[maegnificant]

Disagree. Everyone has preferences and if they don't prefer the HD600, that's fine. I disagree with them, but to assume that your preferences should be everyone else's is kind of arrogant. No offense.

There is a a lot of arrogance going on in this thread from all directions tbh

 

[Backsplash7]

The HD660S2 does appear to be a very capable phone and I'm waiting in anticipation, haven't quite felt like that since the delivery of my HD700 almost 13 years ago.


Now I know most people on these forums stick their nose up on Amazon reviews, they shouldn't, but the HD700 did receive more than a 77% positive ratings, 285 positive to 32 negative.. And many of the critical views just quoted from the few negative reviewers, sad but true.
The HD700 should not have been compared to the HD600/650, it was not what it was all about having IMHO a completely different sound and approach to an aural presentation ..again apples to oranges.
https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-H...ll_reviews&filterByStar=positive&pageNumber=1

I agree that the 660S2 does look quite promising, even if I know that I dont particularly enjoy the 600 series soundstaging, I would still try it, and it's undoubtedly a positive step in the right direction, and proves that sennheiser still have plenty of tricks up their sleeve. I just think it would be great for the consumers if they had two different options to choose from at that price level; if an HD700 S/2 were to be offered alongside the 660S2, people would have more choice, and sennheiser could capture more of the market share in that category. But at the moment, your only choice is to either go up or down a price tier if you would prefer something a bit different, which isn't always ideal.

In regards to the critical reviews, I am aware of one instance of there being a positive review video for it, which was later taken down, and then a couple of years later the same reviewer was parroting the usual negative comments that you encounter. I'm not going to criticise the reviewer, as it may not have been intentional. None of us are perfect after all, and it could potentially be explained by groupthink

 

[Mike F]

Yes, groupthink! It’s a very powerful thing. When the 660S came out it was almost universally praised here for its clean fast detailed and above all more powerful bass compared to the 650. Now suddenly the consensus (at least on the 660S2 threads) seems to be that it has weak bass. Strange........

 

[Rob80b]

Yes, groupthink! It’s a very powerful thing. When the 660S came out it was almost universally praised here for its clean fast detailed and above all more powerful bass compared to the 650. Now suddenly the consensus (at least on the 660S2 threads) seems to be that it has weak bass. Strange........

The quality of base was one of the first things that caught my attention with the HD660S over the 650, and now there's no base??? I'm scratching my head on that one too????? Blame it on the multiverse. : )

To quote myself...

And I’m sure many are wondering if they should upgrade up from their 650s and 600s, well only if you would like harder, faster hitting base, a more open sound field, better defined imaging and brighter (clearer?) treble.

Even for an oldie I like to remain a bit progressive… spinning Infected Mushrooms’ “Vicious Delicious” or Underworlds "Dark and Long" or "Pearl's Girl" EP offers up all these new attributes of the 660S.. they also point out that the staging is also a lot less of the 3 blobs in the head…a little bit of HD700 going on here?

 

[headstef]

Yes, groupthink! It’s a very powerful thing. When the 660S came out it was almost universally praised here for its clean fast detailed and above all more powerful bass compared to the 650. Now suddenly the consensus (at least on the 660S2 threads) seems to be that it has weak bass. Strange........

Though a big Sennheiser fan, I must be one of the few here that have never listened to the HD-660S. Until a few days ago I had not realized that the "tighter and better bass than the HD-650" that I read in every review, also meant less bass! Reviews can be a strange thing...

 

[Mike F]

I do suspect that the tuning of the 660S2 is primarily intended to be more appealing to a broader audience. And more bass and more treble is always more appealing of course - at least initially.
To be honest I think the increased impedance is a red herring. The driver was originally designed and optimised at 150ohm, and nobody saw that to be a fault until they put it into a 6 series chassis and suddenly it was the reason for everything that was wrong with the 660S compared to the 600 and 650. There are however headphones that are undoubtedly better than at least the 650 which have lower impedance, for example the NDH 30 (which is essentially a Sennheiser) at 120ohms.

But all of this is only to say that Sennheiser can’t possibly get it right of course - they’re never going to please everybody. I have to say though that I personally would prefer that instead of listening too closely and trying to pander to popular demand that they would just develop something genuinely new and great using all the resources and expertise they have in the field. I feel that they really haven’t brought anything new and ground breaking to the market since the HD800.

 

[Rob80b]

I do suspect that the tuning of the 660S2 is primarily intended to be more appealing to a broader audience. And more bass and more treble is always more appealing of course - at least initially.

I'm hoping it is just more of the audio spectrum and not so much as tuning but a wider, clearer window into the recording. The HD800/S obviously do this but can be a bit much for some recordings and the more intimate approach of the HS600 series reels it in a bit.
Oddly at a live classical music performance last night, mind you I was off to the side balcony, I was reminded more of the HD660S presentation than that of the HD800S.

...and another last night ...violinist Rachel Podger with Tafelmusik......."La Passione: Haydn & Mozart". : )
(sorry no photos allowed during the performance).........

...........



https://tafelmusik.org/concerts-events/concerts/haydn-mozart/

 

[Mike F]

I'm hoping it is just more of the audio spectrum and not so much as tuning but a wider, clearer window into the recording. The HD800/S obviously do this but can be a bit much for some recordings and the more intimate approach of the HS600 series reels it in a bit.
Oddly at a live classical music performance last night, mind you I was off to the side balcony, I was reminded more of the HD660S presentation than that of the HD800S.

But if you want a wider clearer window you have the 800S......

And I hope you’re right, but I suspect it will be more just different than better.

 

[Rob80b]

But if you want a wider clearer window you have the 800S......

And I hope you’re right, but I suspect it will be more just different than better.

The 600 series was never about impressing, just an easy encompassing honest listen taken from Sennheiser's 50 years in the pro recording market.
The HD660S was IMHO just a logical refreshing update on a classic and hopefully the S2, from what I've garnered so far, just capitalizes on that. I know I sometimes give the HD650 a hard time, I just find it a little dated for my preferences, sort of like going back to my Advent/AR speakers from the 70s, or CRT to an OLED....

 

[Mike F]

@Rob80b I’ll be very interested in your impressions and comparison with the 660S when you get them!

 

[Beagle]

I’ll wait for Joshua Valour to review them. If he doesn’t like them, I will order. If he’s positive, I won’t bother.

 

[ericpalonen]

I’ll wait for Joshua Valour to review them. If he doesn’t like them, I will order. If he’s positive, I won’t bother.

And if he's in the middle?

 

[Rob80b]

I’ll wait for Joshua Valour to review them. If he doesn’t like them, I will order. If he’s positive, I won’t bother.

Now your talking. : ) .....wait who's Joshua Valour?

 

[Mike F]

And if he's in the middle?

 

[Mike F]

I’ll wait for Joshua Valour to review them. If he doesn’t like them, I will order. If he’s positive, I won’t bother.

I predict he’ll e positive!