What you need to know about the HiFiMan HE560

On the surface, HiFiMan's new model, the HE 560 is an amalgam of innovative design and great sound quality. It has garnered some great reviews, and expectations have been high.

Certainly the sound quality is excellent, as can be expected from a high-end model priced at $900.

But close up you can clearly see the fit and finish is somewhat disappointing -- the veneer does not come right up to the grille circumference, the universal headband looks really fragile at its tension points on the sides, and the earcup ratchet mechanism cover is cheap looking. Even the pad stitching is irregular.

And when you hold the 560, your biggest fear is that it will break in your hands. Yes the headband is stronger than folks give it credit for, but overall it feels incredibly flimsy, and that's not just my opinion. Of course, some of my fear is a bias -- it is super light, and when it comes to headphones, in our mind we unconsciously equate heaviness with "strength" and lightness with "fragility". But you have to hold one to understand what I mean when I say it feels "incredibly flimsy".

Am I being nitpicky? A little. But for $900 I expect more than this. I want a HiFiMan headphone I can love, that isn't disappointing. HiFiMan is like the dude who runs the whole race like a champ and then falls short at the finish line, their products have huge potential and yet continue to be marred by fatal flaws.

I think the piece that sticks in everyone's throat is the $900 price tag. If this were a $200 or $300 pair of headphones, it would not be an issue at all. After all, the AKG Q701 headband tension mechanism is just as flimsy, and the "wood" on the Sennheiser HD598 is just as fake looking. But at this price point, the general feeling is more that HiFiMan is overcharging for the HE560 than anything else.