[NotJeffBuckley]

Amazon has the 660S for $275, just snagged a pair

Nice! I got mine when they passed the $300 mark late last year. My opinion, they're fantastic sounding headphones and a fine continuation of the 600 series legacy (and, I guess, of the 700, since they are an implementation of that driver!). Hope you enjoy them too

 

[Tripokaridos]

Amazon has the 660S for $275, just snagged a pair

Yeahp thats great value for money ... S2 arrival and price really helped S1

 

[mfdoom808]

How do you like your 660S? I've seen a bunch of people critical to them, saying they're not on par with the OG 600/650, and other people that say it's a clear improvement. For a normal person that just loves to listen to good music, what to take from all this?

 

[Tripokaridos]

Nice! I got mine when they passed the $300 mark late last year. My opinion, they're fantastic sounding headphones and a fine continuation of the 600 series legacy (and, I guess, of the 700, since they are an implementation of that driver!). Hope you enjoy them too

Yeah 300euro for 660s and 660s2 would be spot on , also 250euro for 600 and 650 .
Looks like Sennheisers Blue Coil whine is Cursed HD700 is a past , 660s looks like also get that road ... So Only Red Coil Whine in HD 6 line 600,650,660s2 .
HD 700 had something different huge soundstage , i remember trying to mod a HD 6XX driver from drop to my HD 599 just to hear the difference ( it didnt go well lol)

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

How do you like your 660S? I've seen a bunch of people critical to them, saying they're not on par with the OG 600/650, and other people that say it's a clear improvement. For a normal person that just loves to listen to good music, what to take from all this?

I think a normal person with no prior experience with headphones could reasonably prefer any of those three depending on a number of factors. I find the claim that they are not "on par" with the 600/650 to be especially dramatic and kind of silly, I mean, maybe our ears really are just that different but it sounds clearly on par with them to me and better in some particulars, though with a different enough frequency tuning that someone still might like one of the prior flagships better.

If I didn't know someone's preferences beforehand I'd suggest the 600 or the 660S as a starting point rather than the 650 - and I say this as someone who has loved a pair of HD-650s since 2004, and still uses them today - 650s just have a more colorful voicing with more of a soundprint on what you're listening to than the others, and can come across as... to rely on the cliche... "veiled." I never felt like that about them personally, and I think they have a really marvelous voicing that works so well, but nonetheless I think the 660S are well tuned for a more modern sound and might be very satisfying to somebody who is used to speakers.

660S is not so picky about amplification but does sound "better" with adequate amplification in my experience. Helps the bass stay tight and overall detail best it can be.

 

[Tripokaridos]

How do you like your 660S? I've seen a bunch of people critical to them, saying they're not on par with the OG 600/650, and other people that say it's a clear improvement. For a normal person that just loves to listen to good music, what to take from all this?

First of i have to say that i love all my HD 6 line , i even refresh my series and now have the new clear rings 600,650,660s ( i dont have 660s2) .
So in my opinion for my Taste the 660S is the best because they share the goods from both of them they are not as clear as 600 and not as smooth as 650 but they are in the middle having a great balance for me , and on top of that the IMAGING yeah this is noticeable better than 600-650 for sure , also they are faster and tighter in bass close to Sundara .
So if i had to choose one then 660s it is , BUT there is a big but ... If Clarity and neutrality is what u like go with 600 , if Warm smooth no harsh sound is all u want go with 650 ... U cant go wrong with any of them .

People that are Critical to them are people that had the previous line ( that cost less ) they got familiar with them and love them ( i fully understand that ) so they didnt had open mind to give them a try , or they did and prefer a more clear or more smooth signature.

People having one headphone of the series and saying that the others are bad , Is like saying that their headphone is somewhat bad also because all HD6 line have very much a lot common signature and technical capabilities. ( not 58X and 6XX that i sold , in my opinion because i know these are very popular and most people dont like that view ) But to be honest to my self 58X sound like a harsh clone of 660s and 6XX like a muddy clone of 650 ...

 

[Dust by Monday]

How do you like your 660S? I've seen a bunch of people critical to them, saying they're not on par with the OG 600/650, and other people that say it's a clear improvement. For a normal person that just loves to listen to good music, what to take from all this?

I have the HD 660s and the HD 6XX (HD 650) and I have to say, I can BARELY tell the difference between the 660s and the 6XX. I tried flipping back and forth as fast as I can and I squinted to hear the difference and it's not like night and day where I could really tell which pair I was wearing. That being said, I'm sure they're different and it's just a matter of my brain forgetting what the sound was like while trying to switch pairs.

That being said, I struggled to hear the difference in imaging too. Like, I want to believe the 660s are better at imaging, but I just couldn't tell. Maybe my ears aren't trained well enough, or there's just enough unit variation that mine are similar to one another.

Also, looking at the graphs that Crinacle has on his site, the 660s looks drastically different than the 6XX in regards to bass extension and treble, but that's not what I'm hearing with mine. You'd think based on the graphs that the 660s is VERY dark sounding and the 6XX has quite a bit more bass, but I'm not hearing that.

I'm not an expert on any of this. I'm just a lover of music and the sound quality of these are off the charts in my opinion.

 

[lanep]

To my ears, the 660s sounded the least muddy / grainy compared to 600 and 6xx. I ended up selling my 600 and 6xx. I really want to try the 660S2, it looks like a solid upgrade from the 660s. It's too expensive compared to the rest of the series though.

 

[mfdoom808]

To my ears, the 660s sounded the least muddy / grainy compared to 600 and 6xx. I ended up selling my 600 and 6xx. I really want to try the 660S2, it looks like a solid upgrade from the 660s. It's too expensive compared to the rest of the series though.

Agree. The 660S2 looks great, but I wouldn't pay more than $300 when the 6XX exists and sells for $200.

 

[mfdoom808]

I've been playing with EQ and I really liked this subtle curve below:

Gives a bit of extra oomph on the bass side and brings vocals a tiny bit forward. Loving it.

 

[lanep]

These take EQ really well.

I normally don't EQ my headphones outside of an occasional bass shelf. I think the 660s sound amazing EQd to Harman.

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

I boost with a mild shelf starting at 20hz and lift ~2k also slightly, sounds awesome to me with the 660S!

 

[hoofman]

I have the HD 660s and the HD 6XX (HD 650) and I have to say, I can BARELY tell the difference between the 660s and the 6XX. I tried flipping back and forth as fast as I can and I squinted to hear the difference and it's not like night and day where I could really tell which pair I was wearing. That being said, I'm sure they're different and it's just a matter of my brain forgetting what the sound was like while trying to switch pairs.

That being said, I struggled to hear the difference in imaging too. Like, I want to believe the 660s are better at imaging, but I just couldn't tell. Maybe my ears aren't trained well enough, or there's just enough unit variation that mine are similar to one another.

Also, looking at the graphs that Crinacle has on his site, the 660s looks drastically different than the 6XX in regards to bass extension and treble, but that's not what I'm hearing with mine. You'd think based on the graphs that the 660s is VERY dark sounding and the 6XX has quite a bit more bass, but I'm not hearing that.

I'm not an expert on any of this. I'm just a lover of music and the sound quality of these are off the charts in my opinion.

There are differences that seem to be really small at first but once you are aware of them suddenly become so obvious. Because of this people argue all the time trying to quantify them as 2-3% or 20-30% difference. I don't think you need to have trained ears or graph to see the difference between 660S and 6XX though. Rather it's where to look and then decide for yourself whether it's worth chasing.

With volume matched and listening to Queen - I Was Born To Love You (Official Video) at around 0:55 mark when focusing on the bass line, Freddie's vocal filter, and the snare's sound this is what I hear

• The bass line sounds clearer with more texture on the 660S (the 6XX can feel louder but more boomy rather than more detailed)
• The vocal effect on Freddie's voice is more pronounced on the 660S (i.e. the rough edges around his voice)
• The snare's sound stands out more

 

[Dust by Monday]

There are differences that seem to be really small at first but once you are aware of them suddenly become so obvious. Because of this people argue all the time trying to quantify them as 2-3% or 20-30% difference. I don't think you need to have trained ears or graph to see the difference between 660S and 6XX though. Rather it's where to look and then decide for yourself whether it's worth chasing.

With volume matched and listening to Queen - I Was Born To Love You (Official Video) at around 0:55 mark when focusing on the bass line, Freddie's vocal filter, and the snare's sound this is what I hear

• The bass line sounds clearer with more texture on the 660S (the 6XX can feel louder but more boomy rather than more detailed)
• The vocal effect on Freddie's voice is more pronounced on the 660S (i.e. the rough edges around his voice)
• The snare's sound stands out more

Thank you. I shall take a listen and try to figure out which headphone I prefer more. They’re honestly both really good.

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

That's where I land on it with the 650 vs the 660S. They both are really good, different particular strengths but if we weren't absolutely spoiled for choice in this market and there were only a few headphones to pick from, I think a lot of people could make these work for them Sure is nice to have plentiful options to pick something more to your exact tuning preference and/or that fits particular material really well, though!