Sennheiser HD700 v HD800

I had a quick listen to the HD800 and HD700 at a hi-fi dealers using a Sennheiser headphone amp. I prefered the HD700, the HD800 to me just sounded a bit to clinical. I had to see what I was possibly missing compaired to my HD700 and Solo ULDE. I'm keeping my headphones and amp as they are.

I tried the 800 at the recent GSP Roadshow and was pretty underwhelmed TBH. "Clinical" is just the word I'd use too. After my LCD-2s they sounded undernourished, though everything was obviously there. I reckon I'd find them fatiguing for any length of time. (Apologies to any 800 fans!)

I guess we all have different tastes - at the Roadshow I was rather impressed by the HD800s, finding them neutral rather than clinical. They seemed quite airy and open sounding with delicate imaging and a wide soundstage. Bass was very clean but had depth when present on recordings I am familiar with. They also handled transients well and this is probably why I liked them, preferring a fast, live sounding performance, free of colouration rather like my main open baffle speaker system. For me, listening to music is totally immersive and the 'performance' needs to catch me. I do totally understand why others might find this tiring of course

The LCD2s reminded me somewhat of the HD650s with a thicker sound, pleasing but... sightly coloured and less 'airy'. Maybe I should have listened for longer?