Sennheiser - HD 560S

The Sennehiser HD 560S. Probably the best sub-200€ option for competitive gaming.

Sennheiser HD 560s + Jcally jm6 pro.

Hot take, Sennheiser HD560, i use them as main headphones, and they have flat bass and mids, highs are pretty analytical. 

Audio engineer here, i use sennheiser HD560S, and KZ AM16. The sennheiser are more neutral and have a really flat frequency response, while the KZs are more V shaped with a fuck ton of bass. 

I just got these 2 weeks ago. I love them

560S has NO bass. This is a hard one to recommend. If its competitive 560S is king in that price range. If its immersion than the FT1 is a much better buy. Especially since op prefers closed back.

False. I can already tell you dont actually game . There is competitive gaming . In which case you DON'T want any bass. Footsteps and directional tonality is king. For IMMERSION. Making a situation FEEL REAL and ACCURATE then you NEED GOOD BASS. 560S wont give you that thump for explosions and gun shots and car accidents. I should know i own the set. You can try to eq but it wont thump hard enough before you get bad extortion. This is why I like to be as descriptive as possible.

I clearly already stated that. If its competitive. Than no bass isn't a problem . It actually benefits you. You keep regurgitating competitive like I already haven't mentioned it. The problem is immersion. Thats where the 560S fall apart. This is a fact. Bass roll off sounds like shit if you want realistic sounds like explosions m gun shots. Fucking dinosaur footsteps. Even on forza. The damn transmission gear changes sound like ass on the 560S lol. You NEED good ACCURATE bass for IMMERSION. If op wants competitive only then yeah. 560S is king in that price bracket.

Hmmm this is hard. You either get bass or no bass in that price bracket. 560S for footsteps steps Ft1 for immersion gaming. If eq is an option than the FT1 is a better buy. And lower the bass. I've tried eq the 560S and it just doesnt give you that accurate deep bass you want from explosions and gun shots. Explosions fall flat. Car accidents sound like you're in a can lol.

This is good advice. Get some good entry level Sennheiser hd560s now. Then spend the next months or till budget allows researching your next more expensive pair. The HD560s will give you a good foundation to decide what you actually want . More bass , more clarity , more warmth etc etc.

So I've had the HD560s a year , first step into good headphones and I love them.  However I do feel there is room for a bit more. I've been researching other wired headphones and it's really hard and confusing to work out a really good upgrade as there is always conflicting opinions. So I could probably do with a bit more personal advice. I listen to most genres but typically louder music. I sometimes find I'd like a bit more from the various sub genres of Metal , Shoegaze , Guitar heavy alternative and synth driven electronic. Synth is my favourite sound ....however I always need the vocals to be at the forefront and like to hear all the instruments ...however bass isn't a huge deal for me. I guess I'm looking for the holy grail of clarity and warmth. I'm saving work tips ( so frivolous purchase acceptable ) and expect to have about £500 by Christmas so that's a ballpark budget id go over for the perfect headphones. Also I'm aware of the concept of diminishing returns and know I already have good headphones ...I will happily keep the Hd560s but do want to experience a decent upgrade. Advice from anyone with similar taste highly appreciated. TDLR ....a good upgrade for HD560s for louder genres of music?

Just to let you know I bought the Meze 105 aer thanks to your recommendation and a bit of research. They are exactly what I was looking for and I love them so thanks again .

hd550 is a fairly affordable and safe pick imo. If you don't mind eq the 560s is another good set. If you love vocals get something from the hd6-line. HD660S2 can be found anywhere near $400 these days

go with the hd560s

The Sennhesier HD560s are supposed to be good FRFR headphones that aren't crazy expensive compared to others. If you have to use headphones, get Sonarworks SoundID (\~$150), or Slate VSX (\~$300). I've used SoundID and it has a profile for my Kn 8400's that corrects its EQ curve. The 8400s are notoriously bass-y. I would like to try Slate's system out but I'm not willing to spend that much money right now.

Highly depends on what you’re looking for. But for music listening and gaming the 560s offers a more musical/ and engaging presentation.

I love my HD 560s as well! Using them with the very affordable Moondrop Dawn Pro.

Let me insert my 5 cents. From my experience, good headphones are good headphones either way, and when chhosing, you have to do research and to prioritize. Long and short of it, gaming headsets (and most wireless EDC ones) usually use cheaper drivers at a given price point and try to compensate for it by including features, needed or otherwise. But cheaper drivers make those headphones more versatile, even if they are a bit worse in every use case you throw at them. While more high-end (in the audio sense) gear is usually highly specialized and is focused on certain aspects of audio it tries to enhance. Usually what you want for gaming is a wide soundstage with good positionality (ideally, detecting ±5 degree variations in positioning front-to-back), and that's achieved by both open designs, high quality stiff drivers and boosting treble, which usually makes music less fun (at least in the genres I listen to), unless it's a planar driver. And planar drivers are a whole other can of worms to open, because currently Hifiman dominates the low-end market, and their stuff doesn't exactly feel premium, because the whole budget is blown on drivers. Afaik, currently Sennheiser HD 560S are considered hands-down the best headphones for strictly-gaming (read, competitive shooters) on the market, but they've got their tradeoffs. Mostly, if you are used to (and more importantly, *prefer*) a conventional sound signature (neutral-to-warm strong V), you'd probably not like them for anything else *but* gaming. So, having a separate pair to enjoy media in would probably be a smart move in this case.