Absolutely fantastic headphones comfy great soundI could not be happier

Absolutely fantastic headphones comfy great soundI could not be happier  Read Less

Amazing. I now have the Sennheiser HD 800, Hifiman HE 560 and HE 400I as my primary cans driven by the Chord Mojo. No need for ...  Read More

Amazing. I now have the Sennheiser HD 800, Hifiman HE 560 and HE 400I as my primary cans driven by the Chord Mojo. No need for anything else.  Read Less

It’s hard to write a glowing review for a headphone as new as the HE560 without it sounding a bit like gushing (especially give...  Read More

It’s hard to write a glowing review for a headphone as new as the HE560 without it sounding a bit like gushing (especially given the amount of hype and turbulence surrounding their release), but I can’t help it: these are just some incredible headphones. Just to put some of you at ease though, I will say that, by-and-large, I missed the hype-train accompanying these things, and while I’ve always loved the price-to-performance ratio of Hifiman’s other headphones, they have never been my all-time favorite headphone manufacturers. So in that regard, I think I can speak with a certain lack of bias.First of all, a lot has been said about the new fit and finish of these headphones. There have been strange tales abound of inconsistent manufacturing: poor assembly, scratched woods, and funky cabling. Luckily, the newest retail run of these, as far as I can tell, have none of these issues whatsoever. Obviously I can’t accurately speak on quality consistency, given I have just the one pair, but as far as what I was given I can very comfortably say that these are some of the more handsome, well assembled headphones I have owned.Sure, you don’t get that taut, modern, Euro-industrial feel of the HD800, and you don’t get the clean, no-nonsense feel of a Beyerdynamic. What you get is a well-assembled, sturdy, and supremely comfortable headphone; nothing more, nothing less. The stitching is all top notch, the wood veneer is smooth and attractively finished, and the pads are pillow soft and comfortable (a MAJOR step up from previous models). The headband reminds me a bit of the AKG K712, which is to say that it is generally inoffensive and never gets uncomfortable, and the pads sit softly upon the sides of my head without applying too much pressure to any one spot. Basically, I couldn’t be much happier with the fit and finish of these things. It also comes in a very nice wood and brushed aluminum case, though I can’t see it ever spending much time in there. Maybe Hifiman just wanted to go that extra mile for its loyal customers. I suppose it’s nice to have, since it doesn’t seem to have inflated the price that much anyway. The cable is very nice, too, though too short for my liking. It’s only about six or seven feet long. It DOES have a nice Kevlar coating, though, and it seems to be altogether easier to work with than Hifiman’s previous cables. Also worth mentioning, Hifiman is still going with the mini-coax connections, though that really hasn’t bothered me like it bothers some people.Now onto SOUND (and I’ll capitalize it because I know it’s what most people read these reviews for). Let me just get it out of the way: these are my favorite planar magnetic headphones to date. Granted, I have not listened to some of the more expensive models (LCD3, LCD-XC, Abyss) and I have yet to try Oppo’s new offering, but even on it’s own merits, the HE560 is an incredibly capable all-around headphone.Treble: Treble is where this headphone really shines. It simply has more articulation, speed and energy in the upper registers than any other planar magnetic I have heard. At the same time, though, it avoids the pitfall (in my opinion) of the similarly priced, treble-happy dynamic headphones on the market. Namely, it doesn’t forsake it’s musicality for dry, analytical detailing. It does indeed have wonderful detail retrieval, again probably at the top of the list of planars in that regard, but then it also doesn’t berate you with a bunch of tizzy nonsense just so you can pick out a cello player in the fifth row shifting his foot an inch. It stops just shy of “microscopic” so that it can retain its musicality. It never becomes fatiguing to my ears. It’s just a very, very pleasant presentation of treble.Mids: Mids, like the treble, are clear, fast and coherent. There’s not a whole lot to talk about with the mids, honestly. They’re not the most appealing mids I have ever heard simply because they have not been inappropriately brought forward. They are presented clearly and levelly to maintain a neutral coherency within the rest of the frequency response. Don’t get me wrong, things like vocals and electric guitars still sound incredible just on the strength of their clarity and speed, but it is not a mid-centric headphone if that’s what you’re looking for.Bass: You can think of the bass as sort of a refined version of the HE500. It has about the same quantity, but it’s clearer, punchier and slightly better extended.I have a couple of test tracks I like to use to get a good feel for the bass in a headphone. The first is ‘Vinum Sabbathi’ by Electric Wizard. The track starts out with a very prominent down-tuned bass guitar, so it’s a good indication of upper-bass and the transition into lower-mids, and by God, it sounds fantastic. It really brings the thud and punch out of those guitars. I felt like I needed to close all the doors, light one up and get a hotbox going in there while I was listening, but then I remembered that I don’t smoke. I’m just a man that likes his bass guitar, and these headphones are absolutely fantastic for that.The other track is “Angel” by Massive Attack because it’s got that incredible sub-bass rumble throughout that makes everything sound so epic. Again, the HE560 performed admirably. It’s not quite as well extended and thundery as, say, the LCD2 (pre-Fazor), but it’s still got a good, visceral thump to it that most open-backs just can’t quite reach.Dynamics: This is one area where I think a LOT of planars fail, and consequently, it’s also primarily why up to this point, the HD800 has been my go-to headphone for most applications. The HE560 is a very dynamic headphone, and by that, I mean that when a song is trying to emphasize a section by contrasting volume or texture or both, the HE560 can convey that contrast effortlessly. I’ve found that planars tend to have a very hard time with this, for whatever reason, but because of how quick and articulate the HE560 is, it thankfully does not suffer from the same weakness.Soundstage and Imaging: The soundstage is very large and imaging is fantastic. It is a step removed from the likes of the HD800 in this regard, but I feel like many new headphones are getting close enough to the HD800 that there are better alternatives to it even if it is still the king of this category. The HE560 is one of those headphones. It performs solidly enough in this area that I think the beauty of the rest of its sound is worth the slightly less expansive soundstage. It is still very large, and again is probably at the top of its class as far as planars go, but it stops just shy of the HD800’s pinpoint imaging.So again, I’m sorry if this sounds like gushing, but I feel like this is a genuinely incredible headphone, and I can tell already that it will probably be my workhorse until the next big thing comes along. I couldn’t recommend this headphone more for people looking for a good all-arounder.Also, if anyone wants any comparisons in the comments section, just let me know. I’m not the most well-traveled headphoner the world has ever known, but I’ve owned and/or tried many of the headphones that I think people will be comparing the HE560 to.  Read Less