Professional Documents
Culture Documents
HD700 Vs HD650
HD700 Vs HD650
HD700 Vs HD650
Sennheiser was kind enough to lend me their HD 700 for a home demo. And as you k
now, I already own the HD 650 (silver drivers) to compare them to. And thankfull
y, Sennheiser has also agreed to lend me their HD 800 in a few days, for a more
thorough side by side comparison. But that is best left to another review.
I'm not sure whether these HD 700 headphones have been burned in or not. But. Ne
ither do I care. Because I'm not a big believer in burn in making a radical diff
erence to the sound. At least in the majority of cases. Anyway, just mentioned t
his to explicitly state that I've no idea.
How much time have I spent with Sennheiser's HD 700 so far?
Not much. Less than 24 hrs in fact. But. I've already listened to a few songs I'
m reasonably familiar with.
So. This isn't a review done after extensive testing. But. I've tried to be as a
ccurate as possible.
How much time have I spent with the HD 650 and the rest of my setup?
At least over 2 years or so. Maybe longer. So that shouldn't hinder this review.
The Setup
Headphones: HD 700 (2012), HD 650 (silver drivers)
Headphone Amplifier: Project Ember v1.0 (just tried a single tube, Marconi 6dj8
is what I recall from memory)
DAC: Asus Essence One Muses Edition
Transport: Asus Essence STX SPDIF to the PC
The HD 650 was tested with and without Sonarworks. Sonarworks is a VST plugin th
at neutralises the tonality of supported headphones. Sonarworks doesn't support
the HD 700 yet.
Music
Bollywood (Arijit Singh etc)
Mozart (very little)
I'd like to sum up the basic advantages of each headphone over the other, before
I proceed to a more detailed review. So those in a hurry can still quickly get
to know the overall gist in brief.
Advantages of the HD 700 over the HD 650
Way more comfortable. In fact, the HD 700 is so comfortable that that alone just
ifies twice the price over the HD 650 if you consider them equals otherwise.
More or less better all around when it comes to technical prowess.
Clearer, cleaner, more articulate, crisper transients and better speed.
The overall sound is very tight and coherent.
The bass is a lot tighter.
Much better resolution; more detailed.
Reasonably improved soundstage and imaging.
More open and slightly more speaker like.
More detailed and believable vocals.
Basically, the difference in going from a mid range to a high-end can.
Disadvantages of the HD 700 over the HD 650
Additional treble that makes it unnaturally bright (not ear piercing though).
Fatiguing and not as polite for extended listening sessions.
There is something that makes them sound less natural and less musical.
The tonality isn't as neutral; the vocals are a bit upfront as compared to the r
est.
Advantages of the HD 650 over the HD 700 (Many of these advantages may be audibl
e only if you have Sonarworks, as that takes the experience to another level.)
More musical, lush, smoother and sweet overall.
The bass isn't as tight but perhaps more natural and with greater punch.
The treble isn't as sharp; it is smoother.
More suitable for extended listening.
It has most of the pros of the HD 700 but not quite to the same level. In terms
of technical prowess, it is what it is. An outdated flagship.
Now.
You're probably waiting for a more in-depth comparison between the two. And that
is exactly what I'm coming to now.