Sennheiser has introduced the HD 660S2 open-back headphone, an overhaul of the well-reviewed cans on the prime of its revered 600 collection. The brand new mannequin, accessible for preorder now, will promote for $699.95 and be accessible on February 21, 2023. That’s a $200 bump from the sooner mannequin, so we should always anticipate huge enhancements to justify the upper retail value.
The HD 660S2 function improved airflow to the headphone drivers and an upgraded, lighter-weight voice coil. Sennheiser touts improved impulse response from the brand new coil and guarantees the change will convey “hyper-realistic textures to the forefront of any efficiency replica.”
This information story is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the best headphones.
The opposite huge enchancment is to the low finish, which Sennheiser claims will yield “deeper, clearer bass with out sacrificing the expansive element the collection is thought for.” Critiques of the sooner mannequin usually identified the underwhelming bass efficiency, so this needs to be a welcome enchancment for anybody who enjoys hip hop, EDM, or different genres that emphasize bone-shaking lows.
Open-back headphones like the brand new Sennheiser HD 660S2 ship a extra expansive sound stage, however they’re not your best option for personal listening in public or once you don’t need to disturb different folks in your house, as a result of their design leaks audio into the setting.
Sennheiser
Because the HD 660S2 is an open-back headphone, it would leak sound and never present a lot in the way in which of noise isolation. That makes them greatest suited to at-home listening in a quiet area. Anybody else within the room is more likely to be disturbed by the muffled playback that leaks from any open-back mannequin.
Sennheiser says its engineers designed the brand new mannequin in Germany, and that the headphone is being manufactured on the firm’s manufacturing facility in Eire. The HD 660S2’s earcups function Sennheiser’s iconic oval form and plush earpads, which the corporate says locations the up to date mannequin’s 300-ohm transducers on the optimum distance from the ear. The transducer encompass, in the meantime, drops the resonant frequency from the 110Hz delivered by the unique HD 660S all the way down to 70Hz, a change that ought to enhance the lows. The outer mesh grilles are designed to handle airflow at what Sennheiser considers the best impedance.
Sennheiser says its engineers redesigned the HD 660S2 to improved airflow to the headphone’s drivers and scale back the burden of its voice coil.
Sennheiser
The HD 660S2 comes with two 5.8 ft user-detachable cables that terminate to a 1/4-inch single-ended stereo plug and a 4.4mm balanced stereo jack plug. A 1/4-inch to three.5mm adapter can be included. The brand new mannequin has bronze accents on a jet-black end, which is able to distinguish the HD 660S2 from the sooner mannequin. Since these are headphones which can be seemingly for use at residence, they arrive with a protecting storage pouch as a substitute of a hard-sided case.
It’s been 5 years because the launch of the unique HD 660, and the brand new HD 660S2 will likely be considerably dearer; the truth is, they’re the corporate’s costliest over-ear mannequin aside from its HD 800 S ($1,799.95) and HD 820 ($1,995) audiophile fashions. We sit up for listening to what Sennheiser has delivered with this new redesign.
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