[Rob80b]

Don't believe I'm about to win any popularity contests with my eclectic choice of music, but....
https://listen.tidal.com/album/8946138
George Crumb's "Music for a Summer Evening" was extremely well reproduced, the new driver IMHO has a quickness and dynamic character about it where even delicate percussion instrument emerge out of a blacker background and even when the piece moves into into it's more chaotic movements all instrumentation remains intact.
Timbre is all rather correct and the piano is spot on.

"The battery of percussion instruments required for Summer Evening is extensive and includes vibraphone,
xylophone, glockenspiel, tubular bells, crotales (antique cymbals), bell tree, claves,
maracas, sleighbells, wood blocks and temple blocks, triangles, and several varieties of
drums, tam-tams, and cymbals."

https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/3068321/mod_resource/content/1/Music for a Summer Evening - program notes (George Crumb).pdf

 

[drummerman1]

Thar's where I find 300 ohm phones make a difference. Many have said that the 600/650 were only as good as the equipment they were powered with, so there you go..300 ohms it is! : )

I understand the 'scaling' dilemma but was a £300 HP ever designed for amplifiers costing x times as much? As much as I like the idea of a cheap'ish HP sounding phenomenal with a £2000 amplifier I'd rather have it sound optimal with (relatively) price related equipment which is probably what many will use it with.

 

[Rob80b]

I don't have a good grasp on the 660S2's sound signature just yet, it's certainly a good headphone just quite different than the NDH 30

I'm definitely not going to go by memory but with my time with the Neumann it's probably safe to say that it should have a more expansive soundstage, timbre wise I really cannot say but I'm finding the S2 very good but I do recall the NDH30 being rather neutral. As with most good equipment it's not a matter of just throwing them on and going WOW...the new Sennheiser just sounds very correct in timbe and with its expanded frequency range over the 660S is a treat, dynamics are also 1st class, so for me overall a worthwhile upgrade.
Not quite too sure how Sennheiser pulled this off, except for the driver as everything about the S2 is the same as the rest of the 600 series but obviously someone did their homework.

 

[ericpalonen]

I understand the 'scaling' dilemma but was a £300 HP ever designed for amplifiers costing x times as much? As much as I like the idea of a cheap'ish HP sounding phenomenal with a £2000 amplifier I'd rather have it sound optimal with (relatively) price related equipment which is probably what many will use it with.

For context, at the time the HD 650 was released, it was at the top of the hp transducer industry's price mountain, with a handful exceptions. The thought of a mass-produced headphone over $600 or $700 was still radical, nevermind $1000+. Headphone amplifiers were still quite an insider's piece of gear and were not bound to the price pressure like transducers tend to be. For soooo many, the HD 580, 650 and 600 (and AKG k7-- series) were driven by AV receivers or other Hi-Fi stack components that happened to have a 6.3mm stereo output. There was room to go up on the source and amp side of the equation, but Everest was about $500 for headphone transducers. This community right here was responsible for the hp amp (and DACamp) market developing (thankfully so), fleshing out a bona fide desktop Hi-Fi market. It's awesome.

 

[Rob80b]

I understand the 'scaling' dilemma but was a £300 HP ever designed for amplifiers costing x times as much? As much as I like the idea of a cheap'ish HP sounding phenomenal with a £2000 amplifier I'd rather have it sound optimal with (relatively) price related equipment which is probably what many will use it with.

Not to worry...my time with George Crumb was with the very affordable SMSL HO100 and didn't feel I'm missing anything and that I can only listen with the Bryston to sound optimal.
It's' a given that better equipment will result, hopefully, in better performance, it's a fact of life..nothing is for free.

 

[ericpalonen]

I'm definitely not going to go by memory but with my time with the Neumann it's probably safe to say that it should have a more expansive soundstage, timbre wise I really cannot say but I'm finding the S2 very good but I do recall the NDH30 being rather neutral. As with most good equipment it's not a matter of just throwing them on and going WOW...the new Sennheiser just sounds very correct in timbe and with its expanded frequency range over the 660S is a treat, dynamics are also 1st class, so for me overall a worthwhile upgrade.
Not quite too sure how Sennheiser pulled this off, except for the driver as everything about the S2 is the same as the rest of the 600 series but obviously someone did their homework.

Changing the enclosures' resonant frequency and putting the voice coil on a diet are a few invisible heroes. While they look the same as the prior model the difference is pronounced.

Another reason why that chassis platform is so good is that all the homework has been done and proven--the materials chosen, the mesh grill pattern, proximity of components, etc, etc--Were crafted to get out of the way. While we could easily change the look, you'd have to start from scratch with the sound.

 

[Piober]

I didn't even think of this album but it would be perfect for the 660S2's punchy dynamics. Gonna check this out today. An all-time classic.

Is that a che vuoi emoji? Why does my phone not have that?!?

 

[SchwizzelKick66]

Family photo

The rules of the internet state that you can't post a picture like that without impressions or saying which one is your favorite

After a few days of brain burn in, I think I'm settling on the 660S2 being the best of the 6 series. While I loved the 660s, I fully recognize that it wasn't necessarily better than the others, more so a different flavor. I honestly think the S2 is just plain better across the board than the 6xx.

 

[Piober]

After Underworld’s Live “Everything Everything” settled down to “Other Aspects” by Eric Dolphy, recordings from 1960-64 and is probably the best I’ve heard it on a set of headphones. The flute and sax are captured in all their vibrancy, a lot of phones trip over this but the S2 not only gives us great extension and air but maintains its composure. And I’m getting a really good insight to the recording and the venue, everything just sounds correct, not sure what can be improved at this point.

LOVE Eric Dolphy. If you haven't heard it, Out to Lunch is brilliant!

 

[Rob80b]

LOVE Eric Dolphy. If you haven't heard it, Out to Lunch is brilliant!

I have, Eric Dolphy was an amazing musician tragically lost way before his time. RIP

 

[Rob80b]

While we could easily change the look, you'd have to start from scratch with the sound.

Believe that sounds like a HD700 "S2". : )

 

[Galapac]

For context, at the time the HD 650 was released, it was at the top of the hp transducer industry's price mountain, with a handful exceptions. The thought of a mass-produced headphone over $600 or $700 was still radical, nevermind $1000+. Headphone amplifiers were still quite an insider's piece of gear and were not bound to the price pressure like transducers tend to be. For soooo many, the HD 580, 650 and 600 (and AKG k7-- series) were driven by AV receivers or other Hi-Fi stack components that happened to have a 6.3mm stereo output. There was room to go up on the source and amp side of the equation, but Everest was about $500 for headphone transducers. This community right here was responsible for the hp amp (and DACamp) market developing (thankfully so), fleshing out a bona fide desktop Hi-Fi market. It's awesome.

Nice little history. It's amazing that we have come such a long way in such a short time in audio but that is the way of the world now.
Thanks for sharing, especially for those of us not there at the beginning.

 

[Beagle]

Audio memory is completely, and totally unreliable and has been demonstrated to last seconds, not days, months or years. Side by side comparisons are even difficult as you need to have the volume level matched as even a slight difference matters. How long has it been since you heard the NDH 30?

I think I can remember the basic sound ‘character’ of a headphone but the ‘exact’ sound of it goes away as soon as I take it off. I think this is why we have to switch back and forth when A/B-ing two headphones, and not just for deciding which one we like better. Also, if you have two headphones plugged into the same source, you will be subjected to the off-ear sound coming from the headphone, which can override your recollection of what you just heard. But that’s just my experience.

 

[Rob80b]

For context, at the time the HD 650 was released

Yep a lot of stuff to be put in context...the 650 may have been considered almost unaffordable but not to forget our accumulated music collection at the time. With no other choice it was either vinyl or CD, maybe cassette, I've a measly 2000 (I've come across a few who have easily amassed 10,000) or more recordings and at an average of $15-20 a pop, well it adds up. Equipment is cheap.
So in that context, having unlimited Hi-Fi streaming even with a monthly subscription music is basically free, and not eventually costing 10s of thousands of dollars.... and in that there's a new mindset and I almost get the notion today that if anything is not free or almost free then it's too expensive and not worth it. just saying. lol

 

[KaiFi]

They definitely have more treble energy than the 660s, which had fairly muted treble. The S2 are definitely warmer in the low mid/high bass, which gives an overall warmth that could be described as being darker. That's all I can guess at what he means.

In no way would I say the S2 are darker in the traditional sense of having less treble. There's more/better treble, but its super smooth.

I have the 660S and they sound fairly neutral to me. That's part of what I like about them, since they can't really be described as warm/bright/dark/thin--they do everything well but don't stand out in any one category. Which makes them versatile and capable with every genre I throw at them, but also leaves room for improvement. It sounds like the 660S improves the low and high-end without losing the mids (always concerned about that, since I don't like recessed mids). I'm very interested in comparing the two. If everyone agrees the S2 is an upgrade over the S (which it should be!) then I think I will be getting these in the future.