Sennheiser HD560S Review (Headphone)

[iGmole]

I would say the Sennheiser 500 series are some of the most comfortable available on the market, the pads are both wider and deeper than those of Beyers. Their plastic build also means that they are super light and is hardly noticeable when wearing them for long sessions.

I agree, and the comfort only tends to improve after a while. The clamp force gets smaller or at least I feel like it does. It could be the pads slowly adjusting to the contours of my particular head as well, sort of evening out the pressure. Or both. Anyway, even straight out of the box I found the 560S very comfortable.

 

[Count Arthur]

The clamp force gets smaller or at least I feel like it does.

Maybe they've squeezed your head into a new shape.

 

[iGmole]

Maybe they've squeezed your head into a new shape.

That must be why I am suddenly very handsome!

 

[juliangst]

I tried them in a electronics store (they of course didn't have a cable attached), and the comfort was fine.
I must admit that the build didn't feel that great though and the pad material also felt a bit more polyestery compared to the velour pads of my DT1990.
I might just get the Dekoni pads for my DT1990. (unless there's a huge BF deal like 80€ for the 560s)

 

[iGmole]

I tried them in a electronics store (they of course didn't have a cable attached), and the comfort was fine.
I must admit that the build didn't feel that great though and the pad material also felt a bit more polyestery compared to the velour pads of my DT1990.
I might just get the Dekoni pads for my DT1990. (unless there's a huge BF deal like 80€ for the 560s)

It's a very lightweight build indeed, with the pros and cons of a very lightweight build. However likely well engineered and durable, being Sennheiser. The 560S seems to regularly be on promotion for a hundred or so €, sound wise it's a nobrainer at that price.

 

[xlinknz]

Hi all

I'm considering a pair of these as they appear to be very cost effective (and to replace my lost 540R from the 80s!)

1. Is anyone using an extension cable to get it out to 4M? (would there be degradation?)
2. Is anyone using balanced cables with the 560S and dare I ask is there any difference over <4M?
3. I was considering pairing with a Apos Gremlin headphone amp which only has balanced output so wary of those cost of a balanced cable for a 560S
4. What else competes with the 560S at its price point and do any of those come with a balanced cable stock?

 

[solderdude]

Hi all

I'm considering a pair of these as they appear to be very cost effective (and to replace my lost 540R from the 80s!)

1. Is anyone using an extension cable to get it out to 4M? (would there be degradation?)

with 4 meter extension cord there might be a small change in stereo imaging but not in sound quality or tonal balance.

2. Is anyone using balanced cables with the 560S and dare I ask is there any difference over <4M?

Technically for longer lengths the balanced extension cord will be better (stereo imaging only)

3. I was considering pairing with a Apos Gremlin headphone amp which only has balanced output so wary of those cost of a balanced cable for a 560S

Technically the APOS will degrade the signal much worse than any cable or half decent SS amp will.
Some people seem to like the added distortion and noise though and the glow of tubes with their nostalgic feel and 'audiophile myths'.

4. What else competes with the 560S at its price point and do any of those come with a balanced cable stock?

strangely enough the Sennheiser HD 505 copper and HD 550 but these are more expensive for sure.

 

[usern]

JBL Tune 720 are very good value if you can deal with wireless connection.

 

[corumuk]

How would these compare to my old HD565 ovations, a step up in sound quality? The ovations must be about 30 years old, headband padding and foam inserts in the ear cups long gone, but they still work fine.

 

[IsaacOscar]

In case anyone's interested, here's the EQ I made trying to increase the soundstage (to make it similar to my now broken HD 558), as well as increase the base.

Preamp: -2.4 dB
Filter 1: ON PK  Fc   22 Hz Gain -7.9 dB Q 0.35
Filter 2: ON LSC Fc  360 Hz Gain  3.1 dB Q 0.69
Filter 3: ON PK  Fc 1600 Hz Gain -5.1 dB Q 0.90
Filter 4: ON PK  Fc 3800 Hz Gain  2.7 dB Q 4.4
Filter 5: ON PK  Fc 4400 Hz Gain -2.4 dB Q 6.3
Filter 6: ON PK  Fc 5800 Hz Gain -1.1 dB Q 7.4
Filter 7: ON PK  Fc 7000 Hz Gain  2.9 dB Q 4.0
Filter 8: ON PK  Fc 8400 Hz Gain -1.5 dB Q 8.0

I used the same approach I explained here for my IE 200.

Unfortunately, the EQ isn't good enough at all, so I gave up and bought a (1.5x the price, and uglier) HD 550 (with without EQ, sounds much better than my HD 560S EQ).

 

[3alfa3]

Tried latest Oratory1990 profile... WTF? OK, new hardware for measuring, but, result is very bad for my ears and brain....
And i do like his HD560S 05.01.2024. profile (i have latest model, short cable etc).

 

[MarineSolder]

Tried latest Oratory1990 profile... WTF? OK, new hardware for measuring, but, result is very bad for my ears and brain....
And i do like his HD560S 05.01.2024. profile (i have latest model, short cable etc).

Give my EQ preset a try as a random suggestion:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s-review-headphone.29603/page-51#post-2411711

Also give it a shot... These headphones aren't super heavy to drive, but anyway, there is always the damping factor to deal with - so an amplifier with at least 600mW @ 32 Ohms can really change the situation. Also, Sennheisers HD are really Class A amp friendly. Keep that in mind - I've tried a lot of different DACs/Amps and found that in the mid-tier segment, the real-deal is a Zen DAC 3 + Zen CAN 3 or Schiit Asgard 3.

 

[scolfaro]

Just kept these on CamelCamel and ignored a bunch of sales, but now I bit the bait (after another couple records finished and wishing to speed up the mastering process here).

I obviously, as many people here, own tons more gear than any sane person would need. Over the years working with audio I have encountered HD600s and 650 here and there and used them briefly, but never owned them, and steered into planar magnetic open-back headphones 6 or 7 years ago and never left, ignoring dynamic open-back over-ear headphones since then. I also doublecheck material on in-ears (and obviously sit inside a deeply treated room with a full-range 2.1 system), and maybe after having used the Hexa and the Pure for a while I have been motivated enough to get ballpark 600s inside my reference pool for over-ears, considering those two IEMs remind me of an HD600 instantly.

More than that, I sometimes think entirely distortion free and well equalized planars can get forgiving for production/mixing/mastering work. Especially because they are capable of reproducing any kind of bass without obviously masking mids, just as my subwoofer and main monitors, although if you really ease into it and actually "listen" (which can be obfuscated after a few minutes work) you can easily tell what is louder, bass fundamentals or whatever is happening above. So I assume something that works without EQ and has a little trouble spitting bass out might complement my current roster.

I'll report back after using them for a while.

 

[scolfaro]

Update: Just browsed around a bit before receiving them and figured I could buy a refurb hd 600 directly from Sennheiser in Europe for a bit more than 100€ over the 560s... So I won't keep them :-| if the point is going towards that sound as an alternative, I'll just go for it entirely.

 

[Robbo99999]

Update: Just browsed around a bit before receiving them and figured I could buy a refurb hd 600 directly from Sennheiser in Europe for a bit more than 100€ over the 560s... So I won't keep them :-| if the point is going towards that sound as an alternative, I'll just go for it entirely.

I think the New Version HD560s is a more capable & more balanced headphone than the HD600, I have both. HD560s is lower distortion in the bass than the HD600, and yes better balanced in my experience. All new headphones being produced now are New Version so to speak - they all have the shorter cable (but that's not why they sound different of course).

 

[scolfaro]

I think the New Version HD560s is a more capable & more balanced headphone than the HD600, I have both. HD560s is lower distortion in the bass than the HD600, and yes better balanced in my experience. All new headphones being produced now are New Version so to speak - they all have the shorter cable (but that's not why they sound different of course).

That was more or less my initial assumption, but then I realized I have enough alternatives with plenty of bass at my disposal, if I'm grabbing for another color (and perspective), then it has to be what it does best (very accurate mids). So I'm not going to EQ it, and am not going to rely on it for checking the low end, probably the most objective approach is to focus on the tried and true "correct" 100-7kHz range on them, and use everything else the way I've been using.

If it makes sense, the hd 600 will join a full range Neumann 2.1 setup in a 0.3s reverberating room, Auratones, EQd Audeze LCD-2c, and Sundaras and Fiio FT-1 in my mobile rig. Other than the Auratones, everything else has more than enough low-lows

 

[scolfaro]

Btw I get things "right" every now and then without checking on headphones, but if I'm working on a full record, it's much easier to lose perspective (since the soundscape gets constant through multiple days of work). For that reason, to me, switching between various monitoring methods reduces my rework rate.

 

[Robbo99999]

That was more or less my initial assumption, but then I realized I have enough alternatives with plenty of bass at my disposal, if I'm grabbing for another color (and perspective), then it has to be what it does best (very accurate mids). So I'm not going to EQ it, and am not going to rely on it for checking the low end, probably the most objective approach is to focus on the tried and true "correct" 100-7kHz range on them, and use everything else the way I've been using.

If it makes sense, the hd 600 will join a full range Neumann 2.1 setup in a 0.3s reverberating room, Auratones, EQd Audeze LCD-2c, and Sundaras and Fiio FT-1 in my mobile rig. Other than the Auratones, everything else has more than enough low-lows

HD600 would be ok for that, but less useful to view the whole frequency range.