[TK16]

  Yeah,I used Audeze deckard and JDS the element,then i tried tube amp,borrowed it from a friend,That didn't help. I would say it's still a great can though,just not for vocal

Excellent can, takes a bit to get used too, on the high end. Warm tubes work great with that can. Use tubes in my dac and amp.

 

[buke9]

Yeah,I used Audeze deckard and JDS the element,then i tried tube amp,borrowed it from a friend,That didn't help. I would say it's still a great can though,just not for vocal

Just because it's a tube amp doesn't mean it's warm. The Valhalla 2 with stock tubes was much brighter than my Liquid Carbon.

 

[rlisin]

I can confirm that a warm sounding amp helps a lot. I use a Proton 900 with very good results. It is a warm sounding solid state preamp with built-in headphone amp.

 

[DavidA]

  Yeah,I used Audeze deckard and JDS the element,then i tried tube amp,borrowed it from a friend,That didn't help. I would say it's still a great can though,just not for vocal

As the other poster noted all tube amps are not warm, the Valhalla2 with stock tubes is one of them, closer to neutral bright with stock tubes.  I didn't think the Element was a good pairing with the HD700 and most of my headphones when I borrowed a friends one for a few weeks, it still has the sound signature of the O2, thin and harsh with most of my headphones.  Haven't tried the Deckard but since its designed for pairing with planar headphones I would think its not an amp I would chose for higher impedance headphones like the HD700 or HD800.
 
I can see the HD700 not being great for vocals since the mids are a little recessed.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  I can confirm that a warm sounding amp helps a lot. I use a Proton 900 with very good results. It is a warm sounding solid state preamp with built-in headphone amp.

Little Dot MK2 here with the warmest Mullards in the Little Dot thread.
 
I gotta say, I am a big big fan of this combo.

 

[LugBug1]

Little Dot MK2 here with the warmest Mullards in the Little Dot thread.

I gotta say, I am a big big fan of this combo.

Same here. Fabulous match.

 

[Metrops]

The Valhalla 2 is good with stock tubes, it is a neutral AMP

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Same here. Fabulous match.

One thing I do is test things out with an album I know is ear-piercing. In this case, some lo-fi black metal. The result? A damn fine experience. Not too sharp at all.

 

[LugBug1]

  One thing I do is test things out with an album I know is ear-piercing. In this case, some lo-fi black metal. The result? A damn fine experience. Not too sharp at all.

Yes. For me the sound is still very clear and balanced but with no edge. I think a lot of folk see the LD II amps as tubes on a budget. Which to be fair they are.. But in all seriousness, you have to spend 10 times the amount to get to the next level in SQ. 
 
Feed the LDII with a quality dac and you have a fantastic sound for the HD700. 

 

[DavidA]

  Yes. For me the sound is still very clear and balanced but with no edge. I think a lot of folk see the LD II amps as tubes on a budget. Which to be fair they are.. But in all seriousness, you have to spend 10 times the amount to get to the next level in SQ. 
 
Feed the LDII with a quality dac and you have a fantastic sound for the HD700. 

a little exaggeration here? ten time the price of the LD mk2 is $1800 and there are quite a few amps in this price range that I've heard that will better the LD MK2, but for under $400 the LD Mk2 is looking really good.

 

[Metrops]

  a little exaggeration here? ten time the price of the LD mk2 is $1800 and there are quite a few amps in this price range that I've heard that will better the LD MK2, but for under $400 the LD Mk2 is looking really good.

 
Valhalla 2 is one of them

 

[LugBug1]

a little exaggeration here? ten time the price of the LD mk2 is $1800 and there are quite a few amps in this price range that I've heard that will better the LD MK2, but for under $400 the LD Mk2 is looking really good.

Haha maybe just a little only in my experience most tube amps in the below high end bracket are mostly tube dependant and you need to be spending above the £1000 mark to hear a worthwhile difference. U can get the ld mkll for around £100 in the uk so thats why I said ten times more. But we must also consider the relevance here and the hp matching that we are talking about.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  a little exaggeration here? ten time the price of the LD mk2 is $1800 and there are quite a few amps in this price range that I've heard that will better the LD MK2, but for under $400 the LD Mk2 is looking really good.

I'd argue even under $500 for tubes the MK2 could hang with the best. But really, if you have $1500 handy I'd heavily argue that instead of spending $400 on the 700 and $1100 on a top end amp, spending $150 on the MK2 and then the remaining $1350 on some TOTL cans would do you better.

 

[Metrops]

How do you get rid of small indents in the metal mesh for the HD 700s?

 

[DavidA]

  How do you get rid of small indents in the metal mesh for the HD 700s?

One way would be to take out everything and use a spoon or other gently curved object and slowly work the dent out.  Would like to see others suggestion on this as well.