New version of Sennheiser HD 560S (!)

[solderdude]

Do we?
You seem to be convinced the memory foam is softer in revised model, according Solderdude's article it is firmer though. Since you both have measured the same difference in frequency response with softer and firmer pads, I think driver has been changed and memory foam properties are not that important.

The ones I measured and tested were all used models.
I think Robbo9999 has bought all of his HD560S new.
The 'newer' HD560S I measured, of course, were newer (so pads did not age as much) compared to the older ones I had and bought second hand.
In one of them I even had to replace the pads because they were worn (compressed too much).
Measurements were taken using fresh pads (on the older versions).

What was clear (with experiments of swapping pads on different versions) was that the pads as well as the drivers (production spread or deliberate change) had an influence on the tonal balance, in particular the brightness.

That has also been kind of the consensus on the web. AFAIK Oratory thinks it is just production spread but I got inside intel that changes were made.
Also pads for the HD6** series has changed as well. Different foam and cloth is used.
I assume it was a financial decision in order to not increase pricing too much, along with the box it comes in and cheaper cables.

 

[Alchemist_]

You will have more comfort and either have warmer/fuller sound or brighter/thinner sound (using as is).
Of course the sound can be EQ'ed.

I don't know about this. The (in total 6) I measured showed the same behavior in the bass.
I cannot measure above 100dB SPL in the bass though but don't think the driver changed that much in the bass.
Of course the less bright signature is also perceived as having more body/warmth by a lot of people.

In your review, I read that the bass in the 490 velor ear pads is "soft". If you adjust the sound on the 560 with an equalizer to the frequency response of 490, so that the 560 sounds as similar as possible to the 490, will the bass of the 560 also be soft?

I was also surprised - if you cover the 560S with your palms, it does not change the sound, usually with open hands it greatly affects the sound. Doesn't this change the sound in 490 either?

Thanks for your work.

 

[solderdude]

I don't have the HD490 Pro anymore so can't test.

The softness in the bass is frequency response related.

 

[jurgu]

I recently bought a new unit as well. Both units were purchased from Amazon Germany, the old one in August 2021, the new one in February 2024. The old unit has been used quite a lot, so padwear might play a role here, the new unit has completly new pads: Here´s how they compare on my measurement rig (iec711 clone coupler):

The new unit measures noticeably brighter.


Here are both units with the same old worn pads from the 2021 unit:

They basically measure the same, so the difference in sound comes from the pads. If that´s just padwear or if the new pads are made differently, i cant really tell. Both look and feel incredibly similar to me.

I recently also got replacement pads for the HD559 from Thomann (spare part nr. 572287) which, according to Sennheisers website, are the official replacement pads for the HD560s. These pads look and feel very similar to the pads of the HD560s, but are a bit firmer. Not only that, they also completly change the frequency response of the HD560s:

These pads change the frequency response in a similar way, as the producer pads on the newly released HD490 Pro do. Looks to me as there are no official replacement pads for the HD560s available to purchase, the HD559 pads are definitely not the correct pads.

 

[Robbo99999]

In the old version, when using the equalizer, I had distortions from the bass, now there are none at all... (maybe I turned it differently, maybe the manufacturer did a lot of work on the speakers).
I really liked the SOUND of the headphones right away. I correct them with an equalizer.

You will have more comfort and either have warmer/fuller sound or brighter/thinner sound (using as is).
Of course the sound can be EQ'ed.

I don't know about this. The (in total 6) I measured showed the same behavior in the bass.
I cannot measure above 100dB SPL in the bass though but don't think the driver changed that much in the bass.
Of course the less bright signature is also perceived as having more body/warmth by a lot of people.

On topic of bass distortion levels between New Version & Old Version HD560s I haven't seen any difference between them, albeit that was measured at just 86dB (aligned at 400Hz). Subjectively bass performance is very good, well defined, detailed in both the Old Version & New Version after Harman EQ - so I've not noticed any bass performance issues with HD560s at all, in fact they're the open backed headphone that gives me best perceived bass quality (well actually tied with HE4XX planar headphone).

 

[Robbo99999]

I recently bought a new unit as well. Both units were purchased from Amazon Germany, the old one in August 2021, the new one in February 2024. The old unit has been used quite a lot, so padwear might play a role here, the new unit has completly new pads: Here´s how they compare on my measurement rig (iec711 clone coupler):

View attachment 356131
The new unit measures noticeably brighter.


Here are both units with the same old worn pads from the 2021 unit:
View attachment 356132
They basically measure the same, so the difference in sound comes from the pads. If that´s just padwear or if the new pads are made differently, i cant really tell. Both look and feel incredibly similar to me.

I recently also got replacement pads for the HD559 from Thomann (spare part nr. 572287) which, according to Sennheisers website, are the official replacement pads for the HD560s. These pads look and feel very similar to the pads of the HD560s, but are a bit firmer. Not only that, they also completly change the frequency response of the HD560s:
View attachment 356143

These pads change the frequency response in a similar way, as the producer pads on the newly released HD490 Pro do. Looks to me as there are no official replacement pads for the HD560s available to purchase, the HD559 pads are definitely not the correct pads.

Hmm, I don't know what to make of that, I don't have large amounts of confidence in what you're showing me to be honest. HD559 pads that you bought as spare, which are indeed the correct replacement pads for HD560s actually look like what I would expect of a New Version HD560s (in some respects but a few suspicious "telltale differences"), so I think that's about right. Overall though my spider senses are tingling on this one, lol!

 

[Alchemist_]

With great regret, 560 returned to the store due to the strong pressure.

 

[donunus]

Thinking out of the box, does anyone here have the hd599 (not 559) and can compare if its the same pad as the new 560s? Maybe Sennheiser is now consolidating their pad variations so that they dont have to sell too many? maybe they are tuning the cans around the softer pads now?

 

[Alchemist_]

Thinking out of the box, does anyone here have the hd599 (not 559) and can compare if its the same pad as the new 560s? Maybe Sennheiser is now consolidating their pad variations so that they dont have to sell too many? maybe they are tuning the cans around the softer pads now?

Some time ago, a friend of mine bought ear pads from 559 to his 598. Because there were no options other than 559.

 

[solderdude]

Thinking out of the box, does anyone here have the hd599 (not 559) and can compare if its the same pad as the new 560s? Maybe Sennheiser is now consolidating their pad variations so that they dont have to sell too many? maybe they are tuning the cans around the softer pads now?

HD599 pads are brown (there is also a black version HD599-SE), HD559 pads are black and the same ones as used on the HD560S/400Pro.
Same construction/mounting method.
The HD559 is a lot warmer than HD599 which may well be caused by the drivers/porting. I did not have both headphones at the same time so did not swap pads.

HD559, HD515, HD518, HD555, HD558, HD560s, HD595, HD598, HD598SE, HD599SE seem to use the same pads (572287) but state HD558 and HD559 only for some reason.
The measurements from post #184 are interesting.
The Poyatu pads (Aliexpress) I bought a few year ago measured very similar to the orig. HD560S pads.

 

[jurgu]

Hmm, I don't know what to make of that, I don't have large amounts of confidence in what you're showing me to be honest.

Well i can´t change what my measurment rig measures. The new HD560s unit i bought measures and sounds brighter than my old unit.

Im using a 3,5mm version of the clone IEC711 coupler, connected to the mic input of an apple dongle with the newly released clone pinna. As a stand i use a 3D-printed rig from CapraAudio. The measurements should be as accurate, as these 3,5mm version clone couplers can be.

The measurments posted above were taken when the 2024 unit was brand new. Since then i have put it on speakers for a few days to release clamp force (without pads on) and have worn it maybe like 10 hours. I dont have access to my old unit at the moment (i left it at my parents place), so i cant do a new comparison measurment now.

But here is a fresh measurment of the new 2024 unit with stock pads (worn ~10hrs) and the HD559 pads i purchased from Thomann (which are basically brand new) on it. Both measurments are from the right side and the same volume setting on my amp. I didnt average the measurement, just did a few reseats and smoothed it a bit so its easier to see:

Here are the measurments compared to the Harman target and to my HD650 (newesh pads, worn around 30 hrs i guess) which i measured on the same rig (i aligned them at 630Hz):

There might just be different HD559 pad revisions on the market, that all affect the sound differently.

 

[Robbo99999]

Well i can´t change what my measurment rig measures. The new HD560s unit i bought measures and sounds brighter than my old unit.

Im using a 3,5mm version of the clone IEC711 coupler, connected to the mic input of an apple dongle with the newly released clone pinna. As a stand i use a 3D-printed rig from CapraAudio. The measurements should be as accurate, as these 3,5mm version clone couplers can be.

The measurments posted above were taken when the 2024 unit was brand new. Since then i have put it on speakers for a few days to release clamp force (without pads on) and have worn it maybe like 10 hours. I dont have access to my old unit at the moment (i left it at my parents place), so i cant do a new comparison measurment now.

But here is a fresh measurment of the new 2024 unit with stock pads (worn ~10hrs) and the HD559 pads i purchased from Thomann (which are basically brand new) on it. Both measurments are from the right side and the same volume setting on my amp. I didnt average the measurement, just did a few reseats and smoothed it a bit so its easier to see:

View attachment 356368


Here are the measurments compared to the Harman target and to my HD650 (newesh pads, worn around 30 hrs i guess) which i measured on the same rig (i aligned them at 630Hz):
View attachment 356369



There might just be different HD559 pad revisions on the market, that all affect the sound differently.

I had a bad experience with supposedly genuine AKG 702 pads from Thomann. They created a very odd channel imbalance that I could trace directly to the pads themselves, I don't have a lot of faith in their pads and consequently not much faith in the "genuine" nature of them. In future I would buy pads only directly from the manufacturer (or in my case because I can measure and account for small differences then I like to buy good aftermarket pads that are of same design, when it comes to K702 at least). I don't know what to think about your measurements, but mental note made on the differences.

 

[jurgu]

I had a bad experience with supposedly genuine AKG 702 pads from Thomann. They created a very odd channel imbalance that I could trace directly to the pads themselves, I don't have a lot of faith in their pads and consequently not much faith in the "genuine" nature of them.

I also bought some new HD650 pads from Thomann in the same package as the HD559 pads, the HD650 pads measured as expected. Both Pads came in a legit looking Sennheiser packaging.

I doubt Thomann would scam customers with fake products, they are one of the most reliable stores i know. If there went something wrong with the pads i got it probably happened in the factory and not at Thomann.

In future I would buy pads only directly from the manufacturer

I would have if Sennheiser themself had them in stock......
Since Sonova bought Sennheiser, replacement pads have been kinda hard to get from them directly, they are hardly in stock.

 

[Robbo99999]

I also bought some new HD650 pads from Thomann in the same package as the HD559 pads, the HD650 pads measured as expected. Both Pads came in a legit looking Sennheiser packaging.

I doubt Thomann would scam customers with fake products, they are one of the most reliable stores i know. If there went something wrong with the pads i got it probably happened in the factory and not at Thomann.


I would have if Sennheiser themself had them in stock......
Since Sonova bought Sennheiser, replacement pads have been kinda hard to get from them directly, they are hardly in stock.

Me personally I'm not gonna be buying pads from Thomann again unless I absolutely have to.

Ha, true re buying them from Sennheiser, they're not available in the UK either, sold out as you say:

Ear Pads HD 559

Ear pads (black) for HD 559

uk.sennheiser-hearing.com

The website is also ultra difficult in being able to find them due to some redundant pages, and them not listing the HD560s as one of the earpad searchable products in the pages that aren't "redundant". They seem to be wanting to make it as complicated as possible to buy spare earpads from them for the HD560s!

 

[Robbo99999]

Sennheiser HD560s headphones only £119 on Amazon UK, which equals the lowest price they've ever been on there:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08HNFV61M

 

[Alchemist_]

How can I find out the production date of the 560 by the serial number?

How to distinguish refurbished 560 from new ones?

 

[spankjam]

So the new version is sonically identical to the 2020 release and all the reddit hype about it sounding different is just biased BS?

 

[solderdude]

Or ... there is a HUGE production spread.

The 3 'early ones' I had all measured and sounded similar.
The later ones I had all were less bright but had a bigger tolerance.
I guess we will never know for sure.

 

[spankjam]

Or ... there is a HUGE production spread.

The 3 'early ones' I had all measured and sounded similar.
The later ones I had all were less bright but had a bigger tolerance.
I guess we will never know for sure.

Would you say the old ones sounded better compared to the new ones? In terms of sonic qualities, low end, transient response and imaging or are they the same roughly?

 

[solderdude]

The older ones were just a bit brighter sounding, a bit too bright IMO.
The newer ones were less bright and needed less correction to sound good to me.