My HD 560s arrived today. Actually to my surprise … I pre-ordered on Sept. 24th (out of curiosity triggered by DMS) at the Sennheiser.de web-shop. First they informed me that it will be released one day early (28th), then the next day they wrote about an undefined delivery delay. Nevertheless, it was delivered today without further notification …
It is much too early for a real sound impression but the low end is very pleasing and it is well-balanced in sound. I also like the soundstage and imaging. Since the drivers are slightly angled, the positioning of the cups matters a bit. It is light and very comfortable but the clamp force is a bit too strong out of the box for my rather big head…
I do not like the 3m cable however. Fortunately, other Sennheiser cables work and the HD 560s can also be run balanced. Years ago I bought a balanced 4-pol 2.5mm-to-Sennheiser locked 4-pol 2.5mm cable for a HD5**. Have a look at the picture - I actually don’t know anymore where I got that one from. It is too stiff but it works; the L and R grounds are not connected in the headphone (BTW the resistance is about 118 Ohm for each channel) and the balanced layout is correct. The cables for the HD 598SR (I also own) are working as well. Including a short and thin aftermarket one.
I tried it only a few minutes on some amps each (THX 789, DV 336se, RebelAmp, ifi ZenCAN, Topping L30) and it seems to perform very well with the L30 and the ZenCAN (balanced). Again, too early for a real impression. Needs a bit of juice but nothing extreme.