[Kyle 491]

HD700 are almost listenable driven balanced off the Schitt Ragnarok. Almost. That's a compliment to the amp, not the headphone. I don't think any level of amplification can fix these.

 

[Rob80b]

  I finally got to listen to the HD700 .............
I will need to find some time to do some direct comparisons with my SR325is (my previous favorite headphones) to see if the price difference is worth it to me, but I suspect that I will be keeping the HD700 and selling the rest of my collection.

 
Happy you're liking the HD700s, still the most satisfying phone I've owned by far including the HD800s.
After getting mine last January the 700s IMHO filled the void between all my other phones and I eventually cleared out my roster AKG K701s/K501, Senn HD580/600s and my Grado SR325is and do not regret my decision for a minute.

 

 

[Rob80b]

For that price, I recommend passing on the savings to another head fi member rather than returning.

+1

 

[Rob80b]

HD700 are almost listenable driven balanced off the Schitt Ragnarok. Almost. That's a compliment to the amp, not the headphone. I don't think any level of amplification can fix these.

Hi Kyle
 
I’ve read your past posts on the HD700 and you’ve given logical explanations as to why the 700s do not work for you in comparison to other phones so obviously something along the way has generated a grievance against them.
IMHO the HD700s managed to combine the finer attributes of the AKGs 700 series, HD600/650s and have thrown in a bit of Grado like quality into a phone that is extremely satisfying, even more so than the technically superior HD800s.
Mind you that’s my opinion, but for the likes of me even accounting for individual hearing and preferences I’m still at a loss at you’re above comment?
 
Robert

 

[Rob80b]

   
Happy you're liking the HD700s, still the most satisfying phone I've owned by far including the HD800s.
After getting mine last January the 700s IMHO filled the void between all my other phones and I eventually cleared out my roster AKG K701s/K501, Senn HD580/600s and my Grado SR325is and do not regret my decision for a minute.

 

 
To clarify my above comment, prior to owning the HD700s I would turn to different phones depending on the  genres as each would be better suited in getting the most out of the music, therefore more bass, tighter base, wider better sound staging, tonal accuracy depending if I’m listening to electronica, techno, jazz, classical, pop  etc, etc…. the HD700s made making those decisions redundant.

 

[Rob80b]

While I still have the floor, managed to snag a pair of HD598’s on Amazon’s super deal on Black Friday.
Not a bad phone, especially if one wishes to do without an amp but for those curious if it’s worth jumping to the HD700s and ….if you’re intending to give them a proper source and amplification there really is no comparison between the two, the 598s are a good entry level phone but the 700s are indeed worth the price difference, fuller sound, tighter better defined and extended base, superior sound stage, tonality and detail retrieval…basically much more sophisticated overall.

 

[pdrm360]

  It's hard to quantify it like that, but I'll try to break it down. Only the bolded lines below to me are a direct measurement of quality, where higher would be better. The rest are more relative that is subjective to the listener whether they like more bass/treble/soundstage or not.

66% of HD800 in soundstaging
85% of HD800 in details
90% of HD800 in bass tightness
120% of HD800 in bass presence
0%* of HD800 in treble finesse and smoothness
70% of HD800 in treble presence
100% of HD800 in midrange presence
 
*The lower treble can cause that smearing that sounds unnatural to me, whereas the HD800 does it perfectly, so I can't really compare something broken to something that works perfectly so that's why I use 0% here.
 
Overall, the HD700 are 80-85% of the HD800 as is, which is pretty good. If it didn't have that treble problem, I'd put it at 90-95% of the HD800 in terms of sound quality. It's almost a shame they have this treble issue, or the HD700 would be a slightly lower sound quality version of the HD800, and pricing it at two thirds the price of the HD800 would be quite fair. As is though, I'd say a fair price would be 40% of the HD800. Given you can now get the HD800 for around $1000-1200, a fair price for these would be $400-450.

 
Excellent comparison!

 

[digitalzed]

   
Excellent comparison!

+1

 

[Xcellere]

My "like new" set from the Outlet deal just came. For all intents and purposes, they're brand new:
 

 
Anyone else have any experience with the 700s and the O2 + ODAC?
 
Also, can someone recommend a shorter cable? The stock cable is freaking LONG.

 

[Rob80b]

For those who haven’t seen this, believe it’s a rather levelheaded comparison of the Sennheiser HD line up.
http://youtu.be/FEZ7oU-7AHs?list=UU6BW8DqrAmBEIeCtMa4bfBw

 

[Trojita]

I received my HD700's. Now I just need to find a headphone stand so I don't feel compelled to put the headphone away in its case everytime I finish using it. I was going to buy some wooden ones off of Amazon, but some of the reviews mention quality problems.
 
Also thinking about getting a better amp than my E17. At first I thought about just getting the E09K and hooking them up together to use as a desktop amp. I haven't ever used a tube amp before. Was thinking about possibly getting the Schiit Modi DAC and Valhalla 2 Tube AMP.

 

[Greggo]

  Hi Kyle
 
I’ve read your past posts on the HD700 and you’ve given logical explanations as to why the 700s do not work for you in comparison to other phones so obviously something along the way has generated a grievance against them.
IMHO the HD700s managed to combine the finer attributes of the AKGs 700 series, HD600/650s and have thrown in a bit of Grado like quality into a phone that is extremely satisfying, even more so than the technically superior HD800s.
Mind you that’s my opinion, but for the likes of me even accounting for individual hearing and preferences I’m still at a loss at you’re above comment?
 
Robert

For others trying to get a handle on the various feedback... I have also heard them to be pretty much as Rob80b has described them above.  I also have owned the Q701 (sold them, but now waiting for my new K7XX to come in), and currently own HD600 and Grado RS225e...  I do think the HD700 has managed to capture some of the special sauce of each of these sonic personalities and present a really nice musical combination of its own.  I don't discount the extreme reaction to the high frequency peak, but I am convinced it is by far the exception rather than the rule.  I brought my HD700 to a small headphone meet here in Minneapolis last winter and watched about a dozen different people try them out, all reacted in a very positive manner to the sound they were getting.

 

[digitalzed]

  My "like new" set from the Outlet deal just came. For all intents and purposes, they're brand new:
 

 
Anyone else have any experience with the 700s and the O2 + ODAC?
 
Also, can someone recommend a shorter cable? The stock cable is freaking LONG.

I highly recommend WyWires Red series. Also Headphone Lounge. These are some of the best bang for your buck cables out there. There are more expensive, but any better is questionable. WyWires has a deal going on right now too.

 

[domoaligato]

   
If you were to quantify this when compared to HD800, what percentages would you use?
 
i.e sound stage 95% of HD800
 
I have tried HD800 before but it was a rather short listening session, from an average setup (AK240 + international, while amazing, is not ideal for HD800).

I have been researching a lot and I think that I am very close to choosing the hd 700. In a previous post you mentioned that you play pc fps games with these.
How good is the Imaging with the HD 700's compared to the ath-ad700's? I know that this sounds like a stupid question. I just want to make sure that I do not pick a dud when spending this much money.

 

[SNSDluv]

  I have been researching a lot and I think that I am very close to choosing the hd 700. In a previous post you mentioned that you play pc fps games with these.
How good is the Imaging with the HD 700's compared to the ath-ad700's? I know that this sounds like a stupid question. I just want to make sure that I do not pick a dud when spending this much money.

I have tried both(albeit only a day or so with AD700s, so TAKE IT WITH GRAIN OF SALT). HD700 is at another level in terms of imaging and giving you the realism and immersion. HD700 has much better soundstage too.
 
If you have the chance, you should really try HD700 before you buy, as some people really dislike the sound. Otherwise, if you are tight on budget I would suggest you buy a used on Head-Fi classified or wait for another sale.