New version of Sennheiser HD 560S (!)

[zsirimiri]

I am in same situation and leaning towards HD600, seems to have better treble respons, which im a sucker for.
Edition XS better again going by rtings,
but QC in Hifiman are worrisome!

You mean HD600 or HD560S?

 

[Moonhead]

You mean HD600 or HD560S?

HD600... never tried HD560S!

 

[andymcbain]

Hello! I'm having a hard time deciding between the HD560S, HD600, HD650. I am leaning towards the HD560S as I can get this one for the cheapest, but the HD600 and HD650 seems better built, therefore lasting a longer time, also they seem to sound smoother, more refined and less harsh, (or did the new version of the HD560S completely fixed those kind of spicy treble spikes?). I can get a new HD560S for around 120-130USD, a used HD600 for 190USD, or new HD650 for 250ish USD. For those, who owned them, which one appeals to you the most? Thank you in advance!

I spent a few days in back December comparing my old HD650 (bought in 2008) to a brand new pair of HD560S. My criticism of the HD650 has always been the narrow soundstage and the lack of sub bass. The HD560S certainly won in the sub department and I perceived the soundstage to be "different" but not significantly "wider". I wasn't a fan of the HD560S upper mids / lower treble out of the box (it felt elevated and sounded bright compared to the HD650). I played around with EQ and preferred the sound when I tamed the upper treble region a bit. I generally preferred the familiar sound of the HD650 most of the time though - which I also EQ a little. "smoother", "more refined" and dare I say it "more laid back" come to mind. I really enjoyed the HD560S when listening to upbeat electronic music. But I'd rather listen to that in speakers with the bass thumping my chest

I can attest to the build quality of the HD650 - mine have been dropped numerous times, thrown in bags without a case etc (what can I say, I bought them as a student) and they've been fine. The HD560S felt a little plasticy in comparison but good enough. Unfortunately I didn't really find them all that comfortable compared to the HD650. They seemed to clamp pretty hard on my head... perhaps this would have loosened up over time. Didn't like them enough to keep them, personally - but I can see why many people do like them.

 

[Mankitogaming]

I think it's hard to get that much better! (try adding a touch more bass or a linear tilt to that EQ that I show recently in this thread because I effectively use that EQ but with a bit of a subtle linear tilt to it).

For music production and mixing, which one do you recommend the most? The "new" 1.8m cable or the 3m “OG”. I have the possibility to get the OG B-Stock for 80€ and the "New" brand new for 130€. Which one is better for the application I am looking for and which one do you recommend in value? Thank you very much for your knowledge

 

[Robbo99999]

For music production and mixing, which one do you recommend the most? The "new" 1.8m cable or the 3m “OG”. I have the possibility to get the OG B-Stock for 80€ and the "New" brand new for 130€. Which one is better for the application I am looking for and which one do you recommend in value? Thank you very much for your knowledge

Let's assume that you want the most neutral sounding headphone for your music production & mixing. If you're using them without EQ then go for the New Version HD560s. If you're using them with EQ then probably better value to just get the cheaper Old Version HD560s (assuming that B-stock Sennheiser are not just recycled customer rejected units that they're trying to get rid of, in which case it might have been returned for bad channel balance, etc). If you get the Old Version HD560s and want to use neutral EQ on it then I recommend using an older version of Oratory's HD560s EQ, in other words the last one he did before New Version started to be sold, which would be the following Oratory EQ (which means it wouldn't have been "contaminated" with any New Version unit measurements):

 

[Mankitogaming]

Let's assume that you want the most neutral sounding headphone for your music production & mixing. If you're using them without EQ then go for the New Version HD560s. If you're using them with EQ then probably better value to just get the cheaper Old Version HD560s (assuming that B-stock Sennheiser are not just recycled customer rejected units that they're trying to get rid of, in which case it might have been returned for bad channel balance, etc). If you get the Old Version HD560s and want to use neutral EQ on it then I recommend using an older version of Oratory's HD560s EQ, in other words the last one he did before New Version started to be sold, which would be the following Oratory EQ (which means it wouldn't have been "contaminated" with any New Version unit measurements):
View attachment 430018

I see, so without using EQ the new ones are "better" or flatter? I ask this because on Reddit they were saying the opposite, that they had ”downgraded” them. You are a beast dude, thanks for responding in such a professional manner. Do you make content for YouTube or something?

 

[Robbo99999]

I see, so without using EQ the new ones are "better" or flatter? I ask this because on Reddit they were saying the opposite, that they had ”downgraded” them. You are a beast dude, thanks for responding in such a professional manner. Do you make content for YouTube or something?

I think most people here on ASR seem to like stock sound of the New Version, so I would think it's the opposite here on ASR vs what you're describing on reddit. In fact most comments on stock Old Version was that they were too bright and not bass extended enough, whereas now with the New Version it is slightly better bass extended and less bright, so really for me & others on here the New Version is better balanced than the Old Version - so if you're gonna use them at stock then buy the New Version I'd say. The other benefit of getting the New Version is that any replacement pads you buy from Sennheiser I would think will now likely be the New Version pads which are softer than the Old Version pads, so when it comes to replace your pads then your headphone will still sound the same - whereas if you buy the Old Version and then replace the pads you'll get a change of sound which is messing up whatever EQ you'd be using for instance. Buying the New Version is a more predictable situation, and it sounds like you want to use them at stock, so I'd say definitely get the New Version in that scenario.

Lol, no, I don't make YouTube content. I only use Youtube a little as it stands anyway. Nope, I don't have time for that shenanigans and I'm not interested in being famous or infamous! I'm fine & happy for people to know me a little through the messages I write on here, as we all build up a little picture of the people behind the keyboards in our minds eye.

 

[krumpol]

.. whereas now with the New Version it is slightly better bass extended and less bright, so really for me & others on here the New Version is better balanced than the Old Version

Subjective opinion on bass difference.
Solderdude seems to think otherwise after measuring both old and new ones:

Bass on the newer model is the same as the earlier model. That said… some people perceive less bright headphones as ‘bassier’ probably because it is a bit less bright.

Also my subjective opinion is that after couple of months of 6-8h daily use the earpads on my older ones became slightly compressed and these does not sound too bright anymore to me, so I think people with new version would have to change earpads more often to keep that "better balanced" stock sound.

 

[Robbo99999]

Subjective opinion on bass difference.
Solderdude seems to think otherwise after measuring both old and new ones:

Also my subjective opinion is that after couple of months of 6-8h daily use the earpads on my older ones became slightly compressed and these does not sound too bright anymore to me, so I think people with new version would have to change earpads more often to keep that "better balanced" stock sound.

Looking at my earpads of my New Version HD560s they don't seem to have changed much and there's still enough space for my ears to fit in there without touching, and I've put a lot of hours on these ones (over a period of 1yr and 4 months when I look back at my first posts about it), so it's probably not a concern. Re. bass difference I measured better extended bass in both units of my New Version headphones that have been in my possession vs the 3 Old Version units; I also remember solderdude measuring slightly more bass in the New Version, but I don't know if that changed after he measured more units.

EDIT: after reading his review that you linked he does show later on that the bass is better extended in the New Version, so I'm thinking he accidentally left the sentence you quoted in the review, perhaps he had meant to take it out & missed it because it contradicts what he says later. Anyway, following is his graph showing better bass extension in New Version and that is also what I found in my own measurements:

 

[krumpol]

Anyway, following is his graph showing better bass extension in New Version and that is also what I found in my own measurements:

True, except Solderdude does not seem to be sure whether the change was intentional and consistent in all new units or not:

Whether or not this also means a small change in the driver (apart from the stamping) is hard to tell without testing more of them with certainty. The differences found with the pads and dust guard do not seem to be the only reason for the differences in measured response. Also it is not clear whether or not this is just production tolerances, small changes in the material supply chain nor that it was an intentional change to address the often heard comment about the excess brightness.

 

[Robbo99999]

True, except Solderdude does not seem to be sure whether the change was intentional and consistent in all new units or not:

Well, the measured information from both me & Solderdude agree with each other, in terms of the changes in frequency response we both saw between Old Version & New Version, and it coincides with a clear change in the materials used within the headphone, so I think for now it's good to assume it's a change that's gonna stay the course with future units until further notice. To be totally sure you'd have to keep buying units every so often to check if the materials are the same and the frequency responses are the same, but it's true that we've seen a change in the materials re pad / dust filter / driver so it's totally understandable that it measures differently to the Old Version. The change was definitely intentional though, they wouldn't have changed the materials & not expected it to make a difference to the frequency response - what made them make the change might have been cost, might have been a desire to tweak the sound signature slightly, might have been to lock down future supply & consistency of the product, who knows.

 

[Chota]

The HD 560S arrived today.
I want to try the EQ settings mentioned here Robbo EQ. I use APO with Peace on my PC as I dont have any EQ in my hifi setup.
I cant put in .1 or .3 or .7 in gain values only full or .5 :-( is there a way to put in this value or by an import? manually seems not possibel

 

[roladyzator]

The HD 560S arrived today.
I want to try the EQ settings mentioned here Robbo EQ. I use APO with Peace on my PC as I dont have any EQ in my hifi setup.
I cant put in .1 or .3 or .7 in gain values only full or .5 :-( is there a way to put in this value or by an import? manually seems not possibelView attachment 433791

There is an option in the settings to change the rounding precision for gain. I'm not at my PC so can't check the exact name

 

[Chota]

There is an option in the settings to change the rounding precision for gain. I'm not at my PC so can't check the exact name

Thank you. I found it.
Robbo was right. A little nice headphone. for the price very impressive. I like it more then the 490pro.

 

[Robbo99999]

Thank you. I found it.
Robbo was right. A little nice headphone. for the price very impressive. I like it more then the 490pro.

Yep, we talked about it very briefly in the HD490Pro review thread. Glad you like the HD560s!

 

[Robbo99999]

Wo, HD560s only £99 right now on Amazon!

Amazon.co.uk

 

[L5730]

Also £99 at Richer Sounds too!

I just ordered a pair from Bezozon, the lowest price I've seen yet.

 

[Robbo99999]

Also £99 at Richer Sounds too!

I just ordered a pair from Bezozon, the lowest price I've seen yet.

Ha, ok "Bezos", now I know what you mean!

EDIT: and here's the link to Richer Sounds that you mention in case people would rather buy from them:

Sennheiser HD 560S (Black)

Shop for Sennheiser HD 560S (Black) Over Ear Open Back Headphones with Richer Sounds for expert advice and lowest prices guaranteed

www.richersounds.com

 

[Robbo99999]

Only £99 on Amazon in UK at the moment, and I think that's as low as they go!

Amazon.co.uk