[thomascrown]

  Which is better for classical: the HD600 or HD700?

HD700

 

[Click]

  Thanks, I got similar impressions from my brief audition of the 700s but what about the treble peaks? My guess is that they would be less of a problem in classical as in other genres but it would be good to get other opinions on this.

With my limited experience with HD700 and improper amping so far, I only have a problem with treble spikes when listening to music that has consistent and frequent cymbal / high-hat strikes, mainly in certain rock / alternative / metal tracks. Some electronic music can also be a problem due to the high frequencies in the track. Otherwise, I've been enjoying the HD700 for all music genre even though I'm only driving it with a cheap E10.
 
I'm still trying to decide what amp I want to buy. It's tough finding a good amp for a reasonable price. Massdrop has the DarkVoice 336SE amp for $220 + $15 shipping. Has anyone tried that amp with the HD700?

 

[SNSDluv]

  With my limited experience with HD700 and improper amping so far, I only have a problem with treble spikes when listening to music that has consistent and frequent cymbal / high-hat strikes, mainly in certain rock / alternative / metal tracks. Some electronic music can also be a problem due to the high frequencies in the track. Otherwise, I've been enjoying the HD700 for all music genre even though I'm only driving it with a cheap E10.
 
I'm still trying to decide what amp I want to buy. It's tough finding a good amp for a reasonable price. Massdrop has the DarkVoice 336SE amp for $220 + $15 shipping. Has anyone tried that amp with the HD700?

It is pretty good according to my friend who tested my HD700 with his DarkVoice for about 2 days. It does mitigate some of the spikes, but not all. It does not bring out the full potential of HD700 but very close.
It is quite a good amp for the price though. You certainly won't be disappointed if you have budget limitation and you are not too deep in the rabbit hole just yet.
Some people have commented that the tubes that come with DarkVoice isn't the best and can be upgraded.
Hope this helped.

 

[Click]

 
It is pretty good according to my friend who tested my HD700 with his DarkVoice for about 2 days. It does mitigate some of the spikes, but not all. It does not bring out the full potential of HD700 but very close.
It is quite a good amp for the price though. You certainly won't be disappointed if you have budget limitation and you are not too deep in the rabbit hole just yet.
Some people have commented that the tubes that come with DarkVoice isn't the best and can be upgraded.
Hope this helped.

Thanks. Yeah, I'm not deep in the hi-fi rabbit hole yet and hopefully I'll never be. The HD700 deal 2 weeks ago sure brought me deeper in though. 

 
I gotta sell my Audio-Technica headphones now to fund a decent amp. *sigh*

 

[Folex]

The sennheiser 700 really confused me. It wasn't great at anything nor was it lacking anywhere. It seems a solid all-around headphone. The problem is at $500-700 I really expected it to excel in some areas. 

 

[Click]

  The sennheiser 700 really confused me. It wasn't great at anything nor was it lacking anywhere. It seems a solid all-around headphone. The problem is at $500-700 I really expected it to excel in some areas. 

To me, it excels in a lot of areas. Crazy soundstage, details, very high quality bass, and amazing mids. I can't imagine how these would sound if I had a proper DAC/amp for them.
 
Then there's the incredible comfort of wearing these. Compared to my A900X and many other headphones I've tried, these are the most comfortable headphones by far. I'm mainly an IEM guy because I can't stand wearing headphones for longer than an hour or two without my ears getting hot, sweaty, and/or sore. But with HD700, I can wear them for many hours without discomfort. 
 
I wouldn't pay their original retail price or even half of that, but at the $350 I paid for them, it's an amazing deal. If it wasn't for the treble spikes, I would say these are near perfect headphones for me. 

 

[SNSDluv]

  Thanks. Yeah, I'm not deep in the hi-fi rabbit hole yet and hopefully I'll never be. The HD700 deal 2 weeks ago sure brought me deeper in though. 

 
I gotta sell my Audio-Technica headphones now to fund a decent amp. *sigh*

Hahaha. Well one good thing about headphones/DAC/amp is that they don't depreciate as quickly. So you can still sell it given it's in good condition and at least half of the money back. (Y)

I would say only sell it if you are CURRENTLY happy with the sound of HD700 and do not need the Audio-Technica phones. I am saying this because you are not gonna get a night/day difference if you upgrade DAC/amp(unpopular opinion of course, but people play up the sound differences A LOT). I would be a marginal difference.

 

[Stillhart]

  To me, it excels in a lot of areas. Crazy soundstage, details, very high quality bass, and amazing mids. I can't imagine how these would sound if I had a proper DAC/amp for them.
 
Then there's the incredible comfort of wearing these. Compared to my A900X and many other headphones I've tried, these are the most comfortable headphones by far. I'm mainly an IEM guy because I can't stand wearing headphones for longer than an hour or two without my ears getting hot, sweaty, and/or sore. But with HD700, I can wear them for many hours without discomfort. 
 
I wouldn't pay their original retail price or even half of that, but at the $350 I paid for them, it's an amazing deal. If it wasn't for the treble spikes, I would say these are near perfect headphones for me. 

I strongly suspect that if you'd heard some of the direct competitors to the HD700, you might understand why he says it doesn't excel anywhere.  For example, my HE-4 has bass that puts pretty much any dynamic headphone to shame.  The HD650 has even better mids than the HD700.  Etc.  
 
Every headphone is a pile of compromises.  All strengths come with weaknesses.  The HD700 is a great all-arounder, but its weakness is that it isn't really amazing at anything except comfort.  The HE-4 has amazing bass and great highs and it's a detail monster, but it has somewhat recessed mids and it's not particularly comfortable and it's unforgiving of poorly recorded tracks.  Yadda yadda.  
 
To me, the trick is finding the headphone that is superb in the areas you want and whose weaknesses you are okay with.  The HD700 just didn't wow me with any aspect.  Nevertheless, I'm really glad you're enjoying them.  It gives me vicarious pleasure to see people so excited about their new headphones.  I feel the same way about my new HD650.
 

 
 

 
Hahaha. Well one good thing about headphones/DAC/amp is that they don't depreciate as quickly. So you can still sell it given it's in good condition and at least half of the money back. (Y)

I would say only sell it if you are CURRENTLY happy with the sound of HD700 and do not need the Audio-Technica phones. I am saying this because you are not gonna get a night/day difference if you upgrade DAC/amp(unpopular opinion of course, but people play up the sound differences A LOT). I would be a marginal difference.

 
I'd say the differences aren't as much as people make them out to be, but the more you listen to the higher end stuff, the more apparent those small differences become.  I can tell when my music is on random and one of my old V0 tracks comes on instead of a FLAC.  I didn't used to be able to do that...

 

[SNSDluv]

  I'd say the differences aren't as much as people make them out to be, but the more you listen to the higher end stuff, the more apparent those small differences become.  I can tell when my music is on random and one of my old V0 tracks comes on instead of a FLAC.  I didn't used to be able to do that...

You are obviously at a different level and I am not trying to discredit you guys.
The guy I was responding to and I are still newbs. And speaking with my own relative experience, it's hard to tell the difference with sub $300 DAC/amp set.
I currently have Modi+Crack and I can tell modest difference vs. connecting directly to motherboard soundcard.
Still got a long way to go :/
I am looking for upgrade to X-Sabre from Matrix... ><

 

[Folex]

If they were to drop the price down to $300-$350 for a new HD700 I would buy a pair and be really happy with them. The idea of having a headphone that does well in all genres is appealing, but not at the premium price they are currently charging. 

 

[SNSDluv]

  If they were to drop the price down to $300-$350 for a new HD700 I would buy a pair and be really happy with them. The idea of having a headphone that does well in all genres is appealing, but not at the premium price they are currently charging. 

I would respectfully disagree. I think HD700 is a few levels above HD650, which sells for $400.
I think HD700 should be appropriate at around $500-$600, and sales price would be around $400. That $350 sale a few weeks back was pretty sweet for those who got it.
 

 

[caracara08]

I've been battling myself back and forth regarding the 700 and 650.. theres just something about the 700, if you give it a try, that draws me back.  Im gonna keep both for a few more days but I think the 700 might be edging out the 650 and I was not expecting that at all. Yes, its more fatiguing but its more engaging as well.

 

[Evshrug]

You are obviously at a different level and I am not trying to discredit you guys.
The guy I was responding to and I are still newbs. And speaking with my own relative experience, it's hard to tell the difference with sub $300 DAC/amp set.

I currently have Modi+Crack and I can tell modest difference vs. connecting directly to motherboard soundcard.

Still got a long way to go :/

I am looking for upgrade to X-Sabre from Matrix... ><

Fair number of my upgrades have mostly been visible in hindsight.

My Ety's took my "earginity," that was a "Woah!" moment because of the level of detail and extension (yes) into bass compared to the then-standard earbuds. They were a revelation in pretty much every aspect. Since then, "woah!" moments have been harder to come by. The AD700 wow'd me with it's soundstage and pretty good comfort, so much air in those headphones. I went looking for an upgrade to imaging (difficult feat!) and a little more engaging headphone, I went to the Q701 and my first impression was that, for 2x the price, I could hear more bass and it had a different kind of comfort, but it didn't "wow" me right away.

I used the Q701 exclusively for about a week before trying the AD700 again... That's when I realized what I had gained. The Q701 was more balanced and closer to "natural," a dangerous word but "natural" doesn't stand out or excite but when I tried to go backwards it was obvious what I was missing out on, I had trained my ears and they were spoiled. I had both headphones for a few months because I wanted to save money and use the AD700 instead (it plays all the same notes at the same pitch!), but they rarely got head-time and eventually let them go.

For me, there's usually a few things that stand out right away, but I have to get used to a headphone on a broad spectrum of music to "learn it" and then A/B with an older piece of gear to calibrate my brain on how far the new gear has taken me and actually changed how I hear a song or game. One more fun example: I forget which headphone "revealed" it, but when I first heard Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" on car stereo and my laptop speakers, I mostly heard the drum beats and the quick way he said each lyric, and my impression was of an energetic quick paced song... but better headphones revealed backing vocals slowly going "ooohWooooo ooohWOOOOOO..." which made the song much more somber-feeling, I go back to the cheap speakers and I can hear the vocals now that I know to listen for them, it doesn't sound as good/fun on the cheap speakers and I find myself missing hearing it on better headphones. I can't unhear what I've heard.

My "big" DAC upgrade was one of those hindsight upgrades, it didn't stand out by adding much in the way of new audio color or instruments I've never heard (well, a lot more of the ambient noises and spaces and suckling sounds stood out more than before with the cheap Turtle Beach DSS), what it did was clean and remove a lot of the crap cloying up the sound that previously my brain had accepted, ignored, and filled in with more vague stuff and low attention. The adjustment time with the new gear cleared out some of the old brain-burn-in, and then the immediate impression with the old gear and back to the new gear put the improvements in more stark relief and sealed the deal on the upgrade.

 

[migasson]

Just got a pair.

Comparing to the HD800, GS1000i, T90, I ended up taking the HD700's. Why? I gotta a stupid price on the 700's, and though the 800's were inherently superior, the extra cost was a stretch. What I loved about the 700's was that they were exciting, emotive, and I was really immersed in the music. Burson Conductor SL was used as a comparison, and just for ****s and giggles an E12 with ipod also!! The E12 wasn't that bad with the 800's, as a side note

 

[Evshrug]

Interesting note, I have the E12 too (the early one with subbass boost). So, you tried this in a store? I have yet to find a place with an HD800 demo, my wallet's probably relieved lol. I don't know if I'd like the extra weight of the HD800 though, seems to make a big difference on long listening sessions to prevent hot spots on the top of my head.

All those e-words and immersion ramp up the anticipation for me, I find that after the honeymoon phase with a more laid-back headphone I tend to stop listening to music altogether for long stretches of time.