Audio Sennheiser HD 660s and HD 650 discussion

Appy

Appy

Novice
I have had HD 599 since 2019, and have had the 660s and 650 long enough to properly analyse their sound signature.
I concur with WaveTheory (reviewer, now on Youtube too) that 650 is *NOT* a budget HP as it needs sufficient amping for the bass and treble (the impedance curve at the bass extreme can shoot up to a whopping 483 OHMS ! ) so you need an amp that can keep up with "instantaneous" power delivery.
Simply having a spec sheet power delivery of 2W per channel bla bla does not mean that it can keep up with the differing amping (from 300 ohm to 500 ohm up and down) needs of high impedance dynamic driver headphones as the music plays.

The 660s also goes up to 400 ohms and averages around 217ohms on the log scale, so do not think that they can be driven off of very cheap amps.
These headphones have a very high sensitivity and thus get loud easily and this fools people into thinking that their smol cute portable xyz amp is able to drive high impedance headphones easily. lol.

These headphones "scale" well and what it really means is as a person moves up the audio chain, the gear (mainly the amps) are able to drive headphones much more properly.

Let me explain a little:
If your headphones are amped up properly across the frequency spectrum, they tend to sound sweeter and have a "holographic" sound to them where the music engulfs you (imagine a semicircle of music panning from behind the left ear, to your face and to the back of the right ear, not so dramatic but get an idea)
However, if they're not amped up properly, you might be able to get them very loud, but experience some issues like "shouty vocals" or "missing details/zing in the treble"
This occurs because till the point you are able to hear the background instruments properly, the volume level has already crept up to the point where the vocals/mids start to become shouty, and the HD 650 is much more vulnerable to this issue than the HD 660s.

Currently, I am on the lookout for a new amp to pair with my zen dac v2, and have singled out - Aune X7s and Zen Can. My next choice is ifi idsd signature or Singxer SA 1 class A amp, but those are out of my budget altogether. We don't have a flood of choices in India and I can't decide if its a good or a bad thing.
I do not like Topping or SMSL products in general because they all sound exactly the same from the L30 to the A90, just with different power output levels.
As for the Zen Can, it is more versatile in its many inputs and outputs and bass boost (that I already have with the zen DAC), but not a flawless choice as : https://forum.hifiguides.com/t/ifi-zen-can-headphone-amplifier/19585

I like the Schiit Asgard 3 a lot but it has been out of stock on HeadphoneZone since time immemorial :P

I welcome more insights from other members on this forum and amplifier suggestions are welcome.


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I was suggested the Feliks Echo as one of the best pairings for the HD650. But at 50-60k for an amp for a 25k headphone, it doesn't make sense for a lot of people. Currently I am using one of those powerful portable amps, which I believe is very VFM and clearly improves the sound by a lot. I can hear the difference in detail between the DAC-AMP of my G8X and the E1DA. As with all things audiophile, the increment in quality is very minute after a level, compared to the money that one has to spend for them.
 
rdst_1 said:
I was suggested the Feliks Echo as one of the best pairings for the HD650. But at 50-60k for an amp for a 25k headphone, it doesn't make sense for a lot of people. Currently I am using one of those powerful portable amps, which I believe is very VFM and clearly improves the sound by a lot. I can hear the difference in detail between the DAC-AMP of my G8X and the E1DA. As with all things audiophile, the increment in quality is very minute after a level, compared to the money that one has to spend for them.
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I know, right now I’m trying to get an amplifier that can satiate my needs for at least a couple of years. Its a case of Spending money in increments on beginner level products like moving from a fulla to a magni vs spending it at once on a mid tier (20k ish) “well regarded” product.
Which merchants do you source your audio gear from?
 
Appy said:
I know, right now I’m trying to get an amplifier that can satiate my needs for at least a couple of years. Its a case of Spending money in increments on beginner level products like moving from a fulla to a magni vs spending it at once on a mid tier (20k ish) “well regarded” product.
Which merchants do you source your audio gear from?
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That was my exact strategy and that is why HD650 was my first pair of headphones. I went with the portable solution because I don't have a desktop setup and neither wanted to have one. In fact I was very close to buying a used Micro iDsD BL before I bought the E1DA 9038s instead and I am happy that I went with the portable setup instead.
I don't have a lot of gear. Bought the HD650 from Flipkart sale long time back. Was gonna pick up the Micro BL from Headphonezone. Rest has been bought from Aliexpress and a couple of IEMs from Hifinage as it's a venture by a TE member.
 
dissel said:
@rdst_1

Your HD650 is Balanced - Right ?

What kind of balance cable using with your HD650 ?

Where did you source it ?
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The E1DA needs a balanced cable with 2.5mm termination. So I bought a cheap cable for around $15 from Aliexpress which is doing a good enough job for me. Sourcing good and cheap cables has become such a PITA ever since AliEx was banned.
All HD650 are balanced as they have different cables for both sides. So if one is in a pinch, they can just source the right plug and get the standard wire re-terminated with the appropriate plug if needed.
 
what do we think about a30 pro? it has so much power and no thx tech so thats a plus. ive read it gets warm though
 
Ebil said:
what do we think about a30 pro? it has so much power and no thx tech so thats a plus. ive read it gets warm though
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I’m getting the Aune X7s in 10 days. Will let you know my impressions. It has More power at 300ohms than the A30. Its a class A discrete amp while the A30 is just like any other op-amp based implementation. Op-amps measure well but most find the audio presentation to be flat. There’s a difference between sounding pristine and precise while being musical and sounding the same “without” sounding musical. It’s a decision that any person has to make on their own as what a musical presentation is.
For example some might call the Sennheisers lush and thick and sweet while others might opine that they sound closed and muddled.
Same goes for the Hifimans. Some might find them detailed and airy while some might say there sound artificial with an unnatural timbre as compared to the Senns.
It is all subjective after a point you reach a certain price/performance level where every gear performs well enough.
A great analogy I found was that generally class A amps gravitate towards more milk less coffee (lush and smooth) while topping/smsl products (op-amp based) gravitate more towards less milk more coffee (lean but detailed especially in the treble).
To answer your question well, I must suggest you to check out No Theme Reviews on YouTube.
 
X7s seems like a great choice.. I've heard it's a bit on the warm side and hd650 are warm themselves, so idk how that pairs up. I've been thinking of getting thx aaa one from drop, it's 150 + 15 shipping, then customs upon entering India, so roughly the same price as X7s or smsl sh-9, sp200.

I will only be using single ended output so don't really care about balanced.
 
Ebil said:
X7s seems like a great choice.. I've heard it's a bit on the warm side and hd650 are warm themselves, so idk how that pairs up. I've been thinking of getting thx aaa one from drop, it's 150 + 15 shipping, then customs upon entering India, so roughly the same price as X7s or smsl sh-9, sp200.

I will only be using single ended output so don't really care about balanced.
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The folks online who claim X7s (or any other product to be warm) do so when they compare it with lean sounding gear that accentuates the treble. Ex, someone who has the Monolith or drop THX Amps would think that ifi and Aune amps/dacs are warm. It is very difficult to judge whether they’re really that warm on their own or are they just warm In a relative sense.
I guess we’ll never know.
 
hmm i guess at the end of the day you'll only be listeing to one amp and not both. and i guess THX amp will sound different from pure class A circuit, which one i will like more i have to find out
 
I used HD6XX with little dot MKII OTL tube amp and i enjoyed it a lot. Stock tubes were rolled to Mullard nd Voshkod
 
Ebil said:
i read that little dot amp dont sound much different from a ss amp even if u are doing A/B testing
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from what i read, with tube rolling it will change.
When compared to Dark voice, Little dot will be less 'tuby' sounding with stock tubes.
 
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