[Brooko]

Lol - nope definitely not a ball and chain.  She's the one person I would give up the hobby for - if it came to that (but it won't).  Scary when you mentioned the Silver Wedding Anniversary.  Never thought of it in those terms before.
 
I'll have to get an audition of the 812 at some stage.  Unfortunately for me it's not that easy with my location.  Maybe next time I'm in the US (next year).  Tania's coming with me this time - but I'm sure I can drag her to an audio shop ........ (yeah right 

)

 

[catspaw]

I am quite surprised.
 
The HD600 vs HD700 seems to be a question that has different answers in different areas.
 
I think I will have to make an audition of 600 vs 700 vs 800 to have a grasp of what I am actually interested in buying.

 

[Brooko]

I think the comparison comes down to individual preference, genres you listen to, and your audio chain.  They are still wonderful headphones (the HD700) - but I have to narrow down my collection, and vs the HD600 for my tastes, the HD600 come out on top.  For others it will be different.

 

[Greggo]

Yep, personal preferences, and performance that is often closer than we care to admit, and a general expectation bias and sensitivity to slight SPL changes and frequency balance changes, etc...  Many folks around here want clear winners and losers, but it doesn't work that way.  One of the reasons I enjoyed Brooko's write up so much, and that includes his own conclusions, is that I could see it turning out that way even though I leaned a slightly different direction.
 
After my first few days with the HD600, I posted in another thread that I felt kind of dumb for not starting there first... I saved for the HD700 because I was afraid I would be disappointed with the 600 or 650, but that is clearly not the case.  With the right amp and music, I could easily spend more time on the 600 vs the 700.  And there is a coherence/balance/organic quality with the 600 that is much harder to connect with through the 700.  I was even nervous that I would find the 600 to be bass light and wished I had gone with the 650 instead, but I wanted as much clarity and neutrality as possible for that particular purchase so I joined the HD600 cult and boy am I glad I did.
 
I am trending towards "newest is king" in my collection also as of late, but not always, and in my defense I have to say that each experience and continued research gets me closer to making choices that fall more inline with my personal preferences.  I have a pair of ATH-M50xBL on the way however, purchased because I just wanted to have them in my collection and something nice for guests/tracking in the home studio.  If I think they sound better than everything else after a few days, I am in real trouble.

 

[Rhamnetin]

Well, I guess I'm going to have to try both.  Thanks for the write up.  

 

[Ninjiaw]

wish i could get an hd700 for $600 but hear in canada they jack up the prices

 

[Rob80b]

  wish i could get an hd700 for $600 but hear in canada they jack up the prices

Not too sure why there has always been a major price gap, even when I picked up my HD580s ten years ago they were priced here at $549, and I could have gotten them at dealer cost at $349 but I managed to get them from audioadvisor.com for less than half that.
Mind you we recently had the HD800’s locally at $1249 while they were still listed at $1499 US but the HD700s at $1199.00 Can ???

 

[gahung]

I really doubt this setup can drive T1 well...

 

[MrEleventy]

Is that from experience or just guess work?

 

[Bas72]

Sadly haven't had the pleasure of listening to any of the Hifiman offerings.  I was tempted to pick up one of the HE500s instead of the HD700, may yet have that chance if I get a reasonable price for the HD700 (although my better half may have different ideas 

).

 
I have a beautiful HE-500 in the classifieds and I'm very interested in trying the HD700. So... Let me know if you're interested. I know I am!
 
(And thanks for your comparison. That was a very enjoyable read!)

 

[Brooko]

  I really doubt this setup can drive T1 well...

 
Not sure if you are referring to my set-up (please clarify) - but .......
 
The NFB-12 will put 150 mW into a 600 ohm load, and the LD MKIV will go up to 500 mW according to the specs.  I personally suspect it would be closer to 300-350 mW.  On both amps I can't even get close to 1/2 way on the pot before the volume is painful.
 
Have you actually heard the T1 through either amp?

 

[Brooko]

   
I have a beautiful HE-500 in the classifieds and I'm very interested in trying the HD700. So... Let me know if you're interested. I know I am!
 
(And thanks for your comparison. That was a very enjoyable read!)

 
Thanks - and if situation was different I'd probably jump at the chance.  My problem at the moment is that my lovely wife would like me to thin the herd a little, and I can't see her being enamoured if I swap one for the other - especially considering the freight for the HD700 to Europe is likely to be at least $100 NZD (around 45 Euro).
 
I'll probably try for a local sale in NZ first - then go Australasia next if no takers.  GL with your sale on the HE500 though.  One of these days I'll get my chance to hear them. 

 

[Bas72]

Thank you sir. I fully understand: keeping your wife happy is way more important than new headphones! Good luck selling yours too...

 

[vertical]

I fully understand: keeping your wife happy is way more important than new headphones!

Yes. Agreed.

Kudos to both of you regarding your priorities.

 

[allets]

 
 I have a pair of ATH-M50xBL on the way however, purchased because I just wanted to have them in my collection and something nice for guests/tracking in the home studio.  If I think they sound better than everything else after a few days, I am in real trouble.

 
I got the ATH-M50xBL for that same purpose. First impression was "oh, bass!", but it sure makes me miss the HD600, so I don't really last long in the studio with it. Things just seem to sound so much more harsh on the ATH-M50 in comparison, but of course after a few hours you get used to it.