[Jefic]

Surely some members do not have time enough to read all posts. I've stressed the necessity to make sure that the amplifier that feeds the phone output is good enough for a HD 560. I once fooled someone into believing that digital is sh.. compared to analogue by plugging my phones successively into a Revox's output jack (5V Max) and then into that of a Sony domestic DAT recorder. The latter probably had no proper phone amp and ran out of steam over most of the frequency range at normal levels. If you do not consider paying your headphones a really top flight amp, i.e. both powerfull enough and sonically beyond reproach then do not buy yourself an HD 560!. You should not hear anything like sss on any honest recording. If this happens, either the microphones or the amplifier is at bay.

 

[vid]

You can take an amp you consider a good match for the HD 560, plug in the phones and hand them to a friend for listening. Unless your friendship is based on your taste in gear, chances are he's going to hear sss, and when that happens, the likely reason is that your ears are physically different in a way that either boosts the treble or not. Amp didn't get worse, though.

 

[superdux]

I don't think my amp is too blame.I am over sensitive to treble and highs thats why i picked the HD650 as my main HP.Also if you specially give notice to high tones you might recognize more of them in an already treble emphasized mix. So just switching from Cat Stevens to the new album from the Pixies "Indy Cindy" i didn't notice any harsh highs. I guess it also depends on the day you're listening and if you have slept well and are in a good mood.

 

[hdtv00]

These are much harder to power than HD 650's. The volume level drops by a half almost even though both pair are 300 ohm. I was kinda shocked but really the speaker replacement for these are like $94 compared to what $45 for hd 650's. Pretty shocking to me when I plugged them in one after another after having replacement cable and ear pads for my 20+ yr old 560 Ovation II's, which are still more detailed than 650 or 600's. And frankly they might be more detailed than my hd 700's.

 

[Jefic]

The higher the resolution of a system, the more you can hear the limitations of the recording, and this starts with microphones. Further up the recording chain, cables and connectors, and gain stages all have their own sonic signature; then of course the format you're recording on is subject to controversy: some will say that any  digital format tastes like sh..., others can clearly hear the difference between 16bits/44KHz and high resolution formats like DSD or 24bits/96-192KHz, especially in the treble. I've made many (mostly analogue) recordings of various instruments and voices, and a music teacher didn't notice any sss when I recorded her choir.
A sample of the HD 560 that is in good form should not show any sign of distress in the treble, as long as the replay level remains within its limits, which are high enough for anyboddy that doesn't suffer from severe hearing loss.

 

[vid]

Sure, the rest of the chain can and does contribute their share to sss, but the chain's not limited to interaction between the hardware, as you get variation in the treble of 20 dB or more when you plant that gear on different people. So from where I stand it's a fallacy that the quality in a general sense of a headphone or other gear could be deduced from whether it to a person has sss or not, since in effect what you're gauging is the compatibility of the gear to that set of ears. Said another way, you could take a setup that has sss to you, use EQ to eliminate the sss, and have ended up with better gear in this sense.

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

I have a HD560 Ovation II alongside my HD540 Reference IIs. They are both amazing headphones. The tonal accuracy is very true-to-life and they have an intoxicating purity with effortless neutrality. HD540II projects a more realistic feeling of space with its better sonic positioning IMO although this is only significant during extended side-by-side comparison. Without extended comparison, I found it quite difficult to determine which one sounded better as they are so close.

 

[the Ortherion]

I'm having connection problems on my HD560...how can i replace or repair those springs that the cable attach to.

 

[superdux]

I only have experience with the HD565 springs and there you open the cups and take a fine flathead screwdriver and carefully try to "bend" those springs back into former position.
You have to be careful about 2 things:

1. the thin wire going to the transducer
2. the magnet inside the transducer gets attracted to your metal screwdriver.

You could also ask Sennheiser for spare springs and replace the old ones. See HD565 appreciation thread for further instructions and videos.

 

[the Ortherion]

Thank you very much. I just disassembled mine with the help of @o0CosmoMemory0o and the springs look in good shape. i just did a little retouch and for now i can't seem to have intermittence on the sound, however i didn't listen to them for a long period. 
 
Btw, if you guys wanna disassemble your own drivers just check this posts:
 
post #737
post #739

 

[the Ortherion]

Btw guys, how are you feeding these headphones? Sources, dacs and amps. 
 
Currently im using my macbook aluminium late 2008 to play flac files with audirvana directly too Biosciencegeek Cmoy. I know its far from ideal but thats what i can afford. 
Im thinking in getting and hifimediy sabre usb dac and getting a little dot mk II or schiit vali or even a old pioneer amp to power these bad boys.

 

[the Ortherion]

One of the best feeling in the world. New pads on your vintage sennheisers

I'm really hijacking this thread.

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

The HD560II is a fantastic headphone. I prefer it over the HD800 even though the HD800 does do some things better. For simply enjoying music, the HD560 is definitely one of the best.

 

[pp312]

That's a pretty radical statement. I may just hop in my time machine and go back to the mid 90s. I was there, of course, in all my glory, and buying headphones right, left and centre, but I just can't remember which ones and when. I did have the 565 and 580, and almost certainly auditioned the 540 and 560. Now I'm thinking I should have listened more carefully.

 

[potterpastor]

HD 560 Ovation sounded great with Schiit Vali