opposite of what you specified, less bass and treble than mids
bloated bass and upper mids with some (not a lot) treble sprinkled in and let’s not talk about how impractical that thing is for everyday use, i hesitate to pick it up every time I want to listen to it cause it’s so fragile looking. I’d choose the Zeus (still not my top pick, but you could do far worse) over the Hawk here, less bloat, enough treble, great imaging.
never could get into the elegia sound, the elex is engaging, some may say aggressive, if that’s what you want, it could be fitting. If you want more of a headphone to relax to, stay away.
I don’t know about that one for electronic, def. try before you buy. I had the X for a while. The 2/X aren’t bass monsters and have a hole in the upper mids / lower treble. Mids are on the same level as bass, maybe even more elevated depending on the condition of the pads etc. Doesn’t sound like a fit to me. Also - big unit variance and I didn’t hear great things about driver failure rate 1st hand. Good service but expensive repair as well.
I listened to it and it was okay but the older Denon 5000 reigns supreme
the aeons i’ve listened to (not these models) sounded fairly unengaging.
Fostex is pricy, yes. If you want something cheaper, maybe try to get a used Phonon SMB 03 or 02, they were made by 2 guys, one of them being an electronic producer/artist. I believe they were specifically made for that genre. Not easy to get used and fairly bad build at their MSRP.
The 660S will work better with cheaper gear and solid state whereas the 6XX will scale with better gear and they especially like tubes, so bottom line…you’ll actually save money with the 660S as you can basically run it off of your phone while the 6xx need a better source and amp to sound good. Kind of how the LCD-X is actually a cheaper option than the LCD-2 as the X can run off of a basic Schiit stack whereas the LCD-2 really benefit from a higher end amp and DAC.
I had a rough week and was nursing a sore body over the weekend so I laid low on Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed the 660’s with the bedroom boomer system! The way these work with the Denon AVR is simply outstanding. This amp is an absolute beast and produces incredible performance. The natural and organic sound that you get from this pairing is like nothing I have ever experienced before.
Case in point, I was watching a great performance on the Voices of Music YouTube channel (Vivaldi, Four Seasons). This system brings everything! You hear every instrument, you get a sense of the room and every nuance of what is going on in it. If you close your eyes you feel like you are actually there! No other headphone I have, when connected to this system, provides this kind of realism. I enjoy it so much in fact that this will be the 660’s permanent station.
I used to have both the 600 and 650. I preferred the 600. I found the 650 too “thick” for my music, which is mostly classical and nearly all acoustic. I sold the 650 and the 600 broke. So I went on the used market thinking I’d either give the 660s a shot or just get another 600, depending on what I found. I ended up with a 660s open box for a great price, a bit less than what I sold my 650 for.
I love the 660S. I think it’s definitely superior to both the 600 and 650, sort of combing the virtues of both and the negatives of neither. Basically a 600 with more bass and better imaging. That said, the 660S is NOT worth the MSRP price. It’s not that much better than the 600 or 650. BUT, one can find them used or open box or whatever for much, much less, and then it becomes worth one’s while. I believe it to be worth an extra $100 over the HD6xx, for example. Maybe a bit more, but not $200.
ps. I suspect response to the 660s depends on whether one’s in the 600 tribe or the 650 tribe. 600 fans, I think, like the 660s more than 650 fans. That’s just my theory.
pps. Tthe negative reviews of the 660S on the internet by and large are all negative because of the price. The reviewers start off with very high expectations because of the $500 MSRP and almost invariably are disappointed. They want something maybe 30% better than the 600/650 and instead get something that’s 5% or at most 10% better, and that’s only depending on what one wants and what one values about the 600/650. If I had $500 to spend, by the way, I’d hunt for a used Focal Elex, which by all accounts is better than the 660S and sufficiently superior to the 600/650 to be worth the extra dough.
Great feedback. I can confirm what you said about the price of the 660s. I looked at those things numerous times and didn’t buy because I felt they were too expensive. However, once the opportunity arose to get them for a great price, I pounced!
Funny, I never even looked at any of the other models in the family. That was more ignorance on my part, I think. I got locked in on the 660s and got tunnel vision. But that’s OK, I have no regrets. Things seem to have worked out rather nicely!
