[RamGuy]

I'm going to grab the Sennheiser HD 700, most likely next month unless I get some extra money allowing me to go for the HD 800 instead. I'm moving from HD 650 that I currently use, and I'm tempted on getting them "refurbished" with new ear pieces and headband and sell them. But I'm not 100% sure, I might like to keep them as well as they do not share the same sound signature as the HD 700, not at all. The HD 800 is more similar, but they are far from the same either so might be that I would want to keep them around.
 
 
In terms of the HD 700 I've heard they are not picky in terms of audio equipment and being "only" 150 ohm they are not very hard to drive either. I'm currently using a Asus Xonar Essence One external-DAC for my Sennheiser HD 650 and it's been okay. But I've gotten access to some really great prices on Hegel DAC's and amplifiers through work and I'm considering if it might be a good idea to replace my Asus Xonar Essence One with something from Hegel instead.
 
 
What do you guys recommend? Does that sound like a wise idea and something that should improve upon my current Sennheiser HD 650 and my upcoming HD 700? It would be either the Hegel HD12 or HD25 DAC, or the Hegel H80 or HD160 DAC+Amplifier. I've heard the H80 is featuring subpar DAC compared to both HD12 and HD25, and that the H160 is pretty much the same as the HD12 + amplifier. So unless you guys think the amplifier within H80 or H160 is really awesome I'm more tempted on going with either the HD12 or the HD25 and expand with a Schiit Valhalla 2 down the line for amplifying if I feel the need for added power.
 
 
But I'm rather clueless and without much experience when it comes to DAC's and amplifiers so I would love some feedback on what you guys think of the Hegel units compared to my existing Asus Xonar Essence One and how they would pair with my HD 650 and upcoming HD 700.

 

[Krutsch]

  I'm going to grab the Sennheiser HD 700, most likely next month unless I get some extra money allowing me to go for the HD 800 instead. I'm moving from HD 650 that I currently use, and I'm tempted on getting them "refurbished" with new ear pieces and headband and sell them. But I'm not 100% sure, I might like to keep them as well as they do not share the same sound signature as the HD 700, not at all. The HD 800 is more similar, but they are far from the same either so might be that I would want to keep them around.
 
 
...
 
What do you guys recommend? ..

My advice: keep the HD-650s and use them for music that sounds best with them, along with the HD-700s which will sound better with other music you love.
 
Trust me on this one...
 
As for amps, et al., whatever you like with the 650s will work just as well with the 700s. A very nice complimentary pair of cans, IMO.

 

[DavidA]

  I'm going to grab the Sennheiser HD 700, most likely next month unless I get some extra money allowing me to go for the HD 800 instead. I'm moving from HD 650 that I currently use, and I'm tempted on getting them "refurbished" with new ear pieces and headband and sell them. But I'm not 100% sure, I might like to keep them as well as they do not share the same sound signature as the HD 700, not at all. The HD 800 is more similar, but they are far from the same either so might be that I would want to keep them around.
 
 
In terms of the HD 700 I've heard they are not picky in terms of audio equipment and being "only" 150 ohm they are not very hard to drive either. I'm currently using a Asus Xonar Essence One external-DAC for my Sennheiser HD 650 and it's been okay. But I've gotten access to some really great prices on Hegel DAC's and amplifiers through work and I'm considering if it might be a good idea to replace my Asus Xonar Essence One with something from Hegel instead.
 
 
What do you guys recommend? Does that sound like a wise idea and something that should improve upon my current Sennheiser HD 650 and my upcoming HD 700? It would be either the Hegel HD12 or HD25 DAC, or the Hegel H80 or HD160 DAC+Amplifier. I've heard the H80 is featuring subpar DAC compared to both HD12 and HD25, and that the H160 is pretty much the same as the HD12 + amplifier. So unless you guys think the amplifier within H80 or H160 is really awesome I'm more tempted on going with either the HD12 or the HD25 and expand with a Schiit Valhalla 2 down the line for amplifying if I feel the need for added power.
 
 
But I'm rather clueless and without much experience when it comes to DAC's and amplifiers so I would love some feedback on what you guys think of the Hegel units compared to my existing Asus Xonar Essence One and how they would pair with my HD 650 and upcoming HD 700.

Having all 4 Senns, only the HD600/650 could be interchanged, the HD700 & HD800 are quite different sounding.  I've only heard one Hegel DAC and it was a few months ago while visiting my friend in Japan so take with little weight, it was bright sounding to me, much preferred the AudioGD Master 7 & Yggy that he had or my Bifrost MB.  For the cost of the Hegel DAC that my friend had I would get MB Bifrost for DAC and Valhalla2 or Lyr2 or BH Crack for amps (you could get 2 amps actually with some change for tubes)
I would keep the HD-650, it is a forgiving headphone that sounds good with almost all genres of music, the HD-700 & HD-800 are not the most forgiving and I use them only when listening to good recordings, gaming & movies (700), and critical listening.

 

[AudioMan612]

I haven't heard the HD 800S' yet, but it sounds like it takes the standard HD 800's and improves on their shortcomings, so I don't know if it's worth buying HD 800's right now.  Personally, I would like to see the S model just replace the standard 800 if all it does is extend and smooth the frequency response a bit.

 

[Hitec]

  Is this headphone good for rock and electronic music?

Based on using my HD700, I think it is good for all music except for when you play a type of music, and want to hear the bass with a slower attack and decay, and that is much louder.  The HD700 is about precision.  Me myself, I like the accuracy, quickness, and tightness of bass in the HD700.  This is why I use to use a 10" sub at car SQ competitions instead of 12's and 15's.  ..but some electronic music is more enjoyable to listen to with extra bass, rap is in the same boat. Bass is fun, and really moves you.  In all, just turn up the bass, if extra bass is desired.  Nothing is wrong with turning up anything that is enjoyable.  I don't think we hear bass as well anyway. The mids are superb too me.  The hi's, depending on what you are playing, sometimes have you questioning the top end.  It just seems to me that the more perfect we want the headphones to be, the more they become robotic and not human.  

 

[AudioMan612]

  Based on using my HD700, I think it is good for all music except for when you play a type of music, and want to hear the bass with a slower attack and decay, and that is much louder.  The HD700 is about precision.  Me myself, I like the accuracy, quickness, and tightness of bass in the HD700.  This is why I use to use a 10" sub at car SQ competitions instead of 12's and 15's.  ..but some electronic music is more enjoyable to listen to with extra bass, rap is in the same boat. Bass is fun, and really moves you.  In all, just turn up the bass, if extra bass is desired.  Nothing is wrong with turning up anything that is enjoyable.  I don't think we hear bass as well anyway. The mids are superb too me.  The hi's, depending on what you are playing, sometimes have you questioning the top end.  It just seems to me that the more perfect we want the headphones to be, the more they become robotic and not human.  

There is more to how fast a speaker can respond than just its size.  There are excellent 12" woofers out there that can respond just as quickly as smaller woofers of lesser quality.  For example, many mastering studios and engineers use monitors with 12" or even 15" woofers such as ATC SCM150ASL Pro's (and there is no place more important to have accurate sound than in a mastering studio).  There have been some interesting ideas over the years too, such as Infiniy using dual voice coils and a feedback circuit to help speed up their woofers (some of these would actually dip below 1 ohm, requiring very good power amplifiers).
 
The mids are very good on the HD 700's indeed.  The bass is quick and hits pretty low, though not amazingly low.  And yeah, the treble isn't bad, but it can sometimes have issues depending on the amp and the source material, but I feel like this has been exaggerated a lot.

 

[connieflyer]

I would agree with you on the exaggeration the 700's got a bad rap right from the gitgo, from a couple of reviewers, and with the price people did not want to have a high priced clunker.  I have had 650's for about five years, got my last one a year ago, and loved them.  When the price of the 700's dropped to 450, I had to try them, that was a month ago, and am putting up my last pair of 650's up for sale.  I like the resoulution of the 700's better, I would still give the nod to the 650's for comfort, I could wear them alot longer and never have any discomfort.  The 700's are a little smaller cup and the headband won't stay in place if I bend over, or tilt my head a steep angle, where the 650's  would just stay glued in place.  As for woofer size, I like the 10"ers and 8" horn in my EV Sentry V's for a smooth transition. Lot s of good things out there, not enough time to try it all.

 

[Hitec]

 
There is more to how fast a speaker can respond than just its size.  There are excellent 12" woofers out there that can respond just as quickly as smaller woofers of lesser quality.  For example, many mastering studios and engineers use monitors with 12" or even 15" woofers such as ATC SCM150ASL Pro's (and there is no place more important to have accurate sound than in a mastering studio).  There have been some interesting ideas over the years too, such as Infiniy using dual voice coils and a feedback circuit to help speed up their woofers (some of these would actually dip below 1 ohm, requiring very good power amplifiers).
 
The mids are very good on the HD 700's indeed.  The bass is quick and hits pretty low, though not amazingly low.  And yeah, the treble isn't bad, but it can sometimes have issues depending on the amp and the source material, but I feel like this has been exaggerated a lot.

 
Thanks AudioMan:  Yea, I'm sure there are other controlling parameters.  I also used large caps, and audio  powerline regulaters.  One of the biggest problems I experienced is with room temperatures that fluctuated.  During various air temperatures, the plastic, and other temperature sensitive materials in speakers sounded completely different.   So you had to immediately re-tune the system.
 
Which leads me to wonder if various air temperatures make a difference to the sound coming out of headphones.  I mean, for example, when people test them in a cold state, I wonder if that will cause the headphones to sound hard, or soft if it is in a hot state - I don't know - just thinking about it....

 

[AudioMan612]

   
Thanks AudioMan:  Yea, I'm sure there are other controlling parameters.  I also used large caps, and audio  powerline regulaters.  One of the biggest problems I experienced is with room temperatures that fluctuated.  During various air temperatures, the plastic, and other temperature sensitive materials in speakers sounded completely different.   So you had to immediately re-tune the system.
 
Which leads me to wonder if various air temperatures make a difference to the sound coming out of headphones.  I mean, for example, when people test them in a cold state, I wonder if that will cause the headphones to sound hard, or soft if it is in a hot state - I don't know - just thinking about it....

Yeah, I know what you mean.  I do a lot of equipment testing at work using Audiomatica CLIO, and I have to recalibrate the test setup every time I use it due to changes in temperature, humidity, etc.
 
I'm sure that headphones respond to environmental conditions.  I'm curious if it's any more or less than loudspeakers...

 

[drizek]

Have had these for a couple months. Still not sure what to think; they are amazing for some things, but miss the mark for others. I've started listening to rap on them though, and I was really blown away by how well they handle it. Great bass, they have no trouble keeping up with the music, and they are incredibly detailed. In more complex/produced songs, the wide soundstage adds a really cool effect, where you hear voices coming out of nowhere (in a good way).

 

[Saoshyant]

I keep wanting to say this headphone is an amazing value, but what I paid for a new one was insanely low when I got it 2 years ago, which puts my sense of value for these a little bit off from the norm.  When I had a week or so to compare it to a LCD2, while I felt the LCD2 was superior for me, I also felt the two were close enough in quality to kill any desire I had to pick up an LCD2.  I'm not sure I'd even take someone up on an offer for a straight trade.  As far as comfort goes, I can forget I'm even wearing these, which puts these at the most comfortable pair of headphones I own without a doubt.  I will admit it's not a fair comparison to the comfort of an HE400, as those are some pretty hefty cans.  I am realizing more and more I'm a bit of a Sennheiser fanboy, at least for their higher end products.  

 

[loonacy]

Ok I have spent the last hour or so looking through these posts and really could use some insight. I currently have hd600's with a schiit vali (for now) but I am very tempted by the 700's. With the price they are now I can't stop thinking about getting some. How similar are these to the 600's? I listen to mostly rock(from the 90's) and some metal with a little blues/jazz mixed in.

 

[Hitec]

Ok I have spent the last hour or so looking through these posts and really could use some insight. I currently have hd600's with a schiit vali (for now) but I am very tempted by the 700's. With the price they are now I can't stop thinking about getting some. How similar are these to the 600's? I listen to mostly rock(from the 90's) and some metal with a little blues/jazz mixed in.

I have the HD 700's.  I think only you can make that call.  You already have a very nice headphone, and the HD 700 is very nice, and you have to decide which very nice you like the best.  On top of that, each person hears the same headphone in a slightly different way, in addition to what you are accustomed to hearing.  One headphone can't fit the sound for all, so I'd rather search for a flattish headphone, and if necessary, adjust an EQ.  I've never heard the 600's.  If you have the money, I would just buy the 700's, and then you can use different headphones for different things you want to hear.  This is just an expensive hobbie - the more money you pay, the more you can play, and have fun wasting money

 

[DavidA]

Ok I have spent the last hour or so looking through these posts and really could use some insight. I currently have hd600's with a schiit vali (for now) but I am very tempted by the 700's. With the price they are now I can't stop thinking about getting some. How similar are these to the 600's? I listen to mostly rock(from the 90's) and some metal with a little blues/jazz mixed in.

As the other poster says, only you can make the call but it you are intending to keep both, then its a good compliment to the HD-600, their sound signatures are quite different.  As for your genre of music I would say the HD-700 with rock, metal, blues and jazz is pretty good, its more detailed than the HD-600, has bass that is tighter and goes lower, only the highs are what some can't stand, they don't bother me but everyone is different.
I use the HD-700 mostly for watching movies, playing games and mostly for jazz and classical music.  My GF also uses them for when she is out walking the dog, she uses a Fiio X3.

 

[Hammy]

Considering buying a gently used pair of these.  My number one pet peeve with headphones is my pinna/helix/top-outer ear touching the driver cover.  Has anyone experienced this or measured the cup depth on the HD700?  For reference, I don't have massive ears but they do touch the inside of both the HD598 and Fidelio X2.
 
There isn't really anywhere close-by that I know of where I could demo a set, otherwise I wouldn't need to pester you guys.