Sennheiser HD 560 S Wired Over Ear Headphones with Mic (Black)

Very clear profile. Whereas some headphones can be bass heavy or even muddy, these go the opposite direction and can actually be a bit too light in the lower ranges. I don’t mind it at all personally, but it is something to look out for if you’re looking for heavy bass.

These do kind of need an amp though, especially if listening on a mobile device. They require a decent bit of power to get the full potential, and to be a bit blunt, phones don’t put out enough power to manage it. Computers (laptops and OCs both) fair much better in this department, but an amp is still the best way to get the best sound out of these things.

Also note that they’re open back, so they can be somewhat loud for those around you. They’re not really suitable for public use – you’ll hear other people cut through them, and other people will hear what you’re listening to. They won’t hear it clearly, but they’ll still be bothered by the noise.

I’d also like to add that these are the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever owned, even after six months of use. The clamp is tight, but not painful or uncomfortable, and the pads leave plenty of room for your ears while remaining incredibly soft. They’re not as comfortable as when I first got them, but they’re still fairing better than my HM5s whose faux leather began to crack after three months.

The Sennheiser HD 560S are a clear and revealing pair of headphones. On my other headphones and IEMs, when I apply EQ (Oratory1990 results from AutoEQ on GitHub) the effect is immediately apparent, the music seems to have greater clarity. I would liken it to the feeling of clear breathing after one has blown one’s nose when waking up with clogged sinuses. The HD 560S, on my system, don’t seem to need any EQ for greater clarity. You can of course EQ them to taste, specifically those who want more bass. The HD 560S have bass that go deep and sound good but they aren’t boosted so those wanting a bass heavy tuning/signature may want to EQ by boosting the lows (or cutting the mids and highs depending on your approach to EQ). I find the HD 560S to be an excellent sounding pair of headphones. I use them a lot but not exclusively since I do have other headphones I also enjoy. Those looking to try a pair with that clear, revealing, linear sound should give these a listen.

I generally use headphones with an amp but I’ve also used the the HD 560S with my Sony Xperia mobile phone and they aren’t hard to drive. I have the volume at about 60% on the phone at my preferred listening level. The 560S’s clarity helps here, I don’t need to have the volume so high in order to hear the details I want from the music. Though compared to my other current headphones these do need the most amplification, but not by a lot. On a song that I would have my headphone amp’s volume knob set at 10:30 for the Sony MDR-1AM2 or at 12:30 for the Philips Fidelio X2HR, the amp would be at 1:00 for the HD 560S (I try to volume match for vocals when listening to music).

The HD 560S are comfortable enough for me to wear for extended periods. I do feel the clamping force on the sides of the head, surrounding the ear, but I don’t find the pressure to be uncomfortable. The pads are large enough to fully go around the ear and deep enough so the drivers don’t come into contact with the ear so no pressure is put on the ear itself. There is a little protrusion inside the cups that might touch the ears depending on how forward or back you have the headphones. I don’t find them bothersome and in fact I use them to set the headphones consistently on my head by having them just barely touch the rear edge of my ears.

However, these Sennheisers aren’t a perfect set. For my purposes the cable is rather long. I use these at my desktop so a shorter cable would be better for me but others might be fine with the longer cable. They are open back in design so there is some sound leakage which might be an issue if you listen loud and share the room with others. Of course their open back nature is part of what gives them a less boxed in sound than the closed backed alternatives.

I did encounter an issue that was easily fixed in my case. Out of the box I seemed to hear a channel imbalance. This was disappointing at first but I also noticed that the left and right ear pads of my set were not equally soft. I then swapped the left and right ear pads and the imbalance wasn’t there anymore. I’m now perfectly happy with my pair and can recommend them for their sonic qualities but buyers should be aware of possible issues. I have had other Sennheiser headphones over the years and this is the first such issue I’ve had with them.

The build quality is good but there are less expensive headphones that have equal or better construction. At this price ($199 when purchased, it’s cheaper now) it would have been nice to have extra cables and a pouch. I got my MDR-1AM2 at a similar price and it has a more premium/luxurious feel, and includes two different cables (including balanced, since the HD 560S is wired for balanced it should have come with such a cable) and has a carrying pouch. The X2HR was about $50 less and feels like a more substantial set. Each of these headphones have different sound signatures and are good for diffent use cases but even though the HD 560S has really good sound (arguably better than others if that’s the sound you’re after) it doesn’t deliver the best value overall. Because of that (as well as the issue I encountered above) I can only rate these headphones at 4 stars. If, however, sound is all you care about then I could maybe give them 5 stars since I do enjoy using them quite a lot.