Skip to main content

Sennheiser’s HD 560S headphones aim for budget-conscious audiophiles

Sennheiser has announced the HD 560S, a pair of headphones that the company says is designed for “analytical listening sessions at an accessible price.” The HD 560S will retail for $200 and will be available starting September 29.

The company has been rolling out special editions of some of its most popular products, like the HD 800 S or the HD 25, in celebration of its 75th anniversary, but rest assured, the longtime audio company is still delivering new products alongside its commemorative items.

Sennheiser HD 560S headphones
Sennheiser

According to Sennheiser, the headphones feature open-back earcups and transducers that offer A/B comparisons of mixes, sources, and media formats, with the goal of allowing listeners to hear music the way it was intended to be heard. The cans will have a frequency response of 6Hz to 38 kHz, with the hopes of being able to “reproduce the complex bass sounds found in modern music.”

Open-back headphones have been treasured by audiophiles for their excellent, large soundstage reproduction and clarity. Because sound cannot escape outside of traditional headphones, many argue that they can sound muddier and with a more compressed audio profile. Those who favor open-backs do so normally expecting to pay for the design: They typically cost considerably more than Sennheiser is asking for with the HD 560S.

“We are excited to introduce the entry-level audiophile HD 560S headphones. In terms of bass response and value for money, this product represents a paradigm shift for open, dynamic headphones,” Jermo Köhnke, a product manager at Sennheiser, said in a statement. “With linear acoustics tailored to critical listening sessions, we have designed the HD 560S for audiophiles who evaluate a recording’s entire journey through the audio path.”

Sennheiser HD 560S headphones
Sennheiser

Sennheiser says the HD 560S uses a lightweight chassis which, if true, would go a long way in making long periods of listening more comfortable. However, the company doesn’t go as far as providing actual weight numbers. Sennheiser says it developed the coil of the headphones to create great sound regardless of the audio source, and the HD 560S comes equipped with a detachable 3-meter cable, a 6.3mm jack, and a 3.5mm adapter with a flexible 15cm lead.

At $200, the HD 560S seem poised to deliver a sought-after open-back design at a considerable discount, and it comes after the success Sennheiser has had this year in the true wireless earbuds category (the Momentum True Wireless 2 are amazing,  and the CX 400BT still sound great despite their flaws). If they can produce the exceptional sound quality that has become synonymous with the Sennheiser brand, and do so at a widely accessible price, then it’s hard to envision these cans not finding success. That’s a big if, of course, which is why we are evaluating these headphones in a full review. Stay tuned, we’ll have the verdict on the latest from Sennheiser soon enough.

Editors' Recommendations

Nick Woodard
Former Digital Trends Contributor
  As an A/V Staff Writer at Digital Trends, Nick Woodard covers topics that include 4K HDR TVs, headphones…
Sony WF-1000XM3 vs. Sennheiser Momentum vs. Klipsch T5 True Wireless headphones
sony wf 1000xm3 review 8

If you're looking for a pair of wireless earbuds that offer a bit more style, better sound, or more advanced features than the ever-popular AirPods, you've probably had your eye on the Sennheiser's Momentum, Klipsch's T5 True Wireless, or Sony's noise-canceling WF-1000XM3.

These three pairs of headphones each take a different approach, whether aiming to be the most stylish, the most feature-packed, or the best-sounding of the bunch. Read on to see how they stack up against each other, and let us help you decide which are the best for you.
Design and fit

Read more
Tubi supercharges its search with ChatGPT-4 and Rabbit AI
Press images and screenshots of the ChatGPT-powered Rabbit AI search features on Tubi on an iPhone.

Tubi — the ad-supported on-demand streaming service owned by Fox that's part of the FAST explosion — has more than 200,000 movies and TV shows at the ready for its 74 million monthly active users. The trick is figuring out what to watch. Or, rather, Tubi wants to figure out what you want to watch. And to that end, today it announced that it’s using a new search scheme to help you make your way through the platform.

Rabbit AI, as it’s being called, uses ChatGPT-4 (that’s a step above the free one you’ve probably been using) to go beyond what Tubi says its previous keyword searches could suss out. First is that the whole thing is much more conversational, like if you were talking to a buddy.

Read more
This LG OLED TV deal brings the 65-inch B2 down by $800
The LG B2 OLED 4K TV in a living room.

We recommend going straight to the source for excellent TV deals today with LG offering an LG 65-inch B2 OLED TV at a fantastic price. Usually priced at $2,300, the TV is $800 off for a limited time only so it's down to $1,500. That's a huge saving on a TV that continues to be a great bet for anyone considering OLED technology. You can either click through on the button below to get straight to buying or read on while we take you through what you need to know about it.

Why you should buy the LG 65-inch B2 OLED TV
LG is one of the best TV brands thanks to its expertise with OLED screens. OLED means that every pixel you see on screen is self-lit so they light up independently of each other, giving you exceptional picture quality. With each of them working separately, it means you can have incredibly deep blacks at the same time as somewhere else on the screen displays vibrant colors.

Read more