I think you mean precise and clear without exaggeration or peaks. It's a wonderfully tuned treble that's always free of fatigue.
It's weird how for about a year the 660 have been around £340 but one week ago shot back up to the launch price of £430.
Sennheiser HD660S... Finally a successor for the HD650?
- Thread starter Levanter
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I think you mean precise and clear without exaggeration or peaks. It's a wonderfully tuned treble that's always free of fatigue.
It's weird how for about a year the 660 have been around £340 but one week ago shot back up to the launch price of £430.
I really like the violectrics too, some say they don't scale but I find amps with low distortion and high power bring out the best performance in 660S.
Mike F
Headphoneus Supremus
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Isn’t that true if all (good) headphones though?
phthora
Headphoneus Supremus
The other end of the spectrum being tube amps.
Yes they scale very well.
From M9 to V280 with high end dac is night and day.
But they just sound good from the M9 something that can't be said for HD650.
I don't know, depends on the amplifier and what kind of distortion it has, some make the sound thicker and softer, some make it tighter and cleaner, more precise and tube amps are known for artificially enhancing soundstage and blunting transients for a more pleasant sound.
I prefer the very low distortion route because I love the sound of the 660S and I don't want to alter it just hear more of the same sound but "better". 660S sounds alright out of a phone but you lose some separation, air and that great bass impact and sounding a bit compressed at times but still quite enjoyable.
Definitely I was still disappointed when spending thousands on an amp to pair with 650 but that was my fault for trying make it in to something it wasn't.
That is the wrong route we usually take especially when we are new at this hobby.
We buy a headphone which at the end we don't like it a lot and then spend a lot of money to electronics trying to transform it to something that it isn't instead of buying a new one!
But when we find our great beloved then it's legit to spend (if we can) for a better gear trying to maximize it's performance.
We buy a headphone which at the end we don't like it a lot and then spend a lot of money to electronics trying to transform it to something that it isn't instead of buying a new one!
But when we find our great beloved then it's legit to spend (if we can) for a better gear trying to maximize it's performance.
Kinda like photography, where it is sharp and smooth because it’s clear and clean, free of grain and approximations?
I know that bug, it bit me too. HD 660S removes any doubt of a veil or slowness, but still has that musical tone that sometimes the HD 800 sounds a little too bare and analytical. I really like the balance struck by the HD 660S (YMMV, but I tried to describe it).
Yeah, Stephen from Z-Reviews can be a fun guy to hang out with, but he said they were the same in his video which got me scratching my head because I had heard them before him, and didn’t agree at all. I mean, there’s some FR and impedance similarities, but even in the Z-Reviews video, after 12 minutes, he finally tries on both back to back and notes that there is actually a difference. Problem is I think a lot of people only watched the first 3 minutes, had confirmation bias hoping they could just spend $150, and have the same headphone if they take out the foam between the HD 58X’s driver and outer grille.
I have some contacts with Sennheiser, and I asked Ronja Harste and Axel Grell... they said the foam is mostly there for aesthetics (to hide the inside) and to improve the driver’s survivability in drop tests. It’s low density foam, mostly acoustically transparent. I have a bass-light HD 58X Jubilee (model at the top), and it has the foam too... just, a smaller piece, and attached to the driver mount rather than being bigger and covering everything behind the outer grille. If it is bass lighter, and both versions of the HD 58X Jubilee have the foam, it logically isn’t causing much bass to reflect and reinforce the foundational.
Please ignore the messy background of my room:
Top: HD 58X Jubilee Pre-Release (bass light)
Middle: HD 660S
Bottom: HD 650
Electrolite
100+ Head-Fier
Kinda like photography, where it is sharp and smooth because it’s clear and clean, free of grain and approximations?
I know that bug, it bit me too. HD 660S removes any doubt of a veil or slowness, but still has that musical tone that sometimes the HD 800 sounds a little too bare and analytical. I really like the balance struck by the HD 660S (YMMV, but I tried to describe it).
Yeah, Stephen from Z-Reviews can be a fun guy to hang out with, but he said they were the same in his video which got me scratching my head because I had heard them before him, and didn’t agree at all. I mean, there’s some FR and impedance similarities, but even in the Z-Reviews video, after 12 minutes, he finally tries on both back to back and notes that there is actually a difference. Problem is I think a lot of people only watched the first 3 minutes, had confirmation bias hoping they could just spend $150, and have the same headphone if they take out the foam between the HD 58X’s driver and outer grille.
I have some contacts with Sennheiser, and I asked Ronja Harste and Axel Grell... they said the foam is mostly there for aesthetics (to hide the inside) and to improve the driver’s survivability in drop tests. It’s low density foam, mostly acoustically transparent. I have a bass-light HD 58X Jubilee (model at the top), and it has the foam too... just, a smaller piece, and attached to the driver mount rather than being bigger and covering everything behind the outer grille. If it is bass lighter, and both versions of the HD 58X Jubilee have the foam, it logically isn’t causing much bass to reflect and reinforce the foundational.
Please ignore the messy background of my room:
Top: HD 58X Jubilee Pre-Release (bass light)
Middle: HD 660S
Bottom: HD 650
Very nice that you got the prototype HD58X, did you even compare it with the final production?
I'm very curious now, the final 58X interior (over the bass port) is very similar to the HD5 series, even with the exposed green PCB.
Is the HD58X prototype like this as well?
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@Evshrug
I agree with you that Sennheiser with HD660s have struck the perfect balance between technical ability and enjoyment.
I must confess that I think that this headphone is the best Sennheiser product at present time.
I am even thinking of selling my HD800S....
I agree with you that Sennheiser with HD660s have struck the perfect balance between technical ability and enjoyment.
I must confess that I think that this headphone is the best Sennheiser product at present time.
I am even thinking of selling my HD800S....
BrunoArrais
New Head-Fier
That's exactly what I did once I got my HD660S. No regrets.
This is why it's worth its RRP to me even though everyone complains about it being too expensive.
If I paid £500 I wouldn't complain because I'm in the camp that this is an upgrade over the 650 and that's exactly what I got for my money.
Loaner is returned.
Conclusion after three days of extensive listening sessions
Conclusion after three days of extensive listening sessions
Loaner is returned.
Conclusion after three days of extensive listening sessions
And the HD800 up for sale, it made quite the impression.
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