[rlisin]

I tried a few vintage amps and receivers (not with a Pioneer though, I do have one but it's not in use), with results ranging from awful to OK. Yes, bass can be bigger (that doesn't mean better) but usually at the expense of clarity, to the point of a muddy sound in at least one case. After trying 3 or 4 amps I didn't bother to test more because I preferred them with a DAP or headphone amp - and I have both. Also, I tried them with amps out of curiosity, I don't normally use speaker amps with headphones (except occasionally an HT receiver when watching a movie late at night). But if I did, for me Beyers (especially higher impedance ones) pair better with vintage amps and receivers.

 

[DavidA]

Anyone else listen to them out of a vintage amplifier? When I owned them (twice) I thought they sounded excellent with great bass as well.

I like them out of an 1984 NAD 3020 which sadly is still in storage due to a lack of space in my current living quarters, but my BH Crack does a pretty good job of making them sound great also.

 

[vaibhavp]

Just ordered audeze el8 to compliment my 700. Never heard them before but have heard almost all other audeze model. Hope they turn out fine.

Could ve got audioquest Nighthawk for even more warmer sound, but since I wanted a new tech hp so went with el8 (planar).

 

[DavidA]

Just ordered audeze el8 to compliment my 700. Never heard them before but have heard almost all other audeze model. Hope they turn out fine.

Could ve got audioquest Nighthawk for even more warmer sound, but since I wanted a new tech hp so went with el8 (planar).

Love my EL-8 and it makes a good alternative to the HD700 for some genres which the HD700 doesn't do to well with for me. While less amp picky than the HD700 it does pair better to me with my UD301 headphone jack and Ember over my Lyr2 and Asgard2.

 

[vaibhavp]

Love my EL-8 and it makes a good alternative to the HD700 for some genres which the HD700 doesn't do to well with for me. While less amp picky than the HD700 it does pair better to me with my UD301 headphone jack and Ember over my Lyr2 and Asgard2.

Good to know. Less amp picky then i think it will do well with my project solstice as well perhaps.

 

[vaibhavp]

Love my EL-8 and it makes a good alternative to the HD700 for some genres which the HD700 doesn't do to well with for me. While less amp picky than the HD700 it does pair better to me with my UD301 headphone jack and Ember over my Lyr2 and Asgard2.

Hi David.

Can you please point me towards el8 thread? Cant seem to find one. All i see are small threads.

Recieved them. Quiet enjoyable right off the bat.

 

[DavidA]

Hi David.

Can you please point me towards el8 thread? Cant seem to find one. All i see are small threads.

Recieved them. Quiet enjoyable right off the bat.

Here is the thread that I've been with since the EL-8 came out: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-el-8-the-el-8-is-a-must-hear-at-ces-2015.749214/
Its been pretty quite here

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

Just pulled the trigger on a 4xx. HD700's have a nasty treble spike that's apparent in almost every recording- leading to almost no headtime. Hoping this will replace my 700's and/or an exciting alternative to my HD650's.

 

[vaibhavp]

Just pulled the trigger on a 4xx. HD700's have a nasty treble spike that's apparent in almost every recording- leading to almost no headtime. Hoping this will replace my 700's and/or an exciting alternative to my HD650's.

4xx shouldn't give you trouble. It doesn't scale like HD700 though. I have seen lot of ppl have trouble with hd700 and schiit stuff like asgard, magni.

 

[IkSak]

Judging by the way the very polarized reception the HD 700 have endured, I don't think you're alone in your low opinion of them... but the few times I've snuck them away from my co-worker's desk (and, actually they're mine, to be clear, lol), I've been pleased by the sound coming out of them with very budget amps (Magni 3, Bravo Audio Ocean hybrid tube), and I've shared a lot of my headphones (all mid-fi) with him before and these are the ones he's kept the longest so I know he likes them quite a bit, too.

I agree that the HD700 has polarized opinions but that may largely depend on the specific music you listen to. In my particular case, although they are vey revealing, I think there are better choices for latin music and pop/rock. Nonetheless, when paired with the Magni 3, I found them astonishing for classic music due to its soundstage, imaging and detailing. I should note that I have them with the modkit installed.

I've had my HD700 for a few years but since getting my Nighthawk and Elear I haven't used them much at all. About 2 weeks ago I got the Schiit Magni 3 as an upgrade over my Magni 2, and having it paired with the Modi Multibit it's really a nice little setup.

The HD700 now sounds better then it has ever imo. The bass has a good strong presence with more detail and a cleaner sound, the mids come through and just shine with vocals and mid-range melodies sounding so good now, and the highs are crisp with little to no sibilance but I've never found them to be as sibilant as most which is strange because I hate sibilant headphones like the DT990.

I feel like I have too many headphones now which is something I never thought would come out of my mouth. One day I'll listen to my Elear and the next the Nighthawk, now I'm adding the HD700 back in the rotation which is nice because I've always thought it was a good headphone but not enough so to listen to them over the other 2, but now it is when paired with the Magni 3.

I also have the Magni 3 and they're a great pairing with the HD700. Bass has a good impact and mids are nice, although I do miss something in the voices, specially female voices. I should mention that I use the HD700 primarily for listening to classical music, I think there are better headphones for other genres.

 

[Slifox]

I had originally bought the HD 600s and HD 700s and wanted to use the HD 700s for gaming & movies, and use the HD 600s for music. I returned the HD 700s though because I felt $500 was too much to hang out to them. So I settled on the HD 600s and was happy....for a while.

I upgraded my Magni 3 to the Valhalla 2, and loved what it did with the HD 600s. That got me thinking....how would the HD 700s sound out of it? I let curiosity get the better of me, and bought another pair of HD 700s because I truly missed them.

Listening to them out of the Valhalla 2 + Modi 2U with the Mod House Audio HD 700 Mod has made me a happy man. The Mod takes the soundstage down a notch, but in return the "glare" of the treble was gone and I could hear more details in my music.

So if you take the time to pair this headphone with the right amp, and make some changes, it can be amazing. It makes you work for you like a diamond in the rough. I feel like the HD 700 just gets a bad rap because of it's initial launch price and comparison to the HD 800.

People Mod the HD 800 and HD 800 S and those are $1K headphones that shouldn't need mods, but they do it anyway. They spend the time to pair them with the right amp and DAC so why not do the same with the HD 700? I really enjoy the HD 700s now AND they're so damn comfortable.

 

[IkSak]

I agree with you that anything above 500 should not need mods. What I agree most is that the hd700 and hd800 ate extremely picky about amps. Pair it good and you'll be happy. Do it wrong and you'll feel disappointed. IMO, here's Sennheiser to blame

 

[rlisin]

People will mod any headphones regardless of the price because they can. Nothing wrong with that, but not Sennheiser's fault either. I like HD700 in their stock form and don't see a need to mod them. Yes, they have a specific sound signature that some people like and others don't. I don't like HD600 enough to own them so I don't own them.

 

[Malfunkt]

This may not seem like a fair comparison. But here is a short evaluation of the HD700 vs Focal Utopia.

The more time I spend with the HD700 the more I understand its flaws, but how those flaws are connected to its strength.

After a several days evaluating the Focal Utopia, of all my headsets, it is the HD700 that sounded the weirdest in comparison. That probably shouldn't be much of a surprise. The Focal Utopia voicing is truly reference. High-quality piano recordings - the most difficult to both record and reproduce - sounded very realistic on the Utopia. On the 700, it is 'tinkly' and scooped no thanks to its frequency curve. I was almost a bit shocked that my 630vb actually sound closest to the Utopia in frequency presentation (thanks to the 630VB more linear curve compared to their more recent models). My LCD2 sounded close from subbass through mid-range, but was much darker on the top-end (EQ brought it quite close).

Compared to the 700, the Utopia was leagues ahead in imaging and natural tone, the HD700 actually sounded 'soft' but at the sametime much more spacious.

The 700 has a hyper-stylized take on the diffuse-field curve, even more than the 800. However, if (and that is the caveat) your brain can acclimate to its sound, instruments begin to sound more pleasing and 'rendered' away from your head. With headphones like the Utopia or even my LCD2 the sounds are continuous but closer.

Bottom-line is the 700 is very unique. My HD250 sounds far more natural in tone, and I'm sure my 540 will as well, but the 700 remains a good phone to relax with, at lower-to-moderate volumes, and just let sound envelope you. It forsakes strict natural tone to achieve a wider 'room-space' through frequency curve and unique enclosure design that I haven't seen on any other headset outside of the 800/800S (and likely 820).

Also, its amazing how much comfort factors into what headphone you grab first. The Utopia, for my larger head, was okay-ish, but less comfortable than my early LCD2. The 700s are just so easy to throw on and just listen or go about a task with music in the background.

 

[DavidA]

@Malfunkt, agree with you about comfort and listening level playing a part in how any headphone is perceived and with the HD700 and most Grados this is a very important thing to consider.