[pietcux]

Variety is the spice of life.....


Once my 660s arrive I have a sneaking suspicion what my observations will be similar to metal571.

Tomorrow, i will buy my HD650 new pads. Boy the foam inside seems to fall apart.

 

[trellus]

Variety is the spice of life.....


Once my 660s arrive I have a sneaking suspicion what my observations will be similar to metal571.

I love his reviews - sort of the polar opposite of Zeos, whom I watch mostly for entertainment value, metal actually covers the bases on build, comfort, and all aspects of the sound, consistently from review to review, which is very different from Zeos’ stream-of-consciousness approach.

 

[Hifivoice]

Yeah, I trust this guy's ears more than anyone else's ears here on this forum, so I'll never buy the HD 660 S.

That's a valid option of course. But does it mean you have no own opinion?

 

[Hifivoice]

he didn't liked it at all, very disappointing, actually recommending getting 650 or 600

I can imagine that people may prefer the 650; audio is an illusion of reality, and everybody has his own preferences.

What surprises me is Tyll's observation that the HD660 has almost the same sensitivity as the HD650. In my case this is not the case, I measure about 5dB of difference on an iFi, which has sufficient juice to drive both headphones to crazy levels. Does it mean there are sample variations?

 

[jgwtriode]

Most of the improvements that the 660 offers can be wrung out of the 650 by properly modding them and it's very easy to do. And you can do all of them or some of them to suit your preferences

 

[Renato Fury]

I can imagine that people may prefer the 650; audio is an illusion of reality, and everybody has his own preferences.

What surprises me is Tyll's observation that the HD660 has almost the same sensitivity as the HD650. In my case this is not the case, I measure about 5dB of difference on an iFi, which has sufficient juice to drive both headphones to crazy levels. Does it mean there are sample variations?

It's hard to have an opinion about a headphone when you can not test it, I can only rely on reviews and forums, plus the reviews are very divided, which means I might not like it, so I prefer buy something that the vast majority like, like Beyerdynamic Amiron Home.

 

[L8MDL]

Most of the improvements that the 660 offers can be wrung out of the 650 by properly modding them and it's very easy to do. And you can do all of them or some of them to suit your preferences

Except that 150ohm thing.

 

[Rob80b]

Tomorrow, i will buy my HD650 new pads. Boy the foam inside seems to fall apart.

If you haven't done so already have you tried swapping pads between your 650s and 660s?
I could be mistaken but going from recent memory the pads on a new pair of 650s I had acquired just a few months ago do appear to match the 660s description and these recent 650s sounded distinctly different to as 5 year old pair of 650s (yes they had the current drivers) I had earlier this year.... unfortunately I sold them last month to finance the 660s so will not be able to do a direct comparison. I can say that the current pads were quite different from the replacement pads I recieved for my HD580/600 just a few years ago, they had more rounded edges so if you do order pads hopefully they are current.

 

[zazex]

Plenty of reviews, I'd like to add another. A short one.

I listened to the 660S's with several of my favorite albums
over a few days.
Amp > Gustard H10 (solid state).

Eventually did some comparison listening with Senn HD600's,
Beyer T90's, and Grado PS500e's.

Ultimately, I'll say that I'm not entirely sure what Sennheiser
is trying to do with these headphones (other than selling them,
of course).

The 600's sound better, imo. Richer, greater clarity, altogether
better bass, and better soundstage. Build quality and wearing
comfort is about the same.

I expected the 660S's to be very good headphones; better
than the HD600's. But, as noted, this was not the case.

Also, about six months ago, I had the HD650's for a while.
I kept trying to figure out why they were regarded so
highly, because to me they sounded bland and boring.
Competent, surely. But I'd heard others, similarly priced,
which I liked more. Such as the AKG 712 and Beyer DT880 (250).
From memory only, I'm not fully able to compare the 650's with any
of these other headphones. My guess, or "sense" is that I'd
still take the 600's over the 650's, and I'd probably take the
660S's over the 650's. (I am just not a big fan of the 650's.)

Well, another day, another headphone.
Or something like that.

 

[Renato Fury]

You see, plus one that prefers the old version to the HD 660 S, so for those who bought it I'm sorry to tell you, but you threw money in the trash.

 

[Rob80b]

You see, plus one that prefers the old version to the HD 660 S, so for those who bought it I'm sorry to tell you, but you threw money in the trash.

But only if one prefers the 650s or 600s and many may not.

 

[Renato Fury]

But only if one prefers the 650s or 600s and many may not.

The HD 660 S was supposed to be better than the previous versions, even more so for the price difference, with $ 300 less I bought the HD 6XX, and even then Sennheiser did not get it, which is a shame because I'm many others are interested in it.

 

[Rob80b]

Until mine get shipped I'll need to hold judgement.....but again...personal preferences....the HD700 IMHO were/are an improvement in many areas over the aging 600 series, for me, and replaced my HD580/600 which I had for many years by offering a clearer better extended view into the recording. And again just in the last 12 months I went through 2 pairs of 650s and the Massdrop HD6XXs, but each time I asked myself why? lol Seriously though... after being in this hobby for the good part of more than 40 years the 700 were a refreshing new offering from Sennheiser and I only replaced them once I had the 800S, I'm hoping the the 660s with the 700 like driver will finally resolve my love hate relation with the previous HD600 series for the better.
There's not too much Senn can do to offer a 600/650 replacement, they are what they are....what they can do is offer something new and different...which I think they may have done....like it or leave it...again personal choice, listening habits and music, etc....
Headphones for me are a tool, not a pillow to lay my head, even at my age I still like to be challenged by the recording and the music, not to be pacified...so unlike Mr T I do not like "comfortably smooth"....my music time is limited, usually an hour or two and if a performance doesn't get me on the edge of my seat...well.....
Now that's not to say I do not appreciate chilling out with my feet up and a beverage of choice but with the previous 600 reiterations my attention always waned to the point where I stopped listening.
Price wise .... for what cost way less than what most pay for a cup of coffee a day over a year...shouldn't really be an issue one way or another.

 

[Renato Fury]

Until mine get shipped I'll need to hold judgement.....but again...personal preferences....the HD700 IMHO were/are an improvement in many areas over the aging 600 series, for me, and replaced my HD580/600 which I had for many years by offering a clearer better extended view into the recording. And again just in the last 12 months I went through 2 pairs of 650s and the Massdrop HD6XXs, but each time I asked myself why? lol Seriously though... after being in this hobby for the good part of more than 40 years the 700 were a refreshing new offering from Sennheiser and I only replaced them once I had the 800S, I'm hoping the the 660s with the 700 like driver will finally resolve my love hate relation with the previous HD600 series for the better.
There's not too much Senn can do to offer a 600/650 replacement, they are what they are....what they can do is offer something new and different...which I think they may have done....like it or leave it...again personal choice, listening habits and music, etc....
Headphones for me are a tool, not a pillow to lay my head, even at my age I still like to be challenged by the recording and the music, not to be pacified...so unlike Mr T I do not like "comfortably smooth"....my music time is limited, usually an hour or two and if a performance doesn't get me on the edge of my seat...well.....
Now that's not to say I do not appreciate chilling out with my feet up and a beverage of choice but with the previous 600 reiterations my attention always waned to the point where I stopped listening.
Price wise .... for what cost way less than what most pay for a cup of coffee a day over a year...shouldn't really be an issue one way or another.

HEHEHE, In this hobby there are only men over 50 who say they like to drink something, usually a wine or some other alcoholic crap, and recline on some comfortable armchair, @DavidA and @buke9 who say so, but why do not you change after that fiasco that is the HD 660 S I've been giving some research and found Beyerdynamic Amiron Home and E-MU Teak and both have aroused my interest, maybe it's time for you to give other companies a chance, you may be surprised .

 

[jgwtriode]

Except that 150ohm thing.

Most headphones sound better with higher impedance and a bit more amplification!