[Deftone]

Oh I definitely agree about good driver dampening on a headphone, I'm actually kind of particular about the drivers the headphones I buy have. To me the HD 660 S is an evolution of the HD 700 despite the different tuning and honestly seems to be the replacement as the HD 700 was discontinued. Some headphones with good/great drivers do have some questionable/unorthodox tuning, looking at you Nighthawks(and a few others too).

"You prefer soft drivers, right?

Yes, that’s what we use at Sennheiser. Now, a softer diaphragm on its own can have resonances in the audible range. So we add a damping material to the driver — it works similar to a car door. If a car door were pure sheet metal, you’d hear a crashing sound every time it closed.

But with dampers, you get the nice sound that a door should have. This is how our dynamic drivers behave. You just hear the basic impulse, not all those grating high-frequency resonances"

 

[Deftone]

Apparently Alex Grell still has a pair of original HD580 Precisions at home and still uses them for personal listening. https://www.crutchfield.com/S-pned4EH6FSO/learn/interview-axel-grell-sennheiser-headphones.html

'Yes, I actually have [an early edition of] the HD 580 at my house. I don’t get a lot of time to just relax and listen at home, but when I do, I’ll still use those headphones a lot.'

Equipment wise, it's probably the only thing I have in common with AG! I'm going to get a couple more balanced cables for my 6 series headphones and I'll put one on the HD660S and one on the HD 580 Precisions. That will be interesting!

That's funny I was just re reading that interview to get the quote.

 

[Mike F]

Yes you have pointed correctly as I have been shouting for some time now!
THIS ARE THE BARGAIN OF THE CENTURY!!!
believe it or not.

So.... if the HD660S are the bargain of the century, what does that make the HD650, let alone the HD6XX!?

I now think the HD660S are great headphones and, at least sonically, worth their price point (and I personally have never had a problem with the 6 series materials and build), but they are still relatively expensive, bang for buck, compared to the HD650, and if any Sennheiser headphone truly deserves the accolade 'bargain of the century', it must surely be the HD6XX.

But I'm probably taking you too seriously ( ) and I admire and share your enthusiasm for the HD660S!

 

[kman1211]

I totally agree with this, except that I might have said that the HD660S is more of a better implementation (and tuning) of the HD700's driver, rather than an evolution of the HD700.

Thats true, I was tired when I wrote that so probably didn’t choose the best way is describing it. The HD 660 S does seem to cause some controversy, to me it’s a headphone you have to spend time with to fully appreciate, more so than even the HD 600/650. Some headphones just take a while to fully appreciate, at least for me, for me the headphones that took me a while to fully appreciate(as in a few months of ownership) are the HD 600, 650, 660 S, DT 880, Amiron Home, T1.2, and the DT 480. Headphones I liked at first but grew to feel unimpressed by or to dislike were the DT 990(too laid-back in the mids and too much upper treble), DT 1990 Pro(something about its mids didn’t sit right with me in the long term and I found its treble grating long term),DT 1770 Pro, K712, and K612.

 

[Deftone]

So.... if the HD660S are the bargain of the century, what does that make the HD650, let alone the HD6XX!?

I now think the HD660S are great headphones and, at least sonically, worth their price point (and I personally have never had a problem with the 6 series materials and build), but they are still relatively expensive, bang for buck, compared to the HD650, and if any Sennheiser headphone truly deserves the accolade 'bargain of the century', it must surely be the HD6XX.

But I'm probably taking you too seriously ( ) and I admire and share your enthusiasm for the HD660S!

Well this is the 660S thread mike, all 650 fanboys are in here

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sennheiser-hd650-massdrop-hd6xx-impressions-thread.197776/page-2865

 

[Deftone]

 

[kman1211]

"You prefer soft drivers, right?

Yes, that’s what we use at Sennheiser. Now, a softer diaphragm on its own can have resonances in the audible range. So we add a damping material to the driver — it works similar to a car door. If a car door were pure sheet metal, you’d hear a crashing sound every time it closed.

But with dampers, you get the nice sound that a door should have. This is how our dynamic drivers behave. You just hear the basic impulse, not all those grating high-frequency resonances"

That is interesting, definitely explains why Sennheiser often have such pleasing midrange and treble responses. Very few headphones have a treble as non-fatiguing as the HD 6 family.

Not sure if I like softer drivers or not, never thought much about it, but it seems it depends for me as I seem to like examples from both softer and stiffer drivers. Interestingly my favorite headphone diaphragms is on the stiff side as they are aluminum and it’s not grating or fatiguing in the slightest in fact it’s easier on my ears than the HD 650 and HD 660 S. It really comes down to how well the driver is designed to overcome the drawbacks and problems that may appear due to aspects of its design.

 

[Mike F]

The HD 660 S does seem to cause some controversy, to me it’s a headphone you have to spend time with to fully appreciate, more so than even the HD 600/650. Some headphones just take a while to fully appreciate, at least for me........

Again, totally agree (it's becoming a habit!). I almost invariably find that those headphones that impress the most on first listening are the ones which I like the least after a while. In the 6 series that headphone for me was the HD600 which seemed obviously 'better' and more impressive than the 580 Precision but which I never had the inclination to listen to after a while. The HD650 by comparison was a disappointment at first but after becoming familiar with it over a period of time I started to hear and appreciate it for the great headphone that it is. The same thing is now happening for me with there HD660S!

 

[kman1211]

Again, totally agree (it's becoming a habit!). I almost invariably find that those headphones that impress the most on first listening are the ones which I like the least after a while. In the 6 series that headphone for me was the HD600 which seemed obviously 'better' and more impressive than the 580 Precision but which I never had the inclination to listen to after a while. The HD650 by comparison was a disappointment at first but after becoming familiar with it over a period of time I started to hear and appreciate it for the great headphone that it is. The same thing is now happening for me with there HD660S!

I personally liked the HD 580 more than the HD 600, and the same with vintage Senns, vintage/older Senns have this addictive musical quality to their sound at least the ones I heard, but they generally aren’t quite as refined and can have some roughness around the edges. The HD 600 is my least favorite if the HD 6 family, I do like it and it took me forever to fully appreciate it but it does lack a bit of soul compared to its brethren to me. Sometimes the ‘obviously’ better headphone isn’t more enjoyable and just go unused because of it.

 

[Mike F]

I personally liked the HD 580 more than the HD 600, and the same with vintage Senns, vintage/older Senns have this addictive musical quality to their sound at least the ones I heard, but they generally aren’t quite as refined and can have some roughness around the edges. The HD 600 is my least favorite if the HD 6 family, I do like it and it took me forever to fully appreciate it but it does lack a bit of soul compared to its brethren. Sometimes the ‘obviously’ better headphone isn’t more enjoyable and just go unused because of it.

And just to be totally clear (in case I wasn't) I also (still) prefer the HD580 Precision to the HD600!

 

[CaptainFantastic]

And just to be totally clear (in case I wasn't) I also (still) prefer the HD580 Precision to the HD600!

You forgot to add the 660S to your headphone inventory in the profile.

I own the 580, 600, and 650 and for me the order in which I reach for them is: 600, 650, 580. We all know and discussed somewhere above their different attributes. I am mentioning it just to show that some of us do find the 600 to be the best experience.

 

[Mike F]

You forgot to add the 660S to your headphone inventory in the profile.

I own the 580, 600, and 650 and for me the order in which I reach for them is: 600, 650, 580. We all know and discussed somewhere above their different attributes. I am mentioning it just to show that some of us do find the 600 to be the best experience.

Absolutely! We all hear differently and have different preferences and that's why it's great that Sennheiser still offer the 600 and 650. As an aside I wonder if (in fact I had presumed that) the original plan for the HD58X would be that it was a mass drop version of the original HD580 Precision, but that plan was changed....?

And I've updated my headphone inventory. Thanks!

 

[Deftone]

Again, totally agree (it's becoming a habit!). I almost invariably find that those headphones that impress the most on first listening are the ones which I like the least after a while. In the 6 series that headphone for me was the HD600 which seemed obviously 'better' and more impressive than the 580 Precision but which I never had the inclination to listen to after a while. The HD650 by comparison was a disappointment at first but after becoming familiar with it over a period of time I started to hear and appreciate it for the great headphone that it is. The same thing is now happening for me with there HD660S!

Good to hear you're enjoying them Mike, I'm sure they sound as excellent with your HDV800 as they do with the 820.

 

[Deftone]

For those that enjoy metal with softer segments you really should give these a try. These have been in my top rated for years.

 

[Sonic Defender]

For those that enjoy metal with softer segments you really should give these a try. These have been in my top rated for years.

Wish I could, grew up on metal but can't tolerate scream in any but the smallest proportion possible. Shame as the music is often compelling.