Sennheiser HD 700: Officially Unveiled at CES 2012!

[Dexon]

To my eyes HD800 looks like a 1000usd and HD700 like a 100usd cans.

 

[Blisse]

To my eyes HD800 looks like a 1000usd and HD700 like a 100usd cans.

hm. They look on par in pricing to me.

I had a huge response written about Sennheiser, but I accidentally closed the tab and lost it... so now I'm too demotivated to try to write more.

 

[jchandler3]

When I first heard about the HD700s, I got really excited. But after the newsflash wore off, they don't interest me all that much. 
 
I have newer ("unveiled") HD650s with an aftermarket cable and I'm very happy with them. I can't imagine the HD700s would be much better. Can any of the few who have listened to the 700s attest to that?

 

[arnaud]

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Regarding voicing of the HD700: on a whole, overall, the HD700 does sound a bit warmer compared to the the HD800 (with the "Anax mod" which shelves down the region above 5-6kHz about 3db.) So that's certainly a step forward. In fact, it the HD700 were smooth and peak free, it would have been almost perfect. I would say overall, the HD700 is about -5db down in the treble compared to the HD800. Also, there sounds like a recessed area in the mids (similar, but even more than the HD800) that would almost give the HD700 an overall laid back flavor if the treble weren't so peaky.
 
This is why LFF didn't think they were all that bad - his concern was with the pricing. As with me, I'm just cranky and very sensitive to narrow peaks in the frequency band from 5-12kHz. Many people are not so sensitive to such peaks. I do have to say that the HD700 I heard had such sharp peaks that I had never heard before on any Sennheiser including the HD558, HD600, HD650, and HD800 - with the exception of the HD25-i-x-q-z-p-11-2 (or whatever it was they decided to name it). So TP mods, foam mods, Anax mods, or whatever ain't going to fix the problem.
 
As someone else mentioned, it's a shame that the HD800 ring driver technology (with its advertised and lack of resonances - confirmed via measurements) didn't trickle down. The HD700 looks to be similar to the HD650 driver, but tweaked and voiced with high-tech laser beams to sound like what I mentioned above. The unfortunate side effect from this tweak could have been the peaks - or maybe Sennheiser used a stiffer material that gives more resolution at the expense of resonances. This sort of gets to what RD was saying...
 
So to be clear:
 

1. Less treble than stock HD800 (kind of what everyone was hoping for)
2. More treble peaks than HD800 (or any other mid-fi or hi-fi Sennheiser - which is rather unexpected)

 
I figured I needed to post this since I always forget my own HD800s are modded for a treble-cut.

Interesting comments Purrin! Back of the hand calculation on the 5-6kHz resonance. Not sure it relates but at 6kHz, half an acoustic wavelength is ~30mm which is in the range of the center diaphragm dimension / distance from driver to the entrance of ear canal and such. So I wonder how much this perceived resonance (if there actually is such resonance) is due to the acoustics or the driver itself. From your saying it would seem that, if anything, the acoustics were further damped from the HD800 hence you're pointing your finger at some driver resonance instead?
 
In any case, am looking forward to some test data (liberated driver and all right ). 

 

[ishmael]

Does anyone else find it strange that this entire discussion seems dominated by a self described "cranky" HeadFier, who by his own admission is extremely fussy and sensitive to high frequency issues? I'm not even sure what business he has talking about his experience with the HD700 anyway. Surely the "sneak preview" panel member who let Purrin borrow them and measure them(!) is in violation of the NDA, in spirit if not necessarily letter. 
 
As far as I can tell, we've got:
 
Jude who really likes the 700
 
Project 86 who also seems to have a very high opinion of them
 
Curawong who likes them with some reservations
 
LFF who likes them with some reservations and thinks they cost too much 
 
CEETEE who didn't spend much time describing the HD700 other than to say it sounds like a "baby HD800", and that he chose the HD800 over LCD-2.... so I'm not sure what that means.
 
So that's 2 positive and 3 somewhat positive(?) opinions. Yet most of the comments here make it sound like the verdict is in, that the HD700 is a failure before it even launches, that Sennheiser has their head in the sand, etc. 
 
I know my opinion means little, but man..... this thread has the worst "signal to noise" ratio I've seen around here in a while. 

 

[vvanrij]

I think a lot of people are disappointed in the fact thats it a lesser HD800, instead of a better HD600/650.

 

[Audio-Omega]

I'm looking forward to owning one.  It's in-between my headphones as far as numbering is concerned.  

 

[warpdriver]

that's exactly how I feel. I wanted a HD650 with a taste of HD800 instead keeping the same sound signature of the HD800 but with possibly more sibilance issues
 
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I think a lot of people are disappointed in the fact thats it a lesser HD800, instead of a better HD600/650.

 

 

[project86]

I wonder if the same folks who were responsible for creating the HD580, HD600, and HD650 are even still around. It's easy to think "Sennheiser is Sennheiser" and expect them to maintain the same house sound. But those were all made quite a few years ago. People retire or move up the corporate ladder. Maybe the engineering staff and the people who are approving the final sound signature are completely different these days. Just a theory but it would explain the segmenting of HD580/600/650 vs HD700/800. 
 
BTW, Sennheiser told us in the private subforum that they would NOT be discontinuing the HD600/650 at this time. They want to look at the sales stats down the road and then give it consideration, but for the near future HD6XX is safe. 

 

[ocswing]

It was mentioned earlier that a comparison to mid-fi would be nice, and I second this point. I have K701s that I enjoy for the most part, but they're not great for everything and I'm looking to upgrade. I like the HD800, but it's more than I want to spend. I assume the HD700 is better than the K701, but is it worth the price difference at the stated $1000 as well? I know that's somewhat of a value judgement of ROI, but even some generalizations wouldn't hurt for those looking to upgrade. I do think the market for these is mid-fi people looking up, rather than TOTL people looking down for value.
 
 
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Has anyone noticed that to wear they HD-700s they sit backwards compared to the HD-800s, with the flat side forward?
 

 
I was just noticing that myself. I think that might be some of the reason people have different opinions of the HD800. Turning the driver cups around makes sense to me from a comfort viewpoint (the back of the ear being more round than the front), but it does change the lines and aesthetic of the headphone a fair amount.
 

 
 

 

[Nick01]

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Oh, and I can't still get over the excessive amount of comments about the looks of this headphone.
 
I can't imagine a situation where someone would genuinely care for the looks of a multi hundred dollar fully open headphone.
 
-Are you guys going to buy this to put on display??? yes. One perfect example is the LCD2 wooden & satin case.
 
-Are you gonna to reach for another open, non portable, headphone in your collection JUST BECAUSE IT LOOKS BETTER? yes, I'm currently in love with my red & chrome DT990, and reaching for it now...
 
-Are you going to conduct your private listening sessions in front of a mirror, constantly admiring how beautiful you look with these on? maybe...I'll make sure no one is around first before I attempt this.
 
-Or are do you want 'others' to look at you- as it's for home use only, with others I mean family members. Trust me, with the amount open headphones leak, any buystander would just feels like smashing the hd700's up. They won't say it out of kindness though!
 

You're deluding yourself if you think people buy headphones based on sonic qualities alone. People base their decisions on looks a lot more than you think. And headphones companies know it. I imagine they spend quite a bit of $$$ hiring people with design talents to make headphones look good.
 

 

[davidhunternyc]

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You're deluding yourself if you think people buy headphones based on sonic qualities alone. People base their decisions on looks a lot more than you think. And headphones companies know it. I imagine they spend quite a bit of $$$ hiring people with design talents to make headphones look good.
 

Then why didn't Sennheiser hire the Sony Qualia 010 design team?
 

 

[LFF]

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It was mentioned earlier that a comparison to mid-fi would be nice, and I second this point. I have K701s that I enjoy for the most part, but they're not great for everything and I'm looking to upgrade. I like the HD800, but it's more than I want to spend. I assume the HD700 is better than the K701, but is it worth the price difference at the stated $1000 as well? I know that's somewhat of a value judgement of ROI, but even some generalizations wouldn't hurt for those looking to upgrade. I do think the market for these is mid-fi people looking up, rather than TOTL people looking down for value.
 
 
 
I was just noticing that myself. I think that might be some of the reason people have different opinions of the HD800. Turning the driver cups around makes sense to me from a comfort viewpoint (the back of the ear being more round than the front), but it does change the lines and aesthetic of the headphone a fair amount.
 

 
 

The HD700 is a good headphone but it's not as universal as the HD600. Allow me to explain....
 
Take a well mastered song like "This Must Be The Place" by The Talking Heads. This song sounds completely natural and correct on an HD600. How do I know this? Well...there are various mastering tools that mastering engineers have on hand that will actually show you when and where there is distortion, sibilance and other problems like clicks and pops in a song. It's not easy but over time, you learn to correctly read these sign posts so that when you hear a problem you can verify whether it is the actual music file or another problem down the chain.
 
During certain parts, like cymbal strikes, there is a high amount of sibilance which is NOT in the song. A simple replay over Fischer Audio FA-003's or Sennheiser HD600's confirms that the song indeed does NOT contain sibilance. Play it again on the HD700's...sibilance is there in spades. 
 
Keep in mind, that this does not happen with every single track as some music does sound fantastic on the HD700 due to the extended soundstage but there is no doubt in my mind that the HD700 is peaky and not as good as other options if your goal is to obtain accurate, natural sound. The HD700 is a nice headphone but a bit too thin and peaky for me to really consider buying it at $1000.00. I would personally rather spring for the HD800 and do the Anax mod. Of course....YMMV and this is strictly my opinion.
 

 

[Nick01]

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Then why didn't Sennheiser hire the Sony Qualia 010 design team?
 

Coz Sennheiser is in Germany and the Sony team are from Japan. Language barrier I guess....ja?
 

 

[Asr]

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Does anyone else find it strange that this entire discussion seems dominated by a self described "cranky" HeadFier, who by his own admission is extremely fussy and sensitive to high frequency issues? I'm not even sure what business he has talking about his experience with the HD700 anyway. Surely the "sneak preview" panel member who let Purrin borrow them and measure them(!) is in violation of the NDA, in spirit if not necessarily letter. 

 
This is actually an excellent point and I'm in agreement with your last sentence especially. The respect that I used to have for both LFF and purrin just went out the window. Whether specifically excluded in the NDA or not (as it doesn't matter now), there are two actions that clearly happened, neither of which say anything positive for me: (1) LFF consciously allowed purrin to listen to & measure the headphones, (2) purrin consciously posted his impressions on Head-Fi as a non-member of the preview panel, when he could've chosen to keep them to himself until the HD700's release.
 
You two (speaking to LFF and purrin) can try to explain away all you want but the fact remains that if Sennheiser wanted purrin to share his impressions and/or measurements, it goes without saying that they would've included him on the preview panel.
 
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BTW, Sennheiser told us in the private subforum that they would NOT be discontinuing the HD600/650 at this time. They want to look at the sales stats down the road and then give it consideration, but for the near future HD6XX is safe. 

I just lost all respect for 3 so-called "reputable" Head-Fiers today, which includes you, all for the same reason: apparently none of you know how to keep confidential info, confidential. (Confidential info by your own admission.)