[Deftone]

When I first listened to them they sounded like they were missing treble, compared to the HD-600. Now I realize that it wasn't that it was missing, it was just more refined. I really do like this headphone now and I have had the 600s as my only headphone for the last 8 years.

Some headphones give an instant wow factor and show off and others take a little time for you to appreciate, the former while being impressive at first usually becomes fatiguing but the latter are the headphones that become the keepers for long term listening. HD600/650/660 fit this discription quite well. I personally prefer musicality over pure technical ability. I find many headphones/ IEMS that have this incredible technical ability lack soul and sound too "mechanical".

 

[Ruinedforfun]

Some headphones give an instant wow factor and show off and others take a little time for you to appreciate, the former while being impressive at first usually becomes fatiguing but the latter are the headphones that become the keepers for long term listening. HD600/650/660 fit this discription quite well. I personally prefer musicality over pure technical ability. I find many headphones/ IEMS that have this incredible technical ability lack soul and sound too "mechanical".

Reminds me of the hd800, very resolving but sometimes I feel like im listening to the headphone rather than the music... Been thinking about grabbing a hd6x0 again,i miss the pleasant nature of the hd6x0.

 

[parimento1]

Some headphones give an instant wow factor and show off and others take a little time for you to appreciate, the former while being impressive at first usually becomes fatiguing but the latter are the headphones that become the keepers for long term listening. HD600/650/660 fit this discription quite well. I personally prefer musicality over pure technical ability. I find many headphones/ IEMS that have this incredible technical ability lack soul and sound too "mechanical".

I couldn't have said it better myself. My first "real" headphone was the HD-650s and I really didn't like how flabby and overdone the bass was and how the midrange was recessed relative to the treble. I bought the 600 on the recommendation of a salesman (those usually don't go well), expecting them to sound the same as the 650, boy was I wrong. They are damn near perfect and I still have them. I bought those in like 2011 or so.

The 660 sounds even more natural than the 600 now. I originally thought the lack of bite and sizzle was an absence of treble, while now I see it was an increase in neutrality-- at least to my ears. They sound fantastic with the Cardas cable. At CanJam I tried the Focal Clear, which has a similar sound signature to these. Very smooth.

 

[parimento1]

No meme

Reminds me of the hd800, very resolving but sometimes I feel like im listening to the headphone rather than the music... Been thinking about grabbing a hd6x0 again,i miss the pleasant nature of the hd6x0.

I tried the 800S at CanJam. It is still very treble heavy. Does not sound natural, especially voices. You should get the HD-600 again, from what the Sennheiser representative told me, they were discontinued already. I don't know if that is true though, because they seem to be for sale everywhere.

 

[Deftone]

I couldn't have said it better myself. My first "real" headphone was the HD-650s and I really didn't like how flabby and overdone the bass was and how the midrange was recessed relative to the treble. I bought the 600 on the recommendation of a salesman (those usually don't go well), expecting them to sound the same as the 650, boy was I wrong. They are damn near perfect and I still have them. I bought those in like 2011 or so.

The 660 sounds even more natural than the 600 now. I originally thought the lack of bite and sizzle was an absence of treble, while now I see it was an increase in neutrality-- at least to my ears. They sound fantastic with the Cardas cable. At CanJam I tried the Focal Clear, which has a similar sound signature to these. Very smooth.

I had no idea the Focal Clear was so similar in sound, i will try to remember to check them out when i go to Canjam London.

 

[Ruinedforfun]

I tried the 800S at CanJam. It is still very treble heavy. Does not sound natural, especially voices. You should get the HD-600 again, from what the Sennheiser representative told me, they were discontinued already. I don't know if that is true though, because they seem to be for sale everywhere.

A end of an era truly, if the hd600 and hd650 are gone. Damn even the hd800s still has that annoying 6k and 10k peak. Ouch..

 

[Deftone]

Im curious about what type of sound sennheiser will go for with the HD900, warm, euphoric, smooth or analytical laser precision again.

I know they only release new flagship products when they think its worth it but damn its been 10 years since HD800.

 

[Deftone]

I have a question for everyone, how loud are you listening to your HD660/650/600? I have just done a few tests using a decibel meter with my iPhone and im getting peaks of 80db and average 73db which (80db) is aparently fine for 9 hours use per day but once you start going higher even 5-10 db more the hours allowed cut down a lot. 90db only 2 hours per day.

 

[Mike F]

I have a question for everyone, how loud are you listening to your HD660/650/600? I have just done a few tests using a decibel meter with my iPhone and im getting peaks of 80db and average 73db which (80db) is aparently fine for 9 hours use per day but once you start going higher even 5-10 db more the hours allowed cut down a lot. 90db only 2 hours per day.

This is an interesting post and has made a couple of things occur to me. Firstly though, although I think you figures are probably correct, there's NO WAY that I would recommend anyone to listen to headphones at 90dB for a few hours a day. You WILL suffer from hearing loss over time. Generally anything over 85dB is considered potentially harmful, depending on conditions and length of exposure.

What has occurred to me though is that the volume people like to listen at undoubtedly must have an influence on which headphones they prefer. I think that one of there reasons that I like the HD650 so much (apart from the naturalness - correct tonality - of acoustic instruments, particularly in the mids) is probably that I listen at relatively low volumes, so the extra bass mid/bass just acts like a built in 'loudness' button (if anyone remembers what that is!) and brings the whole sound into balance without having to crank up the volume. Other headphones probably don't start to 'get going' until higher volumes are reached. Personally I'm never going to risk my hearing to enjoy those headphones.

Remember people, if you have even a sensation of tiredness or fatigue in you ears, and especially if you ever get any mild ringing, your are doing (permanent) damage!!

 

[Deftone]

This is an interesting post and has made a couple of things occur to me. Firstly though, although I think you figures are probably correct, there's NO WAY that I would recommend anyone to listen to headphones at 90dB for a few hours a day. You WILL suffer from hearing loss over time. Generally anything over 85dB is considered potentially harmful, depending on conditions and length of exposure.

What has occurred to me though is that the volume people like to listen at undoubtedly must have an influence on which headphones they prefer. I think that one of there reasons that I like the HD650 so much (apart from the naturalness - correct tonality - of acoustic instruments, particularly in the mids) is probably that I listen at relatively low volumes, so the extra bass mid/bass just acts like a built in 'loudness' button (if anyone remembers what that is!) and brings the whole sound into balance without having to crank up the volume. Other headphones probably don't start to 'get going' until higher volumes are reached. Personally I'm never going to risk my hearing to enjoy those headphones.

Remember people, if you have even a sensation of tiredness or fatigue in you ears, and especially if you ever get any mild ringing, your are doing (permanent) damage!!

Those are the hearing healthy safety recommended listening times, even though it does say safe at 90db for up to 2 hours i wouldn't do it myself because i just find it too loud for me personally. Around 75db seems to be my sweet spot.

The last thing you said can be an indication of permanent hearing loss but not always, in my case for example, since i was around 13 i get sudden deafness and then ringing occasionally which last for a few minutes and can happen several times per week but this is not due to loud listening but a sinus problem and other health conditions/ medications of different people can be the cause. I have had my hearing tested extensively and it is very good for my age (28) and can hear up to around 17.5khz.

Anyway i dont want this to get too serious just interested in what volumes everyone likes to listen to their headphones and i think 660 sound best around 70db and below same for 650.

 

[nicholars]

Hm has anyone noticed differences between 660s, or differences with age / burn in etc?

I had some borrowed for a few days and I liked them very much, I purchased a different pair and I think they sound "worse" than the ones I tried before, they sound brighter in the treble and more "tizzy" than the other ones. The bass also seems a bit "worse".

Do you think this is to do with the age of the pads or anything to do with driver age? Maybe the other pair had more used pads ?

 

[parimento1]

I had a similar issue. Mine are opposite, they are much darker and warmer than expected, but I like it.

Try letting them burn in.I am curious if they are having production issues with driver variation.

Hm has anyone noticed differences between 660s, or differences with age / burn in etc?

I had some borrowed for a few days and I liked them very much, I purchased a different pair and I think they sound "worse" than the ones I tried before, they sound brighter in the treble and more "tizzy" than the other ones. The bass also seems a bit "worse".

Do you think this is to do with the age of the pads or anything to do with driver age? Maybe the other pair had more used pads ?

 

[DavidA]

This is an interesting post and has made a couple of things occur to me. Firstly though, although I think you figures are probably correct, there's NO WAY that I would recommend anyone to listen to headphones at 90dB for a few hours a day. You WILL suffer from hearing loss over time. Generally anything over 85dB is considered potentially harmful, depending on conditions and length of exposure.

What has occurred to me though is that the volume people like to listen at undoubtedly must have an influence on which headphones they prefer. I think that one of there reasons that I like the HD650 so much (apart from the naturalness - correct tonality - of acoustic instruments, particularly in the mids) is probably that I listen at relatively low volumes, so the extra bass mid/bass just acts like a built in 'loudness' button (if anyone remembers what that is!) and brings the whole sound into balance without having to crank up the volume. Other headphones probably don't start to 'get going' until higher volumes are reached. Personally I'm never going to risk my hearing to enjoy those headphones.

Remember people, if you have even a sensation of tiredness or fatigue in you ears, and especially if you ever get any mild ringing, your are doing (permanent) damage!!

What I underlined, so very true and I think its why many don't like Grado's since they try to play them louder to get more bass and it only makes them way too bright/harsh. I like your "loudness" button take and yes I'm old enough to know what it is LOL. Its one of the reasons I like the MDR-7506 since its like it has a loudness button at low listening levels IMO (granted mine are modded with dynamat, Shure velour pads and removeable cables).

IMO the HD660S is not very picky when considering amps and to me this is one of its strengths over the older HD600, 650/6XX but I'd still take the HD650 + good/great OTL amp, just a bit more musical/engaging to me. Worst thing about HD660S is the price IMO at this point in time, under $300 would be where it should be priced, similar to HD600 and HD650.

 

[Mike F]

What I underlined, so very true and I think its why many don't like Grado's since they try to play them louder to get more bass and it only makes them way too bright/harsh. I like your "loudness" button take and yes I'm old enough to know what it is LOL. Its one of the reasons I like the MDR-7506 since its like it has a loudness button at low listening levels IMO (granted mine are modded with dynamat, Shure velour pads and removeable cables).

IMO the HD660S is not very picky when considering amps and to me this is one of its strengths over the older HD600, 650/6XX but I'd still take the HD650 + good/great OTL amp, just a bit more musical/engaging to me. Worst thing about HD660S is the price IMO at this point in time, under $300 would be where it should be priced, similar to HD600 and HD650.

Thanks, David. I'd still like to hear the HD660S sometime, but I'm in no hurry, and I'm certainly not going to pay around €400 which is what they still are in Europe. In fact thomann.de which is where I get all of my pro stuff has recently listed them at €409, and they usually have the best price on anything they sell.

I recently also came across a post of yours from a while back where you described a listening session at a friends place. He has two daughters who are musicians, and they both thought that the HD650 was tonally more correct for piano and strings (their instruments if I remember correctly) than the HD660S, especially in the all-important mids. In my comparisons with other headphones it's always been the tonal correctness of acoustic instruments that the HD650 seems to get so right. As an acoustic musician (wind player), tonal correctness in a headphone has always been so important to me (that, and low level detail), so your report of their comments was very interesting.

However, you've tempted me to repurchase some MDR-7506's! I always thought they were great and terrible at the same time! They are also the headphone that convinced me that very little can be deduced about how a headphone will sound from FR graphs. One of the best on paper they sound terribly unnatural to me and the bass, although virtually flat, sounds boomy and detatched (yes, like the effect of the loudness button on a budget integrated amp from the 70'S!). Fun to have around though, and for certain things they do sound good!

 

[Deftone]

Hm has anyone noticed differences between 660s, or differences with age / burn in etc?

I had some borrowed for a few days and I liked them very much, I purchased a different pair and I think they sound "worse" than the ones I tried before, they sound brighter in the treble and more "tizzy" than the other ones. The bass also seems a bit "worse".

Do you think this is to do with the age of the pads or anything to do with driver age? Maybe the other pair had more used pads ?

Nothing on my set but the pads breaking in made the sound warmer as expected.