[40760]

I've just received my replacement HD 560s. Interestingly, the screws are all tight, but as said by others here, you can unloosen them with the slightest turn. However, I still have quite a rattle in the left earphone between about 0 and 200Hz using this https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/

Can someone else use the test tone generator and see if they notice the same thing?

Also worth mentioning that this replacement pair were scuffed out of the box and the headband doesn't exactly appear like it's properly glued

Thanks

The headband meaning the padding? The padding is adhered onto with a tape of sorts, so they might look like they are coming off along the edges at some point. It won't totally fall out though.

Did your replacement pair come in a sealed box with the clear round sticker on the tab? My brand new pair did but my headband was slightly scratched up. I suspect they are not used but rather roughly handled at some point in the production line. So maybe some scuffs like you mentioned are to be expected? I checked checked the rest of the headphones and besides the plastic headband area, the rest of them like the ear cups and all are in pristine condition.

If you still get the rattle with all the screws tightened then that's quite unacceptable in my books?

I really don't get why the screws can be loosened so easily. It shouldn't be by design.

 

[lastsd]

I hoped the screw issue were just simple 'take off ear pads and screw in and forget about it'.
If it gets unscrewed that easily, I may buy Audio Technica R70x instead once it comes back in stock.
I can come back to HD560s if/when the problem has been addressed at the manufacturing level.

 

[TomD]

As said before, I really like how these headphones sound and I find them very comfortable so it's disappointing they have these QC issues. I think I'll try the hifiman 400i 2020 next

 

[wildemu]

Damn, just as i buy them over the weekend this screw QC comes up. And I chose them over Sundara because of the QC lol. I think there is no avoiding chinese-made products nowadays unless it's a beyer, and even their german production line isn't perfect. As much of a pain it is, we have to use our consumer rights and go through the return/refund process. This is the only way companies learn from their mistakes.

 

[rev6]

Damn, just as i buy them over the weekend this screw QC comes up. And I chose them over Sundara because of the QC lol. I think there is no avoiding chinese-made products nowadays unless it's a beyer, and even their german production line isn't perfect. As much of a pain it is, we have to use our consumer rights and go through the return/refund process. This is the only way companies learn from their mistakes.

Sennheiser will set standards for them to follow. They will have people there, likely from Germany, overlooking the productions, and they'll inspect random ones from each batch I reckon. The screw issue just seems like something overlooked here, perhaps a screw length, or even a thread issue. We don't know. But it's definitely not simply because they're Made in China.

On a positive note, as we have sponsors here and even a Sennheiser representative (that and returns) should prompt them to do something about it ASAP.

 

[40760]

The screw issue just seems like something overlooked here, perhaps a screw length, or even a thread issue. We don't know. But it's definitely not simply because they're Made in China.

That is so true. China is no longer known for cheap production, but quality manufacturing too. Hence more production lines are moving to S.E.A countries for even lower costs.

 

[Evshrug]

Guys,
I reached out to my Sennheiser contacts yesterday, made two suggestions to resolve this, and they’re investigating and will get back to us. There are going to be details I am not immediately familiar with, and the clever people there may have even better ideas... I haven’t designed the headphone myself

But meanwhile, it’s very important we as a collective don’t try to overcorrect. Over tightening can damage the headphones and make things worse, and it’s also entirely possible some issues aren’t even related to screws. Please be careful!

An issue caused by screws should be an easy fix if done with care... while most HD 560S won’t exhibit any issues with this, the cool part is you guys are helping me give feedback to the product managers and marketing people. Sennheiser is listening! I think we’ll be moving forward on a case-by-case basis, but this collaboration between community and engineering is an opportunity that will pay off for everyone.

 

[Evshrug]

Damn, just as i buy them over the weekend this screw QC comes up. And I chose them over Sundara because of the QC lol. I think there is no avoiding chinese-made products nowadays unless it's a beyer, and even their german production line isn't perfect. As much of a pain it is, we have to use our consumer rights and go through the return/refund process. This is the only way companies learn from their mistakes.

Well, fortunately there’s some preemptive learning and support happening right now. I’m going to help you guys make Sennheiser not only good at manufacturing QC, but also make sure the after-purchase experience is quality and constantly evolving.

You probably won’t have an issue. Sennheiser has been using this design for several product generations, and sold several thousand HD 560S so far.

 

[TomD]

Well, fortunately there’s some preemptive learning and support happening right now. I’m going to help you guys make Sennheiser not only good at manufacturing QC, but also make sure the after-purchase experience is quality and constantly evolving.

How long do QC issues like this usually take to fix?

 

[Evshrug]

How long do QC issues like this usually take to fix?

As I said earlier (welcome to the thread by the way!), of the thousand or so units, there are just a few cases reported here. Customer support is the best course of action if an issue is detected right now... let’s be careful not to damage the headphones.

Meanwhile, the enclosure and screw system has been largely unchanged since the HD 5x9, HD 5x8, and HD 5x5 generations of products. It’s been a proven design, and any individual unit with issues should be able to be permanently fixed without much trouble. Still, feedback is being received and shared with the teams, and give Sennheiser a clear step to evolve support.

 

[TomD]

As I said earlier (welcome to the thread by the way!), of the thousand or so units, there are just a few cases reported here. Customer support is the best course of action if an issue is detected right now... let’s be careful not to damage the headphones.

Meanwhile, the enclosure and screw system has been largely unchanged since the HD 5x9, HD 5x8, and HD 5x5 generations of products. It’s been a proven design, and any individual unit with issues should be able to be permanently fixed without much trouble. Still, feedback is being received and shared with the teams, and give Sennheiser a clear step to evolve support.

I think this problem will be more widespread it's just that not everyone will notice it. I don't see how attempting to tighten the screws back up is damaging the headphones (when they weren't even screwed tight in the first place). This is terrible QC, let's not sugar coat it. It's unacceptable. Will be interesting to see what Sennheiser does about this, I imagine they'll do absolutely nothing and let the units roll out as normal

 

[goodyfresh]

I think this problem will be more widespread it's just that not everyone will notice it. I don't see how attempting to tighten the screws back up is damaging the headphones (when they weren't even screwed tight in the first place). This is terrible QC, let's not sugar coat it. It's unacceptable. Will be interesting to see what Sennheiser does about this, I imagine they'll do absolutely nothing and let the units roll out as normal

Okay first of all, anyone who has a pair of these headphones that does have this issue will no doubt notice it without having to use test-tones, unless they NEVER listen to anything bass-heavy or only listen at very quiet volume-levels, because I first noticed the problem whenever there was any especially-loud bass playing in certain frequency-ranges, and only CONFIRMED the problem using test-tones (and then subsequently tightened the screws). So the problem likely IS actually quite rare because as the sponsor said, this is the same screw/enclosure system as the other HD 5__ series headphones, and I've honestly never seen anything about issues with loose screws before. The thing is that as is always true when there are problems/issues with something, the people who DO have the uncommon/rare issue are understandably much more VOCAL than the people who have no issues, thus it seems more common than it is.

So second of all, hey, let's not be such downers about it now that the company has responded to their sponsor to tell us they're looking into it. This is SENNHEISER we're talking about. From what the sponsor is telling us, it sounds like Sennheiser is ACKNOWLEDGING that some people are having this issue, and I absolutely BELIEVE them that they're going to look into it. Why do I believe them? Because this isn't HiFiMan we're talking about, this is Senn-freaking-heiser. As someone earlier said, I was wrong for using the phrase "perfect quality-control" in a previous post because NO company is able to have TRULY perfect QC 100% of the time. HOWEVER, Sennheiser is a LEGEND in this industry largely because they are known for having just about the best quality control on their headphones of any company alongside MAYBE the likes of Beyerdynamic and one or two other companies. I may be one of the people who got one of the rare units with the loose-screws issue, and I may have gotten quite a bit far too worked-up and freaked out about it earlier... but the fact is, I have faith in Sennheiser because of their long-standing, legendary reputation when it comes to QC and customer-service.

So let's not jump the gun and say this is "terrible QC," because this is nothing like the super-extremely-common issues that HiFiMan headphones or stuff like the Focal Elex have. And let's wait and see what Senn does about this before just assuming the worst, okay?

 

[40760]

I just packed and kept my pair of HD 560S in the cupboard.

 

[goodyfresh]

I just packed and kept my pair of HD 560S in the cupboard.

I mean... clearly you like them though, right? If your avatar-pic is any indication, anyway. Haha.

 

[VideoWork]

Very good cable. Recommend.

Spoiler

https://a.aliexpress.com/_ALHGrv