Marv's baseline plots.
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Hands

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Re: Bill-p HE-560 mod
« Reply #85 on: March 27, 2015, 08:27:10 PM »
Can't remember if this is one you said you'd be able to send my way, but I'd love to hear and measure it if so.

Any chance you could get a relatively fresh HD600 or something really commonly measured, stock, so we can get a better baseline or point of reference for your measurements?
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Bill-p

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Re: Bill-p HE-560 mod
« Reply #86 on: March 27, 2015, 10:08:30 PM »
This one will be left with Marv after CanJam, actually. It's anetode's. Will send you the LCD-2 instead if you're interested. :)

And yeah, I can borrow CEE TEE's HD600 some time later.

jerg, I'll get that HE-560 stock measurement done tonight before sleep... as it's... game time tomorrow! I'll leave most of the cool headphones at Marv's table for folks to check.

Subjectively, this HE-560 is akin to a more open Code-X IMO. Code-X is probably a wee bit more resolving, but it ain't by much, and the HE-560 has bass that hits harder since my mod does intentionally break a bit of the seal... and you know as well as I do what "breaking the seal" means for single-sided planars. ;D
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Hands

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Re: Bill-p HE-560 mod
« Reply #87 on: March 27, 2015, 10:10:41 PM »
Definitely still interested in the LCD2.
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anetode

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Re: Bill-p HE-560 mod
« Reply #88 on: March 27, 2015, 10:12:49 PM »
Quote from: hans030390 on March 27, 2015, 08:27:10 PM
Can't remember if this is one you said you'd be able to send my way, but I'd love to hear and measure it if so.

Any chance you could get a relatively fresh HD600 or something really commonly measured, stock, so we can get a better baseline or point of reference for your measurements?
Quote from: hans030390 on March 27, 2015, 08:27:10 PM
Can't remember if this is one you said you'd be able to send my way, but I'd love to hear and measure it if so.

Any chance you could get a relatively fresh HD600 or something really commonly measured, stock, so we can get a better baseline or point of reference for your measurements?

I can get it back from Marv after CanJam finishes up, attach it to a tiny parachute and toss it out of the emergency exit while flying over the rockies. Oh, and add a GPS tracker so Hans can find it.
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Hands

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Re: Bill-p HE-560 mod
« Reply #89 on: March 27, 2015, 11:22:44 PM »
Any excuse to take a nice hike!
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