This is a review and detailed measurements of the Sennheiser HD569 closed back headphone. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $80 on Amazon.
While the feel is a bit plasticky, overall comfort was good despite the rather thin pads. Speaking of which, they had deformed non-symmetrically which I think was partially responsible for wide variation in channel response as you will see later. A very long and silicone feeling cord is included along with a shorter one. I tested the longer one and while it was microphonic, I appreciated the length and rather low memory in it.
Sennheiser HD569 Measurements
I had a hell of a time getting consistent response and balanced results from the two channels. I suspect a lot of this is in the drivers but also the thin pads not holding their shape at all. So please don't micro analyze the frequency response measurements:
I was pleased to see a lot of bass but not at the expense of treble region. And don't know what to make of the dip around 300 Hz. Overall compliance to the target ranks fair to poor to me. I expect the sound to be muffled, devoid of spatial qualities:
The good news is that distortion is very low especially in higher frequencies:
I was surprised how low the impedance is:
Combined with high sensitivity, you should be able to drive the unit with just about any source:
Indeed, even at loud levels, my RME ADI-2 Pro volume was at -30 dB.
I was also surprised by the clean look of group delay:
Sennheiser HD569 Listening Tests
Out of the box, the sound was exactly as the measurements predicted: muffled with good bit of bass. I took out the EQ and first dialed in a high Q filter around 5 kHz. But had to turn that down as it sounded too bright:
I then worked backward to deep bass. Once there, the sound was quite transformed and overall response very good. Spatial effects were nice but not extreme. Note that without EQ, spatial effects are almost non-existent.
Conclusions
I did not check the price until I started to write the review. At sale price of just $80, the quality of the headphone is pretty good. What is not so good is the tonality though. While not offensive at all due to lack of high-frequency response, the sound was dull and especially impacted female vocals. They were drawn out by the rest of the instruments. With EQ, as is typically the case, the headphone comes to life. Correction based on measured response was not reliable enough for accurate tuning but good enough to make a get the headphone into the ballpark.
I cannot recommend the Sennheiser HD569 unless you apply equalization to it.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
While the feel is a bit plasticky, overall comfort was good despite the rather thin pads. Speaking of which, they had deformed non-symmetrically which I think was partially responsible for wide variation in channel response as you will see later. A very long and silicone feeling cord is included along with a shorter one. I tested the longer one and while it was microphonic, I appreciated the length and rather low memory in it.
Sennheiser HD569 Measurements
I had a hell of a time getting consistent response and balanced results from the two channels. I suspect a lot of this is in the drivers but also the thin pads not holding their shape at all. So please don't micro analyze the frequency response measurements:
I was pleased to see a lot of bass but not at the expense of treble region. And don't know what to make of the dip around 300 Hz. Overall compliance to the target ranks fair to poor to me. I expect the sound to be muffled, devoid of spatial qualities:
The good news is that distortion is very low especially in higher frequencies:
I was surprised how low the impedance is:
Combined with high sensitivity, you should be able to drive the unit with just about any source:
Indeed, even at loud levels, my RME ADI-2 Pro volume was at -30 dB.
I was also surprised by the clean look of group delay:
Sennheiser HD569 Listening Tests
Out of the box, the sound was exactly as the measurements predicted: muffled with good bit of bass. I took out the EQ and first dialed in a high Q filter around 5 kHz. But had to turn that down as it sounded too bright:
I then worked backward to deep bass. Once there, the sound was quite transformed and overall response very good. Spatial effects were nice but not extreme. Note that without EQ, spatial effects are almost non-existent.
Conclusions
I did not check the price until I started to write the review. At sale price of just $80, the quality of the headphone is pretty good. What is not so good is the tonality though. While not offensive at all due to lack of high-frequency response, the sound was dull and especially impacted female vocals. They were drawn out by the rest of the instruments. With EQ, as is typically the case, the headphone comes to life. Correction based on measured response was not reliable enough for accurate tuning but good enough to make a get the headphone into the ballpark.
I cannot recommend the Sennheiser HD569 unless you apply equalization to it.
-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/