New Sennheiser pads measured.

[soundwave76]

Question: The HD660S pads are quite firm and start to hurt my ears with eyeglasses after some time. Can I replace the pads with the HD650 pads, which are softer if I recall correctly? Any other softer pad recommendations?

 

[solderdude]

The current pads for HD650 and HD660S(2) are the same ones.
The older pads are indeed a bit softer.
I would recommend to lower the clamping force for more comfort.

Some people claim just keeping it on a stack of books does the trick but I prefer to bend the metal pieces exactly to the desired pressure.
Totally reversible too and when bent a bit too loose you can bend it back to a bit higher clamping force again.

Do NOT try to bend the plastic headband and ONLY apply force to the metal part. Do this incrementally with a fitting after each bending so you can get the perfect clamping force.
Works for all similar models.

 

[Seamlessly Docked]

Hi, could I ask if, after a few years, the change has ended up being quite noticeable? I want to start out the headphones hobby (?) with neutral headphones and had decided on 600/650 with 600 winning out due their sound as pads wear out, but that was before I learned of this revision.

Unfortunately, I cannot try any of them except one very worn-out (and probably with old pads) HD650. I just want a good reference pair to anchor myself a bit better as I start, but as the first pair, I will also be keeping them forever, somewhat religiously, so I am sorry if I sound a bit fussy.

 

[solderdude]

The new HD600 (probably) has a hair more 'body' (not confirmed but extrapolating from experiments with HD650 and HD58X)

An alternative for HD600 is the much cheaper HD560S but there are differences in 'feel' and comfort.

 

[Seamlessly Docked]

Thank you very much. By having more 'body', does that mean the vocal/mid is a tiny bit more present because the bass is reduced by a tiny bit?

I do not wish to detract the thread, but may I also ask if HD560s sound sibilant more often than HD600/650, mainly on vocal? It is my (should be) preference I use as a tie-breaker under an assumption that they are all relatively neutral sounding. (My source is Apple Music on MacBook Pro M1.)

 

[solderdude]

There is more sample to sample variation in HD560S (tolerances less tight) it seems.
Also the newer versions are less 'bright' compared to earlier ones (< 2022).

HD600/650, over the years, also have changed a little due to drivers and pads but are overall fairly consistent. The HD650 has tighter tolerances than HD600.

The HD600 is shifted in tonality a little bit closer to the older HD650 and the HD650 is a tiny bit 'warmer' than the version of a few years back.
The differences are small but detectable and only valid for fresh pads.
This is why Amir's measurement of the HD600 and HD650 were so similar... pad wear/aging.
The tonality changes a little over time due to pad wear (becomes slightly darker sounding).

For mixing I would recommend HD600 over HD650. It will lead to a bit more low bass and less 'strident' mids in the mix.

 

[Seamlessly Docked]

Thank you so much