I just picked up my 560S today, very impressive. I’ve never heard headphones quite like these, great separation and clarity, I’m picking up details in some of my music that I’ve never heard before.
I wonder which high end cans sound most similar to these, HD 800 maybe?
My second day with the 560S hasn’t been quite as positive, for me there may be a high potential for fatigue with these. Also, their sound signature doesn’t seem to suit some music. Maybe I just need more time to get used to them though.
On the plus side, they are very light and comfortable. I’ve noticed some people complaining about the build quality, but they seem pretty solid to me.
My son bought me a pair of Sennheiser HD560s for my coming 50th birthday.
My opinion on these headphones is highly conditioned by the fact that my 13 years old son did everything he could in order to gift them to me.
I’ve listened to my favourite music with them in the last weeks and these are my initial impressions.
Despite being made on the budget side and entirely of plastic they don’t feel particularly cheap nor give me the sensation they’re about to break in a while.
Out of the box the clamping force is good to me but this may vary according to how much you have to extend the headband to fit your head. The more extension the more clamping they become.
Having a medium head I don’t have to extend the head band too much so the clamp force is not a issue to me.
Ear and head pads are softer than the ones on my HD660s and are definitely comfortable when wearing the headphone.
Even if I prefer the 600 series design the design of 500 series isn’t bad. Doesn’t feel as durable as the 600 series but aesthetically is pleasant.
I hate Sennheiser’s 3 meters cables. It’s my problem, not a Sennheiser’s one. I can’t stand having a cable running on the floor. It’s not a issue as for 10/20 euros you can get a shorter and better cable.
Regarding sound after some listening I can say that even if these headphones aren’t the best resolving in Sennheiser’s line the tuning helps a little by fooling the perceptions you have and make you feel like they resolve much more than they actually do: that little extra treble that makes your brain perceive resolution higher than it really is.
Bass is present but doesn’t have the quality of 600 series. By this I mean that despite the bass is good and vivid to my ears it doesn’t have the necessary control to bring it out the best from it.
Mids are good and treble isn’t pricing or disturbing to my ears.
Soundstage is wider than on 600 series.
It isn’t the soundstage of an Hifiman Arya or of a Sennheiser HD800s but is well defined laterally and all around the head. I really like it.
The response you get from these headphones highly depend on your source and on the quality of the recordings you listen to.
Listening to well recorded and mastered music is a pleasure as the headphones seem to bring out all the best from the music.
If there’s a flaw in the recording or in the mastering process you’re gonna hear it and it will be present with no exception.
So what about in conclusion?
For the actual street price of 160 euros in Europe they are great sounding headphones and a good complement if you have a 600 series headphone in your arsenal.
You get the extra sound stage that you don’t have from 600 series and a less intimate sound that can be preferable with certain recordings.
Good starting point for beginners? Meh. They depend too much on the source and recording quality and can be frustrating if your music and sources aren’t good.
They can be a great tool for mixing and recording.
I use them in office feeded with a Windows Desktop PC plus Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt or with an A&K SR25.
No problem driving them properly from both sources and no great problem with long listening sessions.
Occasionally they can be quite hot on the ears but nothing that a pause of few minutes can’t stop them being a problem.
I have the impression that sound quality highly depends on very precise orientations of the drivers on your ears. Worth spending few minutes finding the spot that better suits you since once you find it the sound quality is highly improved.
The HD560s have been hyped a lot when they came out and my impressions confirm my general “don’t believe the hype” approach.
They are good headphones that you can buy to a great price and with a proper setup can be very enjoyable.
From that to be “giant killers” it passes a lot anyway.
I like them a lot and coming from my beloved son they are even more precious to me.
Enjoy
Excellent writeup @monochromios. You have a great son, have a wonderful birthday.
@prfallon69 very kind of you, thank you.
I have two kids and always try to show them how important music is! I will feel really proud if I get a birthday gift like this in some years! Congratulations man
24 posts were merged into an existing topic: The Objective, Subjective & Dejected Thread
I’ve started my journey on HD560S still learning and still trying to find the best combination for a pleasant listening experience. Normally I use an iPhone with HighRes activated hooked into a FiiO Q3.
First of all, in my experience headphones, like wine or food, headphones are really difficult to assess, because the matter is really subjective (it is not that scientific that some people say, there are lots of variables and “ambients” to meassure). Straight to the point, we’ve bought 5 pairs of these for the studio. Our conclusion, for the price, 150 € in Europe, and FOR AN HONEST LINEAR MIXING (just for mixing in a non-bombastic style of music), there is NOTHING near in the market. Believe me, we have lots of headphones tested by us and lots of musicians. These open headphones for the price have a great soundstage, the presentation of sound is more than correct, again, for being a cheap headphones. About the cable, if you plan to work at home just change it, it is too long and not the best. Constructoin, solid, but cheap for my eyes. Finally, Would you buy them just to listen to music for the price? Depends, in my case, I wouldn’t buy them because I enjoy best a V shape sound when I am relaxing at home. Summing up, they are the best for some needs … but they could be just good or avarage for others, so consider what you need them for.
I couldn’t agree more!
I bought them for critical listening on my journey into best qualities in streaming, and ended up defaulting to 560S for a fully immersive enjoyment of old vinyl & new.
If you have a very good ear, you’ll really enjoy these. Very flat response with perfect extension in both directions. Really pulls air from solid recordings.
Very well done review @reallyoldcob!
@Resolve have you done measurements of the current 560s on the new 5128 system with the new displaying method yet? So I can compare it with all of your new Sennheiser 5128 measurements? I’d hugely appreciate it.
I haven’t yet. But it shouldn’t be massively different for its general features.
I have a raw HBK 5128 measurement of the HD560S bookmarked. It uses an earlier version of the Headphones.com target though.
The thread that this was posted in no longer exists. But the URL for the 560S plot still apparently works. (?)
Hey guys.
I’m new to the forums and sorry for potential rule breaking for bumping older thread.
I need your advice since I bought pair of hd560 last BF for ridiculously low price of 120€ and hooked them to fiio e10k… but now I’m thinking to bump the combo to something different.
Music I’m listening to is mostly rock, but I’m not really bass aficionado, I prefer more balanced sound… and that’s where slight problem with current setup kicks in cos treble tends to sound…harsh of some sort and I’m willing to ditch fiio and get something different if that might smooth treble area to certain degree.
I live in Croatia, so many options in 200-300$ range are unavailable here (Modi/magni, atom stack…) and honestly I wouldn’t go beyond that price point… I can get something like topping dx3 + for around 200$, would it be better solution compared to e10k - or something else, perhaps?
Or should I ditch current setup altogether and pursue something like Sundara or hd600?
Sorry for longer post and thanks for your suggestions! 
Changing the amplifier is not likely to solve your problem. The headphone itself still makes the biggest impact on the overall sound. I’d do some research into alternatives to the HD560S that are generally accepted to have more relaxed treble. You can even ask for buying advice in the purchase advice topic.
Happy shopping!
Thanks, this comes as some sort of confirmation what i was ‘afraid’ for… i’ll check it out then like you suggested.
nice touch with tool/alex grey btw… i like it 
I almost forgot! 
I recommend trying some EQ before making another purchase (unless you really want to try some new gear). There’s lots of ways to do EQ depending on your system, so I can’t recommend any specific software.
I’m gonna disagree slightly with AudioTool on this, because like many Senns, the HD560S also has a peak in its impedance response in the bass. In this case the peak is at around 75-80 Hz. So a higher impedance amp might potentially warm its sound up a little bit. Other HD560S users on head-fi might have some thoughts/suggestions on this. Though you could also query the Headphones.com staff for ideas.
Finding the perfect synergy between an amp an headphone can be challenging though. And EQ is certainly another potentially much easier option to consider. The 560S appears just a little too brightly tilted toward the treble overall. So applying a slight downward (negative) slope of a few dBs toward the treble might be enough to get it sounding better on most content.
You might also want to play with the levels in the upper mids a bit. And try toning the area around 2k down a couple more dBs as well. YMMV though on that.
I use Equalizer APO for EQ on my laptop. But that may not work in your situation.
thank you so much guys for your input.
however, i’ve decided to take another, more ‘cowardly’ route and i bought a pair of HD 600.
however, since 560’s stay in my collection, i will try and apply some of the settings you mentioned… and whats even better since theyre not primary set of cans anymore, i can try everything on more relaxed terms now and learn about such things
Meant to post this earlier, but here’s a simple example of a downward sloped EQ like I was referring to above.
This was created in Equalizer APO’s Configuration Editor using a variable band graphic EQ filter, on my laptop. The GEQ filter contains only two points or control bands, one at 20 Hz in the sub-bass, and one at 20 kHz in the high treble. By moving the control point at 20 kHz in the treble up or down with the arrow keys on my keyboard, I can easily control the amount of slope and emphasis in the treble versus the bass.
If your headphones lean a little toward the warmer/cooler, brighter/darker sides, it’s a very easy system for performing basic tonal balance adjustments, on the fly while listening to music.
-5 dB is probably more of a correction than you’d need for the HD560S, or the HD600 if you also find it a tad bright.
