[ironcross12]

If your using dsp effects for 2 channel you go line out from your computer with a 1/8" to RCA cable to the amp. If you use a external dac you will not get the dsp effects.

Yeah then i could use the effects from the MOBO and the AMP will just drive my phones.
Would i plug the cable in the back from where my speakers are plugged in the green slot? so would i need to use a headphone splitter?

 

[Silent Xaxal]

  Since you are in Europe, take a look at the Feliks amps.  While I haven't heard any they have quite a large following for the Elise which is quite a bit more than your budget but the Espressivo is the same price as the Valhalla2.  I wouldn't recommend a Magni2 only because some say its a bit on the brighter side and paired with the HD-700 that might not be a good thing.  There are a few who have the HD-700 and use them with SS amps, usually warmer amps like G109 and H-10 but I've notice more tend to like tubes.
 
Hd-700 does gaming quite well, when I was into gaming I used a STX sound card and the HD-700, great positional audio and for watching movies it give a pretty good surround sound due to the wide sound stage.

 
So, better than the HD650 and less than the HD800 in terms of gaming performance?

 

[Ibrastix]

reposting hoping someone can help:
 
Hi Everyone
I am interested in hearing any feedback from pairing HD700 with the onkyo dp-x1 balanaced output.
 
I have a sennheiser IE800 and i am not too comfortable modding it and i would like to make use of the balanced output on the Onkyo. I listened to the HD700 a while back off an iPhone+ Chord Mojo and was very impressed.
 
I listen mostly to classic rock, trance, house. can't really justify going for the HD800 or the HD800s so I am considering HD700+ balanced cable with 2.5mm TRRs output for the DP-X1
 
any experience with such setup?

 

[DavidA]

  I own the HD700s had them for over a month so wanted to get a nice Amp set up to drive them.
So i could do a line out to a AMP and use the DAC from my MOBO sounds good.
 
I can just get a nice amp then. I was going for Schiit as i can get it in the UK. Other amps you said i cant seem to find in the UK.

Sorry, didn't see anything in your profile so I didn't know if you owned the HD-700 or not.  I would recommend filling out your profile since it gives others info on what you own, the type of music you listen to and amps/DACs that you have so it makes it easier for others to give you better recommendations.
 
While any of the Schiit amps will work I would still suggest a tube one like the Vali2, its pretty good even with the stock tube.  The Little Dot amps suggested by the other poster is also an option but I don't know of its availability in Europe.

 

[DavidA]

   
So, better than the HD650 and less than the HD800 in terms of gaming performance?

HD-800 will be better but it needed an amp to drive it were the HD-700 was quite good out of the STX sound card.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

 
HD-800 will be better but it needed an amp to drive it were the HD-700 was quite good out of the STX sound card.

 
Personally, I prefer the 700 to 800. I know the 800 is "better" but it's so damn boring. Haven't heard the 800S yet.
 
Side note: are there any good warm USB DAC/Amps out there for these? I have a big tube amp rig in my studio but I'm looking for something out of my laptop in my bedroom for the "work office" and could use suggestions. The Dragonfly Red isn't quite right (thought it's amazing with my Pinnacle P1s).

 

[DavidA]

   
Personally, I prefer the 700 to 800. I know the 800 is "better" but it's so damn boring. Haven't heard the 800S yet.
 
Side note: are there any good warm USB DAC/Amps out there for these? I have a big tube amp rig in my studio but I'm looking for something out of my laptop in my bedroom for the "work office" and could use suggestions. The Dragonfly Red isn't quite right (thought it's amazing with my Pinnacle P1s).

wouldn't consider either better than the other, just different.
 
Only USB amp/DAC combo that I like with the HD-700 is my UD-301 (still only use optical), the options that I would consider are Red Wine Isabellina but since its discontinued it might be hard to find and priced quite high and MHA-100, i know these are on the high end but they do sound good.

 

[AudioMan612]

   
Personally, I prefer the 700 to 800. I know the 800 is "better" but it's so damn boring. Haven't heard the 800S yet.
 
Side note: are there any good warm USB DAC/Amps out there for these? I have a big tube amp rig in my studio but I'm looking for something out of my laptop in my bedroom for the "work office" and could use suggestions. The Dragonfly Red isn't quite right (thought it's amazing with my Pinnacle P1s).

I'm mainly using a Woo Audio WA7 (1st generation) for my HD 700s, and I think it's a good pairing.  It's a little on the warm side, but not too much.  I've got the upgrade Electro-Harmonix gold pin tubes for the amp, but haven't upgraded to the tube power supply yet.
 
As a side note, I'm not using the built-in DAC (which is weaker than the newer version of the WA7), I'm using a Grace Design m920, but I find the amp a pretty good match for the HD 700's no matter which DAC I'm using.

 

[DavidA]

 
I'm mainly using a Woo Audio WA7 (1st generation) for my HD 700s, and I think it's a good pairing.  It's a little on the warm side, but not too much.  I've got the upgrade Electro-Harmonix gold pin tubes for the amp, but haven't upgraded to the tube power supply yet.
 
As a side note, I'm not using the built-in DAC (which is weaker than the newer version of the WA7), I'm using a Grace Design m920, but I find the amp a pretty good match for the HD 700's no matter which DAC I'm using.

I had the WA7 awhile ago and agree the DAC section is not the best but its one of the nicest looking pieces audio gear.

 

[ironcross12]

  Sorry, didn't see anything in your profile so I didn't know if you owned the HD-700 or not.  I would recommend filling out your profile since it gives others info on what you own, the type of music you listen to and amps/DACs that you have so it makes it easier for others to give you better recommendations.
 
While any of the Schiit amps will work I would still suggest a tube one like the Vali2, its pretty good even with the stock tube.  The Little Dot amps suggested by the other poster is also an option but I don't know of its availability in Europe.

I will fill in my profile. I can get the little dot AMPS on Amazon. 
 
I think i will just go for the cheap MAGNI 2 UBER or MAGNI 2. Don't know if there is much difference in these 2.
I just want something can can power my headphones fully. As its my first AMP i will just go for the cheap option with no Tubes.
Then maybe in the future i could get a better AMP i've seen some AMPs go over £1000. 

 

[XSAMURAI]

  I will fill in my profile. I can get the little dot AMPS on Amazon. 
 
I think i will just go for the cheap MAGNI 2 UBER or MAGNI 2. Don't know if there is much difference in these 2.
I just want something can can power my headphones fully. As its my first AMP i will just go for the cheap option with no Tubes.
Then maybe in the future i could get a better AMP i've seen some AMPs go over £1000. 

Magni 2 is not good choice for hd700 , too much brightness and harsh sound , get LD MK2 instead + Tubes + Modi 2 As a dac
i have all of these components ( Modi , magni , modi 2 u , magni 2 u) if i want to chose i'll go for the LD definitely
 
this is a killer combo

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  Magni 2 is not good choice for hd700 , too much brightness and harsh sound , get LD MK2 instead + Tubes + Modi 2 As a dac
i have all of these components ( Modi , magni , modi 2 u , magni 2 u) if i want to chose i'll go for the LD definitely
 
this is a killer combo

 
It's kinda weird honestly.
 
I'm using mine right now with a Dragonfly Red which, I believe, is considered a "neutral to bright" device, but it sounds marvelous. 

 

[Conext]

  reposting hoping someone can help:
 
Hi Everyone
I am interested in hearing any feedback from pairing HD700 with the onkyo dp-x1 balanaced output.
 
I have a sennheiser IE800 and i am not too comfortable modding it and i would like to make use of the balanced output on the Onkyo. I listened to the HD700 a while back off an iPhone+ Chord Mojo and was very impressed.
 
I listen mostly to classic rock, trance, house. can't really justify going for the HD800 or the HD800s so I am considering HD700+ balanced cable with 2.5mm TRRs output for the DP-X1
 
any experience with such setup?

Can't help you directly, as I don't have a DP-X1. However, I do have the IE800, HD700 (plus balanced cable) and a Sony ZX2 (which doesn't have a true balanced output, but does use separated grounds for the left and right channels).
 
The IE800 and the balanced HD700 being fed by the ZX2 sound very similar to each other, with a few notable exceptions. As far as I can tell, the IE800 maintains a more "V" shaped signature. So, the bass seems a bit more impactful on the IE800. It doesn't necessarily extend any lower than the HD700, but it's more noticeable. And at the same time, the treble on the IE800 is a bit more "sparkly", or "harsh", depending on how you favor your treble. I would say that the IE800 maintains just a touch more micro-detail than the HD700.
 
Overall, I would consider the HD700 a slightly "tamer" version of the IE800. The treble is still bright, but not as harsh as the IE800. And the bass is still as low and as articulate as the IE800, just not as impactful. Where it truly distinguishes itself is in its sound stage. It has a much wider and open sound stage. In some cases, one could say that this diminishes one's ability to pick out or isolate individual elements in the music. In others, it helps to harmonize elements and present a more cohesive sound. Keep in mind, we're talking fairly minor differences here. The signatures of both are very similar to my ears. After listening to the IE800s almost exclusively for a year, the instant I put on the HD700s, they felt very comfortable and familiar (from a sonic perspective).
 
For trance or house, I really like the HD700. Anything that has a good, wide dynamic range should sound great out of the HD700. Anything that suffers from a "wall of sound", that was recorded/mixed at really high levels will probably tend to sound a little blah. That's where I think the v-shaped sound of the IE800 can help to artificially create extra separation between the highs and lows and make such a track sound more dynamic.

 

[397324]

Hi All
 
Would these headphones be able to be driven properly by a Questyle QP1R DAP, without any additional amping?
 
Regards
 
Darren 

 

[Ibrastix]

Thanks for the reply @Conext
 
I think you made a great point here. The main difference I personally felt between the IE800 and the HD700 was the sound stage.
The HD700 seemed to have a huge sound stage in comparison with the IE800. With the IE800, I am always aware that i am listening to music through earphones, the best earphones I listened to but still I felt the soundstage and the presentation was somewhat narrow.
 
On the HD700 the sound stage was so wide i could close my eyes and imagine each musician playing their instrument next to the other one.
 
I know that they're totally different and shouldn't be compared apple to apple (the HD700 and the IE800). Also when i tried the HD700 it was fed through the Chord Mojo which is pretty awesome but im looking for the most portable solution and was hoping someone would tell me if the Onkyo DP-X1 (with balanced output) would sound as good as or close to the Chord Mojo.