I have the hd 660s which im looking to upgrade(hopefully an upgrade in everyway) from which i upgraded from the X2'S Fidelio. I plan on selling my hd 660s once i find an upgrade for them but keep the x2s for gaming. I listen to predominantly Japanese rock and Jap/kor pop music and really enjoy music for vocals. Im not experienced enough to know if i like bright headphones or dark , etc. I have the Mayflower arc amp/dac for home use and use the q5 for portable/work. Some of the headphones ive been looking at are the lcd 2 or x , the focal Elear or clear but im open to all suggestions. Also open to amp/dac suggestions to pair with them .Budget is under 1500.
1st off, maybe do a search for 660s on here. I'm pretty certain this question has been asked more than a few times. It might also be helpful if you were to add more information as to what you want from the upgrade. Physical build, sound, what you aren't willing to lose from the 660s, and where you would like to see improvements. What we individually hear is subjective, so the more info the better.
I haven't heard the 660 but I have a pair of 600s and will probably buy the 800 in a couple of weeks. I'm not sure how close the 660 is to the Sennheiser house sound but Audeze LCD-2C sounds to me kinda like the Sennheiser of planars.
There are plenty of upgrades to the 660’s in your price range. I think the HE-500’s are still one of the best headphones that can be had for under $1K but you will have to buy used to get a pair and might need a amp upgrade not sure as I have not used your gear with them but not really hard to drive but do like a bit of power to really shine. I myself don’t care much for the Elear but do like the Clears a bit more . The LCD 2 and X I would pic the X as they are not as warm as the 2’s and do have quite a bit more detail to me. I never cared for the 660’s myself as I thought they were more of a upgraded 5xx series than the 6xx series as they just don’t have the mids of the others and have to say the mids on the 650 or 6xx’s that I have are just hard to beat.
1st off, maybe do a search for 660s on here. I'm pretty certain this question has been asked more than a few times. It might also be helpful if you were to add more information as to what you want from the upgrade. Physical build, sound, what you aren't willing to lose from the 660s, and where you would like to see improvements. What we individually hear is subjective, so the more info the better.
I tried searching for upgrades to 660s but couldnt really find anything. I feel i dont have answers for alot of those questions. Physical build as long as they dont look like stax i should be fine lol( Im sure they sound mindblowing but theyre hideous and i know thats not the point). If by sound you mean warm,dark etc im not sure i havent heard enough to have an opinion on what i like. I would like an improvement over them in just every way if possible if i couldnt lose something it would be the vocals but im open. My budget is under 1500 dollars and wont mind buying used so the ldc-3 are an option and ill try some hifimans as well.
There are plenty of upgrades to the 660’s in your price range. I think the HE-500’s are still one of the best headphones that can be had for under $1K but you will have to buy used to get a pair and might need a amp upgrade not sure as I have not used your gear with them but not really hard to drive but do like a bit of power to really shine. I myself don’t care much for the Elear but do like the Clears a bit more . The LCD 2 and X I would pic the X as they are not as warm as the 2’s and do have quite a bit more detail to me. I never cared for the 660’s myself as I thought they were more of a upgraded 5xx series than the 6xx series as they just don’t have the mids of the others and have to say the mids on the 650 or 6xx’s that I have are just hard to beat.
I think i will go to a store and try the audeze out and maybe some hifimans as well. From reviews i dont think i will like alot of the focals but if the store has them ill check them out. I dont mind buying used so i think the main one im looking at is the lcd3's . Is there a HIFIMAN comparison with lcd3s?
There are plenty of upgrades to the 660’s in your price range. I think the HE-500’s are still one of the best headphones that can be had for under $1K but you will have to buy used to get a pair and might need a amp upgrade not sure as I have not used your gear with them but not really hard to drive but do like a bit of power to really shine. I myself don’t care much for the Elear but do like the Clears a bit more . The LCD 2 and X I would pic the X as they are not as warm as the 2’s and do have quite a bit more detail to me. I never cared for the 660’s myself as I thought they were more of a upgraded 5xx series than the 6xx series as they just don’t have the mids of the others and have to say the mids on the 650 or 6xx’s that I have are just hard to beat.
I listen to J and KPop as my daughter is really into the music so I have a great degree of familiarity (although more with KPop as she prefers that to JPop). A great deal of the recordings you suggest liking will be highly compressed and have in general a brighter, more fatiguing effect. I personally would suggest that you look at headphones known to be somewhat warmer. That said, there are risks as some of the contenders that come to mind have certain frequency peaks or valleys so no signature will be ideal. Even so, I find it easier to equalize a peak or peaks down a little so perhaps you also are comfortable with the idea of equalizing to fine tune a sound signature to your liking.
It would be helpful if you described what exactly you feel the 660 does not achieve and what it is that you really want. Is it lush, rich midrange, deep bass, fast bass, non-fatiguing highs? I am sure it is likely all of these things that you want in varying balance, so the more information you provide here the better. I like the suggestion of the HE-500, again it would have to be found used. I also love the Edition X V2 and I have heard great things about the Massdrop Editionxx so that might be worth considering. There are also many different dynamic headphones, but I think knowing what sound you prefer may influence whether a dynamic versus a planar is the way to go. For instance, bass impact is typically greater with a dynamic design, but a well done planar provides less impactful bass but will have more detail and timbre (typically). These are the type of considerations that if we knew what you really want we can offer you the best feedback.
I listen to J and KPop as my daughter is really into the music so I have a great degree of familiarity (although more with KPop as she prefers that to JPop). A great deal of the recordings you suggest liking will be highly compressed and have in general a brighter, more fatiguing effect. I personally would suggest that you look at headphones known to be somewhat warmer. That said, there are risks as some of the contenders that come to mind have certain frequency peaks or valleys so no signature will be ideal. Even so, I find it easier to equalize a peak or peaks down a little so perhaps you also are comfortable with the idea of equalizing to fine tune a sound signature to your liking.
It would be helpful if you described what exactly you feel the 660 does not achieve and what it is that you really want. Is it lush, rich midrange, deep bass, fast bass, non-fatiguing highs? I am sure it is likely all of these things that you want in varying balance, so the more information you provide here the better. I like the suggestion of the HE-500, again it would have to be found used. I also love the Edition X V2 and I have heard great things about the Massdrop Editionxx so that might be worth considering. There are also many different dynamic headphones, but I think knowing what sound you prefer may influence whether a dynamic versus a planar is the way to go. For instance, bass impact is typically greater with a dynamic design, but a well done planar provides less impactful bass but will have more detail and timbre (typically). These are the type of considerations that if we knew what you really want we can offer you the best feedback.
I actually found 660S to work fairly well for pop as part of the upper-mids are blunted, and doesn't prickle your ears with harshness, but that's also the caveat of it's fidelity. It's not as accurate as the 650 or 600, especially with good amps.
As for Kpop and Jpop, I agree they are highly compressed and lots of tracks with annoying upper frequencies. At least with Kpop, they overly emphasize vocals, and sometimes the recordings are harsh. I personally found Focal Clear to do well with those type of music. HE500 as well. Both I'd recommend for pop music as they just sound better with pop music. At least with these two, you'd get better bass response as well, but also more vivid and crispy highs without being fatiguing like HD800 or whatever.
I would always recommend HD650 to sensitive ears. They are mids focused, but also one of the most non-fitiguing headphones around, without compromises to the important part of the spectrum, the mids. Mids is really import for accuracy. How many mids accurate phones do we know of? I found with BH Crack, very engaging, same with HD600. BH crack does some magic, and it should be fun listening to pop, or whatever have you.
I actually found 660S to work fairly well for pop as part of the upper-mids are blunted, and doesn't prickle your ears with harshness, but that's also the caveat of it's fidelity. It's not as accurate as the 650 or 600, especially with good amps.
As for Kpop and Jpop, I agree they are highly compressed and lots of tracks with annoying upper frequencies. At least with Kpop, they overly emphasize vocals, and sometimes the recordings are harsh. I personally found Focal Clear to do well with those type of music. HE500 as well. Both I'd recommend for pop music as they just sound better with pop music. At least with these two, you'd get better bass response as well, but also more vivid and crispy highs without being fatiguing like HD800 or whatever.
I would always recommend HD650 to sensitive ears. They are mids focused, but also one of the most non-fitiguing headphones around, without compromises to the important part of the spectrum, the mids. Mids is really import for accuracy. How many mids accurate phones do we know of? I found with BH Crack, very engaging, same with HD600. BH crack does some magic, and it should be fun listening to pop, or whatever have you.
Totally agree. Personally I can't listen to pop music with headphones, or at least not for very long. I tend to use speakers for such recordings (although their are exceptions). Your suggestions are great, but I suspect the OP will consider spending less counter-intuitive as we are conditioned to think as we spend more, the sound signatures become so much better. I imagine the HD650 would do a great job, in the case of hot mastered, fatiguing material, a slight rolloff/veil is actually a good thing, plus you get those lovely mids.
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