Sennheiser HD 700 Impressions Thread
May 10, 2014 at 5:29 PM Post #1,681 of 9,291
   
I can't help but think the aune T1 looks really cheesy. I'd get a schiit stack. 

 
After the cost of the tube I was looking at, even getting a good deal on a used T1, I'd pretty much be paying between the cost of a magni stack, or a vali stack, so unless I liked the standard tube the T1 came with and forgot about upgrading, it wouldn't be any saving either, and I've read more than a couple quality complaints about it, although it seems with a good tube it does well.
 
Hmm...  as a completely unlikely solution, I should also consider something like the Beyerdynamic A200P, its not difficult to find a used one currently for around the price of a vali stack, and I must admit its ability to hopefully work with my various android products, my ipad, and my computer is alluring...
 
I must admit I have no clue why I have such a desire to not break down and do a dedicated desktop amp/dac setup, maybe I just like versatility over cost efficiency.
 
May 16, 2014 at 5:36 PM Post #1,682 of 9,291
Insides of the HD700, I couldn't find any anywhere so I took them apart.
 
http://i.imgur.com/b5dIMS6.jpg
b5dIMS6.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ZlARQy5.jpg
ZlARQy5.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OJmfYKO.jpg
OJmfYKO.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/EgmkHAQ.jpg
EgmkHAQ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ErJKzJL.jpg
ErJKzJL.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/J5VfWWI.jpg
J5VfWWI.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dnvDPxQ.jpg
dnvDPxQ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ufDG7Tj.jpg
ufDG7Tj.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/awIKvnw.jpg
awIKvnw.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/v9URI5h.jpg
v9URI5h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/wc2QJwU.jpg
wc2QJwU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2Idzax8.jpg
2Idzax8.jpg

 
May 16, 2014 at 5:54 PM Post #1,684 of 9,291
Nothing additional at all. But I did remove the plastic that was protecting the driver from being touched and or mutilated. I'm starting to do the same hardware mods I did to my old 595. I can say that I fixed the treble spike "({[THIS HAS NOT BEEN PROVEN, JUST MY HEARING.]})".
 
May 16, 2014 at 5:59 PM Post #1,685 of 9,291
Such a gorgeous can, glad I found the deal I did, otherwise I never would have gotten something that's fairly costly in the headphone world.
 
May 16, 2014 at 7:12 PM Post #1,687 of 9,291
It's just the lighting. There is no foam. I took these pictures myself not but a few hours ago. I wanted to get rid of the plastic protecting the driver. There are a few other mods I am looking into as well. They are all from when I was modding my HD595. I'm not even sure if I am going to put any foam in there just yet. If I do it will be a special type of sound absorbing foam around the outside.
 
May 17, 2014 at 4:45 PM Post #1,688 of 9,291
It's just the lighting. There is no foam. I took these pictures myself not but a few hours ago. I wanted to get rid of the plastic protecting the driver. There are a few other mods I am looking into as well. They are all from when I was modding my HD595. I'm not even sure if I am going to put any foam in there just yet. If I do it will be a special type of sound absorbing foam around the outside.


Thanks Shckr for the pics. Did you remove the internal grill or did you cut and remove the grill from the HD700?
 
May 17, 2014 at 6:48 PM Post #1,689 of 9,291
I cut the grill out.
 
Long story short, I used to have an HD595, that also had this treble spike. I did quite a few mods to make it sound more open and get rid of the spike. I literally gutted that headset, so that the only thing left was part of the driver, and what held it inside. I took everything out. My goal was to remove anything that the sound could bounce off of, or distort it in any way. The end result was a headset that to me sounded better than a stock HD600 or HD650. I could still tell what was missing in the sound, but for what I paid I could complain. I did a ton of research into how sound travels, reflects, distorts, and anything that really had anything to do with audio. Then after a few years, due to how I had modded it, the driver started to warp a little, into the slightest oval shape. This caused the driver to buzz at certain frequencies. It was such a small error that I could find a way to fix it, and the headset had already been discontinued. I was at a point where I needed ear-buds more than a headset due to the traveling I started, So I got the Klipsch X10. They sounded better than the stock HD595 by far, but not as good as my modded HD595. It worked great in the end as I was using my phone as my output. First a Samsung S3, and then an S4. 
 
I'm now at a point where I still use the X10 when walking to work, but at home I wanted something a little better. I finally caved in and got the HD700. I really want to try the HD800 just to see how good everyone says it is. The HD700 sounds great but it wasn't as great as when I got my HD595 and first stepped into the audiophile world. I have spent so much time listing to music just to enjoy where it can take me. 
 
In regards to getting rid of the protective grill, It completely fixed the spike in the treble, but the sound has changed significantly. I'm not sure how to describe it to someone who listens to a reference design, and what other people are looking for. I'm happy with the way it sounds now, but it's not up to me to tell them if its better or not and for what reason or another.
 
Here is a current picture of what I have done
 
http://i.imgur.com/HllhsSj.jpg
HllhsSj.jpg

 
May 18, 2014 at 1:38 AM Post #1,690 of 9,291
  I cut the grill out.
 
Long story short, I used to have an HD595, that also had this treble spike. I did quite a few mods to make it sound more open and get rid of the spike. I literally gutted that headset, so that the only thing left was part of the driver, and what held it inside. I took everything out. My goal was to remove anything that the sound could bounce off of, or distort it in any way. The end result was a headset that to me sounded better than a stock HD600 or HD650. I could still tell what was missing in the sound, but for what I paid I could complain. I did a ton of research into how sound travels, reflects, distorts, and anything that really had anything to do with audio. Then after a few years, due to how I had modded it, the driver started to warp a little, into the slightest oval shape. This caused the driver to buzz at certain frequencies. It was such a small error that I could find a way to fix it, and the headset had already been discontinued. I was at a point where I needed ear-buds more than a headset due to the traveling I started, So I got the Klipsch X10. They sounded better than the stock HD595 by far, but not as good as my modded HD595. It worked great in the end as I was using my phone as my output. First a Samsung S3, and then an S4. 
 
I'm now at a point where I still use the X10 when walking to work, but at home I wanted something a little better. I finally caved in and got the HD700. I really want to try the HD800 just to see how good everyone says it is. The HD700 sounds great but it wasn't as great as when I got my HD595 and first stepped into the audiophile world. I have spent so much time listing to music just to enjoy where it can take me. 
 
In regards to getting rid of the protective grill, It completely fixed the spike in the treble, but the sound has changed significantly. I'm not sure how to describe it to someone who listens to a reference design, and what other people are looking for. I'm happy with the way it sounds now, but it's not up to me to tell them if its better or not and for what reason or another.
 
Here is a current picture of what I have done
 

I'm tempted to do the same thing to my HD558 now.
 
May 18, 2014 at 3:16 AM Post #1,691 of 9,291
The part marked in red is what I removed, along with all of the white mesh, including the mesh in the driver itself. You have to be very careful as you can easily damage the driver. This is not for the faint of heart.
 
First you need to remove the driver, and it is glued in place.
Next remove the white mesh, and cut out all of the red from the first picture. Try to leave a clean finish on the plastic.
Then remove the white mesh from the rear of the driver with a small flat head or sharp knife.
Proceed to remove the 6 supporting structures from the rear of the driver.
      Take your time here. I just used pliers and gradually started to move them up and down breaking the plastic.
Last remove the metal grill and plastic hex opening from the cover. (Pic two left side.)
 
 
This completely opens up headset and the sound as well. It prevents the sound from bouncing around everywhere inside making you hear higher pitches twice. Although it looks ugly from the outside, it sounds fantastic. Still not as good as the HD700, but better than an HD600/HD650.
 
http://i.imgur.com/VFdqnJo.jpg
VFdqnJo.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Xkemavz.jpg
Xkemavz.jpg

 
Only proceed if your willing to throw a pair away due to messing up the driver. 
 
May 18, 2014 at 4:58 PM Post #1,693 of 9,291
Sweet, just picked up a short cable for real cheap, around $31.  I certainly don't expect it to sound as good as the stock cable, but there'll certainly be times where a 1.5M cable will be useful.
 
May 18, 2014 at 5:06 PM Post #1,695 of 9,291
I'm fairly sure I've used this company before on a HE-400 cable.  My impression after a week or so was that while it was a nice sound, I was willing to take a small quality hit for convenience.  I could be wrong however, I don't have any real personal experience comparing Sennheiser cables to others.
 

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