HD 560S Open-Back Over-Ear Wired Audiophile Headphones

TL;DR? The Sennheiser HD 560 S are extremely comfortable, lightweight, and easy to wear all day, with a secure fit that settles in nicely over time. Sonically, they offer outstanding value around $200 with an exceptionally neutral, well-balanced sound, wide soundstage, and strong resolution—making them excellent for critical listening, mixing, and mastering. --- These headphones are simply fantastic! For me, maybe the easiest headphones I have ever worn "all day." The clamp pressure is a bit tight out of the box, but not TOO tight. They WILL loosen up over time, so if you're sensitive to clamp, you might find yourself needing to "break them in." On some over-ear headphones, I can struggle in finding that "this is where they sit on my head" position. Beyerdynamic Headphones can sound great, but it can be annoying fiddling with how they sit on your head until you find the "just right" position. The HD560s? Easy. Put them on, adjust, and you're good to go! The materials here are what you expect! The earpads and headband are soft enough to comfortable, but firm enough to provide support. If you use them CONSTANTLY, you will eventually need to replace the earpads (1-2 years). The plastic is high quality, and there are nearly no metal parts. With that in mind: you could break these if you tried, but the plastic shouldn't fall apart any time soon. This makes them VERY lightweight, which is fantastic for comfort! SOUND: the single most important aspect of this product. These sounds good. Really Really good. I would argue that this is potentially the best sound you can get around $200. These are extraordinarily well-balanced. What does that mean? It means they are very very neutral. They are not hyped, they are not "exciting." They are perfect for checking a mix and more critical listening. These have enough resolution to pick out fine adjustments in sound (like slight tube saturation). The soundstage is wide without being "too much," allowing for a solid depiction of the "Stereo Image" without adding additional confusion. Overall? They sound incredible! Very Neutral; not too "warm," just the right amount of balance for critical listening. Overall? These are a fantastic choice for mixing and mastering. You can certainly use them for every day tasks as well, but some of the "punchy" or "crunchy" music might feel a little "anemic" under the microscope of the HD 560 S headphones. These are a true neutral. If you want to check balance? Pick these! The only scenario I have ever found myself "reaching for something else" is grabbing my Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X headphones for better resolution/ detail in the high frequency. The 900 Pro X are not as neutral (or wide) as the HD 560 S, but their additional top-end extension makes them solid for "sanity checking" high frequency information. For tracking and monitoring, I would reach for something else (ATH-M40x or DT770 (maybe the DT 900 Pro X, they are basically semi-open back)).

I'm not an audiophile or headphone expert. I played drums as a teenager and later took guitar lessons for 10 years, still play the guitar almost daily, and love music in general. Hard rock has always been my favorite genre. I use headphones with my PC while watching YouTube music videos and concerts and also while playing video games like Cyberpunk 2077, Skyrim, Diablo IV, etc. I also have a pretty big library of old and new music on a 7th gen iPod Touch (now discontinued) and do some critical listening with that. I had been using budget headphones like the Koss KTXPro1 and Logitech G333 gaming earbuds, but always wanted to try something considered as "audiophile" headphones. My son is somewhat of a headphone expert, so I reached out to him for buying guidance. His ideal headphones would be completely neutral, with no emphasis on either highs or lows. To start, he gave me a FiiO K3, which is a DAC/headphone amplifier. I didn't know I needed one, but he insisted. He also convinced me to download and install the open-source Equalizer APO application and its companion Peace UI component. It's a bit daunting for a newbie to get started with the headphone amp and equalizer software, but there are plenty of YouTube tutorial walkthroughs available. In a few hours I had the headphone amp and the Peace interface working, and had separate configurations saved for the Koss and Logitech headphones. I downloaded pre-configured settings for each pair of headphones, which are set with the preferred "Harman Curve". I had no idea about any of this stuff previously. By the end of that day, I had learned how to tweak and save additional configurations, and now could choose between multiple pre-sets for each pair of headphones. For example, I created a pre-set that boosted the bass, another that boosted the highs, and one that boosted both bass and highs while leaving the middle frequencies at the standard Harman curve settings. That allowed me to experiment and decide my own personal preferences for music listening. Just a primer - the headphone amp connects to the PC by USB, and it disables the built-in PC audio chip with a more powerful and clean signal. Then you plug your headphones into the headphone amp instead of the PC headphone input jack. Windows audio and volume is bypassed, so now the volume is controlled by the volume knob on the headphone amp. (You can turn off the headphone amp to listen through PC speakers or with the standard PC headphone jack.) With the headphone amp and equalizer software, both my Koss and Logitech headphones sounded better than ever and I was hearing details that I wasn't hearing before. I had heard of headphone amps before, but never thought they were necessary. I couldn't imagine not using one now. Then my son lent me his AKG K702 open back headphones to try. He likes them because they are pretty neutral. As he puts it, "you hear the music as the producer and engineer intended it to sound." The AKGs were the best headphones I had ever tried, hands down. I downloaded the pre-configured parametric EQ file for them and listened for a few days. I learned that I preferred a more bass-heavy sound, especially with the hard rock I usually listened to. (I am currently obsessed with a band named The Warning, but like many other artists including Spiritbox, Breaking Benjamin, Band-Maid, Evanescence, Muse, and older classic rock like Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, Hendrix, and Van Halen.) Given that I liked a bit more bass emphasis, my son suggested the Sennheiser HD 560S. I love them. With the standard EQ configuration, the low bass is a little lacking for my taste. I want the bass drum emphasized. So I created a pre-set with the bass boosted at 52 Hz and left the rest of frequencies alone. Perfect! I created another pre-set with the same 52 Hz boost and an additional boost at 5K Hz. I have some high frequency hearing loss, so this compensates for that, and allows me to hear the cymbals a little better. Normally I listen with the bass boost pre-set only and can hear everything fine. The only minor gripe I have with the Sennheiser HD 5600S phones is the comfort level. The ear pads are soft and comfortable, and the clamping force isn't too much. But the headphones are somewhat bulky, especially compared to the Koss which are feather light and have almost zero clamping force. The Logitech earbuds are another story since they weigh virtually nothing and there's no clamping force. That said, I have used the Sennheisers for hours at a time and they're fine. You do forget they're on once you're immersed in the music or the game. I'll definitely choose the Sennheisers every time for critical listening. Occasionally I will use the Logitechs or Koss when watching non-music videos like interviews or product reviews, for the improved comfort level. Here's a good website for scientifically tested objective headphone ratings: https://www.rtings.com/headphones Definitely recommend the HD 560S as an entry level audiophile headphone. They're a tier above sub-$100 headphones for sure.

I was in what felt like an endless quest for the perfect set of over-ear headphones for my personal needs... every time I would think I landed on the perfect one, I would find something about it that I hated, or I would find other users' testimony online that would scare me away... ultimately, I landed on these for a number of reasons. I needed a set of cans that would, first and foremost, not lie to me when trying to mix/master. I also wanted something with a bit less of a claustrophobic feel to them. I already had a set of pretty good closed-backs that I use primarily for tracking bass and guitar, and while they are great for that, they were a bit too "exciting" in sound to give me an accurate representation of the rest of the track. I also just get a bit of anxiety wearing closed backs for long periods of time: I just dislike the lack of awareness around me. I also wanted, as an added bonus if possible, something that would also be able to be used for general listening and gaming. By extension, I wanted something that was going to be comfortable to wear for long periods of time... With all of those requirements in mind, it seemed like every headset I came across would excel in one or two of those categories, but always fell short in another... Not wanting to compromise, it seemed like the more research I did, the more it became clear that this HD 560s was probably the closest thing I was going to get to checking off all of those boxes, and after stalling for a few weeks, I finally decided to pull the trigger... I am SO glad I did. These things sound incredible. I immediately noticed issues with the mix of a few songs I have been working on. Once I put these on, it was like a fog was lifted from the music and I could hear everything with much more clarity, and I was able to get a mix that was significantly better and more clear as a result. I also love the nature of open-back headphones. I can still hear if someone knocks on my door, and the sound just kind of has a more "roomy" feel to it. It ALMOST sounds more like I am listening a well-treated room than isolated cans. They are also very comfortable to wear, even for long periods of time. I have a large head, and I wear glasses so it's not unusual for me to get a headache after awhile wearing headphones, but these seem to be a lot more forgiving than any of the past sets I have used. I should also mention that these don't need a crazy headphone amp to drive them. Just about anything should push the drivers without much issue at all. Finally, I can confirm that for casual listening, these are pretty great as well. Sound is crystal clear, and if you feel like you want a more "exciting" sound, you can always achieve that with some EQ adjustments. As for gaming, while this wasn't the primary reason I purchased these, I will say I was pretty shocked when I started using these for my online Warzone sessions. Thanks to the aforementioned flat EQ curve, bass isn't blown out, which means a lot of the sounds that used to dominate the sound mix are far less obnoxious, and the wider-feeling sound stage really does give me a LOT more fine details on directional audio cues like footsteps. All of that is to say that I think I landed on my very favorite headphones ever. I could have spent a fair amount more, and truthfully, I have a few other headphones that were FAR more expensive, and they honestly do not sound as good as these... and it's really not even close. The plastic build doesn't scream expensive, but they don't need to: I can't see them when they are on my head anyway. I do not believe the plastic makes these any less durable than anything else. They seem very well made and I would expect these to hold up for years to come. Considering the price, these headphones are about the easiest recommendation ever. If you want clarity, comfort, and a little bit of versatility, these are it. Stop looking. You found them. One last thing I wanted to point out: based on ALL of the reviews of these that I watched prior to purchasing, I expected an obnoxiously long 10' cable with a weird pig-tail dongle if you wanted to use them with a 3.5mm jack... I was surprised to find that the cable that mine came with was a more standard 6 foot cable that terminates in a 3.5mm jack and a nice adapter to 1/4" that screws on. To be honest, I was slightly disappointed with the shorter cable length, but I think MOST people are going to actually see this as a plus. They must have changed what they ship these with since all of the reviews from when they first starting selling these.

There are a gazillion reviews, so there's not a lot I can add, but thought I'd speak to two attributes I was most concerned about (beyond quality of sound, which is excellent). That is, the comfort both in terms of 'clamping force' on my large head (and contact with the top of my head), and whether they are 'hot' on the ears. My only other pair of over the ear headphones was something from the 1970s and it was truly horrible in all of these regards, but turned me off to over the ear headphones for years (I'm an In Ear Monitor person generally, but ones that rival the sound of these are several times the price) Clamping force on head: I have a larger head and the clamping force has been about perfect. It has never felt uncomfortable in that regard. I do have them extended all the way. Contact with top of head: The top of the headband does have an indentation that is intended to keep it from making contact with the top of my head, something I am VERY sensitive too. Unfortunately, it does make some contact with my head, but I suspect a smaller head would not have this problem, that said it has been an adjustment to getting used to the sensation, rather than causing discomfort, so overall, it is working for me and I have dozens of hours of use as of this review. Ears 'hotness' and comfort: The material used on the pads is very comfortable. Generally, wearing them (indoors) I never feel hot in them, but some days I do feel some warmth. Not sure why some days, and not others--perhaps just down to body temperature. Even then, I don't find it uncomfortably warm. The ear cups do flex/swivel a bit, and this also helps with fit and comfort. Cord Length: A quick word on this. The included cable length is fine. However, Sennheiser does not currently seem to provide a 15ft version (or any longer version0 with their proprietary twist connection. So, if you need to extend them, it is going to have to be with a cable extender. HOWEVER, and this is an important point if you want to extend it AND you need a 6.5mm (the larger size) male plug to go into your audio source of choice. The 6.5mm adapter they provided SCREWS into the smaller 3.5mm connector. Sure, that's more secure, but if you want to use a cable extender, that will be a male/female 3.5mm connector (likely) and then you will have to buy a separate plug in type 6.5mm adapter. These are not expensive, but it is an annoyance. In summary: My opinion is these headphones are a bargain. I watched many hours of video reviews on this headphone where it was also discussed, compared and contrasted in relation to similar products, by well known and regarded audio reviewers, and while sound was at the top of the list, the comfort factors I described above were right up there with sound. Reviews did a good job of objectively evaluating the Sennheiser 560S, and I would buy them again.

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.

Look, I am absolutely not an audiophile. I don't make music, and I usually just watch YouTube reviews until my brain melts. I’m just a guy who plays first-person shooters on PC, usually sticking to IEMs. However, I bought these headphones for one hyper-specific reason: Rainbow Six Siege. Let me tell you, these are an absolute game-changer. The open-back design makes the audio so clean and crisp that it feels like cheating. I can pinpoint exactly where glass is breaking or what direction a roamer is sprinting from without the sound getting muddy. My in-game spatial awareness skyrocketed. I've since started using them for racing games and everything else, too. The Build & Comfort: The Cord: It is ridiculously long. You could practically jump-rope with it, which is awesome for PC setups. Comfort: The foam earcups and headband are incredibly plush. I can play for hours without my head feeling like it's locked in a vice. Durability: Yes, it is made of plastic. No, it is not "dollar store" plastic. I have accidentally gravity-tested these multiple times on my floor, and there isn't a single scratch or crack. Plus, the stealthy all-black grill looks sharp. ⚠️ TWO HUGE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS: THERE IS NO MICROPHONE: I’ve seen people complain about this online. Read the box, folks! If you want to trash-talk your teammates, you will need a standalone mic. YOU WILL HEAR EVERYTHING: Because they are open-back, sound goes both ways. If you have a blue-switch mechanical keyboard that sounds like a machine gun, or a loud roommate, you will hear them. Luckily, once the game volume kicks in, I easily drown it all out. Verdict: For the price, these offer top-tier performance without forcing you to sell a kidney. If you want a massive competitive edge in shooters like Siege, buy these immediately. 10/10.

These are outstanding headphones at any price, and an unbelievable value at their typical ~$150 street price. I'm a recovering headphone addict and these have been good enough to help me stay sober. I think if your budget is up to $300 and you don't want to fuss around with amps and DACs and other gear considerations, these are probably the best "plug 'em into anything" headphones I've ever owned. They're light, they're comfortable for average-sized heads (though see more below), and they sound great playing any content from any source. Highlights: - Value: I've owned a lot of headphones (including perennial darlings like the HD600+650 and Audio-Technica ATX-M50 and higher-end stuff like the Audeze LCD-X and Focal Clear) and honestly, the headphone world is a perfect case study for the Law of Diminishing Returns. In other words, you can spend $150 on the 560S and get 75% of the sound quality that's even possible, or spend $1500 to get to like 85%. For most people, this is the sane stopping point. - Weight: the all-plastic build lets these float on your head at 280g (9.9 oz). For comparison, the Hifiman Sundara (another highly regarded pair of <$300 headphones) weighs 379g (13.4 oz). Three ounces may not sound like much, but over the course of hours, you really feel every ounce that's sitting on your head. - Easy to drive: I use these plugged directly into a PS5 controller and they get plenty loud at roughly 50-60% volume. I've tried them with different combinations of amps and DACs as well, but such gadgets are totally unnecessary to get the most out of the 560S. - Perfect audio for gaming: the wide soundstage is great, as is the sharp treble for picking out things like voices, footsteps, and gunfire. These are very popular with FPS players, and I can see why. I don't play PvP games, but they've saved me from many a cheap off-camera attack with their amazing positional audio cues. The nicest surprise on these is the bass, which is meatier than you'd expect for open-backed headphones. Unfortunately, because of the proprietary cable jack, I had to buy a kooky adapter (ASIN: B07Z2MPW61) so I could use the V-Moda BoomPro mic I had lying around for voice chat. The overall setup is a bit klunky but almost certainly outperforms popular gaming headsets. - Surprising noise isolation: these are by no means going to block out the outside world like a pair of closed-back headphones, but there are enough layers of stuff inside them between the grille and your ear that you're not going to hear everything around you with them on. Lowlights: - Oddball connector: I despise proprietary connectors, and Sennheiser's 2.5mm recessed jack with a twist lock is one of the most obnoxious on the market. What they lose in compatibility with other cables is by no means gained in security—who cares if your headphones unplug at the earcup when subjected to intense force? - Not very comfortable for big heads and big ears: although the design of these is generally compared to the HD500 line, having owned the absurdly comfortable HD598SE, I can say these don't come close. They clamp kind of hard and worse, the earpad foam is thin and when it flattens out (immediately), it presses the driver units against the cartilage of my ears. Fortunately, I was able to modify these with some third-party 3d-printed adapter rings so I could use bigger, cushier pads from Brainwavz. Now I can use them for 4+ hours without major discomfort. This may not be an issue if you don't have big ears like I do. Also worth noting is that some styles of glasses will be agony with these. - Not as nice for music: the things that make them perfect for games (accentuated high frequencies) make them a riskier proposition for music. Your mileage may vary, of course, but these can be pretty spicy for certain instruments and effects. All in all, despite the added hassles and costs to make these comfortable for my anatomy, I'm still very happy with them and don't think I could do better for my use case (plugged directly into PS5 controller with an inline mic) at any price. For their usual price of $150-180, I can't see what anyone could complain about. Thanks for reading!

I didn’t expect to be this impressed, but these absolutely delivered. Coming from more consumer-style headphones, I thought I knew what “good audio” sounded like—these proved me wrong immediately. The clarity and separation are on another level. Instruments, vocals, and background details all have their own space instead of blending together. For music, I keep noticing little elements in tracks I’ve heard a hundred times that I never realized were there. Everything feels more open and controlled without being artificially boosted. For gaming (especially competitive FPS like Siege), the positional audio is genuinely insane. Footsteps and directional cues are extremely easy to place, and it makes focusing in-game feel effortless compared to what I used before. I’m running these through a Fosi K5 Pro, and they have no issues driving them at all—plenty of clean volume and headroom. No need for anything crazy or expensive to get them sounding great. At first they can sound a bit “flat,” but after a short adjustment period and proper volume, they open up and sound incredibly natural and balanced. Nothing feels missing—it just sounds accurate. Comfort is also excellent for long sessions, even after hours of use. Overall, these feel less like a “fun tuned” headphone and more like hearing audio the way it was actually mixed. If you’re on the fence, these are absolutely worth it.