[peter123]

Would you mind explaining what this mod does as it pertains to the 700s? For the 800s it's supposed to tame the 6KHZ spike but I find pairing the 700's to tubes takes care of any treble spikes. I'm also using a warm DAC (Mimby) so it definitely helps any issues of sibilance.

I've seriously thought about upgrading to the 800's but I love that these cans are smaller, more comfortable (imo), and aren't overly fatiguing; fun but still preserves a good amount of detail. It also is better for my wallet because knowing the HD800's, I'd be buying lots of Jazz music on HDTracks in 24/192 and spending $40 an album. Modern music just isn't really well suited to the 800's from what I've read because mastering has taken a backseat to just loudness wars and so there really isn't much detail to extract in the first place.

Although I did enjoy the HD700 stock I found its treble to be a bit too thin for my liking. After installing the mod everything just fell in place for me. Overall sound is a notch thicker to my ears and I like it a lot.

If you haven't done so already you can read more about the mod here:

https://www.google.no/amp/s/everyda...ix-your-treble-woes-with-this-simple-mod/amp/

 

[hikaru12]

Although I did enjoy the HD700 stock I found its treble to be a bit too thin for my liking. After installing the mod everything just fell in place for me. Overall sound is a notch thicker to my ears and I like it a lot.

If you haven't done so already you can read more about the mod here:

https://www.google.no/amp/s/everyda...ix-your-treble-woes-with-this-simple-mod/amp/

Thanks for the link, will have to try it. Have you noticed since you've done the mod better treble detail? The article states the brightness of the stock 700s could actually mask details. I'm waiting for my Valhalla 2 to get in to see if it fill up the sound more. The bass is fine for me and with a +2db increase in the 0-100hz range I'm quite happy with it. I've noticed the 700's are very responsive to equalization.

 

[peter123]

Thanks for the link, will have to try it. Have you noticed since you've done the mod better treble detail? The article states the brightness of the stock 700s could actually mask details. I'm waiting for my Valhalla 2 to get in to see if it fill up the sound more. The bass is fine for me and with a +2db increase in the 0-100hz range I'm quite happy with it. I've noticed the 700's are very responsive to equalization.

It's almost impossible to compare details without having two pairs and unfortunately (or fortunately ) I have only one. There's more substance to the treble after the mod if that makes sense. The mod is also very easy to do and totally removable so there's not much harm in trying.

 

[MrMan]

So this shouldn't be but I'm thinking my cheaper audio card (Centrance Dacport HD) might sound considerably better then the more expensive (Centrance M8.) The M8 makes the sound very narrow whereas the dacport makes the sound more separated. With all things the first hour always sounds awesome. Gonna keep testing to see if I can confirm it.

 

[DavidA]

Would you mind explaining what this mod does as it pertains to the 700s? For the 800s it's supposed to tame the 6KHZ spike but I find pairing the 700's to tubes takes care of any treble spikes. I'm also using a warm DAC (Mimby) so it definitely helps any issues of sibilance.

I've seriously thought about upgrading to the 800's but I love that these cans are smaller, more comfortable (imo), and aren't overly fatiguing; fun but still preserves a good amount of detail. It also is better for my wallet because knowing the HD800's, I'd be buying lots of Jazz music on HDTracks in 24/192 and spending $40 an album. Modern music just isn't really well suited to the 800's from what I've read because mastering has taken a backseat to just loudness wars and so there really isn't much detail to extract in the first place.

This is the same reason that 2 of my friends stay with the HD700 and have never moved up to the HD800, its really a matter of the genre that one likes and the willingness to spend for high quality tracks to make use of the HD800's "improvements" over the HD700 and its also why I traded my SR009 to a friend since its like the HD800 and quite unforgiving of sub-par/poorly recorded/mastered tracks.

 

[hikaru12]

This is the same reason that 2 of my friends stay with the HD700 and have never moved up to the HD800, its really a matter of the genre that one likes and the willingness to spend for high quality tracks to make use of the HD800's "improvements" over the HD700 and its also why I traded my SR009 to a friend since its like the HD800 and quite unforgiving of sub-par/poorly recorded/mastered tracks.

Yeah I mean if most of my stuff was in 24/96 then I'd probably go for the 800's. I mainly listen to Hip Hop so mids are far more important in that area and luckily the 700s have silky smooth mids. Can't wait to pair it with a OTL to see how well that does, perhaps try a BH Crack and Feliks Elise in the future.

 

[Krutsch]

Yeah I mean if most of my stuff was in 24/96 then I'd probably go for the 800's. I mainly listen to Hip Hop so mids are far more important in that area and luckily the 700s have silky smooth mids. Can't wait to pair it with a OTL to see how well that does, perhaps try a BH Crack and Feliks Elise in the future.

+1 ... or, try a Woo WA3 - a match made in heaven for the HD-700 (and the '650, for that matter).

 

[Brahmsian]

Personally I find the HD700 to be a lot more fun listening than my quite boring HD650 so obviously YMMV

I, too, found the HD650 boring during the 2+ years I had them, except every now and then it would wow me with vocals. I remember my Bob Dylan SACDs really blew me away on the 650, as well as some very well recorded jazz vocals. I trust that the HD700 is more exciting. I'd probably be buying one at Massdrop right now ($399 new) except for the fact that I recently bought the HifiMan HE560, which I'm happy with for now.

 

[Anarion]

I have a modded HD555, basically the same as a 595 after the foam mod and I can tell you that the HD700 runs circles around them. Sound stage is much wider but the HD700 doesn't have that "fun" sound of the 6xx series. They tend to try and be like the big brother HD800 and be analytical. They suffer from a lot of flaws like slightly recessed bass, 3k dip and a nasty treble spike. All of which can be fixed with a simple mod except for that dip...

InnerFidelity has HD 595 and HD 700 measurements and it looks like HD 595 has even stronger peak than HD 700 at ~9K but not that 6K peak. Highs after 9K seem very similar which should be a good thing. I know for sure that the ~9K peak doesn't bother me at all but I'm not completely sure about the 6K. It probably doesn't (who knows, maybe I even like that - also everyone has different ear shape so...). Basically that 6K peak is the only question mark but HD 6x0 series has quite a few (sound stage, comfort, highs are maybe too toned down compared to what I'm used to...). I guess I just should make my decision and get that HD 700. Its price has come down a lot anyway and if I don't like it I can sell it.

 

[peter123]

I, too, found the HD650 boring during the 2+ years I had them, except every now and then it would wow me with vocals. I remember my Bob Dylan SACDs really blew me away on the 650, as well as some very well recorded jazz vocals. I trust that the HD700 is more exciting. I'd probably be buying one at Massdrop right now ($399 new) except for the fact that I recently bought the HifiMan HE560, which I'm happy with for now.

This is the reason I still keep my HD650 as well, it is really hard to beat its midrange performance.

The HD700 is inferior to the HE560 imo but has more midbass drive so it's different and many times I prefer them over the Hifimans with modern pop music.

 

[tayo15]

Anyone recommend the audio house mod, it seems to be similar to the anaxilus mod. Also anyone else tried pad rolling?

 

[tayo15]

From several users who own the hd 700, there seems to be a consensus that the main fix for the sound on the hd 700 is as simple as the correct pads. Many say that the thinner the pads the better. I have ordered some chinese generic velvet pads, and there are a couple others that fit the bill. As well as i plan to do the audio house mod kit and use a magni 3 modi 2 Uber stack. My hypothesis is that the thinner chinese pads, coupled with the audio mod house will subdue alot of the treble, and the m/m stack should add that treble oomph if it feels lacking, who knows, i also got a pair of hd 580s so the m/m stack will go towards that as well.

I got a pair off a user in another forum for around $220 in near perfect condition. These headphones are currently being undersold and underrated, we just need to crack its code and the price might go back up in the used market.

 

[s2kPanda]

InnerFidelity has HD 595 and HD 700 measurements and it looks like HD 595 has even stronger peak than HD 700 at ~9K but not that 6K peak. Highs after 9K seem very similar which should be a good thing. I know for sure that the ~9K peak doesn't bother me at all but I'm not completely sure about the 6K. It probably doesn't (who knows, maybe I even like that - also everyone has different ear shape so...). Basically that 6K peak is the only question mark but HD 6x0 series has quite a few (sound stage, comfort, highs are maybe too toned down compared to what I'm used to...). I guess I just should make my decision and get that HD 700. Its price has come down a lot anyway and if I don't like it I can sell it.

Frequency graphs only tell you so much, I can tell you that the HD700 has much better resolution, speed and clarity over the HD595 simply because the drivers used are more efficient and scale with better amps kind of the same way planar magnetic headphones do.

From several users who own the hd 700, there seems to be a consensus that the main fix for the sound on the hd 700 is as simple as the correct pads. Many say that the thinner the pads the better. I have ordered some chinese generic velvet pads, and there are a couple others that fit the bill. As well as i plan to do the audio house mod kit and use a magni 3 modi 2 Uber stack. My hypothesis is that the thinner chinese pads, coupled with the audio mod house will subdue alot of the treble, and the m/m stack should add that treble oomph if it feels lacking, who knows, i also got a pair of hd 580s so the m/m stack will go towards that as well.

I got a pair off a user in another forum for around $220 in near perfect condition. These headphones are currently being undersold and underrated, we just need to crack its code and the price might go back up in the used market.

Stock pads with the anaxilus mod or modhouse mod. It really brings the headphones to life. That's a steal for the price and I think the HD700 is almost at the end of its life with the HD660 out.

 

[tayo15]

Frequency graphs only tell you so much, I can tell you that the HD700 has much better resolution, speed and clarity over the HD595 simply because the drivers used are more efficient and scale with better amps kind of the same way planar magnetic headphones do.


Stock pads with the anaxilus mod or modhouse mod. It really brings the headphones to life. That's a steal for the price and I think the HD700 is almost at the end of its life with the HD660 out.

Thats true but tbh just like the hd 580, the hd 700 will or should have its own place imo. Just like how the hd 580 is an in between the hd 600 and 650. The hd 700 properly modded in my opinion should be like a baby hd 800s. I think it's a headphone that has a lot of potential and people overlooking it and devaluing it will bring the price down to hd 600 prices, with a few mods you should have a really valuable can. I'm also getting it because it's gonna be one of those cans that people will rarely bring up and its gonna be more of a collection thing. I want to one day have the whole sennheiser HD600-800s line.

 

[Anarion]

Frequency graphs only tell you so much, I can tell you that the HD700 has much better resolution, speed and clarity over the HD595 simply because the drivers used are more efficient and scale with better amps kind of the same way planar magnetic headphones do.

Sounds good. With HD 595 I keep thinking that I wouldn't mind having extra clarity and resolution.

I do wonder if Sennheiser would soon release HD 700 S or something similar... Considering how HD 700 is often cheaper than HD 660 S. Then again if you wait you end up waiting forever.