Sennheiser HD 700 Appreciation Thread - Page 24

Quote:

Originally Posted by brokenthumb 

My E9 puts out around 317mW into 150Ω and they sound fantastic, so you shouldn't have any problem.

 

I think $730 is fantastic deal.  Sennheiser should price them: HD650 for $350, HD700 for $700, and HD800 for $1400.  I think they would sell more HD700's at that price, they wouldn't be so close to the HD800 then.

 

Edit: I also feel the LCD-2 should be around $600 not $1000

Agreed.  The 700s run a bit cheaper in Japan by about US$100, but some other phones run much higher, but some more cost separation from the 800s would probably help sales and probably dampen some of the negativity.  They are great phones though, am rediscovering a lot of music through them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by toschek 

I'm picking these up to replace a set of K702 65th Anniversary editions, which all told are pretty nice. The 65s cost me about $429, I bought the 700s for $730 from Crutchfield. I've only had the opportunity to listen to the 700s alongside the 800s for about an hour total, but I really liked the 700s a lot more. I think I spent maybe 10m of that hour listening to the 800s feeling like I was obligated to give them another shot and then another and then another. On the other hand the 700s were immediately enjoyable and if I'd had $1k on me I probably would have bought on the spot.

Anyway, waiting on those 700s now, going to spend a day ABing the hell out of them with the 65s and will keep whichever feels best. I'm just hoping my little amp is up for the job with 300mW at 150 Ω.

I've read that the 700s do well with tubes, and I have a few to try ... are any of you guys amping with tubes and if so do you have a favorite with them? I have a variety of 6DJ8/6922/7308/Cca types & lookining for one with the best synergy. I'm hoping they go well with an Amperex PQ or Telefunken Cca.

EDIT: One more thing, I see a lot of people griping about the price tag & I agree $1k does seem excessive. Is $730 for these an OK deal or still too much (mine are refurb, but there was no tax or shipping.)

Just picked up the 65th anv, myself and very interested in these as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brokenthumb 

My E9 puts out around 317mW into 150Ω and they sound fantastic, so you shouldn't have any problem.

 

I think $730 is fantastic deal.  Sennheiser should price them: HD650 for $350, HD700 for $700, and HD800 for $1400.  I think they would sell more HD700's at that price, they wouldn't be so close to the HD800 then.

 

Edit: I also feel the LCD-2 should be around $600 not $1000

absolutely! where I live the LCD-2 is even 1350$

Quote:

Originally Posted by toschek 

Unfortunately or fortunately that's capitalism. On the one hand it'd be great to have the best headphones you could buy for $100 but on the other hand the best headphones you could buy for $100 would probably be beats by Dr. Dre.

I don't mind spending $ to help them recoup their development costs plus turn a profit, but I do feel like a lot of stuff out there is objectively not worth $1000+ and some of these guys should be ashamed of their ask price. Admittedly spent only 10 minutes with the HD800 but by the end of my session I was puzzled as to why they weren't $1k and the 700s in the $700 - $750 range. If both sets sold for those prices they'd probably both be the most popular, best-selling high end cans on the planet.

There are some reasonable alternatives to the higher end, but the trend is obviously toward higher costs, and as more people get into the game, the costs will keep rising.  But on the other hand, as far as hobbies go, this one is not the worst by far.  Equipment is expensive, but not prohibitive by comparison to people that collect art, antiques, cars, rare animals, etc.  I also like looking for deals and making careful plans with each new addition.  And there are lots of good choices out there, and careful planning is often rewarded.  Just my two cents.

Quote:

Originally Posted by toschek 

Unfortunately or fortunately that's capitalism. On the one hand it'd be great to have the best headphones you could buy for $100 but on the other hand the best headphones you could buy for $100 would probably be beats by Dr. Dre.

I don't mind spending $ to help them recoup their development costs plus turn a profit, but I do feel like a lot of stuff out there is objectively not worth $1000+ and some of these guys should be ashamed of their ask price. Admittedly spent only 10 minutes with the HD800 but by the end of my session I was puzzled as to why they weren't $1k and the 700s in the $700 - $750 range. If both sets sold for those prices they'd probably both be the most popular, best-selling high end cans on the planet.

my problem is more that for example the lcd2 is sold for 1k in the USA and for 1350$ where I live

I'm finding these to be great all around headphones.  To my surprise they do Metal and EDM really well, I can choose any album and it will sound fantastic.  The other headphone I've owned that has been like this was the HE-500 but I would say the HD700 is the more exciting listen.  I can't stop moving my head and foot tapping to every song.  It's Great!

They make everything sound fun yet my ears never tire of listening to them.  A very smooth yet quick precise sound with a fantastic soundstage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickeyVee 

Congrats on the purchase! I'm sure that you're real going to enjoy them!

I prefer a tube amp with the HD700 and have had luck with Amperex PQ's in the Schiit Lyr. I've also heard good things about the Telefunken Cca's. I'm sure your amp will drive them to adequate levels.. every once in awhile I use the Audioquest DragonFly which drives them loud enough but the Lyr adds great dynamics and authority. Which amp are you going to be using?

Whatever the price is, is it worth it to you? $730 sound like a screaming good deal but I'm in Canada. I have no regrets on the $1K I paid for mine. I'm really enjoying them long after the the bill has been paid.

 

 

I found a Lyr at an incredible price, so I'm going to use that now.  Also picked up a JDS Labs ODAC.   Going to A/B the ODAC with the T1, but I want to stay away from having too many different tubes in the chain.   I already have a matched pair of '66 Amperex 7308s that I bought for the T1, so I will move those over to the Lyr and use an Amperex Holland Bugle Boy for the T1's tube buffer.   I'm probably going to sell the T1 though and stick with ODAC for the time being, it's rated by a lot of people as on par with the Bifrost, it's just little and ugly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brokenthumb 

I'm finding these to be great all around headphones.  To my surprise they do Metal and EDM really well, I can choose any album and it will sound fantastic.  The other headphone I've owned that has been like this was the HE-500 but I would say the HD700 is the more exciting listen.  I can't stop moving my head and foot tapping to every song.  It's Great!

They make everything sound fun yet my ears never tire of listening to them.  A very smooth yet quick precise sound with a fantastic soundstage.

how they handle metal was surprising to me too! didn't expect them to be this engaging

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrSeven 

how they handle metal was surprising to me too! didn't expect them to be this engaging

Unfortunately, most of the metal that I'm used to listening to was mastered with very poor sonics. This includes metal of the 90s such as Metallica (before Bob Rock butchered them), Megadeth, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and pretty much every damn glam rock metal band out. They still sound pretty crap on the HD700s (highly compressed and thin) but nothing that good EQ can't fix. :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by twizzleraddict 

Unfortunately, most of the metal that I'm used to listening to was mastered with very poor sonics. This includes metal of the 90s such as Metallica (before Bob Rock butchered them), Megadeth, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and pretty much every damn glam rock metal band out. They still sound pretty crap on the HD700s (highly compressed and thin) but nothing that good EQ can't fix. :D

The range of these 700s is pretty amazing--I expected some of the genres to shine, but am finding many more, but also the pitfalls of poorly recorded music played through the 700s.  It's affecting my playlist with these, but not necessarily a bad thing.  Shocking how tolerable badly recorded music was on poor playback--

Quote:

Originally Posted by twizzleraddict 

Unfortunately, most of the metal that I'm used to listening to was mastered with very poor sonics. This includes metal of the 90s such as Metallica (before Bob Rock butchered them), Megadeth, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and pretty much every damn glam rock metal band out. They still sound pretty crap on the HD700s (highly compressed and thin) but nothing that good EQ can't fix. :D

I only tried new stuff like soilwork, disturbed and scar symmetry

if I may ask: just for when I'm gonna try some "older" metal how did you EQ them to sound better?  

Quote:

Originally Posted by ALSO 

 Shocking how tolerable badly recorded music was on poor playback--

oh yeah!