Senneheiser HD660S Impressions

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by Ray, Oct 25, 2017.

  1. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    While I agree with you on knowing where people come from UB, let's not forget that wording is important. Description that's unforgiving is ok to me, nonsensical BS based on whatever one has as a preference is not. No need to go all passive aggressive in reviews.
     
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I'd rather people be not be ashamed for their preferences rather than having to resort to false credentials or weak appeals to authority.

    Have had to deal last month with people claiming such:
    1. Heightened aural senses over Americans because because Stradivarius instruments are on every corner in the country that they live in (never mind that every other big US city has a world class orchestra.)
    2. Understanding of the true nature of neutrality and IEM measurements because they were lectured to by a famous IEM guru.
    3. A unique understanding of DAC sound because they compared to vinyl and SACD (despite the specific SACDs mentioned being mastered differently to the specific vinyl), knowing the VPI guys, and hearing marching bands down the street, and concerts at Carnegie Hall.
    4. The high moral ground in appropriate Internet behavior (while coming here with the intent to shit on SBAF because of a perceived grievance that members damaged their forum's honor).
    There are a few more. Yes. Off-Topic, but I am in a banning mood.
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2017
  3. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    There's a thin line to tread indeed, but I'd rather see people trying and maybe missing the goal by that much, than letting preferences cloud the issue. My opinion anyway, everybody has one.
     
  4. nostatic

    nostatic Acquaintance

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    As you note, part of the problem is that once the neutrality flag is thrown, it is very difficult to just pick it up and play on.

    As perhaps one of the Dotards (I did join in Oct), please allow a brief retort - though not clearly I tortted very much to begin with. I came here due to what I perceived to be a much higher S/N ratio than other forums. As someone who has been an active participant and moderator elsewhere over the years, if I'm going to "get something out" of reading the threads, I feel that I should "put something in" if I feel that I have a coherent viewpoint on the topic at hand.

    One fundamental friction in this "hobby" coincides with a similar one in another community I'm active in (bassists). There end up being prickly threads over cost of an instrument (mostly those that say, "no bass is worth $5K or $10K" as opposed to belittling budget choices). Certainly have a similar dynamic in audiophile land where gear quickly approaches 5 figures. One other ongoing feud is "tone woods" with some maintaining that they make a difference, others claiming they don't (and having "data" to back up their claims). Never mind that the data is shit 99% of the time (*cough* statistical analysis *cough*) - to me there is a more fundamental issue at play and that is human perception and bias. Which is a thing. And will always be a thing no matter how much objective information is generated. That doesn't mean that we abandon trying to get decent metrics, but to me that is to understand *why* we're experiencing something rather than proving my choice "wins". Then perhaps the results will go into informed choices.

    Unless everyone posting knows the perceptions and predilections of everyone else, some sort of context has to be part of the discussion. Then the balancing act is keeping it relatively on-topic. The problem I see with closing off new blood is that all communities wax and wane over time, so closed societies will eventually either die or become an echo chamber. But as Stuart Smalley said, "and that's....ok..."

    I'm 100% in agreement that not every opinion carries the same weight, and that trust has to be earned. From my readings I figured this was a hazing environment - that is made clear by the "Friend" model. I'm not arguing for a change - that would be pointless for a variety of reasons. But merely trying to articulate that not every noob is a dotard with an axe to grind.

    Besides, I send mine out for sharpening...
     
  5. barelyincollege

    barelyincollege Nice Pit Bull

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    As the person who's admonished you on a few occasions, I should articulate in better detail why I find your posts problematic, because I feel that you have some worthwhile thoughts to contribute:

    1. Your posts are often irrelevant to the discussion at hand (see examples #1, #2, #3, and #4).

    2. Your use of flowery language and tendency to move from one unrelated thought to another (see here and here) makes it difficult to parse and understand the impressions you do provide. It often seems as though you write to listen to yourself talk rather than to communicate concise thoughts of value to others.

    3. In your three-week long tenure here, you have gone on long soliloquies about your definition of neutrality, what frictions you feel exist in this hobby, and your perception of this forum...but we don't know who you are yet, and more importantly, you haven't given us a reason to be interested in your thoughts right now. In addition, none of these points (e.g., everyone's preferences are different, this hobby is subjective, defining neutrality is important) are particularly revelatory topics to SBAF's community -- they're part and parcel, already assumed tenets of our discussions.

    4. You seem to believe, partly based on your experiences as a moderator elsewhere, that you must jump in and contribute as soon as you feel that you have something to say:

    This approach may work at other forums, but it generally isn't well received here. Formulate your thoughts more; think about whether your posts offer value to the discussion, and fight the urge to post all of the streams of consciousness that you have.

    You're not a bad newcomer and I think you could be a valuable contributor here, but I would encourage you to sit back for now, take stock of the atmosphere a bit longer, and refine your approach.
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2017
  6. nostatic

    nostatic Acquaintance

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    interesting; points taken
     
  7. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    What I think of the HD660 S after a brief audition. (Less than ideal conditions.)

    Good headphone, basically a HD650 with sub bass but I would not get it. 150 Ohms makes it easier to drive but I prefer a higher ohms driver because a HD650 can scale like crazy and sound end game good.

    If this is your first HD6x0-series get it if you get a discount and do not intend on buying a powerful amplifier. Any questions? Try one out or buy one, I am done with this thread.
     
  8. ipm

    ipm Acquaintance

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    Look this up on YouTube to see a review ...

    Review: Sennheiser HD660S Headphones (With Comparisons to HD650 & HD600)
    aornic, Published on Nov 5, 2017

    I am not sure if this reviewer is credible or not, but he does a comparison, mentions mods, etc. I hope this is useful to some degree.
     
  9. pedalhead

    pedalhead Friend

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    FWIW, I know aornic and trust his ears (I haven't watched that video yet).
     
  10. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    Okay, I've had a good bit of time with these. I left them cooking while I got over my nasty cold and they have plenty of break time. Here is where I'm at with them.

    *I like the 660 a lot. Overall, the tuning is very similar to the 650. So why spend 5 bills on the 660 when you can get the 650 for $315 on Amazon?

    1. Subtle differences in the signature are appealing to me. It offers a little more clarity....just enough to make a difference. I don't hear the wooly 650 bass. And in fact with a slight bump with EQ the bass on the 660 sounds perfect for me. I was never able to EQ the bass on the 650 because it just sounded more wooly. The extra clarity doesn't come at an expense. I tried to switch to the 600 years ago for this very reason but the treble bothered me on the 600.

    2. Sound stage for whatever reason sound a bit more spacious. No idea why. It's just not as cramped as the 650 and breathes a little better. I like this.

    3. Blessing and Curse: cutting the impedance in half. I didn't like this move from the beginning and I said as much. But I'm finding that my 660 sounds damn nice straight out my qp1r. So I cut up a stock cable this weekend, shortened it to 4 feet and listened to my 660 on the couch watching football. I like this also.

    Of course the trade off is there will be some loss of scale with better gear and that's worth considering. Especially if you have an EC amp or similar. I'm getting to a place where I don't care much for gear hopping. And I don't think that I'll ever own an EC amp (as much as I'd like to). So this will be a personal decision. Courses for horses and such. For me, it's nice to be able to use the 660 transport-ably. And I'll give up 5% micro detail that the 650 offers to get the benefit that works for me.

    4. Matte black looks nicer. Yes, I know I'm vain. :cool:
     
  11. ipm

    ipm Acquaintance

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    Sorry. I did not mean to imply that he is not credible. I am only saying that I have not heard of him before. The video is pretty good.
     
    Last edited: Nov 6, 2017
  12. ipm

    ipm Acquaintance

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    You mentioned the bass a couple of times. How is the bass extension in your opinion?

    I'm not sure what you mean by this. It the expense the more woolly-ness when you try to EQ?
     
  13. pedalhead

    pedalhead Friend

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    No worries, I didn't read it that way.
     
  14. dropadred

    dropadred New

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    Me, personally, I like to hear 660 brings a bigger soundstage to the game...I have to say, when I have got 6XX I missed the space, they were very narrow as far as the soundstage goes. If it did not lose the detail then, it can be more then just a slight upgrade.

    Has any of you, guys, swapped between SS and tube amp with these?
     
  15. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Stage is wider than HD650 or HD600. My custom 45 amp tube had better depth than BW amp. Still depth isn't anywhere near TH-900, HP-3, and of course HD800.

    I didn't dig the extra width because it throws the proportions off with lack of corresponding depth. There was also a slight cupped hands presentation. Hard to describe, but it's similar to how @brencho described the PP8 soundstage.
     
  16. Titus Pullo

    Titus Pullo New

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    How much "harder" and punchier is the bass than on the 650? The silver 650's bass doesn't actually mask the lower mids that much despite bleeding into them.
     
  17. DaftBunny

    DaftBunny New

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    Has anyone tried the 660S with a hardware equalizer yet (like the Kameleon or Schiit Loki)? I have an order out for an HD6XX and am planning to do the KISS mod eventually. But I'm seriously thinking about getting a LOKI to (hopefully) extend the subbass. The HD650 seems to respond very well using a Kameleon according to Solderdude and combined with the cleaner presentation of the KISS mod, that sounds like one hell of a headphone to me (I like subbass:) ).
     
  18. Outerspace Wasabi

    Outerspace Wasabi Friend

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    He did refer to the HD650's bass as "bloated" and also brought up the "veil," both of which are phenomena I don't hear.

    But to account for this so-called veiled, I think it's perceived by people with a preference for bright sound... maybe.. I don't know.
     
  19. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    As someone who has a bit of a preference for bright sounds (or used to, anyway), I can confirm that to be the case. The somewhat unrefined bass response on the stock HD650 does give one the impression of listening to a performance from behind heavy curtaining, actual resolution and the like notwithstanding.

    Having said that, I wouldn't call the HD650's bass "bloated", per se— that would be pretty much any Fostex TH-series can upon initial listening, going from an AKG K550/Beyer DT880/Grado RS1 (old version). Yes, I used to have some very nice headphones around :rolleyes:
     
  20. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    Hd650, the speakeasy headphones

    [​IMG]
     

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