[Brahmsian]

Alan, I've never heard any HiFimans, could you explain a bit about why you prefer these to the 650/660? I'm interested in the HE400i, etc, but can't seem to form a clear impression from what people are saying about them...I've heard so many say that the 600's are ideal for classical, but I can't say I agree. Probably two thirds of my music listening is classical, so that's my priority, and I was kind of lukewarm about them for it..

You didn't like the 600 for classical; I didn't like the 650. Classical sounds nice on the HE400i but I ended up trading them for the HE560, which handles classical even better. Much more vibrant. But if you're extremely sensitive to treble, keep in mind that the HE560 has more of it. But it's good quality treble.

I asked about the 660 for classical a few pages back and the answer I got was that the 700 was probably a better HP for that, and that's my sense, too. I'm probably crossing the 660 off my list. But that's not to say they aren't a good pair of headphones.

 

[DavidA]

Alan, I've never heard any HiFimans, could you explain a bit about why you prefer these to the 650/660? I'm interested in the HE400i, etc, but can't seem to form a clear impression from what people are saying about them.

Rob, I've heard so many say that the 600's are ideal for classical, but I can't say I agree. Probably two thirds of my music listening is classical, so that's my priority, and I was kind of lukewarm about them for it. I felt like they needed more presence in the bass and low mids for balance, even if that would be 'warmer than neutral' for some. In the 600s case it wouldn't be, for me. The bass is there, but it felt like in comparison there's too much emphasis on the upper half of the range, and it gives strings a kind of thin sound. It felt to me like they needed to be fleshed out somehow, idk, to give violins more 'body' and realism, for example. I'd be interested what you think about this, since you've heard more than I have.

If you like the over all sound of the HD600 but want a touch more bass/sub-bass then the HE400i might be for you but just remember that it a planar driver so it might sound off at first listen. The HE400i is also easier to pair since its a low impedance headphone and not as demanding on amps. I've sold my HD600 and replaced it with a Ypsilon driver custom build and while I still have my HD650 and a HD6XX (for modding) arriving tomorrow none of these are really great with large orchestra classical. I'd look at the HD700, HD800, HE560 or T1 for classical but you will also need to consider amps that pair well with these. Another alternative is a Stax system which does classical quite well but to some they lack the bass impact with some genres and one of the reasons I've traded my SR009 with my best friend since its his only headphone and he gets much more satisfaction out of them than I ever did.

While I am going to get to hear a HD660s in a week or two I don't have any expectations that it will be a must have "upgrade" but you never know.

 

[AlanU]

Alan, I've never heard any HiFimans, could you explain a bit about why you prefer these to the 650/660? I'm interested in the HE400i, etc, but can't seem to form a clear impression from what people are saying about them.

Rob, I've heard so many say that the 600's are ideal for classical, but I can't say I agree. Probably two thirds of my music listening is classical, so that's my priority, and I was kind of lukewarm about them for it. I felt like they needed more presence in the bass and low mids for balance, even if that would be 'warmer than neutral' for some. In the 600s case it wouldn't be, for me. The bass is there, but it felt like in comparison there's too much emphasis on the upper half of the range, and it gives strings a kind of thin sound. It felt to me like they needed to be fleshed out somehow, idk, to give violins more 'body' and realism, for example. I'd be interested what you think about this, since you've heard more than I have.

FancyRB, if you have amplification that has some decent current I'd truly suggest trying to at least borrow a pair of HE560. I have tinnitus in my right ear and the treble from the Hifiman HE560 does not trigger it with my Peachtree shift portable amplifier or when I use my Grant fidelity buffer with Burson Virtuoso. After listening and owning a hifiman HE560 I cannot listen to my HD650 at all. The difference is quite substantial in realism and for vocals I "feel the music" while find my HD650 they are singing right inside my ear canal.

Please understand HE560 is not perfect but it makes the music alive rather than just listening to it with a HD650/660. The 400i to my ears has more sparkle and life compared to the HD650. The HE560 however is simply a nice big jump in SQ over the 400i. The He400i has less resolution but still has more energy over the HD650. I think vocals seems more analog and realism with the 400i over the HD660. So many factors are involved like DAC used and if it's solid state and I must mention amp used to test too.

If you buy the 400i from Amazon I think you'd be able to return it if your not happy. Same goes for the HE560.

When I initially listened to the Senn HD660 I was truly hoping I'd be amazed in the SQ and being comparable to the HE560. I will say the HD660 is not on par with the Hifiman HE560 at all when I used the ifi Pro Icana setup I was listening too.

I'm still using the current low price point HE560 and comparing it to much more expensive HP out there. I prefer the HE560 over the Mr. Speaker Aeon open. On the same hand I'd take the Aeon Open headphone and pay more than buying the cheaper HD660.

Inger Marie Gundersen "Let it be me" is a good test for me and the moving and "feels" of the song can be felt with my HE560 while the HD800 sound good but not intimate with vocal realism. I love my HE560 for female vocal and the 400i does sound a hair congested but not like the senn HD650 IMO. The HD660 does have more "fresh air" in clarity than the HD650.

That's my take but that's my ears LOL!!!

 

[Brahmsian]

If you like the over all sound of the HD600 but want a touch more bass/sub-bass then the HE400i might be for you... I'd look at the HD700, HD800, HE560 or T1 for classical but you will also need to consider amps that pair well with these.

DavidA is not the first person I hear discussing the 400i's bass this way, but for me the 400i barely had any bass. My pair was totally anemic. Also, on the claim that you will need to shop around for amps that pair well with the HE560, I use it with an AudioQuest DragonFly Red and it sounds great. That is not to say that it won't sound better with the right pairing, but IMO that shouldn't scare people off this headphone. A little old DragonFly Red will drive it pretty well.

 

[pietcux]

This is my rig. Love it.

 

[Rob80b]

...............
Rob, I've heard so many say that the 600's are ideal for classical, but I can't say I agree.

Those were Sennheiser's claims 20 years ago not mine, I was an AKG guy back in the 80,90s.... using 240DF in the studio and at home....but most phones were fairly bland sounding in comparison to today's offerings....wasn't until the entry of home theatre and subs that folks starting demanding prodigious amount of base from headphones.
Times have changed and Senn's obviously current best offering for Classical and natural recorded music are the 800/800S....the 660S possibly filling the gap for everything else but now there are hordes of alternative phones available from as many manufacturers.

 

[Bengkia369]

Might wanna DIY the extra balance cable to 2.5mm balanced for both my AK240 and Opus #2 imo a very capable dap. Just wanna try out how it sounds.
Right now either pair my HD660s with Chord Hugo or Phatlab Phantasy class A tube amp, both sounds super clean and nice!

 

[Bengkia369]

Female vocals are really sweet on HD660S driven by Chord Mojo, wonder if Sennheiser using Mojo to tune HD660S?!

 

[Caruryn]

Vocals with mojo are really sweet and slightly forward but to answer your question no,sennheiser and mojo just mesh well together as i recall from my ie800 and generally most have the same overall signature with different strenghts of course,based on price.Now if only HD660s had the same textured and rich bass of ie800,i could forgive the lack of deep low end extension but for the price i can't complain.

 

[pietcux]

Female vocals are really sweet on HD660S driven by Chord Mojo, wonder if Sennheiser using Mojo to tune HD660S?!

Female vocals are also sweet from the Sony WM1A.

 

[Bengkia369]

Vocals with mojo are really sweet and slightly forward but to answer your question no,sennheiser and mojo just mesh well together as i recall from my ie800 and generally most have the same overall signature with different strenghts of course,based on price.Now if only HD660s had the same textured and rich bass of ie800,i could forgive the lack of deep low end extension but for the price i can't complain.

Yes, HD660S does sounds more forward on Mojo.
And the HD660S mids are really nice, slightly warm and not over colored, very intoxicating.
I disagree on HD660S having the same sound signature as IE800. I used to owned the IE800 its much brighter sound with more treble extention compared to HD660S. Both are very different sound and if I don't recalled wrongly, IE800 also have deeper bass.

 

[Bengkia369]

Female vocals are also sweet from the Sony WM1A.

Yup, I believe so WM1Z is a very musical DAP.

 

[Caruryn]

Female vocals are also sweet from the Sony WM1A.

Yes, HD660S does sounds more forward on Mojo.
And the HD660S mids are really nice, slightly warm and not over colored, very intoxicating.
I disagree on HD660S having the same sound signature as IE800. I used to owned the IE800 its much brighter sound with more treble extention compared to HD660S. Both are very different sound and if I don't recalled wrongly, IE800 also have deeper bass.

You misunderstood I was referring to the overall sennheiser signature which is true for both ie800 and 660s and agrees with mojo, you know you are listening to a sennheiser product with both.As far as everything else i agree,the ie800 has noticeably more treble extension,air,better bass quality as well as clarity,but it is not a bright iem,slightly on the warm side it is just that Hd660S are noticeably warm.HD660S has the thicker mids though.

 

[jcolls15]

ordered my 660s Not supposed to get them until after christmas but ill be looking forward to it. Which amp/dac Should i pair this with? something in the 300 dollar range. Even a combo would be fine.

 

[Caruryn]

ordered my 660s Not supposed to get them until after christmas but ill be looking forward to it. Which amp/dac Should i pair this with? something in the 300 dollar range. Even a combo would be fine.

Probably schiit Jotunheim if you can stretch another $100 because of balanced output and based on the HD650 pairing,or look at different schiit dac/amps that fit your budget.