We don’t know. Many HD650 “wh*res” out there. 
Regardless, it was a smart move for their portfolio with the HD560S. And the common parts, that another big plus for existing 6-series customers.
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Absolutely - it’s cheap enough that enthusiasts can afford to give it a whirl even if they already have a bunch of Senns, and it’s also affordable enough that, in difficult times, people can get themselves a lovely treat without having to fork out too much.
The common, interchangeable parts really are a great benefit.
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In thought the HD660 was announced as the HD650 replacement, much to (almost) everyone’s disappointment.
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Oh man. If Zeos gets his hands on them, he may gush so hard that he drives the hype train up into the stratosphere. I remember his 58x video that basically said there is no reason for the 660s to exist anymore, up is down left is right and life no longer holds any meaning.
…I can’t wait to watch.
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Thanks for the warning. I’ll skip it.
I fear that when/if Zeos reviews the HD560S he may gush so much that he will in fact dissappear up his own arse. 
.
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That’s how they announced it, but the 660S came to be because the HD700 didn’t sell. It was a plan B move, and Sennheiser misjudged the market with how they advertised it. The community didn’t acknowledge the 660S as a rightful successor and replacement for the 600/650, so they decided not to discontinue them and optimize manufacturing efficiency for the 600/650 instead.
By now they’ve had plenty of time to re-think their approach to moving forward, and I think the 560S marks the beginning of their new approach. I don’t believe the 560S is supposed to be what the 660S should have been, but rather aims to take the 500-series to a higher level, intentionally competing against their own 600/650 at a much lower price to slowly bleed out the demand for the 600/650 (and perhaps the 58X/6XX too). We might be seeing the introduction of an HD 600S/650S further down the line as the newly attempted successors to the 600/650 to better compete again in that $300-400 market of today.
There are some assumptions in all this, so who knows what may or may not happen next. This is just what I think they might be planning.
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The enduring popularity of retro equipment and the periodic resurgence of LPs suggests a future of stability and the continuation of products people like. Dynamic headphones are ancient and simple technology – product differences follow from changing the materials and tuning/voicing. Getting rid of the 600/650 would be akin to recklessly getting rid of Coca Cola in favor some new and unpopular product. Oops.
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I wonder how the HD600 2019 version is selling. The HD600 is still a pretty good headphone with lots of vocal fans.
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They can’t continue manufacturing the 600/650 until the end of time. They aren’t strong competition on the market anymore, sales will continue to go downwards and reach a point where Sennheiser needs to pull the plug. If they want too keep selling the 600/650 for another 10+ years, they’d either have to figure out a way to sell them for <$200 without compromises, or they come up with a better version of both that do compete in that $300-400 market. I trust Sennheiser enough to think they can succeed in the latter.
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Solderdude likes them.
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That was a very nice and detailed review.
It is named HD 560S to indicate it is the cheaper nephew of the HD 660S.
My takeaway in one sentence. 
I have a VERY different take on the 600/650 market position. These are established standards and still provide a convincing delivery with a strong amp. I keep my HD-600 because it remains solid, and smooths the sharp edges off of poor quality sources.
Most everyone in audiophile or professional music creation/reviewing has experience with them, and people are confident in how their output will translate to other equipment. With sub $500 pricing, many people can afford them. Musicians are not known for having a lot of money (e.g., for the $1,500 Clear), or for being able to prevent equipment damage and theft. They are simple products made with inexpensive parts and just a few key components.
Some US products have been made for a very long time, even 262 years. If the 600/650 continue to sell and serve as the audio Rosetta Stone, they could be around for ages. I’m speaking of the ancient Rosetta Stone with the same text written in multiple languages, not the language training software.
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The 600, 650, 6XX are absolute box movers and a license to print money. They won’t be going anywhere unless the HD 560S is what the early hype is saying it is. Although the HD 560S sound like it’s a little flatter in tuning so I could see people still leaning towards the warmer 6XX for a preferred sound.
As long as the 6XX exists they cannot do this. It’s a complete conflict in their product line and cannabalizes any attempt to introduce a similar product in the $300-$400 range. It would have to be demonstrate-ably better. The only way it makes sense for them is to stop producing the 6XX which would probably piss off a large portion of the audio community and would be a PR nightmare to introduce something more expensive that is the replacement. So it’s a bit of a Catch-22 for them.
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I don’t think we see it all that differently. I wholeheartedly agree that the 600/650 are still wonderful headphones. But the industry is moving forward, and there are more alternatives to choose from for newcomers, so Sennheiser eventually just has to do something to grow along with that market if they wish to continue their legacy. I believe Sennheiser has it in them to further improve upon the 600/650 without taking away the soul of what made them legendary. Wishful thinking? Perhaps. Time will tell.
Absolutely. What I wrote down does assume that the HD560S will not be a disappointment. It will not replace the 600/650, but it has a good chance that it will shift a large chunk of the market away from the 600/650/6XX and towards the 560S.
Indeed, successors to the 600/650 will have to be linear, uncompromised improvements in order to succeed. And I also understand that this is not as easy as it seems. But if there is 1 company I have enough faith in to be able to pull this off, it’s Sennheiser. Their collaboration with Drop makes things more complicated, and I’m sure that if Sennheiser has any such plans in the works, they’ll work out a plan of action together with Drop on how to move forward.
Again, what I wrote is a combination of what has already happened, and what I believe might happen moving forward. I don’t have any insider information, no superior knowledge. I value what Sennheiser has accomplished in the industry and I wish for them to have an equally strong position on the market 20 years from now as they do today.
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Apparently, the HD560s is such a hit they now find themselves sold out. Here’s a link to their response to that and complaints about their service on Head-Fi:
scroll up to post #438
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And they did not even use the card up in the sleeve – a.k.a. THEEEESEEE…
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There’s a user on Head-Fi that has Zeos’ picture as his profile avatar. I like reading his posts, but if I didn’t I’d surely set to “ignore” him, just for that ghastly visage on every post.
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It is the accoustical difference. 4.8 helped but 4.13 made the big change too. Leaving the sound signature the same in the Lab would have changed many opinions. Mine was one of those. Please utilize the sound signature of the MTW1s in The MTW3s in order to customer satisfy. No point in using Firmware updates to revert sound signature back to where you started. And the physical size change was unnecessary and might have contributed there.
