[ShayzerPlay]

They are very subtle. On first listen I liked them, but it was not love at first sight. But every time I put them on, I liked them more. That is a rarity for me although it happened again recently with the Nectar Ambrosia's.

Times are very good indeed for Mid-Fi.

Give it a couple of weeks before you make a final decision. Unless of course the sound is just not a good fit for you.

Okey I will see how my ears will adapt to them during the next days / weeks.

Also, do you think an SMSL DL200 would do the job ? Thanks

 

[csch92]

These headphones need some time to adjust. It took me over 2 months to finaly love them

 

[Shane D]

I really didn’t liked the 109 pro unfortunately because it was what I wanted to buy when I saw them. But the sound is too metallic for my ears, I am treble sensitive so it was really too much for me

I don't find the 109's metallic, but they are a bit sharp. I was listening to The Cooker by Lee Morgan on Sunday with the 109's and it got a bit bright on a few tunes . I played it today on the closed back Radiance's and the album had NO sharpness at all.

I would compare the 109 treble to my beloved Grado GH2's. With some music, they will sound a little bright.
But very nice overall!

 

[Shane D]

Okey I will see how my ears will adapt to them during the next days / weeks.

Also, do you think an SMSL DL200 would do the job ? Thanks

No idea. The only SMSL amp I have ever had was the SP200 and I was not a fan.

 

[fidgeraldo]

Okey I will see how my ears will adapt to them during the next days / weeks.

Also, do you think an SMSL DL200 would do the job ? Thanks

I guess amplification matters. I listen to them on Topping A90D, and they sound amazing. But because of their character, they seem to love tube amps. I would say all Sennheisers have great synergy with tubes. And paired with Auris HA-2 SF, it is like flying into space orbit, so exciting and engaging. Perhaps Schiit Lyr would be great, too. Before deciding anything, if you can...go audition on tubes if you already haven't. I think Topping and S.M.S.L are great, but you can't expect to hear the full potential of the better headphones unless you invest in a better amp/DAC.

Which amplification did they have when you auditioned headphones, and what's yours at home that you are not satisfied with S2?

Cheers!

 

[funkymartyn]

Hello,

I just go my HD660S2 today after trying Meze 109 Pro, HD600, Focal Elegia, HifiMan Sundara, DT 700 Pro X, Meze 99 Classic, Fostex Th 610, Sivga sv023, ATH M50x. From all of them the one that i've loved the most was the HD660s2, so here we are with my first HiFi headphone in my life.

Coming from a Razer Blackshark V2 I was thinking that I would get a "wow" effect instantly, but it's still not the case. I can definitly hear the differences (warmer tone, smoother mid and treble, more clarity in the bass but not really "impactful" without EQ etc.). Maybe do I need to wait that my ears to get accommodated with it to get the wow effect during A/B tests?

Anyway, something that I was thinking is that: Is there an HD660s2 alternative with more soundstage ? Like, same tonality etc, but just a tad bit more soundstage. I've bought this one for 400 EUROS, so it might be hard to find something like that.

Thanks for the help

(PS: I really like them, the confortc etc is amazing for my head, which is suprisingly weird)

Hi you're lucky you could try out all these headphones. Do you mean just for a short while in a store , or proper listen at home, ? Most of us have no chance to check these out without buying blind and possible returning them. I hain't heard all your choices. But I do have the meze99 classie, and elegia, and hd600. Also have a 660s. Not version 2. But lots of grado , you may not like if your treble sensitive. Surprised you didn't like the Meze99 quite bassy.

 

[ShayzerPlay]

I guess amplification matters. I listen to them on Topping A90D, and they sound amazing. But because of their character, they seem to love tube amps. I would say all Sennheisers have great synergy with tubes. And paired with Auris HA-2 SF, it is like flying into space orbit, so exciting and engaging. Perhaps Schiit Lyr would be great, too. Before deciding anything, if you can...go audition on tubes if you already haven't. I think Topping and S.M.S.L are great, but you can't expect to hear the full potential of the better headphones unless you invest in a better amp/DAC.

Which amplification did they have when you auditioned headphones, and what's yours at home that you are not satisfied with S2?

Cheers!

Hello,

First, Thanks for the help to both of you.

When I tried them at the store it was on an Astell&Kern SR35 or SP3000 (can’t remember which one).

I am using it with an iFi Zen Dac V2 right now but I will return it since I think it does not do really well with the 660s2. (It has enough power and bought if because of the truebass button, but at the end I prefer my EQ profile of bass boost than the truebass button).

I would love to buy tube amp but it would not be in my budget I think. I have 200€ for the Dac and Amp.

I was thinking that I could maybe use my Meizu Non Pro Hi-fi Dac Amp dongle as only Dac and plug it to a tube amp ? But I think that it would deteriorate the sound… and I have an UMC202HD audio interface for my mic but the Dac is not really good I think.

Oh and I am in Europe, more precisely France so Schiit, JDS etc are really high priced with taxes etc.

Hi you're lucky you could try out all these headphones. Do you mean just for a short while in a store , or proper listen at home, ? Most of us have no chance to check these out without buying blind and possible returning them. I hain't heard all your choices. But I do have the meze99 classie, and elegia, and hd600. Also have a 660s. Not version 2. But lots of grado , you may not like if your treble sensitive. Surprised you didn't like the Meze99 quite bassy.

Hello too! Yeah I was lucky but it was also a pain for my feet for the entire day of walking ahah.

What I really didn’t like with the 99 classic was the lacking of clarity, the bass were here but it was taking too much on clarity (almost muddy to me). Whereas the 109 Pro was too high forward for me since I am treble sensitive. Sadly that point makes me really hate it because voices were sounding metallic. ( but the confort and looks were amazing).

 

[fidgeraldo]

Oh and I am in Europe, more precisely France so Schiit, JDS etc are really high priced with taxes etc.

Schiit

I am in Europe, too.
To me, S2 is amazingly exciting. Perhaps if you have not already, try listening to them on a higher volume.
200€ for a combo...if you could stretch it to 400€, perhaps it would be easier. Topping A30Pro and Topping L50 (it's warmer DAC).
Take your headphones to the stores and ask to audition amp/DAC they offer.

 

[Yarblockos]

Hello,

First, Thanks for the help to both of you.

When I tried them at the store it was on an Astell&Kern SR35 or SP3000 (can’t remember which one).

I am using it with an iFi Zen Dac V2 right now but I will return it since I think it does not do really well with the 660s2. (It has enough power and bought if because of the truebass button, but at the end I prefer my EQ profile of bass boost than the truebass button).

I would love to buy tube amp but it would not be in my budget I think. I have 200€ for the Dac and Amp.

I was thinking that I could maybe use my Meizu Non Pro Hi-fi Dac Amp dongle as only Dac and plug it to a tube amp ? But I think that it would deteriorate the sound… and I have an UMC202HD audio interface for my mic but the Dac is not really good I think.

Oh and I am in Europe, more precisely France so Schiit, JDS etc are really high priced with taxes etc.


Hello too! Yeah I was lucky but it was also a pain for my feet for the entire day of walking ahah.

What I really didn’t like with the 99 classic was the lacking of clarity, the bass were here but it was taking too much on clarity (almost muddy to me). Whereas the 109 Pro was too high forward for me since I am treble sensitive. Sadly that point makes me really hate it because voices were sounding metallic. ( but the confort and looks were amazing).

The Zen Dac V2 alone is definitely not powerful enough. You need to stack it with the Zen Can. This is exactly what I did & it sounds fantastic. I bought the ZD2 thinking that would be good enough, but definitely not. The bass with the Zen Can is already much better - and it has it's own bass boost button (and 3D sound) should without not be sufficient.

 

[ShayzerPlay]

Schiit

I am in Europe, too.
To me, S2 is amazingly exciting. Perhaps if you have not already, try listening to them on a higher volume.
200€ for a combo...if you could stretch it to 400€, perhaps it would be easier. Topping A30Pro and Topping L50 (it's warmer DAC).
Take your headphones to the stores and ask to audition amp/DAC they offer.

The Zen Dac V2 alone is definitely not powerful enough. You need to stack it with the Zen Can. This is exactly what I did & it sounds fantastic. I bought the ZD2 thinking that would be good enough, but definitely not. The bass with the Zen Can is already much better - and it has it's own bass boost button (and 3D sound) should without not be sufficient.

I would love to stretch my budget to 400€ but it’s impossible for me

Basically my options in this budget are :
FiiO K7
SMSL DL200 (which seems to be pretty good from users posts on ASR)


(Oh and in case someone know. When I play / pause my music I have a pop noise comping from my iFi Zen Dac v2 (the more I set the output bitrate high, the more I can hear the pop. I’ve disabled every options inside power management settings, not energy saving etc and still got this problem. I’ve even tried to use it with 5V power bricks)

 

[csch92]

for me the s2 sounds fantastic on the K7

 

[fidgeraldo]

I've just tried S2 with my Zishan Z4 DAP, and it has more than enough power on a 4.4 mm balanced output. As many would say, I am a loud volume listener, and I was on 75%, so I have plenty more left. Hmm, soundwise. I like it. Would you, I don't know. If I compare it to my other amps, it's a no-no. But that doesn't mean it sounds bad. I enjoy a lot listening to Z4 and IE200 while walking. S2, it's doable and not bad by any means. It seems that it is on the warmer side. I think there is a thread here on Head-fi so you can ask people about sound signature; it definitely has enough power to feed S2. It's worth checking; I am not sure there is even a better DAP for the price.

Good luck!



Cheers!

 

[Rob80b]

As many would say, I am a loud volume listener

Is there any other way?

 

[csch92]

Does medium listener count?

 

[ShayzerPlay]

I've just tried S2 with my Zishan Z4 DAP, and it has more than enough power on a 4.4 mm balanced output. As many would say, I am a loud volume listener, and I was on 75%, so I have plenty more left. Hmm, soundwise. I like it. Would you, I don't know. If I compare it to my other amps, it's a no-no. But that doesn't mean it sounds bad. I enjoy a lot listening to Z4 and IE200 while walking. S2, it's doable and not bad by any means. It seems that it is on the warmer side. I think there is a thread here on Head-fi so you can ask people about sound signature; it definitely has enough power to feed S2. It's worth checking; I am not sure there is even a better DAP for the price.

Good luck!



Cheers!

Thanks for the advices. I was more looking at a desktop Dac / amp since I am not moving at all.

Do you know where is the thread for Dac / amp help please ? I can’t find it.