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Sennheiser HD700 v HD800

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Drewan77 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Drewan77 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2014 at 9:01pm
Ash on the fence Ermm ?

(I didn't mean it to sound like someone's been smoking)
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Ash View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2014 at 9:05pm
Well, if I am to be completely  honest without sounding confrontational, bigoted or arrogant, I need to be careful how I word my impressions here. Hmmm...
We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.
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Drewan77 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Drewan77 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2014 at 9:09pm
The best thing about this hobby is that we all have different tastes so nobody is 'right' or 'wrong'. I don't criticise people who hate Marmite, or offend them... I hope
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Ash View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2014 at 9:42pm
Okay then...

I took my HD540II and Bitzie along to the Roadshow, to see how everything compared to the neutrality that I am used to hearing.

New headphones that I briefly tried were AKG K701, Audeze LCD-2, Sennheiser HD650, Sennheiser HD800, Grado PS1000, Grado SR325i (I think??) and Denon D7000.

So... I was very underwhelmed with both LCD-2 and HD650 through Bitzie. They both sounded rather similar to each other; a thick, congested sound that seemed to lack resolution. Confused LCD-2 did have an overly strong bass, if I remember correctly. Bad listening day?? The PS1000 sounded really great through Solo ULDE, with a tad bit of mid-bass elevation, I felt. This did not detract from the sound clarity though. Seemed to have a realistic transparency and the physical weight isn't actually too bad. SR325i through Solo ULDE wasn't anything special though; I thought its stereo imaging was quite small and the treble did show signs of having a fatiguing quality which I'm sure Graham's ULDE was trying to deal with. D7000 from Solo ULDE sounded pretty neutral; really great headphone. A slightly enhanced bass response (IMO) was audible but subtle. Didn't pay much attention to K701 but it did seem rather neutral. No particular frequency region stuck out like a sore thumb.

What I really focussed on was the HD800; I was very impressed with the size of its stereo imaging. I cannot deny that its stereo image seemed to beat my HD540II; it conveyed a greater feeling of space. Not an absolutely huge difference but noticeable. The HD540II and HD800 seemed to be equal on everything else; equal resolution, neutrality and transparency. I couldn't assess whether the HD800 sounds as natural as the HD540II because I simply didn't have enough time for extending listening but the HD800 left an impression on me and is certainly the only one from the selection that I've got my eye on. I heard neutrality, not a "clinical" presentation but I was unable to make solid conclusions and therefore left the Roadshow slightly unsettled. LOL

Not sure what others thought of my HD540II but I did encourage people to have a listen to them so I could get some impressions.


Edited by Ash - 13 Jun 2014 at 6:50am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lucabeer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2014 at 7:18am
I listened to the HD800 when it was launched, and it was the last drop which made me opt for the wonderful Denon D7000. LOL
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RichW Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2014 at 8:20am
Thanks for all the opinions - headphone sound does often divide it Smile
I owned a pair of HD650s before the HD700s & Ash's description is bang on I reckon -
thick, congested & lacking resolution.
The HD700s are a big improvement but sound a touch 'safe & polite' & still lack resolution.
 
Will try & audition some alternatives depending on what local dealers stock - Grados & Senns
seem to be widely available. Will try & track down the Denon D7000.
I've owned a few sets of headphones over too many years but a set of Beyer Dynamics stick in
the mind as sounding very good - will try to hear T1s.
 
The road show was obviously a great chance to try out different sets.
 


Edited by RichW - 13 Jun 2014 at 9:08am
Majestic/Enigma, Accession MM & MC.
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Ash View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2014 at 10:38am
To tell you the truth, I wasn't even satisfied with my HD540II or the HD800 from my Bitzie at the Roadshow. There wasn't enough battery life in my phone to keep the Bitzie powered up for several hours before the listening commenced, which reduced the transparency of all the headphones tested on the day IMO (affected them all equally).

Whether you choose to believe my next sentence is entirely up to you but the Bitzie needs quite a bit of power-up time before it provides maximum intelligibility, resolution and spatial qualities IMO. When you first plug it in with Lautus USB cable to phone or laptop, it sounds clear but not incredible... I feel it needs at least a couple of hours of ON-time for the electronic components to converge on their optimum electrical state (e.g capacitor charge storage) for signal transfer where you start to hear an even more exceptionally pure signal being transduced into a device like the HD540II (all IMO of course but I am entitled to my own opinion).

I am interested in how the HD800 and HD540II would compare against one another from a Bitzie or Majestic-ULDE combo which have been powered up for several days.


Edited by Ash - 13 Jun 2014 at 10:44am
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