[Windsor]

Never knew there was a deluxe edition of Love Supreme.  Ordered- thanks Windsor

Glad to provide a loving pointer - the Deluxe edition of A Love Supreme is a definite step up from the previous version of that album I have.

 

[TheDeliveryMan]

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Nice write-up! Thanks Windsor!

 I agree-- excellent job!!! Keep it up

 

[davidgotsa]

Sennheiser USA just shared a link to this on their facebook page. 

 

[dj nellie]

Great writeup, thanks for doing this.  I definitely got a sense of what the headphones I haven't heard are like with different genres, and I'm now a bit more curious to hear the HD700.  Just some thoughts which I hope are helpful:
 
I thought that your impressions of the headphones seemed to focus on bass/mid/treble, clarity, and soundstage, which are definitely good ways to differentiate headphones.  But I would have liked to have also read your holistic impression of the music--how did certain instruments/vocals sound, what parts of the song stuck out to you as particularly realistic or enjoyable, what sounds didn't feel realistic, how one headphone really nailed the portrayal of X compared to another headphone, etc.  I know it's hard to do that and also keep the impressions brief, and it's hard to use words to accurately describe a musical experience.  That explains why I want to write a headphone review, but I keep procrastinating...
 
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Using a different source/amp would have resulted in a less neutral sound. The DA10, from what I understand, is about as transparent as sources get. Also, a reliable source informs me (excuse the pun) that Sennheiser use - or at least have used - neutral sources/amps inc. a Lehman Black Cube and/or a Grace m903 when creating their headphones. If that's true, using the neutral Lavry or similarly neutral source/amp will present recordings via the HD 700 as Sennheiser heard them when creating them. More coloured sources/amps will result in a more coloured sound out of the headphone they feed.

 
I'm not sure you really mean to say that the DA10 is the end-all and be-all of DACs and amps, and anything else would be more colored.  I owned and enjoyed the DA10, but I found it to be on the flat and dull side of neutral, especially from the headphone out.  IMO, I also felt that it could use a more realistic tonality (it sounded a bit too digital to me) and a larger soundstage.  (I only used the DA10 with the LCD-2, Edition 8 and D2000.)  Now that I've spent some time with another DAC (Perfectwave DAC), as well as my 2nd desktop amp, I'm seeing that there is definitely more to the music that the DA10 wasn't giving me.  But the DA10 is a pretty awesome all-in-one setup for the money and size. 

 

[Windsor]

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Great writeup, thanks for doing this.  I definitely got a sense of what the headphones I haven't heard are like with different genres, and I'm now a bit more curious to hear the HD700.  Just some thoughts which I hope are helpful:
 
I thought that your impressions of the headphones seemed to focus on bass/mid/treble, clarity, and soundstage, which are definitely good ways to differentiate headphones.  But I would have liked to have also read your holistic impression of the music--how did certain instruments/vocals sound, what parts of the song stuck out to you as particularly realistic or enjoyable, what sounds didn't feel realistic, how one headphone really nailed the portrayal of X compared to another headphone, etc.  I know it's hard to do that and also keep the impressions brief, and it's hard to use words to accurately describe a musical experience.  That explains why I want to write a headphone review, but I keep procrastinating...

 
I agree with your findings on my review and I love the idea of an even more music-centric focus for reviews; after all it's most probably due to music that we are posting on this forum now.
 
I often find that in life technicalities can get in the way, and like the master musician, to whom her keyboard is transparent, the equivalent in audio reproduction seems to be the playback system that gets out of the way of music, allowing the music to speak unencumbered, like a clear mind free from the distraction of incessant thinking.
 
Thanks for the feedback; I'll consider it for my future contributions!
 
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I'm not sure you really mean to say that the DA10 is the end-all and be-all of DACs and amps, and anything else would be more colored.  I owned and enjoyed the DA10, but I found it to be on the flat and dull side of neutral, especially from the headphone out.  IMO, I also felt that it could use a more realistic tonality (it sounded a bit too digital to me) and a larger soundstage.  (I only used the DA10 with the LCD-2, Edition 8 and D2000.)  Now that I've spent some time with another DAC (Perfectwave DAC), as well as my 2nd desktop amp, I'm seeing that there is definitely more to the music that the DA10 wasn't giving me.  But the DA10 is a pretty awesome all-in-one setup for the money and size. 

 
I certainly wouldn't say that the DA 10 - or any other equipment - is the be-all-and-end-all of DACs/Amps as there is always more potential for improvements with anything, and I am definitely open to hearing options over-and-above the performance of the DA 10, particularly in the direction of retaining neutrality and increasing realism and natural timbre without adding colour (suggestions welcome).
 
Best wishes to you!

 

[YoengJyh]

Hahaha, you supported Sennheiser product here. Causing them to add praising reviews. 
 

 

[Windsor]

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Hahaha, you supported Sennheiser product here. Causing them to add praising reviews. 
 

 
I just posted the truth of what I heard with no attachment to outcome; it was nice of Sennheiser to take the time to acknowledge it.

 

[jchandler3]

Winsor, I loved your writeup and found it very helpful. It's nice to see the HD700 getting some good marks, since I wanted them to be good 

 
I'm curious as to what you think about the HD700 thread's negativity (found here). Why is your experience so much more positive?
 
I'm currently have the HD650, would like to upgrade and I'm between the HD700 and HD800. Your review certainly helped. 

 

[Windsor]

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Winsor, I loved your writeup and found it very helpful. It's nice to see the HD700 getting some good marks, since I wanted them to be good 

 
I'm curious as to what you think about the HD700 thread's negativity (found here). Why is your experience so much more positive?
 
I'm currently have the HD650, would like to upgrade and I'm between the HD700 and HD800. Your review certainly helped. 

 
The negative posts in the HD 700 thread are obviously because those who wrote them thought about the HD 700 negatively, and I don't know why those people thought that way.
 
My experience with the HD 700 was most probably more positive because I was thinking more positively, but really, all I did was tell the unbiased truth as I heard it, to the best of my ability. Like everything else, in the world of audio, personal truth is very subjective; what sounds like 'great bass' to one person may sound 'overly muddy and boomy' to another.
 
On another note, these days my experience of life in general these days is usually very positive and grounded. The more I deepen my understanding of the nature of thought and how we as human beings create our experience of life, the more beautiful life gets, the better I feel, and the better music sounds. My life has transformed greatly in the past 2 years, and especially so in the last six months, and I'm happy to have a conversation with you - or anyone else for that matter - about such topics if you feel so inclined.
 
Anyway, I'm glad my review was helpful to you. Thanks for your reply.  

 

[YoengJyh]

I will grab that HD700 once i got chance to audio them in my local retailer shop and if i love them. Really thanks a lot Windsor. If not, my next upgrade is solely focusing on LCD3 only.
 
Any one know who is Myparrot1 in Youtube? Any ideas?

 

[Magick Man]

Winsor, I loved your writeup and found it very helpful. It's nice to see the HD700 getting some good marks, since I wanted them to be good :rolleyes:

I'm curious as to what you think about the HD700 thread's negativity (found here). Why is your experience so much more positive?

I'm currently have the HD650, would like to upgrade and I'm between the HD700 and HD800. Your review certainly helped. 

It certainly flies in the face of Purrin's tests and charts. From what I've heard, because they're sitting right here on my desk, I can't agree with Windsor's observations. I can endure the HD700s and I've somewhat gotten used to them (brain "burn-in"), but I don't enjoy them. With material that I normally play, such as I Alone by Live (from Throwing Copper vinyl cat# 00881109971), the cymbals are very nearly painful and have me reaching for the volume knob. This isn't the case with my HE-6s and other "bright" cans that I own, so there is an issue here.

I just want to know what's going on.

 

[smcginni]

Windsor, thanks so much for your impressions. If you compare the stock hd800 cable to the sound you get with the black dragon (especially in the treble issues), do you think that this kind of adjustment would help and/or be valid with the hd700? I have one on the way to try out (hd700) and am already considering ways that some of these perceived "shortcomings" might be adjusted. I look forward to comparing what I hear to what you heard.

 

[imackler]

Thanks for the fascinating and useful read! Just window shopping, but it was nice how there was such a range of heapdhones compared, many of which many of us have owned/tried in addition to those "top tiers" currently unreachable to many of us. Including phones like the ATH-M50, HD25-1ii and HD600 made the other phones seam somehow both more real and more desirable.

 

[xzobinx]

thanks for your great review 
I think it's another case which shows how being the best at nothing ( through it is best at something 

 ) but being bad at nothing can make you the overall best

 

[Windsor]

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It certainly flies in the face of Purrin's tests and charts. From what I've heard, because they're sitting right here on my desk, I can't agree with Windsor's observations. I can endure the HD700s and I've somewhat gotten used to them (brain "burn-in"), but I don't enjoy them. With material that I normally play, such as I Alone by Live (from Throwing Copper vinyl cat# 00881109971), the cymbals are very nearly painful and have me reaching for the volume knob. This isn't the case with my HE-6s and other "bright" cans that I own, so there is an issue here.
I just want to know what's going on.

 
Interesting. 
 
When I wrote my review, I wasn't listening to just the HD 700 for a prolonged length of time as I compared it to the other headphones on trial, and I didn't experience any pain with the HD 700 when listening FYI: my listening volume for the tests was around 70 dB. I wouldn't have rated the HD 700 as highly as I did nor would I have recommended them in my review if I was experiencing pain from them. My impressions were the truth as I heard it.
 
As many head-fi members from the HD 800 appreciation thread will probably know, I have posted with concerns about my hearing since experiencing ringing in my ears from bright headphones such as the HD 800 and T1. Such ringing now seems to have been alleviated by me lowering my overall listening volume to around 70 dB.