HD660S2 - The side-grade we've been waiting for?

it's finally time to review the new Sennheiser HD-660S2! How does it hold up against the rest of this legendary headphone line?
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[sennheiser]

Bass extension in the HD 6xx/650, same 3 kHz, extension in the upper treble AND an aluminum Looks like we have our work cut out for us.

[o.f.ftrack]

I think there's always going to be a subtle and unconscious bias with 600, 650/6xx owners. I've seen people legitimately criticize the 660s in favor of the former without ever actually hearing the 660s. I imagine the same will be said about the 660s2. I've been using headphones since 2001 and after listening to the lineup, I decided on the 660s. I've had it for 5 years now and I still consider it the best of the 600 series.

[anmu]

The love this guy has for HD6xx/650 is just amazing after all those years and bunch of great and ten twenty times more expensive headphones he still keeps them and speak great about them, tells you how good HD650 really are. Thank you for your recommendation back in 2016 when you started this channel speaking about your HD650 in basically every second video haha, I love my HD650 often even without an amp and I can't believe it has been almost 7 years since I got them based on advice of some "random small youtuber" with few hundreds of subs who is now almost at 100k. Wish you good luck and keep up the good work, hope you get that silver play button soon :)

[MNL-]

DMS prefers the 650; Chrono, Metal571 & Zeos prefer the 660S; Andrew & Josh prefer the 600. A unique opportunity to discover which reviewer is better aligned to your personal listening preference.

[SzymonSaysStuff]

Hey, thanks for including the raw measurements as well after the feedback from the previous video. I really appreciate it and I'm sure the others do, too.

As for me, I love my HD600 but wanted another, warmer pair with the same design. I was looking at the 660s2, but I looked up the price after this review and...

In my country, a HD650 costs $300, and the HD660s2 costs $780. Fucking hell Sennheiser, I'm gonna have to go with the older, equally as good model lmao.

[duffdabsduffdies]

Thank you for this, DMS. Now I know that the 6XX is, in fact, the Sennheiser I'm pulling the trigger on. Cheers from the land of Dekoni!

[fofopho]

I absolutely love the HD660S2, definitely an upgrade to the HD600

[J-RØD]

Thanks for your review. I enjoy your work. After watching this, I'll stick to my 58x.

[dwihuff]

Just received my 660S2'S today wow what a difference from the 6XX, you need to run them on HDV820 amp factory matching makes these come to life. To put a number on it 40% improvement. Worth the addition $$.

[JYMBO]

I've been using the 660s as my daily driver & main gaming headset since 2019 (nearly 5 years now) & whilst the bass is decent, more bass could be a good thing, however i wouldn't want to lose the top end for it so i think i'll stick with the original

[sonicthehedgehog]

As a fan of the HD660s ethereal qualities due to it's airy presentation.
I actually bought 2 hd660ses just in case, it gives me similar vibes to the stax but it's more relaxed, a bit less detailed, but has more correct timbre than stax lambda headphones.
I'll pass on the the s2 cause i just like the s1, if they kept the sound signature the same and just improved on technicalities I would have jumped on this headphone instantly.
I think the bass in the S1 is perfect for me, for a daily driver, and I like it over the 600 and 650, I do own both and I like them.
But I daily the 660s it's just effortless .
I don't know if that would make sense but to my ears the hd660s is the only Sennheiser headphone that sounds close to the HE-1 "Orpheus", tonality wise I am speaking.
The HE-1 has better technicalities obviously, it's faster more detailed, more effortless, more liquid, and it's an electrostatic headphone.
The 660s is pretty darn impressive for a dynamic driver headphone especially if you like electrostatics headphones.
And it's bass fits it's presentation, perfectly.

[therealwhite]

I like my Sennheiser's with worn pads more than I do with new ones... 660s with worn pads is like a clearer 6XX to me. Is this a symptom of a deeper issue?

[MUSICBOT-lety]

For me HD600 is still king. Imaging not great, bass not great but there is magic in this headphone. The smooth, sweet highs are so beautiful. I hear 16kHz -19kHz on the HD600 and it is a natural sheen and air whereas the 660s sounds cold and grainy. To my ears the slight upper midrange shout on the 600 is balanced by the low mid boost and combined with highs make it, still to this day the most musical headphone I have ever tried.

[bassplayerify]

The one thing I tell everyone who is looking into the 6X0s is if you can go to a store and try them. Despite the charts and reviews and all that stuff. Sonically they are all incredibly close to each other. The only way you can really find out which one you prefer is to A B them.

[PaddyBoyDE]

I’m happy with my pair of 600 … I always come back to these. For casual listening and mixing.

[En_Joshi-Godrez]

So its a less extended 6xx for almost double the price? This is the difference between the current headphone competition vs iem competition with the ie200 from the same company. The headphone market is kinda sad.

[fiddlix]

I think I’m sticking with my HD600s set. I’m happy. If I want more bass I just hit the XBass on my ifi gryphon. 😎

[RovenOrozco-ik]

how do you compare this with the best positive review you ever made for a senneheiser headphone which is a hd 560S ?

[TADPLE]

I know 660S wasn't massively to your tastes but how does the S2 compare to the original 660S? Does it address some of those flaws?

[ozymandias]

Great review, but it's also worth mentioning that the sound is largely dependent on the audio itself. Music that was recorded 30yrs ago, was originally recorded onto tape where it remained for years until the introduction of CD's. Even then, it was transferred from tape to CD. Sure, some may have been remastered before being transferred to CD, but the audio equipment of 30+yrs ago would be antique compared to today's standards. All these variants can have a huge impact on the most expensive, most technologically advanced headphones. At the end of the day, no matter what amplification you use, even the most advanced amplifiers are limited by the quality of the original audio.