Sennheiser HD660S... Finally a successor for the HD650?
Apr 2, 2021 at 1:57 PM Post #7,366 of 9,628
I already own a pair of 660S, and I am waiting for the arrival of a pair of Massdrop 6XXs. Everyone says the two are different, and the 6XX were not expensive, so I figured having two pairs of headphones can maybe help me learn how headphones can be different. Or maybe I will see that I am incapable of hearing the difference. I will see.
I am/was in your exact boat. I really like my 660's and I recently re-bought the HD6XX's to go with a new-to-me tube amp.
They both sound great on my LD MKIII! I am currently running my HD6XX's through a Violectric V220 amp, which also has a Schiit Loki in the chain.
Funny how things change. I had these headphones three and a half years ago with my first amp (SS) and I thought they were flat and boring. Now I am Really enjoying them.

I am curious as to whether I will want to keep both sets of 'phones several months from now.
 
Apr 2, 2021 at 2:13 PM Post #7,367 of 9,628
I am/was in your exact boat. I really like my 660's and I recently re-bought the HD6XX's to go with a new-to-me tube amp.
They both sound great on my LD MKIII! I am currently running my HD6XX's through a Violectric V220 amp, which also has a Schiit Loki in the chain.
Funny how things change. I had these headphones three and a half years ago with my first amp (SS) and I thought they were flat and boring. Now I am Really enjoying them.

I am curious as to whether I will want to keep both sets of 'phones several months from now.
Keep them. I have two pairs of HD660s and I can not bring myself to sell one. I should also mention one is painted white.
 
Apr 2, 2021 at 2:38 PM Post #7,368 of 9,628
Keep them. I have two pairs of HD660s and I can not bring myself to sell one. I should also mention one is painted white.
I would never keep two copies of one headphone. I am even iffy about two copies from the same family. I just sold my Sundara's since I have the Edition XX's, which I find a lot more interesting.
I am Huge on variety.
 
Apr 2, 2021 at 3:10 PM Post #7,369 of 9,628
Well, the HD 58X Jubilee, 600, 650/6XX, and 660S all share an enclosure and mounting system that is mostly the same. That will make a common influence on the tone for all those headphones, with mostly the driver and resonators to distinguish between them.

To add the HD 650/6XX character to what you described above, it has the most midbass and least treble, and this is evident in frequency response graphs as well as listening tests. Another thing about the HD 650/6XX is that the highs have a softer impact, though the micro detail level is still very high. It was initially designed as a stablemate with the HD 600, the HD 650 offering a less fatiguing signature for long listening sessions with still good bass presence at slightly lower volume settings, but still accurate enough that an audio engineer could get used to it and edit music with it.

In contrast to the HD 650, the HD 660S does sound more lively and agile, with more separation between notes. The HD 650 does still have a bit more midbass, and the HD 600 does have more treble and upper mids. I do still perceive the HD 660S as the highest technical performer of the series.

If you guys ever drop the HD 660S down to the HD600 price level, I expect you would soon see a surge in sales. The price is what holds it back from being more popular. Especially here in the US when the HD6XX are less than half as much.
 
Apr 2, 2021 at 4:05 PM Post #7,370 of 9,628
I would never keep two copies of one headphone. I am even iffy about two copies from the same family. I just sold my Sundara's since I have the Edition XX's, which I find a lot more interesting.
I am Huge on variety.

What about a headphone you REALLY enjoy and you know will be going out of production soon, or already has? Would you buy a backup pair then? :)
 
Apr 2, 2021 at 4:49 PM Post #7,371 of 9,628
What about a headphone you REALLY enjoy and you know will be going out of production soon, or already has? Would you buy a backup pair then? :)
I’ve done it with shoes! But it’s also good to give shoes a “day off” to dry out, and Sennheiser’s don’t change every year, so I’ve just made a bad analogy 😅
 
Apr 2, 2021 at 11:50 PM Post #7,373 of 9,628
What about a headphone you REALLY enjoy and you know will be going out of production soon, or already has? Would you buy a backup pair then? :)
Nope. I LOVE my Focal Elex's, but when they break or wear out, I will get Clear's.
I LOVE my Grado GH2's, but when they break or wear out, I will get an RS or GS model.

For the most part, I am a big believer in that saying "You can't go home again." However I gave the HD600's two tries because people keep saying they're great. Not true, in my experience.

I have been hearing that the the HD6XX'S/HD650's really shine with tube amps, so I gave them another chance. I am Very happy with this purchase.
 
Apr 3, 2021 at 12:02 AM Post #7,374 of 9,628
Nope. I LOVE my Focal Elex's, but when they break or wear out, I will get Clear's.
I LOVE my Grado GH2's, but when they break or wear out, I will get an RS or GS model.

For the most part, I am a big believer in that saying "You can't go home again." However I gave the HD600's two tries because people keep saying they're great. Not true, in my experience.

I have been hearing that the the HD6XX'S/HD650's really shine with tube amps, so I gave them another chance. I am Very happy with this purchase.
Hi, excatly, I dont listen to HD600/650 so far. I live in a mega city in China, maybe I should go out and have a look today because of the Qingming vacation today. The people on the chinese commuity keep saying that the hd660s's sound stage is disorder, the imaging is disorder. It sounds really ridiculous, since I think the imaging of hd660s is quite well.

For my side, I have more experience on IEMs, but I have only one overhead headphone. Compare to the Etymotic er4sr, the 660s is dark at some frequency region, and more powerful bass. But i could say that the sound of hd660s could be regarded as "neutral"

I think i enjoy it, but the price is a little expensive. It took me about 380 dollars on taobao.com

Cheers.
 
Apr 3, 2021 at 12:12 AM Post #7,375 of 9,628
Hi, excatly, I dont listen to HD600/650 so far. I live in a mega city in China, maybe I should go out and have a look today because of the Qingming vacation today. The people on the chinese commuity keep saying that the hd660s's sound stage is disorder, the imaging is disorder. It sounds really ridiculous, since I think the imaging of hd660s is quite well.

For my side, I have more experience on IEMs, but I have only one overhead headphone. Compare to the Etymotic er4sr, the 660s is dark at some frequency region, and more powerful bass. But i could say that the sound of hd660s could be regarded as "neutral"

I think i enjoy it, but the price is a little expensive. It took me about 380 dollars on taobao.com

Cheers.
That's interesting as my experience it's the HD 600 and HD 650 that have some imaging and soundstaging weakness and not the HD 660 S which I always found to image better than the HD 600/650. The only time I preferred the HD 600/650 in general to the HD 660 S was on very nice OTL tube amps. Most reviews here also seem to say the HD 660 S images better than the HD 600 and HD 650. Interesting to hear they are received differently in the Chinese community.
 
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Apr 3, 2021 at 7:21 AM Post #7,378 of 9,628
That's interesting as my experience it's the HD 600 and HD 650 that have some imaging and soundstaging weakness and not the HD 660 S which I always found to image better than the HD 600/650. The only time I preferred the HD 600/650 in general to the HD 660 S was on very nice OTL tube amps. Most reviews here also seem to say the HD 660 S images better than the HD 600 and HD 650. Interesting to hear they are received differently in the Chinese community.ng
The passive sound stage of hd660s maybe is smaller. You can check such as rtings, they have some subjective criteria to decribe passive sound stage and imaging. They give low score of soundstage of 660s, while imaging is exellent, even higher than hd800s. The imaging of hd660s probably one of the best in dynamic headphone.
 
Apr 3, 2021 at 8:10 AM Post #7,380 of 9,628
Is there anybody following this thread who is using the Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin Ear Pads with their HD660s headphones?
Thanks

I do. I find them better than stock in every way, but it's all very subjective. IMHO they do what the graph on the Dekoni website indicates and are 100% worth it.
 

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