[Rob80b]

WORLD PREMIERE LISTENING IMPRESSIONS OF THE SENNHEISER HD660S2.

Disclaimer - The headphone is brand new with zero burning time and the following impressions are more like notes / thoughts after about 3-4 hours of listening.

……….
………….
Mid-range is mildly forward, all types of voices (especially female) are always at the forefront.
The star of the show.
This is a vocals-centric headphone but I don't get fatigued as I did with the 650.
……….
………………………..
The soundstage is very intimate, the music feels like it is radiating from inside your head but in an enveloping and holographic way.
In large symphonic works you are placed on the conductor seat.
In smaller ensembles you are part of the action.
Very, very solid center image.
I wouldn't call the soundstage too narrow but it is not wide either.
Imaging and positioning are on masterclass level while there is plenty of satisfying layering - depth"

Thanks for the early observations.
Looks like they indeed got quite a few things right but hopefully just a matter of letting things settle in, but as a non "vocals-centric" listener which was my biggest gripe with the HD600/650, the focus on the centre image being always bigger than life, blob in the head, etc, etc.....which is where I had found the HD700 took a step forward IMHO and put things more into perspective but that was obviously due to the totally different design and driver placement.
You do mention..."Fast, staccato, crystal clear and superb layering" along with "Plenty of airiness, transparency and definition" but then I find this part almost contraditory....
"In large symphonic works you are placed on the conductor seat.
In smaller ensembles you are part of the action.
Very, very solid center image.
I wouldn't call the soundstage too narrow but it is not wide either.
Imaging and positioning are on masterclass level while there is plenty of satisfying layering - depth"...may just be my interpretation but sounds almost open and claustrophobic at the same time. ???

But I guess the biggest "raison d'etre" is the base, I haven't heard the Focal Clear Mg but if they lean anywhere toward the HD630vb or Neumann NDH 30 it should be rather satisfying although the 660S are not bad just missing a bit of extension and body.

 

[CaptainFantastic]

599.95 is the actual USD price, sorry for the confusion in an earlier post.

Can you help us understand why it's 600 USD but 700 EUR? I understand that the EUR amount includes VAT whereas the USD amount does not include the sales tax, but this doesn't seem to take into account any costs Sennheiser is incurring shipping and importing from the EU into the U.S.

Every single U.S. company selling in the EU has much higher prices here because of these import fees. See Schiit, ZMF, Audeze, etc. Sennheiser is somehow able to import from Ireland (EU) to the U.S. without additional cost? Maybe it only works one way... or is this about being competitive over there and not over here?

 

[Ichos]

Thanks for the early observations.
Looks like they indeed got quite a few things right but hopefully just a matter of letting things settle in, but as a non "vocals-centric" listener which was my biggest gripe with the HD600/650, the focus on the centre image being always bigger than life, blob in the head, etc, etc.....which is where I had found the HD700 took a step forward IMHO and put things more into perspective but that was obviously due to the totally different design and driver placement.
You do mention..."Fast, staccato, crystal clear and superb layering" along with "Plenty of airiness, transparency and definition" but then I find this part almost contraditory....
"In large symphonic works you are placed on the conductor seat.
In smaller ensembles you are part of the action.
Very, very solid center image.
I wouldn't call the soundstage too narrow but it is not wide either.
Imaging and positioning are on masterclass level while there is plenty of satisfying layering - depth"...may just be my interpretation but sounds almost open and claustrophobic at the same time. ???

But I guess the biggest "raison d'etre" is the base, I haven't heard the Focal Clear Mg but if they lean anywhere toward the HD630vb or Neumann NDH 30 it should be rather satisfying although the 660S are not bad just missing a bit of extension and body.

Thank you for reading.

It is not contradictory.
There is plenty of airiness around the notes, excellent definition, sharp imaging etc etc BUT everything happens inside a restraint type of soundstage regrinding the horizontal axis that positions the listener very close to the performers and springs for the inside of his head.

No contradictory at all and this is a great achievement.
It is intimate in proximity but every single instrument is correctly and precisely positioned and distinguished from each other.

 

[ericpalonen]

Can you help us understand why it's 600 USD but 700 EUR? I understand that the EUR amount includes VAT whereas the USD amount does not include the sales tax, but this doesn't seem to take into account any costs Sennheiser is incurring shipping and importing from the EU into the U.S.

Every single U.S. company selling in the EU has much higher prices here because of these import fees. See Schiit, ZMF, Audeze, etc. Sennheiser is somehow able to import from Ireland (EU) to the U.S. without additional cost? Maybe it only works one way... or is this about being competitive over there and not over here?

It should be 599 EUR and 599.95 USD upon launch

 

[JoeYellow]

Wow, just got these hooked up to my Magni Piety and Modi Multibit 2!!! OMG these are so much better than the HD650, they sound so lush and precise at the same time...

 

[Ichos]

Regarding the soundstage

it is not narrower than the 650 but it has much more precise imaging, better layering, more accurate positioning and air around the performers.

Imagine that you are watching a 32" monitor instead of a larger one but this monitor has the best possible definition.
From the distance you can't see much but when you go a closer position then you can see every last detail in crispy and well defined colors.

 

[CaptainFantastic]

It should be 599 EUR and 599.95 USD upon launch

Thanks for clarifying. There are a lot of mentions above about it being a 700 EUR headphone. So this clears up that confusion...

 

[ericpalonen]

Thanks for clarifying. There are a lot of mentions above about it being a 700 EUR headphone. So this clears up that confusion...

Totally my fault. We have a giant table of regional prices (and I mean GIANT) and I mismatched the matrix when trying to zoom in on it.

 

[Rob80b]

Regarding the soundstage

it is not narrower than the 650 but it has much more precise imaging, better layering, more accurate positioning and air around the performers.

........

That is one aspect I really appreciated in the HD660S so glad it's maintained...now about that base. : )

 

[jbarrentine]

Wow, just got these hooked up to my Magni Piety and Modi Multibit 2!!! OMG these are so much better than the HD650, they sound so lush and precise at the same time...

Where did you get them?
edit: nm seems like some kind of character account

 

[Empyah]

They should have called it HD690.

 

[Ichos]

You guys, I don't really understand how I liked everything when I am quite critical about the soundstage, the mids forwardness, the hint of metallic timbre and the possibility of the mids - lower treble shouting.

And what all of you have been expecting?

A giant killer?

No it isn't.

A bad headphone that doesn't deserve the price of admission?

No it isn't.

Surprised to find out that it sounds good?

Why?

Can't Sennheiser make good $700 phones?

I don't think so.

Is it better or worse the 660S or 650?

I don't know, you have to decide by actual listening and according to your tastes.

There is no really bad headphone these days.

It might be bad for you but good for others.

 

[Fegefeuer]

So who's got the german review sample? Kunibert Schreckkopf?

 

[Ichos]

So who's got the german review sample? Kunibert Schreckkopf?

Don't know.
Do you?

 

[AnalogEuphoria]

What puzzles me is it’s a German company, no orders up on EU Amazon or other online stores, no official announcement, not on the Sennheiser website but it’s been popping up and available in the US for purchase for a week or so…