This is a review and detailed measurements of the Sennheiser HD560S. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $170.
I was taken aback by how light these headphones are. You can see it in this table relative to most of the others I have tested:
This doesn't give them feeling of luxury but sure are comfortable to wear given the large cups that are 73mm x 45mm. Drivers are mounted at an angle and have a maximum depth of 28 mm.
Note: The measurements you are about to see are made using a standardized Gras 45C. Headphone measurements by definition are approximate and variable so don't be surprised if other measurements even if performed with the same fixtures as mine, differ in end results. Protocols vary such as headband pressure and averaging (which I don't do). As you will see, I confirm the approximate accuracy of the measurements using Equalization and listening tests. Ultimately headphone measurements are less exact than speakers mostly in bass and above a few kilohertz so keep that in mind as you read these tests. If you think you have an exact idea of a headphone performance, you are likely wrong!
The cups fit my fixture's artificial ears easily.
Sennheiser HD560S Measurements
Let's start with our usual frequency response measurements:
This is very close compliance with our target response across a broad region which means it should not need to have equalization to sound good. That said, it does lack deep bass energy although not as much as some of the other Sennheiser headphones. And there is a bit of excess energy above 4 kHz. Combined, there may be a tad extra brightness to the sound.
Here is the relative response for purpose of developing EQ filters:
High frequency distortion is extremely low but bass distortion rapidly rises with level:
As noted, we are deficient in bass amplitude so when we boost it, you are looking at curves above the blue one. How much will be determined in listening tests.
Here is the absolute distortion level:
Group delay shows the typical messiness in many headphones in lower treble and some spikes that serve as warning sign as far as trying to equalize the response at those frequencies:
Impedance is on the medium side and variable:
That should let you drive them better than the higher impedance Sennheisers like HD650 as the amplifier doesn't need as much output voltage. Still, some power is good as sensitivity is below average:
Sennheiser HD560S Listening Tests and Equalization
What you see (in measurements) is what you get. The HD560S is immanently usable without equalization. Yes, they are a bit bright but not annoyingly so at all. But we can improve on that with equalization by simply following our frequency response deviation graph:
Working from right, the two filters there are small but are enough to take the edge away from the highs. But then the sound can be a bit dull so I boosted the range with broad filter at 2580 Hz which improved spatial qualities. On female vocal, the voices now stood out more instead of being a bit sharp.
We then get to the pair of filters I use for bass to give a ramped increase to match the frequency response. This added some nice warmness and of course, a lot more bass. Alas, it is only usable at low to medium levels. Above that I could hear the left headphone clicking and eventually both drivers distorting. For everyday listening though, there was plenty of volume so I would go with these filters if you are not liable to crank up content with sub-bass response.
I did a final AB between EQ and no EQ and difference is small, once again proving the statement I made at the outset that EQ is not mandatory.
Conclusions
It is great to see another Sennheiser headphone nearly matching our target response and be easy to EQ. Combined with the light weight and low price, the HD560S made me happier after I tested it.
Its only weakness is high distortion in low frequencies which limits how much you can EQ that region and at what volume level.
I am going to recommend the HD560S as is and more so with EQ.
-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
I was taken aback by how light these headphones are. You can see it in this table relative to most of the others I have tested:
This doesn't give them feeling of luxury but sure are comfortable to wear given the large cups that are 73mm x 45mm. Drivers are mounted at an angle and have a maximum depth of 28 mm.
Note: The measurements you are about to see are made using a standardized Gras 45C. Headphone measurements by definition are approximate and variable so don't be surprised if other measurements even if performed with the same fixtures as mine, differ in end results. Protocols vary such as headband pressure and averaging (which I don't do). As you will see, I confirm the approximate accuracy of the measurements using Equalization and listening tests. Ultimately headphone measurements are less exact than speakers mostly in bass and above a few kilohertz so keep that in mind as you read these tests. If you think you have an exact idea of a headphone performance, you are likely wrong!
The cups fit my fixture's artificial ears easily.
Sennheiser HD560S Measurements
Let's start with our usual frequency response measurements:
This is very close compliance with our target response across a broad region which means it should not need to have equalization to sound good. That said, it does lack deep bass energy although not as much as some of the other Sennheiser headphones. And there is a bit of excess energy above 4 kHz. Combined, there may be a tad extra brightness to the sound.
Here is the relative response for purpose of developing EQ filters:
High frequency distortion is extremely low but bass distortion rapidly rises with level:
As noted, we are deficient in bass amplitude so when we boost it, you are looking at curves above the blue one. How much will be determined in listening tests.
Here is the absolute distortion level:
Group delay shows the typical messiness in many headphones in lower treble and some spikes that serve as warning sign as far as trying to equalize the response at those frequencies:
Impedance is on the medium side and variable:
That should let you drive them better than the higher impedance Sennheisers like HD650 as the amplifier doesn't need as much output voltage. Still, some power is good as sensitivity is below average:
Sennheiser HD560S Listening Tests and Equalization
What you see (in measurements) is what you get. The HD560S is immanently usable without equalization. Yes, they are a bit bright but not annoyingly so at all. But we can improve on that with equalization by simply following our frequency response deviation graph:
Working from right, the two filters there are small but are enough to take the edge away from the highs. But then the sound can be a bit dull so I boosted the range with broad filter at 2580 Hz which improved spatial qualities. On female vocal, the voices now stood out more instead of being a bit sharp.
We then get to the pair of filters I use for bass to give a ramped increase to match the frequency response. This added some nice warmness and of course, a lot more bass. Alas, it is only usable at low to medium levels. Above that I could hear the left headphone clicking and eventually both drivers distorting. For everyday listening though, there was plenty of volume so I would go with these filters if you are not liable to crank up content with sub-bass response.
I did a final AB between EQ and no EQ and difference is small, once again proving the statement I made at the outset that EQ is not mandatory.
Conclusions
It is great to see another Sennheiser headphone nearly matching our target response and be easy to EQ. Combined with the light weight and low price, the HD560S made me happier after I tested it.
Its only weakness is high distortion in low frequencies which limits how much you can EQ that region and at what volume level.I am going to recommend the HD560S as is and more so with EQ.
-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
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