[DLR Group]

hi @Jon-LF,
Do you still have your HD-700's?  I ask as mine will be here tomorrow or Tuesday.  I live at the coast of SC and with the exception of higher-end audio-visual installation/showrooms for home automation, there are no audio stores here at all.  And, those installation stores will sell you 500,000 of stuff and will make your toilet flush automatically, but you'll never hear your gear until is
is installed in your home.
There is a small Best Buy, and even though they have a very small Magnolia section they have nothing to listen to.  I have to rely on this site and other review sites for information for my purchases.  On Head-Fi it appears I made a stinky decision by buying the 700's.  On other review only sites/YouTube channels, many reviewers adore these.
I don't think I've seen a place where so many folks constantly bash products, and not just the Senn HD-700.  I would be willing to bet many have never heard the products, or listened to them for any length of time; yet, they poo poo them regularly. 
 
So, a couple of questions if I might ask of you:  How long have you had your set?  Did you burn them in, or should I?  (Still on the fence about this)  Do you still actually enjoy them and use them regularly?
I mainly listen to things like Pat Metheny, Fourplay, Valeriy Stepenov (from Russia-outstanding), Al Dimiola, Steely Dan, Diana Kralll, Tony Rice, etc. you get the picture.  I have high expectations for the 700's, I like, not love the 650's, and I to be honest am expecting a little more from them.  However, I just had to pull the trigger on these as this past week the prices dropped and I was able to get them brand new from B&H Photo for 424.00 and free shipping.
If you have a chance I would appreciate any input from you, as well as anyone else who actually owns and uses them.(FYI I don't care about the 800's.  I'm not spending 1600 bucks for them, so I don't care how much better they are).
Thanks!
David

 

[ceemsc]

...

Do you still have your HD-700's? 

...

On Head-Fi it appears I made a stinky decision by buying the 700's.  On other review only sites/YouTube channels, many reviewers adore these.
I don't think I've seen a place where so many folks constantly bash products, and not just the Senn HD-700.  I would be willing to bet many have never heard the products, or listened to them for any length of time; yet, they poo poo them regularly. 

...

So, a couple of questions if I might ask of you:  How long have you had your set?  Did you burn them in, or should I?  (Still on the fence about this)  Do you still actually enjoy them and use them regularly?

...

If you have a chance I would appreciate any input from you, as well as anyone else who actually owns and uses them.(FYI I don't care about the 800's.  I'm not spending 1600 bucks for them, so I don't care how much better they are).
Thanks!
David

Hi David,

Yes I still use my HD700. They are my goto pair if I'm after easy-listening without wanting any emphasised bass.

I got these at a bargain as an unwanted xmas gift last year... I suspect the original user simply plugged them into their smartphone expecting miracles & was unsurprisingly disappointed.

In fact thanks to the head-fi bashing, I got these as a value for money purchase. The same thing happened with the DENON Music Manic range so don't let popular opinion weigh too heavily on your purchase decisions.

I don't believe in burn-in; I believe that is the psychological adjustment of your brain getting used to the sound presented to your ears over time.

I too did weigh up whether to pay out more for the HD800 however if I was paying that much; I would expect perfection without any need for modding or minimal EQing which is not the case... Also the HD700 is regarded as more musical & forgiving than the HD800 which made more value sense as well as enjoyment.

 

[DLR Group]

Greetings from the coast of SC and thanks for getting back to me! I've had my 700's for a little over a week. I keep hearing more things I like about them each day. Kind of like you in a way, I got these cheap, 424 and free shipping. I wanted to stay about 600 or less to keep my bride happy since I just made two audio related purchases in the past four months.
I also understand what you mean about base; however, after the 40-45 hours on these things are definitely loosening up, becoming more smooth and the base has improved dramatically. I forget the name of the tune, but if you do a search on YouTube for hi res music, it comes under that category. There are some flac and other files one in which is called deep bass something or another. On this particular recording, the subbase does not reach as far as my Audeze' however, I can still hear it, is just not as much emphasized into the mix vs the Audeze LCD's.

I gotta tell you as mentioned before, I don't believe many of the people destroying this headphone with a passion, has ever actually spent any time with it. Why say it's just horrible, etc. I could understand if they were talking about 1970 RadioShack plastic pieces of junk. In fact, there can be found many redeeming qualities of most anything mentioned on this site depending on one's budget, and whether or not they can hear certain frequencies. Just my two cents, but I believe my ears are correct. I have almost perfect pitch, called relative pitch-spent many years playing professionally in an orchestra, jazz and rock fusion bands etc. studio drummer, and have an excellent ear.
I really am enjoying these cans! David says thumbs up.
Happy New Year everyone! God bless you.

 

[DLR Group]

Here is the link for the sub base along with another sample recording:
 
Sub base:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRfmAG1FoCs&t=1033s
 
Surprising mix showing 700's ability of all frequencies: https://youtu.be/RLisZ2kcpE0https://youtu.be/RLisZ2kcpE0
 
Thanks again for the response. 

 

[Sonic Defender]

Bringing back an old thread for a moment anyway. It is actually sad to see that the HD700 attracts virtually no interest, surprising actually. I have recently had an HD700 on hand for an extended period of time and fully expected to not like it based on what I was reading. Well after some very minor equalization I am happy to say that couldn't be further from the truth, I actually rather like what I'm hearing. For those with an open mind I totally agree with a previous poster that due to the (in my opinion) undeserved brutal bashing the HD700 goes for really low prices both new and used. I don't think the original retail was realistic so I do feel the original price was too high, but certainly anywhere around $500 I think a case can be made for the HD700.

Anyway, it would be nice to see if others are still using and appreciating this headphone.