HeadphoneOverreview

Sennheiser HD 560S

A dozen measurement rigs agree on exactly what it does; the argument is whether that lower-treble lift and lean bass add up to a reference or a chore.

53 sourcesUpdated
$200Typical US price

Score aggregates reviewer opinions across topics.

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Sennheiser HD 560S

The short version

What to know.

A light, open, easy-to-drive headphone whose frequency response a dozen rigs read the same way: flat from the upper bass through the midrange, more extended in the sub-bass than Sennheiser's HD 600 (but still well under the Harman target there), and lifted 2–5 dB around 4–5 kHz. Reviewers broadly agree that the stage is wide and open for the price, imaging is a strength (especially for gaming), detail is good for $200 without scaling much with expensive amps, comfort is good once a firm out-of-the-box clamp eases, and it isolates nothing. Most sources call it a strong value. From the same graph the record then splits five ways. Tonality: a large majority hear an accurate, near-reference neutral, while a fifth hear it as thin and lean. Treble: about half find the 4–5 kHz lift grating or fatiguing, and the other half bright but well behaved. Bass: an even split between deep and clean versus lean and limp. Dynamics: lively and fast versus short of punch and fun. Build: all-plastic and cheap-feeling to most, solid and long-lived to many owners, with a small but real record of one-sided bass buzz and channel imbalance on individual units.

About this product

Open-back over-ear with a 120 Ω dynamic driver angled toward the ear, launched in September 2020 as the top of Sennheiser's HD 500 line. The HD 400 PRO is the same headphone with a black logo and an extra coiled cable. Units made since late 2022 ship with a 1.8 m cable ending in a threaded 3.5 mm plug and a screw-on 6.3 mm adapter (earlier boxes had a 3 m cable and a 6.3 mm plug), a different headband cloth and slightly softer pads; one long-term measurer finds the newer units a touch less bright, though the change is about the size of the difference between two samples. Not the warmer HD 600 / HD 650 / HD 6XX above it, nor the 2025 HD 505 and HD 550 beside it.

The HD 560S is Sennheiser's attempt to put a near-reference tuning into a $200 open-back. It kept the plastic chassis of the long-running HD 500 family but gained a new 120-ohm driver, angled toward the ear, and a response built to sit close to the Harman target. Within weeks of its 2020 launch it had become the measurement crowd's default first serious headphone, a fixture of gaming recommendations, and the subject of a thousand threads asking whether it beats the HD 600 and HD 6XX.

Six years on it is still one of the most recommended headphones on Reddit and one of the most argued about. The labs agree on the shape: a flat midrange, more sub-bass than the HD 600, and a lift around 4–5 kHz. The disagreement is how that sounds on a head. For some it is accurate and lively; for others it is thin, bright and plasticky. This rebuild draws on 52 independent sources — eleven measurement sources, nine editorial reviews, three video reviewers, every Head-Fi showcase review, the full Head-Fi and ASR threads, a dozen Reddit arguments and 138 Thomann buyers.

A good fit for

  • Listeners who want a flat, near-reference open-back without spending HD 600 money
  • Gamers and soundstage-first listeners who value width and precise positioning
  • Vocal, acoustic, jazz and classical listeners who prize midrange accuracy
  • People happy to EQ — it takes bass and treble adjustments well at normal volumes
  • Home listening from modest sources — it doesn't need a dedicated amp

Think twice if

  • You're treble-sensitive or listen to a lot of harsh, compressed or poorly mastered music
  • You want bass weight, slam or a warm, relaxed sound (the HD 6XX / HD 650 or a planar suits better)
  • You plan to boost the bass heavily and listen loud — the driver distorts or clicks before many rivals do
  • You want a premium-feeling build, or you have a large head and are sensitive to clamp
  • You need isolation or will use it around other people

The reviewer consensus

Agreement &
disagreement.

5 / 12topics divide opinion
isolationmidssoundstageimagingdetailcomfortvaluetrebletonalitybassdynamicsbuild
1 Strong agreement6 Mostly agree5 Divided opinions

Common ground9

  • A flat, near-target frequency response from the upper bass through the midrange — a dozen measurement rigs agree, which is why it needs little or no EQ for most people.
  • More sub-bass extension than the HD 600 / HD 6XX, though still well below a Harman-style bass shelf.
  • A measured 2–5 dB lift around 4–5 kHz — the source of the 'bright' reputation, whatever you think of it.

Points of contention5

  • Treble: the same measured 4–5 kHz lift is 'intense and harsh' to just over half the sources and 'a bit bright but not annoyingly so' to nearly as many; a lone reviewer finds the very top lacking air.
  • Tonality: four-fifths hear an accurate near-reference neutral; a fifth — often listeners coming from bassy headsets — hear it as thin and lean.
  • Bass: an even split between 'deep, clean and properly extended' and 'lean and limp' — on bass that every rig shows reaching deeper than its siblings.

A closer listen.

12 topics · 5 divided
Left: criticalRight: positiveTighter lines: more agreement

Treble

Leans criticalDivided opinions
Reviewer sentiment42 supporting sources
CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Sources split on how the same measured lift sounds. Every rig shows the 4–5 kHz region 1.4–5 dB above the HD 600 on the same fixture. Just over half the sources — Crinacle, Resolve, RTINGS, Sonarworks, Headphonesty, listener and a long tail of owners — hear it as intense, sharp, sibilant or fatiguing, especially on poorly mastered tracks or in shooters. Nearly as many — ASR, DIY-Audio-Heaven, Headfonia, What Hi-Fi?, Tom's Guide, DMS — call it bright but benign and never sibilant. One reviewer heard the opposite problem: too little air above 7 kHz. The split tracks the listener's sensitivity, the recording, how the clamp and pads seal, and to a small degree the unit.

Measured

Normalised at 500 Hz, the 4–5 kHz band sits +1.4 to +5.0 dB above each rig's own HD 600 on all eleven rigs that hold both (oratory1990 +2.0, RTINGS' B&K 5128 +5.0, Super* Review +3.5, boizoff's 2025 sample +4.0 to +4.9, Unheard Lab's post-2022 unit +3.8). Against the rigs' Harman targets the excess peaks at ~4.3–4.4 kHz on five of seven AutoEq rigs (+2.1 to +4.6 dB); Super* Review and a worn-pad unit peak at ~8.5 kHz instead. Resolve found the 8 kHz peak moves with clamp pressure on the fixture. DIY-Audio-Heaven measures about 2 dB less treble on post-2022 units, but second samples on three rigs differ from the first by −2.7 to +1.8 dB in the same band.

vs. listeners — The camps aren't disputing the fact — 'harsh' and 'bright but fine' are opposite verdicts on the same 4–5 kHz lift that every rig shows. How hard it lands moves with seal and clamp (Resolve), pad wear, the recording, and listener sensitivity. The small revision and unit spread probably explain only part of the split.

Where it splits
The 4–5 kHz lift is intense, sharp or fatiguing — the headphone's dealbreaker for the treble-sensitive.51%

“its 5k-ishHz boost gets a little intense and harsh at times”

Crinacle, In-Ear Fidelity
Bright, but clean and well behaved — present without being harsh or sibilant.47%

“Yes, they are a bit bright but not annoyingly so at all.”

amirm, Audio Science Review
Rough rather than bright — not enough air in the top octave.2%

“it is a little rough, and does not have enough presence beyond 7khz”

Blinxat, Head-Fi showcase review (2.5/5)
Link to this topic

The hardware

Specifications.

Checked

Design

Type
Open-back over-ear
Drivers
1 × dynamic

Electrical

Impedance
120 Ω
Sensitivity
110 dB/V≈ 100.8 dB/mW
Frequency response
6 Hz – 38 kHz

Connection

Cable
Detachable
Plugs supplied
3.5 mm, 6.35 mm

Physical

Weight
280 g
Released
2020

Manufacturer-published figures, not measurements · from us.sennheiser-hearing.com, thomann.co.uk.

Follow the evidence

Sources 53

1–6 of 53 sources

Read with context

Limitations & method.

As of

What to keep in mind 8

  1. A read of where the reviews land as of October 2026. Most of the professional reviews date from its 2020–21 launch, and newer siblings (the HD 505 and HD 550) and rivals have joined the field since.

  2. Sennheiser quietly updated the HD 560S around late 2022 — a shorter 1.8 m cable with a 3.5 mm plug, a new headband cloth and slightly softer pads. One long-term measurer finds newer units a touch less bright, but the difference is about the size of the gap between two samples, so older impressions still broadly apply.

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