[LugBug1]

   
i actually sold/selling most of my headphones recently in preparation for the focal utopia but got a good deal on these and have always wanted to try the hd700 despite the massive amounts of negative feedback online.. 1 hr in, so far so good.. quite different than the hd600 sound, not as mellow that's for sure
 

Nice Keep us informed 

 

[Namaskar]

   
On the chance you haven't seen this: 
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD700.pdf
 
There is a dip centered between 1 and 3k. And a peak centered between 5 and 6k. So I would suggest first equalizing to flatten out the response. And then, tweak it to suit your ears.

Thanks - yes, I looked up the graphs of Shure 840 and HD700, then tried to 'level out' and to somewhat adjust towards the mid-centric 840s .... but the overall sound lost its coherence or sounded 'off' ... probably because I never EQ'ed before and have no clue how things interact ....  I was looking for someone who EQ'ed his/her HD700 towards mid-centric sound and give me a set of adjustments similar to this one          http://www.head-fi.org/t/738496/sennheiser-hd-700-siblence-fix-making-them-sound-like-the-hd-800-equalizerapo-config-preset-siblence-fix  ....  anyway, I'll have another go on the weekend .... suggestions still welcome though   --  cheers

 

[Conext]

@Conext
, surprised that you mention the blue dragon being microphonic, while I haven't tried one, the Forza and Double-Helix cables that I had were absent of any microphonics and a real pleasure to use and looked like expensive chain art.

The "blue dragon sheath", for lack of a better term is fine. It's the black-clad material used at the y-split that is pretty rigid and microphonic. I've heard worse--I use the ie800 too, after all. Widely regarded as having a cable with among the worst microphonics around.

 

[DavidA]

@Conext, thanks for the clarification, now it makes perfect sense.

 

[i20bot]

 
T1.1 is quite different. More tubey sounding in the midrange, more textured bass, more refined/microdetailed treble. Less steely but sharper.
Similar soundstage in the big scheme of things. HD700 is easier to drive, the T1.1 needs a very clean and precise setup to show its potential, otherwise it can sound a tad muffled. HD700 is a tad drier.

Kinda like HD650 and HD700 combined with more bass?

 

[tf10charged]

  I've been using the HD700 with a TRRS terminated Blue Dragon cable on my Sony ZX2 for a few weeks now. I am absolutely, completely and thoroughly impressed. While I don't think the HD700 were worth the $1,000 USD asking price four years ago, now that they can be had for ~$450, I see them as an excellent value (relatively speaking, of course).
 
Again, my frame of reference for comparison is the IE800. While I would say the IE800 has a punchier low-end response and slightly crisper, sharper detail retreival, the expansive sound stage on the HD700 provides just that little extra something that the IE800s could never hope to produce.
 
I can begin to understand why some people poo-pooed the HD700 initially, though. As I said, I'm using these on a ZX2. As such, they sound fantastic. But using them on my desktop PC (through a Klipsch Promedia 2.1), the mids seem kinda...distant and hollowed out. I have to use a pretty aggressive EQ to compensate. So yeah—I don't doubt that they are finicky in regards to their sources.

looking at IE800 now. can IE800 perform better than HD700 in terms of pop song? how about song like Enya? with plenty of instrument and a little vocal.
 
sorry i know that its pretty hard to compare headphone with iem. 

 

[dazzerfong]

  looking at IE800 now. can IE800 perform better than HD700 in terms of pop song? how about song like Enya? with plenty of instrument and a little vocal.
 
sorry i know that its pretty hard to compare headphone with iem. 

Excellent for Enya. I'm actually listening to "Only Time" right now with them! Vocals and instruments, the HD700 excels in. Not a big fan of them for rap or more 'electronic' music, so some of Katy Perry's stuff is outta the picture. Some of Taylor Swift's stuff (mostly her earlier stuff) sounds excellent on them if you're into her stuff. I especially love "Everything Has Changed" with them: the HD700 really nails the guitars down.
 
Pretty hard to compare the IE800 with the HD700: no matter how great the IE800's soundstage is, it's still small compared to the HD700 (or many better-than-average headphones).

 

[Conext]

  looking at IE800 now. can IE800 perform better than HD700 in terms of pop song? how about song like Enya? with plenty of instrument and a little vocal.
 
sorry i know that its pretty hard to compare headphone with iem. 

Better? That's hard to say.
 
As I mentioned before, I find the sound signatures between both very similar. As Dazzerfong pointed out, the sound stage on the IE800 is much smaller than the HD700. On the flip side, I'm not sure if it's because of that smaller sound stage, or other factors involving the design and placement of the drivers in the ear canal, but I believe the IE800's ability to separate out individual instruments and deliver extra detail to be just that much better than the HD700. Which, as you can imagine, would lend itself well to densely layered, modern, electronic-y music.
 
I listen to a fair amount of Dubstep, EDM and Electro-pop. A particular favorite is Perfume. They sound absolutely marvelous through the IE800. Their songs are recorded and mixed in such a way as to show off the strengths of the IE800 better than just about any group. I'd go so far as to say that I have a hard time imagining them sounding any better than through my ZX2 + IE800 combo.

 

[Rob80b]

  looking at IE800 now. can IE800 perform better than HD700 i...................

Haven’t contributed here for awhile since giving up my 700s for the HD800S, but having used the 700s daily for a few years and the fact I now also own and use daily the ie800s, both have their strengths and weaknesses.
Similar to what Conext pointed out both phones bear strong family resemblances with somewhat linear sound-stage, the ie800s without a doubt have a deeper and fuller base impact, midrange on both is more recessed which goes hand in hand with their lateral imaging, treble on both is clear, extended and undistorted (although some are bothered by a so called peak on the 700s).
Due to the openness of the 700s they do have the wider and airier soundstage with better layering and depth but the ie800s fair very well for an iem and both when given a high quality recording shine.
Overall IMHO the 700s are less forgiving of poor recordings but that could be contributed to a more revealing source and amp, the 700s were run balanced off a Bryston BHA-1 head-amp and a Bryston BCD-1 as source and the ie800 off a FIIO X3 Gen 2.
For me the decision would be simple, portable use the ie800s, home the HD700s.

 

[Conext]

  Overall IMHO the 700s are less forgiving of poor recordings but that could be contributed to a more revealing source and amp, the 700s were run balanced off a Bryston BHA-1 head-amp and a Bryston BCD-1 as source and the ie800 off a FIIO X3 Gen 2.
For me the decision would be simple, portable use the ie800s, home the HD700s.

Agreed. I've mentioned it elsewhere, but I think the v-shaped signature on the IE800 is a bit more pronounced, thus it lends itself well to helping poorly-recorded tracks sound a bit more dynamic, since both the bass and treble has that extra emphasis.
 
And yes, IE800 for portable and HD700 for home use is precisely what I have settled on. I've always feared splitting my time between different sets of headphones for fear that one would always sound better than the other—thereby making me not want to listen to the other. While there are differences between the IE800 and HD700, they're small and almost...complimentary? Or perhaps I should say, I fully enjoy listening to both without one overwhelming the other as being "clearly better"?

 

[Rob80b]

  Agreed..............
 
And yes, IE800 for portable and HD700 for home use is precisely what I have settled on. ............
 

The designated use and associated equipment I found can make a huge difference between the two, the 700s sang on the Bryston combo but mediocre off a portable device or computer, while the ie800s at 16 Ohms sound very good off my Fiio X3 gen II for iPad Nano for that matter but did not sound much better off the Bryston BHA-1 which surprised me,.... just might prefer a phone with an impedance of at least double that of the ie800s at 32 Ohms.

 

[Me x3]

Quote:

 
T1.1 is quite different. More tubey sounding in the midrange, more textured bass, more refined/microdetailed treble. Less steely but sharper.
Similar soundstage in the big scheme of things. HD700 is easier to drive, the T1.1 needs a very clean and precise setup to show its potential, otherwise it can sound a tad muffled. HD700 is a tad drier.

 
Quote:

 
Kinda like HD650 and HD700 combined with more bass?

 
Not so much...
Some people describe the HD650 as tubey sounding, but most of the times this comes from the fact that it's mid-bassy and darkish, not so much for its midrange presentation.
The midrange on HD650 is not far from being dry (although less so than HD600's) and that's why many people prefer tube amplifiers for HD650/HD600 despite them being slightly dark.
 
The T1.1 is not mid-bassy, it's neutralish with a warm tilt. That's why you'll find neutral-heads (HD800/K702/DT880) saying the T1 is overly warm, and you'll find many people complaining about the lack of bass as well (which explains why the T1.2 has more bass)
 
While HD650 has a hump in the mid-bass, the T1 has a broader hump that's more extended into the sub-bass and into the lower midrange as well. Then the perceived bass response is flatter and the lower midrange is more present.
 
The T1 is voiced closer to an AKG K702, although slightly less nasal.
Clearly different than HD650 and HD700 in this regard.
 
I would say that the T1 is kinda like DT880 and K702 combined with more warmth and also more resolving.
 
It should be said that the treble presentation of the T1.1 is different from most other bright headphones (HD700, HD800, DT880, DT990, K701/2). All of these have a raise between 5kHz and 7kHz, while the T1 doesn't. The T1 has a sharp peak at 8kHz so it's still a bright can, but the presentation is different.

 

[36aMAN]

hey guys..
 
first sorry my language is bad as hell and try to understand me =)
 
i have HD700 with modi 2 + magni 2, and omg the treble make my ear's bleeding so sharp, and i have no details and when i play some games not good enough to position enemy .
 
and i reed in the internet that tube amp will be best for HD700 and i have no idea about sound equipment and amps' / dac's .
 
what i need is amp + dac that drive my HD700 perfectly fine and make the details come to live and make gaming experience better and make soundstage better for movies ..
 
i usually watch movies and play pc games and i listen to general music 
 
what is your suggestion
 
now i have 600$, and i can go like 400$ now and next month another 400$ but for the best if there's any amp and dac good to wait for it 
 
do i need to buy new amp now and get dac after i have my cash again or you're suggest combo dac/amp for 600$ now !

 

[Me x3]

  hey guys..
 
first sorry my language is bad as hell and try to understand me =)
 
i have HD700 with modi 2 + magni 2, and omg the treble make my ear's bleeding so sharp, and i have no details and when i play some games not good enough to position enemy .
 
and i reed in the internet that tube amp will be best for HD700 and i have no idea about sound equipment and amps' / dac's .
 
what i need is amp + dac that drive my HD700 perfectly fine and make the details come to live and make gaming experience better and make soundstage better for movies ..
 
i usually watch movies and play pc games and i listen to general music 
 
what is your suggestion
 
now i have 600$, and i can go like 400$ now and next month another 400$ but for the best if there's any amp and dac good to wait for it 
 
do i need to buy new amp now and get dac after i have my cash again or you're suggest combo dac/amp for 600$ now !

You can go AKG K712 instead.
It should work well with your MM2 combo.
Big soundstage, detailed presentation and softer treble than HD700.
 
You can always add a Matrix HPA 2 later if you feel the need.
 
If you are treble sensitive you'll need and extremely coloured amplifier to make the HD700 sound to your liking.

 

[36aMAN]

thank you for the replay 
 
i ask about akg k7xx and i have told to stay with my hd700 and buy good dac/amp better then akg 7xx .
 
what do you think ?
 
i don't want to sell my lovely HD700 i enjoy listing to it but i just want bigger soundstage and more details and better treble even the bass with modi 2 & magni 2 is enough for me i think it balance with movies it's good for me.