[BobG55]

Its one person's view - and it aligns with his (Tyll's) own preferences. I had the 660S for almost two weeks, and had a chance to compare it a lot with my HD600. The 660S reminded me a lot of the 800S (which I also own). If they were the same price, or if I found someone willing to swap, I'd trade my HD600 for the 660S. To me - it just has slightly better balance. Both great headphones - superiority comes down to preference.

Well it was actually two persons' view since your reference to Tyll comes from my post. I also tried the HD660 S and didn't like them enough to buy them. In my case I would never trade my HD600 or HD650 for them.

 

[Brooko]

Well it was actually two persons' view since your reference to Tyll comes from my post. I also tried the HD660 S and didn't like them enough to buy them. In my case I would never trade my HD600 or HD650 for them.

Well it appears the point of my post may have not been articulated clearly enough for you so I’ll try again. I’ve read a few people claiming one is superior, and vice versa. And people have referred to Tylls review as if it’s an authoritative word on the subject.

All reviews are opinion. I could point you to our mini tour of Australasia - and it appears that the split between “prefers to HD600/650” is about 50/50 - so all people are talking about is personal preference.

How long did you spend with the 660S (just curious)?

 

[BobG55]

Well it appears the point of my post may have not been articulated clearly enough for you so I’ll try again. I’ve read a few people claiming one is superior, and vice versa. And people have referred to Tylls review as if it’s an authoritative word on the subject.

All reviews are opinion. I could point you to our mini tour of Australasia - and it appears that the split between “prefers to HD600/650” is about 50/50 - so all people are talking about is personal preference.

How long did you spend with the 660S (just curious)?

Well it appears that my point was also not articulated clearly enough for you either : my point is, pay attention now, I don't like the overall sound of the HD660 S. Got it ? That's all. Plain and simple.

 

[Brooko]

Oh no - I got that in spades. And like I keep saying ........ preference. I do find it interesting that you “don’t like the overall sound” though. I mean they are very similar to both HD600 and HD650, and I would say almost sound like a mini HD800S. I would have thought anyone liking any of those 3 headphones would have enjoyed the 660S. Obviously they must be more polarising than I heard. I would have thought the 2 weeks I had them was sufficient to make that sort of comparison. How long did you have with them (you missed answering that earlier). Was it on your own gear? What didn’t you like about them?

I can fully understand why someone would prefer the HD600 though - it’s been one of my mainstays for years.

 

[trellus]

I bet I'd like the 660S but just hear it as a "different" headphone rather than as an improvement in all areas over the 600. Perhaps sort of like how I keep enabling and disabling True-Fi "correction" of the HD 600 on my 10-day trial (I'm literally doing it right now) and finding I really do like the HD 600 with both correction on and off -- at first when I turn it off, the normal HD 600 sound feels a little off at first, but then very quickly my brain acclimates to it and I find it very pleasant and clean, then when I switch the correction back on, it flattens the sound in a way that at first is jarring and sounds off, but then that sound signature starts to sound very "right" to my ears...

..it's just like... two different headphones in a way.

Curiously, I found the correction on the HD650 to be less pronounced than on the HD 600.

 

[prymortal]

HD600 arrived I'm suprised its not bad, imaging & details are there but the 660s does it a bit better, that soundstage helps it, the HD600 seems to make you a bit claustrophobic. HD600 seems to have something going on with the highs it reminds me of the sound you get from a decent amp'd car stereo with seperate tweeters running off a Amp.
The HD6XX & HD660s seem easy enough to power & run but the HD600 defintly needs more power & volume using The Element to run them. (Sennheiser GSX1000, Jotunhiem & Schiit Stack back this up)
The HD660s have a liveliness to the sound that makes the HD600 sound a bit dry by comparsion.
Initial thoughts since i have all 3 in front of me:
I'm going to grab the HD600 for Metal! (just to clarify Western metal doesn't sound as good as 660s with Eastern), selling the HD6XX & using the HD660s for everything else including Gaming.

HD6XX seems mid focused & bit more bassy compared to the other 2 ~maybe not more bassy but you hear it more easily with this headphone, some soundstage & some imaging but also lacking in it, feels incomplete. But it has a full body sound. But overall that full sound comes off very Generic sounding to similar to closed back gaming headphones when you remove the software eq. Female vocals came through intimate & male vocals came across a bit shouty.
HD660s has soundstage & imaging (Very accurate imaging!) but feels like its lacking that full body sound (Usually you would say sounds airy to explain this, but its not airy.. still trying to figure out how to explain this....), good clear highs & bass that shines through with a good Dac.
HD600 seems neutral, little to no soundstage very intimate with anything thrown at it except the highs are even closer to my ears than the rest of the sound giving it a false sense of depth to the sound at times, The highs shine through in the imaging more than most other sounds, This headphone also has a full body sound to it. Also turns out you can game with them, not the best experiance but far from the worst.
Going to spend some more time with them all, a week with each, see how my opinion changes over that time.

 

[jaxz]

Today i tried sonarworks true-fi with my headphones (HE-560, DT 880 and HD600). I must say this app work very well and introduces noticeable changes on frequency response (dramatic!), for the best. Anyway, the less affected phone was the HD600. Very subtle change, wich i made me think the stock tunning of the 600 its very close to 'reference' sound.

Cheers!

 

[prymortal]

So i cut up a spare HD660s cable a while ago to make a balanced cable, no issues but i noticed there is very little copper inside the cable. I figure even though the HD600 cable is smaller (Thinner) it has the same amount of copper inside it? Anyone cut a HD600 oner open before or got pictures to compare.

Now ignore that cable because its not the one im using!
Reasons I'm asking is because using the HD600 with the HD660s cable 6.3mm AUX has changed the sound a little (for the better), it sounds like it has a little more in the bass~mids, imagings improved its no longer just the highs, Soundstage.. slight improvement. I'd no longer say it sounds dry compared to the HD660s. I figured it was Placebo so took a few hours break & come back to it & retested with the cables & i still feel this way about it. Could be the HD600 cable was damaged? Any thoughts because im a little confused at the big improvement.

 

[dr cornelius]

Today i tried sonarworks true-fi with my headphones (HE-560, DT 880 and HD600). I must say this app work very well and introduces noticeable changes on frequency response (dramatic!), for the best. Anyway, the less affected phone was the HD600. Very subtle change, wich i made me think the stock tunning of the 600 its very close to 'reference' sound.

Cheers!

I just started using Reference 4 and noticed the same thing with my HD 600s..

 

[Wannabenewton]

I just purchased a near mint hd 600 for a bargain from a guy who got it as a gift and isn't an audiophile, it'll arrive in a week.
Anyway I keep reading accounts of only ok soundstage compared to the competetion, I mean how bad can it be. Can any owners on here rate the soundstage of hd 600 out of 10 along with other sub 500$ headphones like akg's, beyerdynamic dt's, hifiman re's in the same price range. Rating should be relative to mid-fi category

 

[L8MDL]

Assuming you have an amp with suitable power the 600's are a 10.

 

[gefski]

I just purchased a near mint hd 600 for a bargain from a guy who got it as a gift and isn't an audiophile, it'll arrive in a week.
Anyway I keep reading accounts of only ok soundstage compared to the competetion, I mean how bad can it be. Can any owners on here rate the soundstage of hd 600 out of 10 along with other sub 500$ headphones like akg's, beyerdynamic dt's, hifiman re's in the same price range. Rating should be relative to mid-fi category

On my desktop, the original K701 with the steeply angled pads has a deeper, wider soundstage. However, it has other shortcomings that keep me reaching for the 600 far more often.

(Oops, forgot to "rate" the 600 soundstage. 8.17)

 

[Wannabenewton]

Assuming you have an amp with suitable power the 600's are a 10.

10/10 soundstage wow. Looks like I have to stop buying headphones and start buying amps for the foreseeable future.

 

[Wannabenewton]

On my desktop, the original K701 with the steeply angled pads has a deeper, wider soundstage. However, it has other shortcomings that keep me reaching for the 600 far more often.

(Oops, forgot to "rate" the 600 soundstage. 8.17)

8.17 that's great considering all the other stuff 600 offers. How much would you rate the k701

 

[yangian]

I just purchased a near mint hd 600 for a bargain from a guy who got it as a gift and isn't an audiophile, it'll arrive in a week.
Anyway I keep reading accounts of only ok soundstage compared to the competetion, I mean how bad can it be. Can any owners on here rate the soundstage of hd 600 out of 10 along with other sub 500$ headphones like akg's, beyerdynamic dt's, hifiman re's in the same price range. Rating should be relative to mid-fi category

10/10 soundstage wow. Looks like I have to stop buying headphones and start buying amps for the foreseeable future.

Yes. I have and had 990, 650, 598, 400i, X2, K240M and 600 has the largest soundstage after I upgrade cable and pads. If after upgrading is 10, before should be at least 8. If you want to enlarge the soundstage of 600, use OTL amplifier.