Sennheiser is a brand that basically every audiophile must have had once. The manufacturer has knowledge and expertise that goes back to the first half of the last century. That sounds nice and far away, but it shows that Sennheiser is a name that certainly belongs in the established order.

Bee 75 year you might think of seniors, or the anniversary of something very historic. But 75 year is also exactly the number of years of knowledge that Sennheiser has in his pocket. has been sitting. That’s a lot. Sennheiser likes to use that background to make good audio products. Usually they succeed. Yet we hold our hearts for a moment when we see the box of the HD 560. Especially when we hear the price. 199 euros for a pair of headphones that “spoil audiophiles and sound freaks”. The literal words of Sennheiser’s marketing department. Good story, nice and short too. We will see for ourselves whether we are “spoiled”.

My First Sennheiser

Once we get the Sennheiser HD 560 out of the box, we immediately notice the weight. The headphones are very light. 240 gram to be exact. That is light for a ‘home headset’, very light. It soon becomes clear why the Sennheiser HD 560 is so light. Plastic was chosen. We say that for a reason. Not plastic, but plastic. We take our hands on the Sennheiser HD 560 and it feels somewhat simple and cheap, not like a hi-fi headphone. We slide our thumbs over the grill that sits on the outside of the ear cup. On the inside we feel a soft fabric and give the impression of something of coarse velvet. We also find this fabric in the headband. Both the grill and the fabric contradict that cheap plastic feel. Sennheiser himself tries to describe it as’ the ultra-light comfort of HD 599, with the sound of the HD 660 s’. To us it comes across a bit like a “My First Sennheiser”.

The Sennheiser HD 560 is an open headphone, which uses a new transducer. These have been given a tilted position, so that an optimal listening triangle is simulated. The transducer membrane is constructed from a polymer mix and must provide “full” control across the board. There are two more things that strike us. The headphones are clearly intended for use at home. There is a cable of an untidy 3 meters. There is a 6.3 mm plug at the end of the cable. Included is an adapter for a 3.5 mm connection. The cable is stuck in the headphones and cannot be replaced.

Do not play outside We used the Sennheiser extensively for this test. Especially indoors, but also outdoors, for example during a walk with the dog. We quickly gave up on the latter. We have connected the AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt to the Apple iPhone for listening 11 . The Sennheiser HD 560 has an impedance of 120 ohm. Proper control will do the Sennheiser HD 560 well. Now the monkey comes out of the sleeve: for this construction we first have a gradient to USB, then the DragonFly Cobalt and then the gradient from 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm. As if that wasn’t enough, the 3 meter long cable also follows. This is anything but optimal. Hence again: only to be used indoors.

The comfort, on the other hand, is optimal. The light weight means that we hardly feel that we are wearing the Sennheiser HD 560. The ear pads provide good pressure against the head. This pressure is fine and ensures that we can also listen with glasses. The headband hardly carries any weight and most of it comes down to the pressure against the head. Without listening to music, we notice that a lot of the environment can be heard. With some music on, it also works the other way around. There is a fair amount of noise leakage to the environment. Of course that is something that belongs to Open back headphones, but the extent to this differs per brand and model.

A lot for little Armed with a Tidal Hifi and a Spotify premium subscription, we prepare for a tough test. On Tidal we choose Maggie Rogers – Alaska from the album Now That The light Is Fading. The vocals in the song have a small and soft velvet edge. At the same time, the mid-low and mid-low frequency range is rich and full. At Tidal we listen to the hi-fi quality, via the DragonFly Cobalt. The sound is at odds with the cheesy feeling we got when we got our hands on the Sennheiser HD 560. The sound is robust and rich. The stereo image is large and extends beyond the tactile ear cups. The open character also brings a kind of lightness with it. It provides a pleasant listening experience. The song Alaska sounds full and gives a good stereo headfi experience. We notice that the middle and the low come out well. It sets a clear tone in the music. The vocals and vocals are neatly placed on top of that.

Maggie Rogers sounds good, but that soft velvety edge that we are looking for, we just miss that. We’ll hear it’s there, but we don’t feel it. On the one hand, this is because the mid-low is very good and the high / mid-high just does not get the space. On the other hand, the high could use a slightly more refined tuning. But we are talking about headphones of just under 200 euro.

On Spotify we listen to the soundtrack of Interstellar by Hans Zimmer. The song Cornfield Chase is also in the playlist of HIFI.NL. We have turned up the volume a bit and then we notice that the organ that forms the melody is placed very wide. It sounds great and the mids and highs now get a better stage. This experience changes again when the low tones are used. We have to quickly turn down the volume and notice that the rich and full sound of the middle and low tones take over the stage. That’s not a bad feature, but it features the Sennheiser HD 560. It makes the headphones very suitable for a broad target group, especially for the money.

Final verdict

We can honestly say that we are happy to have the Sennheiser HD 560 listened. It is an extremely suitable pair of headphones for the beginning audiophile. And probably also for someone who wants an upgrade from the standard white earplugs. The Sennheiser HD 560 plays all Pop, Rock and Dance with ease. The character of the sound reproduction also fits well with this.

The Sennheiser HD 560 is only suitable for the home and benefits a lot from a (small) amplifier. A DragonFly Black or Red would easily provide the finishing touch. With the somewhat cheap plastic and the sound character, the Sennheiser HD 560 is only not suitable for the audiophile with a little more years of listening experience. It better reach for a Sennheiser HD 660 s or maybe even a step higher. But then some other brands come into play.

Conclusion The Sennheiser HD 560 has a rich and full sound character, feels as light as a feather and is an easy step into the world of head-fi. For a price under the 200 euro, it gives you a lot of quality as a user. The music lover with a little more listening experience should skip the Sennheiser HD 560 and watch an HD 660 s.

Sennheiser HD 560

€ 199 | www.sennheiser.nl

Rating: 4/5