[hikaru12]

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

I've been eyeing the Valhalla 2 myself for these. It's good to know there are so many amp options that will work nicely with these cans as opposed to the more picky 800s.

 

[Guidostrunk]

Having owned both , the 560's for over a year, and now back to the 700's. I don't find the 700's inferior in the least bit. They're extremely different. Comes down to preference imo.

What brought me back to the 700's for the 4th time was the dynamics, bass impact and slam, and it's soundstage/holography. The lack of dynamics of the 560's, made for a lot of boring listening sessions, which is why i parted ways. Some might call it smooth.
To me , the 700's are closer to live music.

All subjective though. Lol

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.

 

[Brahmsian]

Having owned both , the 560's for over a year, and now back to the 700's. I don't find the 700's inferior in the least bit. They're extremely different. Comes down to preference imo...The lack of dynamics of the 560's, made for a lot of boring listening sessions, which is why i parted ways...All subjective though. Lol

Just how subjective and a matter of preference can be seen by the fact that Tyll Hertsens hates both these headphones. I started off my most recent headphone search thinking I'd buy one of the headphones on his Wall of Fame but ended up narrowing down my choices to the hd700, esp950, and he560, all of them phones he steers people away from. I tried to let him guide me but after reading as many reviews and impressions as I could I settled on those.

Since I now need closed cans, I'm going to try to choose one on Tyll's Wall of Fame. For example, he really likes the Focal Spirit. He also likes the Aeon. Thing is, he seems to have adopted a theoretical preconception that accounts for the headphones he likes. He starts out with the idea that headphones should sound more like speakers and promotes the Harman Target Response Curve, which is basically a FR curve that was developed based on the sound that Sean Olive and Todd Welti of Harman Research found most people prefer. In other words, it's a sound tailored to the preference of the most number of people. I'm a little skeptical of it since most people don't listen to classical, which is what I mostly listen to.

 

[DavidA]

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

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.

I can only remember one person doing pad rolling with the HD700 but I could be wrong. Easiest fix if the 6khz peak bothers you is to select an amp that doesn't accentuate the peak or is considered slightly on the warmer side. I've always felt that while pad rolling is decent for comfort reasons it usually might fix one issue but may/might create other issues. Most seem to like tubes in the audio chain for the HD700, either tube buffered DAC or a tube amp (hybrid or OTL).

 

[hikaru12]

Just how subjective and a matter of preference can be seen by the fact that Tyll Hertsens hates both these headphones. I started off my most recent headphone search thinking I'd buy one of the headphones on his Wall of Fame but ended up narrowing down my choices to the hd700, esp950, and he560, all of them phones he steers people away from. I tried to let him guide me but after reading as many reviews and impressions as I could I settled on those.

Since I now need closed cans, I'm going to try to choose one on Tyll's Wall of Fame. For example, he really likes the Focal Spirit. He also likes the Aeon. Thing is, he seems to have adopted a theoretical preconception that accounts for the headphones he likes. He starts out with the idea that headphones should sound more like speakers and promotes the Harman Target Response Curve, which is basically a FR curve that was developed based on the sound that Sean Olive and Todd Welti of Harman Research found most people prefer. In other words, it's a sound tailored to the preference of the most number of people. I'm a little skeptical of it since most people don't listen to classical, which is what I mostly listen to.

You should always cater your headphones and equalization to the tastes to what you listen to. Vocals and mid clarity matter most to me as well as clear single instrument reproduction (such as acoustic guitar) - everything else is secondary. I have found the 700s great for that despite not being as warm as the 650s because the treble adds that sharpness and clarity I've been looking for. It's actually why upgrading to the 800s would be pointless for me despite having better detail retrieval.

I always take everyone's headphone review with a grain of salt as I like to learn what people's tastes are before taking their word. If they mention bass a lot I'm going to assume Rock and Hip Hop/Electronic is what they listen to, etc.

 

[teb1013]

I don’t know if this was meantioned earlier in this thread but these are currently on Massdrop for $399.99, I don’t know how that compares with other sources. They are going to expire in a few hours.

 

[BenF]

Can O2 (1.0/3.3X) power Sennheiser HD700?

 

[LikeABell]

Can O2 (1.0/3.3X) power Sennheiser HD700?

Not badly at all. It actually sounds pretty good. No problems with power. But, sometimes sibilance can be an issue.

 

[Marlowe]

I don’t know if this was meantioned earlier in this thread but these are currently on Massdrop for $399.99, I don’t know how that compares with other sources. They are going to expire in a few hours.

It's a decent discount from the current price on Amazon and B&H: $465.16. For whatever reason, prices, on Sennheiser products at least, appear to move in exact lockstep--to the penny--on both those sites. The price fluctuates frequently however. I got them in March for $420 (from B&H, since I can just physically pick them up at their Manhattan store) and a few days later, the price dipped briefly to $400 on both sites.

 

[MrMan]

I'd wait for someone to sell it for $300 or less used. I got mine for 290. I feel they worth about 320-330. For 400+ I personally would look elsewhere. You can get a used pair of HD800 for 700$ which would be worth it vs HD700 for $400+

 

[DavidA]

Can O2 (1.0/3.3X) power Sennheiser HD700?

Yes the O2 will "power" the HD700, but will you like how it sounds? That is the question????

I'd wait for someone to sell it for $300 or less used. I got mine for 290. I feel they worth about 320-330. For 400+ I personally would look elsewhere. You can get a used pair of HD800 for 700$ which would be worth it vs HD700 for $400+

HD800 is a great price but for most its the added cost a amp to pair with them that becomes the issue. The HD700 while being slightly amp picky is much less picky than the HD800 from my personal experience so far.

 

[tayo15]

I'd wait for someone to sell it for $300 or less used. I got mine for 290. I feel they worth about 320-330. For 400+ I personally would look elsewhere. You can get a used pair of HD800 for 700$ which would be worth it vs HD700 for $400+

Yeah I got mine for $220 almost perfect condition. Sometimes you will see paintballer sell some on avexchange or eBay for 245-265. The guy I got mine off of offered me a magni 3 included for 315 in total for both sets. Originally I was gonna buy a magni 3 for 95 and HD 700 for 265, so that was a good deal.

 

[BenF]

Yes the O2 will "power" the HD700, but will you like how it sounds? That is the question????

Yes, the real question is - will it sound its best?

 

[DavidA]

Yes, the real question is - will it sound its best?

For me the ODAC/O2 was one of the worst audio purchases that I made and it made the HD700 quite thin and harsh sounding. Having just compared a Magni3, ODAC/O2, Polaris, Liquid Carbon, headphone output of UD-301 and a few other amps with the HD700, HD800, T1 and HE560 the ODAC/O2 was easily the least liked by my friend, his sister and I. The Magni3 was a decent pairing but we all consider it a bargain that hard to beat while the Polaris and headphone output of the UD-301 were quite good but still a little behind the Liquid Carbon, BH Crack and HA-501. FWIW the Magni3 is only for a temp solution until the CTH and LCX that my friend ordered arrive.

 

[BenF]

For me the ODAC/O2 was one of the worst audio purchases that I made and it made the HD700 quite thin and harsh sounding. Having just compared a Magni3, ODAC/O2, Polaris, Liquid Carbon, headphone output of UD-301 and a few other amps with the HD700, HD800, T1 and HE560 the ODAC/O2 was easily the least liked by my friend, his sister and I. The Magni3 was a decent pairing but we all consider it a bargain that hard to beat while the Polaris and headphone output of the UD-301 were quite good but still a little behind the Liquid Carbon, BH Crack and HA-501. FWIW the Magni3 is only for a temp solution until the CTH and LCX that my friend ordered arrive.

Thank you!
I guess I'll pass on HD700 for now...

Does anyone have experience with HD700 straight from NFB-11.32 or using NS-02E/Little Dot MKIII (with 2VRMS source)?