[DavidA]

  Price seems to have dropped to around 500 euros here in Europe. Had to give them an extended listen at a store and ended up getting them to complement my HD 650´s (hyped + easy listening = best of both worlds). Less harsh than I expected after seeing all the frequency response charts. Maybe they toned down the peaks somewhat - this is a brand new production run one. Tuning is excitement-oriented as advertised, but to my ears these sound less peaky than a Beyer T1. I guess it´s pretty subjective how we react to treble spikes as to me this isn´t that bad at all.
 
Way less critical of upstream components than the HD 800 (which seems like an art form to get sounding right, not getting into that anymore). Also easily the most comfortable headphone I´ve ever used and perfect for gaming/movies with the extended treble and angled drivers. The polarized reception these have had here actually made me more interested in them. Different sounding than what Sennheiser is usually associated with. Good "PRAT" and driver speed especially. Very fast decay and impressive instrument separation. With the new price I think these will become another Sennheiser mainstay. Also nice to see that they are still made in Ireland too (same factory as HD 650 I think).
 
I´ll post more as I´ve had more time with them...

I agree that these are a great compliment to the HD-650 and yes they are less critical of upstream components than the HD-800.  Curious as to what DAC and amp you are using?

 

[vrln]

Epiphany Acoustics EHP-O2Di (O2+ODAC desktop version) that I originally bought for IEM use. Seems to run HD 700 just fine. Very clean, fast and transparent. The HD 800 on the other hand seems to need a ~1k+ amp and a similar level DAC, otherwise I´ll gladly listen to a HD 600/650/700 instead.

 

[Spenty]

  Epiphany Acoustics EHP-O2Di (O2+ODAC desktop version) that I originally bought for IEM use. Seems to run HD 700 just fine. Very clean, fast and transparent. The HD 800 on the other hand seems to need a ~1k+ amp and a similar level DAC, otherwise I´ll gladly listen to a HD 600/650/700 instead.

 
That's what I'm using with my HD700's, perfectly happy with it despite being told it's a bad pairing as it's too bright.

 

[vrln]

I´m not finding it too bright either. To my ears the pairing works great. It really brings out the soundstage, resolution and speed of the HD 700.

 

[3083joe]

@vrln
I'm looking to do the same. Love the 650s but feel these will compliment them a lot.
What amp combo you using to drive them?
Oh missed that post.
Wonder if any of my amps will pair well.

 

[DavidA]

  Epiphany Acoustics EHP-O2Di (O2+ODAC desktop version) that I originally bought for IEM use. Seems to run HD 700 just fine. Very clean, fast and transparent. The HD 800 on the other hand seems to need a ~1k+ amp and a similar level DAC, otherwise I´ll gladly listen to a HD 600/650/700 instead.

I've never heard any O2-ODAC versions but keep seeing them mentioned on many threads.  I know most or all versions are based on a public design so are there differences between the different manufactures?  Asking as I saw one that was designed to run of batteries which if you say is a good pairing for the HD-700 I might look into to it further.
The HD-800 is picky on amps but I'm happy with the BH Crack which is ~$525 with the tubes that I have, YMMV however.

 

[vrln]

I´ve never heard the BH Crack... Really interesting amp though, but almost impossible to find in the EU. I´ve read it´s a good combination with the HD 800 though. The ~1k comment mostly refers to the standard solid state commercial amps like Violectric V200.
 
As far as I know all O2-ODAC versions are essentially the same and should measure more or less identically. I got the Epiphany Acoustics one as it is desktop friendly (no batteries) and has the inputs switched around to make it look nicer with cables. I´d say the O2/ODAC combination is a bit of an acquired taste as it strays from the classic warm audiophile sound. It´s pretty much wire with gain, a bit dry sounding but I actually kind of like that with the HD 700 fast decay. Sounds similar to a Benchmark DAC-1. In any case it´s a steal at the price and good to keep around. Great value for money. I´m one of the few who likes both intentionally colored amps and neutrality oriented ones. Depends on the headphone really. I´ve yet to hear the HD 700 out of a warm-tuned amp (such as Violectric or tube gear in general) so I can´t comment on that
 
EDIT: also so far I´ve mostly listened to either audiophile vocals oriented stuff like Leonard Cohen and electronica, two genres that shine with a dry presentation

 

[Spenty]

I wouldn't mind upgrading to the HD800's eventually (probably be a new flagship by then) but my OCD would force me to pair them with Sennheisers own HDVD 800 AMP/DAC which makes the upgrade way out of my current budget for audio. I'm far more interested in keeping my PC up to date for high end gaming than I am audio.

 

[DavidA]

  I´ve never heard the BH Crack... Really interesting amp though, but almost impossible to find in the EU. I´ve read it´s a good combination with the HD 800 though. The ~1k comment mostly refers to the standard solid state commercial amps like Violectric V200.
 
As far as I know all O2-ODAC versions are essentially the same and should measure more or less identically. I got the Epiphany Acoustics one as it is desktop friendly (no batteries) and has the inputs switched around to make it look nicer with cables. I´d say the O2/ODAC combination is a bit of an acquired taste as it strays from the classic warm audiophile sound. It´s pretty much wire with gain, a bit dry sounding but I actually kind of like that with the HD 700 fast decay. Sounds similar to a Benchmark DAC-1. In any case it´s a steal at the price and good to keep around. Great value for money. I´m one of the few who likes both intentionally colored amps and neutrality oriented ones. Depends on the headphone really. I´ve yet to hear the HD 700 out of a warm-tuned amp (such as Violectric or tube gear in general) so I can´t comment on that
 
EDIT: also so far I´ve mostly listened to either audiophile vocals oriented stuff like Leonard Cohen and electronica, two genres that shine with a dry presentation

Thanks for the reply, I tend to like a little warmer presentation so I guess I should stay clear of the O2+ODAC for now, never know, taste may change.

 

[3083joe]

Thanks for the reply, I tend to like a little warmer presentation so I guess I should stay clear of the O2+ODAC for now, never know, taste may change.

I have woo audio wa6 and upgrade musical fidelity xcan both tubes so I'm eager to try with 700.

 

[DavidA]

  I wouldn't mind upgrading to the HD800's eventually (probably be a new flagship by then) but my OCD would force me to pair them with Sennheisers own HDVD 800 AMP/DAC which makes the upgrade way out of my current budget for audio. I'm far more interested in keeping my PC up to date for high end gaming than I am audio.

Used to build custom rigs for friends and some family, also kept updating my gaming rig up to about 3 years ago (stopped at i7 w/ dual GTX-770), started to enjoy audio more and since my girlfriend moved in about 2 years ago haven't had the time and just lost interest in gaming.

 

[DavidA]

I have woo audio wa6 and upgrade musical fidelity xcan both tubes so I'm eager to try with 700.

I'll be interested in hearing your impressions of those with the HD-700, love the look of woo audio stuff, especially the WA7d but it was a little disappointing when I heard it a few months ago, was looking at a used one and it had only the stock tubes so it might not have been shown at its best.

 

[3083joe]

I'll be interested in hearing your impressions of those with the HD-700, love the look of woo audio stuff, especially the WA7d but it was a little disappointing when I heard it a few months ago, was looking at a used one and it had only the stock tubes so it might not have been shown at its best.

Yeah. Tubes have to be changed. Makes all the difference. Stocks are ok but potential is released with tube Rolling.

 

[DavidA]

Yeah. Tubes have to be changed. Makes all the difference. Stocks are ok but potential is released with tube Rolling.

IIRC the tubes that are used in the WA7d (6C45) are not the most common so there wouldn't be too many to chose from, therefor your tube rolling would be limited?  Where the WA6 is like my BH Crack where you can change both driver and power tubes or the Lyr2 where there are many different families to chose from.

 

[3083joe]

IIRC the tubes that are used in the WA7d (6C45) are not the most common so there wouldn't be too many to chose from, therefor your tube rolling would be limited?  Where the WA6 is like my BH Crack where you can change both driver and power tubes or the Lyr2 where there are many different families to chose from.

That's very true. Might pick up a bottle head down the road also. Haven't really heard the wa7 tho.