[MixMasterMan]

I've owned the 660s twice now. I picked it up the 2nd time when it dropped to $300 recently. I've been disappointed both times. Because there's no bass or treble, and the very narrow width. I think the 660s would be fairly priced at $250. I'd have a VERY hard time paying >$400 for a similar headphone that had mainly better bottom/top extention.

 

[rids57]

Pre-order is up on Amazon UK now for £499

 

[ku1185]

Are you enjoying your headphones after a good barbecue or a visit to the Hamam?

No, I just tend to wear them all day everyday, especially in the last several years.

 

[SLC1966]

“I guess it’s just my life
And it’s just my body”
Julia Jacklin

Song I have been obsessing on this last week along with just discovering Aldous Harding and Indigo Sparke.

Sorry about this long-winded post. I just need to provide context for the rest of my posts over the next few weeks. HD660 S2 arrived earlier today at my doorstep. It has been stuck in Chicago for numerous days for some reason. As you can tell by the pictures, I also have HD 600, HD 650 and HD 660S.

Who am I? I was deep into Headphones and then went super deep into IEMs for a couple years. For 8 months now I have been back going very deep into HPs. I love listening to music, I love analyzing sound and I love writing. I do reviews for me first due the creative intellectual masturbatory pleasure I get out of the process, and I want to get what is hopefully beneficial information out to others.

I do not have a website and I do reviews that I want to do. Sometimes I review items I purchased and sometimes not. I am a huge ZMF, Noble Audio, DCA, Holo Audio and Sennheiser fan as you can tell by my gear in my signature.

Sennheiser contacted me out of the blue a couple weeks ago and asked if I would like to be part of introducing the HD 660S2 to the community. Well, I am a huge HD600 fanboy so of course I would like to be part of introducing it unless is sucks. Sometimes I say no out of lack of interest or lack of time. Other times I get a product and send it back or sell it if I purchased it rather than doing a review. I am only interested in reviewing what I enjoy and what I think others should know about.

Enough small talk. Here is the plan: I will get a review out in a few weeks once I fully understand the HD 660S2. In the meantime, I will post impressions every couple days and sometimes each day if my 3 kids, 2 dogs, fulltime job, Pickleball and my other obsession; espresso machines and espresso grinders do not get in the way. Which means I will usually post early in the morning before the world around me comes alive. Each time it will be a specific impression. I have done this in my reviews in which the product is not out yet or just came out. Otherwise, I just put together a review and post it. 4 of my 5 last reviews involved a different style I have been working on. I use a fictitious interviewer specific to the company I am reviewing for. Vison Ears has Bob the sexually repressed and in recovery interviewer. Vision Ears has the grumpy and rough around the edge’s interviewer. I am working on an interviewer for ZMFheadphones for the introduction of the Atrium Closed Back in a month or two. For Sennheiser, you will meet Siegfried the overly optimistic interviewer. This one is based off of a real person I lived with in Germany when I spent 4 years there. Each post will involve a question from him. All these posts will be cleaned up and become part of the final review. In my latest 5 reviews, the fictitious interviewer interviews someone from the company that was involved in the creation of the Headphone or IEM. I will do the same for this review. The goal for me is to enjoy the process. My goal for the reader is hopefully they gain a lot of knowledge about how the HD 660S2 sounds and how it sounds in comparison to the other HD 6XXX HPs.

Sorry about all these words but context was needed when I start posting these random posts with questions from Siegfried.

OK back to HD 660S2 and Julia Jacklin! Anyone for tonality, clarity, and textured bass!!!
MM

 

[Tripokaridos]

It seems that the old guard is holding the fortress.
The HD660S is the one that is going to be discontinued as officially announced.

It looks like Everything with Blue Coil Whine from Sennheiser will left in the dust ... good old 700 times

 

[M3NTAL]

Did the 660S ever make it to Colorware's catalog like the HD800? These look like a good model for that treatment.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

There is shared DNA among some of the dynamic driver principles but they are definitely not the same. We hope you get to try an HD 660S2 in your travels, as you've already decided what you think of the sound without hearing it. It does not sound like the 700 and the two should not be confused.

Didn't HD660s use HD700 drivers? Is HD660S revision 2 based on a new design?

 

[ericpalonen]

Did the 660S ever make it to Colorware's catalog like the HD800? These look like a good model for that treatment.

The 660S never made it. I believe the HD 650 was, albeit briefly. In my possession I've got the original HD 800 Colorware x Sennheiser prototype (red one, color matched with the Audi R8). They sold it for a few years in the early 2010's. If you see anyone in the community with a black gloss version with a Sennheiser-blue ring that was also Colorware. We also prototyped a few microphones and had them for sale for quite some time, even being a beta tester for their color shift paint job. The faux carbon fiber HD 25 was for Afrojack, and Jude has a 1 of 1 HD 25 Detroit edition (pearl white sparkle with Adidas blue...they are exquisite and my favorite Colorware custom). The white/orange mic was custom ordered by Shawn Marion of the Phoenix Suns (at that time). They were great to work with ... awesome, personable and bright people. An amazing facility as well.

 

[AnalogEuphoria]

the HD600 is one of the best headphones on the market regardless of price & I love the HD650. I’ve personally never experienced the so called veil and I haven’t been without the HD600 since 2003 or the HD650 since 2005. Just because they’re old doesn’t mean they’re no longer any good. There have been many higher priced headphones in the past twenty years or so that have come and gone. There must be a reason why these two HD6xx siblings are still around and it’s more than price/ cost alone.

I didn't say they were bad, I actually want them to continue making 600/650.

I think you quoted me by mistake.

 

[BobG55]

I didn't say they were bad, I actually want them to continue making 600/650.

I think you quoted me by mistake

Reading your comment a second time, I realize that, I misinterpreted what you wrote. For some reason I thought you meant the HD650 should be discontinued due to its age. Also, I wasn’t attacking your comment but was defending the HD650. My apologies for any miscommunication on my part.

 

[M3NTAL]

The 660S never made it. I believe the HD 650 was, albeit briefly. In my possession I've got the original HD 800 Colorware x Sennheiser prototype (red one, color matched with the Audi R8). They sold it for a few years in the early 2010's. If you see anyone in the community with a black gloss version with a Sennheiser-blue ring that was also Colorware. We also prototyped a few microphones and had them for sale for quite some time, even being a beta tester for their color shift paint job. The faux carbon fiber HD 25 was for Afrojack, and Jude has a 1 of 1 HD 25 Detroit edition (pearl white sparkle with Adidas blue...they are exquisite and my favorite Colorware custom). The white/orange mic was custom ordered by Shawn Marion of the Phoenix Suns (at that time). They were great to work with an awesome, personable and bright people. An amazing facility as well.

Awesome!

Did you have the matching R8... still? V8/V10
OG Phoenician, Marion is bad ass
And Jude's D2ROIT (inside Detroiters joke) pair - rad!

The matte red HD800 with the red WyWyres cable look great.

I think I've already stated this, I think the finish since HD6XX are getting less inspired, less interesting. Just like Jordan sneakers remade in the exact same colors and probably poorer quality.

HD 600 was wild and not even ashamed
HD 650 looks high quality for plastic. The paint color and gloss level made them beautiful. A matte metallic version of the HD650 might have been cool
HD 800 had some people confused if they were going to be metal or plastic.
HD 800 AE Probably the best farewell - I hope the 660S2 is only the tip of the iceberg.
IE 200 - 900 range have great finish.

 

[ericpalonen]

Awesome!

Did you have the matching R8... still? V8/V10
OG Phoenician, Marion is bad ass
And Jude's D2ROIT (inside Detroiters joke) pair - rad!

The matte red HD800 with the red WyWyres cable look great.

I think I've already stated this, I think the finish since HD6XX are getting less inspired, less interesting. Just like Jordan sneakers remade in the exact same colors and probably poorer quality.

HD 600 was wild and not even ashamed
HD 650 looks high quality for plastic. The paint color and gloss level made them beautiful. A matte metallic version of the HD650 might have been cool
HD 800 had some people confused if they were going to be metal or plastic.
HD 800 AE Probably the best farewell - I hope the 660S2 is only the tip of the iceberg.
IE 200 - 900 range have great finish.

I only wish I had that R8
..Colorware matched it based on my request and research of the color, but not because I ever owned one haha.

I'll try to find a picture of the Detroit HD 25. It's gotta be on here somewhere. In person it had impeccable lines and almost automotive-grade pearlescent white, and a sparkly shimmer in the light.

[edit: found a thumbnail of it on internetz although i know there's a better one on an SD card of his somewhere]

.

 

[lowrider007]

Very intrigued to see how these fair against the 600/650, it's all about the mids for me, and I imagine I'm not alone, the 660s2 could be miles ahead technically, but most importantly it has to equal, or better the mids of the 600/650 to be a chicken dinner, no other headphone I've ever listened to at any price range has bested the 600/650 for it's midrange, not even the likes of the LCD-5 which I auditioned when I bought my HD800S, the 650s midrange is so emotionally engaging, you actually feel a cello in your chest, the timbre is almost perfect.

 

[ericpalonen]

Very intrigued to see how these fair against the 600/650, it's all about the mids for me, and I imagine I'm not alone, the 660s2 could be miles ahead technically, but most importantly it has to equal, or better the mids of the 600/650 to beat to be a chicken dinner, no other headphone I've ever listened to at any price range has bested the 600/650 for it's midrange, not even the likes of the LCD-5 which I auditioned when I bought my HD800S, the 650s midrange is so emotionally engaging, you actually feel a cello in your chest, the timbre is almost perfect.

On paper that lines up nicely with 660S2

 

[BobG55]

the 650s midrange is so emotionally engaging, you actually feel a cello in your chest, the timbre is almost perfect.

I almost sold my HD650s after having the very same experience you describe and had to have the cello surgically removed from my chest.