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The New HD 560S: Linear Acoustics at a Breakthrough Value
Oct 29, 2020 at 12:18 PM Post #1,293 of 2,621
Your 598 is stretched to high hell. How old is it?

They are the exact same build and size, there's no difference. It just seems like your 598 is super stretched out and broken in, and the 560s is brand new. My 560s looks exactly like yours and fits perfectly fine. Clamp will subside over time with use.
 
Oct 29, 2020 at 1:02 PM Post #1,294 of 2,621
Okay, so I found a remote control that was a bit wider than I wanted the final width to be (in my case 8.25" long). I wedged that in between the band and the cups, and I spent about 20 minutes blasting the headband with a hair dryer on high heat.

My 560s are now nearly as "stretched to high hell" as my decade old 598. With the cups fully retracted, I measure 3" between the earpads at the bottom, and 2.75" on the 560s. I'd say comfort is about 75% of the 598, mostly down to the stiffer earpads and headband foam, which will eventually break in more. I'm really surprised at the amount the plastic was able to be trained!

Crisis averted, now I can finally listen.
 
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Oct 29, 2020 at 4:26 PM Post #1,298 of 2,621
Yeah, these are better.

Super close to the 598, as expected. A bit more treble at a certain frequency, and less so across entire treble range. It's something that sounds like it was needed, IMO. Never what I'd call sibilant or harsh, though. The midrange still sounds a bit more natural on the 598, but it's not huge. The bass is a decent improvement over the 598, and nearly as noticeable. Better extension for sure, but suffers the same issue of the 598 that it won't take much boost at all in the subbass before distortion becomes audible.

The 598 still sound damn good. I'm quite surprised that a headphone that's truly 10 years old (Aug 2010) is even able to hang with some recently released darlings. The narrative sometime seems to be that every 6 months, a headphone comes out that's a significant improvement on what came before it, which may lead one to believe that old headphones aren't nearly as good as what available now. So for anyone out there with old but good cans who may read this and has a serious case of FOMO, just relax, lol.

That said, I'm quite enjoying the 560s. They will be staying for the meantime, and the Phoenix are being returned. I just don't see the hype. Bass was a bit better than my 598 (but not nearly as much as I'd been lead to believe) but the tiny earcups/pads (these are on-ear headphones, I don't care what Sivga says) means my glasses break the seal, and I lose bass. Additionally, the sound was muddy and congested, the soundstage was poor, they sounded shouty compared to the others, and the frequency response was very notchy and uneven. Great build quality and accessories, though.

Oof, just got chills listening on the 560s to Sofia by Clairo, when the wide voices come in at 2:30. So good.

So I'm just gonna keep listening to these (LOTR soundtracks currently) and see if they improve any. They're really good, but I'm not totally sure yet if the slight bump in quality is really worth $200. It probably is, but being that one of my uses is music production, I'm not sure how much sense it makes to have an only slightly different variation of what I already have. It may make more sense to have something that gives me a sonic snapshot from a different angle, although one that is also near linear.

Hmm, listening to Lost in Emyn Mull from The Two Towers soundtrack, there's a particularly stressful passage starting at 3:20 till the crescendo at 3:40 where the 560s seem to struggle with distortion in the bass/subbass region, even with the EQ off at a moderate volume. It seems to poke it's head up at times in other songs as well. For anyone curious, I'm using a Focusrite 18i8 ( a digital audio interface that goes for about $400) to drive all headphones. It makes it really nice for comparisons as there two identical headphone outs with their own volume knobs, so I can easily match volume and compare sound signatures as quickly as I can put them on my head.

The Hd-560s probably shouldn't get too comfortable, as I just ordered some Sundaras and they'll be here Saturday. The hunt continues.
 
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Oct 29, 2020 at 4:33 PM Post #1,299 of 2,621
Just got a Topping DX7 Pro in. Going to finish up some work and then I will test it with the 560S. :)
 
Oct 29, 2020 at 4:46 PM Post #1,300 of 2,621
FeedYourHead said:
Yeah, these are better.

Super close to the 598, as expected. A bit more treble at a certain frequency, and less so across entire treble range. It's something that sounds like it was needed, IMO. Never what I'd call sibilant or harsh, though. The midrange still sounds a bit more natural on the 598, but it's not huge. The bass is a decent improvement over the 598, and nearly as noticeable. Better extension for sure, but suffers the same issue of the 598 that it won't take much boost at all in the subbass before distortion becomes audible.

The 598 still sound damn good. I'm quite surprised that a headphone that's truly 10 years old (Aug 2010) is even able to hang with some recently released darlings. The narrative sometime seems to be that every 6 months, a headphone comes out that's a significant improvement on what came before it, which may lead one to believe that old headphones aren't nearly as good as what available now. So for anyone out there with old but good cans who may read this and has a serious case of FOMO, just relax, lol.

That said, I'm quite enjoying the 560s. They will be staying for the meantime, and the Phoenix are being returned. I just don't see the hype. Bass was a bit better than my 598 (but not nearly as much as I'd been lead to believe) but the tiny earcups/pads (these are on-ear headphones, I don't care what Sivga says) means my glasses break the seal, and I lose bass. Additionally, the sound was muddy and congested, the soundstage was poor, they sounded shouty compared to the others, and the frequency response was very notchy and uneven. Great build quality and accessories, though.

Oof, just got chills listening on the 560s to Sofia by Clairo, when the wide voices come in at 2:30. So good.

So I'm just gonna keep listening to these (LOTR soundtracks currently) and see if they improve any. They're really good, but I'm not totally sure yet if the slight bump in quality is really worth $200. It probably is, but being that one of my uses is music production, I'm not sure how much sense it makes to have an only slightly different variation of what I already have. It may make more sense to have something that gives me a sonic snapshot from a different angle, although one that is also near linear.

Hmm, listening to Lost in Emyn Mull from The Two Towers soundtrack, there's a particularly stressfull passage starting at 3:20 till the crescendo at 3:40 where the 560s seem to struggle with distortion in the bass/subbass region, even with the EQ off at a moderate volume. It seems to poke it's head up at times in other songs as well. For anyone curious, I'm using a Focusrite 18i8 ( a digital audio interface that goes for about $400) to drive all headphones. It makes it really nice for comparisons as there two identical headphone outs with their own volume knobs, so I can easily match volume and compare sound signatures as quickly as I can put them on my head.

The Hd-560s probably shouldn't get too comfortable, as I just ordered some Sundaras and they'll be here Saturday. The hunt continues.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that comparison! Looking forward to the Sundara H2H.

As an aside, I am a hobbyist music producer myself and have a decent interface (Roland Quadcapture), though I found it not ideal for driving anything audiophile and harder to drive of what I've had or have. I use the USB in of the Quadcapture though because I do really like the USB implementation on it (and I need a low latency interface for production either way) but then it goes to the R2R11's coax in. It makes a substantial difference, even though it's 'just' a 349$ all-in-one. Just so you know that the 560S and the Sundara has the potential to improve further :)

Have fun and keep us posted!
 
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Oct 29, 2020 at 4:55 PM Post #1,301 of 2,621
conquerator2 said:
Thanks for that comparison! Looking forward to the Sundara H2H.

As an aside, I am a hobbyist music producer myself and have a decent interface (Roland Quadcapture), though I found it not ideal for driving anything audiophile and harder to drive of what I've had or have; even though it has a relatively decent headphone section. I use the USB in of the Quadcapture though because I do really like the USB implementation on it (and I need a low latency interface for production either way) but then it goes to the R2R11's coax in. It makes a substantial difference, even though it's 'just' a 349$ all-in-one. Just an aside from my experience :)

Have fun and keep us posted!
Click to expand...
Yeah from what I've heard, the interfaces that are powered solely by USB aren't great for powering headphones, but interfaces with mains power are a big step up (at least with the Focusrite line).
 
Oct 29, 2020 at 7:18 PM Post #1,303 of 2,621
Oct 29, 2020 at 7:38 PM Post #1,304 of 2,621
Some audio porn for you addicts

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C189CD51-0A82-4DF0-A6E0-CEE25254AE5E.jpeg
 
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