[frosty5689]

After 8 years of daily usage, I still love hd700. 3 set of headbands and earpads. It is still a amazing headphone. Although it is a pain in the beginning because of the crappy SPC cable and the need of long run in time. I believe it is the real reason why it was less appreciated at the time of release. Really sad that sennheiser discontinued it's production.

Been cleaning and repairing my earpads as I haven't found good replacements that are similar to the OEM ones. What replacement pads did you buy?

Agreed on the stiff and bulky stock cable. Now that soft braided replacement cables are plenty and cheap it really makes these a lot more comfortable. Rocking it daily for gaming and music.

 

[Jnk70]

After 8 years of daily usage, I still love hd700. 3 set of headbands and earpads. It is still a amazing headphone. Although it is a pain in the beginning because of the crappy SPC cable and the need of long run in time. I believe it is the real reason why it was less appreciated at the time of release. Really sad that sennheiser discontinued it's production.

Couldn't agree more. Several headphones have come and gone but the 700's remain my go to choice. Indeed, a decent upgraded cable and some care in the partnering equipment (they can be relatively particular in that respect) will make them sing.

 

[Hsiu]

Been cleaning and repairing my earpads as I haven't found good replacements that are similar to the OEM ones. What replacement pads did you buy?

Agreed on the stiff and bulky stock cable. Now that soft braided replacement cables are plenty and cheap it really makes these a lot more comfortable. Rocking it daily for gaming and music.

I purchased some sheepskin earpad list on auction site Ruten in Taiwan. So far so good. The original cable not only bulky but also bring negative effects to the sound of the headphones. HD700 need no silver , 22awg pure copper bring out the best if it.

 

[Click]

It's a shame Sennheiser discontinued the HD700 years ago and never replaced it or updated it with a newer model. It's like they saw the bad reviews and poor sales (at MSRP), then decided to kill it completely and forget the headphone ever existed. The official earpads have not been in stock in the U.S. for years. Same with the headband.

I still consider the HD700 as one of the most resolving, clear, and detailed headphones that has amazing soundstage, instrument separation, and comfort. You can even EQ it with a big bass shelf to make them an open-back headphone with basshead qualities.

The HD700 is still an amazing headphone if used with a good source, a tube amp, and/or properly EQ'd. It's honestly one of the best headphones that can be bought used for under $500. I'm still using the HD700 for movies/TV shows, games, and certain genres of music.

 

[Backsplash7]

It's a shame Sennheiser discontinued the HD700 years ago and never replaced it or updated it with a newer model. It's like they saw the bad reviews and poor sales (at MSRP), then decided to kill it completely and forget the headphone ever existed. The official earpads have not been in stock in the U.S. for years. Same with the headband.

I still consider the HD700 as one of the most resolving, clear, and detailed headphones that has amazing soundstage, instrument separation, and comfort. You can even EQ it with a big bass shelf to make them an open-back headphone with basshead qualities.

The HD700 is still an amazing headphone if used with a good source, a tube amp, and/or properly EQ'd. It's honestly one of the best headphones that can be bought used for under $500. I'm still using the HD700 for movies/TV shows, games, and certain genres of music.

I suggested in sennheisers customer feedback thread, that they should re release the HD700 with a shopping list of changes. I was amazed to see that took every single suggestion that I made, and re released the HD660 instead. D'oh!

 

[Click]

I suggested in sennheisers customer feedback thread, that they should re release the HD700 with a shopping list of changes. I was amazed to see that took every single suggestion that I made, and re released the HD660 instead. D'oh!

LOL they know the 600 series name and design will keep carrying their mid-fi sales, with its enormous built-in rabid fanbase.

All Sennheiser needs to do with the a new HD700 is tune it better, with a slight bass shelf and lower the 6k-8k spike. It’s what I do with EQ and love the sound. They could literally keep everything else the same, include a better 4.4mm balanced cable, and still charge over $700 for it. I’d gladly buy an updated HD700.

 

[Backsplash7]

LOL they know the 600 series name and design will keep carrying their mid-fi sales, with its enormous built-in rabid fanbase.

All Sennheiser needs to do with the a new HD700 is tune it better, with a slight bass shelf and lower the 6k-8k spike. It’s what I do with EQ and love the sound. They could literally keep everything else the same, include a better 4.4mm balanced cable, and still charge over $700 for it. I’d gladly buy an updated HD700.

Ah, I dont EQ mine, I think it sounds great as it is. And the scalability, and sheer transparency to the chain is mind boggling. I agree that I would like some more sub bass presence, but other than that, what I'd like is a 300 or 600ohm variant, and to just generally take the design concept and build it up to a flagship level

 

[ldo77]

HD700 is stil a good headphone, yes.

For earpads, I bought MisoDiko HD700,, on Aliexpress
They fit well on the headphone and they look nice.
Quite good quality.
Earpads https://a.aliexpress.com/_EwNiCOR
Headband pa https://a.aliexpress.com/_EzThbf9

 

[Shawn71]

get the 650s

 

[Click]

Ah, I dont EQ mine, I think it sounds great as it is. And the scalability, and sheer transparency to the chain is mind boggling. I agree that I would like some more sub bass presence, but other than that, what I'd like is a 300 or 600ohm variant, and to just generally take the design concept and build it up to a flagship level

I used to listen to the HD700 without EQ for the first 5 or so years using my Vali amp. Really enjoyed the SQ without EQ but it was only great with certain genres and well-produced / well-recorded, high quality (FLAC) files. Then I gave EQ a try. The HD700 became a much more versatile, jack of all trades headphone with insane sub-bass (for an open-back headphone) when properly EQ‘d. I highly recommend everyone try the HD700 with dialed-in parametric EQ. It’s amazing.

 

[Backsplash7]

I used to listen to the HD700 without EQ for the first 5 or so years using my Vali amp. Really enjoyed the SQ without EQ but it was only great with certain genres and well-produced / well-recorded, high quality (FLAC) files. Then I gave EQ a try. The HD700 became a much more versatile, jack of all trades headphone with insane sub-bass (for an open-back headphone) when properly EQ‘d. I highly recommend everyone try the HD700 with dialed-in parametric EQ. It’s amazing.

Interesting, I dont hear a genre specific difference with them, but they do show the difference in mastering/mixing very easily. Its a much bigger difference than when comparing cd rips (WAV) to hi res, for example.
When I first got mine, which were used and had awful pads that needed changing, I'd read so much about the supposed treble issues, that I ordered some deonki hybrids for them. Tons of bass, music out of focus, seriously fatiguing... I could get 7 or 8 songs in and then I'd be physically exhausted. Got some official pads, tons better, and no treble issues.
I am using equalizerAPO, purely to defeat the windows audio mixer, with -0.2db preamp gain to also defeat windows peak limiting, and then +0.2db eq gain to match the original sound profile. I suppose I could try having a play with some sub bass boosting, and see how it goes?

Very much looking forward to seeing what a decent dac can do for them though

 

[samandhi]

Interesting, I dont hear a genre specific difference with them, but they do show the difference in mastering/mixing very easily. Its a much bigger difference than when comparing cd rips (WAV) to hi res, for example.
When I first got mine, which were used and had awful pads that needed changing, I'd read so much about the supposed treble issues, that I ordered some deonki hybrids for them. Tons of bass, music out of focus, seriously fatiguing... I could get 7 or 8 songs in and then I'd be physically exhausted. Got some official pads, tons better, and no treble issues.
I am using equalizerAPO, purely to defeat the windows audio mixer, with -0.2db preamp gain to also defeat windows peak limiting, and then +0.2db eq gain to match the original sound profile. I suppose I could try having a play with some sub bass boosting, and see how it goes?

Very much looking forward to seeing what a decent dac can do for them though

I am of a mind that they are pretty good with most genres as is, but when you put on something like metal (or the like), they do in fact become very fatiguing (to my ears).

As for testing the bass on these, they are absolutely outstanding with some good EQ (as others have said). For me, I ran across the Oratory Auto-EQ profile for these, and let me say that these are boosted into the stratosphere as to what they can do, and they become very versatile.

Also, a good tube amp will make these sing. IMO these are some of the most picky of the Sennheiser line as to what source you are playing them from (maybe even more so than the OG HD800). They either synergize very well, or they do not. There really isn't an in-between. This might actually shown by looking through this thread, with how polarizing these have been over the years.

The HD700s were so polarizing that Sennheiser discontinued the name but put the driver from them into a new shell and re-tuned them and called them the HD660X line. So, in essence the HD700 lives on.

 

[iFi audio]

Agreed on the stiff and bulky stock cable. Now that soft braided replacement cables are plenty and cheap it really makes these a lot more comfortable.

That's true, we have multiple slinky aftermarket options to choose from and some are quite affordable.

 

[samandhi]

That's true, we have multiple slinky aftermarket options to choose from and some are quite affordable.

Well, at least you aren't afraid to "ply your wares" on any thread.... haha

 

[iFi audio]

Well, at least you aren't afraid to "ply your wares" on any thread.... haha

Just to clarify, by 'we' I meant enthusiasts, so all us here and I rarely mention our stuff in threads outside of the sponsor section

Besides, we don't sell headphone cables