I needed a new headphone . My old trusted Sennheiser HD520II is 31 years old and worn down even after some repairs.
The fairly new Sennheiser 560s ... reviews put it close to its more expensive 660 and near the drop 6xx (the 650). On the euro site in promo 149,00 euro incl delivery , nice price . Straight , analytical , 120 ohm .... what a disappointment !
Should have read this too : https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...9-hybrid-an-hd560s-with-hd599-drivers.388534/
The sound is more like a closed HP , but it is open. The highs are mediocre , soundstage weak , much of the music and voices come not straight at you but like more from below.
Weird and not good!
My 31 year old 520II, is much better . Music is direct , balanced and airy , better highs ( so it isn't my old ears...).
The 560s is like listening with a curtain between HP and ears. Analitical ? It seems to mute out some sounds of instruments I expect to hear.
1,8m cable too short with a too big of a plug. The over ear shape is much more oval than the rounder better ones of the 520II.
I made the mistake of buying them directly from Sennheiser, returning them from another country than Germany , too difficult and then they shouldn't have been used . Should have bought them fom a local online one where I could return them.
I can take a 150 euro hit , paying for my mistake , but they were compared to the more expensive 660, 650 , so now I can't buy a 650 , because if they are just above this 560s , a 500 euro mistake is too much.
Shops around me , as far as there are some left, don't even have the HP's to listen to. Reviews online seriously untrustworthy .
These 560s are made in China , I thought all Sennheisers were made by Irish maidens in Ireland.
Now I can compensate for frequency , the weak highs , but the sound coming more from below , and not "airy" , I don't see how.
So just a warning , listen , compare before you buy , but is that even possible these days with buying directly from the net , with very , very few brick stores left that even have the things you want to buy. Needless to say , I 'll be even more careful with my old 520 II's , although they are not perfect of course. Be warned about these 560s . I guess that is the new Sonos sound and quality instead of the good old Sennheiser ?
Yes I know it's only 150 E , but I'm so p--- off.
The fairly new Sennheiser 560s ... reviews put it close to its more expensive 660 and near the drop 6xx (the 650). On the euro site in promo 149,00 euro incl delivery , nice price . Straight , analytical , 120 ohm .... what a disappointment !
Should have read this too : https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...9-hybrid-an-hd560s-with-hd599-drivers.388534/
The sound is more like a closed HP , but it is open. The highs are mediocre , soundstage weak , much of the music and voices come not straight at you but like more from below.
Weird and not good!
My 31 year old 520II, is much better . Music is direct , balanced and airy , better highs ( so it isn't my old ears...).
The 560s is like listening with a curtain between HP and ears. Analitical ? It seems to mute out some sounds of instruments I expect to hear.
1,8m cable too short with a too big of a plug. The over ear shape is much more oval than the rounder better ones of the 520II.
I made the mistake of buying them directly from Sennheiser, returning them from another country than Germany , too difficult and then they shouldn't have been used . Should have bought them fom a local online one where I could return them.
I can take a 150 euro hit , paying for my mistake , but they were compared to the more expensive 660, 650 , so now I can't buy a 650 , because if they are just above this 560s , a 500 euro mistake is too much.
Shops around me , as far as there are some left, don't even have the HP's to listen to. Reviews online seriously untrustworthy .
These 560s are made in China , I thought all Sennheisers were made by Irish maidens in Ireland.
Now I can compensate for frequency , the weak highs , but the sound coming more from below , and not "airy" , I don't see how.
So just a warning , listen , compare before you buy , but is that even possible these days with buying directly from the net , with very , very few brick stores left that even have the things you want to buy. Needless to say , I 'll be even more careful with my old 520 II's , although they are not perfect of course. Be warned about these 560s . I guess that is the new Sonos sound and quality instead of the good old Sennheiser ?
Yes I know it's only 150 E , but I'm so p--- off.
Thanks. No you can't trust any of the reviewers that turns up when searching. Only when backed up by measurements. And how many people can read and understand those?
Any honest reviewer would not be able to attract advertising, stuff to review for free, money from affiliate links etc. He or she would be buried so deep in googles algorithms that none of us would know them. So Yes. Honest subjective reviewers probably exist, but how to find and identify? Almost impossible.
I hope you find way to mod your 560 to your liking or find ones that are so good you forget you even had them😊
Cheers
Any honest reviewer would not be able to attract advertising, stuff to review for free, money from affiliate links etc. He or she would be buried so deep in googles algorithms that none of us would know them. So Yes. Honest subjective reviewers probably exist, but how to find and identify? Almost impossible.
I hope you find way to mod your 560 to your liking or find ones that are so good you forget you even had them😊
Cheers
https://www.beautifulaudio.biz/peace-equalizer-calibration-tool
Try this, unless you've sold it away already
You'll need a computer for the audio playback (the horror!) and EQ.
Maybe it'll be able to salvage the disappointing HD650S.
Try this, unless you've sold it away already
You'll need a computer for the audio playback (the horror!) and EQ.Maybe it'll be able to salvage the disappointing HD650S.
Sonova? I don't think Sonova and Sonos are affiliated, but I could be mistaken.
Air / Presentation are hard to accurately convey through reviews (even trustworthy ones where people have the best intentions). It's known that everything from the pad distance to the ear along with the alignment of the driver to the ear can affect someone's perception of depth / soundstage / imaging / width etc. Each our our noggins / brains / pairs of ears is different. So, the trite - YMMV is never more true than with subjective viewpoints on something that literally almost can't be perceived the same way between reviewers... and you.
That's giving the reviewers the benefit of the doubt...
More to the point - It stinks that you were disappointed with the new headphones. It's even more tricky that you couldn't easily return them. I empathize.
Online marketplaces sometimes allow you to return things no-questions-asked within a time window (as you know), but that's not ideal. In order to truly A/B options, you'd need to buy a few pair and return the losers. That's not great for anyone.
Meets and friends... you've probably thought of that too.
This isn't incredibly helpful, I know... the main point is... I don't agree with reviewers (or even my friends in the same room) very often. We all have our own preferences... and w/o starting the inevitable discussion re: subjective vs. objective... soundstage / air / width... as yet.. can't be measured (that I know of). Flat FR... Heck, I hate it. You may like it. Like you said though... you can tailor FR to taste with EQ ... to a point.
I mostly know more than the reviewer(in some or most aspects) I don't have their listening experience if they are seasoned, but there are always important aspects they omit and that i can recognize even with my limited knowledge.
If I ever should ever start to make reviews, they would probably be faulty, but honest.
Honest capable reviews means very little cooperation from manufacturers.
Cheers!
If I ever should ever start to make reviews, they would probably be faulty, but honest.
Honest capable reviews means very little cooperation from manufacturers.
Cheers!
Here's an unbiased opinion from a 4-decade-long Sennheiser user:
The HD560S is actually behind the HD599. Sound-wise, and especially comfort-wise.
The current HD650 price is a typical example of utter rip-off and corporate greed. They are AU$300-400 overpriced. I got a brand new HD650 for AU$450 some 7-8 years ago. That price was reasonable. Now, I can see them going for as much as AU$800-900... completely insane.
HD600 vs. HD650.... the HD650 has less distortion, which I could easily hear... hence I decided to go with the HD650.
Which one to buy today?? The HD599 is currently AU$199.
https://www.sennheiser-hearing.com/en-AU/p/hd-599/
The HD560S is actually behind the HD599. Sound-wise, and especially comfort-wise.
The current HD650 price is a typical example of utter rip-off and corporate greed. They are AU$300-400 overpriced. I got a brand new HD650 for AU$450 some 7-8 years ago. That price was reasonable. Now, I can see them going for as much as AU$800-900... completely insane.
HD600 vs. HD650.... the HD650 has less distortion, which I could easily hear... hence I decided to go with the HD650.
Which one to buy today?? The HD599 is currently AU$199.
https://www.sennheiser-hearing.com/en-AU/p/hd-599/
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Thanks for your comments guys.
Yes I still have them and playing around with an eq is an option.
Just weird that a 30 years old worn HP sounds better than a new one that gets good reviews.
If everyone hears differently , why are opinions about the HD650 pretty much uniform ? One of the best although overpriced.
Yes I still have them and playing around with an eq is an option.
Just weird that a 30 years old worn HP sounds better than a new one that gets good reviews.
If everyone hears differently , why are opinions about the HD650 pretty much uniform ? One of the best although overpriced.
Although reading some amazon reviews , I'm put off buying the 650's.
Yes , it seems Sonova quality is going down.
https://www.amazon.com/product-revi...r&reviewerType=all_reviews#reviews-filter-bar
All the cheaper 500 series are 50 ohm , except the 560s (120 ohm) and my old 520II , 300 ohm.
I like high impedance phones . The 110db of the 560s should have been a warning too.
Yes , it seems Sonova quality is going down.
https://www.amazon.com/product-revi...r&reviewerType=all_reviews#reviews-filter-bar
All the cheaper 500 series are 50 ohm , except the 560s (120 ohm) and my old 520II , 300 ohm.
I like high impedance phones . The 110db of the 560s should have been a warning too.
^Wow! I Wonder if that shop is really by official Sennheiser and if they are selling copies too.
599 as @Extreme_Boky links to looks as if they deserve a listen if you can buy them in Thailand for that price. Bring your headphone amp.
I sold Sennheiser in the 90ies. Terrible company, but not worse than other other companies with strong brandnames.
We used some of their ~30 dollar on-ear models for ourselves and costumers to test equipment. Great sound.
We or the costumers were mostly not allowed to open boxes to listen. We sold so little headphones, that risking having to sell as demos would eat all profit.
One year the importer gave each employee of our small chain of shops a pair of luxury over-ear headphones with detachable cables and everything. Well fitting and soft as a woman s inner thighs. Sound was.. Blurry.
So they made a 200 dollar model and stuck in 1 dollar drivers much worse than those in the 30 dollar cans. Why? Cause if they had put 5 dollar drivers they would have sounded equal or better than their 300-400 dollar models.
That's how little competition the big brands had then.
Computer gaming and portable audio has changed that so there are now 1000s of brands that give great value for money and gives the big names competition.
I would never pay anything close to full price for Sennheiser, but for half price as in extreme bokys link. Why not if the sound suits me?
Are you sure that you prefer the sound of high impedance headphones or could it just be coinsidence Rick?
@Karlsonate I will definitely try that program. I imagine I can read its settings and use them on my Android eq app as well.
Cheers!
599 as @Extreme_Boky links to looks as if they deserve a listen if you can buy them in Thailand for that price. Bring your headphone amp.
I sold Sennheiser in the 90ies. Terrible company, but not worse than other other companies with strong brandnames.
We used some of their ~30 dollar on-ear models for ourselves and costumers to test equipment. Great sound.
We or the costumers were mostly not allowed to open boxes to listen. We sold so little headphones, that risking having to sell as demos would eat all profit.
One year the importer gave each employee of our small chain of shops a pair of luxury over-ear headphones with detachable cables and everything. Well fitting and soft as a woman s inner thighs. Sound was.. Blurry.
So they made a 200 dollar model and stuck in 1 dollar drivers much worse than those in the 30 dollar cans. Why? Cause if they had put 5 dollar drivers they would have sounded equal or better than their 300-400 dollar models.
That's how little competition the big brands had then.
Computer gaming and portable audio has changed that so there are now 1000s of brands that give great value for money and gives the big names competition.
I would never pay anything close to full price for Sennheiser, but for half price as in extreme bokys link. Why not if the sound suits me?
Are you sure that you prefer the sound of high impedance headphones or could it just be coinsidence Rick?
@Karlsonate I will definitely try that program. I imagine I can read its settings and use them on my Android eq app as well.
Cheers!
@RickTH
Have a look at HD 58X from Drop.com in the link below, they are essentially HD 650 with what appears to be virtually the same 150 Ohm drivers (scroll down for measurements), sells now for US$ 149, I can assure as so many other these are the bang for the buck HP's if you want Sennhesier's.
Don't know how shipping from them to Thailand works.
https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-headphones#signupv2
Have a look at HD 58X from Drop.com in the link below, they are essentially HD 650 with what appears to be virtually the same 150 Ohm drivers (scroll down for measurements), sells now for US$ 149, I can assure as so many other these are the bang for the buck HP's if you want Sennhesier's.
Don't know how shipping from them to Thailand works.
https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-headphones#signupv2
The program can use the test results to create an EQ with 31-band (graphic EQ) or peak filters. You should have no problem getting it to other devices.
I was going insane from making my pair of headphones sound better without drastically altering its characteristics until I discovered this function (I've been using Peace for a long time to manage my EQs without realizing it's there).
A word of advice: despite what the guide said, you should turn off the "noise" while testing. I've found it to be very distracting. Particularly, if you're trying to tame sibilance, the noise can prevent you from getting the correct EQ.
Have fun!
What about the HD6XX that's supposed to be even closer to original HD650?
Link: https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-sennheiser-hd6xx
Link: https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-sennheiser-hd6xx
Comparing Drop's measurements between the different models it's really small differences, 6XX is closer to 650, 58X on the other hand seem have a slightly more extended bass and a bit more recessed mids.
Measurements from different bloggers and reviewers can show a greater difference for one and same model alone than the differences between different models from same reviewer.
I have to correct myself, the 650 is 300 Ohm, what I had in mind was probably 660S which is 150 Ohm, it's over 3 years ago I acquired mine and memory is starting to muddle, this blog page was the most decisive one affecting my decision as it talks quite a bit on the difference between 58X and 660S, as well as the other aforementioned models.
I did back then lots of reading and searching for a long period before putting in the order, and in the end concluded the differences between the models are so minute it can't justify the rather big price differences, I often do EQ the playback depending on music style, recording quality, mood etc which will have a much larger impact on the sound imho.
One thing I noticed is that the 58X is the only one with a plastic foam inside the outer protection grill covering the view of the driver, would be interesting to find out how it affects the sound with and without it.
Here some more recent reviews from 2023.
https://www.soundguys.com/sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-x-massdrop-review-21460/
https://www.soundguys.com/drop-x-sennheiser-hd-6xx-review-24325/
https://www.soundguys.com/sennheiser-hd-650-review-87355/
https://www.soundguys.com/sennheiser-hd-660s-review-71636/
Measurements from different bloggers and reviewers can show a greater difference for one and same model alone than the differences between different models from same reviewer.
I have to correct myself, the 650 is 300 Ohm, what I had in mind was probably 660S which is 150 Ohm, it's over 3 years ago I acquired mine and memory is starting to muddle, this blog page was the most decisive one affecting my decision as it talks quite a bit on the difference between 58X and 660S, as well as the other aforementioned models.
I did back then lots of reading and searching for a long period before putting in the order, and in the end concluded the differences between the models are so minute it can't justify the rather big price differences, I often do EQ the playback depending on music style, recording quality, mood etc which will have a much larger impact on the sound imho.
One thing I noticed is that the 58X is the only one with a plastic foam inside the outer protection grill covering the view of the driver, would be interesting to find out how it affects the sound with and without it.
Here some more recent reviews from 2023.
https://www.soundguys.com/sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-x-massdrop-review-21460/
https://www.soundguys.com/drop-x-sennheiser-hd-6xx-review-24325/
https://www.soundguys.com/sennheiser-hd-650-review-87355/
https://www.soundguys.com/sennheiser-hd-660s-review-71636/
No one can say this, I guess.
So are you using an extension cord and a plug adapter?
I completely understand your disappointment and I'm sorry you may have had a bad experience (but we're not entirely sure yet
), but perhaps before giving up you have another chance: an adequate burn-in.There are tracks made specifically for this, but please try to do it with Music at an appropriate volume and period of time and then (hopefully) we'll talk about it again.
Yes official Sennheiser.
https://www.sennheiser-hearing.com/en-BE/p/hd-560s/ckyy9r5q0016i0c96sk5d9tog/
In Thailand Sennheiser is even more expensive because of import taxes. You can get them cheap from chinese webshops , but I'll pass on that.
About the drop.com clones , they are harder to get in europe , where I am now.
Ordering from europe comes with steep taxes too.
Good site !
Here the 560 ovation from 1989 , which looks like my 520II .
https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-s-se/hd560-ovation/
Again the good review of the 560S
https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-s-se/hd-560s/
With graphs close to 600-650 and others.
So the 650 is as bad as the 560S ... for me.