So along with all that I have gone through in my testing of headphones for the last couple of months in this hobby, I have learned a lot and grown in my understanding. I discovered things that matter the most vs the things I am ok with gaining or losing. There are no perfect headphones for every single person and every single situation. And all sound-related things are subjective. So my experience is my own in most things I bring up. And so I move on to this article.
Now I understand I could have brought this up in my last article about the Sennheiser 660s but I forgot to mention it fully. Comfort ... Omg that comfort. When I first got the 660's, being my first pair NEW pair of Sennheiser as opposed to my 58x which were already used. I experience very tight clamping force that I just couldn't get used to and thought these headphones were really uncomfortable. This in turn could have also affected my overall sound opinion as well. Nobody can listen truly in pain. And time affects the overall comfort for better or worst in all headphones. Even my Sundara's I had, which I thought was the perfect comfort level grew to be uncomfortable ..causing sinus headaches. So I honestly thought this was going to be one of those headphones I could wear for long periods of time. But thankfully I was wrong. After my 5th stretching treatment on the 660's I gave up. It wasn't until I went back to them one more time and stretched them one more time after pulling them from the closet to prepare to send them back, that they became perfect, and I mean absolutely perfect. For the first time, I could feel what the pads were designed to feel like. I could feel the perfect surround feeling around my ears and against my head. So I decided to give them a few more days of burn-in just to be sure there were no other surprises for me and they were.
Comfort and aging of sound changes in the use made all the difference in the world.
Everything just started standing out finally. The materials used in the crafting of these headphones finally stood out, the quality of pads, and the weight of the headphone all played an amazing role in the experience of these headphones. I finally get why others have given these headphones the Sennheiser Crown for their lineup and why even Sennheiser defends its 660's over others that may be close to the tonality in their lineup but don't do quite the same things. Now with that said, I still think that the difference isn't worth double for any people out there asking. But if you are looking for the absolute best and are willing to spend the money. I don't see anything under that $1000 mark that I would purchase over this headphone that will deliver the quality, longevity, sound, and comfort better than the 660's. And if you looking for the "best cost to performance" ..then the 58x is still my choice in any price period. Nothing delivers performance compared to its price better than the 58x. But again...if best is what you seek, the 660 is that mountain top under $1000. Does this mean you won't find a headphone that might have better soundstages or better bass? No, but you won't find the total package better than in The Sennheiser 660s IMO.
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