[adelaidestevens]

I've had these for a few months now, interesting headphones.

I got them purely for playing guitar through amp sims, but have been listening to music a fair bit.

I find them a tad sibilant or grainy with certain sounds, vocals and cymbals don't sound great to me. I really like the staging and imaging, that's fab. I also like the bass, but overall I do think they are a flawed headphone, which is fine they were only £90. Or it might just be because I'm driving them with a Scarlett Solo, I'll move them and test them with normal gear at some point. Anyone else noticed these shortcomings?

I definately don't think these punch anywhere near as far above their weight as people say, personally I'd take an Elegia over these any day. Or an Elex. But for the price i think the comfort and staging make them an easy buy, plus they rock for gaming.

Although I don't find them to be sibilant, they definitely come across as shouty around 1-2 khz, so mid-forward recordings like Norah Jones can be a little annoying but nothing you can't handle and can easily be fixed with a slight eq (though I don't myself). IMO there are very few headphones that sound and measure as good as the HD 560S at their given price, so at the end of the day it all comes down to taste

 

[marekm]

I will second that

I use them in the office with iFi UNO - pleasant balanced sound

 

[adelaidestevens]

new vs original HD 560s
https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...sion-of-sennheiser-hd-560s.40927/post-1729024

 

[Ufasas]

if you found hd660s good refurbished for 179,- (new 660s around 374,-~, mad) and hd560s new for 149,- , which one would be worth to get as the only headphone?

 

[ericpalonen]

if you found hd660s good refurbished for 179,- (new 660s around 374,-~, mad) and hd560s new for 149,- , which one would be worth to get as the only headphone?

This may not help, but I've spent quite a bit of time with both. They are a bit apples vs oranges in terms of presentation. The 660S and 560S are both quick, with the 660S having a smoother and more flattering sound vs the clinical 560S. The 560S has a single sided cable (single ended) where the 660S has a balanced option and an exit from each ear cup. The 560S has a wider soundstage, IMHO, thanks to the angled drivers. Mids and vocals are smoother on the 660S, but no slouch on the 560S. The fact that you are curious about the 660S tells me that you're seeking something that the 559S may not have in its repertoire?

 

[sajunky]

Factory refurbished? 660s, maybe unless you want it for gaming, I don't do gaming.

 

[Ufasas]

This may not help, but I've spent quite a bit of time with both. They are a bit apples vs oranges in terms of presentation. The 660S and 560S are both quick, with the 660S having a smoother and more flattering sound vs the clinical 560S. The 560S has a single sided cable (single ended) where the 660S has a balanced option and an exit from each ear cup. The 560S has a wider soundstage, IMHO, thanks to the angled drivers. Mids and vocals are smoother on the 660S, but no slouch on the 560S. The fact that you are curious about the 660S tells me that you're seeking something that the 559S may not have in its repertoire?

I am surprised, that nowadays you can get refurbished 660s for almost 2x less than new one, replace old pads - and voila. Would i lose the money just for 5% improvement, or get potent imaging, mids and vocals? With good DAC like Fiio, i am still happy with 560s and for gaming and for music, and even for experimenting with balanced bluetooth DAC.

Factory refurbished? 660s, maybe unless you want it for gaming, I don't do gaming.

Seller refurbished, non factory though, he adds aftermarket cable, also 2nd cable with XLR end. 660s for gaming would be nice due to imaging many are raving about, also always thought what is that heavenly smoothness on hd660s, that 560s doesn't have.

 

[idsyphe]

if you found hd660s good refurbished for 179,- (new 660s around 374,-~, mad) and hd560s new for 149,- , which one would be worth to get as the only headphone?

This is a tough one, I'd say it depends on what you are primarily going to use it for, if gaming is important, then HD560s may be the better option, otherwise I'd take the HD660s. You can very easily add a boom-mic to the HD560s by searching "hd598 boom mic" on amazon.

I have both, HD560s is great for the price, my one main complaint is that the pads are shallow and my ears hit the notch in the cups which is uncomfortable, seems like an easy fix, but most alternative pads that are thicker are also much denser foam, and this makes the cans far too muddy IMO. I have found a solution, the Accessory House velour pads, they are thicker, and are standard foam pads so are not dense, as such they sound very similar to the stock sound, but are thick enough that my ear doesn't touch the notch. The velour on them isn't quite as nice quality as the original pads, but its still good and I haven't felt them to be itchy yet.

The HD660s are built much better, they feel nice and premium, the pads are much stiffer, but there is no notch to contend with, and they mould quickly enough to become very comfortable, only downside in terms of comfort is the headband can create hotspots, where as the HD560s has a more forgiving head band.

In terms of sound signature, I'm no expert, but I feel the 660s are a lot more laid back, obviously a much warmer sound, especially with vocals. So as I said, if you want them primarily for gaming, then the 560s is probably a better option, but if you're looking for something primarily for listening to music then the 660s would be a better option, if you want something general purpose, then you really can't go wrong with either.

 

[mainguy]

if you found hd660s good refurbished for 179,- (new 660s around 374,-~, mad) and hd560s new for 149,- , which one would be worth to get as the only headphone?

660s ofc. The 6xx series is just better than 560s, from someone who's owned both. Thats how I feel anyway, and there is a reason the used market prices normally reflect this.

 

[Gray 4]

The 560S has a single sided cable (single ended) where the 660S has a balanced option and an exit from each ear cup

You do know the 560S has a balanced option don't you? (As the Senn. sponsor, you must do I would have thought ).
Single sided cable yes, but with a 4-pole connection on the single side.

The (originally supplied) 3 metre cable even has 4-cores - when it only needed to have 3 cores to its 6.35mm TRS plug.
This makes a swap to an amp-end 4-pole connector possible.
I fitted a Pentaconn plug on mine, for balanced operation out of a Topping A50S - better still from their A90D model.

 

[marekm]

I fitted a Pentaconn plug on mine,

So did I

 

[Gray 4]

So did I

Not the easiest job (understatement), but worth it

 

[Gray 4]

The 6xx series is just better than 560s, from someone who's owned both. Thats how I feel anyway

That's fair enough.
I had the 600 at home for a couple of weeks - but, 'legend' though that is, I preferred the overall sound of the 560S.
I've also recently borrowed the 650, the 800S and a Topping A90D from a friend - and had a good listen, balanced, to all of them.

I must admit to being a bit surprised to have (quite easily) preferred the 560S to all of those more expensive models.
I suspect that, if the truth's known, the 560S turned out to be better than Sennheiser themselves expected.
Some have reported that the most recent supplies have sounded inferior to the originals, with even the odd person suggesting that this may have been deliberate - which seems most unlikely.

Can only say that, to me, compared to many other makes and models, the 560S is an absolute bargain.

 

[Ufasas]

Hm, did the balanced move with hd560s, and held off buying 660s, still considering, not sure which one better, balanced or balanced, but in fps games i love hd560s in balanced mode a lot, great positional awareness

 

[RayMets1]

Sorry wrong post