[olddtfan]

May I ask to which genre you listen, my HD660S only shouts, when the artist does. And please add the gear that was used to demo them.

Onkyo Reciver Onkyo cd player mostly prog rock prog metal classic rock and vocal jazz.

 

[FancyRobotUnicorn]

The 660s adds a bit of low end compared to a 700, but takes away a little bit of that treble energy the 700 has. This is really a nice in-between for the 650 and 700. It’s like their R&D department smashed the two together really hard to create an awesome new model.

In terms of the X2, it’s a very different sound signature. The X2 has a lot of low end for an open-back. You will not get that quantity with the 660S. I find the 660S to be both more resolving and natural.

Meringo, I'm in the same boat as Pedro, trying to look into the 700 more seriously since they're about the same price now. What I'm concerned about is how the soundstage compares. The 600's soundstage is really confined and 3-blob to me. Some are saying the soundstage is significantly bigger on the 660s than 6x0 but how would you say it compares to the 700 in that regard?

 

[meringo]

Meringo, I'm in the same boat as Pedro, trying to look into the 700 more seriously since they're about the same price now. What I'm concerned about is how the soundstage compares. The 600's soundstage is really confined and 3-blob to me. Some are saying the soundstage is significantly bigger on the 660s than 6x0 but how would you say it compares to the 700 in that regard?

Soundstage has certainly improved over the rest of the 600 series. With that said, you still have the 3-blob thing going on, it’s just the regions are a bit wider? I’m also a PC gamer and now use the 660S for that purpose, if that says anything about soundstage and positioning. I feel these are just as good as my PC37X (sold) which MadLustEnvy just said was the best gaming option on the market. Too bad I don’t still have them to directly compare!

 

[chimney189]

Does anyone know if the grills can be changed out for earlier models? I'm not a big fan of the embossed logo.

 

[Eldair]

Have anyone compare Hd660s to Focal Elear? Would like to know about this.

 

[pietcux]

Does anyone know if the grills can be changed out for earlier models? I'm not a big fan of the embossed logo.

Sure that can be done, most parts are identical

 

[pietcux]

Onkyo Reciver Onkyo cd player mostly prog rock prog metal classic rock and vocal jazz.

I think especially your rock and metal preferences might benefit from the laid back music rendering of the HD650. Be glad you have them. Some female jazz voices might also benefit.

 

[pietcux]

Soundstage has certainly improved over the rest of the 600 series. With that said, you still have the 3-blob thing going on, it’s just the regions are a bit wider? I’m also a PC gamer and now use the 660S for that purpose, if that says anything about soundstage and positioning. I feel these are just as good as my PC37X (sold) which MadLustEnvy just said was the best gaming option on the market. Too bad I don’t still have them to directly compare!

MLE just added the Sennheiser Game One to his list. Seems to be even better than the PC37X.

 

[obsidyen]

Anyone can compare these and Fostex TH 610?

 

[Sigmaaa]

I think especially your rock and metal preferences might benefit from the laid back music rendering of the HD650. Be glad you have them. Some female jazz voices might also benefit.

Most people say bright and aggressive sounding headphones are good for rock and metal. There's also an EQ setting for rock, with elevated bass-midbass and high-mids and highs.
In my opinion the recording matters a lot more than the genre, some records are overly bright and harsh, even unbearable, others are dark and would benefit from bright headphones.

 

[meringo]

MLE just added the Sennheiser Game One to his list. Seems to be even better than the PC37X.

It's the same headphone -- different color.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

A couple pages back, I talked about how I noticed a big difference in sound quality between an old DIY OCC copper cable I had made for my HD650 and the stock cable of the HD660 (I found the stock cable to be better, surprisingly). Before that happened, I was mostly of the opinion that cables didn't make an appreciable difference in sound quality. To settle the case, in my mind, I decided I had to up my DIY component game and make a top-of-the-line cable to compare against the stock cable of the 660. So that's what I did. Cable components are Moon Audio Black Dragon bulk cable (7N UP-OCC copper, 4x 21.5 AWG conductors), Furutech FT-2PS-F rhodium-plated connectors, and an Eidolic 6.3mm rhodium plated plug with all soldering done with Cardas Quad Eutectic silver.

Did about an hour of switching back and fourth between my Black Dragon cable and the stock cable with a select few tracks, got the switch down to about 9 seconds. And....the Black Dragon cable does sound better! Given my earlier findings, I am not shocked, but the Black Dragon has better detail/clarity/resolution than the stock. The track that really nailed it down was "Veni Et Vidi" from the piece Requiem for My Friend by Zbigniew Preisner (a beautiful piece of choral music, great test track, IMO).

So that settles it, I am drinking the Kool-Aid: cables do matter, and this one is making my HD660s sing even better than before.

(Here is a gratuitous glamour shot )

 

[swmtnbiker]

No worries, do your thang!

I was able to do a short listening session with the Crack today. Compared to the HA-1bass is a bit looser and less controlled. The Crack sounds a little more spacious than the Oppo, but the HA-1 has better detail and instrument placement. I'd really have to say that it would be a matter of personal preference. I used three different power tubes with the Crack, and I wasn't able to move the pot above the 8 o'clock position with any of them while listening to the HD 660S. I definitely prefer the HA-1 to the Bottlehead with this headphone.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I was able to do a short listening session with the Crack today. Compared to the HA-1 the bass is a bit looser and less controlled. The Crack sounds a little more spacious than the Oppo, but the HA-1 has better detail and instrument placement. I'd really have to say that it would be a matter of personal preference. I used three difference power tubes with the Crack, and I wasn't able to move the pot above the 8 o'clock position with any of them while listening to the HD 660S. I definitely prefer the HA-1 to the Bottlehead with this headphone.

Gotcha, well thanks for sharing your thoughts! I suppose dropping the impedance must've killed the pairing. With the 650 being discontinued, looks like the Crack+600 would be the way to go, although there are going to be about a zillion used 650s floating around in the world for the next 20 or so years.

 

[swmtnbiker]

Gotcha, well thanks for sharing your thoughts! I suppose dropping the impedance must've killed the pairing. With the 650 being discontinued, looks like the Crack+600 would be the way to go, although there are going to be about a zillion used 650s floating around in the world for the next 20 or so years.

Isn't that that the truth? At any rate, the Crack sounds darned good with 660S, don't get me wrong. It just doesn't have the synergy that the HD 650 has with this amp. I think you're right about the impedance.