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Sennheiser HD560S Review (Headphone)

Rate this headphone:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 4 0.9%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 25 5.9%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 169 39.9%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 226 53.3%

  • Total voters
    424

solderdude

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do anyone in this thread own hd560s and hd600/580/650?
I would love to see if anyone prefer 560s over the legendary 600 and in what fashion
HD560S + HD650 owner (+ HD580 and HD600 in the past)
I have a preference but am sure others will have a different preference so it is personal and can flip both ways.
Cannot predict how this will pan out between individuals.

560s k612 which one has more natural mids?

Both have good mids but different in signature.
 

Sukie

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do anyone in this thread own hd560s and hd600/580/650?
I would love to see if anyone prefer 560s over the legendary 600 and in what fashion.
Check out the posts from @Robbo99999 in this thread. He owns 600 and 560S and has posted quite a bit of useful info/observations.
 

usern

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I have 560S and 660S. 660S feels more premium, better built, no plastic creaking. 560S has better head stage, 660S sounds excellent with Harman EQ, but I like to boost bass more so 560S has advantage there at high volume. I prefer to use 560S daily since it's more lightweight and gets less hot.
 

nyxnyxnyx

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HD560S + HD650 owner (+ HD580 and HD600 in the past)
I have a preference but am sure others will have a different preference so it is personal and can flip both ways.
Cannot predict how this will pan out between individuals.



Both have good mids but different in signature.
I was surprised when you said that the imaging is closer to hd800-level, a feat which not many headphones can do in my biased experience.
Do you think they will remake the 580 in the future? Like an actual version of the original hd580 version 1? the 58x is not identical.
Check out the posts from @Robbo99999 in this thread. He owns 600 and 560S and has posted quite a bit of useful info/observations.
Thanks... I'm checking it out now. Been itchy to try hd560s. I hope they are as good or better than the vintage hd540/560.
 

solderdude

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On a sliding scale (concerning imaging) between the HD6x0 and HD800(S) the HD560S is inbetween them but a bit closer to the HD800(S) so on the sliding scale not in the middle but just past the middle leaning towards the HD800.
At least... that's how I perceive the imaging.


HD560S and HD560 Ovation II have nothing in common except the designator.

hd560ov-vs-hd560s.png
 

Sukie

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Thanks... I'm checking it out now. Been itchy to try hd560s. I hope they are as good or better than the vintage hd540/560.
As it happens I'm about to take delivery of a pairs of HD560S. I normally use HD 600, equalised to Oratory's Harman measurements. Looking forwards to trying the HD560S with eq and experiencing their "wider soundstage".
 

Chyżwar

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do anyone in this thread own hd560s and hd600/580/650?
I would love to see if anyone prefer 560s over the legendary 600 and in what fashion.

I've had them all and HD660s. With the HD560s you get better bass, but lose the natural, smooth treble that the HD6XX series has.

As it happens I'm about to take delivery of a pairs of HD560S. I normally use HD 600, equalised to Oratory's Harman measurements. Looking forwards to trying the HD560S with eq and experiencing their "wider soundstage".

I really didn't hear any "wider soundstage" in the HD560s...
 

solderdude

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The headstage is not so much 'wider' but instrument placement in the stereo image is more 'separated'.
 

Robbo99999

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And how does the K712(K612) compare with the 560S.
You should be good with an EQ'd HD560s re soundstage. I'm quite a fan of this element of a headphone, and I own a number of K702 too. The K702 has a wider soundstage than the HD560s, and I'm gonna say the K702 is less precise in it's imaging than the HD560s - but that's because HD560s has better channel matching than K702......however if you measure a K702 and perfectly channel match it then you will have that wider soundstage and the imaging will be just as good as the HD560s. Most folks won't be in a position to measure their K702, so I have to recommend the HD560s as an overall winner over the K702. Also, the K702 over recent years has shallower earpads which diminish their wide soundstage ability.....ideal situation is to have the older slightly deeper pads on your K702. These pads are great for K702, I've measured the frequency response and it doesn't do anything crazy to the frequency response, but you do get the better soundstage:
(I've bought 2 "batches" of those pads and the first batch were perfect, but second batch had some of the "webbing" not stuck down properly in one area.....so I'll have to get some glue & glue it down)
I would think the K612 (basically a K702 but with fixed cable) is better than the K712. Comfort of the AKG K712 is better though. The elastic bands giving up the ghost after a few years is a let-down.
I do not hear the often reported 'great imaging' of the AKG's.
Most likely the elevated 1-2kHz range in the K701/612 series is responsible for this into giving this impression to some.
To me the HD560S is better than the AKG's. I am sure others may disagree.
Just including you in the post solderdude, re relevance of comparing soundstage elements between HD560s & K702 (which I've given my impressions above).
 
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Robbo99999

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As it happens I'm about to take delivery of a pairs of HD560S. I normally use HD 600, equalised to Oratory's Harman measurements. Looking forwards to trying the HD560S with eq and experiencing their "wider soundstage".
HD560s is a bit wider than the HD600, but the imaging is better than the HD600......the HD600 feels like the "3 blob analogy" that I've heard some people mention (I think it's a good description)......HD600 has a bit of a propensity to be a blob to the left, a blob in the middle, and a blob on the right....it's not quite wide enough and the imaging doesn't flow smoothly in an arc, it has more of the 3 blob tendency. Talking about blobs & the HD600 is a bit of negative language, and that headphone doesn't deserve such negative connotations, it's a really good headphone for what it does, and it does everything really well even without EQ, just the soundstage is not good in my experience. So, yes, HD560s should be a winner for you over the HD600 in this respect.
 

Sukie

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the HD600 is a bit of negative language, and that headphone doesn't deserve such negative connotations, it's a really good headphone for what it does, and it does everything really well even without EQ, just the soundstage is not good in my experience. So, yes, HD560s should be a winner for you over the HD600 in this respect.
My HD560S have arrived and I'm looking forwards to trying them tonight. I've used the HD 600's with and and without EQ (Harman). For me the overall sound without EQ is preferable. The problem is that most of the music I listen to is enhanced (to my ears) by the Harman curve. It sounds strange when I write it down, but our own subjective preferences can be weird.

I've found your description of the HD560S useful. I'm hopeful that they'll give me a little bit more than the HD 600's with music that really benefits from extended bass and a decent soundstage. I'll hopefully be able to reserve the 600's for classical and other forms of music that, imo, don't need EQ (at least not with cans such as the HD 600's).
 
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Robbo99999

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My HD560S have arrived and I'm looking forwards to trying them tonight. I've used the HD 600's with and and without EQ (Harman). For me the overall sound without EQ is preferable. The problem is that most of the music I listen to is enhanced (to my ears) by the Harman curve. It sounds strange when I write it down, but our own subjective preferences can be weird.

I've found your description of the HD560S useful. I'm hopeful that they'll give me a little bit more than the HD 600's with music that really benefits from extended bass and a decent soundstage. I'll hopefully be able to reserve the latter for classical and other forms of music that, imo, don't need EQ (at least not with cans such as the HD 600's).
Nice, hopefully they will come up to your expectations. In terms of content to experience soundstage, I don't think classical music is gonna be the pinacle of that. I think electronic music that has various effects and shifting/moving effects would be the genre to use to check for soundstage ability of a headphone (stuff like Massive Attack for instance). Ah, or I've misunderstood your post, instead you mean you'll keep the HD600's for classical?
 

Alchemist_

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You should be good with an EQ'd HD560s re soundstage. I'm quite a fan of this element of a headphone, and I own a number of K702 too. The K702 has a wider soundstage than the HD560s,
Which of the 702 560s has lower bass, better? Can you somehow describe the difference in the middle?
 

Robbo99999

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Which of the 702 560s has lower bass, better? Can you somehow describe the difference in the middle?
I don't really recommend you buy a K702 as it's sold nowadays with thinner pads that decrease the soundstage, and the unit to unit variation is higher than some headphones....it also has reliability problems with the solder and therefore the wires are quite likely to become detached in the earcup at which point you have to solder them on again. K702 has a lot of potential, but really you need to measure your K702 to solve any channel balance issues and also to aid in EQ'ing it accurately to the Harman Curve, which is not possible or practical for most folks. The HD560s is far more reliable in it's lower unit to unit variation & better channel matching, and it doesn't have reliablity issues re solder, etc. The only thing you sacrifice with HD560s is a narrower soundstage than the K702, but it's wide enough to enjoy and the imaging is very accurate within that soundstage due to the good channel matching.

As to your questions though, the HD560s has better extended bass - higher bass output in the lower regions. The HD560s is also more accurate in the mids & treble than the K702. HD560s is certainly the better headphone at stock and also with EQ (unless you have your individual unit of K702 measured). Here's a graph from Oratory's Headphone Grapher database comparing the two:
Harman 2018-Sennheiser HD560S-AKG K702.png
 
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Has anyone compared the soundstage of the 560s to the Sundara? I'm curious to see which one has the wider stage and better imaging.
 

raif71

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Any idea if its possible to use a balanced cable with either 4.4mm pentaconn or 4pin xlr ?
 

solderdude

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Yes. The HD560S can be used balanced if you can find an aftermarket cable that does this.
Really only interesting for when one wants to play louder from portable gear.
The stock wire is 4-wire inside so it is possible to cut off the plug and fit a 4 pin or Pentaconn.

As the cable is 4-wire and joint at the TRS plug there is no real benefit for balanced.
The only reasons are:
One only has balanced outputs.
One cannot go loud enough on portable gear that has TRS jack but also balanced out (2.5mm TRRS or Pentaconn.
 

Ramdi

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Yes. The HD560S can be used balanced if you can find an aftermarket cable that does this.
Really only interesting for when one wants to play louder from portable gear.
The stock wire is 4-wire inside so it is possible to cut off the plug and fit a 4 pin or Pentaconn.

As the cable is 4-wire and joint at the TRS plug there is no real benefit for balanced.
The only reasons are:
One only has balanced outputs.
One cannot go loud enough on portable gear that has TRS jack but also balanced out (2.5mm TRRS or Pentaconn.
I have found a balanced 2.5mm cable for my 560s in aliexpress.
 
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