[jincuteguy]

Anyone knows what are the connectors (hook up to the headphones) for the HD700? Like are they 2.5mm connectors or 3.5mm? or? Trying to get a custom cable

 

[Marlowe]

Anyone knows what are the connectors (hook up to the headphones) for the HD700? Like are they 2.5mm connectors or 3.5mm? or? Trying to get a custom cable

They're 2.5mm, but they are semi-proprietary--extremely thin and recessed with a locking mechanism (though this can be ignored). You can get third party cables made for them (I've had a couple, currently using one from Periapt--the stock cable is particularly awful), but make sure you specifically confirm with the cable maker that their cable will fit the HD700 before ordering.

Oh, I just checked, there are some relatively inexpensive replacement cables specifically for the HD700 available on Amazon, though the quality may be problematic.

 

[jincuteguy]

They're 2.5mm, but they are semi-proprietary--extremely thin and recessed with a locking mechanism (though this can be ignored). You can get third party cables made for them (I've had a couple, currently using one from Periapt--the stock cable is particularly awful), but make sure you specifically confirm with the cable maker that their cable will fit the HD700 before ordering.

Oh, I just checked, there are some relatively inexpensive replacement cables specifically for the HD700 available on Amazon, though the quality may be problematic.

Hey man, thank you for the infos. Did you say you have a Periapt cable for the HD700? or another headphones? Yea I looked at some of the custom cable makers and most of them only have the Regular 2.5mm connector, so Im not sure if that will fit the HD700. Periapt cable doesn't have that many colors. Do you know another cable maker that have more colors for the Paracord?

 

[478423]

I am going to give these a shot.

Mostly because I'm into things considered divisive in a community and no headphone seems to be more divisive than this one. i'll let you all know when it comes next week how I feel.

 

[478423]

Time to "survive" the next few days of no hifi headphones except these iems I bought a while ago.

At least this will give me time to try the HD700 without the temptation of other headphones

 

[robo24]

Time to "survive" the next few days of no hifi headphones except these iems I bought a while ago.

At least this will give me time to try the HD700 without the temptation of other headphones

I had the Mojo for awhile when I first got the HD700 and don't find them a great match. They weren't bad together, but the soundstage was much more narrow than on some other amps, especially the Woo WA7 I also used with them, and the wide soundstage is probably the most impressive thing about the HD700.

 

[478423]

I had the Mojo for awhile when I first got the HD700 and don't find them a great match. They weren't bad together, but the soundstage was much more narrow than on some other amps, especially the Woo WA7 I also used with them, and the wide soundstage is probably the most impressive thing about the HD700.

Thanks for the headsup!

 

[478423]

So, got the headphones today. First non audio impressions are that the build quality was higher than expected. Yes I am aware that the MSRP was $999, but I got these for around $300 (USD). Have yet to put the music on and first impressions will be limited since I need to wait for the new headband pad, earpads, and cable to come in.

Looking forward to what these sound like now and once I get the new stuff coming in.

Edit:

Limited first impression: They definitely have a wider soundstage than the Fostex TH900 (that was expected). Using classical and man, it does them well. Going to test out my more vocal centric music next.

 

[robo24]

So, got the headphones today. First non audio impressions are that the build quality was higher than expected. Yes I am aware that the MSRP was $999, but I got these for around $300 (USD). Have yet to put the music on and first impressions will be limited since I need to wait for the new headband pad, earpads, and cable to come in.

Looking forward to what these sound like now and once I get the new stuff coming in.

Edit:

Limited first impression: They definitely have a wider soundstage than the Fostex TH900 (that was expected). Using classical and man, it does them well. Going to test out my more vocal centric music next.

At some point, especially if you find yourself not loving them, try out Sonarworks Reference 4, which has settings specific to the HD700. I never EQ anything, but this app transforms them, tames the treble spike, and to my ears actually improves them, but I use them as often without it too.

 

[478423]

Already have EqualizerAPO, but thank you for the recommendation. So far the only tweaks I've done as far as EQ goes are the 6k peak (boy watching YouTube videos with awful compression makes this come out quick), a cut to anything 16k (I by default do this with almost any pair of headphones that I have), and boosted the subbass region a bit.

 

[Tacitus]

So, got the headphones today. First non audio impressions are that the build quality was higher than expected. Yes I am aware that the MSRP was $999, but I got these for around $300 (USD). Have yet to put the music on and first impressions will be limited since I need to wait for the new headband pad, earpads, and cable to come in.

Looking forward to what these sound like now and once I get the new stuff coming in.

Edit:

Limited first impression: They definitely have a wider soundstage than the Fostex TH900 (that was expected). Using classical and man, it does them well. Going to test out my more vocal centric music next.

Thanks for your initial impressions. I confess to being a huge fan of the HD700, but I've only heard a limited number of other headphones so far. So I hope you find time to directly compare the TH900 to the HD700. I believe both of them are divisive (as you put it re: the HD700) among headphone enthusiasts, but I suspect that it's not as simple as saying that they both have above-average treble emphasis. I'd be very interested in reading what you think once you've gotten to listen to the HD700 for a while.

I'd also be curious what you enjoy and dislike listening to with these headphones. I can't find the exact thread right now, but there was a discussion on Reddit where someone actually solicited songs to help them discover why "everyone" hated the HD700. Many of the suggestions were just badly recorded, in my own opinion, such that they sound awful on headphones as diverse as the Porta Pro and HD600, along with the HD700. Speaking for myself, the only time that these headphones have given me an unpleasant I-need-EQ-right-now surprise is when they play a very particular harmonic of brass instruments, which sounds piercing, for example, in John Williams's theme for Return of the Jedi.

 

[Mad Max]

Can't recall where I saw this, but I remember someone measured capacitance of stock cables and senn HD650 was orders of magnitude higher than the others, so I imagine it is possible the HD700 cable has the same issue. Wish I could recall where I saw, but I think it was in the sound science area here. Or perhaps R*ddit?

It's the SPC cables that measure radically higher series capacitance. In the microfarads, while most regular copper cables are a few picofarads per foot.
Also, stock plugs on Sennheiser cables are so badly made that they color the sound noticeably, just replacing them with Amphenol or Neutrik plugs is an upgrade, in my experience. This results in a double whammy of FAIL for the stock cables of HD700 and HD800.

 

[X3MR]

Hi! I found a travel case perfect for the Sennheiser HD700. The case is like to Audeze LCD.

https://www.aliexpress.com/i/10000021714552.html

KRAFTOOL PANZER 38251-13​

 

[478423]

Thanks for your initial impressions. I confess to being a huge fan of the HD700, but I've only heard a limited number of other headphones so far. So I hope you find time to directly compare the TH900 to the HD700. I believe both of them are divisive (as you put it re: the HD700) among headphone enthusiasts, but I suspect that it's not as simple as saying that they both have above-average treble emphasis. I'd be very interested in reading what you think once you've gotten to listen to the HD700 for a while.

I'd also be curious what you enjoy and dislike listening to with these headphones. I can't find the exact thread right now, but there was a discussion on Reddit where someone actually solicited songs to help them discover why "everyone" hated the HD700. Many of the suggestions were just badly recorded, in my own opinion, such that they sound awful on headphones as diverse as the Porta Pro and HD600, along with the HD700. Speaking for myself, the only time that these headphones have given me an unpleasant I-need-EQ-right-now surprise is when they play a very particular harmonic of brass instruments, which sounds piercing, for example, in John Williams's theme for Return of the Jedi.

So finally after listening to them for a while, I'll give some of my thoughts on the HD700 and Fostex TH900 starting of course with the HD700. On well recorded music without EQing the headphones, this has a bit too much treble energy in a specific spot for me, but it does not come off as sibilant. I actually didn't understand the fuss about them being sibilant until I went to YouTube and began leisurely watching videos. These are incredibly picky for sound quality. Poor audio recording ensures that you will hear all of the garbage and I do mean all. They are ruthless and unforgiving with poor audio and quickly became sibilant and exhausting to listen to when the audio quality was poor. The HD700 to my ears only has one problematic area treble wise and once that is resolved with EQ, they sound amazing with well recorded music, especially with vocals and classical. Honestly I'm more surprised by more people immediately giving up on the HD700 for a problematic treble region but hesitating with the HD800 or the HD800S, which I hear are even pickier with sound quality. Nothing wrong with giving headphones a 2nd chance/lack of a 2nd chance, but you would think more people would give this headphone a 2nd chance or immediately give up on the HD800 or HD800S is all.

The Fostex TH900 is a V shaped headphone, so I think the issue with treble response there is that the recessed mids combined with high amounts of energy in the treble will make the treble seem even more extreme than a non V shaped headphone. Personally for me, the only time this headphone became sibilant was with tracks that I knew had sibilance in the first place. A small tweak to EQ was all that was needed to resolve this and now these are my true endgame for EDM and most genres of music. Personally my only gripe with this headphone now is that the mids are just a tad bit too recessed for classical and vocal dominant music, but other than that, I'm extremely happy with these.

Now to talk about the things that I like about the HD700. They're quite different than the Fostex TH900 in terms of sound signature. The mids for the HD700 are wonderful and they really shine in music that requires that. Once the hot spot for the HD700 is diminished, the treble is surprisingly pleasing to listen to. Their soundstage is quite wide, almost bordering on unnatural, but doing it just enough to not ever veer fully into artifical territory. These are by far the most unique pair of headphones that I've ever listened to, for better or worse. Some things that I don't like about them are their lack of subbass extension (of course my Fostex TH900 is used for bass heavy music instead of these), that particular hot spot in the treble, and that they can be a little bit too unforgiving at times, but I know a lot of people will see that last point as a pro, not a con. Honestly I kinda wish an HD700S came out that had slightly more subbass extension, a reduced treble peak at 6k and a slight boost at 1.3-3k because that would seem to be my endgame for classical and vocal music. Before I got the HD700, I was lowkey expecting to hate the HD700 even after EQ, but I'm surprisingly enjoying them. They're like so close to endgame for me, but I don't think that getting the HD800 or HD800S would fix this issue, given that they're even more picky with sound quality and that if the HD700 soundstage borders on being too wide, the HD800/HD800S might actually veer into the artificial territory.

We'll see if I find anything in SoCal CanJam that hits the spot, if not this headphone is here to stay. This headphone having such a massive price tank due to its bad reputation will also make finding a replacement hard as I suspect most headphones that can outclass it are going to be well above the $500 price range.

 

[robo24]

So finally after listening to them for a while, I'll give some of my thoughts on the HD700 ...

Thanks for your impressions. My HD700s were the first of all the ones in my signature and even though I have the 800 SDR, the treble on them annoy me more than the 700s. After getting into warmer headphones, the 700 does seem very odd at first when I go back to it, but I quickly adapt or just apply EQ with Ref 4. It says a lot that I keep thinking about selling the 800 and can't imagine selling the 700. For me nothing beats them for movies and it's amazing what a surround effect they can provide from a stereo source.