[Hifihedgehog]

Weren't you saying you got a good deal from Sonix Electronix? What happened?

Just checking for better deals if available. On occasion, open box HD 700's have gone for around $400. All I'm after is the best deal there is.

 

[Nikori]

Was so excited since I just received my HD700. Was surprised to find it was shipped from Germany.
 
However, all that excitement turned to rage when I discovered the aftermarket 6.3mm to 3.5mm plug i bought from Amazon (some cheap ****) only made sound come out from one side.
 
Plugged it into my dac directly but i don't think they're being amped well since they sound quite suppressed so I'll listen again once the Sennheiser adapter i just ordered arrives 2moro.
 
Lesson of the day, don't cut cost on your adapters :/ (At least Amazon offered a full refund )
 
Headphones are beautiful tho refurb from Sennheiser but they look perfect! 

 

[Hifihedgehog]

Was so excited since I just received my HD700. Was surprised to find it was shipped from Germany.

However, all that excitement turned to rage when I discovered the aftermarket 6.3mm to 3.5mm plug i bought from Amazon (some cheap ****) only made sound come out from one side.

Plugged it into my dac directly but i don't think they're being amped well since they sound quite suppressed so I'll listen again once the Sennheiser adapter i just ordered arrives 2moro.

Lesson of the day, don't cut cost on your adapters :/ (At least Amazon offered a full refund )

Headphones are beautiful tho refurb from Sennheiser but they look perfect! :bigsmile_face:

I have lately not seen any refurbished models anywhere. Was this from the Sennheiser Outlet? Could you please share a link? Thank you!

 

[Nikori]

I have lately not seen any refurbished models anywhere. Was this from the Sennheiser Outlet? Could you please share a link? Thank you!

Hi! Yeah I'm staying in the UK so it's from Sennheiser Outlet UK (price inc. of VAT).
 
Here's the link anyway:
 
http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/outlet

 

[Hifihedgehog]

First of all, there are rumors that the HD650 sound has evolved over time with silent revisions... Older ones typically are commented on for being warm and very mid-forward. So, you both can be right!!

Not a rumor in the least, because I have aurally confirmed this and Purrin has some graphs showing the lower treble valley removed from the latest HD 650.
 
 
I would not be surprised and I would wager from my own experience that the HD 700 also has received some tuning since its 2012 release as well. To me, the latest is still bright, but not peaky, more along the lines of the HD 800, with the added fun factor of more bass impact as well. By comparison, I can clearly hear well defined peaks in the DT 880, DT 770 and DT 990. Hopefully the unit Sonic Electronix sends me is one from the latest batches and not a peaky mess from the original batches.

 

[Krutsch]

  Not a rumor in the least, because I have aurally confirmed this and Purrin has some graphs showing the lower treble valley removed from the latest HD 650.
 
 
I would not be surprised and I would wager from my own experience that the HD 700 also has received some tuning since its 2012 release as well. To me, the latest is still bright, but not peaky, more along the lines of the HD 800, with the added fun factor of more bass impact as well. By comparison, I can clearly hear well defined peaks in the DT 880, DT 770 and DT 990. Hopefully the unit Sonic Electronix sends me is one from the latest batches and not a peaky mess from the original batches.

 
I wonder if that's true, as I've had a similar experience with my pair of HD-700s that are less than a year old. I keep reading about peaky treble, but I am not hearing it and assumed that my tube amp was the cause.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

   
I wonder if that's true, as I've had a similar experience with my pair of HD-700s that are less than a year old. I keep reading about peaky treble, but I am not hearing it and assumed that my tube amp was the cause.

There were initially black, and then later on white screen HD 600 and HD 650 drivers. This picture just shows mainly the evolution of the HD 600, but practically the same occurred for the HD 650. The evolution is so huge, in fact, that, to my ears, the black screen HD 600 sounds darker than the latest HD 650.

 
 
Here are the two different graphs of the HD 650. Many people, such as Mike at Headfonia, found the early HD 650, too muddy and dark, and I concur. The first graph's red line (ignore the green) is likely of a black screen HD 650--the huge notch in the lower treble is quite visible. The second graph is likely of the latest white screen HD 650--no more notch and significantly improved high frequency extension. Some people have gone as far to buy the replacement drivers Sennheiser sells in order to upgrade the sound of their HD 6xx series headphones to these latest white screen drivers.

 
 
It would be interesting to compare an initial production run HD 700 with the latest batch of units.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

Before I make the plunge, I am considering one final alternative headphone in this price range, the discontinued Denon AH-D5000. I have always wanted to try it and I am wondering if I would actually like those. I want something with treble clarity, and I personally do not mind extra bass and treble (I owned the DT 990 Premium and I like the sound of the Grado PS-1000 I have demoed) so long as the midrange is not as quiet as the DT 990. I like headphones that can be detailed and fun at the same time. Should I still go with the HD 700 or gamble on a D5000?

 

[raybone0566]

Before I make the plunge, I am considering one final alternative headphone in this price range, the discontinued Denon AH-D5000. I have always wanted to try it and I am wondering if I would actually like those. I want something with treble clarity, and I personally do not mind extra bass and treble (I owned the DT 990 Premium and I like the sound of the Grado PS-1000 I have demoed) so long as the midrange is not as quiet as the DT 990. I like headphones that can be detailed and fun at the same time. Should I still go with the HD 700 or gamble on a D5000?

You should try to audition those headphones if you can. I've seen to many times where people ask for recommendations an then not be saitisfied with the phones. You should pick the headphone, try and purchase from Amazon who has a return policy. You may pay for shipping but at least you"ll be able to get the phone that suits your tastes.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

You should try to audition those headphones if you can. I've seen to many times where people ask for recommendations an then not be saitisfied with the phones. You should pick the headphone, try and purchase from Amazon who has a return policy. You may pay for shipping but at least you"ll be able to get the phone that suits your tastes.

I believe in try before you buy, but the only Denon D5000 on Amazon that is shipped by Amazon and therefore requires the seller to follow their return policy costs $998.99, almost double the cost of the others. I hear the Denon D5000 has a great fun factor without sacrificing midrange detail and presence like the DT 990 does. Graphically, it responds like this, which is quite neutral with just a slight U-shaped sound, and this is according to Reviewed.com whose graphs I have found to be a very accurate representation of what I hear:

 

 

[Hifihedgehog]

I have looked at two other potential headphones to buy (the Denon AH-D5000 and the Pioneer Fidelio X2) and, after much evaluation and deliberation, I have decided on ultimately still purchasing the HD 700. In all my research, besides the fact that I already demoed them and enjoyed them thoroughly, one key point has stood out as to why I think I like them so much, and that is they very much follow the equal-loudness contour for moderate volume listening, particularly from 60 to 100 dB. The first illustration is a frequency response graph of the HD 700, the second the modern equal-loudness contour standard at present, and the third another diagram of different iteration of the equal-loudness contour. Personally, this is why I believe a flat response is not optimal for a headphone and headphone listening unless you want to listen to recordings at dangerously high levels and experience permanent hearing loss. See for yourself and you decide.

 

 

 

[MWSVette]

  I have looked at two other potential headphones to buy (the Denon AH-D5000 and the Pioneer Fidelio X2) and, after much evaluation and deliberation, I have decided on ultimately still purchasing the HD 700. In all my research, besides the fact that I already demoed them and enjoyed them thoroughly, one key point has stood out as to why I think I like them so much, and that is they very much follow the equal-loudness contour for moderate volume listening, particularly from 60 to 100 dB. The first illustration is a frequency response graph of the HD 700, the second the modern equal-loudness contour standard at present, and the third another diagram of different iteration of the equal-loudness contour. Personally, this is why I believe a flat response is not optimal for a headphone and headphone listening unless you want to listen to recordings at dangerously high levels and experience permanent hearing loss. See for yourself and you decide.

 

 

Never had any luck hearing graphs.  However I do own the HD700's think they sound great at any volume level.  And for the price I do not think they can be beat. Of course IMHO and YMMV yada, yada, yada...​
 
Good choice.

 

[Mechans1]

Now you all can see why we should never have done away with the loudness button on our amps!
They were called compensators early on in the development of Hi Fidelity.

 

[Krutsch]

  ... purchasing the HD 700. In all my research, besides the fact that I already demoed them and enjoyed them thoroughly, one key point has stood out as to why I think I like them so much, and that is they very much follow the equal-loudness contour for moderate volume listening, particularly from 60 to 100 dB. The first illustration is a frequency response graph of the HD 700, the second the modern equal-loudness contour standard at present, and the third another diagram of different iteration of the equal-loudness contour. Personally, this is why I believe a flat response is not optimal for a headphone and headphone listening unless you want to listen to recordings at dangerously high levels and experience permanent hearing loss. See for yourself and you decide.
 
...

 
 

 
That's really interesting... I learned something new with this post (the Equal-loudness contour) and thanks for sharing. I think I understand the middle graph, with one of the red curves vs. the blue, reference curve, I don't know what the additional red curves represent. Can you elaborate?
 
Also, I will add this: of all the 'phones I own, the Grado RS2i is the best low-level listening model, in that there is little/no sound signature change as you rotate the volume knob back-and-forth.
 
The Senn HD-650s are the worse with this; that is, they sound best to my ears with more power applied and the sound changes, significantly, which is why believe you read Head-Fi'ers talking about the 650s "scaling" with the better amps).

 

[DavidA]

   
That's really interesting... I learned something new with this post (the Equal-loudness contour) and thanks for sharing. I think I understand the middle graph, with one of the red curves vs. the blue, reference curve, I don't know what the additional red curves represent. Can you elaborate?
 
Also, I will add this: of all the 'phones I own, the Grado RS2i is the best low-level listening model, in that there is little/no sound signature change as you rotate the volume knob back-and-forth.
 
The Senn HD-650s are the worse with this; that is, they sound best to my ears with more power applied and the sound changes, significantly, which is why believe you read Head-Fi'ers talking about the 650s "scaling" with the better amps).

For listening at very low levels I like the MDR-7506, the boosted bass and treble make it sound quite good at really low volume levels.  Agree with you about the HD-650 that they don't quite sound their best at really low volume, the HD-700 is actually pretty decent at very low volume.
 
I'm another that wish they didn't get rid of the "loudness" button, really showing my age with this, most young ones (under 30) don't even know that it is.