[striker495]

Hello guys, i just found someone selling a hd700 in really good condition for 350 usd dollars in my local market, right now i just have as sony walkman a45 and a tempotec sonata (not the pro version, yes i know this things isn't the best dac but it works :'D).

Should i go buy it?, or there is any good amp + headphone combo that can beat the hd700 + what i have right now (the walkman and tempotec sonata ) at this pricepoint?
Im looking for a headphone with good soundstage and vocals (i dont mind if there is little bass) , and from what i know the hd 700 has one of the best soundstage presentation at this pricepoint , but i have researched that they need a good amp to sound "good"?, would the a45 have enouth power to drive this thing?

Im not sure what to do now, should i go and buy the hd700 before someone else takes it? or should i be patience and buy something else?

Thanks in advice for any help or tip.

 

[pbui44]

Apparently, the NW-A45 and the HD700 can sound very good, but only if you do a lot of EQ tweaking, according to this NW-A55 review with the HD58X (150 ohms, like the HD700):

https://www.samma3a.com/tech/en/product-reviews/sony-walkman-a55-review/

Ok, I know, that is quite an exaggeration, but that is honestly how I felt at the time. My HD58X just sounded so good and my music collection has never sounded better…for the most part.

You see, what this ClearAudiio+ effect does is to widen the stereo image and apply what seemed to be a w-shaped equalisation curve.
Now, when I say that my music collection sounded great for the most part, the only area where I found this effect to interfere too much is when listening to a binaural album. Afterall, the entire point of a binaural recording is to give headphone users the most realistic stereo image, so by adding another layer of processing just messes around with it too much. But, for the rest of my music, this effect was damn near-perfect. It was almost perfect because I felt that it increased the bass just a little bit too much, but unfortunately you cannot edit this effect manually. This got me thinking though if I could perhaps recreate it with the other effects that are available in the settings. Maybe the ClearAudio+ was just somewhat of a preset. Thankfully, I think I figured it out.

With the help of a few frequency response measurements I eventually got an exact match of the ClearAudio+ effect when I use the Studio setting for the VPT (Surround) effect, enabled the DC Phase Linearizer, and setup a custom equalization curve of +6 at 60Hz, +3 at 1kHz, -3 at 6.3kHz, and another +6 at 16kHz.
This was a big step because now I could tweak the EQ curve to better suit my HD58X whilst still enjoying the bigger perceived stereo image provided by the VPT (Surround) setting.

The specific custom equalization curve with the NW-A45 and HD700 is probably different, but this is basically what you have to enable on the settings. See these links for more info on what notes, instruments, and such are represented at what specific frequency and wavelength:

https://www.teachmeaudio.com/mixing/techniques/audio-spectrum

https://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/sound.spectrum.html

https://mixbutton.com/mixing-articles/music-note-to-frequency-chart/

https://pages.mtu.edu/~suits/notefreqs.html

https://blog.landr.com/eq-cheat-sheet/

https://www.audio-issues.com/music-mixing/all-the-eq-information-youll-ever-need/

This should be more than enough information to make your NW-A45 really sing with the HD700.

 

[pbui44]

Also, to find those PVT effect, DC Phase Linearizer, and Equalizer on your Sony NW-A45:

https://helpguide.sony.net/dmp/nwa40/v1/en/contents/TP0001449051.html

 

[striker495]

thanks, this looks really promising...
So it is possible to run the hd700 with an A45 , i dont mind doing some eq adjustments , hmm... now im even more tempted to buy the hd700 right now, thanks a lot for the help!

 

[robo24]

I think it is. Despite having many other far more expensive headphones, between the comfort and very wide soundstage I still love the HD700. It's especially excellent for movie watching as that wide soundstage gives it a surround sound experience out of 2 channel audio. The treble spike doesn't bother me, though it does sound quite odd when listening to it after time with most other headphones. Personally my brain adjusts to that pretty quickly, and for those who can't tolerate it, Sonarworks Reference 4 is an amazing tool for completely transforming this headphone and it does sound best to my ears when using it.

 

[tomb]

Agreed. The HD700 got a lot of hate until Sennheiser stopped producing them. Every time I heard one, I thought they sounded great.

 

[IceSeven]

It is maybe wiser to buy a pair of used HD800 instead of HD700, considering the little difference between their prices and the dramatic difference of how they sound like

 

[tomb]

It is maybe wiser to buy a pair of used HD800 instead of HD700, considering the little difference between their prices and the dramatic difference of how they sound like

This is probably the key statement in this thread. Unless you can find the HD700 for a very low price, you really are better with the HD800 (despite what I said about liking the HD700). The "S" version is fine, but the original silver HD800 is unbeatable with a great amp or the SDR mod (Super DuPont Resonator). The SDR mod actually mimics the mod that Sennheiser did themselves with the HD800S (but pre-dates Sennheiser's mod, interestingly).

 

[robo24]

This is probably the key statement in this thread. Unless you can find the HD700 for a very low price, you really are better with the HD800 (despite what I said about liking the HD700). The "S" version is fine, but the original silver HD800 is unbeatable with a great amp or the SDR mod (Super DuPont Resonator). The SDR mod actually mimics the mod that Sennheiser did themselves with the HD800S (but pre-dates Sennheiser's mod, interestingly).

It does seem like original 800 or SDR costs at least double a used 700, and if anything they've gone up slightly in price in the past year. I sold my SDR and kept the 700 and don't miss the SDR at all.

 

[Congregator]

700 is worth every penny spent. They are not as wide as the 800 (but let's be honest, the 800/800s have TOO wide a stage), but in general they sound a little more natural in terms of timbre transmission. If you don't listen to music at ear-splitting volume, then A45 should be enough. If not, you can find mini-amplifiers from iFi or Chinese brands on the used market for not too much money

 

[striker495]

I got it! , final price was 320 US dollars, there is so much detail in the songs now, soundstage is by far the best one that i have ever heard in a headphone (i have listened a sony mdr z7 and a beyerdynamic dt 770 pro before).
the a45 can handle the hd700 really well, is almost at 70% or 100% volume most of the time but i dont need more volume anyway.
Thanks a lot for the recommendation guys, i'll try to update my first impressions of the HD700 later.

 

[striker495]

Thanks a lot for the advice of the last time, these headphones sound amazing in movies, they really shine with live concerts and opera and orchesta songs,(maybe due to the big soundstage they have?) but not that good in songs with male and female vocals, but they sound still far better than any other headphone i have tested before, i was using a cheap dac all this time(tempotec sonata) and now is time to buy something else because the last one died a few weeks ago, any recommendations? i was looking to the sony pha 2 at 180 usd dollars (looks gorgeous) but maybe there is something cheaper that can handle the hd 700 far better? (if it is for less than $140 better for me :'D)

 

[Tex Irie]

Are there better headphones at the price you saw the HD700 for? Maybe... If it sounded great yesterday it should sound great today... Comfort, Durability, and Excellent Sound Quality are hallmarks of Sennheiser! If you feel compelled to purchase, enjoy! If you've never heard the HD700 before and you have a chance to audition it, do so! Your ears will tell you the truth. If it's a blind impulse want and you have no option to audition it, do your research! I hope that works out in your favor @striker495. After all it's always about the music! Have a great weekend!

 

[pbui44]

Try to find a FiiO e12 or a5 amplifier. If not, then the PHA-2 will suffice, as long as you can prove from other users that the PHA-2 DAC will play nice with the NW-A45 settings.