HELP! HD560s or Sundara, which one should I buy?

[jenny]

Hello
I would like you to help me in the group because I have a doubt.
I like to listen to hi-fi music in .flac and .MQA with Tidal in master quality and also play video games.
and I want to buy some of these two headphones but I don't know which one to buy, the sennheiser hd 560s or the hifiman sundara I have read in forums that the hifiman sundara are better... but my question is if there is much difference in the Sundara compared to the HD560s ? or is it very little? because I found the hd560s at a good price at 160 dollars with free shipping and the sundara has a value of 300 dollars and more the shipping to my country would be 350 dollars, and in my country the dollar costs a lot of money, so I want to know if it's worth Is it worth investing 200 dollars more for the sundaras or is it not worth it? That's why I want to know if there is much difference between the Sundara and the HD560s.
What do you recommend me?

 

[jae]

Do you need a headset/microphone when playing the games? If so I would suggest the Sennheiser PC38X which includes one if you don't already have a microphone or aren't planning on using a better quality one. Both the HD560s and Sundara are good headphones, but each also have their flaws. Between the two I would say the 560s would probably be a more complete and comfortable experience out of the box but the Sundara gets better if you are willing to EQ the sound and it is superior technology/build quality as one would expect for almost double the price. AKG K371 is also a good choice too which much cheaper than these and also be as readily available as the HD560s. It is a closed headphone. You would also try looking for used HD6XX/650/600 (open headphones) or any of these other headphones I mentioned used on ebay if cost is an issue. Since you are so budget limited you will want to make sure the headphone you buy can be driven well enough with audio jack you would typically find on your computer/phone/usb dongle because needing to buy one will eat most of your budget.

 

[jenny]

Do you need a headset/microphone when playing the games? If so I would suggest the Sennheiser PC38X which includes one if you don't already have a microphone or aren't planning on using a better quality one. Both the HD560s and Sundara are good headphones, but each also have their flaws. Between the two I would say the 560s would probably be a more complete and comfortable experience out of the box but the Sundara gets better if you are willing to EQ the sound and it is superior technology/build quality as one would expect for almost double the price. AKG K371 is also a good choice too which much cheaper than these and also be as readily available as the HD560s. It is a closed headphone. You would also try looking for used HD6XX/650/600 (open headphones) or any of these other headphones I mentioned used on ebay if cost is an issue. Since you are so budget limited you will want to make sure the headphone you buy can be driven well enough with audio jack you would typically find on your computer/phone/usb dongle because needing to buy one will eat most of your budget.

I'm not a competitive gamer, I rarely play and only horror or thriller video games, so I don't need a microphone, but I like to listen to music all the time and in high quality like MQA and I listen to a lot of heavy metal, classic rock and heavy rock .
Going back to your answer, then the Hifiman Sundara is $200 more expensive just because of its construction and not its sound details.
and the hd600 and hd660s are very expensive on amazon and on ebay and even used they are more expensive than the sundara and my maximum budget is 300 dollars and I only found the used hd6xx on amazon at 187 dollars so which one would you recommend more according to you experience, the hd560s or the hd6xx?
and the hifiman sundara then its really not worth spending 200 bucks more just because they are better built than the hd560's.
and i don't like the equalizer so i guess that's another negative point for the sundara.

 

[solderdude]

I listen to a lot of heavy metal, classic rock and heavy rock .

The hifiman are better suited for this. Reason being the dip all of these headphones have. The bass response leaves to be desired in all hifiman models. The HD560S may sound too 'bright' out of the box.

 

[jae]

HD 560s is technically a bit more "accurate" frequency response than the HD6XX (which is essentially a rebranded HD 650 with minor differences if any at all) in the bass and midrange, but HD6XX/650 has superior and smoother highend. I agree with solderdude that the 560s may seem too bright. It's my personal opinion, but I would say that despite the HD560s being better on paper in terms of overall frequency response, the treble issues it has is less forgivable than the shortcomings of 6XX/650. The 6XX I think is better suited to extended listening because of this (not as fatiguing), and it is more physically comfortable to wear. There is a reason the 6XX/650 is essentially the benchmark that all premium headphones are held to today. If it was in good condition, I would take a used 6XX for $170 over a new 560s for $160 almost every time. It also has very good resale value so if you really did not like it, I don't think you'd have problems selling it for the same price if not even higher than $170- it usually costs $240+ brand new and $300+ outside of the USA.

 

[krumpol]

high quality like MQA

16 bit 44.1 kHz FLAC is enough to store frequency range audible to human.

 

[Johnnyboo]

560s are unreal for the price!!

 

[kthulhutu]

560s has a much better build, QC and a more accurate out of the box response. Sundara's EQ advantage is negated by unit variance issues.

 

[staticV3]

What unit variance?


HiFiMan's QC is shit, yes, but if the headphone is working, then it seems pretty damn consistent to me.

 

[nyxnyxnyx]

I think even if the target is varied a bit it won't matter that much, no?
think about it. most if not ALL reviewers won't ever have more than just a few pairs to sample. even if we do a collective comparison there are only that many measured out of the countless sold units. and that is already under the condition that all units measured are measured exactly in the same calibration and precision.
plus after time your pads might change, so the presumed target response is going to be different anyway (check dt880 thread). or you might even go out and buy new, different pads that will most likely change the FR in comparison with original pads.
Not defending hifiman's QC but I just think those points I mention are pretty much above our consumer's control so I won't think too much about it.

 

[Dunring]

I had a Sundara for 7 months as a daily driver and gaming was weird. The soundstage is really wide so you can hear monsters to the side, but so flat they had to be right on top of you before hearing them. Right now I'm using the Drop PC38x and would recommend them to anyone who can steal a pair on eBay since they're really down on price lately. The 560s is a solid choice, and much more suited to gaming, but the PC38x is excellent for music as well and the flip up mic automatically mutes which is a really handy feature for privacy.
If all I did was listen to music I'd still get the HD650 (which I just sold a pair today) over the Sundara. I've had half a dozen HD6xx and never wanted to keep them, but the HD650 I was so close to keeping them (I buy and sell) as the detail and just overall sound quality is better. It's not the pads, I tried the HD650 with a spare pair of HD6xx pads I have and it was clearly better with those or stock original pads. Just buy a lapel mic for $4 with an extension cable to clip on when gaming and choose anything. I've removed enough modmic magnets off headphones I've bought to not want them on open back headphones, the magnet on those is really powerful to put anywhere near a driver magnet.

 

[Bernard23]

I owned both, and EQd both using Roon. My music preferences are rock, EDM, blues, anything with a backbeat to it basically, though listen to the odd bit of acoustic and classical. Both out of the box and EQd the Sundara was hands down the nicer to listen to, and to wear. Both need a hefty bass boost, both can take it, but the 560S was simply too bright and slightly anaemic sounding for my tastes. Buy both, send one back if you can.
EDIT: I've got some almsot brtand new unused HD650 that I'm letting go, as I've no need for them (prefer Sundara) and need to fund LCD-X!

 

[Rayman30]

If value for dollar is what you're after, you would be hard pressed to do better than the Sennheiser HD560s, but you may need to EQ them a bit to get your desired sound, they are also easier to drive so you might not need an amp... and honestly they will likely last a lot longer than the Hifiman. Personally, I would start with the HD560s, then save up for an "End game" pair, because its likely you will eventually get the itch for something high end.

 

[Razor54672]

Hello
I would like you to help me in the group because I have a doubt.
I like to listen to hi-fi music in .flac and .MQA with Tidal in master quality and also play video games.
and I want to buy some of these two headphones but I don't know which one to buy, the sennheiser hd 560s or the hifiman sundara I have read in forums that the hifiman sundara are better... but my question is if there is much difference in the Sundara compared to the HD560s ? or is it very little? because I found the hd560s at a good price at 160 dollars with free shipping and the sundara has a value of 300 dollars and more the shipping to my country would be 350 dollars, and in my country the dollar costs a lot of money, so I want to know if it's worth Is it worth investing 200 dollars more for the sundaras or is it not worth it? That's why I want to know if there is much difference between the Sundara and the HD560s.
What do you recommend me?

Try ABXing Opus (160 kbps) with those Hi-Fi FLAC / MQAs in foobar2000.
I can say that it would be next to impossible for you to distinguish between them.
Heck, some music with only instruments I tried sounded almost the same to me at 64 kbps. (I am 20 years old, good hearing)
I once sought 96 kHz / 24 bit audio (with a bit rate of 4000+ kbps).
It sounds funny and ridiculous at the same time now.

Got to give it to Apple when they offered lossless music, they honestly stated that although the difference in audible quality isn't there, the competition was offering and so they followed suit anyway. (not word-for-word, but atleast that seemed to be the implication from their press release)