"Girl From the North Country"
INTRODUCTION
Who am I? I was deep into Headphones around 2016 to 2019 and then went super deep into IEMs for a few years. For 8 months now I have been back going very deep into HPs. I love listening to music, I love analyzing sound and I love writing. I do reviews for me first due the creative intellectual masturbatory pleasure I get out of the process, and I want to get what is hopefully beneficial information out to others.
I do not have a website and I do reviews that I want to do. Sometimes I review items I purchased and sometimes not. I am a huge ZMF, Noble Audio, DCA, Holo Audio and Sennheiser fan as you can tell by my gear in my signature.
Sennheiser contacted me out of the blue last month and asked if I would like to be part of introducing the HD 660S2 to the community. Well, I am a huge HD600 fanboy so of course I would like to be part of introducing it unless is sucks. Sometimes I say no out of lack of interest or lack of time. Other times I get a product and send it back or sell it if I purchased it rather than doing a review. I am only interested in reviewing what I enjoy and what I think others should know about.
4 of my 5 last reviews involved a different style I have been working on. I use a fictitious interviewer specific to the company of the product I am reviewing. Vison Ears has Bob the sexually repressed and in recovery interviewer. Vision Ears has the grumpy and rough around the edge’s interviewer name Leroy. I am working on an interviewer for ZMFheadphones for the introduction of the Atrium Closed Back in a month or two. For Sennheiser, you will meet Siegfried the overly optimistic interviewer. This interviewer is based off a real person I lived with in Germany when I spent 4 years there. The goal for me is to enjoy the process. My goal for the reader is hopefully they gain a lot of knowledge about how the HD 660S2 sounds and how it sounds in comparison to the other HD 6 series headphones.
PACKAGING
Siegfried: Hey MM How about the cute little package? It is so exciting to get my sharp Hermes box opener out and with precision open a box of love! I see you have not changed since we were roommates am Kreuzburg in Bonn. Sorry about my buddy changing your oil on your Fiat Uno and forgetting to put the oil pan plug back in. You made it about 50 meters from the Capella before there was a divine like noise from the block. Those crack well.
SLC: Glad you have your sharp opener Siggie! Yes, those were the days. I thought it was a gunshot into my engine that seized up my white Uno. Nothing like having it towed to Ankum so Helmut could put a rebuilt engine in it. Enough of that package, now to the HD 660S2 package. I really like the simplicity of the S2 package. A small box is easier to store and easier to ship. Super ergonomic. I usually just take the IEM or Heaphone out of the box and touch nothing else in the box. I then store the box in a safe place, dry dark place. The opposite of where your mind is optimistic Sieggie. The soft pouch is totally fine. Keeps the dust off them. I love that a cable with 6.3 termination is still included with an adapter to 3.5. I love that a balanced 4.4mm cable is included. 4.4mm is taking over and is a must in my opinion. All that is missing is a 4.4mm female to XLR 4 pin male adapter. A lot of HP amps use XLR still. Then all bases are covered. And for me 1.8 meters is perfect I am still able to reach my HP amp and it the cable is not too long to use with a DAP. Simple and ergonomic is better.
I am a fan of keeping all 6XX series HPs with the same frame and cups. Other companies like ZMF and DCA and Audeze for example do a lot of sharing of chassis and cups. The lightness of the 6XX series HPs is wonderful. The clamp can be tight for some, but it does loosen up over time or can be loosened through bending of the strap.
I like how red is not used on the connector to designate Right. More discrete to have all black on the connectors. That brings me to those three dots! No one likes to be wasting time in the dark missing out on a special moment. The three dots on the left gimbal allow me in the dark or light to quickly know which cup to put on which side of my head.
Great simple package. Just like you Siggie! I mean that in a pure way Siggie! There will be no corrupting you! I tried after the wall came down, but the freedom never changed you! You stayed pure through Die Wende Zeit and beyond!
Side note: The HD 660S2 is for sure worth the $600 price and in my opinion the quality of sound coming from the S2 is worth more than the $600 price! I do not say that lightly!
COMPARISON TO HD 600
Siegfried: Remember how much fun we had am Kreuzberg in Bonn, looking out the window and hearing the bird’s making music in the morning. It really helped you get over those 0,5s Markie Mark!! I know you want to talk about the S2 specifically, but can you please start by comparing it to what is close to your heart; the HD 600. We would just sit and look at that marble sheen and those curves while the birds sang!
SLC: I can do that Sig. I remember the 0,5 Kölsch but not the birds. I do remember you rolling up to Kreuzberg in your Trabant! Oh, the smells that came out of that exhaust.
For my comparisons I will use the same 4.4mm stock Sennheiser cable. I have 2 of them which makes is slicker than the pain on your 1990 Trabbi!
600 is a classic. Crisp and clean and detailed with a natural tonality. My standard of what is my personal sound preference. Anyone say ZMF Auteur or DCA Stealth. HD 600 gets super close to those neutral, clarity boys. Huge words IMO.
The S2 has a deeper, richer, more textured bass compared to the 600. The treble is more forward with S2. Smooth forward rather than sparkly. The female vocals of S2 are a little richer and more forward. Everything seems more forward with the S2. But, upon a longer listen it is not that the S2 is more forward. There is a sheen of glass taken away compared to the 600. There is for sure an increase in clarity and dynamics. This adds a richness to the sound.
A richness to the sound that is in the same family of what I hear with 4-5K planars such at DCA Expanse. 600 is closer to the DCA Stealth and the S2 is closer to the DCA Expanse sound signature. These are 4K HPs I am talking about. A $300 and $600 HP should not even be mentioned in the same breath, but I am, and I can because it is valid that the S2 gets close enough to the 4K HPs to put them in the same breath.
There is more bass slam on the S2. Not basshead slam but textured mid and sub presence vs the 600
Male voices are closer on S2. The tonality/naturalness of male voices on 600 and S2 are both excellent. I like the timbre on both. The S2 notes are a tiny bit more rounded than the 600. I would attribute this to the wider stage of the S2.
The timbre and tonality are extremely similar on both. I like that because I like the 600 timbre. With 600 I am thinking “wow how did they make such good sound at this price range.” With S2 I am thinking “this is so good, I am enjoying this a lot, I am not feeling I am missing anything.” With S2 I am not thinking about grabbing a 4K HP to get to the next level. I am enjoying S2 for what it is. An enjoyable engaging HP to listen to. I am not feeling any FOMO when they are on my head. That to me is incredible. Like I have said with S2 a pain of glass has been taken away vs. 600. The landscape is the same as with the 600 (tonality and timbre) but I see the landscape in a clearer and more expansive way.
On the note, with staging, I am hearing the music more to the L and R on the S2 vs. the 600. For the 600 the music is right in front of me a bit at the level of my forehead. For the S2 the music expands out to the sides of my head and a few inches in front of me and higher up. At the top of my head level. The music is surrounding me more than the pinpoint positioning of the 600.
When I go back and forth for longer sessions and short back and forth, I find that the 600 and S2 have the same level of “when am I going to get tired of this” happening. Neither is warm in the “I could just listen forever and even doze off” vein. The S2 and 600 both have me enjoying the music and admiring the notes. The S2 does it with a more around me sound. Wider vs. the narrower sound of the 600. The S2 has more levels of dynamics happening. Both are micro masters. Both are tonality masters. 600 is on a narrower stage with lower ceiling. S2 is on a wider stage with higher ceiling and better 3D sound. The notes are in a bigger space vs. 600. 600 is more intimate and better for fun under the covers. S2 has you using all the bed for your enjoyment. You still with me mein Schatzi Sigi!
COMPARISON TO HD650
Siegfried: I am with you Schatz! You always preferred the HD600 in the past to the HD650. I prefer the HD650 for warmth and longer sessions and that mid bass bump. And by the way my Trabi finally no longer rolls down the cobblestone streets. It met its demise in front of the Sparkasse we lived above! What a joy life is and what a joy my Pia and Trabi have been. I donated it to our local village next to the Rathaus where we had der Richtkranz when it was being built. We sang traditional songs all night and enjoyed our 0.2 drinks!
SLC: I assume you are talking about the Trabi and not your wife Pia being donated! Congratulations on the change either way.
The HD650! I have owned it a few times. I get the “classicness” of it also. I get how some prefer the HD650 over HD600. I get how the HD650 has that chocolate syrupiness of the notes. It has a milk chocolate decay of the notes vs. the dark chocolate decay of the 600. I could write a book on the differences of these two classic HPS and put it in the museum next to Pia. I mean your Trabi. Sorry about the Freudian slip Sig man!
I could listen to the HD 650 for hours and not get any fatigue. With the 650 you must come to the notes . In comparison to the S2, with the S2 the notes come to you. Not in a an annoying “why is this guy always wanting to talk to me” at the party feeling but in a “I am so glad she enjoys coming over and engaging in a conversation with me” feeling. The S2 is closer to me. More intimate than the 650. That is wonderful unless there is bad breath involved. Nothing personal Siegried. We all get that at times.
There is a difference in timbre from 650 and S2. S2 is closer to the 600 tonality/timber. 650 has milk chocolate thicker notes. More pouring of honey in the notes. A little more distance chill I just need to relax going on. S2 notes are tighter and faster. The vocals of the S2 are closer to you than with 650.
The big similarity is in the bass. The S2 does have a milder subbass bump of the 600 but has the mid bass jump of the 650. Someone took their time to get this S2 right. They lifted some of the “boringness” of the 600 but kept the tonality and clarity and detail of the 600. They also added to the S2 the midbass bump. Great touch.
The S2 is quicker with the notes vs. the 650. The S2 has everything coming at you closer than with 650. So much more dynamic and with a pane of glass taken away. It is weird but the S2 is like an improvement to the strengths of the 650 as well as an improvement of the strengths of the 600. If you do want the music to just be there and be playing and be chill about it then the 650 is still a good choice as a complementary HP to have in your stable.
The HD 650 is more laid back with a longer decay. The S2 is so much quicker. Like going from a planar to DD HP. The tonality of both is different but “realistic”. Just slower on the 650. The S2 has a higher fun factor over the 650 and 600. I hear the heritage of the two in the S2. The game has just been upped this time. The 650 and 600 are still classics and still should have a place in an HP stable. The S2 is an updated version of both in a good way. As I said before, the developers put effort into making an upgrade and not a side grade and they really were cognizant of not ruining a classic.
Let me reiterate, that I have no skin in the game. I do this for the cognitive brain orgasm I get out of analyzing what I enjoy. This is a joy to write, and I hope informative for the listener.
Oh yes back to Sig the man. I almost forgot about my overly optimistic bud. I got deep into my audio world. I remember the time I tried to turn you into Sig the Swig and took you to the De Wallen in Amsterdam and then the Reeperbahn in Hamburg. I love how you turned the events into conversations and nothing else. You are about dignity and respect Herr Schlosser, and you will go to a better place if there is one, when this is all said and done. You taught me a lot.
BTW here the playlist I use for understanding HPs for review purposes. These are the songs I listen to most due to the quality of the recording in a lot of cases as well as how much I enjoy the songs:
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/c3bde940-1a74-4096-a3f6-89ea47ac5fa1
A big take away for me in this comparison is the amount of lineage the S2 has from the 650.
COMPARISON TO HD 660S
Siegfried: Getting access to your playlist reminds me so much of the cassette playlists you would make for me. I did not know what the words meant but I enjoyed the music. I remember you asking me to stop singing “Walk on the Wild Side” in public. Seeing you blush was worth whatever I was saying. On that note, MM it is time to compare the 660S2 to the 660S.
SLC: Hey Sig check out the movie “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”. Leave your optimism adjacent to the door. Speaking of Lou Reed, I remember when I was living in France with my partner at the time and her younger sister singing the Vanessa Paradis version of “Walk on the Wild Side” and her having no clue what she was saying. That was not as funny at all compared to your version.
S2 and S time it is: Easy to cut to the chase on this one. I am truly amazed how the S2 is a better version of the S with some serious lineage going on with 600 timbre and 650 rounder notes and bass bump. All 6 series HPs have mids that are sublime. IMO most of the notes I want to hear are in the mid range. That is where the maturity of the music is at. The 6 series keeps the mids as the meat. The S2 bass is very similar to the S bass except the S2 bass has more texture. It is simply a better version of the same bass. I am not the best at talking about treble and I hear a very similar treble between S2 and S. I am not hearing any harshness with S2 nor S. But I have not met a treble I did not like. Especially after a drink or two.
As I compare the two quickly and after longer sessions with both, the big take away, which I alluded to already is timbre. The 660S2 is like watching a good movie. You are absorbed in the movie and enjoy the movie. You become one with the movie. When a movie is missing some things, I start thinking about the acting or the plot or just start thinking about something not related to the movie. I get that “something is missing” feeling. With certain HPs I become one with the HP. With the S2 I am enjoying the music. Not a laid-back music that gets boring for me. Not thrown in my face notes that get annoying. I enjoy the music with the S2. I am not thinking about the “acting” nor the “plot”. I am enjoying the music.
I do not get the same level of engagement with S as I do with S2. S is very good, S2 is so much more engaging though. The timbre and how the notes end are what makes it more engaging for me. The acting of the notes is at a better level. I am enjoying the acting and the story rather than thinking about the acting.
Separation of notes are better with S2. The moving of my head is happening with S2. In a dorky way at 5:00 am in the living room. Again, I am sounding like a broken record, but someone really took the effort to make the S2 better than S in every way and keep the lineage/strengths of 600 and 650. There is a place for 600 and 650 to continue being made. I see no reason to make the S anymore. I get that Bangle BMW feeling when I listen to the 660S. With the S2 I get the “they are back on track and a lot more” feeling. The S2 tops the S in every way and leaves no need at all to grab the S for a session. S2 is simply that good.
“They say, oh my God I see the way you shine
Take your hand, my dear, and place them both in mine
You know you stopped me dead while I was passing by
And now I beg to see you dance just one more time”
Dance Monkey by Tones and I
SENNHEISER HD 660S2: Final thoughts
Siegfried: Time to say adieu MM. I thank you for helping me see the dark light but keep my optimism. I have enjoyed my time with you again. It has been a while. I ask you to wrap up your thoughts about the Sennheiser HD 660S2. I now look you in the eye and say Prost and Zum Wohl mein Freund!
SLC: Sig, you are the man and cheers to you, my friend!
I listen to jazz more than anything else. Trio and modal jazz to be more specific. My playlist for understanding gear does not have a lot of jazz in it since I want to hear numerous instruments happening in the same song and more bass and treble and of course vocals.
The HD 600 is an amazing HP for Trio and modal jazz. Slower lyrical jazz with fewer instruments. The detail and timbre are superb for that purpose. The HD 650 draws me to Rock and Roll and the sick amount of Americana music I listen to (in a simplistic way Americana caught on with Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan with “Nashville Skyline” to Lucinda Williams and of course the demigod Neil Young. The music and producing by Dave Rawlings are a great current version of Americana).
The 660S2 is drawing me to everything. In a similar way the ZMF Caldera does. Nothing is missing in my opinion. Nothing is too much. The timbre is there. The musicality is there. It is detailed. The bass is there. There is not an annoying V shape. 80% of the music is in the mid-range and the mid-range of the 660S2 is exactly what it should be. The bass and treble act as accoutrements. The top and bottom frequencies are super well integrated with the mids. They add color to the mids. Not too much and not too little.
I am not one for hyperbole when it comes to audio gear. There is a lot of it out there and a lot of really good gear. Most gear has strengths and weaknesses. I am hard pressed to find a weakness with the HD 660S2. Maybe because it is harder to drive. But it sounds great on all gear I have tried it on from a normal DAP to high-end Headphone amps. I think they went back to 300 Ohms because at 300 ohms the magic of the driver can happen. I think Sennheiser tried to keep the magic by appeasing some and going to 150 Ohms with the 660S. I think the 660S is a good HP but the Sennheiser 6 series magic was gone. I can say with 100% SLC MM certainty that the magic is back.
The magic is back with a style of its own. The 600 lineage is in the 660S2. With even more 650 lineage in the 660S2. That said it does not replace the 600 and it does not replace the 650. They both have huge merits and should be kept in the lineup. I reach for the 600 when I want to focus on detailed timbre and sub bass. I reach for the 650 when I want added mid bass and warmth and musicality. The biggest thing the 660S2 adds to the mix is added dynamics. Sound is happening in a 3-dimensional way that other HPs in the 6 series do not have. All around you but with wonderful timbre/tonality and musicality. Also, with detail and warmth. Sometimes the engagement factor can be lost when you add all that together and this is not happening with the 660S2. That is what makes the HD 660S2 so special.
Time for me to go listen to Dance Monkey followed by the Dylan/Cash version of Girl from the North Country.
Until we meet again!
MM