Sennheiser HD 700 Impressions Thread
Dec 23, 2016 at 6:58 PM Post #7,216 of 9,359
Amazon just had a deal for those @ 335 euros, so i figured i bought a pair.

At the moment i have the Hd598, so i'm quite excited. 
Really hope you like them they are great headphones some will disagree but I like them.
 
Dec 24, 2016 at 2:27 PM Post #7,218 of 9,359
  Amazon just had a deal for those @ 335 euros, so i figured i bought a pair.
 
At the moment i have the Hd598, so i'm quite excited. 

I recently got the HD700, took quite a while to adjust to the sound signature on them, I`m lucky enough that I could change the sound on the Lyr 2 and Lite Dac 68 with 6DJ8 variant tubes to get the sound I desired with them. Paid $320 shipped open box item, looked brand new.
 
Dec 25, 2016 at 5:09 AM Post #7,219 of 9,359
Its a pain in the arse to like this HD700 but not giving up.Activating a redundant OTL with tube dac, liked see:kissing_smiling_eyes:
 
Dec 25, 2016 at 11:16 PM Post #7,221 of 9,359
Throw warmish tubes like Heerlen, Mullard or Brimars at those cans. Took a while to get used to them, now I run Siemens in my amp and Brimar`s in my dac, sounds fantatic.

Itch to try tube dac tube preamp and OTL, there's even a tube DDC.:grinning:
 
Dec 26, 2016 at 9:17 AM Post #7,222 of 9,359
Btw, anyone using it with vintage amp with Eq? Im using NAD3020 now, got to say it best suited for HD700 so far using the hardware Eq from my range
 
Dec 26, 2016 at 9:25 AM Post #7,223 of 9,359
Btw, anyone using it with vintage amp with Eq? Im using NAD3020 now, got to say it best suited for HD700 so far using the hardware Eq from my range

I have a NAD 3020 from back in 1982, haven't tried with HD-700 since its been in storage along with a most of my speaker gear but when I got 3020 it was really good for the price with both speakers and my old HD-455 Senn
 
Dec 26, 2016 at 9:47 AM Post #7,224 of 9,359
I have a NAD 3020 from back in 1982, haven't tried with HD-700 since its been in storage along with a most of my speaker gear but when I got 3020 it was really good for the price with both speakers and my old HD-455 Senn

Wake up call:grinning:it add a touch of warm with musicality,bass eq at 3 oclock.treble at 10.
 
Dec 26, 2016 at 8:11 PM Post #7,225 of 9,359
Wake up call:grinning:it add a touch of warm with musicality,bass eq at 3 oclock.treble at 10.

Never used the bass/treble controls much on the 3020 IIRC, didn't need to most of the time.  FWIW the HD-700 is quite good with my 2 HT receivers due to it being relatively easy to drive compared to some of my other headphones which don't sound as good driven by the HT receivers.
 
Dec 27, 2016 at 10:03 AM Post #7,227 of 9,359
Btw, anyone using it with vintage amp with Eq? Im using NAD3020 now, got to say it best suited for HD700 so far using the hardware Eq from my range


I use them on a 1978 vintage Pioneer Spec 1 pre/Spec 2 amp combo with a SG-9800 EQ and love the headphones with the power, tone controls and EQ tweaking this system allows for..............really a great headphone when fed right. 
 
Dec 27, 2016 at 12:20 PM Post #7,228 of 9,359
I've been using a vintage NAD3020 amp with the HD700 since I got them. It was my favourite amp to pair with the HD800 and works equally as well. The sound is full, controlled, warm and powerful. 
 
A week ago I thought I'd try a tube amp with these and so bought the cheap Little Dot MK2. I've already got a pile of tubes and soon settled with Mullard EF95 (driver) and Russian 6n6p (power). I'm absolutely loving the sound out of this little amp. I'm not going to say its better than my NAD amp, but more of a different flavor. The soundstage is larger and the sub bass has incredible oomph! The treble is a touch brighter than the NAD but there is a sweetness there that only tubes give. 
 
So, my point here is that it's really quite easy to match the HD700 cheaply and effectively. All personal taste of course.. But I'm also finding that an analytical DAC works well paired with a warm amp - rather than too much warmth and color. The HD700 are incredibly detailed headphones and I appreciate details! I'm currently using the Q-Dac (Sabre32 chip) paired with the Little Dot as my bedside set up. Approx $500?  
 
It's all about the matching.. For me the HD700 love power and warmth (don't care about the science behind this). So both vintage amps or OTL amps will give this on paper. When I've tried the HD700 with dedicated solid state amps I've found the bottom end lacking and the top end a little strident. They sound very detailed but a little sterile (same as the HD800 when powered the same).     
 
Dec 27, 2016 at 5:19 PM Post #7,229 of 9,359
I've been using a vintage NAD3020 amp with the HD700 since I got them. It was my favourite amp to pair with the HD800 and works equally as well. The sound is full, controlled, warm and powerful. 

A week ago I thought I'd try a tube amp with these and so bought the cheap Little Dot MK2. I've already got a pile of tubes and soon settled with Mullard EF95 (driver) and Russian 6n6p (power). I'm absolutely loving the sound out of this little amp. I'm not going to say its better than my NAD amp, but more of a different flavor. The soundstage is larger and the sub bass has incredible oomph! The treble is a touch brighter than the NAD but there is a sweetness there that only tubes give. 

So, my point here is that it's really quite easy to match the HD700 cheaply and effectively. All personal taste of course.. But I'm also finding that an analytical DAC works well paired with a warm amp - rather than too much warmth and color. The HD700 are incredibly detailed headphones and I appreciate details! I'm currently using the Q-Dac (Sabre32 chip) paired with the Little Dot as my bedside set up. Approx $500?  

It's all about the matching.. For me the HD700 love power and warmth (don't care about the science behind this). So both vintage amps or OTL amps will give this on paper. When I've tried the HD700 with dedicated solid state amps I've found the bottom end lacking and the top end a little strident. They sound very detailed but a little sterile (same as the HD800 when powered the same).     

Ok, will try on my OTL later and compare it.:thumbsup:
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top