Sennheiser HD660S Speculation

I’m not sure if this is sounding more like hubris or incompetence. Probably a mixture of both.

I tend think of them as a slumbering giant. Supposedly since the two sons took over they’ve streamlined their company, and dealer relationships. With a focus on speeding up their reaction to the market. If shoving a HD700 driver into a HD6x0 chassis is the result then it looks like the giant is still having nap nap time whilst sucking on it’s thumb.

Given how cheaply all their headphones appear to be built and their relative performance I can’t help but imagine what they could really achieve if they wanted to. (EDIT: By cheaply I don’t mean of poor quality or reliability).

 

Well, I think we are asking too much to Sennheiser if we demand HD800 driver into HD6X0 and asking for same 500 dollars. It is probably reserved for HD850.

 

I should have these by Wednesday or Thursday . Marv if you want these to measure I'll gladly ship them out to you.

 

Finally, something real. Thanks...

 

How did you accomplish such voodoo?

 

Almost time to start a new thread!

 

hifiheaphones in the U.K. I'll admit I way overpaid for shipping but Curiosity got the best of me. Jude having a pair and not SBAF didn't sit well either

 

You are a hero! Don't let Sam and Frodo tell you otherwise.

 

Way to go Ray! Can't buy 'um here so go to the U.K.

 

Haven’t posted on here really but wanted to contribute considering that I now own the 660 S (I live in the UK). Take my impressions with a pinch of salt if you’d like as I’m being no means experienced at describing what I’m hearing. But please ask me some questions if you will.

Listening via Gungnir Multibit/Mjolnir 2 (balanced) with custom balanced cables I already owned. Can directly compare against HD600 and HD800 w/ SD mod (the latter soon), but due to other commitments only have time for a quick listen to a couple of tracks.

Very initial impressions A/Bing against the HD600 (only have short time today).... First things first, the two are more similar than different. This is definitely a 600 series phones. But still.... I think the 660s appears to be step up, mainly due to the extra resolution/detail I’m hearing and improved bass. (if nothing else).

Listening to Steven Wilson’s Permanating and The Watchmaker, I definitely get a sense of finer details coming out in tracks that I know really well. Compared to the HD600, the bass is more punchy, but I wouldn’t say massively more body. The detail in the bass is a step up imho... During the watchmaker im hearing a bass line that I didn’t really hear before and it sounds really excellent. The bass sounds to my ears just a notch fuller than the HD600 and in no way bloaty. I think this is actually what HD600 was lacking and will impress many.

Perhaps the bass will ‘thicken’ with further burn in. Also, the Gungnir Multibit needs to warm up again so that could change things tomorrow, as well.

I’m trying to not to state comparisons with the HD650 as I don’t own one and heard it only briefly some time ago.

Sorry, I’ll have more of an idea shortly.

 

Really? I don’t think we’d be asking enough. A little while ago some fine folks in another thread were debating what the BOM might be for the Utopia. I think the best assessment pegged it at $500. The beryllium sheets used for the diaphragm are, according to the Focal CEO, 20x (or 30x?) the price of comparative gold sheets, and the rest of the materials are pretty damn nice and could be further cost reduced to the Elear ones without sonic impact. Far far better than anything Sennheiser, which use TPE for the diaphragm, a type of plastic. Plastics being the primary material used in their headphones.

I would guess that the HD800 BOM would be shockingly low in comparison to the RRP. Of course there are various overheads that should be taken into consideration. My feeling is that if someone were ever able to take Schiit’s sort of business model and apply it to headphones at scale then we would have something at the HD660S pricing level that is not just as good as the HD800, but better.

I’m not an engineer, nor do I have any experience in product development, and of course this is based on loose info. I’d enjoy hearing from someone who knows what they’re actually talking about.

 

I'd rather see the community get detailed experienced impressions first. I'll have plenty time for listening. I'd feel much better contributing this way. If not for SBAF I'd probably still be listening to ifi & little dot amps

 

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Definitely something expensive from Audioquest at the very least.

 

"THE LEGEND CONTINUES"

They're really milking the legacy of the HD650.

 

I hope that this is the case.

 

As do the price increases.

 

Someone on reddit made a comment that they didn't understand the retail packaging. Evidently the back of the box reads:

"Half The Distortion, Twice The Schlong"

Makes way more sense now!