[pietcux]

What a great work to be imprinted in your mind in such an early age.
May be it guided you in your adult life!

I got imprinted by a mono recording of the Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris by my dad when I was 6 or 7 years old. Both records directed by Paul Whiteman a friend of Gershwin.

 

[Ichos]

Alas my first contact with classical music was at 19 years....

 

[Ichos]

Back to topic the first production model i reviewed almost a year ago had a quite annoying clamping force.
This new production is just ideal not too tight , not too loose.

 

[Deftone]

As @G0rt have stated above maybe you need to listen to every song with both headphones to get full satisfaction

Put one driver on each ear, 650 left / 660 right.

 

[Deftone]

Well, I’m wondering around the apartment where I’m staying doing various things this morning listening to the HD660S from my iPhone, and I have to say that I’m really enjoying them. Damn - I was going to send them back today! Maybe I’ll just have to accept that to me they’ll be a very expensive HD58X and I’ll keep and enjoy them for what they are. There’s no doubt that they do an excellent job direct from a phone.

If they were only a very expensive 58X I could have saved a lot of money.

 

[cobyatch]

I've spent about a week so far with the HD660s on rental through Sennheiser's Sound Club program and am liking them a lot. My 6XX's have seen a lot less use due to me preferring less midbass-focused (and not as dark) headphones, and the 660s seem to fulfill that while also bringing in more sparkle and detail with the treble. Definite boost in soundstage as well. Compared to the 58X, they are a lot more refined and coherent with no noticeable grain. However, not a big fan of them through the Bottlehead Crack no matter what tube I use. They sound great through the THX789 regardless, and have no problems running them through my phone or laptop. Lastly, I feel like the pads are a lot more stiff than what the 6XX and 58X came with, they seem to dig into my head more even after bending the headband out.

Really tempted to buy a pair of 600's so I can finally say I have listened to all the 600 series, though the 660s seem to be my favorite so far.

 

[tafens]

I’m a bit on the fence about getting the HD660S or not (when the drop a bit in price or a good deal shows up).. reading the latest comments and impressions posted makes them rather appealing, at least for use with low powered sources like a dap or phone.

How do the compare against the HD58X with regard to treble and soundstage? I found the HD58X a bit too hot in the treble and lacking in the soundstage for my taste.

 

[Ichos]

The 58x and HD660S have nothing in common except maybe the most part of the frequency response.
All other things are night and day.
The 58x is a very good headphone for it's money with a really pleasing tonality and entry level technically ability to the 6 series.
Compared to the 660S is veiled and no match for technicalities.
The 660S imo is just a notch down of HD800 and lot better than other 1K stuff.
So no the 58x is not a cheap alternative to 660S.
Still is one of the best if not the best VFM on the market today.

 

[Mike F]

The 58x is a very good headphone for it's money with a really pleasing tonality and entry level technically ability to the 6 series.
Compared to the 660S is veiled and no match for technicalities.

This may just be a language use issue that I don’t understand, like calling an amp a source component for example, but I really don’t understand what you mean by ‘technicalities’ and technical ability. Could you possibly explain exactly what you mean please?

 

[Ichos]

Headstage , detail retrieval , micro detail resolve , dynamics , transient response , overall decay etc.
The driver behaves better.

 

[Mike F]

OK, thanks. Some of those things I find better on the HD660S and some I find better on the HD650 - micro detail resolution for example is better on the HD650 (on high end gear).

I have to say I find it interesting that you said;
‘The 660S imo is just a notch down of HD800 and lot better than other 1K stuff.’
I think it is at least safe to say that that is not a majority opinion. Most opinion seems to be that the HD660S may be a notch above the HD650, but well behind the HD 800/S. You obviously like it a lot!

 

[Ichos]

Well as you may know I have sold my HD800S in favor of the 660S.
I could also easily buy Ananda , Clear , Elex , T1 II , Arya etc.
Of course 660S is not the perfect headphone and tastes may vary.
And of course in some minor aspects can't touch the High End stuff.
But for me is the best fusion of very good technical ability and tonal response.
For my ears and sound perception all the High End stuff is more or less tonally incorrect.
Because they must try to be hyper detailed , with exaggerated width etc.
This comes with a penalty at musically , natural timbre and tone and overall decay.
As always my opinion and for others may vary.
We are just discussing here.

And to clarify something for my ears natural tonality is a 2 ch set up in a treated room follow the B&K tuning curve.

 

[Ichos]

My first "High End" headphone was the 650.
Then the hype infected me and the quest for the perfect higher end stuff started.
I owned and listened a lot but never was really happy.
Now after I lost a good amount of time and money I returned to the origins.
I think that the Sennheiser HD6xx series are the best tuned headphones in existence.
I could happily live with either of them be it 600 or 650 or 660S.
The quest is over.

 

[Mike F]

Thanks very much, Ichos, for the last two posts. I thoroughly agree with much of what you say, especially about High End gear (headphones) sounding tonally incorrect. That’s largely why I don’t take too much notice of which headphone is technically better. Technically better can often mean less natural sounding. However, I understand your reasoning for preferring the HD660S and it’s high praise indeed. My question is whether I add the HD660S to my HD580 HD600 and HD650, or whether, for me, the HD650 is my ultimate compromise/tonally correct headphone.
Thanks again!

 

[Sonic Defender]

I have owned the HD600/650/700/800S and very much like the overall tonal characteristics. I even had a lovely tube amp (La Figaro 339) with nice tubes to drive the 600 and 800S so I have heard the lineup sounding great. When I owned the HD650 I drove it with an SPL Auditor or Graham Slee Novo so I have heard the range well driven using nice sources and well recorded music. Love the series, but saying that when it comes to a lovely naturalness of timbre and a general organic sound, the Edition X V2 is my choice. I would love to hear the 660S. Great headphones and I agree that Sennheiser has crafted a time-proven sound signature approach that is fantastic and will withstand trends well.