[frosty5689]

I have been having some issues with my setup for a number of months, I had been getting some hiss, extreme "S" and "T" emphasis, and weird ultrafrequency noise in one channel, which I recently managed to pin down, and it turned out to be a faulty op amp. Having had to swap for a spare pair, I've since had to re-learn what each of my headphones sounds like with the new signature. The old op amp combo was 2x burson v6 classic singles with 2 burson v6 vivid duals, and the new combo replaces the vivids with muses02.
Generally speaking I have enjoyed the tradeoff with most of my headphones, with the main exception being the HD700, which this pairing doesn't seem to compliment quite so well, which is rather interesting!

The new sound loses some soundstage width, loses both treble and bass extention, air, microdetails, and loses its more forward presentation.
What is gained is soundstage depth, different imaging (can be better or worse depending on the track) a midbass boost, more bass punch and much more hardness on the leading edge of notes.
With the vivids I found that everything was just a tad too soft, but with the extra 'edge' now, it really brings out tapping and textural sounds, which I am actually enjoying a lot, despite missing all the microdetails. But with the 700's, it is a bit of a different story.

The effect of the overall change with these seems to be, for want of a better term, exaggerated. Where once there was precise and detailed bass, now a more vague midbass presence takes over. And where there was once lots of air and separation across the width of the stage, the air gets cut off dramatically, whilst the depth of the stage pushes half of the instruments far away from me, whilst other instruments are very close to me, creating an unusual, though very interesting dual-layer presentation. Having drums in the background with a very forward bass creates an interesting presence, particularly with orchestral tracks, though for rock I find it quite hard to focus on both of them at the same time now, which is a bit fatiguing.
This is not to say that I think these headphones sound bad now, but the tradeoff in qualities is just that much greater as compared to my other headphones, that it turns them into something very different. And whilst a moderate amount of this new signature works very well for some of my headphones, I find it to be too much with the 700's: a little goes a long way.

I had read here and there about the HD700 (and HD800) being quite difficult to pair with equipment, and having only had my original setup since owning them, its something I haven't been able to relate to. Now that I've experienced it for myself, I can really appreciate that notion. It is almost as if they are so transparent to the rest of the chain, that they almost "become" what they are plugged into, and I am really quite interested to seeing what happens with them in the future when I am able to upgrade my amp and dac

I have experienced the biggest changes with my HD 700 and HD 800s when I switched to K9 Pro. So the part about these cans being very neutral in signature is definitely true

 

[samandhi]

I have experienced the biggest changes with my HD 700 and HD 800s when I switched to K9 Pro. So the part about these cans being very neutral in signature is definitely true

Yeah, I paired mine with the DX300. I can't wait though, because they are releasing a Nutube tube amp card for the DX300. I am hoping that it will pair well with my HD700.

 

[harris4crna]

The 700 is the journeyman HP. Doesn't do anything perfect, but does everything great. This HP needs to be modified for comfort and personality. Love to see how you modified your 700.

 

[samandhi]

The 700 is the journeyman HP. Doesn't do anything perfect, but does everything great. This HP needs to be modified for comfort and personality. Love to see how you modified your 700.

Very nice looking mods! I have not modified mine at all, except to change from that crappy cable that came with mine. I am using a Hartaudio modular cable for all my full sized headphones. And though I have left mine sitting out for a long time, I have no degradation of the pads and headband at all (even after all these years).

 

[Backsplash7]

Very nice looking mods! I have not modified mine at all, except to change from that crappy cable that came with mine. I am using a Hartaudio modular cable for all my full sized headphones. And though I have left mine sitting out for a long time, I have no degradation of the pads and headband at all (even after all these years).

Same here, stock pads and a custom cable. Tried the dekoni hybrid pads, but didn't really like it... though I suppose I could try them again. I got skyaudio to make me a pure silver cable, and I also got some short lengths of the same wire to replace the internal headphone wiring to match it, but I have yet to get around to that bit

 

[dan3952]

I have been having some issues with my setup for a number of months, I had been getting some hiss, extreme "S" and "T" emphasis, and weird ultrafrequency noise in one channel, which I recently managed to pin down, and it turned out to be a faulty op amp. Having had to swap for a spare pair, I've since had to re-learn what each of my headphones sounds like with the new signature. The old op amp combo was 2x burson v6 classic singles with 2 burson v6 vivid duals, and the new combo replaces the vivids with muses02.
Generally speaking I have enjoyed the tradeoff with most of my headphones, with the main exception being the HD700, which this pairing doesn't seem to compliment quite so well, which is rather interesting!



I had read here and there about the HD700 (and HD800) being quite difficult to pair with equipment, and having only had my original setup since owning them, its something I haven't been able to relate to. Now that I've experienced it for myself, I can really appreciate that notion. It is almost as if they are so transparent to the rest of the chain, that they almost "become" what they are plugged into, and I am really quite interested to seeing what happens with them in the future when I am able to upgrade my amp and dac

This is in fact their strength: they're revealing enough that they reveal flaws in the rest of your gear.

Keep rolling the op amps with the Burson, until you find something you like. There are discernable differences between them.

Gilmore Lite is the one I had used with the HD700s when I had them, now i have THX 888, and they sound the same, to me: clinical, "straight wire with gain" types of devices.

I had the HD700 for a bit in 2018: they were remarkably revealing for the $380 I had paid for them (only slightly behind the Focal Clear Ogs which were my first good set of headphones). I could hear texture when listening to stringed instruments that I couldn't with anything that was under $1000 MSRP. They were also a massive improvement over the Shure SRH1540s I had to complement them at the time. The both of them however don't have the punch and slam of either my Audeze LCD-X 2021s or Focal Clear Mgs. Both of those, have their flaws, as well. Few headphones can compete with HD700 or HD800 soundstage at any price. The only ones that come to mind are the Audeze LCD-24, HiFiMan Arya, and HiFiMan HE-1000. All of them are more expensive. Even the Focal Utopia doesn't have a bigger soundstage than any of them.

 

[samandhi]

This is in fact their strength: they're revealing enough that they reveal flaws in the rest of your gear.

Keep rolling the op amps with the Burson, until you find something you like. There are discernable differences between them.

Gilmore Lite is the one I had used with the HD700s when I had them, now i have THX 888, and they sound the same, to me: clinical, "straight wire with gain" types of devices.

I had the HD700 for a bit in 2018: they were remarkably revealing for the $380 I had paid for them (only slightly behind the Focal Clear Ogs which were my first good set of headphones). I could hear texture when listening to stringed instruments that I couldn't with anything that was under $1000 MSRP. They were also a massive improvement over the Shure SRH1540s I had to complement them at the time. The both of them however don't have the punch and slam of either my Audeze LCD-X 2021s or Focal Clear Mgs. Both of those, have their flaws, as well. Few headphones can compete with HD700 or HD800 soundstage at any price. The only ones that come to mind are the Audeze LCD-24, HiFiMan Arya, and HiFiMan HE-1000. All of them are more expensive. Even the Focal Utopia doesn't have a bigger soundstage than any of them.

These were originally priced at $1k, so there is that.... I bought them back when they first came down to $750 (where they stayed for much of their life), and I thought they were well worth it at the time. As a proud owner of the HD700 I was a bit disappointed that Sennheiser made the decision to devalue them so deeply before they discontinued them. That was a horrible move IMHO.

On the other hand, I am glad that people such as yourself were able to get a fantastic set for a deep discount. If you read back in this thread (of which I used to be part of for a time), these have been very polarizing. People either really loved them, or really hated them. There weren't too many with a "meh" opinion. And you are absolutely correct that they reveal the flaws in your chain; weather that be file quality or DAC/amp, etc... I use the iBasso DX300 to drive mine (out of 4.4mm balanced) and find them to sound fantastic on top of that huge soundstage. The only thing I have heard that have larger soundstage (that still sounds natural) are some of my TOTL classic earbuds (Moondrop Chaconne or Rose Technics Maria II for instance).

 

[dan3952]

These were originally priced at $1k, so there is that.... I bought them back when they first came down to $750 (where they stayed for much of their life), and I thought they were well worth it at the time. As a proud owner of the HD700 I was a bit disappointed that Sennheiser made the decision to devalue them so deeply before they discontinued them. That was a horrible move IMHO.

On the other hand, I am glad that people such as yourself were able to get a fantastic set for a deep discount. If you read back in this thread (of which I used to be part of for a time), these have been very polarizing. People either really loved them, or really hated them. There weren't too many with a "meh" opinion. And you are absolutely correct that they reveal the flaws in your chain; weather that be file quality or DAC/amp, etc... I use the iBasso DX300 to drive mine (out of 4.4mm balanced) and find them to sound fantastic on top of that huge soundstage. The only thing I have heard that have larger soundstage (that still sounds natural) are some of my TOTL classic earbuds (Moondrop Chaconne or Rose Technics Maria II for instance).

The HD700s, I had sold in 2018, which I now regret. They have treble spikes, but they're easily EQ'd. I think they were just as resolving as the Focal Clears I had (Og and now Mg), but the HD700s had a puny bass and weak dynamics, that I hadn't liked with rock or EDM music. They had sounded better with vocals and strings. I think the HD800s though very resolving and having a huge soundstage, have the same problem: it's the Sennheiser "house sound". I had tried Focal Clear Mgs and HD800s back to back, in Dallas. Currently have Focal Clear Mgs and Audeze LCD-X 2021s.

I applaud your use of the iBasso, it's an esoteric device that not many people know about. My Benchmark DAC is far bulkier, and is probably not worth what is costs, compared to the new Chinese ones. TOTL Chinese DACs are available at the $600-$700 price point.

 

[dan3952]

I have experienced the biggest changes with my HD 700 and HD 800s when I switched to K9 Pro. So the part about these cans being very neutral in signature is definitely true

That K9 Pro unit, has a similar amp to what I have. I find the THX 887 to be shockingly good for the stupidly cheap price the Monolith Monoprice goes for, and to me, those chip amps, are *THE* deal for under $700. It's rather pointless for me to get anything else, at this rate. It doesn't impart a warm, lush signature to the sound like the Headamp Mini GS-X, but I don't want to pay for the latter. THX just lets the music through, and the headphone qualities show through.

 

[samandhi]

The HD700s, I had sold in 2018, which I now regret. They have treble spikes, but they're easily EQ'd. I think they were just as resolving as the Focal Clears I had (Og and now Mg), but the HD700s had a puny bass and weak dynamics, that I hadn't liked with rock or EDM music. They had sounded better with vocals and strings. I think the HD800s though very resolving and having a huge soundstage, have the same problem: it's the Sennheiser "house sound". I had tried Focal Clear Mgs and HD800s back to back, in Dallas. Currently have Focal Clear Mgs and Audeze LCD-X 2021s.

I applaud your use of the iBasso, it's an esoteric device that not many people know about. My Benchmark DAC is far bulkier, and is probably not worth what is costs, compared to the new Chinese ones. TOTL Chinese DACs are available at the $600-$700 price point.

I have found that if I want to bring that upper mid or lower treble back down to earth, Oratory auto-EQ works fantastically. The added bonus is that I found that the driver in these is able to handle some major bass tuning. Matter of fact, if I tinker with the auto-EQ settings, I can actually turn these in to bass-head cans pretty easily. They do lose a lot of their soundstage when doing this though.

Thanks! I am so pleased with iBasso equipment because of their quality/price ratio. There just aren't many companies (even amongst Chi-Fi) that innovate the way they do IMO. Plus their after sales support shows that they aren't JUST after our money and done.

It is never too expensive if you feel it was worth it. If you are happy, then it was well worth it. That is the way I see it anyhow. I couldn't be happier with my choice; it does pretty much everything (and also doubles as a desktop amp/DAC). I don't need more than 2+ watts to drive any of my headgear. This will even drive the HD800 well. AND..... there is a tube amp card coming for it that I MUST have!

Shame you got rid of your HD700 though. Sennheiser devaluing them definitely didn't make them collector's items or anything like that.

 

[dan3952]

I have found that if I want to bring that upper mid or lower treble back down to earth, Oratory auto-EQ works fantastically. The added bonus is that I found that the driver in these is able to handle some major bass tuning. Matter of fact, if I tinker with the auto-EQ settings, I can actually turn these in to bass-head cans pretty easily. They do lose a lot of their soundstage when doing this though.

Thanks! I am so pleased with iBasso equipment because of their quality/price ratio. There just aren't many companies (even amongst Chi-Fi) that innovate the way they do IMO. Plus their after sales support shows that they aren't JUST after our money and done.

It is never too expensive if you feel it was worth it. If you are happy, then it was well worth it. That is the way I see it anyhow. I couldn't be happier with my choice; it does pretty much everything (and also doubles as a desktop amp/DAC). I don't need more than 2+ watts to drive any of my headgear. This will even drive the HD800 well. AND..... there is a tube amp card coming for it that I MUST have!

Shame you got rid of your HD700 though. Sennheiser devaluing them definitely didn't make them collector's items or anything like that.

I'm in a different world currently with Focal and Audeze: neither of them have the signature that the HD700 has. Both have a smaller sound stage (but even Focal Utopia is small). I might sell the Focal Clears if the Sennheiser HD700 or HD800 hold my interest in coming months. Audeze headphones have a big, thick, speaker like, but dark sound. Only closed back headphones can compete with their bass heft. HiFiMan offers more detail, but not the dynamics. Sennheisers don't compare with either of those brands, when playing anything that has appreciable content below 100 Hz. My speakers outresolve LCD-X, LCD-3, and Clear Mg. Only Arya and HD800 is on par (and, I hadn't gotten a bad deal for under $2000). Once I get a house, I will start using my speakers again, and it will become harder for me to spend more money on headphones.

I might get iBasso IEMs, but that's about it. They're probably better than the Shanlings.

 

[Death_Block]

New to the HD700 party, they are currently in the post...cant wait! as a source I've got the zx507, but bidding on a mojo.

 

[robo24]

If you mean the original mojo it's ok with it, but not the best. The soundstage on the Mojo is particularly narrow. I'm assuming most of your use is portable, but the HD700 do best with a tube amp.

 

[Death_Block]

Yeah original mojo. Will do until something better I guess. I'd it stays at a good price

 

[Death_Block]

If you mean the original mojo it's ok with it, but not the best. The soundstage on the Mojo is particularly narrow. I'm assuming most of your use is portable, but the HD700 do best with a tube amp.

How about the schiit magni pairing or topping L30?