[pietcux]

I guess you missed my post about aural memory? Apart from other things I made the point that, as a musician, I would be screwed if I couldn’t remember what my instrument was supposed to sound like from one practice session/concert to the next. And how do you remember what the colour red is? Visual memory. Why assume aural memory is worse?

Mike, I trust you and I know you care. Maybe you have that absolut hearing that is so rare, but you can always trick the your experience by expectation. I hope that this is the correct translation into English from what I mean in Deutsch:
Die Erwartung beeinflusst die Wahrnehmung.

 

[equalspeace]

The only difference I can spot between the 600/650 and the 660S2 housing is there is a little rubbery/foam lip at the bottom of where the driver itself fits on the 660S2 housing which I believe is why the 650/600 driver doesn't fit in the 660S2 housing. In theory if that were removed the 650/600 drivers could fit in the 660S2 housing. I'm not going to remove that lip though ha. All the housing holes are in the same position between models. In fact the part number itself is the same between all three models (pictured):

90 (upside down) PA6 GF on all three housings



660S2 housing with lip at driver enclosure



I'll add that if one can live with the cups being mismatched better to swap the driver/housing together since it's the same part, as it is very easy to snag and break or disconnect the wires going from the driver to where the connectors fit at the spring. You do that and the driver is toast unless you can somehow reconnect the broken/disconnected wire to the spring. So beware of that.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

The only difference I can spot between the 600/650 and the 660S2 housing is there is a little rubbery/foam lip at the bottom of where the driver itself fits on the 660S2 housing which I believe is why the 650/600 driver doesn't fit in the 660S2 housing. In theory if that were removed the 650/600 drivers could fit in the 660S2 housing. I'm not going to remove that lip though ha. All the housing holes are in the same position between models. In fact the part number itself is the same between all three models (pictured):



90 (upside down) PA6 GF on all three housings

 

[equalspeace]

Sweet. Can't miss vibes w cigars and tunes

 

[plyr]

The only difference I can spot between the 600/650 and the 660S2 housing is there is a little rubbery/foam lip at the bottom of where the driver itself fits on the 660S2 housing which I believe is why the 650/600 driver doesn't fit in the 660S2 housing. In theory if that were removed the 650/600 drivers could fit in the 660S2 housing. I'm not going to remove that lip though ha. All the housing holes are in the same position between models. In fact the part number itself is the same between all three models (pictured):

90 (upside down) PA6 GF on all three housings



660S2 housing with lip at driver enclosure



I'll add that if one can live with the cups being mismatched better to swap the driver/housing together since it's the same part, as it is very easy to snag and break or disconnect the wires going from the driver to where the connectors fit at the spring. You do that and the driver is toast unless you can somehow reconnect the broken/disconnected wire to the spring. So beware of that.

This is 660S:

And side by side with my old 650.

 

[plyr]

Oh, one thing, that rubber ring, I swapped that too, it does change the sound on the 650 shell, feels like there's more air, its a bit less dark. The isolation looks more see through on the 650.

I'm not sure if like one more than the other, its different, I think I can pickup more detail on the 650 shell, but I prefer a bit dark, like on original.

 

[Mike F]

Mike, I trust you and I know you care. Maybe you have that absolut hearing that is so rare, but you can always trick the your experience by expectation. I hope that this is the correct translation into English from what I mean in Deutsch:
Die Erwartung beeinflusst die Wahrnehmung.

Peter, I don’t have any special auditory powers(!), although hopefully I have a well trained ear. I do understand what you’re saying, and I think you’re right to an extent. But I also think that our aural memory is much better than is sometimes popularly believed. Let me ask you this; do you think that if someone now put either the S1 or S2 on your head, having spent some time with the S2 getting to know it’s sound, that you would know which headphone was on your head, or not? Because, frankly, if you couldn’t tell if it was the S1 or S2 without direct comparison, you’ve just wasted 600 bucks. But surely you would be able to tell….. the extra bass thump, the slightly recessed vocals, the extra treble detail….. the whole slightly different sound signature would be, probably almost immediately, apparent to you. No? Actually there would be absolutely no point to this hobby otherwise. We’d just all buy the cheapest flattest and most neutral headphone out there (the HD600) and be done, wouldn’t we? But we CAN tell and appreciate the differences when we put our favourite headphones on without the need to check for its sonic differences against a neutral reference every time! No, I think our aural memory is as good as our visual memory (which can also be deliberately tricked ). When @equalspeace says he can hear the difference between the original S2 and the S2 drivers in a 650 chassis, I believe him!

 

[Mike F]

…

 

[menuki]

I reckon it's not entirely a fair comparison since the Hifiman Deva's cost about 169$ for the wired version (usually including the Bluetooth dongle about 269$), yet it's still a great performing headphone with its huge planar magnetic drivers. Going from the 58xs to the Devas I could always hear some overall improvements in terms of imaging and bass control, but switching from the 660S2s to the Devas they seem to have an odd veil in comparison in the mids especially, and I immediately start to miss the signature and more invoking midrange of the S2s. I'll have to say it again, but Sennheiser really knows what balance and timbre is.

 

[Rob80b]

Really loving these headphones and just trying to put my finger on exactly why.......
Listening to Underworld's album "Second Toughest in The Infants" from 1996, it just sounds right. The S2 puts me in the zone so the music envelopes me with really good width, layering and depth.... the bass has for me, the the perfect amount of weight and density which IMHO was the missing element on the previous 6XX editions. When Karl Hyde comes in, the vocals feel perfectly in place without destroying the illusion and backed by a wall of sound.
Tonally the overall sonic signature is akin to sitting in a properly damped listening room and creates this really comfortable feeling, one feels impelled to sit down and listen...and again what keeps emerging is that sense a full range properly balanced music system, obviously headphones can't recreate the visceral impact but it is fulfilling all the same.
https://listen.tidal.com/album/53734721

 

[tamleo]

Really loving these headphones and just trying to put my finger on exactly why.......
Listening to Underworld's album "Second Toughest in The Infants" from 1996, it just sounds right. The S2 puts me in the zone so the music envelopes me with really good width, layering and depth.... the bass has for me, the the perfect amount of weight and density which IMHO was the missing element on the previous 6XX editions. When Karl Hyde comes in, the vocals feel perfectly in place without destroying the illusion and backed by a wall of sound.
Tonally the overall sonic signature is akin to sitting in a properly damped listening room and creates this really comfortable feeling, one feels impelled to sit down and listen...and again what keeps emerging is that sense a full range properly balanced music system, obviously headphones can't recreate the visceral impact but it is fulfilling all the same.
https://listen.tidal.com/album/53734721

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

 

[Mike F]

Really loving these headphones and just trying to put my finger on exactly why.......
Listening to Underworld's album "Second Toughest in The Infants" from 1996, it just sounds right. The S2 puts me in the zone so the music envelopes me with really good width, layering and depth.... the bass has for me, the the perfect amount of weight and density which IMHO was the missing element on the previous 6XX editions. When Karl Hyde comes in, the vocals feel perfectly in place without destroying the illusion and backed by a wall of sound.
Tonally the overall sonic signature is akin to sitting in a properly damped listening room and creates this really comfortable feeling, one feels impelled to sit down and listen...and again what keeps emerging is that sense a full range properly balanced music system, obviously headphones can't recreate the visceral impact but it is fulfilling all the same.
https://listen.tidal.com/album/53734721

A ‘comfortable’ listening experience is what’s coming across quite a bit in the impressions of these.

 

[jonathan c]

Really loving these headphones and just trying to put my finger on exactly why **
Listening to Underworld's album "Second Toughest in The Infants" from 1996, it just sounds right** The S2 puts me in the zone so the music envelopes me with really good width, layering and depth.... the bass has for me, the the perfect amount of weight and density which IMHO was the missing element on the previous 6XX editions. When Karl Hyde comes in, the vocals feel perfectly in place without destroying the illusion and backed by a wall of sound.
Tonally the overall sonic signature is akin to sitting in a properly damped listening room and creates this really comfortable feeling, one feels impelled to sit down and listen...and again what keeps emerging is that sense a full range properly balanced music system, obviously headphones can't recreate the visceral impact but it is fulfilling all the same.
https://listen.tidal.com/album/53734721

** perhaps the absence of subliminal ‘correction’ by the mind of sonic deviations allows for immersion and enjoyment …

 

[Rob80b]

** perhaps the absence of subliminal ‘correction’ by the mind of sonic deviations allows for immersion and enjoyment …

Probably right. With my HD800S I'm listening more to the sound than getting carried away with the music. : )

 

[Rob80b]

A ‘comfortable’ listening experience is what’s coming across quite a bit in the impressions of these.

In a nut shell, Yes! : )
Funny though, previously I had a tendency to navigate to the more analytical and the HD600/650 always left me wanting, HD660S was better but the S2 appears to have finally got it right.."for me" IMHO. It's like the tracks are straight and the bearings properly lubricated...smooth sailing....