[Mr Makarov]

  Apologies for the dumb question, but I had the opportunity to give these a go in Tokyo's Akiba department store, and I was blown away by the HD700. I even got the chance to try out the HD800, T1, and W5000 and I just found myself enjoying the HD700 so, so much more than the previous 3 even though it was unamped, running straight through my HTC One. So, the question is, exactly how necessary is amping for these cans? I was already very impressed with them unamped; is buying an amp for them really that important, considering I'm on a pretty right budget? I know amping will obviously improve the performance, but is the improvement significant enough to justify spending $200+?
 
Willing to spend up to $100ish if that's the case, so recommendations are appreciated

I use my HD700 mostly portable (with shorter cable) and it sounds very very good out of a Walkman F806 (much better than from Fiio X5 - really bad synergy with X5) but if you add a cheap (<100$) amp like Fiio E11/E11k - it will sound even better and yes the improvement is noticeable (in bass and soundstage department, also highs will get tamed a little bit which can be good if you´re sensitive to the treble spike (which I can´t find anywhere yet)). 

 

[tf10charged]

this seems like a very controversial headphone. with the 6khz where people can barely finish a song on it. 
 
on the other hand, this thread has 305 pages and i have checked a few oversea audio forum, and none were so put off by this headphone, quite the opposite of the 2012 review with measurement.
so i wonder what was wrong. would it be the songs those biased reviewer used?
 
they are willing to mod hd800, hd650, but they refused to listen hd700 for 3 mins. wth?? thats just plain biased. can i say because they can alter the view on 2012 hd700, but they cannot do that with those well established hd650 and hd800 which many had one, and will not be easily fooled by them? 
 
 
Amp suggestion:
by the way, schiit valhalla 2 or Ifi audio Ican Micro is better for this headphone to tame a little the treble? 

 

[Agony]

   
I actually remember the HD700 already sounding pretty dang decent out of the HTC One. I can assure you that the HD700 does sound better out of better sources, but how much better I'm not exactly sure as I haven't made the comparison between the HD700 out of actual headphone amps and the HTC One in a while.
 
Let me get back to you on this soon?

 
Exactly what I thought too. Had to double-check the store's setup to see if I was actually amped or not 

 
Thanks for the input!
 

  I use my HD700 mostly portable (with shorter cable) and it sounds very very good out of a Walkman F806 (much better than from Fiio X5 - really bad synergy with X5) but if you add a cheap (<100$) amp like Fiio E11/E11k - it will sound even better and yes the improvement is noticeable (in bass and soundstage department, also highs will get tamed a little bit which can be good if you´re sensitive to the treble spike (which I can´t find anywhere yet)). 

 
Sweet, I'll look into seeing if I can audition them with those FiiOs. I actually don't mind the sharp treble, I'm one of those weird people that absolutely loves this headphone for it. Just me

 

[Mr Makarov]

   
 
Sweet, I'll look into seeing if I can audition them with those FiiOs. I actually don't mind the sharp treble, I'm one of those weird people that absolutely loves this headphone for it. Just me

Seems our tastes are similar. I tend to EQ the the HD700 (6kHz +2DB; 8kHz +5Db and 16kHz +2Db) because normally it is not enough treble for me.

 

[melkenshawn]

  Seems our tastes are similar. I tend to EQ the the HD700 (6kHz +2DB; 8kHz +5Db and 16kHz +2Db) because normally it is not enough treble for me.

 
Wow your tastes are pretty unique, i've heard of people turning down the 6kHz by 5 Db but you're actually turning it up?

 

[sha007]

  Seems our tastes are similar. I tend to EQ the the HD700 (6kHz +2DB; 8kHz +5Db and 16kHz +2Db) because normally it is not enough treble for me.

8kHz at +5db ??? 

 I can't even bear 8khz at 0db. I had to set it to -7db otherwise I hear too much Sssss in most of the songs I listen. Here is my EQ setting in dac software :
 

 
Also I had to set 12khz(only 12khz, other frequencies are at 0db) at -5db in jRiver player as there is no option to set 12khz in dac software.
 

 

[Click]

 
on the other hand, this thread has 305 pages and i have checked a few oversea audio forum, and none were so put off by this headphone, quite the opposite of the 2012 review with measurement.
so i wonder what was wrong. would it be the songs those biased reviewer used?
 
they are willing to mod hd800, hd650, but they refused to listen hd700 for 3 mins. wth?? thats just plain biased. can i say because they can alter the view on 2012 hd700, but they cannot do that with those well established hd650 and hd800 which many had one, and will not be easily fooled by them? 
 

Yup. 
 
Some people seem to love to hate on HD700 for some reason. 

 

[chowmein83]

  Sweet, I'll look into seeing if I can audition them with those FiiOs. I actually don't mind the sharp treble, I'm one of those weird people that absolutely loves this headphone for it. Just me

 
If you're curious, I've actually paired the HD700 with the X3 2nd gen and X5 2nd gen. Both had enough power (the X5 2nd gen had more than enough power) to drive the HD700 and make it sound good, and I also found that both FiiO players for some reason tamed the treble a bit without sacrificing detail.

 

[AudioMan612]

  Good question…hasn’t come up before…I’ve been periodically been wiping mine and the ear pads down with a warm damp cloth with diluted mild detergent and then a slightly damper cloth without.   
A while back cCasper TFG posted a shot of his 700s disassembled…headband intact...one would think that just the head-band pad should be replaceable.

Thanks!  Yeah, it really looks like the headband pad should come off.  I can't figure out what else those plastic tabs around it would be for.

In regards to the treble spikes, I have yet to really have an issue with it.  I use a Woo Audio WA7 (solid state PSU and stock tubes, though I plan to upgrade the tubes eventually) and I think they pair very well.  I also sometimes use the amp built into my Grace Design m920, and while I haven't used this combination anywhere near as much, I haven't had a problem with that either, though I might be able to find some material that has some treble issues.  I run everything flat without any form of software or hardware equalizer or DSP.

 

[PETEREK]

  Good question…hasn’t come up before…I’ve been periodically been wiping mine and the ear pads down with a warm damp cloth with diluted mild detergent and then a slightly damper cloth without.   
A while back cCasper TFG posted a shot of his 700s disassembled…headband intact...one would think that just the head-band pad should be replaceable.

 

While I had them apart someone asked me about the headband pad and whether it would come off or not. I looked at it and tried to remove the parts at the ends of the padding but they wouldn't budge. It looks like those would have to come out but they aren't meant to be removed after they are assembled. If I were to try it again, I would try putting some heat to that area to loosen any glue that might have been applied there and prying up on those parts. I don't have my HD700 anymore, or I would give it a try for you guys. 

 

[Barra]

I've been listening to the HD700 with the Eddie Current Zana Deux this week and have to say that it would be hard to beat this combination. It feels like I am listening to an extraordinarily musical HD800 with full body and very detailed but smooth treble that is never sibilant. To add to the tube sound, I have the Havana 2 tube DAC that is outstanding as well, but it takes a distant backseat to what this ZD tube amp is doing to my HD700. If you ever get a chance to audition the HD700 with this TOTL tube amp, do so at your own risk - you will want one immediately. What is crazy about this amp is that it makes everything sound great from the HD800 to the LCD2/3/X to the Abyss.
 
Having heard the Ember and the Crack many times with the HD700, I know that they are great choices too, but wow - as the price would dictate, they are in much lower league. Saturday at the Seattle meet, I will put all three head to head to see others opinions as well. The law of diminishing returns always applies to high end equipment, but there is something special about the ZD.

 

[Mr Makarov]

   
Wow your tastes are pretty unique, i've heard of people turning down the 6kHz by 5 Db but you're actually turning it up?

Like this EQ settings a lot for HD700:

 

[Click]

  I've been listening to the HD700 with the Eddie Current Zana Deux this week and have to say that it would be hard to beat this combination. It feels like I am listening to an extraordinarily musical HD800 with full body and very detailed but smooth treble that is never sibilant. To add to the tube sound, I have the Havana 2 tube DAC that is outstanding as well, but it takes a distant backseat to what this ZD tube amp is doing to my HD700. If you ever get a chance to audition the HD700 with this TOTL tube amp, do so at your own risk - you will want one immediately. What is crazy about this amp is that it makes everything sound great from the HD800 to the LCD2/3/X to the Abyss.
 
Having heard the Ember and the Crack many times with the HD700, I know that they are great choices too, but wow - as the price would dictate, they are in much lower league. Saturday at the Seattle meet, I will put all three head to head to see others opinions as well. The law of diminishing returns always applies to high end equipment, but there is something special about the ZD.

 
$2,400 for an amp, I would be expecting them to make all headphones sound like angels singing in my ears. 

 
Wish I lived in Seattle and was your friend. 

 

[chowmein83]

  In regards to the treble spikes, I have yet to really have an issue with it.  I use a Woo Audio WA7 (solid state PSU and stock tubes, though I plan to upgrade the tubes eventually) and I think they pair very well.  I also sometimes use the amp built into my Grace Design m920, and while I haven't used this combination anywhere near as much, I haven't had a problem with that either, though I might be able to find some material that has some treble issues.  I run everything flat without any form of software or hardware equalizer or DSP.

 
I think that how one perceives the treble spikes depends on both the gear being used to drive the HD700 and what type of music you're listening to. I've found that the HD700 can really benefit from warmer sources, so that it brings down the treble a bit.
 
As for different types of music, I actually think that the HD700 does really well as long as higher frequency sounds aren't in the music. It sounds really, really good if you play music that is mostly composed of lower frequency notes, it's only when you start to play music that contains lots of high-frequency sounds or is really badly mastered that the HD700 in my experience starts to sound kind of harsh.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I'd say it also depends on one's general sensitivity to treble. Younger folks are likely going to find even slightly north of neutral treble to be nearly unlistenable, and older folks might find even slightly warm headphones muddy and thick. 
 
Sometimes I actually wonder if a lot of us like roughly similar sound signatures but our sensitivities are different.