[kevinq]

Just got a like-new used pair of HD700's off of eBay. Very pleased!
 
I'd gotten the itch recently to upgrade my critical listening setup. At first, I thought I'd go with a new DAC/amp, but this thread, at least the last 100 pages of it, convinced me to give the HD700 a try instead.
 
During the day, I use a Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless on my Macbook Pro. I love it, except for the choppy Bluetooth sound quality introduced with Yosemite 10.10.3. I'm looking forward to El Capitan 10.11.0 clearing that up, hopefully for good, in a couple of weeks.
 
After work, I like to unwind with an hour or so of critical listening. For that, I had been using one of the following setups, listed in decreasing order of frequency of use:
 
Macbook -> Momentum Wireless via Bluetooth aptx (However, not feasible until the choppy sound is fixed via the next OS upgrade. This is the most convenient set-up, as there is nothing to set up.)
Macbook -> Momentum Wireless (via USB cable; circumvents the Bluetooth problem)
Macbook -> Dragonfly 1.2 -> FiiO E12 -> Sennheiser HD650
Macbook -> Airport Express (via wifi) -> Teac HA-P50 (via optical cable) -> Sennheiser HD650
iPad 2 -> Airport Express (via wifi) -> Teac HA-P50 (via optical cable) -> Sennheiser HD650
iPad 2 -> Teac HA-P50 (via lightning/usb cable) -> Sennheiser HD650
Macbook -> Airport Express (via wifi) -> Teac HA-P50 (via optical cable) -> Momentum Wireless (via 3.5mm audio cable)
 
I also have FiiO E10 DAC/amp and a pair of Denon D2000 headphones, but I haven't been using them much lately.
 
Since I'd been quite happy with my Momentum Wireless and HD650 headphones, I thought the next logical upgrade path for me might be to upgrade my DAC & amp. I was thinking seriously (and still am; see my question near the end of this post) about upgrading to the iFi Micro iDSD.
 
However, the more I read over the past few weeks, the more convinced I became that upgrading my headphones might make a bigger difference than upgrading my DAC/amp.
 
I attended the SoCal CanJam about six months ago (my first time; great experience), and the two headphones that impressed me most were the Momentum 2 Wireless (for use with my computer at work; I ended up buying these) and the Sennheiser HD800. Since hearing the HD800 (with, I presume, the HDV800 amp, or something equivalent, as I demo'd the HD800 at the Sennheiser table), the HD800 became my "end game" headphone that I would like to own someday. However, the expense, plus the expense of a decent amp to drive them, was then and is presently a bit out of my price range.
 
For some reason, I'd never seriously considered the HD700 until a couple of weeks ago. I already had the HD650, the HD800 were in my sights for "someday," and I had never really thought much about the in-between HD700. However, after doing some reading here in this thread and elsewhere, and considering the cost ($400 used vs. $3,000 for an HD800/HDVD800 setup) I decided that the HD700 might be worth a try.
 
As I mentioned above, last week I won an HD700 auction on eBay, so here we are. I also purchased the inexpensive ($34) 1.2m red/black cable from Amazon (which I am thoroughly happy with; much more manageable, especially for portable use, than the stock cable).
 
From what I had read in this forum, I was expecting the HD700 to have at least as good of a soundstage as my HD650, with a bit more emphasis on the upper frequencies, when compared with the HD650. And, thankfully, that's exactly how the HD700 has turned out for me.
 
Both the improvement in soundstage (in both size and placement) and handling of the upper frequencies were actually more pronounced than I was expecting.
 
Regarding the soundstage, I had previously thought that my HD650 did a great job at presenting a rather large, airy listening environment. However, IMO, the HD700 improves on the HD650's soundstage considerably. I think others have expressed the difference well earlier in this thread: The HD700's are very much like listening to a pair of high-end speakers, like a pair of Magnepan electrostatics. I don't know if I've ever heard Magnepans (although I have heard Martin Logans). However, back in the mid-1970's, I once heard a pair of Dahlquist speakers that made enough of an impression on me that I still remember the listening experience; listening to the HD700's remind me of that experience. Crystal clear, clean, spacious, yet immersive (and impressive) sound.
 
Regarding the upper frequencies, with the HD700's, I'm now enjoying hearing things that I haven't heard in years: The tick-tick-tick of a closed hi-hat, the "ting" of a triangle, and cymbals in general. As I'm getting older (now a few years shy of 60), I've experienced some hearing loss, and I cannot hear much of anything above 10kHz. I had thought that this was the reason why I was no longer hearing cymbals in recorded music. However, the HD700 has changed my perspective on this. It appears to me now that the HD650 and the Momentum Wireless simply don't reproduce the sound of cymbals much, at least not much of whatever there is of cymbals' sound that occurs below 10kHz (which I'm able to hear). It's really cool now to be able to hear, for example, again, the tick-tick-tick of hi-hats; it gives me at least the impression of hearing higher-frequency sounds that were previously inaudible to me. I think the precise spatial placement of these high-frequency items, such as hi-hats, adds to the very pleasing soundstage, as well.
 
Regarding the 8kHz spike, I do hear some sibilance on some recordings, but not on most recordings. Last night I listened to an audio oscillator sweep on YouTube, and the 8kHz spike was surprisingly pronounced; it was quite a bit more pronounced than I'm able to hear listening to regular  music. I can see how someone hearing that spike in an oscillator sweep (or seeing it on a frequency response graph) might be scared away from the HD700's. (With my HD650's, doing the same sweep, the spike was entirely missing, as was pretty much everything above 8kHz.). But again, the spike, in my experience, anyway, doesn't translate very drastically into everyday music listening. On the other hand, if the spike helps create the HD700's wonderfully large, detailed acoustic space, or serves some other useful purpose, I'll gladly keep it. (Otherwise, if it serves no good purpose, I personally can't imagine why the Sennheiser engineers would have left the spike in there. But then again, I'm not a headphone engineer.)
 
So, to sum up, I really love these headphones. It's a joy to put them on (they are exceptionally comfortable) and enjoy the clearest and most satisfying music reproduction that I've probably ever heard, outside of the HD800's, anyway. In comparison, both the HD650 and Momentum Wireless now sound a bit narrow and dull (although I'll still be using the Momentum Wireless every day because of its wireless and noise canceling features). I expect the HD700's to serve me well as my critical listening headphones for years to come.
 
Now, guys, if you don't mind a question from me...
 
How much do you think I would I gain by upgrading my DAC/amp from the HA-P50, Dragonfly, and E12? (All of these are sub-$200 devices.) I am definitely able to hear a substantial increase in sound quality, particularly overall clarity, when switching the HD700 from the headphone output on my iPad to the headphone output on the HA-P50 (utilizing the HA-P50's DAC and amplifier). Do you expect that I would hear a similar increase in sound quality if I were to upgrade to, say, an iFi Micro iDSD? (Or, is there another, preferably portable, DAC/amp that you'd recommend for the HD700?)

By the way, while I can hear a major difference between the headphone output on my iPad and the HA-P50, I'm unable to hear any difference between the HA-P50 and the Dragonfly/E12 combo. Surprisingly to me, I also can't seem to hear any difference between lossless AAC files (typically played back by iTunes at 900 or so kbps) and the AAC files streamed at 256 kbps via Apple Music. That's good news for me, I believe, as I therefore don't currently have too much inclination to delve into higher-resolution audio files.
 
Thanks again, everyone, for all your input in this thread. Consider me a happy new member of the HD700 club.
 
Oh, and by the way, I'm an engineer, too (mechanical).

 

[Click]

Welcome the HD700 club. 

 
Like we always say in here, we recommend you get a good amp. There are a lot of suggestions, but I always say if you want to go cheap, at least get a Schiit Vali. If you can spend more, get a Project Ember II.
 
Oh, and only feed HD700 well mastered/produced/recorded FLAC/ALAC/WAV files. The saying "garbage in, garbage out" applies to high-end headphones... some more than others. HD700 will reveal most flaws in your recordings, but it will also bring out the best in your recordings. 

 

[Kiats]

Really nice idea, l admit Enjoy those nicer cables!! 

Absolutely! The HD700 is excellent with the SW22!

 

[vaibhavp]

using garage 1217 project solstice with hd700.
 
after about 20 hrs of burn in. 
 
mids have nice bloom effect. tube i am using is 6n6p. i think its a mids focussed tube. bass is more like my akg k550, it punches through midrange instead of prominent lower half of sound stage it occupies with fiio e12.
 
Also treble is quiet subdued, not fatiguing at all.
 
Vocals are exceptional, singers sing directly in your ears.
 
Overall thick, smooth and focused presentation without giving up much detail. a great combo i must say. its also $100 cheaper than ember and is a good option.

 

[AudioMan612]

  Welcome the HD700 club. 

 
Like we always say in here, we recommend you get a good amp. There are a lot of suggestions, but I always say if you want to go cheap, at least get a Schiit Vali. If you can spend more, get a Project Ember II.
 
Oh, and only feed HD700 well mastered/produced/recorded FLAC/ALAC/WAV files. The saying "garbage in, garbage out" applies to high-end headphones... some more than others. HD700 will reveal most flaws in your recordings, but it will also bring out the best in your recordings. 

Agreed that you should try to use the best quality recordings you can find, but going as far as to say "only" is a bit much I think (unless maybe for critical listening).  There is plenty of great music out there that may not have the best recording or production quality.  This may be unfortunate, but I'm not going to not listen to it because of this.  I haven't found much that I can't enjoy through my HD 700's, including lo fi recordings such as Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted.

Oh, and as far as quality sources go, don't forget analog sources!  I've actually listened to 24 track tape in the studio at my work with my HD 700's for fun, though I wasn't using a great amp at the time.

 

[DavidA]

"Oh, and only feed HD700 well mastered/produced/recorded FLAC/ALAC/WAV files. The saying "garbage in, garbage out" applies to high-end headphones... some more than others. HD700 will reveal most flaws in your recordings, but it will also bring out the best in your recordings."
 
I'd say this applies more to the HD-800, the HD-700 is a little more forgiving of sub par recordings but GIGO is still to be considered.

 

[Gagarin]

I'm selling my HD700 in the UK- Check my sig!

 

[kevinq]

As i mentioned in my long-winded post above,

I have difficulty hearing the difference bwtween lossless AAC files and AAC files streamed at 256 kbps. At the same time...

Regardless of the source files, it's been my experience that the HD700 makes a very audible improvement, when compared with my HD650.

I've been enjoying the HD700's with the streamed music (via Apple Music), just as much as with my lossless files. To me, anyway, the HD700's have not revealed deficiencies in the streamed music; just the opposite, really. I've discovered that even the streamed music has good stuff in it that remained hidden with my HD650's, which has been revealed, in a good way, with the HD700's.

 

[tuxbass]

Can anyone with both HD 650 and 700 compare the HPs in terms of Soundstage ?
 
I am getting close deciding between the two (got some help from the HD 650 impressions thread). @kevinq's post in this thread was also very helpful. I would like to know if the soundstage on the HD700s is better than 650.

 

[DavidA]

As i mentioned in my long-winded post above,

I have difficulty hearing the difference bwtween lossless AAC files and AAC files streamed at 256 kbps. At the same time...

Regardless of the source files, it's been my experience that the HD700 makes a very audible improvement, when compared with my HD650.

I've been enjoying the HD700's with the streamed music (via Apple Music), just as much as with my lossless files. To me, anyway, the HD700's have not revealed deficiencies in the streamed music; just the opposite, really. I've discovered that even the streamed music has good stuff in it that remained hidden with my HD650's, which has been revealed, in a good way, with the HD700's.

Do you notice a difference between WAV/FLAC files and AAC files with the HD-700 or HD-650?

 

[vaibhavp]

  Can anyone with both HD 650 and 700 compare the HPs in terms of Soundstage ?
 
I am getting close deciding between the two (got some help from the HD 650 impressions thread). @kevinq's post in this thread was also very helpful. I would like to know if the soundstage on the HD700s is better than 650.

 
i wouldnt say 700 is that much bigger in soundstage.
 
but definitely more refined, layered and 3 dimensional.
 
i wouldnt pit 650 technically against 700.
 
you should try both and see which one you like better cause sound is much different. both satisfy different type of listeners, even if house sound is same.

 

[Kerouac]

  Just got a like-new used pair of HD700's off of eBay. Very pleased!
 
For some reason, I'd never seriously considered the HD700 until a couple of weeks ago. I already had the HD650, the HD800 were in my sights for "someday," and I had never really thought much about the in-between HD700. However, after doing some reading here in this thread and elsewhere, and considering the cost ($400 used vs. $3,000 for an HD800/HDVD800 setup) I decided that the HD700 might be worth a try.
 
As I mentioned above, last week I won an HD700 auction on eBay, so here we are. I also purchased the inexpensive ($34) 1.2m red/black cable from Amazon (which I am thoroughly happy with; much more manageable, especially for portable use, than the stock cable).
 
From what I had read in this forum, I was expecting the HD700 to have at least as good of a soundstage as my HD650, with a bit more emphasis on the upper frequencies, when compared with the HD650. And, thankfully, that's exactly how the HD700 has turned out for me.
 
Both the improvement in soundstage (in both size and placement) and handling of the upper frequencies were actually more pronounced than I was expecting.
 
Regarding the soundstage, I had previously thought that my HD650 did a great job at presenting a rather large, airy listening environment. However, IMO, the HD700 improves on the HD650's soundstage considerably. I think others have expressed the difference well earlier in this thread: The HD700's are very much like listening to a pair of high-end speakers, like a pair of Magnepan electrostatics. I don't know if I've ever heard Magnepans (although I have heard Martin Logans). However, back in the mid-1970's, I once heard a pair of Dahlquist speakers that made enough of an impression on me that I still remember the listening experience; listening to the HD700's remind me of that experience. Crystal clear, clean, spacious, yet immersive (and impressive) sound.
 
Regarding the upper frequencies, with the HD700's, I'm now enjoying hearing things that I haven't heard in years: The tick-tick-tick of a closed hi-hat, the "ting" of a triangle, and cymbals in general. As I'm getting older (now a few years shy of 60), I've experienced some hearing loss, and I cannot hear much of anything above 10kHz. I had thought that this was the reason why I was no longer hearing cymbals in recorded music. However, the HD700 has changed my perspective on this. It appears to me now that the HD650 and the Momentum Wireless simply don't reproduce the sound of cymbals much, at least not much of whatever there is of cymbals' sound that occurs below 10kHz (which I'm able to hear). It's really cool now to be able to hear, for example, again, the tick-tick-tick of hi-hats; it gives me at least the impression of hearing higher-frequency sounds that were previously inaudible to me. I think the precise spatial placement of these high-frequency items, such as hi-hats, adds to the very pleasing soundstage, as well.
 
Regarding the 8kHz spike, I do hear some sibilance on some recordings, but not on most recordings. Last night I listened to an audio oscillator sweep on YouTube, and the 8kHz spike was surprisingly pronounced; it was quite a bit more pronounced than I'm able to hear listening to regular  music. I can see how someone hearing that spike in an oscillator sweep (or seeing it on a frequency response graph) might be scared away from the HD700's. (With my HD650's, doing the same sweep, the spike was entirely missing, as was pretty much everything above 8kHz.). But again, the spike, in my experience, anyway, doesn't translate very drastically into everyday music listening. On the other hand, if the spike helps create the HD700's wonderfully large, detailed acoustic space, or serves some other useful purpose, I'll gladly keep it. (Otherwise, if it serves no good purpose, I personally can't imagine why the Sennheiser engineers would have left the spike in there. But then again, I'm not a headphone engineer.)
 
So, to sum up, I really love these headphones. It's a joy to put them on (they are exceptionally comfortable) and enjoy the clearest and most satisfying music reproduction that I've probably ever heard, outside of the HD800's, anyway. In comparison, both the HD650 and Momentum Wireless now sound a bit narrow and dull (although I'll still be using the Momentum Wireless every day because of its wireless and noise canceling features). I expect the HD700's to serve me well as my critical listening headphones for years to come.

 
Thanks for this teriffic write up, it's almost a review

 
Anyway...your descriptions come very close to how I remember my experiences when I auditioned the HD650 / HD700 / HD800 some time ago. For me it was an easy pick because I preffered the HD700 clearly over the HD650 (sq and comfort) and imo it came so close to the HD800's sq, that I just couldn't justify spending the extra money on that last one myself. The HD700 also sounded a bit darker (compared to the HD800) which I liked...I also got mine with the 1,2m red/black cable and use it most of the time (portable) => great cable for such a small price!
 
Enjoy your ''new'' HD700 & music...

 

 

[pctazhp]

@ Kevinq:  I'm new here too. However, I used to be a fanatic audiophile and I think I know a little about what sounds good. I highly recommend the Aune DAC/Little Dot amp combo showing in my signature. That Aune DAC with the Telefunken PCC88 / 7DJ8 I bought from Upscale Audio is absolutely amazing. I haven't tried any other competitive USB DACs but I would be extremely surprised if the Aune-Telefunken DAC can be equaled or exceeded for anything under $1,000. The Telefunkin tube cost about $100 and I suspect most Aune owners wouldn't take the chance of trying a tube that expensive in a DAC-amp that sells for less than $200, but I think they are missing a real opportunity to experience the superb potential of the Aune's DAC section. The solid state amp section is weak, but feeding the DAC section into a decent tube amp like the Little Dot is a magical combination for the HD700.
 
Unfortunately, because I'm new here and don't have much experience with the current crop of headphones and related equipment, my opinion really doesn't carry any credibility. I just wanted to share with you what I have found to bring out the magic of my own pair of HD700s.
 
Happy listening))

 

[kevinq]

  Can anyone with both HD 650 and 700 compare the HPs in terms of Soundstage ?
 
I am getting close deciding between the two (got some help from the HD 650 impressions thread). @kevinq's post in this thread was also very helpful. I would like to know if the soundstage on the HD700s is better than 650.

I know I'm being redundant, basically repeating what I said in my long post above, but yes, in my experience, the HD700 has a better soundstage, both more spacious and more precise. I'm thinking that the angled drivers, plus the more-prominent higher frequencies (I believe higher frequencies are more directional; i.e., in a standard speaker setup, placement of the subwoofer isn't as critical as the placement of the tweeters) contribute to this.
 
Before getting the HD700s, I thought my HD650s were wonderfully spacious-sounding. However, they actually sound quite congested in comparison with the HD700s. That is is what I'm experiencing, at least, and I've heard several others comment similarly. And this is using the same, mid- to lo-fi amps that I have.

 

[kevinq]

 

As i mentioned in my long-winded post above,

I have difficulty hearing the difference bwtween lossless AAC files and AAC files streamed at 256 kbps. At the same time...

Regardless of the source files, it's been my experience that the HD700 makes a very audible improvement, when compared with my HD650.

I've been enjoying the HD700's with the streamed music (via Apple Music), just as much as with my lossless files. To me, anyway, the HD700's have not revealed deficiencies in the streamed music; just the opposite, really. I've discovered that even the streamed music has good stuff in it that remained hidden with my HD650's, which has been revealed, in a good way, with the HD700's.

Do you notice a difference between WAV/FLAC files and AAC files with the HD-700 or HD-650?

My entire music collection is in lossless AAC files, and lately, most of my listening time is spent listening to streamed AAC files via Apple Music, so I'm sorry, I'm not able to compare these with WAV/FLAC files. I will say, though, that I'm not able to hear any difference between CD's and AAC files, as long as the AAC files are streamed at 256kbps or higher.