Are you looking for a gaming headphones with great imaging and directional accuracy for first person shooter (FPS) games? Are you looking for headphones for music enjoyment? What about for movies? You can always buy different headphones catered to each hobby. What if you only want to buy 1 headphone or have limited budget?
TLDR: Get the Sennheiser HD560S. Great performance for FPS gaming and music. And HD560S is currently selling on Amazon for $140-$150, as of June 2022. It won't break your bank.
Check Sennheiser HD560S price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3vzn7Y3
Disclaimer & Warning
If you are here, most likely you are coming from consumer grade audio. Music and sound are very personal preference. What works for one person does not work for another. And everything is relative. The worst questions I see all the time on reddit's r/HeadphoneAdvice start with "What is the best headphone for ...?" There is no best. It is all relative. And trade-offs on what matters to you.
And just be careful on the audio hobby. HD560S will introduce you to audiophile quality headphone. This might pull you into more into this hobby in headphones, IEMs, Amp, DAC, etc.
Sound Profile
Let me go over the overview on HD560S sound profile, and then go into the applications or enjoyment of the sounds.
Tonality: Neutral to neutral-bright. If you look frequency curve from Crinacle, you can see that it is relatively flat and follows the desired curve. There are peaks in the treble region, that can cause certain songs to sound bright. As result, HD560S is neutral to neutral-bright.
Detail & Resolution Retrieval: Excellent detail and resolution for its price. There are other headphones with more resolution, but not at this price point. And if you are coming from consumer grade headphones, amount of detail will blow you away. You will hear details in music and sound that you never realize existed with other headphones.
Vocals: Often, there is a balance and trade-off between vocals and soundstage. Headphones with strong vocals tend to have small soundstage. And headphones with large soundstage can have recessed vocals.
HD560S has intimate to medium vocals. It is not as forward as other headphones with strong-mid, such as Sennheiser HD600's series (HD6XX, HD600, HD650, HD660S). HD560S has good balance between vocal forwardness and soundstage.
Soundstage: It has medium (to slightly below medium) in soundstage width. Again, this is relative. It just depends where you are coming from and what you are comparing. Consumer grade headphones tend not to have any soundstage; sound appears as a single source in your head. On other hand, there are audiophile headphones with huge soundstage that you feel like you are in a concert hall. HD560S is in between, so kind of medium soundstage. I rate it as a bit closer than medium because the vocals are quite forward.
Imaging: Excellent imaging - directionality or positional information. Although this term is used both in music and gaming, its assessment is quite relative. In music, it is just appearance of directionality, but there is nothing to verify the exact imaging. If you play FPS games, then you realize how good or poor the imaging is comparison to the visual or exact location of the sound source. So take it with a grain of salt when audio reviewers say certain headphones have good imaging for music; that is not the same level as what is needed for FPS gaming.
Gaming
For FPS gaming, I want the advantage of knowing enemies' locations before visuals. What I need are:
Details: To hear enemy's footsteps, reload, gun fire.
Directionality: This is 3 dimensional: left/right at angle, front/rear, above/below.
Distance: How far is enemy?
Compression: Reasonable volume level between loudest and lowest sounds. When headphone is too dynamic, I set the maximum volume to the loudest sound (grenade or rocket explosion), then I cannot hear tiny sounds like gun reloading. When there is too much compression, various sounds are too similar in volume that I cannot differentiate distance.
I had headphones that is very good at left/right information. But then directionality ends there. It cannot tell sound source on left side 9 vs 10 vs 11 o'clock; or front vs rear.
In addition, FPS games use HRTF (head-related transfer function) to simulate sound. This is not real directionality. The headphone is still played thru 2 channels (left and right). The sound is simulated to include cues (e.g. frequency change, bullet whistling by, gun fire cracking, echo, etc). HD560S has excellent details to hear these minor differences provided by HRTF simulated sounds. And our brains associate these simulated sounds to directionality.
For Adventure games, what I want is immersive experience. That means realistic sound and great soundstage. I want to feel that the sound is coming around me, and I am in the middle of the stage (game). So HD560S is good to great in this aspect.
On the other hand, depending on the game, I also want to feel the bass or rumble that the game produces. This can be detrimental in FPS gaming, as loud sound (let's say from grenade) will overshadow or mask lower footsteps sounds. On the other hand, for adventure games, I want to feel that rumble. HD560S does not have emphasized bass and will not produce this rumble feel. EQ can help, but it is still not a bass-head headphone.
Music
This requires an entire and separate blog entry. I will get to this sometime.
Movies
Very similar to adventure games mentioned above. I want realistic sound, soundstage, and bass rumble. Realistic sound: check. Soundstage: check (not super wide; just medium). Bass rumble: lacking. All is not lost. To get more bass, can use EQ to increase bass. This is very dependent personal preference.
Cons
Seems like HD560S is excellent. What is the downside? HD560S can sound a bit analytical and dry. This is in terms of warmth or timbre (or lack of quality). It is hard to compare with other headphones in the $300-$500 range. There are always headphones will have better selected attributes. For $150, HD560S definitely pulls its weight as good all-around headphones. It is great for gaming and pretty good for music.
Mic for team communication: If you are playing team-based FPS games (CSGO, Valorant), then you need to have separate microphone, as HD560S does not have built-in mic. On Amazon, there are boom mic that can be added (connected) to HD560S.
Check Boom Mic price on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3aVs6Ls
Alternatively, I bought a desktop mic. Again, this can be another entire blog entry by itself. With separate mic, I have options to get mic at the appropriate price and features for my needs. The downside with desktop mic is that it needs to be raised off the desktop and closer to my mouth, in order to pick up speech and not keyboard/mouse sounds. This means a setup with mic arm or boom stand. Many vloggers and streamers do use this setup.
Summary
As I mentioned above, there are no best headphones; there are always trade-offs. Even if money is no object, it is hard to have everything. At $150, it gets even harder. And it depends on your preferences and priorities. HD560S is great for FPS gaming. HD560S is OK for adventure games or movies. It has decent soundstage, but it is lacking in the bass. You can add EQ to boost the bass for adventure games and movies.
Check Sennheiser HD560S price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3znDFVc
YouTube Reviews:
Below are many YouTube links, along with my comments. Some of these compare HD560S to other headphone models. Most are gaming related. Some also talk about music.
BadSeed Tech asked multiple audiophile YouTube reviewers' take on headphones for gaming. Sennheiser PC38X and HD800S are mentioned the most. PC38X is $140-$180 and has built in mic. If you only care about gaming, then PC38X can be a good candidate. If you want all-around headphone for gaming and music, then I recommend HD560S. HD800S is high end audiophile headphone that cost $1500-$1700. Not really realistic for most people on typical budget.
Check Sennheiser PC38X price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3IUuqP9
Check Sennheiser HD560S price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3znDFVc
Check Sennheiser HD800S price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3cxA4uJ
Fresh Reviews is ex-pro gamer who created a series of reviews on headphones for gaming. He categorized HD560S as "wall hack" (basically ability to hear and locate enemy behind walls). And then he tried to find other headphones that can also be considered "wall hacks" for FPS gaming. He made 6-part videos on this topic. I just linked the 4 videos I find to be most informative and relevant to this blog.
Comparison between HD560S and PC38X. His take is that HD560S is better than PC38X. And I suspect the reason is the detail retrieval on HD560S. This enables him to hear sounds from multiple enemy team/players.
Comparison of AKG K712 Pro, Beyerdynamic TYGR 300R, and to HD560S. He also likes TYGR 300R for gaming. There are other reviewers who rated TYGR 300R highly for FPS gaming. Both TYGR 300R and HD560S are similarly priced at $150-$180. However, I hate Beyerdynamic sound, specifically DT770 Pro. And I don't like v-shaped headphones. Although TYGR 300R is not as offensive as other Beyerdynamic headphones, it still is v-shaped and has treble peaks. So I prefer HD560S for tonality. Also, TYGR 300R cable is not detachable, which can be a longevity issue if the cable gets damaged.
Check AKG K712 Pro price on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3zlyLbb
Check Beyerdynamic TYGR 300R price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3OnxxjX
Check Sennheiser HD560S price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3znDFVc
Comparison of HarmonicDyne Zeus and Hifiman Sundara. Zeus has very wide soundstage; bass and low-mids are boosted. He likes Zeus as FPS gaming headphone. I imagine Zeus with its boosted low end can also work well for movies and adventure game. Hifiman Sundara is often mentioned as best bang for buck mid-range audiophile headphone. I have Hifiman Sundara, and I agree on that for music. But issue I find with planar magnetic headphones like Hifiman Sundara is that imaging is not the best. Plus they are harder to drive and will require headphone amp. Both Zeus and Sundara are at different pricing tier than HD560S, at $300-$350.
Check HarmonicDyne Zeus price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3cwzA7R
Check Hifiman Sundara price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3v4abZO
Sennheiser HD800S (and comparison to HarmonicDyne Zeus and HD560S). Interesting comparison. It is good that HD560S at $150 is mentioned in same sentence and compares well against HD800S at $1500-$1700.
Check Sennheiser HD800S price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3cxA4uJ
Check HarmonicDyne Zeus price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3cwzA7R
Check Sennheiser HD560S price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3znDFVc
DMS is an audiophile reviewer. He compared HD560S, HD6XX, and Beyerdynamic TYGR 300R. This is audio focused. As mentioned above, HD560S and TYGR 300R are both highly recommended as gaming headphones. Check this video on comparing the music profile on what might match your preference.
Check Sennheiser HD560S price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3znDFVc
Check Sennheiser HD6XX price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3PkcIqO
Check Sennheiser HD650 price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3yYEbHt
Check Beyerdynamic TYGR 300R price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3OnxxjX
Another DMS video. This one trashes Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro and provides alternatives (Hifiman HE400se, Sennheiser PC38X, TYGR 300R, Sennheiser HD560S, and Sennheiser HD6XX). I completely agree with DMS. I personally HATE (I mean hate with all capitals) Beyerdynamic sounds. The treble peaks result harsh metallic sounds. My ears ring after listening for 15 minutes; I have bad headache after 1 hour.
Check Hifiman HE400se price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3Qh5nsE
Check Sennheiser PC38X price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3IUuqP9
Check Beyerdynamic TYGR 300R price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3OnxxjX
Check Sennheiser HD560S price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3znDFVc
Check Sennheiser HD6XX price on Amazon https://amzn.to/3PkcIqO