Good open-back ~$200-ish headphone?

[thomasjast]

Nope ... but the cat is out of the bag

Wow, thanks for this! What a great review!

 

[Vini darko]

The hype train has left the station on youtube. For once it may be justified looking at the objective preformance.

 

[weasels]

Interesting review of the HD560s.

I really like my HD6XX, but sometimes go back to my Grado 325s because the soundstage on the Grados is much, much wider than the Sennheisers. Cans that combine elements of both would be very intriguing.

 

[solderdude]

You could say it is as forward and open sounding as a Grado but with Sennheiser comfort and better bass extension.
The HD6XX is warmer and less forward and a narrower stereo image.

 

[thomasjast]

You could say it is as forward and open sounding as a Grado but with Sennheiser comfort and better bass extension.
The HD6XX is warmer and less forward and a narrower stereo image.

I recently re-bought the HD599 and I just love them. The (overly, to some) warm midbass is exactly what I like about it. They really shine on wimpy sources like a DualShock 4 output where a 6XX is pretty quiet at max volume. This new 560S seems like a real winner if it fixes the midbass hump (for some)!

 

[goldark]

You could say it is as forward and open sounding as a Grado but with Sennheiser comfort and better bass extension.
The HD6XX is warmer and less forward and a narrower stereo image.

How does detail on the 560S compare to the rest of the Senn 500/600 series headphones?

 

[solderdude]

I recently re-bought the HD599 and I just love them.

Then you probably won't like the HD560S. The 599 is overly warm/bassy. The HD560 is not.

How does detail on the 560S compare to the rest of the Senn 500/600 series headphones?

Not as 'smooth' as HD6xx series. There is more sparkle. Closest to HD600 but with better bass extension and even more forward.

 

[3125b]

So you are saying I should buy one when it becomes a little more affordable (if it follows the HD500s path, and not 600s, wich have become more expensive over the years for some reason).
Edit: Alright, ordering the 560S right now from the official Sennheiser store would be 173,73€ delivered. Not too bad.
Do you have a comparison against the T90?

 

[solderdude]

It is a HD600 'esque' sounding headphone with more bass extension and wider soundstage and some emphasis in the 5kHz area and built in China to keep the costs down.
With a filter I personally like how it sounds. It is not a replacement for the HD6** range nor a typical HD5** range.
It is a headphone unlike the current HD5** and HD6** range.
The HD560S is marketted as the little brother of the HD660S but other than HD6_0S I hear nor see any likeniss.
It is a different 'signature' with some excellent qualities for those that do not like warm sound and prefer a wider stereo image.
The headphone has potential (with some EQ) for being an excellent, cheap and lightweight neutral headphone.

I do expect the headphone price to drop to the 120 - 150 Euro range in a few years but maybe it won't.
I would say at € 173,73 you will have an excellent headphone. EQ down around 5kHz (approx 6dB with a wider Q) and you'll probably like it.

Not measured the T90 but expect less 'sharpness' and more 'forward/clarity' and more 'neutral' (less midbass/warmth) sound.

IMO it fits the Good open-back ~$200-ish headphone request for sure. May not be everyone's cup of tea.

 

[Veri]

@solderdude how about comfort is it HD599 levels of comfort?

 

[solderdude]

Same as HD5xx range. Lightweight, clamping force somewhat above pleasant but not too high. Pads are the exact same ones as used on the HD559.

 

[MadMan]

This might not mean much based purely off other people's impressions, but the 560S appears to me to be a consumer-friendly evolution of the HD6-- headphones. A bit more bass and bass extension, less expensive, maybe not as repairable (? - would need to see a teardown and see what parts Sennheiser sells). Overall a really good entry into the headphone market, kind of a middle-of-the-road all-arounder.

Interesting though that @solderdude and some others talk about bass extension, while the diyaudio measurements show that while there is a bit more bass, it's not what I would call a flat 'extension' like some planars or whatever have. Maybe the lack of mid-bass warmth adds to the subjective impression of extension ?

*edit: haha, I just realized solderdude runs diyaudioheaven

 

[Pdxwayne]

Same as HD5xx range. Lightweight, clamping force somewhat above pleasant but not too high. Pads are the exact same ones as used on the HD559.

I am a newbie in headphones world.
Do you have a recommendation for a headphone amp that would work great with hd560s? Thanks!

 

[3125b]

They're easy to drive, doesn't really matter, just get something with reasonably low output impedance.
Mainboard onboard soundchips often have a high output impedance, so they will boost the bass audibly.
A good dongle would do the trick, the Tempotec Sonata HD Pro (about 40$ from China) would do the trick nicely, the Meizu HiFi Pro would also work fine. Something like that, you could look through the reviews.
A full desktop setup would be 200$ and up, and would give you some power reserve for harder to drive headphones. Just for the 560S it's not needed and therefor not really worth it in my opinion.

 

[Pdxwayne]

They're easy to drive, doesn't really matter, just get something with reasonably low output impedance.
Mainboard onboard soundchips often have a high output impedance, so they will boost the bass audibly.
A good dongle would do the trick, the Tempotec Sonata HD Pro (about 40$ from China) would do the trick nicely, the Meizu HiFi Pro would also work fine. Something like that, you could look through the reviews.
A full desktop setup would be 200$ and up, and would give you some power reserve for harder to drive headphones. Just for the 560S it's not needed and therefor not really worth it in my opinion.

Thank you! I will look through your recommendations!

 

[Nango]

SRH1440, K702 are neutral.

 

[solderdude]

This might not mean much based purely off other people's impressions, but the 560S appears to me to be a consumer-friendly evolution of the HD6-- headphones. A bit more bass and bass extension, less expensive, maybe not as repairable (? - would need to see a teardown and see what parts Sennheiser sells). Overall a really good entry into the headphone market, kind of a middle-of-the-road all-arounder.

Interesting though that @solderdude and some others talk about bass extension, while the diyaudio measurements show that while there is a bit more bass, it's not what I would call a flat 'extension' like some planars or whatever have. Maybe the lack of mid-bass warmth adds to the subjective impression of extension ?

*edit: haha, I just realized solderdude runs diyaudioheaven

The HD560S lacks the midbass hump. This also means relatively sub-bass is higher in level. Then you would have to realize most of the bass in music is in the 40-60 Hz region and bass extension is an octave lower so 20-30Hz.
30 Hz is about -1dB (and I also have kind of Harman-alike bass 'boost' in the plots but less in amplitude and not as 'steep' as Harman but based on loudness contour) and 20Hz is only -5dB in my plots and then have a look at plots of say LCD-2 you will also see about -5dB at 20Hz.
Sooo.. bass extension is very similar to LCD-2 with even slightly more bass (40-60Hz region) as the LCD-2.
No rattling, boomy bass (it would have to be over the 90dB line for that) but well extended it is and quite low in distortion.
Indeed, bass sounds similar extended as the Edition XX for instance.
Quite impressive for an open dynamic headphone.

 

[raistlin65]

Thank you! I will look through your recommendations!

I have the Tempotec Sonata HD Pro and have used it extensively with the HD58X and HD660S. No doubt it would work great with the HD560S based upon impedance and sensitivity specs.

 

[Rayman30]

Audio Technica ATH Series (Open, bright, airy and detailed, mids and highs focused)
HiFiMan HE400i V2 2020 (No experience)
HiFiMan HE4XX (Open, elevated upper mids, spacious and detailed, fun but controlled bass)
Sennheiser H6XX (Open, Intimate, warm, elevated mids, rolled off highs, controlled bass, poor soundstage)
Grado SR225 (Open, very bright, cool and detailed, elevated highs)
Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro (Open, bright, cool, detailed, elevated lows and highs, very large soundstage)

If you can handle the hot treble, Beyerdynamics will be best for gaming, for a mix of music and games, my vote is HiFiMan.

 

[Objectivist01]

What would the pros and cons of the Hd6xx be for what I'm looking for?

Cons: no wide soundstage like a really open headphone mainly due to its rather dull treble.

Pros: durable, reasonably even very natural tonality more most music. Very easy to listen due to its dull treble.