[Music Alchemist]

  For me its the opposite way around, the HD-700 was cheaper than the EL8 (by $80) so I was thinking that the EL8 would be a better headphone than it turned out to be but this is to my ears and music taste.
 
Good luck with getting the EL8 and hope they blow you away.

 
In the end, there is no better or worse when it comes to headphones. It all comes down to personal preference and how many things a headphone reproduces the way you want it to. For example, my $85 Sony MDR-7506 easily outperforms many more expensive headphones (including the HD 700 and DT 880) in some ways, even if it isn't on the same level overall.

 

[echineko]

I just wanted to emphasize that despite any negative things I could say about the HD 700, it is a great-sounding headphone.

(It's just that at this price point, I demand much more.)

Interesting, just made me wonder, how much did you pay for it, and what other 'phones do you rate higher at the price point? I got mine new for 600 (only to see them selling new for 550 these days), and so far I've been satisfied with their performance. Got a chance to audition mine with a HDVD 800 alongside a HD800, and I wasn't convinced the 800s were worth almost twice the price.

And I agree completely with your point about personal tastes earlier, so you can take what I said with a bucket of salt as well I'm more interested in other options at around the same price, new (we all know there's the occasional deal of a lifetime used, so I'm limiting the comparison to retail)

 

[Music Alchemist]

Interesting, just made me wonder, how much did you pay for it, and what other 'phones do you rate higher at the price point? I got mine new for 600 (only to see them selling new for 550 these days), and so far I've been satisfied with their performance. Got a chance to audition mine with a HDVD 800 alongside a HD800, and I wasn't convinced the 800s were worth almost twice the price.

And I agree completely with your point about personal tastes earlier, so you can take what I said with a bucket of salt as well

I'm more interested in other options at around the same price, new (we all know there's the occasional deal of a lifetime used, so I'm limiting the comparison to retail)

 
From under $100 to over $500, headphones can excel at different things. It's rare for a headphone to reproduce everything very accurately. The HD 700 is great at some things, but not even remotely good enough at other things for me to consider it accurate reproduction. Same goes for most headphones, but at that price point, I can't let it slide so easily. The Sony MDR-7506, Bose QuietComfort 15, and Focal Spirit Professional are all easily better at certain things than the HD 700 even if they're nowhere near the same level at other things. I'm not going to go into greater detail than that, because judging the sound of headphones is sooo subjective!
 
As you surely know by now, I'm interested in trying the Audeze EL-8 next if possible.

 

[Mr Rick]

   
From under $100 to over $500, headphones can excel at different things. It's rare for a headphone to reproduce everything very accurately. The HD 700 is great at some things, but not even remotely good enough at other things for me to consider it accurate reproduction. Same goes for most headphones, but at that price point, I can't let it slide so easily. The Sony MDR-7506, Bose QuietComfort 15, and Focal Spirit Professional are all easily better at certain things than the HD 700 even if they're nowhere near the same level at other things. I'm not going to go into greater detail than that, because judging the sound of headphones is sooo subjective!
 
As you surely know by now, I'm interested in trying the Audeze EL-8 next if possible.

 
You realize that dismissing a headphone like the HD 700 without much of an explanation as to it's merits / demerits renders your opinion pretty much useless to the rest of us.

 

[echineko]

I'm not going to go into greater detail than that, because judging the sound of headphones is sooo subjective!

As you surely know by now, I'm interested in trying the Audeze EL-8 next if possible.

Fair enough, I just thought you had some specific examples you would rate higher overall at the same price range. I'm getting me an Audeze LCD-2 next, just to try a different sound signature, but in the meantime I'm springing for a Schiit Lyr 2 as well.

Still keeping the HD700s though

 

[Music Alchemist]

  You realize that dismissing a headphone like the HD 700 without much of an explanation as to it's merits / demerits renders your opinion pretty much useless to the rest of us.

 
I'm not trying to convince anyone to buy or not buy it, though.

 

[Focker]

  I just wanted to emphasize that despite any negative things I could say about the HD 700, it is a great-sounding headphone.
 
(It's just that at this price point, I demand much more.)

I've actually had very similar thoughts in my early impressions, as well...that if I had paid the full msrp or even the full street price of what they're going for right now, I think I would feel disappointed. As a $500-ish headphone, I'd say it's a solid headphone. But absolutely not worth nine bills, IMO...at least not in terms of initial impressions. 
 
I just can't get over this slight veil. That's the most disappointing aspect for me so far. They're definitely on the bright side, which we all knew going in. The sound stage on the HD800 is a little larger than the T1s, so I figured these might be on par with the T1...but I'd say it's a little less. The bass is clean with greater extension than something like the Grados, but less than the T1 and HD800. They sound a tad thin with less robust amplification, but come alive slightly more with something of better quality. They can't compete with the HD800s or T1s in terms of dynamics, though. 
 
This may be coming off as negative, but I'd say it's more that they're just a very clear step down from the two main headphones I was comparing them to...the 800s and T1s. I expected they'd be a bit closer, so in that sense I'm a little disappointed, and I can see why they are often on special for nearly half the msrp. 
 
Overall I think it's a solid headphone and I do plan to keep them. But I can understand the mixed reviews these receive, and if you're familiar with the HD800s - and like them - you may be a bit disappointed with the 700s. 
 
Just my $.02

 

[Solarium]

 
This is where the amp makes a difference IMO, the bugle boy tubes help the low end and mellow out the sometimes harsh highs of the HD-700.  If my girlfriend used the HD-700 with my Asgard2 she would be yanking of the phones in the first few seconds because its harsh with the Asgard2.  Connected to the Ember with the bugle boy and she can sit and listen for the whole night.
 
I just tried my HE-400i and it has more bass extension than the HD-700 and the mids and highs are not too much different than the HE-560.  Also its not as amp dependent as the HD-700.
 
I should say that I have modded my HE-400/400i/560 with the grill mod so the highs are smoother and the sound stage a little wider.  I haven't done any bass mods as the bass from all three are good IMO.

I had the 400i too, but had it underperform on bass extension compared to the 700. I even did a sub-bass tone test from 16hz to 24hz, and the 700 outperformed the 400i. The 400i was around the same level as a K712, and the quality of the bass wasn't as addicting either. The bass was truly a disappointment from the original 400's.

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

  I had the 400i too, but had it underperform on bass extension compared to the 700. I even did a sub-bass tone test from 16hz to 24hz, and the 700 outperformed the 400i. The 400i was around the same level as a K712, and the quality of the bass wasn't as addicting either. The bass was truly a disappointment from the original 400's.

 
FR graphs don't lie, 400i should have better sub bass extension than HD700. Although it's quite possible your specific pair of 400i where lacking extension. All planar graphs I've seen from both Hifiman and Audeze show that planars have fairly high amounts of inconsistencies in frequency response between samples, probably due to how thin planar diaphragms are made, there is a larger room for error in production compared to dynamic drivers, although cheap dynamics are just as susceptible to driver variation, but higher end models not so much. Two HD700's will usually sound identical, but two HE-560 or LCD-X would have a chance of sounding slightly different, just look at Tylls graphs of two different samples of the same model.

 

[Solarium]

   
FR graphs don't lie, 400i should have better sub bass extension than HD700. Although it's quite possible your specific pair of 400i where lacking extension. All planar graphs I've seen from both Hifiman and Audeze show that planars have fairly high amounts of inconsistencies in frequency response between samples, probably due to how thin planar diaphragms are made, there is a larger room for error in production compared to dynamic drivers, although cheap dynamics are just as susceptible to driver variation, but higher end models not so much. Two HD700's will usually sound identical, but two HE-560 or LCD-X would have a chance of sounding slightly different, just look at Tylls graphs of two different samples of the same model.

I actually had another HD700 that sounded had much more treble spikes than my current one, needless to say I returned that one. I couldn't believe my ears but I A-B'ed it multiple times and could tolerate one much better than the other. Suffice to say, there must be a pretty big discrepancy in different HD700's, perhaps due to their manufacturing process. This may be the cause of such a divide in the reviews.

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

  I actually had another HD700 that sounded had much more treble spikes than my current one, needless to say I returned that one. I couldn't believe my ears but I A-B'ed it multiple times and could tolerate one much better than the other. Suffice to say, there must be a pretty big discrepancy in different HD700's, perhaps due to their manufacturing process. This may be the cause of such a divide in the reviews.

 
Jeez, I guess it doesn't matter then, dynamic or planar, it all comes down to luck how good your headphone will be! In a parallel universe you probably got lucky with 400i, in this universe you got lucky with your second HD700. Gotta say, the whole driver variation thing is disgusting considering how much we pay for these headphones, I'm sure the production technology to prevent this is around, but manufacturers are greedy nobs don't want to cut into their profits to achieve better consistency.

 

[DavidA]

   
Jeez, I guess it doesn't matter then, dynamic or planar, it all comes down to luck how good your headphone will be! In a parallel universe you probably got lucky with 400i, in this universe you got lucky with your second HD700. Gotta say, the whole driver variation thing is disgusting considering how much we pay for these headphones, I'm sure the production technology to prevent this is around, but manufacturers are greedy nobs don't want to cut into their profits to achieve better consistency.

Maybe this is why I don't think my HE-560 sounds that much better than my HE-400i.  Think I got lucky with my HD-700 as mine doesn't seem to have those really bad treble spikes that it is distracting to the music.

 

[dazzerfong]

 
Maybe this is why I don't think my HE-560 sounds that much better than my HE-400i.  Think I got lucky with my HD-700 as mine doesn't seem to have those really bad treble spikes that it is distracting to the music.

They're not bad once you're used to them. The minute I swap out for another pair, I miss the treble spike.
 
The brain is weird as screw in this regard. We normalise the hell out of everything.

 

[DavidA]

 
They're not bad once you're used to them. The minute I swap out for another pair, I miss the treble spike.
 
The brain is weird as screw in this regard. We normalise the hell out of everything.

try a grado if you miss the spike

 

[Krutsch]

 
try a grado if you miss the spike

That's funny... 

 
Kidding aside, I have re-learned to love my Grados after spending a lot of time with the HD-700s. There *is* the treble spike, but Grados have other qualities, depending on the music to which you listen. I am finding as I learn / experience more gear, that I best enjoy listening with cans matched to the music, with respect to my own tastes.