For very many years in the segment of the personal audio of the primary Hi-Fi class (that is, in the lineup of headphones up to 20 thousand rubles) nothing is changing. So when someone asks what to choose, the answer is always approximately the same: AKG K612 , K701 , K712 Pro , Sennheiser HD 6xx , Beyerdynamic DT 770 , DT 880 , DT 990 And Audio-Technica M50x.
However, recently relevant communities throughout the Internet exploded by discussions of new Sennheiser HD 560S. They praised them all – well, as a person who has long ill with an audiophilia, could not pass by. Contacted Sennheiser – and here is 560s on my table. I spent about a week with them: I listened to them paired with a built -in sound card of a laptop MSI GE76 Raider Dragon Edition Tiamat , sound card Evga nu audio (with operating amplifiers Muses02 ), as well as with a single Hi-end amplifier Sony Ta-SH1ES. Compared with key competitors and with its own Sennheiser HD 660S And Audeze LCD-X (they acted as reference equipment). And so that the testing is as unsyted and objective as possible, I turned to the opinion of two more people, as far from the world of audio. And now what conclusions we came to.
Assembly, comfort and appearance
With the design of HD 560s, Sennheiser entered simply: it is exactly the same as HD 559 , which are already about five years old. The only difference is the decorative grate on cups, which is now similar to the one that is used in HD 660S and the last revision of HD 600. I can't say that I have a complaint to such a decision. Why reinstall the bike if the old one and it works so well? 560S look modern, neatly and quite solid.
The headphones are also made excellent, which is not surprising: it is still Sennheiser, whose technique many consider to be indestructible – and, I must say, rightfully. Absolutely nothing creaks and dangles, although the materials, of course, are not as high -class as the older models. Here is simpler plastic and velor cheaper, but it does not affect how headphones are felt. In your hands, you still feel a well -done thing, which, most likely, will last a long time. There are no questions for ergonomics, but I never had a single model of Sennheiser headphones in principle. The novelty turned out to be easy (only 240 g), comfortably sits on the head of any size, does not press, and the ears in it do not touch the grate of the speakers. A couple of minutes pass, and you generally forget that something is worn on you. After Audeze LCD-X (630 g)-honestly, paradise.
The only thing that was somewhat embarrassed was the outfit. They are like velor, but for some reason it is hot. I am difficult to answer with what is the reason: it is either a small thing, or in the fabric itself, but the fact remains – in HD 660S with perforated leather (in them, as a rule, on the contrary, on the contrary) from overlays) from overlays) Dekoni Audio I was more likely. Two other testing participants noted the same – but here it is worth considering that 560S we used in the conditions of hellish heat in rooms without air conditioning. It is not a fact that in a cooler time it would be the same.
And one more small nuance. I did not really like how the headline was done – and this is not about quality, but about the convenience of service. All HD 6xx is replaced, it is easy to find it on sale, plus there is a million cheap analogues, and in general, any of the HD 6xx is almost completely versed in the tool. This design is reliable, simple and brilliant. You can replace everything without the help of a specialist, which makes all these models convenient to maintain a long distance. Neither expensive spare parts, nor expensive repairs are needed.
But in the case of 560s, it is easy to remove only outpatules – the velor lining under the headline is simply glued to it. I won’t lie: I did not dare to tear her away, so I can’t say for sure whether the shift in the headline or not. But in the free sale separately, I did not find it.
Connection, amplification, scalability
HD 560S-headphones are not particularly demanding (120 Ohms), but, nevertheless, they still need some kind of strengthening. I do not recommend connecting them, say, to the smartphone. Firstly, you will not get the right volume, and secondly, everything will sound compressed, boring and without proper dynamics. In any case, paired with my iPhone 7, the headphones did not play.
But with fanaticism to approach the issue of selection of an amplifier also does not need. Unlike the 650s of models and 660S, which are scaled almost to infinity-only have time to buy amplifiers for hundreds of thousands-560S play as they play. On the one hand, this is good: for example, I did not notice any difference at all as the presentation of musical material when I listened to the 560s on the sound map of the PC, the “building” of the laptop and the external amplifier. Conditional Creative Sound Blasterx AE-5 or inexpensive amplifiers from Schiit Audio Or, for example, SMSL more than should be enough to reveal their potential. Although I would not connect the headphones to very cheap integrated solutions: they will not have enough reinforcement or the possibilities of DACs – but here, of course, you decide. On the other hand, such unpretentiousness means that the headphones will not jump above the heads, and the sound that you receive “out of the box”, and there is their limit.
As for switching, only a long, terribly confused and microphony (when contacting it is heard in the headphones, there are extraneous grunts) cable with a 6.3 mm connector, and even an adapter from 6.3 to 3.5 mm.
There is no question of any balance connection here – just not a non -wardn, in the left cup of headphones. By the way, I note that the connection of the cable with the nest inside the cup is reliable: by chance to pull out and damage something will not work. First you need to turn the plug counterclockwise, and only then it can be pulled out.
Sound
Finally, got to the main thing: sound. It is he who distinguishes 560s from many headphones in their price category and even slightly beyond. So, what is so special in it? The first is an even tonal balance. Remember, at the beginning of the material, I brought a number of competitors? So: all of them have problems for this part.
Old AKGs are eternal problems with an average register, due to which the sound is felt as “incorporeal” (popular now AKG K371 I, unfortunately, did not listen, so we will not take them in calculation). Beyerdynamic-V-shaped frequency response with tops that absorb directly into the brains and again a failed middle; Sound "skinny" and aggressive. Audio-Technica-again the frequency response of the letter V with all the ensuing. Sennheiser HD 6xx is a muffled and soft sound with veiled upper frequencies, due to which they are often called “deaf”.
But 560s are deprived of these problems and almost perfectly repeat the curve Harman (according to measurements The Headphone Show ). The result is a well -tangible, lively, even feed with a rich middle, neatly chosen tops and … chic bass!
BAS is the second reason why 560S leaves not everything that is in the category up to 30 thousand rubles in the work. He goes very far deeply, while not jumping into the frequencies adjacent to him and not turning into a tambourine. Yes, if you compare 560S with something from the Hi-End world, then the bass does not have enough speed in them-especially if you take magnetic planar headphones like Audeze or as the standard Hifiman. They have bass with the same power always under clear control. He hits more quickly, more and more strictly, creates more pressure – but this, I repeat, is a completely different league with the corresponding price. But if you compare 560S with "classmates", then the situation is radically opposite. Even HD 660S remains outside: their lower register is controlled a little better (subject to the presence of an amplifier for the price twice or three times higher than the headphones themselves), but the bass itself is significantly smaller. Because of this, in some compositions they sometimes lack the foundation. There is nothing to say about the 650s (they have the lower range are even more littered), but the 600th is very horror in terms of low frequencies.
In outsiders, the 650s and 660s remain in terms of the scene. The 560s play significantly wider and are deprived of the effect of “Three Blob Staging”, in which the sound is supplied to your ears either strictly left, or strictly to the center, or strictly right. The younger 560s create before you a much more linear and spatial stereopanorama without candid holes and failures, building it a little ahead, outside your head. At the same time, the sound does not turn out to be detached – it is still involved as HD 6xx. As for genre preferences, the headphones do not have them at all. Thanks to their neutrality, everything sounds good: from classic jazz and rock of the 80s to neurophany and orchestral music.
But there are problems. There are few of them, but it is at the expense of them that the 560s is still the initial Hi-Fi.
The first is permission: there is its lack. Hence some spreading images, a fuzzy picture, if you want. Yeti Win Casino If you explain to all examples we know, I would say that 560S is Full HD, 660S – QHD, and Audeze – 4K. And yes, this immediately catches the eye (or rather, in the ears), and the difference instantly noted not only me, but also the rest of the testing participants. Due to the permission, flaws in the reproduction of the highest frequencies (plates, shakers) are also heard: they seem too aggressive, and artifacts are often heard in them, reminiscent of those that occur during the compression of the WAV file in mp3 format. The headphones do not have enough surgical accuracy, they "draw with wide strokes".
Well, the second drawback is positioning. Despite the wide stage (and in the 560s it is almost the same as LCD-X), the direction of sound is not guessed as clearly as we would like. It is clear that he goes from somewhere in the left or right, but the 650s and 660s in this regard is still better. You can navigate on them, as on a compass, but LCD-X-absolute champions in this aspect. Well, since we talked about positioning, a few words about whether 560S can be used as a solution for a gamer.
Games
I must say right away that I did not test the headphones in CS: GO And Valorant. The audio equipment of this class copes with such tasks by default: the sound in these titles is absolutely primitive and easily read. Another thing is Call of Duty: Warzone With her small cards like Shipment or Al-Raab Airbase. Here, small nuances begin to crawl out from which a global picture is made up. As a result, you can confidently say that you can play 560S, but this is not always pleasant for hearing, since all that we just dismantled on the shelves begins to fold together. Even frequency response does not smooth out high frequencies, because of which shots often sound too bright and cut. Not the highest resolution often makes the explosions mix into a illegible pile. And finally, not too accurate positioning often fails.
All this, by the way, prompted me to the idea that the statement “musical headphones are always better than game sets” may well be erroneous. I think it is true only for high-class Hi-Fi and Hi-End models, in which the highest resolution of drivers allows them to play everything without losses. But if we talk about some more affordable options, then you already need to compromise: set up frequency response so that it works most effectively in games (by the way, nothing prevents you from experimenting with equalizer and manually erect). Otherwise, it turns out that 560S is definitely not bad, but you can’t call them an ideal solution for a gamer either.
Here Sennheiser 650 and especially 660S can be called that. They work faster, work more and more, have a much higher resolution and do more confidently cope with positioning. Everything can be heard in them ..
Until you start comparing them with LCD-X. In the latter, you feel even somewhat guilty, because you understand what advantage you are, since you can walk on the map as if with Wallhack’s included.
In general, it would be very interesting for me to compare 560S with the game set of the same class ( Epos Game One , for example) in order to check your theory for strength and share your thoughts with you. If you would be interested, be sure to know about this in the comments to the material – while we move on to the conclusions.
Results
So, the verdict is this: 560S are definitely good, but ambiguous – and here's why. Out of the box, they sound more or more interesting than almost any other model in their class – this is a fact. They play even better than the 650s and 660s. However, the latter are incredibly scaled with the purchase of expensive DACs and amplifiers, while 560S is not. The way they sound with a more or less decent sound card of a computer or a budget external DAC, and there is a limit of their drivers (emitters). The larger of them cannot be pulled out. Is it good or bad whether to solve you already. Ready to invest more than a dozen thousand in search of the perfect sound? Your choice is a relentless classic in the person of HD 650 or their “pumped” version of HD 660S. Do not want extra expenses? Want to get a worthy audio system here and now by putting on this point? Pay attention to 560S and do not lose.
If you want us to continue to develop the theme of Hi-Fi and Hi-End Audio, be sure to let us know about this in the comments.
Technical characteristics:
Type of acoustic design: Dynamic, covering, open Communication: wired, 3.5 mm cable-6.3 mm Resistance and sensitivity: 120 Ohm, 110 dB Ergonomics: head adjustment Materials: Plastic, velor Complete accessories: adapter 6.3 mm-3.5 mm Weight: 240 g Price for August 2021: 17,000 rubles ($ 230)
- Lamp or laser? Review and comparison of the projector EPSON EH-TW750 with EF-11
- ALIENS Review: Fireteam Elite. Game for his own
- Review Twelve minute. Twelve minutes of shame