[DavidA]

Marking that one off the list. I figured it probably wouldn't be the cleanest but for $80 it was tempting lol. How do you like the Polaris match? The worry I have with those is with it being a diy kit it looks like the sides are open, leaving the components showing and susceptible to dust. How's yours holding up? Thanks for your input!

The Polaris can be had as a kit or already built, get it built since you get the warranty with it.  I have an Ember for the last 3 years and its held up very well, dust is not a problem, just use a can of compressed air (computer type) once a month or so.

 

[rockytopwiz]

I am going to throw a wrench in.

Try the Parasound zdac v2. I have one and it pairs amazingly with HD700 and is tuned with a bit extra bass oomph while remaining smooth yet detailed on treble. I think you will like it, and the dac is probably better than your receivers.

Of your choices though I've heard good things about the m-stage

Thanks for everyone's replies! I just scored a silver v.2 off eBay for around $300 mint condition with original box and manual. Awhile back audio advisor apparently had them for $275, but I don't care it's still half off and I can't wait and contemplate forever. I'm ready to hear something new!

Kinda cool both hp outputs work, now my girlfriend might listen with me instead of me being in my own little world all the time . Well, at least at night.

 

[Zombie_X]

I've been using my HD700 on my SPL Phonitor Mini with great results. The sound is clear with great bass control and definition. Soundstage is pretty nice as well. On the Darkvoice 336SE, they sound really muddy and congested. I would assume this is due to the output impedance of the amp and it not pLAying well with the low impedance of the HD700.
 
EDIT: I do prefer the HD700 on the Violectric V200. It's the perfect pairing IMO. The added warmth and smoothness of the amp really help fill out the recessed midrange of the HD700 and give it a bit more bass as well.

 

[LTSFBH]

Hey all, I'm a new owner of HD700s. Liked the first pair so much that I bought a second pair less than three weeks later! I am having great success pairing them with my Audio-gd amps (Compass, NFB-10ES) as well as my MF M1 HPA (fed by the 10ES dac). Great detail and instrument separation. Very wide soundstage. There is good depth, but it's not excessive. I prefer that sound signature. I listen to a lot of live recordings (Phish, MOE, Allman Bros.) and that signature places the artists on stage in a realistic manner. Bass is excellent. The overall sound is very consistent, without one area being more prominent than the others. A very pleasant and non-fatiguing listen. They also work very well with a Lehmann clone. The clone actually sounds much better than my Asgard 2 with the 700s.

 

[akg fanboy]

  Hey all, I'm a new owner of HD700s. Liked the first pair so much that I bought a second pair less than three weeks later! I am having great success pairing them with my Audio-gd amps (Compass, NFB-10ES) as well as my MF M1 HPA (fed by the 10ES dac). Great detail and instrument separation. Very wide soundstage. There is good depth, but it's not excessive. I prefer that sound signature. I listen to a lot of live recordings (Phish, MOE, Allman Bros.) and that signature places the artists on stage in a realistic manner. Bass is excellent. The overall sound is very consistent, without one area being more prominent than the others. A very pleasant and non-fatiguing listen. They also work very well with a Lehmann clone. The clone actually sounds much better than my Asgard 2 with the 700s.

any reason why you have two pairs? lol. The only reason I'd buy a headphone I already own is if I found an amazing deal

 

[LTSFBH]

  any reason why you have two pairs? lol. The only reason I'd buy a headphone I already own is if I found an amazing deal

The prices are very reasonable, plus I was able to work them into trade deals, so no real outlay of cash on my part. When I find something I really like, I have been known to buy an identical piece as a backup. My reasoning is that if something happens to one, then I won't have any downtime from it and also won't get beat up if the repair is expensive. 

 

[LTSFBH]

I'm very happy with my current setup. I might be working out a trade deal for a Little Dot Mk1+ (with GE 5464W JAN tubes). I had a LD Mk1+ before and it was a good sounding little amp. Has anyone paired one with the HD700?

 

[DavidA]

  The prices are very reasonable, plus I was able to work them into trade deals, so no real outlay of cash on my part. When I find something I really like, I have been known to buy an identical piece as a backup. My reasoning is that if something happens to one, then I won't have any downtime from it and also won't get beat up if the repair is expensive. 

Agree with your way of thinking and if I found a really good deal on a second HD-700 I might be tempted.  As for down time it doesn't really bother me since I have quite a few other headphones.  Actually had 2 HD-700 and HD-650 for a while when my ex-GF was living with me since she had her own 700 and 650 along with a Ultrasone Edition 8 Julia and PS500e.

 

[DavidA]

  I'm very happy with my current setup. I might be working out a trade deal for a Little Dot Mk1+ (with GE 5464W JAN tubes). I had a LD Mk1+ before and it was a good sounding little amp. Has anyone paired one with the HD700?

Heard the LD 1+ / 700 pairing once a long time ago and it was quite good but I don't remember the op-amps and tubes that were in the LD.

 

[LTSFBH]

  Agree with your way of thinking and if I found a really good deal on a second HD-700 I might be tempted.  As for down time it doesn't really bother me since I have quite a few other headphones.  Actually had 2 HD-700 and HD-650 for a while when my ex-GF was living with me since she had her own 700 and 650 along with a Ultrasone Edition 8 Julia and PS500e.

Yeah, I have other headphones that I really like, but the 700 are at the top of my list right now so wouldn't want any downtime away from them in particular. I have HD598 and HE-400 that sound great. I recently traded my PS500e. I loved them, but the comfort issue was one of the main reasons for letting them go. Couldn't really listen for more than an hour. Plus, I listen to some different types of music now that are more suited to the Senn sound signature, than Grado. I'm hoping to add either HD600 or 650 next.

 

[DavidA]

  Yeah, I have other headphones that I really like, but the 700 are at the top of my list right now so wouldn't want any downtime away from them in particular. I have HD598 and HE-400 that sound great. I recently traded my PS500e. I loved them, but the comfort issue was one of the main reasons for letting them go. Couldn't really listen for more than an hour. Plus, I listen to some different types of music now that are more suited to the Senn sound signature, than Grado. I'm hoping to add either HD600 or 650 next.

I can under stand the comfort issue with Grado headphones, its why I only use the G pads (cheap ebay ones) which I can used for 8 hours at a time since the pressure is distributed over a larger area on my skull with very little pressure on my ears and the foam is porous enough to breath and doesn't get hot or sweaty.  Funny you are looking at the HD-600/650, my old GF traded her HD-600 for the PS500e but she also changed to the G pads for the comfort since the original L pads bothered her like it did for you.
 
Had a 598 but gave it to another old GF but I still have my HE-400 which is highly modded and no where what the original sounds like.
 
If you can DIY then I would suggest trying a Ypsilon S2 or Nhoord Red V2 driver in either mahogany or rosewood cups.  You can look in my profile for pictures of them.  I few friends that have listened to the Ypislon driver have since sold their HD-600, Ether/EtherC, and HD-650 to build their own.

 

[akg fanboy]

  The prices are very reasonable, plus I was able to work them into trade deals, so no real outlay of cash on my part. When I find something I really like, I have been known to buy an identical piece as a backup. My reasoning is that if something happens to one, then I won't have any downtime from it and also won't get beat up if the repair is expensive. 

makes sense, but personally I have never encountered such issues outside of beyerdynamic. I don't have much cash to spare lol

 

[ruinedx]

Thanks for everyone's replies! I just scored a silver v.2 off eBay for around $300 mint condition with original box and manual. Awhile back audio advisor apparently had them for $275, but I don't care it's still half off and I can't wait and contemplate forever. I'm ready to hear something new!

Kinda cool both hp outputs work, now my girlfriend might listen with me instead of me being in my own little world all the time . Well, at least at night.

​I actually got in on the $275 deal   You will be very happy, I am sure!  I also owned the $1000+ Oppo HA-1 and the Parasound zDAC v2 was *night and day* better sounding with the HD700!  The HD700 truly shines with the right equipment pairing, much like the HD800.  On that note, the zDAC v2 also works decently with the HD800, but doesn't quite have enough juice to make the most of the HD800 - need to move up to something like the Lake People RS 08 for the HD800 (~$900).

 

[Metrops]

The HD 700 with Valhalla 2 and Modi Multibit sounds amazing

 

[ruinedx]

I have a Musical Fidelity MX-DAC and Musical Fidelity MX-HPA on the way. Let's see how it does vs the zdac v2 - hope I hear a big difference for big price difference heh.