This is the official thread for the Monoprice M560. This thread is for discussion and reviews.
- Over Ear
- Amp needed
- Open Back
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DMS
Hi all, can anyone offer up tried and true proven mods for the Monoprice M560?
-I hate the sibilance I sometimes get with the highs and If Iâm not careful I drive them into distortion on the bottom end. (Hip hop, rap etc) Is this normal for this headphone? I really like them for Blues, Jazz, Greek and latin music. (Thatâs how I avoid the aforementioned problems.)
-My biggest gripe though is the ear pads. I have big ears, real big dumbo sized ears. I need large oblong or XL oval pads. What quality large ear pads will enhance the sound of these things? I know the big Sony pads were recommended by Zeos, but reading the Amazon reviews of them they seem to flake and get nasty fairly quickly so I have avoided those in hopes of finding something better. Any direction you guys can offer is much appreciated.
Eventually I want to upgrade to high end planars but I think these have more potential Iâm not getting out of them yet. And I happen to prefer them with the covers off.
Much better now, that took work, never will I purchase headphones that I canât properly replace the pads on ever again. BTW, the ZMF cowhide do wonders for taming the treble a bit and bringing out the lower octaves on the M560. They wear much better for me now.
I have these and they have no soundstage, imaging or base, with a metallic tamber. Their the worst headphones I own. I havenât modded before, what are the improvements the mod bring?
Pads will only do so much, they made them more comfortable, tamed the really sibilant highs a bit and brought out the lower end. I cheat tho, i run an eq and use a tube pre-amp before the amp to color the sound and deepen the soundstage to a decent point. I agree with you there are much better headphones out there. I was looking at them the other day and wondering if i could swap the actual cans out from another set because the best part about the 560âs is the actual band. Also i have learned to only play them with blues and jazz for the most part, not happy how they sound with other music.
Thatâs true, a pad change will only do so much in most cases, Iâll probably will try to sell mine. Their ainât a lot of mods for them out there. The mod looks nice thoughâŠnice work.
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I just got a pair of these for a good price. The build (and weight) is impressive. I donât consider myself a bass-freak, but Iâve been surprised at the lack of lower extension.
I find the stock pads upsetting. Tiny soft death cocoons. Iâm going to do some pad swapping to hopefully gain comfort and twist things to a slightly fuller, airier sound. Also have that little Bravo Ocean tube otw, curious to play with that.
Iâm enjoying âStop Making Senseâ right now on these, but the point of this post is to ask owners:
Regarding sound: what are these best at? Qualities and genres. Iâve been scratching my head.
I use them open and source/power not a problem.
Once you get a proper pad swap in (I use the Brainwavz XL sheepskins) and break them in, theyâre fantastic as a entry level âhifiâ daily driver. Itâs kind of that jack of all trades headphone where you can enjoy music and also game comfortably with it. Itâs definitely lacking in certain departments but for the price point theyâre fantastic daily drivers.
That pad-holding disk looks 3D printed. It also kind of looks like you have the pegs for alignment. Is this entirely your own construction, or something involving the magnetic pads it comes with? Considering cutting off the stock pads and trying to use the remaining magnetic disk to mount replacements I ordered. Have been using the ones Zeos recommended but while theyâre better than stock it isnât great. I wanted a pad with larger inside diameter.
I had a co-worker make the disks on a 3D printer w/ a design i found somewhere on the internet.
Edit: i went through the trouble of purchasing different pads and making several disks with magnets glued in to replicate the original pad holders and NOT destroy the original pads. There was a small benefit in SQ and these are possibly the top 5 best feeling and well built headphones i own but they only work for me with some genres. Ie, jazz, blues folk style music. They are ok but i would never put this much effort again in a budget tiered HP. IMO, not worth the effort and expense. YMMV
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I simply sacrificed the stock-pads to the Gods, ripped the magnetic mounts off of them and fanagled Brainwavz Round Hybrids on. Just a touch of snip-snip on the pads to make the tabs still fit into the holes on the M560. Not as tightly latching as stock, but they hold. Massive improvement in comfort. Helps with sound, but I still find these shockingly bass-light and hard to transition into. Once youâre in a solid genre, theyâre enjoyable. I dream of a driver-swap someday, as they are a fantastically built unit.
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The headphones still fascinate me by how much I eventually enjoy them during a session, and how WEIRD they sound when I begin listening to them. More-so than any other pair of headphones.
Tremendous with strings.
I have just picked up the ifi can and with the extra power and the bass and 3d audio on these are now very enjoyable. Better then my 58X. So those will be my go to non ampâd can. I am using Brainwaves hybrid pads. I took the stock pads apart and found the plastic backing is a perfect insert for aftermarket pads to mount. Going to try the XL sheepskins as I ahve a pair. Always seemed too big for these.
I just tried the XL sheepskins and these are better. Odly more hiss and less bass with those bigger pads. These are fenstrated inside and felt on the skin with solid leather out. Fit the adapter removed from the original pads perfect. Really do like the power and eq from the iFi.
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Yeah I hear that. The eq on this ifi can is really making these less of a thing I want to give up. I think I got them for like $140 on sale. Added the same pads via the same hack but this ampâŠ
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