General Information

Reveal the truth in your music

Today’s audiophiles spend hours enjoying or analyzing music, whether listening to another artist’s work or assessing their own recordings. Sennheiser’s new HD 560S headphones offer just what is required for analytical listening sessions at an accessible price point: natural and accurate reference sound that divulges every detail, complemented by an outstanding low-frequency extension, while providing a “barely there” experience on the head and ears.




HD 560S features:
  • Natural and source-accurate reference sound, with superb extension into deep, defined bass and brilliant treble
  • New polymer-blend transducer membrane offers highly-linear excursion for superb control
  • Angled transducers recreate the optimal listening position every time
  • Open ear cups for the most natural expansion of sound waves
  • Lightweight design and velour earpads for all-day wearing comfort
  • Efficient 120 Ω impedance and 110 dB SPL sensitivity for use with a wide range of audio sources
  • Ultra-low distortion, <0.05% THD (@1 kHz / 90 dB SPL) for expressive dynamic range and clarity, even at high SPL
  • Detachable 3m cable with 6.3mm jack plug and 3.5mm adapter with flexible, 15cm lead

The Sennheiser HD 560S will be available from September 29.

Product page: http://www.sennheiser.com/hd-560s

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Technical Data
Ear couplingAround-Ear, Open Acoustics
Weight w/out cable240 g
Transducer TypeSennheiser Dynamic
Frequency Response6 Hz – 38 kHz (-10dB vs 1 kHz)
Sound Pressure Level (SPL)110 dB (1 kHz / 1 Vrms)
Impedence120 Ω
THD, (1 kHz, 100 dB)<0.05 % (1kHz / 100 dB SPL)
Ear Pad MaterialVelour
Warranty2 years


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Packaging Data
Package ContentsHD 560S Headphones
3m cable with 6.3mm plug
6.3mm to 3.5mm adapter
Quick Guide
Safety Guide
Packaging TypeCardboard Giftbox
Language on PackagingEnglish, German, Spanish, French,
Japanese, Simplified Chinese
Weight of Headphones with Packaging605g
Package dimensions (L x B x H)198 x 111 x 270 mm


Accessories
Article No.Article Name
509145HD 560S Head Cushion
572266HD 5X8 and HD 5X9 Cable, 3m (6.3mm plug)
561035Adapter KLB 6,3S / KL 3,5 gold
572287Ear Pads HD 559

Latest reviews

Nirvana Woman

100+ Head-Fier
HD560S
Pros: - Excellent bass extension
- Great soundstage
- Top tier build and price/performance
Cons: - Tonal balance is wrong
- No 3 meter cable in the new packaging
Let's just come out and say it: I sadly don't enjoy this headphone. From the moment I took them out of the box, played Got The Life by Korn and the drums kicked in, I knew these weren't right for me. The snares and cymbals have far too much high frequency energy. These headphones attack my ears with shouty upper midrange and treble, even after I threw on an EQ at 4khz. The whole experience of the sound is nervy and uncomfortable. After a while I wondered if I could be fooling myself. Sometimes we convince ourselves of silly things that aren't true and we have to always consider that possibility. Maybe the recording is much worse than I remember, maybe my ears are fried today. So I went back to my trusty Fidelio X1's with the same music and sure enough: sounds epic. Put on the same section of Got The Life with the 58X Jubilees: yeah that's nice, exactly as I remember it. Vibrant and powerful sounding. Excellent midrange. The issue isn't with my ears, it's with the 560S. No matter how much I turn down the volume to look for some equilibrium, I'm not able to find it. Only after I equalize the 4k and 8k ranges even more do I finally arrive at something listenable.

Soundstaging is great. Timbre is decent, though definitely not as good as on the HD58X Jubilees or the 6x0 series. Bass is well extended and has impact, on that note I'm very much on board with the modern trend where we're getting great bass response from new releases. The 58X did this, the 660S2 is another example and the 560S is also more than a step up from what we used to get from headphones in this price range such as the HD598. As a little something of a basshead I do really appreciate Sennheiser being in tune with what's going on in the hifi world. However, the 560S suffers from not having enough lower midrange and too much reservation in its midbass response. There's no grunt to the sound, it doesn't move me at all. I'm listening to Angel by Massive Attack and a key difference between the 560S and some headphones I like is mainly that. Without it, the music is missing something critical. Yes there's more clarity, but at the heavy cost of what my ears think sounds right. I've tried a variety of genres with this headphone and I'm not being hyperbolic when I say nothing really worked for me with these. And there's also the marketing thing. Sennheiser has branded the HD560S as a detail monster, but honestly it really isn't. Some things will stand out more because you're most likely coming from a different tuning, but overall these are on the same level as a great number of headphones in this price class. You can say well, maybe those headphones are also great at retrieving detail? Well yeah! That's exactly right, at this price bracket a headphone should do well at giving us insight into the music. The 560S is on par, which is good, but not special. Its bright nature shouldn't be mistaken for a quality; it is a characteristic more than anything. And another thing I've read is where people say, yeah it's a bit bright, but it's not as bright as the DT990[or whatever headphone]! I mean, why does that matter. The DT990 is an entirely different animal. It doesn't make sense to compare in that way, the only thing that matters is that the 560S on its own is too bright. It isn't a valid defense of it to say that something else has issues.

These headphones have made me wonder... So you have a headphone that does really well in all technical areas. You have your bass extension, you have your soundstage and separation, lots of detail, a real attempt to make everything sound balanced. You listen to your music and you conclude that yes, this is in fact the flawless presentation you had dreamed about. Try as you might, you can't identify a flaw. On paper it's all there, but... Is it actually fun to listen to? Maybe the lesson with the Sennheiser HD560S is that the whole is not the same as all of its parts.

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update 13 nov 2023: modified some of the wording a bit, because my initial disappointment made me come off more strongly than I intended. My opinion remains unchanged however. Also shortened the review.
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Rsifur9

New Head-Fier
Safe buy (Audiophile sound + Gaming), needs time to grow on you .
Pros: -Neutral tuning with a slight bright end on top.
-Natural timbre.
-Good Stage & imaging.
-Lightweight and quite comfortable for prolonged use.
-Fantastic value for the money.
-Natural timbre.
-Very good bass .
-Excellent technicalities.
-Scales better with good source.
-Does not require EQ to be enjoyable .
Cons: -Clamp force.
-2.5mm twist & lock cable might be hassle for some .
-Lacks excitement even despite bass shelf.
-Mid bass lacks .
-plastic build might not pleasing .
TLDL:

If you want a slight bright neurtal tuning with good technicalities you can give it a try .
Again try to pair it up with warm sources or better amplification to get good result out of it .
Dont try compare it with sundara or other sennheiser6 seris they are on their own league.


PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES

>>Sennheiser HD 560S headphones(ear pads are velourish material)
>>3 meter 6.35mm terminated cable
>>6.35mm to 3.5mm adapter cable


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Technical Specifications



>>Form Factor: Open-backed, over-ear
>>Frequency Response (Hz): 6Hz ~38KHz
>>Drivers : Dynamic driver
>>Source Jack : 6.35mm /3.5mm
>>Sensitivity (dB) : 110 dB
>>Removable Cable : ✔
>>Impedance (Ohm) : 120 Ω
>>Headphone in Jack : 2.5mm
>>Removable Cable : ✔
>>Weight : 240 gram

Sound Impression :


source:
Dongle : >>xduoo link2 bal
desktop: >>(ifi zen dac v2+ ifi zen can ),
>>(smsl su-9 + cayin IHA-6)
Aftermarket cable : Faaeal balance cable

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[BASS]

Not that much bass that will nod your head .
Good sub bass comparing mid bass but lacks slams and rumble .
If i need bass slams & rumble i just hit TRUEBASS on iFi Zen dac v2 and it just give me that deep thump with vibration .
Bass assault is muted, and decay is a little delayed.
There is hardly any audible middle bleed or masking of higher frequencies.
But with cayin IHA-6 i get a decent amount of bass, might be for that crazy amplification .


[MIDS]

Sennheiser is very famous for its mid centric tuning .
The upper mids can sound shrill.
This is partly because of the linear bass response, which completely exposes the upper mid yell.
However, the lower mids are quite well tuned.
Due to uncolored mid range it is very suitable for audio mixing .


[TREBLE]

Tuning is neutral brightish.
Lower treble is still harsh with warm ifi zen dac , it was very pleasant & enjoyable with IHA-6 though .
Upper treble is is natrural not overdone. But sometimes it felt sibilant even with zen stack but not on cayin .
Attack & decay of treble was good indeed .


Technicalities:

Stage , imaging was not that top of class but it is very good for open back & for its price .
separation is charming for its price , you might not find good separation within its price range .
I play CSGO competetive fps game , i can pick up every detail that is happening around me yet the footstep & directional sense was not top notch but it wasn't bad either.
Due to the absence of mid bass bulk and sub bass rumble, macrodynamic punch is weak. Although above average, microdynamics are not exceptional.


Comparisons

HD560s vs HD599se

I don't have many sennheiser headphone to compare with ,in future i'll try to gather other sennheiser to compare .
HD599se is very bass bloated where is it has bass quantity & on the other hand HD560s has less amount of bass .
HD599se has lush mid where HD560s has crisp sweet mid .
HD599se has its treble cut off where HD560s has little peek on treble.
Soundstage & imaging is slight better on HD599se (Nitpicking) where separation is better on HD560s .
For gaming and relaxing session HD599se is good if one dont want that much analytical sounding .


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HD560s vs Edition xs

Sub bass rumble was seen on edition xs , mids might be little sweet on hd560s but that attack, resoulation and separation on edition xs was on another level .
Treble was very enjoying in edition xs . Technicalities was better on edition xs , dynamic speed cause it is a planar driver .
Edition is superior in every aspect , Edition xs swiping the floor with HD560s .
But despite being a dynamic driver hd560s wasn't that bad either but Edition xs win with ease .


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Rating:

Bass: 3.8/5
Mids: 4.5/5
Treble: 3.8/5
Imaging/Separation: 4.0/5
Staging: 4.0/5
Dynamics/Speed: 3.9/5



Conclusion :


Good for monitoring & gaming .
Might feel boring , Needs time to grow on you .
Might need to eq to get more out off bass section.
Might be safe buy.

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angelmf2704

New Head-Fier
Amazing performer (for professionals), not for music enthusiasts
Pros: Neutral-bright sound signature
Soundstage
Imaging
Bass extension and control
Detail
Transparency
Cons: Neutral-bright sound signature
Treble is very revealing
Difficult to find a match combo (DAC/AMP)
Low quality recordings are sometimes unbearable
Introduction

The most popular headphone since 2020, has been reviewed a lot and has sold a a ton of units. Sennheiser released an amazing product but most people don't seem to understand to real purpose of these headphones. Still, is an amazing performer and possibly the best value around 200 dollars.

Packaging and accesories
  • Is just a regular box, Sennheiser has been reducing packaging quality in the last couple of years including the HD 600 family.
  • It includes a 3 meter 2.5 to 6.3 mm cable, good for studios
  • 6.3 to 3.5 adapter for regular users
Comfort
  • Traditional HD 500 line comfort (almost perfect)
  • Great earpads, but they may need a replacement after 2-3 years though.
  • Clamping force is a bit stronger than other HD 500 line headphones, but not as big as HD 600 family

Bass
  • Very well extended, subass is present but has a noticeable roll off after 60 hertz
  • A little dry to my taste, not very warm
  • Control, speed and detail is amazing for the price
  • Slam is pretty decent
Midrange
  • Great detail
  • High midrange is more prominent than HD 600s, can be to hot for some
  • Transparency is top notch

Treble
  • Low treble is accentuated to a point it becomes piercing with bad amplification/DAC performance
  • Extension is awesome
  • Low quality recording can sound terrible, possibly making you hate your music
Soundstage and imaging
  • Better than HD 600 family
  • Just perfect for the price, no complaints here
Final take
It's just the best headphone in the HD 500 line, outperforming every headphone in almost any categorie. Comfort is great, but pads may look weird after a few weeks. Matching is a bit difficult to have a decent experience with low quality recordings (iFi products are a perfect match). Technical performance is perfect for gaming. In the end, this are headphones for profesionals. My main concern is that the HD 560s doesn't provide a good experience with all my albums, so It's not a headphone for me in particular.
electronicsdesign
electronicsdesign
Interesting fact is on Senheiser website the included cable pictures show a screw-on 6.3mm adapter and a length of 1.8m.
Seems they might have changed the included cable... If so, I would much prefer an 1.8m one with screw-on adapter.
A
angelmf2704
@electronicsdesign you are right. Apparently, there was a revision on the HD 560s with a new cable. I must had the first version.
electronicsdesign
electronicsdesign
I also have the first version bought about 1 year ago from a local reatiler.
But most retailers are still selling old stock, so we'll get the old version for quite some time unless one is to buy directly from Senheiser.

Comments

Tripokaridos

500+ Head-Fier
my only gripe with previous senn headphones is the much narrower soundstage compared to the x2hr (i tested the hd660s at store before and it doesn't sound wide and as open as I wan

All HD6 series and 58x have this construction for a reason thats why they sound in your head and get these vocals.
Soundstage wide or standart or norrow is not a bad or good thing its just about what type of sound u want to give in a headphone. For example DJs use HD25 for a reason all these years, HD6 series also have this soundstage for a reason.
HD599 have big soundstage because they made for other reasons.
Soundstage its personal taste and for what kind of music u like ... For example i prefer hd599 for movies .
I think u gone like HD560s i can tell u about comfort they are great about sound... Reviews FR show that they are clear and have big soundstage like u wanted but i dont know if the bass is what u will expect compared to x2hr .
 

deadchip12

100+ Head-Fier
All HD6 series and 58x have this construction for a reason thats why they sound in your head and get these vocals.
Soundstage wide or standart or norrow is not a bad or good thing its just about what type of sound u want to give in a headphone. For example DJs use HD25 for a reason all these years, HD6 series also have this soundstage for a reason.
HD599 have big soundstage because they made for other reasons.
Soundstage its personal taste and for what kind of music u like ... For example i prefer hd599 for movies .
I think u gone like HD560s i can tell u about comfort they are great about sound... Reviews FR show that they are clear and have big soundstage like u wanted but i dont know if the bass is what u will expect compared to x2hr .
Yeah, I didn't mean to slam those headphones for the narrow soundstage. I know some people like that kind of intimate sound. Just saying I prefer big and open sound since I mostly play games and watch movies.
And you're right about the bass. I'm a bit worried the hd560s's bass may not kick as hard as the x2hr. I really like the x2hr sound signature except its imaging which I feel is not very good.
 

Tripokaridos

500+ Head-Fier
If u want overdone Bass and big soundstage , sory to say but without EQ i dont think u will like any of these headphones.
On the other hand u can keep your X2hR . And guess what u can buy HD 560S and have different type of sound as an alternative and u never know maybe u will love them after time.
If u are like me after listening HD6 series every other headphone with more bass it sounded muffled and bloated to my ears.
The best imaging i have heard under 1.000 euros ( i dont have headphones over this price) are the HD660s by far , they dont have big soundstage but the imaging ... OMG on PUBG i can hear exactly not only the left right but in what height on the mountain people are and close or not , my team keeps asking me . Using other headphones i was never getting all that information .
From reviews they say that HD560s have very good imaging and with that angled drivers maybe its better than HD 6 series in games... dont know i have to wait for them to come .
In my opinion games that u need to hear the position exactly u need first of all best imaging , for movies or single player games yeah big soundstage and bass is nice to have... U can also use DTS or Dolby versions on HD560s i think they will get that surround effect and bass that u need.
 

jrenai

100+ Head-Fier
DMS released his review on these today. You should watch it because the sound stage and low end is everything the 600 line wishes it could be according to him. And the detail is on par with the 660s and ITS ONLY 200 right now which would be amazing if this is all true
 

deadchip12

100+ Head-Fier
DMS released his review on these today. You should watch it because the sound stage and low end is everything the 600 line wishes it could be according to him. And the detail is on par with the 660s and ITS ONLY 200 right now which would be amazing if this is all true
Yeah I watched his review. I also read the review from diy audio heaven. It all sounds too good to be true. This headphone seems to do everything right (wide soundstage, good imaging, great details, nice mids, no sibilant, good bass, relatively bright) for just $200. I can't wait to test it.
 

CTR640

Headphoneus Supremus
Should I buy it? From what I read and if true if soundstage is wide, good imaging and all, I would like to get it. Right now, the Fidelio X3 is a bit overpriced. I can get the HD560S for €179
 

Tripokaridos

500+ Head-Fier
My only concern is if it sounds lot colder compared to HD6 series or just a bit. FR looks like doesnt have mid bump and also a bit bright highs . I am more on warm side like 650 660 . Cant wait to try them.
 

deadchip12

100+ Head-Fier
My only concern is if it sounds lot colder compared to HD6 series or just a bit. FR looks like doesnt have mid bump and also a bit bright highs . I am more on warm side like 650 660 . Cant wait to try them.
Since I like the sound sig of the x2hr, I guess I'm gonna like the bright highs of this hd560s.
 

rev6

100+ Head-Fier
Really anticipating more reviews popping up. I have mine ordered but no sign of shipping being moved up a day. Reviews do seem too good to be true but in such a congested market, plus their 60 day return period, it's worth trying
 

deadchip12

100+ Head-Fier
Really anticipating more reviews popping up. I have mine ordered but no sign of shipping being moved up a day. Reviews do seem too good to be true but in such a congested market, plus their 60 day return period, it's worth trying
Sennheiser has 60-day return window??? Man I wish I could order one to try but I dom't live in the countries that they ship to.
 

rev6

100+ Head-Fier
Yes the confirmation email states this

You may return your order within 60 days of reciept of the goods. Sennheiser guarantees that it will accept returned items and issue a full refund within this period. Please retain a copy of your delivery note supplied with your order for your records.
 

deadchip12

100+ Head-Fier
Yes the confirmation email states this

You may return your order within 60 days of reciept of the goods. Sennheiser guarantees that it will accept returned items and issue a full refund within this period. Please retain a copy of your delivery note supplied with your order for your records.
Feels bad man. Local retailers here don't have such rule, so I always have to go test at the store in person.
 

daydesiang

100+ Head-Fier
A revival of an old name HD560 Ovatation, which is one of the legendary headphone from Sennheiser! Meaning that this will continue that legend?
 

jasonb

Headphoneus Supremus
So where do I buy these? I'm in the U.S. and I don't see them listed online anywhere.
 
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