[Rob80b]

  Hi. I've recently purchased the Sennheiser HD 700. I was going for 650; but it was out of stock and I needed to get it today since I was departing to my home country. Thinking 700 would be better than it's little brother, HD 600 or HD 650, I bought it and it was the most stupid thing I've ever done, since I'm a techno enthusiast and this thing has no bass at all. : ( ...........
 
... Can someone who's experienced please guide this young padawan? I'd love to learn. Thank you.

Regarding the bass of the HD700s it’s actually very good and matches the output of my speaker set-up which are Dynaudio Special 25s augmented with a Velodyne DD12 sub. I have the frequency response dialed in relatively flat to 15 hz as seen below, so without actually measuring the bass output of the headphones, I listen first through the speakers and then try to match the output of the headphones accordingly, obviously headphones cannot produce sub audio frequencies but the 700s do produce low bass correctly, anymore would be IMHO a deviation from the actual recording. Just remember although headphones can produce enough sound pressure to give the sensation of abundant bass they are completely aural while bass from a speaker/sub will also be visceral.
 

 

[DavidA]

  I have some 700's arriving tomorrow, currently only have an Asus Xonar Essence STX soundcard to drive them though.
 
I've been told these benefit a lot from tube amps particularly OTL. Any recommendations on a good tube amp/dac combo to try and get the best from these? I'm in the UK as well so that rules out a lot of them :/

I think you should listen to them first before going of to buy DAC/AMP.  The STX is a fairly good sound card so try it first.  I have a BH Crack but for me the HD-700 sounds best on my Project Ember, one reason is because its not a 300 Ohm can like the HD-800 & HD-650 which pair beautifully with the Crack IMO.  Also, many on these forums have used "warm" SS amps with good results so don't rule them out yet.  If price is a concern then I would suggest a Aune T1 (DAC/AMP) combo, works quite well for the price paired with HD-700.
Good luck on your quest and hope you enjoy the HD-700's.

 

[Click]

   
IMO, you shouldn't go and buy an amp. Instead, buy another pair of HPs: yes, simple as that (it'll save you money). l always find the Fidelio X1 easy to recommend when someone likes bass (X1 has irremplazable ear-pads, as opposed to X2). A good amp will improve the 700s bass, but it won't give a lot more body to it (which is what l believe you find lacking).
 
l didn't hear you complain about the treble so l won't say anything in that regard.
 
Now, just to say:
 
as you said, you just started in this hobby. When l started, l was looking for bass, too. Not for techno music, but for gaming. l wanted to feel explosions, etc. l bought the Audio-Technica PRO700MK2 and l had plenty of bass. However, it did not take too long until l started to value other features of the sound (midrange, for example). ln less than 1 year, l went from looking for as much bass as possible to a neutral sound signature. Today, at this point of my life, l went back to enjoying a bit more coloured sound, 'warmer'. However, l absolutely value and enjoy the 700s bass. l find it really, really good: it's not much, but it's not little; it's fast, tight and textured. Therefore, you might take this 'disappointing experience' and turn it into a somehow positive, a learning one. You'll learn how a good bass is supposed to sound. If you give yourself time, your brain will get used to a sound that has probably never heard. Then, you might begin to enjoy the 700s.
 
Now, you love techno music... Different musical genres usually require different HPs to sound their best. Thus, as much as you might end up enjoying your 700s, you may still go and buy a HP that'll suit techno better (as l said earlier). Welcome to Head-fi!

    

Yup, I agree with what you said. I think the problem is that most modern music has a high emphasis on bass and sub bass. The general consumer equates bass rumble and thump with high quality headphones... mostly because of what Beats and Bose did to the industry. They made headphones popular and highly desired, but mainly as a fashion statement and they brainwashed the masses into thinking that bass is all that matters.
 
Like I said previously in this post, HD700 won't give you rumbling sub bass that a lot of newer headphone owners look for. It will however, deliver accurate, tight, punchy, and layered bass. HD700 isn't a basshead headphone and it was never designed to be. If someone is looking for HD700 to be the jack of all trades or something to please them when listening mostly to EDM, rap, R&B, and/or pop music, then they will be sorely disappointed. But if they want a super comfortable headphone with great soundstage, incredible imaging, precise details, amazing mids, and accurate bass, then HD700 is tough to beat. Again, with the proper amping, that is.
 
I have other IEMs and headphones that are better suited at handling music with lots of sub bass. Also, headphones and IEMs will never give you that satisfying entire body thump of a good subwoofer. A true basshead will always be more inclined to listen to music through a good speaker system instead of IEMs or headphones and especially not an open-back headphone like HD700 (or any Sennheiser HD lineup except their newly released HD630VB closed-back). 

 

[Click]

  Honestly I don't know what I'm buying, I'm not an audiophile (yet) but I got the 700's for a steal of a price.
 
I'm tempted to go for the Schiit Modi2/Vali combo.

If you don't feel like spending too much money, then Modi/Vali combo will be good enough with HD700.
 
If you can spend more on an amp, people have recommended Project Ember. 
 
Bottlehead Crack is always mentioned to pair well with most Sennheiser headphones and HD700 is no different. However, it's a big amp and you gotta build it yourself.
 
Finally, if you can spend a lot of money, a lot of people say WA7 Fireflies is a great amp with HD700. Or Sennheiser's own HDVA 600.

 

[chowmein83]

  I'm that noob with all this I don't even know which cables I require to connect the Modi 2 to the Vali
 
Do I buy these? http://www.electromod.co.uk/schiit-audio/schiit-accessories/pyst-xlr-cables/ or these? http://www.electromod.co.uk/schiit-audio/schiit-accessories/pyst-single-ended-cables/
 
or both?

 
Not sure if anybody else has answered you with a PM yet, but you will want the second one (the single-ended cables) to connect the Modi 2 to the Vali.

 

[donlin]

  Yup, I agree with what you said. I think the problem is that most modern music has a high emphasis on bass and sub bass. The general consumer equates bass rumble and thump with high quality headphones... mostly because of what Beats and Bose did to the industry. They made headphones popular and highly desired, but mainly as a fashion statement and they brainwashed the masses into thinking that bass is all that matters.
 
Like I said previously in this post, HD700 won't give you rumbling sub bass that a lot of newer headphone owners look for. It will however, deliver accurate, tight, punchy, and layered bass. HD700 isn't a basshead headphone and it was never designed to be. If someone is looking for HD700 to be the jack of all trades or something to please them when listening mostly to EDM, rap, R&B, and/or pop music, then they will be sorely disappointed. But if they want a super comfortable headphone with great soundstage, incredible imaging, precise details, amazing mids, and accurate bass, then HD700 is tough to beat. Again, with the proper amping, that is.
 
I have other IEMs and headphones that are better suited at handling music with lots of sub bass. Also, headphones and IEMs will never give you that satisfying entire body thump of a good subwoofer. A true basshead will always be more inclined to listen to music through a good speaker system instead of IEMs or headphones and especially not an open-back headphone like HD700 (or any Sennheiser HD lineup except their newly released HD630VB closed-back). 

Very well said.  A new amp that I have recently found that seems to have a magical synergy with the HD700 is the Musical Fidelity MX-HPA.  Prefer it quite a bit to the HDVA600 which I thought would never happen.

 

[Spenty]

  If you don't feel like spending too much money, then Modi/Vali combo will be good enough with HD700.
 
If you can spend more on an amp, people have recommended Project Ember. 
 
Bottlehead Crack is always mentioned to pair well with most Sennheiser headphones and HD700 is no different. However, it's a big amp and you gotta build it yourself.
 
Finally, if you can spend a lot of money, a lot of people say WA7 Fireflies is a great amp with HD700. Or Sennheiser's own HDVA 600.

 
Unfortunately all of those are hard to source in the UK.
 

   
Not sure if anybody else has answered you with a PM yet, but you will want the second one (the single-ended cables) to connect the Modi 2 to the Vali.

 
Thankyou

 

[Monokrom]

I'm really thankful for the quick and super helpful responses. Your words came like a relief. I still haven't heard what it's capable of with an amp and I'll look into the amp you were talking about. One thing that's still stuck in my head is, does my Scarlett 2i4 have a headphone amp? It's not within my reach right now so I can't test it; but given it's a sound card, it should right? I'm so happy to join the family!

 

[Rob80b]

I'm really thankful for the quick and super helpful responses. Your words came like a relief. ........

Just listened to Accelerator by Future Sound Of London, the bass on the 700s was pressurized and full but didn’t overall overpower the music…. with some nice effects way out to the left and right … the 700s kept their composure when things got cooking.

 

[DIscoYou]

My HD700s arrived today (courtesy of the outlet deal earlier this week). They're absolutely tremendous. I had previously demo-ed some at a local shop, so kinda knew what to expect but one thing which I hadn't remembered is just how comfortable these are... it is incredible. I have high standards of comfort coming from, amongst other things, DT770s, but these blow them out of the water.

 

[kayza]

My HD700s arrived today (courtesy of the outlet deal earlier this week). They're absolutely tremendous. I had previously demo-ed some at a local shop, so kinda knew what to expect but one thing which I hadn't remembered is just how comfortable these are... it is incredible. I have high standards of comfort coming from, amongst other things, DT770s, but these blow them out of the water.

im jealous of your outlet deal! I just bought a pair (back from the person I sold them to), but not at the $340 USD price you got your pair at! Great deal for a headphone that gets an unfairly bad rap.

 

[donlin]

  My HD700s arrived today (courtesy of the outlet deal earlier this week). They're absolutely tremendous. I had previously demo-ed some at a local shop, so kinda knew what to expect but one thing which I hadn't remembered is just how comfortable these are... it is incredible. I have high standards of comfort coming from, amongst other things, DT770s, but these blow them out of the water.

I've used headphones regularly for many years but never realized how important comfort is until I got used to the HD700's it's hard to tolerate most others now.

 

[DIscoYou]

im jealous of your outlet deal! I just bought a pair (back from the person I sold them to), but not at the $340 USD price you got your pair at! Great deal for a headphone that gets an unfairly bad rap.

 
They were an absolute steal. Like I mentioned, I had previously tried the HD700s and liked them, but not really been blown away, and the price was just more than I wanted to spend. I have a few pairs already which perform most of the tasks I need them to:
 
DT770 comfortable and great noise isolating for work
AH-D2000 (modded) great sounding and some noise isolating for work
Q701 awesome imaging, clarity and soundstage for gaming at home
 
I felt like I lacked a pair of great opens listening at home, which wasn't a massive problem because I don't do that a lot. I like the Q701s, but don't love them for music like I do my D2000s. I had decided to keep an eye out for some used HD700s, HE-x00s, X2s or maybe some DT990s for home... but then HD700s came up for £215 which is a bloody steal.
 
The trouble now is that the Q701s don't really do anything better than my HD700s...
 

 
I've used headphones regularly for many years but never realized how important comfort is until I got used to the HD700's it's hard to tolerate most others now.

Fingers crossed that my D2000s feel ok at work tomorrow... I already  have some Mr Speakers pads on order for them if not!

 

[Spenty]

I got mine today as well and they've seriously blown me away compared to the X1's, I thought bass may be lacking but I'd say it's even better than the X1's are for clarity and punch. Separation on instruments is epic and pronounced vocals were giving me goosebumps. I've bought an O2/ODAC dac/amp unit to replace my STX, I've heard it's about as balanced and transparent you can get for a combo and I thought instead of trying to make the 700's warmer like I'd originally planned I want them to be as close to their original sound as possible otherwise I may as well of bought other headphones

 

[DIscoYou]

  I got mine today as well and they've seriously blown me away compared to the X1's, I thought bass may be lacking but I'd say it's even better than the X1's are for clarity and punch. Separation on instruments is epic and pronounced vocals were giving me goosebumps. I've bought an O2/ODAC dac/amp unit to replace my STX, I've heard it's about as balanced and transparent you can get for a combo and I thought instead of trying to make the 700's warmer like I'd originally planned I want them to be as close to their original sound as possible otherwise I may as well of bought other headphones

 
FYI there is a v2 ODAC that is being/ has been released, so be aware of that if you're buying new. From my understanding, it shares almost no parts with the original, but is likely to be pretty good.