Sennheiser HD660S... Finally a successor for the HD650?
May 25, 2018 at 2:08 AM Post #3,421 of 9,585
I'm pretty sure that Sennheiser pretty much said that it shouldn't make any difference. What does make a real difference is the pads breaking in and adjusting to your head shape. Also headband clamp loosening etc.

Car engine comparisons do not apply headphones or electronics for that matter. Manufacturers do not say that you are supposed to limit fps for the first 30 days...

Yup. Sennheiser said that so I would follow that here.

Blanket statements about burn in are pointless. Some manufacturers do recommend burn in for particular models.
 
May 25, 2018 at 3:02 AM Post #3,422 of 9,585
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May 25, 2018 at 7:43 AM Post #3,423 of 9,585
It doesn't need rocket science to know that all speakers are made of mechanical parts , with constant use it will change in one way or another, these changes will effect the way this speaker function, which in hand will be subtle or significant change to the final output (sound).

For some users they prefer the sound out of the box and this will be a degradation in sound quality for them ,

But for others it could be more dynamics , less peaky treble , more bass, which mean better sound ,,

Finally we have to remember that some users may not listen to jazz or classical music, that these changes will show at its best,

or some users use there headphones out of a week amp or dac, or don't use high quality source, which will mask any change in sound,

or maybe they don't believe in burning and there brains will dismiss any actual change in sound.

In conclusion it is a matter of personal choice and everybody is entitled to his judgment based on his experience.
 
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May 25, 2018 at 7:53 AM Post #3,424 of 9,585
...........

Technically, which part of HP should burn in (except pads)? A magnet or diaphragm or coil? lol, nooo:smile:

All three possibly…the diaphragm for sure, it’s compliancy will definitely change over the first few hours of use having been subjected for the first time to thousands of vibrations per second…becoming more subtle and is most noticeable at first in the highest and lowest notes and as the Mylar starts to yield details will become more apparent…now depending on the phone these changes may or may not be completely obvious.

I’ve noticed this with new HD650s and more so with the 700s and the 660Ss where all 3 phones at first lack suitable dynamics and details and may sound somewhat harsh and undefined in producing all frequencies simultaneously (remember low bass and high treble notes along with everything in between need to be reproduced, music is a very complex waveform) when fresh out of the box but changed quite significantly in the first few hours or days.

Not too sure about all headphones but speakers quite often have an additional spider support, which also has to be worked in.

Depending on the construction… the voice coil may also go through similar changes but not so much in compliancy but by actually loosing some ruff edges, regardless of how minute they be, as it is forced again thousands of times a second, between the magnet and basket or plate, which is why if phones fail it is usually shortly after the first few days or weeks.

And the magnet for similar reasons may also experience similar a similar break in through wear and tear, now we are speaking of almost microscopic though.

The amazing thing though is that many of us had/have headphones that may be decades old…I came across a few that I had in the late sixties, early seventies that still adequately function, so that any changes heard over the first few days seem the reach a plateau. Of course this only applies to the drivers and not pads unfortunately which actually account for quite a bit of a headphones performance.
 
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May 25, 2018 at 9:01 AM Post #3,425 of 9,585
It doesn't need rocket science to know that all speakers are made of mechanical parts , .........
For many they may believe it’s magic…imagine being on the surface of the speaker cone (diaphragm) while it’s trying to create all the dynamics and subtleties of a symphony orchestra in full flight, while the driver is being pumped in and out to its maximum excursion in producing the kettle drums… it also has to mechanically vibrate in such a way to finely reproduce the high notes of the piccolos and lushness of the strings.

And what if there is a vocalist…not only is it magic it’s a miracle that one little vibrating driver can reproduce all this information by having a magnet move back and forth thousands of times a second by having an alternating electrical signal being applied to the voice coil which is attached to the diaphragm.

Not to forget how all this electrical current being feed to the headphones can actually transmit all this information in the first place…from the mikes, DACs, amps..etc, etc, etc…the signal that finally reproduces an analogue signal from the vibrations of the diaphragm which sets the air molecules in motion which then arrive at the ear drum…which then sends this received sensation to our brains which then deciphers it as music….this IMHO is absolutely mind boggling. Lol : )

Just to add...taking all of the above into consideration it's amazing that we can actually even determine the sonic differences between the 650s and its successor the 660S.....:)
 
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May 26, 2018 at 7:26 PM Post #3,426 of 9,585
Anybody not using the 4.4 mm cable that comes with these headphones that wants to sell it PM me, as I'd be willing to purchase it!
 
May 27, 2018 at 5:00 PM Post #3,428 of 9,585
May 27, 2018 at 5:39 PM Post #3,429 of 9,585
Jun 1, 2018 at 12:01 PM Post #3,430 of 9,585
Hello guys,
I'm new on head-fi... and this is my first post. I'm sorry but I had no time to read the 228 previous pages because I'm searching for a quick answer. I bought a pair of HD-660s in a show last week and I'm using it since 3 days now. I'm not completly satisfied with the result and I have 15 days to send it back to the shop if I don't like it... so I have to take a decision.

So, fisrt, I'm a hifi guy... I have a great system at home so well, I know few things about audio.
I also use headphones everyday since like 20 years in my office, so wearing and headphone all the time is not a problem for me.

Previously I was using a Sony headphone, a $150 pair from the year 2000... can't remember the reference but well, it was nice and pretty confortable.
I decided it was time to move to the upper league. Sennheiser is a great brand, I use a Sennheiser gaming headset on my PC at home every night, it's perfect... so the new HD 660s should be a great choice for me.
I'm using an Audioquest Dragonfly in my office, and I thought it could be a good match.

So, my 660s are new and as you can expect it's out of the box with few hours of use...
Actualy I find this set pretty agressive. During the two previous days one of my ear was painful and I thing it's because the volume was too loud. The problem is this headset make me feel I need to push the volume to a "normal level" but this level makes high freq pretty agressive. So after 2 hours of use... pain is there for all the day.

Well, I don't know if I have to wait for the set to break in, or if this "fresh listening style" is just too bright for me (I could say "monitoring style" of rendering)... Hard to say.

So, what's your opinion ?
What should I do ?
Will the sound change enough in the next few days to reduce this "too bright effect" or should I return it to the shop right now ?

Last weekend I've also tested a pair of Nighthawk. It was more on the "hifi side" of the rendering... so I deceided to go on the more forward HD-660s because I was expecting more "performance"... Technicaly it was better to my ears...
Well, now I don't know if I've taken the right decision. The Nighthawks are less impressive, but probably far more easy to accept in a basic set-up like mine...

Thanks for your help in advance...
 
Jun 1, 2018 at 12:18 PM Post #3,431 of 9,585
Hello guys,
I'm new on head-fi... and this is my first post. I'm sorry but I had no time to read the 228 previous pages because I'm searching for a quick answer. I bought a pair of HD-660s in a show last week and I'm using it since 3 days now. I'm not completly satisfied with the result and I have 15 days to send it back to the shop if I don't like it... so I have to take a decision.

So, fisrt, I'm a hifi guy... I have a great system at home so well, I know few things about audio.
I also use headphones everyday since like 20 years in my office, so wearing and headphone all the time is not a problem for me.

Previously I was using a Sony headphone, a $150 pair from the year 2000... can't remember the reference but well, it was nice and pretty confortable.
I decided it was time to move to the upper league. Sennheiser is a great brand, I use a Sennheiser gaming headset on my PC at home every night, it's perfect... so the new HD 660s should be a great choice for me.
I'm using an Audioquest Dragonfly in my office, and I thought it could be a good match.

So, my 660s are new and as you can expect it's out of the box with few hours of use...
Actualy I find this set pretty agressive. During the two previous days one of my ear was painful and I thing it's because the volume was too loud. The problem is this headset make me feel I need to push the volume to a "normal level" but this level makes high freq pretty agressive. So after 2 hours of use... pain is there for all the day.

Well, I don't know if I have to wait for the set to break in, or if this "fresh listening style" is just too bright for me (I could say "monitoring style" of rendering)... Hard to say.

So, what's your opinion ?
What should I do ?
Will the sound change enough in the next few days to reduce this "too bright effect" or should I return it to the shop right now ?

Last weekend I've also tested a pair of Nighthawk. It was more on the "hifi side" of the rendering... so I deceided to go on the more forward HD-660s because I was expecting more "performance"... Technicaly it was better to my ears...
Well, now I don't know if I've taken the right decision. The Nighthawks are less impressive, but probably far more easy to accept in a basic set-up like mine...

Thanks for your help in advance...

I’ll respond with a shorter answer: If you seek a higher performance headphone at a decent price, but find the HD660S too bright, then I suggest you try the Sennheiser HD650 instead, a bit smoother due to the more generous bass and mid bass, less shouty mids and more subtle higher mids and top end. The difference between the two is not night and day, but It may suit you better. The difference that the HD650 brings to you is in the same direction as the warmer Audioquest Nighthawks. Now i’m Not saying they sound alike, the HD650 is a lot closer and more similar the the HD660S, but with a warmer smoother laid back caracter. I’m not saying that they are better that the HD660S, just a bit different and you may appreciate that difference. Just my 2 cents...
 
Jun 1, 2018 at 1:30 PM Post #3,433 of 9,585
I get it.
More is not always better... sometimes more become "too much" !
So well, I'm not mad, these can are more in the brighter side of the sennheiser world... right ?

Si j’étais à votre place je ferais une comparaison en boutique entre les deux paires HD660S et HD650. Vous pourriez être surpris...
 
Jun 1, 2018 at 2:44 PM Post #3,435 of 9,585
No,they are still on the warm side tonally,but they do have more particular treble,they need a bit careful source matching but not too much.Why not go to a store and experiment with different gear?

Your last sentence is exactly what I suggested to him in French in my last post...
 

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