New version of Sennheiser HD 560S (!)

[solderdude]

Your HD560S most likely will also be O.K.

 

[OurKid]

Ok. Thanks

 

[Robbo99999]

Hi. I'm about to buy these headphones. Could you tell me what software you used to measure the balance?
Thanks

Yep, solderdude already answered you re the software I used, but the hardware rig I used to measure the headphones was called miniDSP EARS. Of course you need both software & hardware to measure the headphones. You don't have to measure your headphones though, you can just do what solderdude suggested & just listen to the headphones to check that you don't hear any inbalance - and then if they're ok they're ok for you. Most people don't measure their headphones, but I bought a miniDSP EARS rig because I specifically wanted to know what the channel balance was like in my headphones & then it allows me to use per channel EQ to bring both channels perfectly together to create a perfectly channel balanced headphone - just a bit of perfection I wanted to create for my headphones.

I've measured 3 units of Old Version & 2 units of New Version and I've only had channel inbalance in one of those units, so for me the HD560s has generally been quite reliable re channel balance. I believe solderdude has measured even more units and if I recall correctly he had even less bad channel balance units than me in terms of percentage number of bad units. In fact I'm not sure if he even had one bad unit, but he might have done, can't remember. The unit you buy is likely to be fine for channel balance.

 

[OurKid]

Ok, thanks for the very thorough reply.

It takes too much effort for me right now, I'll do a beginner's test by isolating one channel at a time.

 

[solderdude]

Just use a mono signal. The sound should be right between your ears. When this is O.K. then ... all is well.
When it leans to one side adjust the balance slider to see if you can get the sound in the middle.

No need for complicated testing.

 

[OurKid]

Ok, but if I have to adjust the balance slider this means that the headphones are not well balanced.

 

[Robbo99999]

Ok, but if I have to adjust the balance slider this means that the headphones are not well balanced.

Or you might have a temporary wax blockage in your ear. Also if you have hearing damage in one ear then maybe it will be skewed more to one side than if you had done the test using speakers, as there is no crossfeed in headphones.

 

[solderdude]

Ok, but if I have to adjust the balance slider this means that the headphones are not well balanced.

Yes, assuming you don't have to do the same thing with other headphones.

It can tell you how much percent (or dB) difference there is IF you found a difference.

Of course it could also be channel imbalance in the amplifier and the reasons Robbo99999 mentioned.

 

[Gab2409]

Yes, they are all peak filters. and I added those tilting high shelf filters. Also, that is quite interesting how you say the HD800 is not better than an EQ'd HD 560S. That has a hard time processing in my head, but I have no frame of comparison either. I've found my personal favourite EQ for the HD 560S just today, and it really transformed the headphone for me. So the upgrade bug has been staved off for now. I've also seen the HE400SE around the same price as the HD 560S on Amazon Canada. Higher end HIFIMAN headphones are more expensive here in Canada, sadly. The 400SE might be as well actually. Adversely, the HD 560S brand new in Canada seems to be cheaper than it is in the U.S/Britain when converting the currency, which is odd since other Senns are stupidly expensive. The HD600 is over 3x the price here of the HD 560S. Planar headphones are a tempting prospect as they seem like they have qualities which I seek, but I have heard horror stories about HIFIMAN headphones. Though it wouldn't be bank shattering if a 400SE broke, it would be very annoying.

Would you mind sharing the EQ that you found? I've loaded up auto EQ, a couple of versions of oratory, and the version shared by @Robbo99999 and am almost ready to go on a testing bender

 

[trebuchetv]

@Robbo99999 I just wanted to thank you for sharing that EQ because the headphones with that preset sounds GODLY. I was shocked by how good the headphones sounded, HD 560s is such a solid choice for the price and with EQ it gets so much better.

Also just putting it out there for other people, I also noticed how you wear this headphones tends to change the sound by a lot, I'd recommend people to wear the headphones with its earcups centered and as low as comfort allows by extending the headband. Helps with the soundstage and sound signature by quite a margin.

 

[Robbo99999]

@Robbo99999 I just wanted to thank you for sharing that EQ because the headphones with that preset sounds GODLY. I was shocked by how good the headphones sounded, HD 560s is such a solid choice for the price and with EQ it gets so much better.

Also just putting it out there for other people, I also noticed how you wear this headphones tends to change the sound by a lot, I'd recommend people to wear the headphones with its earcups centered and as low as comfort allows by extending the headband. Helps with the soundstage and sound signature by quite a margin.

That's great, I'm glad that my EQ worked so well for you!

Regarding how I wear my HD560s, I've found it best to position them on my head so that no part of my ear touches the earcup which is just about possible if positioned properly on my head, I think I have small to medium sized ears. Another thing I try to do with positioning of the HD560s is to make sure that the lower part of the earcup doesn't overlap the gap below my ear & behind my jaw - I try to wear the earcups high enough that this gap is not overlapped, just in a bid to retain maximum seal for maximum bass - even though it's been proven that the HD560s is not particularly seal sensitive when it comes to bass delivery. Because I always wear my HD560s in the same way (as well as you can make sure that the headband is always adjusted into the same position by counting the notches of extension) then I've never noticed any effects of different positioning causing different sound, simply because I always wear them in exactly the same position give or take. I didn't notice much reseat variation when I measured them on miniDSP EARS though, and I would try to place them fairly roughly centrally, but you're probably talking about plus minus 5mm difference of placement at most when I was measuring them on my miniDSP EARS - this rig has some visible screw heads in the mounting plate which you can use as a rough positioning reference after you've placed the headphone on the rig to guage roughly how much it might be varying in placement from one reseat to the next.

 

[Gab2409]

It's definitely a good headphone choice to have as your first headphone, and indeed it could be your last and I don't think you'd miss much. Historically whenever I've used my various HD560s with EQ then they've always been good with layering & being able to peer into the music to rest your attention on the various different parts so that you can hear "everything" that's going on within it, so I think HD560s is a resolving headphone, if we want to use that word. I also think the New Version of the HD560s is also good with layering & resolving even at stock, which would be the version you have now if you bought it within the last couple of years (can't remember the changeover date). EQ does tend to make New Version HD560s even more resolving as it boosts some elements that can improve clarity whilst also boosting subbass, for instance the following is the EQ I use for New Version HD560s (albeit I tweak it slightly beyond what you see in the following pic), and you can see that it boosts some of the upper mids & treble (which aid in clarity/layering) & it also takes a small amount out of the area that could be responsible for muddiness at 160Hz:
View attachment 404509

I think it's easy to be content with HD560s as your only headphone, if that's where you're at, I don't think you'll be gaining much beyond that.

It's possible that it's in this pic and I'm totally missing it, but do you use a particular preamp setting with this eq?

 

[Robbo99999]

It's possible that it's in this pic and I'm totally missing it, but do you use a particular preamp setting with this eq?

Just go ahead and use a -5dB Negative Preamp with it, you should be able to get away with just -4.1dB Negative Preamp, but I suppose -5dB Negative Preamp gives you a bit more headroom for intersample overs, but either should be fine really.

 

[Gab2409]

Thanks, @Robbo99999!

 

[isostasy]

Sai has uploaded a measurement of a 2022 HD560S for those interested.

 

[RevengeFNF]

I've been using the Sennheiser HD 555 for about 15 years, and oh boy, those headphones are durable.

3 years ago i bought the AKG K371 headphones and they sound very good, but the build quality is really bad. In those 3 years i already replaced the ear pads two times and the XLR cable one time. The cable is giving problems again and i said to myself it's enough.

The Sennheiser HD 560s is a good upgrade when compared to the HD 555?
Also, do i need an Amp to drive them or they will work fine with any computer motherboard?

Last question, they sound very good at stock or its better to use the Harman EQ Preset from Oratory? I use it with the HD 555.

 

[solderdude]

HD560S has slightly less brightness and better bass extension and treble quality. (more balanced and extended).
On the same volume setting the HD560S will sound a bit less louder (but not much).
Comfort is similar but HD560S will have a bit more clamping force.

I would consider the HD560S and upgrade, certainly without EQ.
With EQ it would depend on the actual headphones and how much the standard Oratory uses differs from your head.
So... the final result will depend on the EQ you use.

 

[Gab2409]

I've been using the Sennheiser HD 555 for about 15 years, and oh boy, those headphones are durable.

3 years ago i bought the AKG K371 headphones and they sound very good, but the build quality is really bad. In those 3 years i already replaced the ear pads two times and the XLR cable one time. The cable is giving problems again and i said to myself it's enough.

The Sennheiser HD 560s is a good upgrade when compared to the HD 555?
Also, do i need an Amp to drive them or they will work fine with any computer motherboard?

Last question, they sound very good at stock or its better to use the Harman EQ Preset from Oratory? I use it with the HD 555.

I'm driving it from my phone with just a dongle without a problem. It sounds much better with eq. I prefer @Robbo99999's eq over oratory. Although I really liked the bass with oratory, so I added the low shelf band from his setting. It sounds fantastic to me

 

[Robbo99999]

I've been using the Sennheiser HD 555 for about 15 years, and oh boy, those headphones are durable.

3 years ago i bought the AKG K371 headphones and they sound very good, but the build quality is really bad. In those 3 years i already replaced the ear pads two times and the XLR cable one time. The cable is giving problems again and i said to myself it's enough.

The Sennheiser HD 560s is a good upgrade when compared to the HD 555?
Also, do i need an Amp to drive them or they will work fine with any computer motherboard?

Last question, they sound very good at stock or its better to use the Harman EQ Preset from Oratory? I use it with the HD 555.

Looking at the Oratory measurement for the HD555, then the HD560s is a major upgrade in sound quality when used at stock vs HD555, and this tallies with @solderdude 's assessment. The K371 is supposed to be a good balanced sound headphones from the measurements, so I'd expect you to also find the New Version HD560s well-balanced too, that's based on my experience with the New Version HD560s vs various other headphones that have been used with Oratory EQ's and also an Anechoic Flat speaker system. New Version HD560s is the only headphone I use at stock which I use for general PC & gaming use & Youtube music listening, but I give it a slight EQ for dedicated music listening, but it doesn't really need it. I'd say not to use an Oratory EQ with New Version HD560s as he doesn't make a distinction between New & Old Version and they're quite different - instead if you're gonna use an EQ I'd recommend the EQ I listed in this thread (which is taking into account the measured difference between New Version & Old Version and then converted from Oratory's old EQ that was based only on Old Version units), but at stock they're really good anyway.

 

[RevengeFNF]

Thank you very much.
I guess i found my new headphones.

@Robbo99999 ok, i will try stock and with your EQ preset.