Short review, and an interesting A/B comparison:
Setup: foobar2000, ASIO output to Schiit Lyr 3 MB w/ Tung-Sol VT-231 round plate black glass tube. Swapped cans back and forth, played songs twice each time.
Track: Johnny Cash - Hurt (FLAC 44.1k, 739 kbps).
HD 700: Sometimes a wider, albeit shorter soundstage is better. The guitar strokes sound extremely realistic. It's as if you are listening 3 inches away from the guitar itself - you can hear the finger release from the string causing it to play a slightly different note (I think the best way to describe this is a natural finish to the note while transitioning to the next note). Vocals are dead center, and the guitar supports his voice. You can literally hear the saliva in his mouth. Distortion appears towards the later end of the track, but that is part of the recording equipment when the song was made and not a fault of our equipment.
Ananda: A taller soundstage unfortunately does not have an effect on this track. The guitars sound closer to Johnny Cash himself. Imagine something like the guitarists on stools sitting 2 feet apart from Cash himself instead of 6 feet. Detail retrieval of the guitar strings and the plucks are not as prominent; it's like you are sitting in the 3rd row of the audience instead of being 3 inches away from the guitars. It's still very enjoyable, but nothing jumps out at you. The saliva in his voice is there, but you have to put in a very slight effort if you want to locate it.
Track: Eagles - Hotel California (FLAC 44.1k, 899 kbps).
HD 700: Soundstage sounds a tad bit artificially compressed? The realism with the guitars that was present earlier has vanished. This may be because its now an electric guitar instead of an acoustic guitar. Some elements are now muddled together like the bass, vocals, and sometimes the guitar, but drums - especially the cymbals - and the shaker (I believe that's what it is) are still well separated. The guitar strum on the right channel at the beginning and throughout the track is there but you now have to put in effort to "make it real". Slight muddiness to the entire track, but nothing terrible.
Ananda: Suddenly, the soundstage just became as wide as the HD 700. The taller soundstage now helps the overall presentation. Cymbals, drums, and the shaker are just as well separated, but the muddiness is now reduced on the bass and vocals. Beginning of track, I now hear another acoustic guitar in the left channel that I didn't notice before? Imaging is superior to the HD 700 - realism-wise, it's now Ananda's turn. The guitar strum on the right channel of the track is much more forward and you can feel it more. Drum rift at 3:51 has so much more impact! Goosebumps.
Overall, for most tracks and genres I prefer the Ananda for imaging and the tall soundstage. For a few select, niche tracks or applications such as FPS gaming, the HD 700 with its wider soundstage is better.
p.s. not sure if short reviews go in this thread.
