Sennheiser HD 660 S

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by John Storey, Oct 17, 2017.

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  1. John Storey

    John Storey Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hamilton, ON
    Sennheiser has recently announced an HD 650 successor, the HD 660 S! Retail will be $500 US, $680 CAD. 150 ohms. What everyone’s thoughts? I recently bought a pair of the 6XXs from Massdrop, and a Bottlehead Crack (with speedball), but I’m still intrigued.

    Please excuse me if this had already been posted, a quick search yielded no relevant results.
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  2. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    Huge thread about this on Headfi.org including initial impressions and measurements from Jude.

    Very exciting news, these look to be a winner.
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  3. hvbias

    hvbias Midrange magic

    Location:
    Northeast
    I'm very excited about this news, besides the EQ'd Stax SR-007, the HD650 are my favorite headphones. As long as they don't have the dead midrange of the HD800/HD800s.
     
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  4. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    People slay me. 'Dead midrange'. This is one of the most acclaimed headphones of all time. The midrange on my 800S's compare well to my Quads.

    All gear is somewhat personal but headphones are really personal. I guess one mans perfect is another mans poison. And some can's, notoriously the Sennheisers are not forgiving of upstream components. But on my Violectric or Quad tube amp they're wonderful.
     
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  5. beercanchicken

    beercanchicken Legendary Stickman

    Location:
    Chicago
    a HD 610 S would be more exciting for me, I wonder if they'll be re-doing that too? In the last couple months they seem to have done every other headphone in their line
     
  6. John Storey

    John Storey Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hamilton, ON
    I think the 660 is supposed to be a reboot for the 650 and the 600, a bit of a best of both worlds, but I might be wrong...
     
  7. beercanchicken

    beercanchicken Legendary Stickman

    Location:
    Chicago
    That would be excellent.
     
  8. John Storey

    John Storey Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hamilton, ON
    It really would, everyone says the 600s are too neutral, 650 are too dark, and the 700 and 800 are too sharp. As great as it would be, there will be something wrong with the 660s, somebody will find a problem them! Haha!
     
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  9. Standingstones

    Standingstones Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Central PA
    Who is this 'everyone' you refer to??
     
  10. Davey

    Davey NP: Hania Rani/Dobrawa Czocher ~ Inner Symphonies

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Actually, I think most people might have a hard time telling the difference between the 600 and 650 if they didn't already know which was which :)
     
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  11. John Storey

    John Storey Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hamilton, ON
    Well, “everybody”. It just seems as though nobody has ever said spend the extra $100 for the 650s it’s well worth it, or the difference between the 650 and 700 is night and day. Everything seems to depend on one’s personal opinions and musical interests, (as with any headphones). It just makes it a bit harder for anyone who doesn’t have easy access to a store that will demo them all. I would be nice to have a definitive selection, or at least some more concrete choices.
     
  12. Standingstones

    Standingstones Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Central PA
    Well I own the 650s and they aren’t ‘too dark.’ I also have the 700s and they aren’t ‘too sharp.’ Spouting generalities like that will get you into trouble and are generally incorrect.
     
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  13. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    The common generalities of the Sennheiser headphones are generally correct.
     
  14. Standingstones

    Standingstones Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Central PA
    Sorry I beg to differ with your ‘generalities.’
     
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  15. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    The generalities are just general rules of thumb. The generalities hold up when comparing the various Senn headphones against each other on the same amp. The generalities don't hold up so much when comparing the various Senns against other headphones. And when comparing the Senns on different amps.

    The amp makes a big difference with the 600/650/700/800 series. A change in amps can make the HD650 go from dull and boring to just right and involving. If I'm listening with a $2000 tube amp or $1000+ solid state and someone else is listening using a Fiio amp our opinions about the sound quality and tonality of the HD650 are going to be very different. Both correct for the amp used. But very different. And that's where the generalities fall apart.

    It will be interesting to find out how amp sensitive the HD 660 S is. If it is more consistent across different amps then it will be easier to make general recommendations for since people are going to be using different amps.
     
  16. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Agreed. My 600's positively sing with Little Dot Mk II, and are generally "meh" with Pangea HP-201
     
  17. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    Sennheiser (650, 700, 800S) really sing with Violectric amps (solid state from Germany).
     
  18. fuzzybam

    fuzzybam Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Bakersfield, CA
    I am pretty interested for more information on these
     
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  19. John Storey

    John Storey Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hamilton, ON
    That’s interesting, I use a Little Dot I+ with my 598s, but I never thought of using it with my 6xxs... I did wonder how the 660s would sound, have you tried any other amps with the 600s?
     
  20. Boomy

    Boomy Senior Member

    Location:
    Indiana
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  21. acdc7369

    acdc7369 Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    There's no such thing as "too neutral"
     
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  22. John Storey

    John Storey Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hamilton, ON
    Good point. :cheers:
     
  23. Boomy

    Boomy Senior Member

    Location:
    Indiana
    Just from the pictures I like the cosmetics of it.
     
  24. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Yes - the Pangea HP-201 tube hybrid. Not a good match for 600's, good match for 598's.
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  25. John Storey

    John Storey Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hamilton, ON
    Good to know, I have seen that amp around. I did consider it.
     
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