[MrMan]

he reminds me kind of the hd800. The big issue is I had to tweak a bunch to the sound, both hardware and software. Stock the soundstage is much better but voices seem too distant and bass seems lessen. After tweaking a bunch of things I feel I'm close to the original sound but with much better comfort and soundstage.

 

[rlisin]

The big issue is I had to tweak a bunch to the sound, both hardware and software.

Do you mean you had to EQ them to sound well with HM5 pads? No go for me if that's the case. I like the comfort of stock pads so I'm only looking for possible sound improvements (without EQ).

 

[DavidA]

he reminds me kind of the hd800. The big issue is I had to tweak a bunch to the sound, both hardware and software. Stock the soundstage is much better but voices seem too distant and bass seems lessen. After tweaking a bunch of things I feel I'm close to the original sound but with much better comfort and soundstage.

I'd find it hard to imagine that changing pads would make my HD700 sound close to my old HD800 (sold since I rarely used it) mainly due to the ring driver of the HD800 having an overly wide soundstage that the HD700 drivers would not be able to emulate. I don't use EQ due to logistical issues but the bass of the HD700 has always seemed better than my HD800 to me but I do agree that the mids of the HD700 are a bit too recessed for vocal centric tracks most of the time so I tend to not use my HD700 with tracks that are vocal centric and use another headphone like my EL-8 open, Ypsilon R1 or HD650 for those genres.

 

[pez]

C3g on MK III not worth the money believed me been there than that with MK III amp.Sorry to bust your bubbles......

You should recommend the EI 6HM5.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/6HM5-EC900...ir-Little-Dot-Amp-FREE-SHIPPING-/251691711374

Presuming these? Are there preferred sellers you guys recommend for tubes? Would it be recommended to just keep these and leave the other tubes alone for the time being? (like I said; completely new to tube amps here ).

 

[i luvmusic 2]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/6HM5-EC900...ir-Little-Dot-Amp-FREE-SHIPPING-/251691711374

Presuming these? Are there preferred sellers you guys recommend for tubes? Would it be recommended to just keep these and leave the other tubes alone for the time being? (like I said; completely new to tube amps here ).

Yup thats the EI tubes ,No prefered tube vendor here for me,IMO the other expensive tubes that used in the LD MK III are not worth the money because most of those tubes are not designed to work with the LD MK amp.Here is one example of a properly design amp for 6AS7g/6080 and 6/12SN7 tubes these can't be beat by the LD MK III no way...I'am working on a 12A?7/6CG7 Version.Try the EI 6HM5 it's probably one of the best 7 pin plug and play tube for your LD amp.
Sorry for hi-jacking this thread....

 

[pez]

Yup thats the EI tubes ,No prefered tube vendor here for me,IMO the other expensive tubes that used in the LD MK III are not worth the money because most of those tubes are not designed to work with the LD MK amp.Here is one example of a properly design amp for 6AS7g/6080 and 6/12SN7 tubes these can't be beat by the LD MK III no way...I'am working on a 12A?7/6CG7 Version.Try the EI 6HM5 it's probably one of the best 7 pin plug and play tube for your LD amp.
Sorry for hi-jacking this thread....

Much appreciated. I think I'll check them out!

 

[anoobis]

Hi guys, there's been a lot written about the HD700, too much to get through it all, so apologies if this has already been covered.

There's clearly some controversy over the 'voicing' of the HD700, with some thinking it's fantastic and others, well, not...

What I haven't seen anywhere, beyond a vague statement of 'fun sounding', is what Sennheiser were really trying to achieve with the sound signature. I find it very difficult to believe they didn't achieve their goals, especially given the $1000 launch price. Equally, it's obvious that that goal would have to be 'good' given where the HP is/was positioned. From what I can tell, there are technological and response improvements.

I've read some intriguing theories about attempting to emphasise/improve particular genres, e.g. lift the 'edge' and 'air' for acoustic material. Personally, I think that if you're going to move away from an aim of neutral, there's got to be a good reason. I find it unlikely that attempting to adjust characteristics in this way will be successful, as so many instruments overlap in frequency range. I just don't know enough about this. What I do know is that the drop in mids and 6 kHz peak in the charts do look strange; doesn't mean there isn't a good reason behind those.
So, have Sennheiser actually succeeded and this is about excelling in a limited set of genres? That could definitely account for varied opinions.

Alternatively, perhaps it's to do with trying out different equalisation curves (if that's the right phase), e.g. free field, diffuse field etc.?

It's also a little weird that Sennheiser hasn't offered an explanation for what many people have jumped on as obvious flaws. That must hurt sales, surely?

Anyone have more insight into this?

 

[vaibhavp]

Hi guys, there's been a lot written about the HD700, too much to get through it all, so apologies if this has already been covered.

There's clearly some controversy over the 'voicing' of the HD700, with some thinking it's fantastic and others, well, not...

What I haven't seen anywhere, beyond a vague statement of 'fun sounding', is what Sennheiser were really trying to achieve with the sound signature. I find it very difficult to believe they didn't achieve their goals, especially given the $1000 launch price. Equally, it's obvious that that goal would have to be 'good' given where the HP is/was positioned. From what I can tell, there are technological and response improvements.

I've read some intriguing theories about attempting to emphasise/improve particular genres, e.g. lift the 'edge' and 'air' for acoustic material. Personally, I think that if you're going to move away from an aim of neutral, there's got to be a good reason. I find it unlikely that attempting to adjust characteristics in this way will be successful, as so many instruments overlap in frequency range. I just don't know enough about this. What I do know is that the drop in mids and 6 kHz peak in the charts do look strange; doesn't mean there isn't a good reason behind those.
So, have Sennheiser actually succeeded and this is about excelling in a limited set of genres? That could definitely account for varied opinions.

Alternatively, perhaps it's to do with trying out different equalisation curves (if that's the right phase), e.g. free field, diffuse field etc.?

It's also a little weird that Sennheiser hasn't offered an explanation for what many people have jumped on as obvious flaws. That must hurt sales, surely?

Anyone have more insight into this?

I don't want to discuss this from scientific angle.
What i could gather from your post is, hd700 is not neutral.
To make a good hp i dont think its as simple as just make it neutral.

For me, a good hp is one that is capable of completely disappearing and simply leave me with music. Like i am listening to music live.

Hd700 are very much capable of doing that. They perform as good as their price tag suggests. I really cannot focus on stuff like neutrality or anything like that when am absorbed in music fully.

One aspect thats not very positive about 700 is they will require you to mix and match with amps and dacs. Once you get the combination right, there is no looking back. Mostly people who criticise have not put effort in making them sound great.

Ppl do put a lot of effort in making hd800 sound good so it is a thing.

 

[Audioholic123]

The HD700 was one of the oddest most flawed headphones I've ever owned/heard..I know it's just my opinion but I honestly think the tuning was all over the place, akin to an out of tune musical instrument. At times I'd describe the HD700 as sounding dark, yet also times I thought it was too bright. It is also the only headphone I've ever owned that had what I can only describe as an annoying lisp..totally unnatural. The HD700 is the headphone that put me off Sennheiser. It's shocking to think that a company that makes a headphone with such a flawed (imo) sound can get away with charging so much money for it.

 

[DavidA]

Hi guys, there's been a lot written about the HD700, too much to get through it all, so apologies if this has already been covered.

There's clearly some controversy over the 'voicing' of the HD700, with some thinking it's fantastic and others, well, not...

What I haven't seen anywhere, beyond a vague statement of 'fun sounding', is what Sennheiser were really trying to achieve with the sound signature. I find it very difficult to believe they didn't achieve their goals, especially given the $1000 launch price. Equally, it's obvious that that goal would have to be 'good' given where the HP is/was positioned. From what I can tell, there are technological and response improvements.

I've read some intriguing theories about attempting to emphasise/improve particular genres, e.g. lift the 'edge' and 'air' for acoustic material. Personally, I think that if you're going to move away from an aim of neutral, there's got to be a good reason. I find it unlikely that attempting to adjust characteristics in this way will be successful, as so many instruments overlap in frequency range. I just don't know enough about this. What I do know is that the drop in mids and 6 kHz peak in the charts do look strange; doesn't mean there isn't a good reason behind those.
So, have Sennheiser actually succeeded and this is about excelling in a limited set of genres? That could definitely account for varied opinions.

Alternatively, perhaps it's to do with trying out different equalisation curves (if that's the right phase), e.g. free field, diffuse field etc.?

It's also a little weird that Sennheiser hasn't offered an explanation for what many people have jumped on as obvious flaws. That must hurt sales, surely?

Anyone have more insight into this?

I think Senn was trying to fill the gap between the HD800 and HD650/600 and to me they got it pretty close. Your theory about trying to make them for certain genres is an interesting one and its possible since the HD700 does sound great with some genre and not so great with other genres to me.

 

[FastAndClean]

The HD700 was one of the oddest most flawed headphones I've ever owned/heard..I know it's just my opinion but I honestly think the tuning was all over the place, akin to an out of tune musical instrument. At times I'd describe the HD700 as sounding dark, yet also times I thought it was too bright. It is also the only headphone I've ever owned that had what I can only describe as an annoying lisp..totally unnatural. The HD700 is the headphone that put me off Sennheiser. It's shocking to think that a company that makes a headphone with such a flawed (imo) sound can get away with charging so much money for it.

they sound dark yet bright at the same time for two reasons, the dark flavor is from the big dip in the upper mids around 2.7 khz, the bright flavor is from the peak at 6 khz and the treble overall, they have a lot of upper treble, no roll off here, at the same time they have mid and upper bass boost that influence the strange tonality even more

 

[vaibhavp]

The HD700 was one of the oddest most flawed headphones I've ever owned/heard..I know it's just my opinion but I honestly think the tuning was all over the place, akin to an out of tune musical instrument. At times I'd describe the HD700 as sounding dark, yet also times I thought it was too bright. It is also the only headphone I've ever owned that had what I can only describe as an annoying lisp..totally unnatural. The HD700 is the headphone that put me off Sennheiser. It's shocking to think that a company that makes a headphone with such a flawed (imo) sound can get away with charging so much money for it.

I have 700 for quiet some time, its flaws are easy to correct and make it sound great with any genere.

I can understand why someone would say like that. Treble peaks, strong bass, recessed mids etc on sub optimal systems for it.

But once you get it right, its crystal clear, grain free sound, smooth and delicate transients are a thing to behold.

 

[Audioholic123]

I have 700 for quiet some time, its flaws are easy to correct and make it sound great with any genere.

I can understand why someone would say like that. Treble peaks, strong bass, recessed mids etc on sub optimal systems for it.

But once you get it right, its crystal clear, grain free sound, smooth and delicate transients are a thing to behold.

I do have a very high quality Cyrus CD player and powerful class-A amplifier that I use when I really want to test my headphones/speakers. It works every time no matter what headphones/speakers I use..it totally transforms them..except the only thing that seemed to improve significantly with the HD700 when I tested them with that system was the soundstage and imaging - the odd/flawed sound signature still remained just that.

 

[peter123]

At least they're a lot more enjoyable than the HD650 to me. After some small mods I like them quite a bit.

 

[DavidA]

I do have a very high quality Cyrus CD player and powerful class-A amplifier that I use when I really want to test my headphones/speakers. It works every time no matter what headphones/speakers I use..it totally transforms them..except the only thing that seemed to improve significantly with the HD700 when I tested them with that system was the soundstage and imaging - the odd/flawed sound signature still remained just that.

That "powerful class-A amp" is probably not the best choice to drive the HD700 and your experience of the same odd/flawed sound signature pretty much is what I would have expected. If you ask those who like the HD700 what amp they use most will say a warmish SS, hybrid or tube amp. The Asgard2 is a class-A amp and its not something I'd use with the HD700 since it doesn't have good synergy with it while a BH Crack is a better choice since it does have pretty good synergy with the HD700.