[feverfive]

I am trying to help steer a friend in the right headphone direction, so asking here as I've heard neither of these: Is there any comparison to be made between the 660S2 vs. HiFiman Arya Stealth?

 

[Rob80b]

To me the HD 660S is just about perfect, so I'm concerned that the S2 might be too bright for me.

In reference to the 600 series the 660S were about perfect for me too, correcting many shortfalls...but the S2 for me are even more so, being a more complete headphone from top to bottom.
With my setup and music prefences IMHO the treble on the S2 is better defined, controlled, never harsh and I couldn't really ever call it bright.YMMV

 

[Rob80b]

IMHO the treble on the S2 is better defined, controlled, never harsh and I couldn't really ever call it bright.YMMV

Just to quote myself...was doing a direct comparison with my Focal Elegia, which in comparison is a much livelier and crisper presentation, but like the S2 doesn't veer toward sibilants or harshness, the HD660S2 could actually be called warm in comparison..so relatively speaking...S2 being bright...nope.

 

[SchwizzelKick66]

The best compliment I think i could give to the 660s2 is that I don't notice anything sticking out when I listen to them. With most every other headphone, during a listening session something will stick out at some point- harsh treble sections, maybe a bit of honkiness here and there, maybe the bass sounds a bit off on this track, etc. With the 660s2, I notice nothing and just listen. Hard to explain how rare that is with a headphone, but it's great.

 

[Apski]

HD 660s for 200 euro if you are from Europe. (refurbished)
Sennheiser from the Netherlands for 200 euro incase somebody wants them here is a link (no affiliate link).

I bought one can't wait i am hyped!

 

[Mink]

Very tempting, it is not a lot of money, but I already own so many headphones...

 

[dogilainen]

HD 660s for 200 euro if you are from Europe. (refurbished)

Oh no! Just when I had peacefully fallen to sleep, waiting for the S2 price to drop to around 450..

I don't want to buy headphones that I know I'll want to replace pretty soon, but that price.. €199.

Makes me wonder would I really miss the bass, or be irritated by the lack of it, that much.. (I'm coming from HD 598's)

All of you fine gents (and ladies?) who have experienced 660S (and possibly S2 and.. Sundaras) please listen to two songs, and tell me would you be satisfied with 660S, taking the price I to account just a little..

Songs are:

Poets of the Fall - Carnival of Rust
Sting - Desert Rose

Thank you so much!

 

[OptionTrader]

Very tempting, it is not a lot of money, but I already own so many headphones...

That's actually a funny thing to say in an audiophile forum.

 

[Shane D]

Very tempting, it is not a lot of money, but I already own so many headphones...

As I said just before getting # 11, or was it # 12?

 

[dogilainen]

Any decent "bang for buck" custom cable makers within EU left?

I have used oidiosound (.co.uk) before, and have been completely satisfied with their products, but Brexit means customs charges and 24 % taxes on top of the original price (that has gone up quite a lot), so even the shortest available mongrel cable, with the cheaper cable option, would cost over €135 excluding shipping.. Seems quite a lot compared to the €199 price of 660S I'll be using while waiting for the price of 660S2 to drop

I'm running the headphones with BT-receiver attached on top of the headband, so 3 meter cable is pretty impractical.

 

[pietcux]

Any decent "bang for buck" custom cable makers within EU left?

I have used oidiosound (.co.uk) before, and have been completely satisfied with their products, but Brexit means customs charges and 24 % taxes on top of the original price (that has gone up quite a lot), so even the shortest available mongrel cable, with the cheaper cable option, would cost over €135 excluding shipping.. Seems quite a lot compared to the €199 price of 660S I'll be using while waiting for the price of 660S2 to drop

I'm running the headphones with BT-receiver attached on top of the headband, so 3 meter cable is pretty impractical.

You might want to check on Forzaaudioworks in Poland. They have several configurable cable quality tiers and a very good manufacturing quality.

 

[Shane D]

Just finishing up almost a week with the S2's. They are a nice headphone. They do like the tube amps, especially the Little Dot MK9. Very good with all genres and very easy to drive, although I am a quiet listener.
1) iFi Pro iCAN 9:00 in mid gain.
2) Violectric V220 at 0 gain. 9:00 to 10:00
3) Valhalla 2 High gain at 9:00-9:30
4) Little Dot MK9 low gain at 10:00 - 11:00

These might be my only headphones that sound better with tube amps.
Usually my best sounds are from a Violectric V220 and an iFi Pro iCAN (with a touch of bass boost). But I find these a little underwhelming with the S2's. I will be using one of the top guys and they will sounding fine, but a little flat maybe even noisy with some older music (think 50's/60's pop and rock). Then I switch to the MK9 and everything is smooth, deep and kind of thick.
Also nice with the Valhalla 2, but less tube-like, to me. But more crisp and clean.

I think I will be keeping these. Two times I ran them after a week each of my favourite headphones (Grado GH2's and Focal Clear's) and it took many hours to adjust to the change.

Now, for the last few days I am really enjoying them. I find the mids, the treble and even the bass to be quite satisfactory.

 

[jonathan c]

Just finishing up almost a week with the S2's. They are a nice headphone. They do like the tube amps, especially the Little Dot MK9. Very good with all genres and very easy to drive, although I am a quiet listener.
1) iFi Pro iCAN 9:00 in mid gain.
2) Violectric V220 at 0 gain. 9:00 to 10:00
3) Valhalla 2 High gain at 9:00-9:30
4) Little Dot MK9 low gain at 10:00 - 11:00

These might be my only headphones that sound better with tube amps.
Usually my best sounds are from a Violectric V220 and an iFi Pro iCAN (with a touch of bass boost). But I find these a little underwhelming with the S2's. I will be using one of the top guys and they will sounding fine, but a little flat maybe even noisy with some older music (think 50's/60's pop and rock). Then I switch to the MK9 and everything is smooth, deep and kind of thick.
Also nice with the Valhalla 2, but less tube-like, to me. But more crisp and clean.

I think I will be keeping these. Two times I ran them after a week each of my favourite headphones (Grado GH2's and Focal Clear's) and it took many hours to adjust to the change.

Now, for the last few days I am really enjoying them. I find the mids, the treble and even the bass to be quite satisfactory.

I’m a bit surprised at V220 being ‘a little underwhelming’ with S2. V281 is certainly not that, to my ears, with S2.

 

[Shane D]

I’m a bit surprised at V220 being ‘a little underwhelming’ with S2. V281 is certainly not that, to my ears, with S2.

It was fine, but with "poorer" recordings, be it Motown or old rock, flaws are more apparent. The MK9 smoothes right over them. As I said, they may be the first headphone that I ever preferred on tube amps, particularly with the old stuff. I was spending a day or two going down memory lane. All of the new stuff sounded good on just about anything, but my last impression was with the old stuff. Now they will have to wait weeks to get another shot.

Also, my Biggest impression in the end was how great the bass sounded. I did not expect that.

 

[jonathan c]

It was fine, but with "poorer" recordings, be it Motown or old rock, flaws are more apparent. The MK9 smoothes right over them. As I said, they may be the first headphone that I ever preferred on tube amps, particularly with the old stuff. I was spending a day or two going down memory lane. All of the new stuff sounded good on just about anything, but my last impression was with the old stuff. Now they will have to wait weeks to get another shot.

Also, my Biggest impression in the end was how great the bass sounded. I did not expect that.

Sometime you may get the chance to hear S2, which has 300 ohms nominal impedance, driven by a higher impedance OTL h/p/a - the ‘blossoming’, the ‘ease’, the ‘release’ are awe inspiring.