[Caruryn]

From the Sony WM1A on 65% unbalanced and 40% balanced. Both on high gain.

I'm a bit surprised,do you listen on low volume?I thought i read psikey on ZX300 forum say that he could barely drive the 660 s on high gain balanced.Don't WM1A/ZX300 have just 40mw difference on amp stage?

 

[Eldair]

I have now listen Focal Elear, Hifiman Edition X v2 and HD 660S and in my opinion HD 660S is clear winner. I like so much about my HD 600 but 660s give touch bit more bass what 600 lacks but still have same singnature in midds and highs. Basicly HD 660S seems to be perfect hp for me.

 

[donlin]

I have now listen Focal Elear, Hifiman Edition X v2 and HD 660S and in my opinion HD 660S is clear winner. I like so much about my HD 600 but 660s give touch bit more bass what 600 lacks but still have same singnature in midds and highs. Basicly HD 660S seems to be perfect hp for me.

I have had all of those same headphones too and would agree that the 660s is quite a bit better than those. The only other headphone I have right now besides the 660s is the Focal Clear. Not sure which I prefer yet which amazing because the Clear is a great headphone.

 

[pietcux]

I'm a bit surprised,do you listen on low volume?I thought i read psikey on ZX300 forum say that he could barely drive the 660 s on high gain balanced.Don't WM1A/ZX300 have just 40mw difference on amp stage?

l would characterize me as normal volume listener. I honestly do not follow the ZX300 thread, as I have the real deal already. And you never know the history of peoples ears. I did not attend too many live rock concerts and also do not listen to EDM or Metal. I am a long time Bob Dylan fan. He doesn't make you deaf. So my ears are quite intact. The WM1A is worth a try, that's for sure. I am curious about the HD820. They come with a 4.4mm cable, so I will walk to my dealership and give them a run from the WM1A. I am not afraid of the 300 Ohms. I had a HD800 for some month, I ran them from my EU capped ZX1. It was ok, but I needed something between 85 and 100%. Let me report how I find the HD660S from the ZX1.

 

[Caruryn]

l would characterize me as normal volume listener. I honestly do not follow the ZX300 thread, as I have the real deal already. And you never know the history of peoples ears. I did not attend too many live rock concerts and also do not listen to EDM or Metal. I am a long time Bob Dylan fan. He doesn't make you deaf. So my ears are quite intact. The WM1A is worth a try, that's for sure. I am curious about the HD820. They come with a 4.4mm cable, so I will walk to my dealership and give them a run from the WM1A. I am not afraid of the 300 Ohms. I had a HD800 for some month, I ran them from my EU capped ZX1. It was ok, but I needed something between 85 and 100%. Let me report how I find the HD660S from the ZX1.

Thanks for the response,yes i almost forgot the different volume models around the world.If psikey bought the Zx300 from uk and didn't remove the vol cap that makes sense that he had them full blast while you just need 40% on balanced

 

[pietcux]

Thanks for the response,yes i almost forgot the different volume models around the world.If psikey bought the Zx300 from uk and didn't remove the vol cap that makes sense that he had them full blast while you just need 40% on balanced

But with the EU cap, you have no high gain at all.
Now to my ZX1. EU capped, but sound device in general settings disabled. Angus an Julia Stone Wherever you are, volume unbalanced 45%. And it is a powerful sound I would say. Man that is a wonderful player of it's own.

 

[Caruryn]

So i can assume that there is a big difference in the amp stage of WM1A vs ZX300 if high gain only works in uncapped new sonys.Interesting..

 

[YtseJamer]

I have now listen Focal Elear, Hifiman Edition X v2 and HD 660S and in my opinion HD 660S is clear winner. I like so much about my HD 600 but 660s give touch bit more bass what 600 lacks but still have same singnature in midds and highs. Basicly HD 660S seems to be perfect hp for me.

So you like the HD660s with Prog-Metal ?

 

[psikey]

Thanks for the response,yes i almost forgot the different volume models around the world.If psikey bought the Zx300 from uk and didn't remove the vol cap that makes sense that he had them full blast while you just need 40% on balanced

Was UK but did uncap, but may still have other limit compared to Japanese version.

I alo have decent hearing for a 50yo. I can still hear all tones with the Adapt sound config on Samsung phones.

 

[Eldair]

So you like the HD660s with Prog-Metal ?

Yep defenetly. I would say those (660S) is genremaster there. Ne Obliviscaris-Urn and Persefone-Aathma pure bliss.

 

[YtseJamer]

Yep defenetly. I would say those (660S) is genremaster there. Ne Obliviscaris-Urn and Persefone-Aathma pure bliss.

Great

I'm also a big fan of Persefone and Ne Obliviscaris. You should also try the new Enslaved.

 

[pietcux]

Was UK but did uncap, but may still have other limit compared to Japanese version.

I alo have decent hearing for a 50yo. I can still hear all tones with the Adapt sound config on Samsung phones.

There is only on level of cap. If you uncapped like I did on the WM1A you got the loudest possible level. I have the German version uncapped. maybe the ZX300 simply has less volume. If not I simply hear a little better than you.

 

[donlin]

Steve Guttenberg has a great review in his Audiophiliac blog on CNET. Pretty much right on the money.
www.cnet.com/Audiophiliac

 

[musikverein]

In the past few weeks, I've listened with an increasingly well burned in HD660s several times and with a whole range of current usual suspects in direct benchmark. I can say - slowly I get used to the freshman and at closer look he has a few peculiarities.

Do not use too warm sources, DACs and amps, otherwise HD660s will quickly become lukewarm if not slow and too romantic like his older brother, simply bland and without nice features.
If you feed it from a transparent source, fine resolution and with very good recordings then the new Sennheiser nerd becomes a good comrade. Tonaly rich and balanced, surprisingly musical, three-dimensional but not inflated (which is actually very useful indeed) and obviously meant by Sennheiser as MidFi without flaw. In a direct comparison it is then outclassed only by noticeably more expensive headphones be it other dynamics or orthos.
I do consider HD660s to be quite future-proof with a street price which is already swiftly settling down towards realism and to mention it, including a balanced cable.

HD660s is one that does substance a n d detail and above all it‘s dedicated to the music. So the legend continues, in a way.

 

[kiromn]

I have hd660s for several days and when i got used with its sound signature i like it more and more. I run it through Schiit Vali2 amp with Tesla E88CC gold pin tube, which gives transperent and airy sound
The only thing that these cans really lack is sub bass, but their midrange is magnificent. The sound is rich and harmonic. I mostly prefer listening to live recordings like Joss Stone World tour. You just forget that you have headphones on your head and it feels like you are there with the singers.
And some little “cheat” about the sub bas. If you have quallity subwoofer you can connect it with additional dac to your computer and use vb-audio voicemeeter driver to run both dacs simultaneously. These way you can get the missing sub bass for the hd660s )