Which is the better deal? HD650 vs HD700

[Djent]

Hey guise! I've been lurking on here for a while but i need advice. I have DT880 250ohm and i love them! I use them together with a small scandinavian amp called Argon Ha1. But i want to try something different, mainly for listening to vinyl, perhaps also pc.
 
I mainly listen to 60-70's rock, so theres a lot of "demanding" recordings if you get what i mean. Poor mixes is another word. Perhaps HD700 wil give a bad performance in this area? Beeing its the ice-spike and all..
For example:
The Crazy People - Raunchy Boog-A-Loo 
The Red Krayola - Pink Stainless Tail.
 
But i also fancy today's overly compressed music. I use ATHM50s portably and i like them alot.
 
Heres the deal..
I can get the HD700 new for the same price as a used setup of HD650, Schiit Aasgard 2 and a cdplayer (Denon dcd f-107)
What's the better deal here? Both cost around 400USD.

 

[Djent]

bump

 

[DrKC]

Well, you may have a preference for the sound of HD-700s.  Have you listened to them before?  Did they knock your socks off?  If so, then that's the deal for you.  I don't have 700s, but I do have some 650s and think they are a good medium-priced headphone when paired with an amp that has a decent output voltage swing.  Hi-Z phones like your 250Ohm Beyers do best with a good rail-to-rail swing.
The 650s, the Schiit and the CD player, if they are all in good shape, offer a lot of value for $400.  It's really just a personal preference decision.  700 owners will say get the 700s - 650 owners will tell you they are the greatest phones ever.  But, which ones do YOU like?
 
Good luck

 

[Music Alchemist]

I owned the HD 650 and HD 700 and honestly prefer the HD 650.

 

[Djent]

Thanks for the reply guis! Im afraid i cant try befor i buy, but perhaps theres possible to arrange somthing with my local hifi store.
How come you prefer the HD650 music alchemist?

 

[Music Alchemist]

How come you prefer the HD650 music alchemist?

 
The HD 700 beats it in certain technicalities, but the HD 650 has less things wrong with it. Not in love with either of them (I'm an electrostat fanatic), so I don't care to go into further detail. But if you can describe some of your sound signature goals, perhaps I could give you an idea of which one would be a better fit.
 
By the way, nice user name! Meshuggah!!!

 

[Djent]

Well, i need the bass to really "shine". Fast attack and good impact, but not to much. I prefer quality to quantity. My DT800's are pretty neutral, and i love neutrality, but i want something a little more fun.
I've read that the hd700 has a really good bassresponse, so thats why im leaning towards them.

Meshuggah is the best! 

 

[SeaWo|f]

I have a pair of hd650s that i really like, but they are source dependent. I did not have the choice between the 650 and 700 as I bought mine before the 700 existed. From all that I read back when the 700s released they have quite a bit of a different sound signature than the 650, and they are also picky about the source. The consensus on how both of these cans sound is well documented and consistent on these forums and everywhere online. Checking out some reviews will give you a really good idea of which each offers.

 

[Djent]

I've read all there is..
Has anyone tried the hd700 with oppo ha2?
All info is highly appreciated.
Im also considering the beyer t90.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Well, i need the bass to really "shine". Fast attack and good impact, but not to much. I prefer quality to quantity. My DT800's are pretty neutral, and i love neutrality, but i want something a little more fun.
I've read that the hd700 has a really good bassresponse, so thats why im leaning towards them.

Meshuggah is the best! 

 
I'd say the HD 700 has better attack and impact, with a larger soundstage too, but it has much more treble than neutral. I guess the bass depends on your amp, because on mine, it had weak bass. The mids were also a little muffled, but again, this might improve on higher-end systems. The HD 650 by contrast is more warm, dark, smooth, etc., but overall, it's more neutral and linear, without anything standing out to ruin the experience, and overall, it has better natural clarity instead of artificial clarity. However, due to the aforementioned things, it also doesn't achieve greatness like STAX can, partially due to its less neutral frequency response than (some of the better) STAX. The STAX SR-207 is better in most ways than any dynamic Sennheiser, in my opinion. I also like the Yamaha HPH-MT220 and HIFIMAN HE400i more than the HD 650 and HD 700. You'd have to hear all these headphones yourself to know which you prefer.
 
In Flames is my favorite band. I like nearly all types of music.

 

[Djent]

Thank you so much for the alternatives! I will check them out thoroughly!

 

[Fearless1]

A properly amped 650 is much better to my ears then the 700 and or the anemic STAX 207. It's all about preference.

 

[Music Alchemist]

From a solid-state amp, the SR-207 is not anemic at all. It has very accurate, high quality bass.
 

Spoiler: SR-207 measurements

Basically, look how the grey measurements follow the green line on this (mislabeled) graph. It actually has a sub-bass hump, meaning that it has a little more bass than is accurate, but as shown below, with the SR-507 pads, the hump is resolved.

http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSR207SB2217.pdf
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSR207EP507LeatherPadsSerNumSB22217.pdf

And for context to those who aren't aware, planar magnetic headphones do follow the green line in the bass.

 

[Fearless1]

A bit too soulless to my ears, not saying it's bad, I enjoy it enough to keep it around I enjoy the sterility with certain genras of my music collection, but the 650 gets the blood flowing, it does not.

No need to post measurements, I listen with my ears not my eyes.

 

[Music Alchemist]

A bit too soulless to my ears, not saying it's bad, I enjoy it enough to keep it around I enjoy the sterility with certain genras of my music collection, but the 650 gets the blood flowing, it does not.

No need to post measurements, I listen with my ears not my eyes.

 
Fair enough, then. The HD 650 does sound amazing with some music. I just thought when you said anemic, you meant lacking bass.