Sennheiser HD 660S2 thread

[Curtisvill]

I'd be interested

 

[sebiambrus]

Would be helpful to understand your sound profile preference, music preference and experiences with other TOTL cans (i.e., how long you had Utopia, for example).

This was my desk 2 years ago. In this time i used Violectric v281, and rme adi2 dac as my source and feliks euforia .
The cans i had: Meze Empy, Utopia, Audio Technica ADX5000, Hifiman he1000se. HD800S , Hd800,
Other cans i had/have in the past: Fostex Th900Mk2, Focal clear, Clear MG, Hd 6 lineup, Meze 109 pro, Hd700., Arya og Arya stealth, He6SE2 ,

The past year i sold all kept only the og HD800, The focal Clear MG, and the hd650.

As i mentioned I like lifelike sound

 

[VNandor]

The 660S2 is rated 300 ohm impedance but 104 dB/mW which is somewhat more than 6X efficient than the 600/650/6XX as rated.

Sennheiser's website actually rated the 660S2 for 104dB/1V. That should come out to about 99dB/mW. The HD600 is rated for 97dB/1V which should be around 91dB/mW.
The 660S2 should have about 7dB extra headroom compared to the 600 on most amps.

 

[artvandelay9]

How is the sounding depth on the hd660s2 in comparison with the hd800? Sometimes I wish my 6xx to be less flat. Though it is not as bad as on some planar wall-of-sound. Tks

Depth is one of the strongest points of the S2, and something that stands out immediately. Probably the first thing I noticed. It's not in the same soundstage league with the 800 series, but of all the 600 series it is without a doubt the most layered, imo. I don't necessarily find the 6XX/650 to be "flat" sounding with proper amplification (huge for that headphone), but it's definitely a much more smoothed over listening experience vs the S2. I like both for these differences.

after 2 day non stop listening , i can make some first impressions;

After owning almost all TOTL hp and almost all mid fi HP . IMHO this HD660S2 sound is the most close to lifelike sound presentation. It is a totally natural sound for my ears, no need to EQ. I sometimes go to Jazz Clubs and Opera life concerts and imho the HD660S2 is the most close presentation to them. Also I am a guitar player and I know how the guitar sounds in my hand when I am playing, the HD660S2 gives the same tonality and naturalness without coloring the sound. The HD660S2 has the Sennheiser house sound signature with the best tonality from their headphones.

The more time I get with the S2, the more I have a similar impression. I spent many years doing the band thing including a short stint of it being my main gig, and the S2 are the closest thing to being in the jam space with the other guitar, bass and drums. It's a unique sonic experience, being in a rehearsal space (or hell, a basement jam room) at full volume, literally in the middle of the sound. It's not going to be everyone's preferred presentation of music, but I'm into it!

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Sennheiser's website actually rated the 660S2 for 104dB/1V. That should come out to about 99dB/mW. The HD600 is rated for 97dB/1V which should be around 91dB/mW.
The 660S2 should have about 7dB extra headroom compared to the 600 on most amps.

Thank you, the numbers felt wrong when I checked the 660S2 page. 7dB is a bit more than 2X oops 4x (2x every 3 dB) the loudness. It sounds like (pun intended) like a lot but in practice it won't make much difference. Probably just a few clicks less on the volume knob.

 

[Mike F]

The more time I get with the S2, the more I have a similar impression. I spent many years doing the band thing including a short stint of it being my main gig, and the S2 are the closest thing to being in the jam space with the other guitar, bass and drums. It's a unique sonic experience, being in a rehearsal space (or hell, a basement jam room) at full volume, literally in the middle of the sound. It's not going to be everyone's preferred presentation of music, but I'm into it!

The very thought of being in an enclosed, probably reverberant, rehearsal space at full volume makes me want run a mile, with my -15dB or even -25dB filter ear protection earplugs still firmly in! And I think you meant 'hall', but your typo made it a much more accurate description.

Edit: Reading your post again, perhaps you did mean the word hell? Yep, basement jam rooms are hell alright. Goodbye hearing.........

 

[Mike F]

The negatives: cheap paper box, it has the same build q as a NEW hd600. My older hd650 which was made in Ireland got a premium feel and plastic in it, this new plastic in the Hd6.. line up gives this cheap feeling . (it not alters the sound but feels cheap in the hand )

First time I've read this. Can anyone confirm a change in the plastics used? All of my six series (580Precision 600 650 660S) are the old moldings (which I prefer), but I didn't know that the quality of the plastic had also changed?

 

[rafaelo]

First time I've read this. Can anyone confirm a change in the plastics used? All of my six series (580Precision 600 650 660S) are the old moldings (which I prefer), but I didn't know that the quality of the plastic had also changed?

I personally prefer the quality of plastics as they are now and i hope will never change them.

Is the matte finish that some people do not like and perceive as low quality but I believe the opposite is true.

 

[sebiambrus]

First time I've read this. Can anyone confirm a change in the plastics used? All of my six series (580Precision 600 650 660S) are the old moldings (which I prefer), but I didn't know that the quality of the plastic had also changed?

The new paper box hd6 lineup has different plastic in it, the new hd6 line up from 2020 or 2021 ( I do not know the date). The marbled hd600 and old hd650 feels and weighs differently .

 

[Mike F]

The new paper box hd6 lineup has different plastic in it, the new hd6 line up from 2020 or 2021 ( I do not know the date). The marbled hd600 and old hd650 feels and weighs differently .

Can anyone else confirm this. I knew the moldings have changed, and the finishes of the various models, but I thought the materials were the same.....?

 

[artvandelay9]

The very thought of being in an enclosed, probably reverberant, rehearsal space at full volume makes me want run a mile, with my -15dB or even -25dB filter ear protection earplugs still firmly in! And I think you meant 'hall', but your typo made it a much more accurate description.

Edit: Reading your post again, perhaps you did mean the word hell? Yep, basement jam rooms are hell alright. Goodbye hearing.........

I meant hell, and both are accurate descriptions. I didn't say I wanted anything to do with it now. As a younger man? HELL yes!

Truth be told, I do still love feeling my bones vibrate with the sound and sheer volume of my guitar rig, even if i don't want to hear it . Making music is a different experience from listening to music, for me at least.

I personally prefer the quality of plastics as they are now and i hope will never change them.

Is the matte finish that some people do not like and perceive as low quality but I believe the opposite is true.

Funny, I just snagged a new HD650 because I wanted the updated look and feel. I never thought much of it until the S2 landed at my door, and I vastly prefer the aesthetic.

 

[rafaelo]

Funny, I just snagged a new HD650 because I wanted the updated look and feel. I never thought much of it until the S2 landed at my door, and I vastly prefer the aesthetic.

The new hd650 has a glossy finish I think, I prefer the mate one of the new HD600 and 660s and 660s2 but this is a personal choice.

My drop products have inferior plastic yes by a big margin. I am not sure if they still use the old molds but if they use the old molds for the drop products I cannot see how the new molds can be inferior.

 

[Mike F]

I meant hell, and both are accurate descriptions. I didn't say I wanted anything to do with it now. As a younger man? HELL yes!

Truth be told, I do still love feeling my bones vibrate with the sound and sheer volume of my guitar rig, even if i don't want to hear it . Making music is a different experience from listening to music, for me at least.

Agree with all of this!

 

[VNandor]

Thank you, the numbers felt wrong when I checked the 660S2 page. 7dB is a bit more than 2X the loudness. It sounds like (pun intended) like a lot but in practice it won't make much difference.

For sure, there's a lot to consider about how a 7dB change in sound pressure level feels but let's just not go there, at least in this thread. The 7dB change is already an assumption based on some simplifications anyways. My suggestion would be to listen to how impactful a 7dB difference in SPL is (the change could be easily set by a dB scaled volume control in the playback software) and use that to try and gauge if that would be enough extra headroom. If it sounds more than enough than it's likely enough. Or maybe someone has that amp and both headphones to compare.

 

[tamleo]

This was my desk 2 years ago. In this time i used Violectric v281, and rme adi2 dac as my source and feliks euforia .
The cans i had: Meze Empy, Utopia, Audio Technica ADX5000, Hifiman he1000se. HD800S , Hd800,
Other cans i had/have in the past: Fostex Th900Mk2, Focal clear, Clear MG, Hd 6 lineup, Meze 109 pro, Hd700., Arya og Arya stealth, He6SE2 ,

The past year i sold all kept only the og HD800, The focal Clear MG, and the hd650.

As i mentioned I like lifelike sound

Super! I envy your hp collection So for now you use the Clear MG for hiphop/pop, the 650 for vocal and the 800 for classical ? May I ask if the 660s2 becomes a redundant hp? Or will you still compact your collection because of the 660s2’s sounding flexibility ? I have heard the MG. Its mids is simpler, stuffed and lacks the nuance of the Senn and Audeze hps