Does anyone have experience know which headphones under 500 euro (with PEQ) are going to be worth the jump? Nothing too hard to drive. I PEQ to something close to Harman / 5128 DF, so not likely to need to run into distortion on most. Love great clean soundstage.
What do you like about the 560S that you don’t want changed (build quality, comfort, sound, etc.)? What do you dislike about it that you do want changed?
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I’d go straight for the Hifiman Edition XS. Pretty easy to drive and a huge upgrade imo. You can walk away with those and a dac / headphone amp for under 400.
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I’d forget the headphones and find 1 to 4 nice live performances to go to instead. Pay for good seats. Life is short.
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Hi @Nuance the HD560S are fine for quality, comfort and sound with no gripes. I think I’m looking for change to improve the whole sound experience. I replace my old speakers last year and the difference to the sound presentation was big. With speakers, I used the Android app ’Spectroid” to measure the FR in my room and EQ. Same with newer speakers and even with about the same FR in room, there was just more precision and width, without A/B testing. Hoping for a similar step up with different headphones. I guess more about the sound without going backwards on fit / comfort.
@MTUK I nearly made the blind purchase on these 2-3 times based upon reviews. Now I have buyer hesitation with the advent of the Fio and other options. Cannot get a sense of the relative differences. Highly subjective makes it a challenge.
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You’re right. Hopefully both might be an option. Headphones for me and live events for me and the SO
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Completely. You’ll have to just do the research and eventually bite the bullet - make an educated decision. It’s a process and you’ll buy, return, sell and eventually get to a point you’re really happy. The suggestion of the Hifiman XS is that it’s amazing value for not much outlay, and imo rivals much more expensive headphones. Just start the process. You probably won’t have one headphone that does it all. I landed on Focal Clear (for most music) and Hifiman HE1000 V4 (for Classical). Also have Hifiman Edition XS and even the 400 SE (which sounds great at 80 bucks!). Good luck with the journey!
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Beyond subjective, headphones are worn much like clothing and become a personalized object. There is no way to decide on “worth it” without direct experience. This follows from sound quality, fit and feel, build quality, and the whole package. Products often involve tradeoffs, and despite our best efforts to be rational, appearance and placebo effects are real.
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Thank you for providing additional details. Finding a headphone within your budget that truly improves on the sound quality of the 560S while matching its comfort can be challenging (the latter being the difficult task). In my experience, the 5-series Sennheiser design is quite comfortable, so the HD 550 would be a logical upgrade — it offers better sound while maintaining the same ergonomic feel.
Another strong option is the Sennheiser HD 490 Pro. It’s nearly as comfortable as the HD 800S and features solid build quality. Sennheiser includes two distinct sets of pads, each offering a different sound profile. Since you plan to use EQ, the 490 Pro could serve as an excellent foundation for further customization.
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I’ve not heard this, but it could also be an option for you:
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I watched the review and then read it. I think I need to find a way to listen to them and play around with EQ. Certainly “most significant in years” is a big statement to live up to and hopefully correct.
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