Steven31
AKA SonyFan121, Audio Aficionado, Audioholic123, JVC steven, and others
I have had a few memorable wow moments with headphones, but probably the one that stands out the most, the wow moment I remember the most, was when I listened to a jazz track (can't remember the artist or the album, but I think it was a master studio quality download that I burned to a CD) with Sennheiser HD700, that I had connected to the analogue output of a 1993 Linn LK140 power amp via a manual analogue audio port switch that had a 3.55mm headphone output. My source player was a humble Marantz CD5005. What I done was I connected the Marantz to the LK140 using a Y cable from the headphone output of the Marantz CD5005 to the analogue input on the LK140. I was blown away by the realism, it was like the HD700 was on steroids. When I used the HD700 with other cheaper integrated amps I had at the time, the HD700 underwhelmed me and actually I hated it, but when used with this LK140 power amp, the soundstage opened up to the point of sounding like a completely different headphone altogether. When used with this LK140 power amp, the HD700 soundstage shifted from sounding like sound was coming from inside my head, to sounding like it was all around me - 360 degrees. It was the first time I was literally left speechless by a headphone. I remember laughing to myself and shaking my head in disbelief. A moment I remember vividly to this day. However - this miraculous sound of the HD700 only happened when I used it with that Linn amp and Marantz CD player combo, in more down to earth, practical situations when I had to use the HD700 with cheaper integrated amps and headphone amps I had at the time, it sounded awful to me. And that's what ultimately led me to part with the HD700. IMO it's unacceptable to have to spend just as much - if not more - money as the retail price of the HD700 (around $600 U.S.D in 2013) on a suitable amp for it. What Sennheiser are asking you to do with headphones like the HD700 and HD800, if you want to hear them at their absolute best, is to spend just as much on amps - if not even more money - as the headphone itself cost you. And this I think is a disgrace. It's ultimately going to cost you a few thousand dollars to hear what these headphones can do. Shocking.
