[Solarium]

  Mine is 504,xxx. Treble is pretty bright. Sounds perfect on a tube amp (SinglePower MPX3), but with the Schiit Fulla I have to EQ it. I'm guessing on a better solid state amp it probably wouldn't be so bad, but still up there.

 

  Mine too is a 504,XXX. When I run it straight through say an iPod or iPhone, it doesn't sound bright, but it sounds... less full. I usually listen through my Mcintosh Integrated, probably not the best head amp, but it sounds great and on some tracks I even tick up the 10k band on the 5 band equalizer to open up the top end. I don't find them bright at all. One caveat, I've been listening to and loving my Grado RS1i for a few years now, so I may be desensitized to harsh treble, at least according to some opinions here. I have a Crack on the way, I hope it's a good match for the HD700.

 
The one I got from amazon says 3,504,XXX,XXX on the serial number, and the one bought directly from Sennheiser last November says 3,244,XXX,XXX on the serial number. Is that what you guys are talking about? How many revisions are there supposed to be?

 

[thomascrown]

 
Now that the HD800 is unavailable for purchase from the Sennheiser website I hope that means there is an updated version of that HP soon to be released. The current HD800, with a bit more oomph in the bass and a slightly more gentle treble is my dream can. A blend of the super analytical HD800 and the subwoofer like bass of the LCD3 would be nice, then I can finally end my search for the ultimate HP .

It has been discussed elsewhere, apparently there is no hd850 in the next future

 

[Solarium]

Repost

 

[D4NGER BIRD]

   
 
The one I got from amazon says 3,504,XXX,XXX on the serial number, and the one bought directly from Sennheiser last November says 3,244,XXX,XXX on the serial number. Is that what you guys are talking about? How many revisions are there supposed to be?

You're right, the 504,XXX was the ref/order number. My serial is the 3,214,XXX,XXX range.

 

[pietcux]

The 504XXX is the item number. More interesting is the rev. Number. Mine is a rev 1 from October 2012.

 

[D4NGER BIRD]

The 504XXX is the item number. More interesting is the rev. Number. Mine is a rev 1 from October 2012.

Yep, mine says rev 1.0 right next to it.

 

[Rob80b]

 
I seriously doubt the additional gain and slew rate of a balanced output alone have this effect. I always doubted that the cable could "lift the veil" of the HD600, but now I know exactly what I've read people on this forum talk of for years.

Or one could do this which I posted back in 2004

 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/92513/senn-veil-1-8th-inch-foam
 

I've replaced the inner foam with stretched nylon stocking (black of coarse) a few days ago.
(I know this has been covered quite a bit already here http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...r+veilser+veil
and a few other threads but thought it was prevalent to the current post on the Senn Veil)

I have to honestly say the this has to be the best tweak so far, much better than swapping the plastic grills on my HD580's for the metal grills a while back, the sound stage has greatly opened up, bass has become less bloated but with the same extension, midrange and highs are very good, the balance is just about perfect.
This was most obvious on live recordings, there is more apparent depth and a better three dimensional aspect to the music.
I had always had a tendency to throw on the K501’s but with the removal of the foam I’ve become addicted to my HD580’s and can’t seem to get them off my head, for me the veil is gone.
So for the time being anyway, the Senns seem to everything I’ve been looking for in a headphone, (for the time being)

 
 
 

 
Now that the HD800 is unavailable for purchase from the Sennheiser website I hope that means there is an updated version of that HP soon to be released.
 

?????   They're still there
 
http://en-us.sennheiser.com/over-ear-headphones

 

[pietcux]

 
You're right, the 504,XXX was the ref/order number. My serial is the 3,214,XXX,XXX range.

mine has 3212003270 on a sticker on side of the box. I guess from experience with devices coding production dates into serialnumbers, mine is week 32 2012, yours is week 32 2014, if that matches your purchse date. the real serial is in my case the 003270 so device # 3270. They sell lots of this stuff.....

 

[Stanfoo]

I ordered the HD700 from buysonic couple days ago, will post the serial when I get it

 

[Solarium]

Oh, both boxes says the Parts number is 504963 and Rev 1.0. My serial number for the one I bought from amazon 2 weeks ago says 3,504,882,XXX, but I doubt it's made from the 35th week of 2004.

 

[D4NGER BIRD]

 
mine has 3212003270 on a sticker on side of the box. I guess from experience with devices coding production dates into serialnumbers, mine is week 32 2012, yours is week 32 2014, if that matches your purchse date. the real serial is in my case the 003270 so device # 3270. They sell lots of this stuff.....

That sounds about right.

 

[D4NGER BIRD]

  Oh, both boxes says the Parts number is 504963 and Rev 1.0. My serial number for the one I bought from amazon 2 weeks ago says 3,504,882,XXX, but I doubt it's made from the 35th week of 2004.

Well, there goes that.

 

[elwappo99]

 
Most of the HD700 bashing resulted from this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/614011/sennheiser-hd700-review
 
It's a cabal of snobbish, self-righteous head-fi'ers who like to hype specific brands and products they like, while also destroying products they feel are inferior, flawed, and/or overpriced. Just gotta be careful not to take reviews around here too seriously, both positive and negative. 
 
Yes, the HD700 does have treble spikes, but a good tube amp will tame the spikes. If it really bothers people that much, you can EQ it a bit further, but most purists think that EQ'ing shows that a headphone or IEM is inherently flawed (I just think it tailors a headphone/IEM to our personal preference). Even with just a Vali powering the HD700, I don't hear the treble spikes unless the source file is crap. That's why I mainly use the HD700 for gaming, movies, and FLAC. I don't use it for streaming music or lesser-quality recordings. They make great recordings sound great and bad recordings sound bad.  

 
 
Shouldn't flaws in headphones, amplifiers, DACs, etc. be pointed out? When I joined head-fi there weren't a lot of headphones around, but we discussed and debated them, both good and bad. It seems now if anyone says anything critical they're labeled a fan-boy and dismissed or subjected to other ad hominem attacks. 
 
purrin actually is a big fan of sennheiser. He likes the HD650 and HD800. The reason he posted that is the large number of people who were trying to say the HD700 were such an amazing pair of headphones and would argue with anyone who disagreed. The review was done a long time after the HD700s had been out. Before that, anything possible negative was shot down, so he took the time and effort to carefully construct a very clear argument that showed flaws in the headphone based on objective information. 
 
Some of the issues with the HD700 can be alleviated:
1. Running them through an amp that will distort the treble and reduce it(e.g. most tube amplifiers). I see you're running them through the Vali. That will definitely help.
2. Modding the cups to reduce the treble strength and ringing.
 
However, I certainly haven't seen anyone really objectively prove that purrin's review was incorrect.

 

[D4NGER BIRD]

   
 
Shouldn't flaws in headphones, amplifiers, DACs, etc. be pointed out? When I joined head-fi there weren't a lot of headphones around, but we discussed and debated them, both good and bad. It seems now if anyone says anything critical they're labeled a fan-boy and dismissed or subjected to other ad hominem attacks. 
 
purrin actually is a big fan of sennheiser. He likes the HD650 and HD800. The reason he posted that is the large number of people who were trying to say the HD700 were such an amazing pair of headphones and would argue with anyone who disagreed. The review was done a long time after the HD700s had been out. Before that, anything possible negative was shot down, so he took the time and effort to carefully construct a very clear argument that showed flaws in the headphone based on objective information. 
 
Some of the issues with the HD700 can be alleviated:
1. Running them through an amp that will distort the treble and reduce it(e.g. most tube amplifiers). I see you're running them through the Vali. That will definitely help.
2. Modding the cups to reduce the treble strength and ringing.
 
However, I certainly haven't seen anyone really objectively prove that purrin's review was incorrect.

I agree that a lot of the distaste for the HD700 comes from that review, but I don't think it was a bad review, it seemed very thorough and unbiased. But in the end it is subjective if you find them pleasing and that applies to pretty much any piece of gear. I personally don't care for the hd650, I don't think they are bad cans, they're just not great. The bass seems a tad bloated and the treble is too rolled off. They might be good for me to take a nap while listening. But that is me, and judging by the amount of people that love those cans, I am in the minority.  
 
I absolutely love the sound of the RS1i, I don't find them the least bit strident or harsh like many others seem to find them, and I'm not alone in that opinion. In fact, I think it was in that review thread that I read that the HD700 might be a good bridge for Grado fans that peaked my interest in the HD700. My only real complaint about the RS1i was the soundstage, and thought I'd give 700s a try. I have to say I really like the 700s for that reason.
 
I don't use a tube amp to distort the treble, and don't feel the need to. There is no need to objectively prove purrin's review incorrect, because it was just a review. Are the trebles more prominent in the HD700, yes, does that mean everyone will dislike this feature, of course not. Obviously he didn't care for them, but not everyone has the same tastes as purrin, if we did, we could all just forget about reading reviews and buy whatever purrin has in inventory. 

 

[elwappo99]

I agree that a lot of the distaste for the HD700 comes from that review, but I don't think it was a bad review, it seemed very thorough and unbiased. But in the end it is subjective if you find them pleasing and that applies to pretty much any piece of gear. I personally don't care for the hd650, I don't think they are bad cans, they're just not great. The bass seems a tad bloated and the treble is too rolled off. They might be good for me to take a nap while listening. But that is me, and judging by the amount of people that love those cans, I am in the minority.  
 
I absolutely love the sound of the RS1i, I don't find them the least bit strident or harsh like many others seem to find them, and I'm not alone in that opinion. In fact, I think it was in that review thread that I read that the HD700 might be a good bridge for Grado fans that peaked my interest in the HD700. My only real complaint about the RS1i was the soundstage, and thought I'd give 700s a try. I have to say I really like the 700s for that reason.
 
I don't use a tube amp to distort the treble, and don't feel the need to. There is no need to objectively prove purrin's review incorrect, because it was just a review. Are the trebles more prominent in the HD700, yes, does that mean everyone will dislike this feature, of course not. Obviously he didn't care for them, but not everyone has the same tastes as purrin, if we did, we could all just forget about reading reviews and buy whatever purrin has in inventory. 

 
I totally agree with you (at least on the bold part)

. Don't know if I can hang with Grado treble though 

 ouch! 
 
In the end, definitely what your ears like best is all that matters. I've got a pair of HD700s I throw on my Vali every now and then. I do like the space, and bloated bass. They're a "fun" headphone to listen to, even though I can nit-pick them to death for their flaws.
 
I think the point purrin was making is that many people come onto these forums looking for advice: At this point the HD700 were running $900 - $1000. Sometimes people purchase things without the ability to audition them, and even worse some people purchase them without audition or real serious audio knowledge. These were getting wave after wave of praise. IMHO these aren't worth that much. I wouldn't place them in the same category as the other $1k headphones. So isn't it somewhat misleading to a new person without experience to say "yes these are great for $1k" which leads them to a purchase that may not provide great price performance ratio? (I see your point as well, and I agree with both sides. Just playing devil's advocate 

).