You could look into the Sony Z7 too, they have a strong bass and laid back treble. I myself prefer the HD660S over the HD650 when it comes to Jazz and other well recorded instrumental music. The better and powerful the source gets though, the better the HD650 get. I love them driven balanced from my Sennheiser HDVA600 amp.
I was in a show last week and I've tested many many headphones there...
Well, the 660s was on my short list but Sennheiser only had one set for demo... and there was always somebody who asked for a try. It was impossible to test it for more than 5 minutes...
There was a discount.. so I got it.
I should have done more tests...
I remember the huge soundstage, with a really fresh rendering... the kind of things that can become "bright" sometimes. Impressive first... and a bit agressive after few hours...
Actualy my 660s are in my office and plugged to youtube for a huge burn during the weekend. Next monday I'll take my decision to keep it or not.
I think it will be close from 100 hours of use.
Hello guys,
I'm new on head-fi... and this is my first post. I'm sorry but I had no time to read the 228 previous pages because I'm searching for a quick answer. I bought a pair of HD-660s in a show last week and I'm using it since 3 days now. I'm not completly satisfied with the result and I have 15 days to send it back to the shop if I don't like it... so I have to take a decision.
So, fisrt, I'm a hifi guy... I have a great system at home so well, I know few things about audio.
I also use headphones everyday since like 20 years in my office, so wearing and headphone all the time is not a problem for me.
Previously I was using a Sony headphone, a $150 pair from the year 2000... can't remember the reference but well, it was nice and pretty confortable.
I decided it was time to move to the upper league. Sennheiser is a great brand, I use a Sennheiser gaming headset on my PC at home every night, it's perfect... so the new HD 660s should be a great choice for me.
I'm using an Audioquest Dragonfly in my office, and I thought it could be a good match.
So, my 660s are new and as you can expect it's out of the box with few hours of use...
Actualy I find this set pretty agressive. During the two previous days one of my ear was painful and I thing it's because the volume was too loud. The problem is this headset make me feel I need to push the volume to a "normal level" but this level makes high freq pretty agressive. So after 2 hours of use... pain is there for all the day.
Well, I don't know if I have to wait for the set to break in, or if this "fresh listening style" is just too bright for me (I could say "monitoring style" of rendering)... Hard to say.
So, what's your opinion ?
What should I do ?
Will the sound change enough in the next few days to reduce this "too bright effect" or should I return it to the shop right now ?
Last weekend I've also tested a pair of Nighthawk. It was more on the "hifi side" of the rendering... so I deceided to go on the more forward HD-660s because I was expecting more "performance"... Technicaly it was better to my ears...
Well, now I don't know if I've taken the right decision. The Nighthawks are less impressive, but probably far more easy to accept in a basic set-up like mine...
i agree with the previous member ,, if the 660 is bright for you, then the HD6xx/650 will be better choice
although i think your dragonfly is not enough at all for best experience , it need more powerfull amp and i would suggest the ifi micro idsd
which i like a lot with my all sennheiser headphones
Edit , one more thing the 660 get a little smoother with burn-in , but still its more foword then the 6xx/650.
i agree with the previous member ,, if the 660 is bright for you, then the HD6xx/650 will be better choice
although i think your dragonfly is not enough at all for best experience , it need more powerfull amp and i would suggest the ifi micro idsd
which i like a lot with my all sennheiser headphones
Edit , one more thing the 660 get a little smoother with burn-in , but still its more foword then the 6xx/650.
I agree that the Dragonfly may affect the sound. I own the Dragonfly Red and it’s a very good match to the HD650, but I must admit it is a bit in the bright side. So a bright DAC/amp like the Dragonfly together with a slightly brighter headphone like the HD660S may produce a much brighter sound than what is expected. It’s a very good DAC/amp but it is better when mixed with a less bright Headphone like the HD650...
I agree that the Dragonfly may affect the sound. I own the Dragonfly Red and it’s a very good match to the HD650, but I must admit it is a bit in the bright side. So a bright DAC/amp like the Dragonfly together with a slightly brighter headphone like the HD660S may produce a much brighter sound than what is expected. It’s a very good DAC/amp but it is better when mixed with a less bright Headphone like the HD650...
i have the old black dragonfly and i use it some times as a DAC with the ifi micro idsd (iFi has very bad DAC),
although my main dac for the mean time is Hugo 2 , which the dragonfly doesn't hold a candle with (DAC wise)
as an amp ,, i like the ifi micro idsd the best , i don't know how it beat all my amps, even the large ones
i think it was designed with Sennheiser power requirement in mind, because it never impressed me with any other brand.
Why not to get Nighthawk ? You will have full audioquest system which is advisable due to synergy issues. Dfr will be able to do justice to Nighthawk easily.
Yeah I thought the synergy of the Nighthawk and the dragonfly could have create a good result immediatly.
Well, I thing I just bought the wrong headphone... it's not a bad one, it's just not for my taste.
Right now I have a Sennheiser G4ME PC360 on my head... it's not even playing music... I just put it on my head when I sit in front of my computer... I like this headphone, Super easy to wear for hours, well balanced in music... Maybe I shoud go for a simple product like this ?
I red the G4ME derive from the HD-558 witch is close from the HD-598... So maybe a 598se could be a good match for my everyday use in an office. I'm looking for quality but I'm not looking for a Audeze LCD4 here... just a good headphone for my everyday life. Something great and pretty undestructible for the years to come...
Yeah I thought the synergy of the Nighthawk and the dragonfly could have create a good result immediatly.
Well, I thing I just bought the wrong headphone... it's not a bad one, it's just not for my taste.
Right now I have a Sennheiser G4ME PC360 on my head... it's not even playing music... I just put it on my head when I sit in front of my computer... I like this headphone, Super easy to wear for hours, well balanced in music... Maybe I shoud go for a simple product like this ?
I red the G4ME derive from the HD-558 witch is close from the HD-598... So maybe a 598se could be a good match for my everyday use in an office. I'm looking for quality but I'm not looking for a Audeze LCD4 here... just a good headphone for my everyday life. Something great and pretty undestructible for the years to come...
Well, the HD660S plays well from every source that I have. Even from the sound chip on the different PCs that I use. I have never any treble issues and I consider myself as treble sensitive. Maybe it is just the USB dongle which is the problem. How does the HD660S sound out of your Stereo Amplifier in your living room?
Well, the HD660S plays well from every source that I have. Even from the sound chip on the different PCs that I use. I have never any treble issues and I consider myself as treble sensitive. Maybe it is just the USB dongle which is the problem. How does the HD660S sound out of your Stereo Amplifier in your living room?
If your main objective is to use them in an office why not get something like ZX300A and use the balanced cable?I find HD660S to be a great headfone for listening to music and musical enjoyment provided you like sennheiser sig.It has very good open soundstage although not the widest,pinpoint imaging,very good detail especially rich highs without being too analytical,great senn mids,good clarity and only lacks a bit in the sub bass,it's not the deepest but that apparently depends on your source.
I find that sennheiser has struck a great balance between musical enjoyment and technical performance,being very good in each area that matters for audiophile experience.You already liked them during your audition that's why you bought them so my guess is source synergy with dragonfly.Give them a chance!
Yeah I thought the synergy of the Nighthawk and the dragonfly could have create a good result immediatly.
Well, I thing I just bought the wrong headphone... it's not a bad one, it's just not for my taste.
Right now I have a Sennheiser G4ME PC360 on my head... it's not even playing music... I just put it on my head when I sit in front of my computer... I like this headphone, Super easy to wear for hours, well balanced in music... Maybe I shoud go for a simple product like this ?
I red the G4ME derive from the HD-558 witch is close from the HD-598... So maybe a 598se could be a good match for my everyday use in an office. I'm looking for quality but I'm not looking for a Audeze LCD4 here... just a good headphone for my everyday life. Something great and pretty undestructible for the years to come...
I've heard the HD660S a few times and on various DACs/amps and while its technically a better headphone than the HD650 I still like the HD650 over the HD660S due to a few factors such as price (HD660S is over priced IMO), I have a decent amp to drive my HD650 (BH Crack), and I found the treble of the HD660S a bit metallic sounding at times. With that said I'd recommend the HD660S to friends who want a sound signature that is close to the HD650 but don't want to deal with DACs/amps since the HD660S seems to sound pretty good with almost all the DAPS and amps that I've tried it with while the HD650 is a touch harder to drive properly IMO.
I find the hd660s treble metallic too, they don't render the natural plastic sound of the cymbals, it's almost lile the cymbals are made of metal or something, that's how bad it is at times. They don't render the natural velvety sound of the triangle either. Incredible disappointment.
Well, I re-bought the hd650, anyway, if I want to feel that the cymbals have the protective cloth on them when played. Not that I mind it when I'm tired.
I find the hd660s treble metallic too, they don't render the natural plastic sound of the cymbals, it's almost lile the cymbals are made of metal or something, that's how bad it is at times. They don't render the natural velvety sound of the triangle either. Incredible disappointment.
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