WTF Revisited: Sennheiser HD700 Stories, Review, and Measurements

Shortly after I took possession of my Balancing Act amplifier, I went to a headphone meet I think in Downey (or was it Norwalk, anyway it was in one of those parts of town where we might expect to see Dominic Torretto and his gang of seven hiding out in a warehouse). This was a weird meet because there were a lot of vendors there (a portent of things to come). As such, I almost erased this meet from my mind, except that I first met LFF here and we talked about music. LFF was born at the wrong time because he loved 80s music (at least the good stuff, the cream that rose to the top, because most of it was garbage) despite him not growing up as a kid in the 80s like how I did.

At this meet there was a Sennheiser rep. American. Cocky as shit, because Germans aren't like this (the worse thing that Germans ever say is why is English pronunciation is inconsistent and all over the place). There were two young dudes who listened to the HD800 at the Sennheiser table with the amps there (the HDVD800 hadn't come out yet) and were grimacing in pain. They eventually made their way to my table and listened my HD800 (it could have been modded) out of my amp and were amazed. I was running 300Bs. Their bloomer sound, lifted bass, and rolled treble worked well with the HD800. Yup, two guys learned about "synergy" (which is kind of BS if we really think about it, but it is what it is) how picky the HD800 could be in terms of amps. I believe the music we were playing may have been either Nirvana or the Pixies.

As the meet was wrapping up, somebody invited the Sennheiser rep to my table. It wasn't my idea to bring him to my table as I could have cared less what he thought. He listened for five seconds, took off the headphones, and said something to the effect of "Oh yeah, Oh yeah, I've heard stuff like that. The HD800 is perfectly neutral.", absolutely confident in himself. I'm like "Yeah, whatever Dude" <roll eyes>.

Oh that's right. I almost lost my train of thought. This was the meet where I heard not one, but a bunch of people going around saying that there would be a successor the the HD800. You know, it's one of those bullshit secrets that go: "don't tell anyone because it's super secret, but I heard...": Sennheiser has something in the works with the HD800's technical ability, but with the tonality of the HD650. I kept eagerly waiting, and waiting, and waiting. It's 2020 now. I don't care anymore.

Evidently, this successor to the HD800 was the HD700.

 

So a couple of years ago when I started posting CSDs on HF of various headphones, HF made an announcement that Sennheiser was asking for beta-testers for their latest headphone, the HD700. All that was needed was a great essay. The ones who wrote the best essays would be awarded the honor to get a sneak peak of the HD700. That honor included paying return shipping with full insurance back to Indonesia (or was it Malaysia - apologies, because I know the two countries are different). I'm jumping ahead a bit, but it turned out that is wasn't any sort of beta test. In hindsight, the design was already finalized for production. Evidently the Sennheiser rep in that region, Rasmudi, Rasmundi, Rasputin, or something that like, had the great idea to use Head-Fi as a vehicle to strong-arm select quotes from well-known hobbyists in time for a CanJam. (I don't remember what event it was exactly. And by the way, I do embellish my stories, because reality is boring. It doesn't matter anyway because it's the visionary sphere that counts - consciousness is much more embellished than "reality").

So I wrote my three or four sentences on why I deserved to be a beta-tester and sent them. I did not expected to be selected and I was not selected. (I had already suspected that Jude hated me because I had been exposing via CSDs the nasty treble peaks that many expensive headphones had at that time). However, LFF was selected!

Years later, I can finally admit our Changstar shenanigans. I'm sure you guys know what happens next.

 

LFF did lend them to me with the condition that I have the honor of sending them back to Indonesia. Fair enough I thought.

Unfortunately for the HD700 and my ears, right off the bat, I selected a song (This Must Be the Place - Naive Melody) that happened to highlight all the things wrong with the HD700. It's not my style to be too much of a jerk, so I honored LFF's NDA and did not leak anything. Except privately within Changstar.

Posting this as the hypothetical headphone that has horrible painful treble peaks became the joke though (without mentioning the HD700 of course.)



I did not identify the HD700 and release a full set of measurements until it was for sale to the public. I actually bought the HD700 from Amazon to confirm that the measurements were exactly the same.

So going back to the beta-test, that Sennheiser rep attempted to solicit some positive reviews from the testers. LFF, who didn't want to lie, replied that it was comfortable. Uncle Erik, a very well respected HF'er who really knew his shit, left HF and never came back. Currawong may have said it was good with classical, at least that's what he said to me. For anyone who has been around CS / SBAF, this is where the "good with classical" phrase comes from. It's an euphemism for nasty or uneven highs. Classical music will register on an analyzer without much bass or treble. It's just the the way it's recorded, mixed, and mastered. Oftentimes, a treble peak or two enhances the overly mid-centric masterings helping to bring out the overtones of natural instruments.

I called out Jude on the HD700 on HF. He did acknowledge that the HD700 had a "spotlit" peak, fair enough. I didn't believe him when he said that he wore them around the house. I guess I could imagine him in his bathrobe with the HD700s around his neck, walking about the house in the morning getting his coffee.

I'm pretty sure this was one of many things that made Jude hate my guts. (He felt I was trying to destroy HF. I was simply trying to destroy bad headphones). He only hates @zerodeefex more, but that is another story for another time.

 

Sennheiser HD700
Frequency Response
EARS with SBAF 3.2 compensation (line straight across approximates perceptual neutral)

 

Sennheiser HD700
Frequency Response
Flat Plate (no ear) Coupler 2.0compensation (line straight across approximates perceptual neutral)


This next one is from the foam coupler that attempts to some extent to simulate a free air measurement. There could be some advantages to gaining some insights into the nature of the higher frequencies as this measurement will be somewhat isolated from ear and head reflections. This also shows us how sensitive the bass frequencies are to seal since these measurements are in effect without a seal. Some headphones such as orthos that depend upon a seal will be less damped and show higher peaks that would not otherwise be there if the headphones were worn.

Sennheiser HD700
Frequency Response
Foam Coupler (Free Air Sim)

 

Sennheiser HD700
CSD
Flate Plate Coupler



Sennheiser HD700
CSD
Foam Coupler (Free Air Sim)

 

Sennheiser HD700
Harmonic Distortions - Traditional View
Flate Plate Coupler
1kHz set to 100db SPL



Sennheiser HD700
Harmonic Distortions - Alternative View and Calculation*
Flat Plate Coupler
1kHz set to 100db SPL



*Think of this as where the distortion resides. Read this: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/new-way-to-present-distortion.7202/

 

Bass decay looks fast, but bass quality seems overshadowed by distortion. The bass sounds weird on the HD700, roboto timbre if that makes any sense. I don't know if others will agree. It's hard to explain. I will retake HD650 measurements and compare. (In all this time, I don't think I've provided a full set of HD650 measurements).

There is some initial overshoot in 1.5kHz and 4.8kHz, which by itself may not sound bad (more like the leading edge of stats and Utopia). The 4.8kHz attack not only has overshoot but a sustained higher amplitude for second and third waves of the ten burst cycle. There is some correlation that this results in treble "nasties", e.g. graininess, sandiness, glare, etc. More data and experience will be needed.