Sennheiser HD660s headphones bring a highly anticipated update to Sennheiser’s famous HD650 line of open-back reference headphones.
Away from the limelight of the flagship “Orpheus”, and the astonishing HD800, the Sennheiser HD650 range has been the “workhorse” reference headphone line for almost 15 years; itself an evolution of the trailblazing HD580 and HD600 headphones.
Finally, the long anticipated HD660s headphones are about to land; let’s take a look at the headlines…
Sennheiser HD – an iconic headphone line
It was back in the 1990’s that your author first got hold of a pair of Sennheiser HD580 headphones; compared to the Austrian made headphones he was using at the time, these were a revelation. The high-end reproduction and extension were incredible, as was their substantially flat and detailed reproduction from 16Hz to ultrasonic frequencies.
It was the start of a strong, personal, working relationship with Sennheiser headphones, both as an engineer and a sojourn in retail. As a recording engineer working on high-end classical productions, HD600 and HD25 headphones were always on hand. Then, in 2003, the first pairs of HD650 headphones arrived, and as a music-tech salesman in London’s charing cross immediately sold two pairs to the pop-reggae star Shaggy and his manager!
Sennheiser HD660s an icon updated
Now, fourteen years later, an eternity in the technology world, Sennheiser has decided it’s time to update the classic HD650 with a new instalment in their iconic HD series of open-backed headphones; please be upstanding for the long-awaited Sennheiser HD660S. Having just been announced, we’ve yet to hear this latest revision to the line, in person; we do however have some hard facts to pour over and analyse…
It’s very much a case of evolution rather than revolution, but then that’s exactly what we’ve come to expect from Sennheiser. Just as a Porsche 911 from 2017 is identifiable as descending from a Porsche 911 from 1967, so too is the Sennheiser HD660s instantly recognisable as having descended from the original HD580.
The original “grey plastic” look of the HD580 has, thankfully, long since gone; the same basic headband design and strong yet lightweight open construction are still present and correct, however. A very smart and contemporary matt black and anthracite design, with expanded metal mesh grilles signify the new Sennheiser HD660S
The classic elliptical ear cups remain, which are shaped to follow the anatomy of the ear. Thick headband padding and replaceable ear cushions guarantee hours of listening comfort; something which has always been a strong feature of the Sennheiser HD range. Whilst on the subject of listening pleasure, it neatly segues us on to the most significant development of the new, Sennheiser HD660s
Updated driver design
The Sennheiser HD660S debuts a new transducer design developed by Sennheiser, which ushers in a brand new, stainless steel fabric diaphragm, resulting (so claim Sennheiser – and who are we to judge) in improved control of the diaphragm movements. This, in turn, should result in lower harmonic distortion and an even greater degree of transparency and detail than the previous HD650 headphones.
Each transducer pair is hand matched to be within extremely tight tolerances of ±1dB of each other, guaranteeing superb stereo consistency and phase coherency. Those transducers are also very sensitive, and easy to drive; there’s been an increasing trend in audiophile headphones towards increasingly insensitive headphones as of late…
The Sennheiser HD660s headphones buck that trend commendably, and, with a relatively low impedance of just 150 ohms, these are headphones which can be driven from mobile audio devices, just as easily as one’s headphone amplifier. Sennheiser includes a range of connection leads and adaptors, allowing connection of anything from a smartphone to the balanced output of an audiophile headphone amp.
We can’t wait to have a listen to this new generation of Sennheiser HD headphones; be rest assured that as soon as a pair lands, we’ll be posting a full review of what’s sure to be a new classic.