[the Ortherion]

HD 560 Ovation sounded great with Schiit Vali

That's what I needed to hear. I've got a vali on the way to me from Textfeud.
What dac are you using with the vali and the hd560?

 

[Jefic]

I wholeheartedly agree: having a new pair of ear pads on one's HD 560 is a pleasure that has something feminine about it!

 

[the Ortherion]

The thing is. I bought these headphones used and when they arrived i washed the earpads and replaced the inner foam because i couldnt afford new earpads at the time. So basically it's the first time i hear these headphones the way they should be heard. 
The definition declined a little bit but i guess i prefer it this way. With the old earpads i could hear every imperfection and feel almost every vibration from the drivers. That was really uncomfortable...
 
The bass tightened and is more pronounced now, the highs became more tamed (no more cringing), the sound now feels that comes from the air and not directly from the earcups. Even if i concentrate on the sound i can't distinguish exactly from which earcup is playing what. I feel that is closer to listening to music on loudspeakers, airy and open sound.  I can almost distinguish the height of each instrument is being played. In terms of depth i don't think is that pronounced compared to the height.  I guess that's what you guys call a big soundstage. 
The violins for instance now became sweeter. I can hear the violins on this piece (http://www.chesky.com/vivaldi--the-four-seasons.html) and i can almost smell the wood that made that beautiful instrument. I know it sound crazy. I can't find better words to describe the feeling. =/
In terms on comfort its obvious that the new earpads make a huge difference and in lookd too. The headphones now look and smell like new xD
 
The 2 only downsides are: 1- the price. i paid more then 50€ (including shipping). 2 - when i hear musics which contain words with the letter "s" i feel that the s is very pronounced. It's weird.
 
Anyway, all of this to say that the earpads make a HUGE difference in sound. Conclusion that the folks in the HD540 thread have discovered long ago =P

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

Do your HD560IIs contain a foam disc in each earcup? I feel that both HD540II and HD560II benefit from a foam piece in each earcup as this helps to bring down any excess treble energy which would otherwise be interpreted as a hint of harshness/brightness. The driving configuration is also important. If the source has sibilance, these headphones will also have sibilance. Tight headband clamping force will also affect the sound and as you say, the earpad shape and materials are also very significant.

 

[pp312]

  I wholeheartedly agree: having a new pair of ear pads on one's HD 560 is a pleasure that has something feminine about it!

 
 
Hmm. This thread's getting kind of Freudian.

 

 

[superdux]

I must revaluate my post on these phones hissing:i rolled some different tubes in my LDMKIII and heard some other albums and there was no hissing apparant. They were as nice as can be and i think they are best for singer songwriter music.

 

[the Ortherion]

My hissing could be from my DAC (macbook) so i won't coment on that until i get a decent external DAC.

 

[the Ortherion]

  Do your HD560IIs contain a foam disc in each earcup? I feel that both HD540II and HD560II benefit from a foam piece in each earcup as this helps to bring down any excess treble energy which would otherwise be interpreted as a hint of harshness/brightness. The driving configuration is also important. If the source has sibilance, these headphones will also have sibilance. Tight headband clamping force will also affect the sound and as you say, the earpad shape and materials are also very significant.

Sorry i didn't see your post. Yes, i do have those foam pieces and a white circle that came all together with the pads. Yes, my source is sibilant for sure. Im still using my macbook as a Dac so yeah. But it will change soon. My headband is from a hd520 and it has light clamping compared to the original (broken ones).
Btw, do you have parts to sell?

 

[the Ortherion]

Just received a new pair of Sennheiser HD560 Ovation II. 
They are less bright than the original ones that i had and it also feels that need more power from the amp. Had to turn the knob on the Vali a little more to listening level. Just finished restoring them, they were in pretty bad shape, i think the previous owner had spilled some kind of soda on the cans (the sponge that covers the driver assembly was glued to the white mesh). One of the ear cups had a spider cocoon inside =O Cleaned them, disinfected them and now they sound perfect again. I just love these headphones and giving them a new life and a new opportunity to shine agains puts a smile in my face =)
 
Before:

 

 

 

 

 


And the after:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ngonzalezlev]

I’ve the HD 560 Ovation II for more than 20 years and I was thinking to buy the HD 650 but after the reading of this thread I think that the improvement is not worth.
I’ve just bought the portable amp Teac ha-p50 and works very well with them.
The sound signature is very different than my Sennheiser ie80. The 560 have emphasis in treble. For Rock and Pop I equalize with more bass and less treble. For classical music I don’t need equalization.
After viewing the graphs of Inner fidelity I noticed that the bass level is the same in 560 OVII, 598 and 600. In 650 there are little more bass.

 

[hdtv00]

Yea ok so having owned these for 20 yrs+ now. I can say for absolute certain these NEED an amp. It is crazy how much more I have to turn up my bottlehead crack w/ speedball compared to the hd 650 and 700(this one being obvious before even testing). I have changed tubes here and there on the crack and it has tamed the highs a lot and what I'm hearing now is pure pure perfection. The tubes in the crack now are a Tung Sol 5998 w/ Telefunken rib plate 12au7. The crack is being fed by an Aune T1 with an Orange Globe in it.
 
I feel it now has the bass I always wanted it to have but it's taken a real amp to get there. This is my first real amp. I don't count the Aune T1 as a real amp even though it's a DAC/AMP.
 
I pretty much sure I love these over the 650 and 700 for certain. I still have some listening to do yet. But man this was a big step to making these 560 II's perfection.

 

[ngonzalezlev]

I haven't a tube amp but with good amp also I've noticed that the treble are more controlled (cleaner and precise ) and the bass are deeper.

 

[superdux]

where do i get a nice headband for these(Europe)? And is it easy to swap them against new ones?
Thx for reply.

 

[the Ortherion]

  where do i get a nice headband for these(Europe)? And is it easy to swap them against new ones?
Thx for reply.

 
You don't. Not at least new. I started this fight when i came across my first pair of HD560. Now i have 2 sets of headphones when something fails. I advice you to do the same and buy one in "bad" cosmetic condition just for the spare parts. 
 

  Yea ok so having owned these for 20 yrs+ now. I can say for absolute certain these NEED an amp. It is crazy how much more I have to turn up my bottlehead crack w/ speedball compared to the hd 650 and 700(this one being obvious before even testing). I have changed tubes here and there on the crack and it has tamed the highs a lot and what I'm hearing now is pure pure perfection. The tubes in the crack now are a Tung Sol 5998 w/ Telefunken rib plate 12au7. The crack is being fed by an Aune T1 with an Orange Globe in it.
 
I feel it now has the bass I always wanted it to have but it's taken a real amp to get there. This is my first real amp. I don't count the Aune T1 as a real amp even though it's a DAC/AMP.
 
I pretty much sure I love these over the 650 and 700 for certain. I still have some listening to do yet. But man this was a big step to making these 560 II's perfection.

 
Finally someone who agrees with me. I though i was getting crazy. The majority of people on the Schiit Vali thread says that their volume knob doesn't get past 9-10. Mine is at least at 9 always with the HD560II. To be honest i don't know if the Vali compares to the Crack but i doubt i will be noticing any diference without critical listening.
 

  I haven't a tube amp but with good amp also I've noticed that the treble are more controlled (cleaner and precise ) and the bass are deeper.

 
Also agree with you. I notice the biggest improvement when i changed from macbook dac to the Modi. With the Modi even the biosciencegeek cmoy behaves pretty good. 

 

[daydesiang]

   
You don't. Not at least new. I started this fight when i came across my first pair of HD560. Now i have 2 sets of headphones when something fails. I advice you to do the same and buy one in "bad" cosmetic condition just for the spare parts. 
 
 
Finally someone who agrees with me. I though i was getting crazy. The majority of people on the Schiit Vali thread says that their volume knob doesn't get past 9-10. Mine is at least at 9 always with the HD560II. To be honest i don't know if the Vali compares to the Crack but i doubt i will be noticing any diference without critical listening.
 
 
Also agree with you. I notice the biggest improvement when i changed from macbook dac to the Modi. With the Modi even the biosciencegeek cmoy behaves pretty good. 

 
Try imagine a HD650 need a very powerful source to sound great and this need more power! And this headphone will shine! Still narrow sound-stage thou.
 
However, this is the second most power hungry headphone i own... the champion is the HD424 2000ohm! Plug into any of my desktop amp it sounds very muddy and veil (knob at max)