So my ATH Pro 700mk2's arrived today, along with the HM5 pads. Initial impressions are good, cans hit nice and hard without a doubt. Surprisingly they are able to take A LOT of power, they eat turbo on my iDSD no problem. Granted I do have my preamp turned way down on my EQ since I am boosting so hard, but I keep the preamp at that level for all my hard hitting headphones. I can easily hit 3 o'clock on the iDSD, which is the highest I've ever been able to have the volume pot.
I only tried them on for about 10sec with the stock pads, they were TERRIBLE. I didn't even listen to them, 10sec was long enough to want to rip them off my head. So I can't comment on what the HM5 pads did the the sound signature, but they pound for sure with these. And the comfort is excellent. The pads are so thick and squishy that it gives the "impression" that they loosen the clamp force. Honestly I've had them on my head for about an hour now without any issue, so I'd say the pads are a success. Plus they look dope as hell, they match my purple vmoda cable I'm using with them almost perfectly.
My Yamaha Pro 500's smack a bit harder than these, but the 700mk2's hit harder than my TH-X00's for sure. And the Yamaha's don't need nearly the same amount of power and EQ boost that these do to hit to their full potential. But fortunately for me I've got a powerful portable set-up, so I think these are going to be perfect. The 700mk2's also hit nice and low, which is always a must for me.
Overall sound quality is "decent". They are heavily V shaped, and found that I had to actually cut EQ some of the treble down as it was becoming a bit much at full bass tilt volume. They also don't have much sound stage to speak of, which I expected going in. To me, they sound exactly what I thought a "DJ" tuned set of cans would sound like. My TH-X00's are still my favorite "basshead", yet still "audiophile" sounding headphones. If the X-00's had 30-40% more bass than they have now, I think I'd be able to sell off all my other over ears as I probably wouldn't listen to anything else. But as it stands now my X-00's are my "do everything well" can, SZ2K's are still the BASS cannons, 700mk2's will fill the portable over ear role, and my DT990's I use for low volume easy listening and occasional movie/video watching.
Thanks everyone for the rec on the 700mk2's, head slammers without a doubt! Anyone who says otherwise isn't feeding them proper power, and also probably not EQ boosting the sub bass like they should. Proper basshead cans for sure.
