Sennheiser HD 560s vs HD 559.. something is wrong..

Submitted by Useful_Addendum7107 t3_10nlxs6 in headphones

ok so to start off what i am about to say might sound like bs to most people but its genuinely what i am hearing right now.

basically i own both 560s and 559 and i tried to experiment a little for fun and i switched the earpads of both with each other, because i thought they shared the same velour pad anyways so there wont be a difference and to my surprise, despite both pads looking and feeling the same, the sound is genuinely VASTLY different.. and i mean the 560s pads on the 559 completely removed the muddiness they had before and just opened them up, and to add further confusion, i applied an EQ to 559 and changed it abit and now i have a headphone that sounds genuinely better than the 560s..??? especially considering how much cheaper the 559 is..

meanwhile with the 560s and 559 pads, the 560s' bass becomes slightly more defined and the midrange jumps very slightly forward, treble remains the same. so essentially (TLDR) by switching each pad i made both headphones sound like each other and i like the 559 better now.. i didnt know a simple pad swap can change this much of the sound, and before anyone says "placebo" no.. my ears arent that broken.

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Parttimedragon t1_j69nbpc wrote

Pads can do that. Have fun experimenting!

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RB181 t1_j6apbp7 wrote

I recently bought a pair of HD 559 earpads (part 572287) and a pair of HD 599 earpads (part 572273), and took the stock pads from a barely used pair of HD 560S (pre-2022 revision) for comparison. The 559 pads are identical to the 560S pads, and the 599 pads are the same in brown colour.

It's possible that the difference you're hearing is merely due to pad wear, but it's also possible that you have pads from two different batches/revisions, or a pair of genuine pads and a pair of knock-off pads. Are there any visual differences between the two pairs of pads?

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GamePro201X t1_j69wepv wrote

Yep pads can greatly change how headphones sound!

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DragonFeatherz t1_j6a31nl wrote

The HD559 has a unique pad. I think it's call surround reflectors.

Which gives the 559 the unique sound, sluggish sub-bass and shouty mids. It also wraps the outer soundstage around your ears, the "surround" effect.

I own 3 HD558 because of this sound.

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StanGenchev t1_j6a84tu wrote

Pads are the same. Were both sets of pads new? I'm guessing one of them was older then the other. Pad wear changes the sound.

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Nosapaw t1_j6dguco wrote

They have the same pads

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DragonFeatherz t1_j6a5le9 wrote

The HD559 has a unique pad. I think it's call surround reflectors.

Which gives the 559 the unique sound, sluggish sub-bass and shouty mids. It also wraps the outer soundstage around your ears, the "surround" effect.

I own 3 HD558 because of this sound.

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I0000dayz t1_j6alkn6 wrote

No surprise there. The 560 S is one of the most overrated headphones ever. At a lower price, the 559 and 598/599 easily sound better, especially with EQ.

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fabzzzyyyy t1_j6an73j wrote

Thats Just your opinion man. I ilike the 560s more

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