[SilverEars]

To me the HD660S is closer to the HD600 than the HD650 since its not rolled off in the highs like the HD650 and the bass is cleaner and more detailed with most gear where the HD650 does better with an OTL amp. I'm like you and found the HD600 a touch on the bright side and the small peak at 3.5-5khz did bother me at times.

How large is the output impedance of the OTL? HD650 is a 1/3 greater in impedance, so relatively it won't react as much as the 660 with the lower impedance.

If you are going to compare the two, the best way is to do it on a low impedance amp. Otherwise, due to such a difference in impedance of the cans, with significant output impedance, there will be more of skew in the response(between the two headphones) that will throw off the comparison. Other words, it's best not to do a comparison with an OTL.

 

[DavidA]

How large is the output impedance of the OTL? HD650 is a 1/3 greater in impedance, so relatively it won't react as much as the 660 with the lower impedance.

If you are going to compare the two, the best way is to do it on a low impedance amp. Otherwise, due to such a difference in impedance of the cans, with significant output impedance, there will be more of skew in the response(between the two headphones) that will throw off the comparison. Other words, it's best not to do a comparison with an OTL.

When I compared the HD650 and HD660S a few months back one of the things we noted was that the HD650 is more sensitive to an amps output impedance while the HD660S is quite accommodating to many different setups. How the HD650 and HD660S react to different setup is what I feel accounts for the various impressions and why some feel the HD660S is not a replacement for the HD650 since for those who have a decent/good OTL amp like a BH Crack, WA3 or Elise the HD650 is one that takes advantage of the amp and to me is a better pairing while the HD660S is for those that don't want to deal with amps/DACs since it does sound quite good out of even smart phones and lower power DAPs like a Fiio X1.

While I can see the point of using a low impedance amp to compare both it puts the HD650 at a disadvantage while using a high impedance amp puts the HD660S at a disadvantage so there is no way to have a level playing field when comparing them and to me this is why they really are not designed for the same person/setups. Another thing we noticed was that the HD660S doesn't seem to scale with better gear since to me it sounded as good from a S8 phone, Fiio X1, Icon HP-8mk2, Elise, HA-501, EC ZDS, Dark Star and MicroZOTL2 with very subtle differences while with the HD650 there is a noticeable change in how it sounds going thru the same set of amps that would be noticed by most.

 

[koover]

I have a 3m Venus Audio cable that I'm not using anymore since I've learned to build my own, paid $65 but will sell for $50 + shipping. It has a 6.3mm jack and looks like this:

This is the other Venus Audio cable that I got for my HE400i a while back, sorry I don't have a picture of the HD6 cable since its in storage at present along with much of my other audio gear.

I'm glad you posted that. I just bought 3 XLR cables from them. Hope they're good as they're pretty inexpensive. Ain't gonna spend $150 and up for 3 cables. Rather get another headphone for that.

 

[Bazirker]

Can anyone recommend a custom cable for the 6XX that isn’t the same damn price as the headphones themself? Lol, the stock cable is gross and too short for me.

I don’t need godlike sound/quality or anything. Just something around 7-9ft and looks good for hopefully under or at $50?

Get one of these next time it drops: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/venture-electronics-headphone-cables

 

[Wydz]

Get one of these next time it drops: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/venture-electronics-headphone-cables

how much was the drop?

 

[Bazirker]

how much was the drop?

It depends on the cable options you pick. Mine was $62, and I got HD6XX Cable 1.8m - 4 Pin Balanced.

 

[Stabby]

Just ordered the Topping D30 DAC. I'm curious how much of a difference it will make. It sounds a bit too veiled with the crappy UCA202.

 

[baiyy1986]

I have HD650 but still very tempted to buy the HD600.

I have HD600 but still very tempted to buy the HD6xx.

 

[Quadfather]

I honestly think the bass sounds better on my Sennheiser HD 650 headphones straight out of my Diana, rather than the Bottlehead Crack.

 

[SilverEars]

I honestly think the bass sounds better on my Sennheiser HD 650 headphones straight out of my Diana, rather than the Bottlehead Crack.

Does the crack sound a bit warm to you? Bass sounding a bit loose?

 

[Quadfather]

Does the crack sound a bit warm to you? Bass sounding a bit loose?

No, bass has less presence compared to Diana's sweet mid-bass thump and body. It also seems way too mid-range focused, and annoyingly neutral off of the Crack. It is almost as if bass is in the background, rather than being the backbone of the song on Crack. I am listening straight from Diana now and it sounds really beautiful.

 

[aisalen]

No, bass has less presence compared to Diana's sweet mid-bass thump and body. It also seems way to mid-range focused, and annoyingly neutral off of the Crack. It is almost as if bass is in the background, rather than being the backbone of the song on Crack. I am listening straight from Diana now and it sounds really beautiful.

What if you do not use EQ on your diana?

 

[Quadfather]

What if you do not use EQ on your diana?

I use PMEQ, but I will check.

 

[Quadfather]

I use PMEQ, but I will check.

The bass slam is very nice either way, but it's just that with my bass-heavy settings the bass has a wider frequency breath that goes into the low mid-range. A little more backbone, but the mid-range is a little sweeter without. I could listen to both settings depending on the songs. The bottom line is, Diana has more power than any other portable that can drive these harder to drive headphones well.

 

[Quadfather]

My PMEQ for HD650 with Diana.