SennheiserHD 505 - Wired, Over-Ear, with Transparent Sound and Controlled Bass, Enhanced Wearing Comfort, for Music, Work, Gaming, Copper Edition

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/headphonesDefinitely recommend the HD 560S as an entry level audiophile headphone. They're a tier above sub-$100 headphones for sure.

The Sennheiser HD 560S delivers a clear, neutral sound that’s perfect for critical listening. They’re lightweight, comfortable, and built for long sessions, with velour pads that stay cool. They are bass accurate but not too heavy, and the open-back design gives a broad, airy soundstage. If you are new to open-back headphones, they are intended to "leak" sound during use, unlike a closed-back headphone. IMO, open-back headphones are the superior choice if you don't mind others nearby hearing a bit of the sound. For around $200, they’re a fantastic value for anyone who wants pure, honest audio.

I was skeptical because studio style headphones are a bit too bright and tinny in the high frequencies and NO bass. These are not that. These are much more friendly and natural sounding. And, oh my goodness! the well balanced clarity in every frequency range. These also have a huge sound stage and instrumentation. It feels like you are sitting in with the band (play Miles Davis "Kind of Blue"). I purchased other headphones like Beyerdynamic headphones, they were not the sound profile for me. I bought these to replace the Beyerdynamic are returning them. I'd buy these again, it was worth it. Amazon is telling me to write more details. So, i will add that they are incredibly comfortable and fit very well. I don't really care for earcups that touch my ear for long listening sessions. These are incredibly comfortable. A little warm but not bad. I purchased additional earpads that were cooler, so shop around. I hope you take a leap of faith and try them. You can always return them (thank you Amazon!). Oh and they have a plastic feel, but that's because they are plastic. However, they are well designed for the material they used. But that's what makes them light as air and relatively inexpensive. Enjoy!

4.5 Stars.For Gaming:It does work really well for gaming. It’s the primary reason I bought it. The audio is spaced out really well. Coming from regular every day headsets, it is easier to hear the direction of footsteps from and I’m not making bad guesses as much as before. These will work well for multiplayer games, so they’ll be great for any other game as well. If you want a very cinematic type sound, this isn’t really it.Pros:- Great overall sound balance. The sound from these headphones are really well done. This is my first studio-quality headphone and I am very content with how these turned out.- Comfortable for me. I know it varies from person to person, but these headphones are comfortable for me. I don’t get fatigue from wearing them. If you wear glasses, they may feel a little snug, you may have to extend the headband a little bit to relieve the tension. Just something to be weary of. After some use, the headphone will lose some of that tension and feel better after repeat use.- Can be very loud. I consider this to be a plus, as it can be annoying to have a headphone that only sounds good at max volume. For me, I can comfortably use this directly through my PC with the system volume at 35. You may have to adjust the sound for each program or game you’re playing. Just know, these things get loud in a hurry.Cons:- Not the most durable headphones. They will last long if you treat them like studio equipment. As-in, you don’t plan to move them around more than from your desk to your head. Do take care of them. They won’t fall apart on their own, but it’s not something you’ll want to have lying on the couch.- Good bass, but missing the punch. I did say that the headphone does have a great overall sound, and you will hear the bass. But it is just shy of being perfect. Again, you will hear it, but you won’t feel it.Final thoughts:These headphones have a great sound balance. They’ll do a little of everything, and if they do come out with a version with some added bass punch, it would be really hard for anything to beat it.