[Rob80b]

To be clear, the point I am disagreeing about is that one pair of headphones should suffice for all genres of music.

All excellent points... I guess I should have said "ideally"....I'm finding more and more that manufacturers are indeed catering to certain facets...I'm not yet decided if that's a good or bad thing.
The 600/650s come from the old school philosophy in being a palatable compromise, bridging many genres and probably the reason they've endured their popularity, the 650s veered slightly IMHO in the early 90's once the emerging home theater and the use subs came into use.
But by today's standards and music their base extension is rather wanting for many.... as may be their overall presentation and dynamics especially with the prevailing onslaught of over compressed music and the loudness wars.
From what I've gathered so far the 660s does appear to be sitting on the fence, which makes sense in many ways if it is indeed to be a "modern" successor to the venerable 600 series.
So...you could be quite correct...it's a challenge for any manufacture to currently appease all tastes as folks are looking for a devise to "enhance" their chosen genres, so it's not to say that one headphone cannot be manufactured/ used for all types of music as I believe we can agree that they are only reproducing recorded sound waves...but personal preferences and listening habits dictate otherwise.

 

[Hifivoice]

A song can be too familiar, to the point where the sound matches the viewer’s memory and they don’t listen with the same level of engagement as the first time they hear a song.

This is indeed a very strong potential pitfall. I do visit classical music concerts regularly, in our concert hall in Eindhoven (the Netherlands), where top artists (last time Mitsuko Uchida) come to play because they like the acoustics of that hall so very much. Sometimes I ask myself about the "quality of the sound", and in many cases the answer is "if this would be how my stereo sounds at home, I would throw it out of the window". Live music does not always sound transparent, but can be muffled, oppressive, resonant, and/or shrill, and very dependent on the listening position in the music hall.

Something that is never possible with headphones, is to mimic the radiation pattern of instruments, that interact specific with the hall acoustics, and give it a dedicated airy sound and timbre. So in that sense, hifi will only be an illusion at best, and can only approach reality. I am advocate of preventing big flaws in headphones (like high resonant peaks in treble, or a significant deviation from a "flat response"). But the effect of what we hear at the end depends on the way the performers play their music, the record engineers put the microphones, the producer mixes it together, the master engineers determines the timbre and spatial field, the media quality, the playback equipment, and at the end your headphone. I.e., your headphone is just one piece of the chain, and it is no wonder that for certain music a specific headphone is doing better than another one. A premium reference headphone that outperforms all other headphones in all cases simply does not exist. A headphone that on average gives you a satisfying performance (evokes an emotion that you like with your with most of your record collection), is something that is worth considering.

 

[Army-Firedawg]

For those interested, here's my take on the new HD660 S

 

[Windsor]

Just a quick update to say that after some settling time I'm so enjoying the HD 660 S more than any other headphone in the HD series with the exception of the HD 25 Amperior which I use when out and about and the IE 800 which I use for in-ear monitoring purposes when working as a pro musician. What's so apparent to me with the HD 660 S is that I'm finding it such a pleasure to listen with and less of a musical microscope and surgical tool than the HD 600 or 800, which I've always found in some ways, as technically proficient as they are, to get in the way of my musical enjoyment.

The HD 600 S certainly is a technically proficient headphone, has great detail retrieval and in my opinion has a far more natural timbre and musically-balanced sound than the HD 600 and HD 800 and, unlike those headphones, I never find the HD 660 S treble annoying, nor have I ever found it fatiguing. The full-bodied bass response and rich tone of the HD 660 S is really satisfying to me and I'm realising that it features the improvements I've wanted to hear from the HD 600 and 800 for a few years now.

As classic and renowned as the HD 600 and HD 800 are, I'm enjoying them much less since buying the HD 660 S which has all the detail retrieval capabilities I want, and it has made a clear and significantly positive difference to my level of enjoyment felt when listening to music these days. Sennheiser I thank you a great deal for creating the HD 660 S. I think it's the most enjoyable of the over-ear HD series, great value and despite what anyone says about it, including me, if you're curious about the HD 660 S I highly recommend checking it out!

Happy listening and happy holidays all !!

 

[amartignano]

Just a quick update to say that after some settling time I'm so enjoying the HD 660 S more than any other headphone in the HD series with the exception of the HD 25 Amperior which I use when out and about and the IE 800 which I use for in-ear monitoring purposes when working as a pro musician. What's so apparent to me with the HD 660 S is that I'm finding it such a pleasure to listen with and less of a musical microscope and surgical tool than the HD 600 or 800, which I've always found in some ways, as technically proficient as they are, to get in the way of my musical enjoyment.

The HD 600 S certainly is a technically proficient headphone, has great detail retrieval and in my opinion has a far more natural timbre and musically-balanced sound than the HD 600 and HD 800 and, unlike those headphones, I never find the HD 660 S treble annoying, nor have I ever found it fatiguing. The full-bodied bass response and rich tone of the HD 660 S is really satisfying to me and I'm realising that it features the improvements I've wanted to hear from the HD 600 and 800 for a few years now.

As classic and renowned as the HD 600 and HD 800 are, I'm enjoying them much less since buying the HD 660 S which has all the detail retrieval capabilities I want, and it has made a clear and significantly positive difference to my level of enjoyment felt when listening to music these days. Sennheiser I thank you a great deal for creating the HD 660 S. I think it's the most enjoyable of the over-ear HD series, great value and despite what anyone says about it, including me, if you're curious about the HD 660 S I highly recommend checking it out!

Happy listening and happy holidays all !!

Windsor I rember some wonderful comparative review from you, they were helping me a lot in choosing headphones! Thanks and happy 660S listening!

 

[pietcux]

For those interested, here's my take on the new HD660 S

Nice review, thanks. I have two comments though on where I disagree with you:

1. I have them since 3 month now and I think the build quality is ingenious. The use of high quality plastic has shown it's merits in Sennheiser cans since ages, starting in the 1960th, why should they change that? It is lightweight and stable. If something is damaged, just get a cheap spare.
2. The simple matte black is simply gorgeous, I could not be happier.

Then let me quote, the only cable that I use is the balanced one that fits my SONY WM1A DAP. Lots of reviewers find it useless, but this seems to be the balanced standard for the next decade or two. For me it was the feature that made me want the HD660S.

 

[Sam20]

I bought an HD 660 S a few days ago and so far am really enjoying it. It's still burning in and sounding better and better every day, moment-by-moment.

Hearing the Audio Sanctuary (UK) display model HD 600 S, which has quite a few hours of burn-in time already, I contrasted it with the display models of my current other full-size Sennheiser headphones, a stock-cabled HD 600 and a balanced-cabled (SDR modded) HD 800 (I used the in-store HD 800 S), both of which I use with the HDVD 800 at home. Immediately upon hearing the HD 660 S in-store it sounded great and delivered on some of the claims I've read online inc:

• Enhanced treble detail in relation to the HD 600 and HD 650.
  • In-store the difference was more apparent to me and I'm putting this down to burn-in time of that headphone. When I first began listening with my HD 660 S it didn't have nearly as much clear treble as my HD 600 which I've had for years, and as my HD 660 S burns in, the treble response is opening up nicely. It seems a balance of the new components working together in harmony and myself getting used to the sound and I'm keen to hear that develop. To my ears so far, the HD 660 S clearly has noticeably less treble detail than the ultra-open and ambience-revealing HD 800, but I won't comment further about this until my HD 660 S has received more play time.

• Increased soundstage in relation to the HD 600
  • To my ears, from memory the HD 660 S soundstage with the 1/4" stereo unbalanced cable sounds similar to the HD 650 which I used to own. My HD 600 has a narrower-sounding soundstage and the balanced HD 800 definitely has the biggest soundstage of the lot with the soundstage of the unbalanced stereo-cabled HD 660 S being about midway between that of the HD 600 and HD 800.

• Enhanced bass response.
  • This is definitely true. The bass response of the HD 660 S is much tighter and faster sounding than that of the HD 650, which I have mostly always preferred less than that of the HD 600 and HD 800. The HD 660 S has a very full-sounding bass that has a decent weight to it. It's definitely much less open-sounding than the HD 800, and is currently delivering a 'thicker' sound than it and the HD 600 in a way that's still very balanced overall with no aspect of the frequency spectrum standing out too much. The HD 600 S is a very well-balanced sounding headphone.
  • I'm really enjoying the spectral tilt of the HD 660 S bass region. I'm finding it so easy to enjoy and to me it delivers in a warmly-satisfying and visceral way that the bass regions of the HD 600 and HD 800 don't. The bass and overall cohesion of the HD 600 S is my favourite aspect of this headphone so far and plays a big part in what may have been a conscious choice by Sennheiser to provide a headphone that provides plenty of detail retrieval but without sounding analytical. The HD 660 S sounds less like an audio engineer's headphone and more suited for a general music fan that just wants to enjoy the music with clarity, but it could certainly be used for audio engineering and other consciously detail-orientated listening purposes.
  • I'm finding the bass of the HD 660 S so satisfying - perhaps that's because I've craved more bass from the HD 600 and HD 800 over the years, but the fact is I'm loving the HD 660 S!

These are some initial impressions and they may change as my HD 660 S plays in some more, and so far so good with this headphone which I'm so far seeing as a definite improvement over the HD 650. To me, Sennheiser's intention for the HD 650's successor to be the HD 660 S has been achieved admirably!

Excellent write up man...i'm really convinced

 

[Windsor]

Windsor I rember some wonderful comparative review from you, they were helping me a lot in choosing headphones! Thanks and happy 660S listening!

Thanks for saying! I'm glad my words helped point you to more enjoyment of this hobby! Best. xWx

 

[Windsor]

Excellent write up man...i'm really convinced

Thanks for saying. I obviously recommend the HD 660 S and still say, trust your own ears. Best. xWx

 

[Rob80b]

For those interested, here's my take on the new HD660 S

Again... another thorough and enthusiastic review with a proper balanced look at the pros and cons! Thanks
Still waiting on mine but considering what I found personally lacking in the 650s the 660s are looking more and more like they'll fill my bill.
Where as the HD700s where easily considered a departure and new headphone just by their form factor the 660s may be a bit deceptive for many as it carries forward the HD6xx legacy look which started back in 90's... but as yourself and some others have pointed out...with the new driver it is indeed a new and different phone at least sound wise but there is the familiar family resemblance and comfort, a good thing.

 

[pietcux]

Again... another thorough and enthusiastic review with a proper balanced look at the pros and cons! Thanks
Still waiting on mine but considering what I found personally lacking in the 650s the 660s are looking more and more like they'll fill my bill.
Where as the HD700s where easily considered a departure and new headphone just by their form factor the 660s may be a bit deceptive for many as it carries forward the HD6xx legacy look which started back in 90's... but as yourself and some others have pointed out...with the new driver it is indeed a new and different phone at least sound wise but there is the familiar family resemblance and comfort, a good thing.

Hi Rob, there is hope!

 

[Sam20]

I'm slightly dissappointed with these because i was expecting the 660's to come up with wider soundstage and imaging capabilities of the hd 700. Although the veils' gone forever which is good enough along with the tighter bass response but it still lacks those qualities. Hd 600/650 in their time were at the top of the league in the world of audiophilia but these do not continue that legacy....but is technically much more competent than hd600/650. Mayb i expected too much from the 660s

 

[amartignano]

I'm slightly dissappointed with because i was expecting the 660's to come up with wider soundstage and imaging capabilities of the hd 700. Although the veils' gone forever which is good enough along with the tighter bass response but it still lacks those qualities. Hd 600/650 in their time were at the top of the league in the world of audiophilia but these do not continue that legacy....but is technically much more competent than hd600/650. Mayb i expected too much from the 660s

The Legacy of the top Sennheiser was already continued by the hd800/800S

 

[Sam20]

The Legacy of the top Sennheiser was already continued by the hd800/800S

Not exactly for me...hd 800/800s are very analytical and their only target is to push detail, so i was expecting a consumer grade hp with that driver with slightly foroward mids and darkened treble...a warmer overall presentation...i.e. a true hd 650 upgrade

 

[pietcux]

Not exactly for me...hd 800/800s are very analytical and their only target is to push detail, so i was expecting a consumer grade hp with that driver with slightly foroward mids and darkened treble...a warmer overall presentation...i.e. a true hd 650 upgrade

As long as the driver placement and housing remain the same, the soundstage will remain similar, even with new drivers. So go get the HD700 and EQ them to fit your needs. The EQ will not change the soundstage of the HD700, but the HD660S cannot have such stage as it is physically impossible.