As it will be my fifth Sennheiser, I am dying to see where this goes. 
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then im deaf, or you like really boring music
everything is “right under” where it needs to be
More along the lines of you probably have a weaker audio codec. In the cases of pc’s theres some motherboards that can even drive 600 ohms and some phones that are better for audio
only time they were okay on a phone for me was when i had the v20
Not something I’d normally do but I’ve just tried my 660s direct off my McBook Pro and it drove them pretty well tbh as loud as I’d want to listen anyways.
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First day with my new toys.First couple of hours was some new music I just bought (Thelonious Monk) via my Violectric V220. Nice sound, everything seemed fine.
Then I start bouncing around into some rock and pop and it wasn’t sounding as good. Was it just me? I pulled out my current favourites (Focal Elex) and plugged them into the same amp, which has two outputs.
Wow, talk about a night and day difference! As soon as the Elex’s went on, I thought “There’s the party!”. But it seems a bit bright or noisy. They are definitely W shaped. They give you lots of mids, lots of treble and lot of bass. I find their sound intense and very enjoyable. But I usually change over to something more relaxing after the thrill wears off.
I flipped back to the Senns and all the noise was gone. It was just the vocals and some backing music. Very minimalist compared to the Elex’s, but very nice too. Two VERY different ways to recreate music. I have been using “fun” headphones for so long it was kind of a nice departure.
I had the HD600’s over the winter but found them boring on anything except a tube amp.
And then my source died. And the charging port is the same port used to tranfer data to the DAC, so the game is over. And then I remember that the 600’s come with a 4.4mmm cable. I plug my charging cable into the bottom of my DAP (Sony ZX-300) and then 4.4mm cable into my balanced port. And then I spent 4 to 5 hours listening to music. First off, it was a BIG step down from my SMSL SU-8/Violectric V220 chain. Within a half hour I was used to it, but I am not sure if it was the system or the headphones, but the music sounded “smaller” or “compressed”. I played some rocky stuff like Audioslave some other alt rockers and the sound was not great, to me. I decided to try my testing favourite, Florence and the Machine. Wow, did it sound Great! I played her for like and hour and a half and then moved on to Ruby Waters which was more goodness. I then ignored the playlists and just went alphabetically and let it all play. I don’t want to form an opinion off DAP usage, but most things sounded really good. I can tell right now though that I would not enjoy Two Feet, Deap Valley, Family Force 5, Sleigh Bells or a lot of Nine Inch Nails with these.
But with vocals centred music, I think these are going to be great and that is most of my music.
Tomorrow I will get back on the system and see how the sound differs from my little DAP run today. My plan is a few days on my SS amp and then move to the tube amp on the weekend. When my balanced cable shows up next week, I will throw them on the Liquid Platinum.
So far I am pretty impressed and keeping an open mind. I think tomorrow I will do some more head to heads with the Elex’s and maybe the Sundara’s also.
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Another update on the HD660’s.
First off, I tested the balanced cable yesterday on the LP for one minute and it works fine. 
Today I started using the Sundara’s as competitor. The Elex’s and HD600’s are POLAR opposites! Going from one to the other just sounds weird. The ELEX is that hot/sexy girl that you know will be high maintenance and it will end badly, but you can’t stop. The 660’s are the nice looking girl that has a good job and will cook you a great meal, if you’re nice. It really is a night and day difference and your choice will depend on how you are feeling.
The Sundara’s slot nicely in the middle. Not as intense and over the top as the Elex’s, but certainly more “fun” than the 660’s.
First couple of hours was Rod Stewart (1970-1985) and the the Stones (1965-1980). The music did not sound good to me at all. It sounded unclear, there are was no separation, muddy bass, etc. Plowed through some pop and rock stuff and I was starting to feel like this purchase was a HUGE mistake. I plugged in the Sundara’s several times and they sounded noticeably better. Yikes!
Then I ran into my collection of Seether. Wow, my mood changed instantly. The drums were banging hard, the screams were penetrating and everything sounded full and clear. I stayed in there for a long time. I listened to half of my 60 Seether tunes and it was wonderful! I inserted the Sundara’s several times and they didn’t sound as tight or focused as the 660’s, which surprised me. I should note here that most of the Stones and Stewart stuff was lossy. In fairness half of my seether collection is also lossy. The first couple of songs in my playlist were all lossy and sounded awesome! I kept checking the file type to see if I was being influenced by better quality files. After several Seether songs, the HD660’s never came off again.
I then moved on to other pop and rock like Sheryl Crow, Serena Ryder, etc and everything was sounding very nice. The closing album was by a jazz outfit called Shalosh. The album is Studio Konzert for Headphones. Unsurprisingly these things are dynamite on Jazz! It was like starting with my three new Thelonious Monk albums on Wednesday. Silky smooth and you could clearly hear every instrument and every note.
That is three full days on my Violectric HPA V220 amp (which impresses me more every day that I use it). With the right music, these headphones are a standout. Having said that, if I spent a whole day rocking with my Elex’s and put these on, I am sure I would be VERY underwhelmed. Of course that happens to me a lot with changing headphones. The sound signatures in my collection are SO different that it takes me anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to acclimate to new 'phones, depending on how different they are. IME, going from open back to closed back always feels like a huge step down.
Starting tomorrow, I will be A-B’ing the 660’s between the V220 and my tube amp (MAD Ear+ HD II). I am really curious how they scale. When I put my HD58X’s on my tube amp, they were so far behind my HD600’s and Grado’s as not to exist. I sold them weeks later.
For this test, I will A-B the two amps and then stick with the tube amp and compare the 660’s to the Grado’s, which is what this tube amp was bought for.
I wanted to start with a good solid SS amp and get a good feel for what these headphones do and I am mostly impressed. Now it is off to the tubes for the weekend and then next week it is off to the balanced amp for the big finish.
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This will be my last update on these headphones. Yesterday and today I tried using these with my tube amp (MAD Ear+ HD II). It did not go well. I could not find a single piece of music on which the 660’s sounded better with the tube amp vs the Violectric V220. I am not sure if it is the fault of the amp or the headphones. Very disappointing.
By mid afternoon today, I was pretty disgusted and I decided to accelerate to Phase 3. I pulled out my new cheapie balanced cable and put it on. And then I plugged my newborns into the Liquid Platinum. WOW!!! What a great partnership. On selected songs it is even outdoing the V220. I don’t recall any Senn’s having bass like this, except maybe the HD58X. It is not overbearing or anywhere it’s not invited. But if your song has bass this combo will bring it loudly and firmly. I quickly stopped going back and forth and just enjoyed the 660’s on the LP. This is a great combo! These, the Sundara’s and the Elex’s will cover every taste and mood I might have on the Liquid Platinum. I will definitely be doing a LONG jazz session with these and the LP.
These on the LP (balanced) and on the V220 (SE) are just about magical for me.
Keeping this wrap-up much shorter than my first two novellas. I really do like these headphones. But they do not tolerate BAD music at all. That will limit their use as I do have lots of old rock, lots of Motown and even bad sounding new rock. My other headphones gloss over the defects, but not these.
But, if you’re in the mood, and you have the right music going, these would be an all day joy. I love the super light weight and the clamp isn’t bad. I will definitely be keeping these as it is definitely another sound signature in the arsenal.
After four years and five sets of headphones, I am now a Senn fan. Although to be fair I really did like the HD58X’s too.
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great write ups Shane! glad they’ve found a spot in the lineup 
you MAD amp is for low impedance headphone?
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Thank you and yes the MAD is aimed at low impedance. Having said that the HD58X’s and HD660’s were not pleasant on it. However the HD600’s were Awesome on it.
Today I am going Steely Dan/Donald Fagan for two hours and then I will finish with two hours of Trombone Shorty. The LP/HD660’s is a Great combo! 
When I do use my 660’s it’s with an iFi Micro to a little dot MKII with 2 x 6H6PI/6H6N Novosibirsk NEVZ-Soyuz and 2 x 5654W/EF95 Siemens valves but also know as tubes? lol…sounds pretty musical too me
Has anyone tried running the HD 660S off of DAP?
I have a Sony WM1A, and since the 660S come with 4.4 balanced cables i am really interested in purchasing them. Highly appreciate for anyone’s input on how well the headphones run off of portable DAP’s.
Not sure how relevant this is, but I just happened to have read ShaneD’s three posts a bit above yours before reading yours. In the first one he writes:
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There is a typo there in that it should say 660 vs 600.
I think my Grado’s are awesome from my DAP. But the “bigger” 'phones like the 660’s and especially the Focal Elex’s were not nice at all out of the DAP.
Also, the 660’s are pretty open to be used as an “on the go” headphone. But man, do they sing with a good amp. I will be keeping these for a long time. Great sound and very different from anything else I own.
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There are certainly DAPs capable of full sized cans, but I have no experience with the WM1A, so I can’t speak to that particular pairing. My 58x sounds pretty decent from my Hiby R5 and Cayin N6ii, but it’s not particularly picky.
Thanks to everyone for their feedback.
I do have an Atom amp to run them. But i do enjoy my DAP for walking around the house listening to music. Just wanted to clarify some of my doubts.
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I’ve only had the 660s about a week, running through a 789. The biggest thing I’ve noticed so far, they seem to like live music a lot. I’m enjoying them coming from the 58x.
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My current chain is SU-8 -> CTH -> JJ Gold Tube -> SE (for the time being) -> 660s. I think with this setup, I finally understand all the hubub about the Senn 6 series. I never quite got there before when I’ve owned the 6XX or the 58X, but this sounds fantastic; intimate and accurate, vocals forward but good bass punch, and well-extended highs (not forward or fatiguing). Really nice.
I’m not sure about this headphone at full retail, but for $300 used, I think it’s pretty phenomenal.
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Just to add on a couple of impressions here as I’ve had a good chance to really give this headphone a good listen over the last few days. I really like them.
The highs are really nice. Very good resolution, but they aren’t forward or fatiguing, so I find myself focusing on them more in an enjoyable way.
I really think they do an excellent job imaging. I’m hearing a good amount of depth to the stage, and while not huge, I do think they express width really well too.
I did do some gaming in them (casual, single-player), and I thought they did a great job with that too.
Add to that good comfort, light weight, being relatively easy to drive, and I think these are a great all-arounder. Easy to put on and just enjoy whatever media you like.
It is worth noting that I very much prefer them on the CTH than on the Magnius. The CTH smooths everything out slightly and adds some width. Also worth noting that I’m only running SE, as I don’t have my balanced cable yet (why do they include a 4.4?).
Easy rec if you can find them for $300.