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A few days ago, I received notice that the Sennheiser HD 660 S arrived, but I had a flight to catch. Priorities, priorities... A bit pressed for time, the (reasonable) plan was to go straight to the airport. Against my better judgment, Brian (
@AxelCloris) and I stopped by our shipping address to pick up the HD660S, then I asked him to stop at the office because I wanted to pick up an HD 650 (so that I could have both for my trip). While at the office, I decided to rush a frequency response measurement --
which is why I'm calling the measurement attached to this post a PRELIMINARY measurement. (I don't like doing measurements first, but I wanted to grab one to post, as I wasn't going to be back at the office during the weekend.)
Somehow I still made my flight.
I've been listening to the Sennheiser HD660S all weekend, and here are my impressions / comments in bullet point form:
- Years ago, one of the great Head-Fi debates involved the "Sennheiser veil." Some felt the HD600/650 were veiled; others (myself included) did not. We used to debate this so often that it was (as the saying goes) like beating a dead horse. It was such a common argument that one of the Head-Fi'ers (I can't remember who) came up with an emoticon that represented the beating of the Sennheiser veil horse.
- Again, I was not among those who felt the HD600/650 veiled.
- I mention this because the new Sennheiser HD 660 S, in direct comparison, is clearly more resolving than the Sennheiser HD 650. While I still wouldn't come close to calling the HD650 veiled, the HD660S is definitely a clearer window into the recording, and this is particularly evident when listening to denser, busier music. There's more detail across the audio band. If you like the level of resolution of the HD650, you'll like the HD660 more. Even if you think you don't want more resolution from your HD650, trust me, you want more resolution from your HD650.
- The driver is based on the Sennheiser HD 700's driver, but it does not sound like an HD700 -- it sounds like an HD600-series headphone, through and through. Only improved. If I hadn't been told so, and if I didn't see the obvious HD700 driver resemblance, I wouldn't have guessed this simply from listening. What would I have guessed? I'd have guessed that they had come up with an HD800-like ring driver for the HD600-type chassis to get the improved performance. No, it doesn't sound like an HD 800 either, but the improved detail retrieval now puts it more in league with the HD800 (though the HD800 (and especially the HD800S which I prefer to the HD800) is still the more resolving headphone).
- I'd call imaging / soundstage width similar to the HD650, but there's an immediacy with up-close sonic image objects that gives it a greater sense of depth for me. I'm digging this.
- Tonal balance is quite similar to the Sennheiser HD650, but to my ears there's more flesh, more meat, more impact across the audio band. Also, the treble sounds more extended, faster, with more shimmer, but still smooth and very refined.
- If you definitely prefer the HD800 (or HD800S) to the HD650, you'll probably still prefer it to the HD660S.
- If you couldn't stand the HD650 for whatever reason, I don't think the HD660S will necessarily change your mind. If your main reason was a desire for more resolution, it'll come closer. If your main reason was tonal balance, keep looking.
- I think overwhelmingly most will prefer the HD660S to the HD650. To my ears so far, I'm not sensing any disadvantages versus the HD650. None.
Following is a PRELIMINARY frequency response comparison between the HD660S and the HD650. These measurements were made several months apart. I want to do a single measurement session with the Sennheiser HD 660 S and the HD 650 which we'll try to do this week. We've been increasingly employing the use of real-time FFT monitoring of both channels playing noise during positionings (in addition to low-frequency square waves and sine waves), so I'd like to use the same methods for a better, more consistent comparison of both. That said, this frequency response comparison (despite being months apart (and rushed with the HD660S)) still turned out well.
The audio measurements in this post were made using:
I should also mention that the earpads on the HD660S feel more roomy to me. It seems to me they scooped out the inside surface of the earpads. While I do think this may contribute to the HD660S feeling less clampy, its headband may also actually be less clampy.
My feeling so far is that Sennheiser played this update to this family of headphones
perfectly, by putting a high priority on maintaining the familial sound signature while improving its sound quality across the board. So, yes, my early impressions of the new Sennheiser HD 660 S are strong.
Very strong.