[vaibhavp]

I totally agree with you. Tonal accuracy in a headphone surpasses all other considerations.



I'm a sucker for fidelity as well (you may have realised!) but this is exactly why I ultimately prefer the 6--'s to the 800's

600 has more accurate tone than 650.

650 is more about pleasing colouration as I feel.

 

[Mike F]

600 has more accurate tone than 650.

650 is more about pleasing colouration as I feel.

I find the 600 to be more neutral for sure, but there are certain frequencies (upper mids, low treble particularly) where I find the 650 to be more accurate, tonally. I also find it to be a little bit more resolving of fine treble detail (even though it's darker) and I prefer it's overall presentation.

The above is also why, given all of the descriptions of the 600 vs 650 vs 660 that I've read, I think I would prefer the 650 to the 660. One day no doubt I will find out.......

 

[vaibhavp]

We have posters here with superhuman ability of distinguishing hd600 from hd650 as far as resolution is concerned.

Then there are ppl who cant differentiate 650 from 800.

Different strokes for different folks i guess.

 

[gefski]

Interesting comments. Which TOTL phones do you have in mind? I’ve yet to find one that does tone like the HD6- - . Tone is the magical thing that does it for me moreso than space.

Stax 404LE (use daily), HE-1000 (borrow occasionally).

I'm taking tone to mean timbre, texture, touch, and it's critical for me as well.

 

[donlin]

Stax 404LE (use daily), HE-1000 (borrow occasionally).

I'm taking tone to mean timbre, texture, touch, and it's critical for me as well.

Thanks for the response. Yes, that’s exactly what I mean by tone. I haven’t heard the Stax you have and haven’t heard the HE-1000 under ideal conditions. I had the Stax 007 mk II for a while but couldn’t get past the overly warm tonal balance. Would like to hear some of the newer stax phones though.

 

[kman1211]

I find the 600 to be more neutral for sure, but there are certain frequencies (upper mids, low treble particularly) where I find the 650 to be more accurate, tonally. I also find it to be a little bit more resolving of fine treble detail (even though it's darker) and I prefer it's overall presentation.

The above is also why, given all of the descriptions of the 600 vs 650 vs 660 that I've read, I think I would prefer the 650 to the 660. One day no doubt I will find out.......

The HD 600 is less system finicky and more neutral than the HD 650 but I agree it’s not as accurate tonally as it has some roughness in the upper midrange and lower treble region which does bother some people. Whereas the HD 650 can suffer a bit of being too polite in terms of dynamics unless good synergy is achieved. The HD 660 S seems to be a headphone meant to alleviate these drawbacks on the older siblings, thus it’s essentially the HD 600/650 blend(with some differences sonically) so many people have been asking for over the years.

 

[Mike F]

The HD 600 is less system finicky and more neutral than the HD 650 but I agree it’s not as accurate tonally as it has some roughness in the upper midrange and lower treble region which does bother some people. Whereas the HD 650 can suffer a bit of being too polite in terms of dynamics unless good synergy is achieved. The HD 660 S seems to be a headphone meant to alleviate these drawbacks on the older siblings, thus it’s essentially the HD 600/650 blend(with some differences sonically) so many people have been asking for over the years.

All I can say is that there is (perhaps not surprisingly) very good synergy between the HD 650 and the HDVD 800, especially balanced.

One slight annoyance and extra disincentive for me not to try the HD 660 S is that, although it comes with a balanced cable, I wouldn't be able to use it (balanced) with my HDVD 800. I'd have to buy yet another cable with a four pin balanced connection for that. Hmmm.

 

[donlin]

All I can say is that there is (perhaps not surprisingly) very good synergy between the HD 650 and the HDVD 800, especially balanced.

One slight annoyance and extra disincentive for me not to try the HD 660 S is that, although it comes with a balanced cable, I wouldn't be able to use it (balanced) with my HDVD 800. I'd have to buy yet another cable with a four pin balanced connection for that. Hmmm.

There is indeed excellent synergy with that combo. I had the HDVA 600 for quite a while which is an identical amp but without the dac. Aren’t you using a 4 pin cable with your HD650? It would of course work with the HD660S as well.

 

[Mike F]

There is indeed excellent synergy with that combo. I had the HDVA 600 for quite a while which is an identical amp but without the dac. Aren’t you using a 4 pin cable with your HD650? It would of course work with the HD660S as well.

Yes, absolutely. I suppose what it comes down to is the fact that I can't ever see me wanting to give up the combination of the balanced HD 650 and HDVD 800. I could get a 660 and try it with the balanced cable from the 650 of course, but, if I liked the 660 enough to want to keep it I'd have to buy another balanced cable for it. No huge problem but like I say, a disincentive, given the current price of the 660 (and the cables!).

Remind me please, which amp and cables are you using for your 650 and 660?

 

[pietcux]

All I can say is that there is (perhaps not surprisingly) very good synergy between the HD 650 and the HDVD 800, especially balanced.

One slight annoyance and extra disincentive for me not to try the HD 660 S is that, although it comes with a balanced cable, I wouldn't be able to use it (balanced) with my HDVD 800. I'd have to buy yet another cable with a four pin balanced connection for that. Hmmm.

It did cost me 5€ and 15 minutes to convert the standard 6.3 mm cable into a balanced 4 pin XLR.

 

[donlin]

Yes, absolutely. I suppose what it comes down to is the fact that I can't ever see me wanting to give up the combination of the balanced HD 650 and HDVD 800. I could get a 660 and try it with the balanced cable from the 650 of course, but, if I liked the 660 enough to want to keep it I'd have to buy another balanced cable for it. No huge problem but like I say, a disincentive, given the current price of the 660 (and the cables!).

Remind me please, which amp and cables are you using for your 650 and 660?

I’m using the Simaudio Moon 230HAD. The amp is single ended only. I still had the sennheiser amp when I got the moon and preferred the moon with the HD650 and HD800S at that time. I use the stock sennheiser cable which is actually a very good sounding cable. I also have Furitech and Nordost Blue Heaven cables for HD6– and consistently prefer the stock cable in careful comparisons (so much for expectation bias).

 

[Mike F]

It did cost me 5€ and 15 minutes to convert the standard 6.3 mm cable into a balanced 4 pin XLR.

That's always possible, but it's still slightly annoying to have to cut the end off a perfectly good SE or Pentacon balanced cable and fit your own plug on a brand new set of headphones......... But I agree that it needn't be a cost factor. However, given how much I like what I have, I am going to wait at least until the price of the 660 falls considerably.

 

[donlin]

That's always possible, but it's still slightly annoying to have to cut the end off a perfectly good SE or Pentacon balanced cable and fit your own plug on a brand new set of headphones......... But I agree that it needn't be a cost factor. However, given how much I like what I have, I am going to wait at least until the price of the 660 falls considerably.

You have way more patience than me. I was able to resist buying the 660S for only about two weeks after Music Direct got them. Very glad I didn’t keep waiting though!

 

[pietcux]

You have way more patience than me. I was able to resist buying the 660S for only about two weeks after Music Direct got them. Very glad I didn’t keep waiting though!

I was even faster, lol...

 

[DavidA]

That's always possible, but it's still slightly annoying to have to cut the end off a perfectly good SE or Pentacon balanced cable and fit your own plug on a brand new set of headphones......... But I agree that it needn't be a cost factor. However, given how much I like what I have, I am going to wait at least until the price of the 660 falls considerably.

Agree, around $250-$290 is where I'd buy them considering my HD600 was purchased at $239 and my HD650 was purchased at $289 but it still bugs me that the HD6XX is $200. I know I might be waiting a long time but who knows ....