[sygnus21]

   
.. because we know how Head-Fiers love the HD700!  I get trolled in other threads when I suggest someone to look into this headphone, it's beyond frustrating - especially when most people who comment clearly haven't even listened to it! </rant>

I don't know why you guys are getting upset over this. Someone is going to argue with you in a forum if you say the sky is blue, or that day is day and night is night. It's just the nature of the internet.
 
Anyway to be honest the HD700/800 is an acquired taste not necessarily for everyone. I certainly wasn't blown away when I first heard my HD700's; that had I heard them before purchase I might not ever have bought them. Such is the way of life now as brick & mortar stores are disappearing so you now have to buy everything online and thus "rely" on internet and user reviews. At any rate I do own a pair and am learning to acquire their taste. That said, depending on what I'm listening to or how I feel, I'll look past the 700's and grab my Audio Technica ATH M50X's.  I suspect I'm not the only one who feels that way.
 
My two cents.

 

[Hammy]

  I don't know why you guys are getting upset over this. Someone is going to argue with you in a forum if you say the sky is blue, or that day is day and night is night. It's just the nature of the internet.
 
Anyway to be honest the HD700/800 is an acquired taste not necessarily for everyone. I certainly wasn't blown away when I first heard my HD700's; that had I heard them before purchase I might not ever have bought them. Such is the way of life now as brick & mortar stores are disappearing so you now have to buy everything online and thus "rely" on internet and user reviews. At any rate I do own a pair and am learning to acquire their taste. That said, depending on what I'm listening to or how I feel, I'll look past the 700's and grab my Audio Technica ATH M50X's.  I suspect I'm not the only one who feels that way.
 
My two cents.

 
Agreed.  I was more taking issue with the concept that Reddit is hate central and Head-Fi is HD700's own personal fan club.  Not that I'd ever be seen to be defending Reddit..

 

[sygnus21]

Well I've never been to reddit, but I've certainly been to, and am a member of some sites where some act like children. There are some sites where I've simply dropped out due the stupidity of some.
 
Peace

 

[moonbogg]

OK guys, how much am I missing out on by driving these with a ZxR?  Really now, I know people hate sound cards because they are often targeted at gamers and we all hate gaming, gimmicky stuff, but what am I missing here by using these cans with this sound card?  50% less performance?  20%?  1%? 

 

[DavidA]

  OK guys, how much am I missing out on by driving these with a ZxR?  Really now, I know people hate sound cards because they are often targeted at gamers and we all hate gaming, gimmicky stuff, but what am I missing here by using these cans with this sound card?  50% less performance?  20%?  1%? 

I don't think you are missing out on much, I still use my Asus STX and DG sound cards and with the HD-700 being some what easier to drive I don't think you are missing much.  My guess would be 5% but I haven't used a ZxR so this may or may not be valid. 
 
Another way to look at this is my GF loves the HD-700 out of Fiio X3 which she uses everyday when she walks the dog, she is picky so for her to say she likes it is saying something.

 

[buke9]

  OK guys, how much am I missing out on by driving these with a ZxR?  Really now, I know people hate sound cards because they are often targeted at gamers and we all hate gaming, gimmicky stuff, but what am I missing here by using these cans with this sound card?  50% less performance?  20%?  1%? 

I can't give you a % as no one can but I think you are missing out a bit out of a sound card versus a nice dac and amp ymmv. I think all cans like more power.

 

[sygnus21]

  OK guys, how much am I missing out on by driving these with a ZxR?  Really now, I know people hate sound cards because they are often targeted at gamers and we all hate gaming, gimmicky stuff, but what am I missing here by using these cans with this sound card?  50% less performance?  20%?  1%? 

I thought I answered your question earlier in my previous post to you.
That said I happen to own the card, and still have it, because I am a gamer, and as a gamer, my Teac DAC won’t provide the immersion the ZXR does -  surround sound, sound effects, etc.
As a audiophile card, I thought it did good for what it is. I actually did a review on it here: My Thoughts on Creative's Soundblaster ZXR Soundcard.
With that, In my opinion, while the card isn’t a dedicated DAC, I think it does a good job of playing music. It just comes down to what you have connected to it in terms of speakers, headphones or other audio equipment; also what media player and files you’re using.  And to answer the larger question… the card is definitely capable of driving the HD700’s.  No problem there.  

 

[Saoshyant]

Keeping in mind the HD700's original price, there was a bit of deserved dislike for them.  For the original cost, I'd have rather gotten the LCD2.  But given the price drops over the past couple years, the HD700 has become an increasingly better deal than it was in the past, to the point where I'd argue it's an outstanding value these days, especially if you got it for $425 or less.  While it's easy to feel that Head-FI loves the HD700, there's still a bit of dislike even here for it.  It's just easy to feel like it's widely loved here when you spend time on this thread.  I don't regret buying it whatsoever personally, and use it every day for everything, getting much more head time than the rest of my phones combined.

 

[DavidA]

@Saoshyant, very good point about the original price.

 

[buke9]

I think the Dan Clark Tidal Play list for Ether sounds great also for the HD-700. Just give this a try  LINK.

 

[Matro5]

  @Saoshyant, very good point about the original price.

 
Agreed. You've got to correlate impressions to price, and the price has been dropping steadily (while the HD650 has been rising).
 
I've read negative posts on here to the effect, "the HD700 sucks, I wouldn't pay more than $800 for it." A lot of that sentiment is related to the fact that a used / closeout HD800 is within reach at that the HD700's original MSRP. I have no doubt that I'd love the HD800, but that comparison was no longer valid at the price I paid, and it was more of a toss-up between the 650 and the 700.

 

[sygnus21]

@Saoshyant.
 
I also agree about the price point.  Anyway at the time I looked at the HD700's they were going for $425 at Amazon; however, at that time I was also getting Teac's UD-503 DAC, also down, from $999 to $884.  In the end I just got the DAC and waited till later to get the HD700's.
 
By the time I decided to get them they'd risen up to $537,  though I got them from Hi Fi Heaven for $499.  With that, had they been priced any higher I may have considered either the HD600's or 650's. The thing is though, had I paid more, given my initial reaction to hearing them, I may well have sent them for a refund, even at a 15% restock fee.  Point is, it was the sub $500 dollar mark that made me stick with them. In the end I'm glad I did, but they are an acquired taste in my opinion.

 

[moonbogg]

  I thought I answered your question earlier in my previous post to you.
That said I happen to own the card, and still have it, because I am a gamer, and as a gamer, my Teac DAC won’t provide the immersion the ZXR does -  surround sound, sound effects, etc.
As a audiophile card, I thought it did good for what it is. I actually did a review on it here: My Thoughts on Creative's Soundblaster ZXR Soundcard.
With that, In my opinion, while the card isn’t a dedicated DAC, I think it does a good job of playing music. It just comes down to what you have connected to it in terms of speakers, headphones or other audio equipment; also what media player and files you’re using.  And to answer the larger question… the card is definitely capable of driving the HD700’s.  No problem there.  

 
Sorry if your previous post went in one ear and out the other.  I am especially wondering about the high output impedance of the ZxR.  People seem to make a pretty big deal about that, so I was wondering what people's opinions are as far as putting a performance loss in percentage form.  It takes some guts to come out and say it because audio is subjective to a large extent, but if someone is confident that the high output impedance is wrecking the 700's performance, I was curious about a percentage, even if a guess.  Someone guessed 5%.  That sound fair.  At least its a real value, even if based on subjectivity to a degree.

 

[DavidA]

Interesting conversations here about the HD-700, I got mine before the big price drops and even at the price I paid ($598?) I though it was a pretty good deal, HD-650 was about $450 range and HD-600 was $25 less than that.  One thing I noticed about the HD-650/600 is that since they are harder to drive than the HD-700 they actually end up costing more since you need to add the cost of an amp to go with them while the HD-700 can be used from a DAP like my girlfriend does and get pretty good sound.  If you already have a good OTL amp then I think the HD-650/600 is a better deal since the HD-650 has been as low as $290 (what I paid) while the HD-600 has been down to $239 (paid $180 used, like new).
 
I would find it hard to give up either the HD-650 or HD-700 due to really different sound signatures and how I use them.

 

[DavidA]

   
Sorry if your previous post went in one ear and out the other.  I am especially wondering about the high output impedance of the ZxR.  People seem to make a pretty big deal about that, so I was wondering what people's opinions are as far as putting a performance loss in percentage form.  It takes some guts to come out and say it because audio is subjective to a large extent, but if someone is confident that the high output impedance is wrecking the 700's performance, I was curious about a percentage, even if a guess.  Someone guessed 5%.  That sound fair.  At least its a real value, even if based on subjectivity to a degree.

I don't think you need to worry about the high output impedance of the ZxR (33 ohms?), I use my HD-700 on my BH Crack (120 ohm output impedance) and it actually sounds really good so my "guess" of 5% might be a little high.