I strongly disagree with that, coming from someone that has listened to both for a long time. The amp really matters with both sets of cans; for me, having a Woo OTL has been magic with both and I prefer one over the other with different genres of music. As always, YMMV.
Hi guys,
Thank god i just ordered my HD700+modi 2+Valhalla 2, out of bunch of choices and I'm glad I did this. Can anyone suggest that is there any recommendation of aftermarket cable to further improve the sound quality? Thanks for help.
Not sure what your budget is, but we offer various custom cables at different prices. Feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions.
http://www.plussoundaudio.com/customcables/headphone.html
Hi guys,
Thank god i just ordered my HD700+modi 2+Valhalla 2, out of bunch of choices and I'm glad I did this. Can anyone suggest that is there any recommendation of aftermarket cable to further improve the sound quality? Thanks for help.
Welcome to Head-Fi and congrats on getting the HD700 and Valhalla2.
Just any FYI, cables are a touchy subject as to providing any sonic improvement, some say they do while other say they don't. Personally, I feel your funds would be much better spent on tubes for your Valhalla2 where it would make a much more noticeable change, good or bad is hard to say since it would depend on what your preferences are but for the HD700 I would consider tubes that are a bit on the warmer side like Mullards or Amperex family of tubes.
The other topic of much debate is so called "burn-in", again its like cables, some say big difference, others say your brain adjust, some say no changes.
I strongly disagree with that, coming from someone that has listened to both for a long time. The amp really matters with both sets of cans; for me, having a Woo OTL has been magic with both and I prefer one over the other with different genres of music. As always, YMMV.
That's fine, I still think the 700 is a technically better HP. Saying that, there is something special about the 650 as well. It has a combination of lush mids with just enough treble detail to make most songs sound really good. Especially acoustic. It's a great all around HP for long listening sessions, but I find it lacks energy and speed to keep up with faster punk rock / hard rock / metal. I also find the bass bloated somewhat in the mid bass and muddy sounding in comparison to the 700. Yes, mods can fix some of that. Different amps too. But it's still a slower HP, which is part of what makes it special. I just find it lacks in speed, bass layering, and detail compared to the 700. It all depends on what you're listening to and how you want to listen. I think the 700 has enough of the sound of the 650 but fixes the speed / detail issue I had with the 650.
Nothing wrong with liking one over the other. For instance,I think the HE-560 is technically a better HP than the HE-400I, but I prefer the more intimate sound of the 400I with most of what I listen to. It's all subjective and everyone listens differently.
That's fine, I still think the 700 is a technically better HP. Saying that, there is something special about the 650 as well. It has a combination of lush mids with just enough treble detail to make most songs sound really good. Especially acoustic. It's a great all around HP for long listening sessions, but I find it lacks energy and speed to keep up with faster punk rock / hard rock / metal. I also find the bass bloated somewhat in the mid bass and muddy sounding in comparison to the 700. Yes, mods can fix some of that. Different amps too. But it's still a slower HP, which is part of what makes it special. I just find it lacks in speed, bass layering, and detail compared to the 700. It all depends on what you're listening to and how you want to listen. I think the 700 has enough of the sound of the 650 but fixes the speed / detail issue I had with the 650.
Nothing wrong with liking one over the other. For instance,I think the HE-560 is technically a better HP than the HE-400I, but I prefer the more intimate sound of the 400I with most of what I listen to. It's all subjective and everyone listens differently.
I think too many people get locked into a sound signature that they prefer . Being a partime musician I love different aspects of many different cans. I'm totally digging my modded HE 400's and my HE 400S's at the moment totally different sound for sure. Later I'll go back to the Ether C's or the 700's depends on the mood. Yes amps make a huge difference on this only the 700's out of the Crack and all else on the Liquid Carbon or the Ampsandsound Kenzie which is awesome with Planars and not half bad with the 700's. I was not a big fan of the 650's not that they are bad just not my cup of tea as it were.
I think too many people get locked into a sound signature that they prefer . Being a partime musician I love different aspects of many different cans. I'm totally digging my modded HE 400's and my HE 400S's at the moment totally different sound for sure. Later I'll go back to the Ether C's or the 700's depends on the mood. Yes amps make a huge difference on this only the 700's out of the Crack and all else on the Liquid Carbon or the Ampsandsound Kenzie which is awesome with Planars and not half bad with the 700's. I was not a big fan of the 650's not that they are bad just not my cup of tea as it were.
There's this false idea of "accuracy" as the be all and end all of headphones, especially with BS like "hear it as the artist intended it." News flash, how the "artist intended it" doesn't mean squat because the recording engineers are the ones that actually control the end product, all of that is completely subject to the equipment THEY used, and any biases they might have. A guy in the Audioquest Nighthawk thread told a story about a producer he knew who used studio monitors that were very expensive but too bright, and it made his mastering overly bassy on most systems.
tl;dr the only way to hear it "as it was meant to sound" is to listen to it on the exact same equipment they used in the studio.
So what's the answer? Find a headphone with a sound signature that matches your tastes, WHATEVER they may be. A technically superior product might not sound better to your ears, it just means that what it's doing requires more precise hardware and engineering. Why do people love tube amps? They can tune the sound to their liking, that has nothing to do with "accuracy".
I personally have fallen in love with the "Sennheiser sound." I have a pair of 650s and 700s both atm and don't mind switching between them. I think the 700 is the better headphone by a pretty clear margin but sometimes I want to turn off the "clear and analytical" side and just relax. I really do not give a toss what anyone says about either of their accuracy, what I care about is they take the music I love and make me love it even more.
FWIW, I recently started using my Ember II as a preamp to my Schiit Jot. Using a nice 6n6p tube I find the hd700 nice and smooth. It's been getting more headtime than my hd650 due to its technical ability and the tube sound. Good stuff!
I gave it a shot tonight on the hd700. For me, these settings make the hd700 sound really nice. All the issues I had with the 700 are basically fixed and it is very enjoyable now.
I gave it a shot tonight on the hd700. For me, these settings make the hd700 sound really nice. All the issues I had with the 700 are basically fixed and it is very enjoyable now.
My main gripe with EQ is it's software dependent, meaning you have to keep on top of every audio source and if you swap computers or whatever you have to get in there and do it all over again. I'll take a look though.
This is certainly interesting. Makes for a more relaxed listening (very early thoughts). But one thing I notice right off is that the drums impact is lost..
I gave it a shot tonight on the hd700. For me, these settings make the hd700 sound really nice. All the issues I had with the 700 are basically fixed and it is very enjoyable now.
On my ZX2 I use a somewhat similar EQ with the HD700. Although, in my case, I stop @ 1KHz and I don't bother toning down the higher frequencies. I guess I'm so used to the added sharpness of the IE800 (which I DO EQ down around 6KHz), the highs on the HD700 just seem "right" to me. Then again, I usually don't listen for more than an hour at a time. Perhaps that's short enough for me to avoid fatigue.
This is certainly interesting. Makes for a more relaxed listening (very early thoughts). But one thing I notice right off is that the drums impact is lost..
That's one of my favourite aspects of the hd700. For me, it has a wonderful, tight, deep and textured bass that only shows up when in the recording. Too many headphones these days cannot manage that and has bass thumpers all the time, even when not warranted by the music.
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