[I3eyond]

Looking to get some high end Senn's to go with a Music Fidelity V-DAC > Matrix M-Stage amp.
 
Curious if the HD650s' soundstage is as large, if not larger, than the AD700s.
 
I can barely listen to my Alessandro MS-1s any longer..... here's their sound: ( me )       ... and here's the AD700s: (               me                )

 

[logwed]

The K701 has that expansive soundstage that you crave, are you dead-set on the Senns?
 
As much as I love the HD650s, they are more intimate than the AD700s (but definitely bigger than the MS1s). 

 

[pp312]

The AD700 may have a large soundstage, but that's about where its virtues end for me. The 650 is in a different class altogether.

 

[saber8689]

Yeah, you really can't compare the two. The HD650s are just BETTER than the ad700s.

 

[TontonJoK]

You should find some place to listen to hd 650, they are very good but more laid back so might not be what you are looking for 

 

[K_19]

It may not be as large soundstage wise, but they have probably like 3 times the weight (sound wise) and emotion. For most music, I feel that HD650 just kills AD700.

 

[I3eyond]

No, I am not dead set on the HD650s.  I've read about both, and for some reason I just want the HD650s.  Perhaps talk me into the K701s?  I can get both for the same price...

 
Quote:

The K701 has that expansive soundstage that you crave, are you dead-set on the Senns?
 
As much as I love the HD650s, they are more intimate than the AD700s (but definitely bigger than the MS1s). 

 

[revolink24]

The 650s, IMHO, clobber the 701s by actually sounding like music. Sure, there are those that love the 701s to death, but they lack any naturalness or depth, to my ears.

 

[logwed]

Quote:

The 650s, IMHO, clobber the 701s by actually sounding like music. Sure, there are those that love the 701s to death, but they lack any naturalness or depth, to my ears.

x2
 
There just is something that is not right about the K701s, that's why I sold them. I couldn't listen critically to the K701s because all the detail was crammed forward, leaving nothing to explore in the background. If I was doing something else while listening, the soundstage was cool, but I just couldn't focus on listening with them. 
 
AD700 v. HD650 straight up: The AD700s sound incredibly grainy compared to the Senns which are very smooth and real-sounding. The HD650s are a very musical headphone.

 

[SP Wild]

The K701s superseded the K1000 and they sound more transparent to me.  They also tried desperately to simulate the K1000 soundstage which left it with an uppermidrange glare (similar to a bass light K1000 with the cups flipped out, but unconvincingly so) - though I felt the K701s treble was pretty nice.  Then the HD800s came along, trying to play the same K1000 soundstaging game and was left with a lower treble glare.  All cans I have heard that play the expansive soundstaging game end up with what I discern as a very lean sounding sound - including the K1000.  All cans that play the full tone game end up being criticsed for having a small soundstage - including the O2s.
 
It seems to me some members HRTF cannot discern a large soundstage without accentuated ambient cues, because I hear the HD650s as having a soundstage almost as large as the K701s and the LCDs as large as the HD800s.  I'm pretty certain HRTF is the main cause for these conflicting reports.

 

[miloxo]

I found that the AD700s soundstage is larger but lack in realness. The HD650s soundstage is imo better in terms of layering and realness, Its more 'holographic', the AD700s don't layer the music as much, music just sounds far away.
 
This is running both headphones unamped straight out of my DAC.

 

[pp312]

 
The AD700s sound incredibly grainy compared to the Senns which are very smooth and real-sounding. The HD650s are a very musical headphone.

Totally agree. That was the first thing that struck me about the 700s and I just couldn't get past it--they're grainy to the point of sounding coarse.
For classical music I just couldn't take them seriously; they sounded like a $50 pair from K-Mart. They may be okay for rock etc, and of course gaming, but they sound nothing like live music.

 

[MC LeBron 23]

 
Quote:

 
The AD700s sound incredibly grainy compared to the Senns which are very smooth and real-sounding. The HD650s are a very musical headphone.

Totally agree. That was the first thing that struck me about the 700s and I just couldn't get past it--they're grainy to the point of sounding coarse.
For classical music I just couldn't take them seriously; they sounded like a $50 pair from K-Mart. They may be okay for rock etc, and of course gaming, but they sound nothing like live music.

WHAT???   If anything the AD700s sound best for classical music. STEGGY from the MLG forums even agreed that the 700s are great for classical music.

 

[pp312]

Sorry to disagree. I'm familiar with the sound of a live symphony orchestra in a good hall (Sydney Opera House) and to me the 700 sounded nothing like it--not even close. Way too bright, for one thing. And coarse, as I say. I had a sense of grit in my ears, quite unlike the organic smoothness of the 650. I sold them the same week.
 
Maybe it's just me. I find nearly all phones too bright in comparison to live music. The only phones I've heard that I can stand are the 555/595 and 650. If I were looking for phones now I'd be looking at the Audeze LCD-2. Last phone I'd be looking at (apart from every Grado, AT and Beyer ever made) would be the HD800. Just my taste.  

 

[logwed]

Quote:

Sorry to disagree. I'm familiar with the sound of a live symphony orchestra in a good hall (Sydney Opera House) and to me the 700 sounded nothing like it--not even close. Way too bright, for one thing. And coarse, as I say. I had a sense of grit in my ears, quite unlike the organic smoothness of the 650. I sold them the same week.
 
Maybe it's just me. I find nearly all phones too bright in comparison to live music. The only phones I've heard that I can stand are the 555/595 and 650. If I were looking for phones now I'd be looking at the Audeze LCD-2. Last phone I'd be looking at (apart from every Grado, AT and Beyer ever made) would be the HD800. Just my taste.  

Do you think that might be because you don't get the same full-body impact in headphones that you get in speakers or live music?