Poor Sound with Sennheiser HD700

[Avitus]

First, some info:

 

New: Seinnheiser HD700

Old: Hyper X Cloud II

Motherboard: Asus x99 Deluxe

Using motherboard I/O for audio

I have not added any effects to audio setups

 

Plugin Method:    Hyper X: 3.5mm > Hyper X USB Dongle > Motherboard

                            HD700: 1/4 > 3.5mm > Motherboard

 

I've recently found myself with a pair of HD700's on my desk to replace my current Hyper X Cloud II Headphones. Judging from online reviews and comparisons, there should be a very noticeable jaw dropping difference between these two and there should be with the $500 price difference.

 

Comparing the two I have been getting really disappointing results that seem wrong. For the test, I've been listening to Movies & Music. Movies have anywhere from 5.1-7.1 and music on Spotify streaming at 320kbps.

 

The HD700 seems really accurate in range but really lacks the umph. Feels like Apple Earpods

The difference was like going to the movie theater and they play that demo that shows a 30 inch TV with built in speaker quality to going full screen with all speakers enabled that says why settle for less.

The HyperX was just richer in all ways

 

I've done some research and know the basics with some general audio terms like Impedance, etc. During that research I found that if the volume seems really low then I'll need an AMP. But in this case I have the volume on both maxed out to 100 and they sound about the same as far as loudness which is more than enough for me. I find myself keeping both headsets at half for day to day use.

 

My brother a desk over has the Astro headset with the mixamp as well as the Turtle Beach Elite Pro. I gave his Turtle Beach headset a test which sounds way better than both of my headsets. So then I got curious and plugged my HD700 into his Astro Mixamp. Results were also disappointing and almost worse. 

(My brother also tested all these setups and ranked them Poor to Great (HD700=HyperX>Astro>Turtle))

 

Where in this am I going wrong? Am I just tripping, or do I need to invest into a AMP or DAC/AMP and if so what would be a good route with a $250 Budget (Can be more if really necessary) . I can't seem to find details on my motherboards sound quality besides people saying "It's good" so I'm not sure if it is enough.

[SSL]

This doesn't surprise me at all. I haven't heard the HD 700 myself, but from what I've seen of impressions and FR graphs, it is bright and has upper-mid suckout that probably contributes to the honky-TV sound that you noted.

[Avitus]

I knew it wasn't the absolute greatest low end, but the low is almost zero in this case. I feel like I'm listening to my Apple Earpods

[SSL]

2 minutes ago, Avitus said:

I knew it wasn't the absolute greatest low end, but the low is almost zero in this case. I feel like I'm listening to my Apple Earpods

 

That doesn't sound right. Are you getting a good seal to your head with the earcups?

[Avitus]

Yeah, they fit and feel better than the all the other headphones mentioned.

[rattacko123]

16 minutes ago, Avitus said:

 

Using motherboard I/O for audio

 

There is your problem. You have $500 headphones but use cheapo motherboard audio  
 

16 minutes ago, Avitus said:

Where in this am I going wrong? Am I just tripping, or do I need to invest into a AMP or DAC/AMP and if so what would be a good route with a $250 Budget (Can be more if really necessary) . I can't seem to find details on my motherboards sound quality besides people saying "It's good" so I'm not sure if it is enough.

Motherboard audio is good, but what it really lacks in is amplification. Still I would recommend upgrading from just "good" audio to great audio by buying a dac. I would at least get an amplifier, Objective 2 minimum, preferably better.

 

EDIT: The fact that the low end is bad points to poor amplification, Sennheisers are known to have high resistance when driving low frequencies which requires a better amplifier

[SSL]

2 minutes ago, Avitus said:

Yeah, they fit and feel better than the all the other headers mentioned

 

Have you tried your hyperx from the 3.5mm output of your motherboard before?

[SSL]

3 minutes ago, rattacko123 said:

There is your problem. You have $500 headphones but use cheapo motherboard audio  
 

Motherboard audio is good, but what it really lacks in is amplification. Still I would recommend upgrading from just "good" audio to great audio by buying a dac. I would at least get an amplifier, Objective 2 minimum, preferably better.

 

EDIT: The fact that the low end is bad points to poor amplification, Sennheisers are known to have high resistance when driving low frequencies which requires a better amplifier

 

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Please desist.

[Shiv78]

Try an amp and or DAC, see if that helps. IDK much about audio gear but IK that HD700s are supposed to sound amazing

[Avitus]

4 minutes ago, rattacko123 said:

There is your problem. You have $500 headphones but use cheapo motherboard audio  
 

Motherboard audio is good, but what it really lacks in is amplification. Still I would recommend upgrading from just "good" audio to great audio by buying a dac. I would at least get an amplifier, Objective 2 minimum, preferably better.

 

EDIT: The fact that the low end is bad points to poor amplification, Sennheisers are known to have high resistance when driving low frequencies which requires a better amplifier

I figured it was poor AMP, but I've seen to many post of people saying the new Motherboards now a days are plenty so I wanted to double check before I ordered something.

[Avitus]

5 minutes ago, SSL said:

 

Have you tried your hyperx from the 3.5mm output of your motherboard before?

I have tried the different combos using the HyperX to straight Motherboard, HD700 to dongle/motherboard, pretty much every combo there could be. Sounds the same. I think the doggle is only for the volume adjustments.

[SSL]

Just now, Avitus said:

I figured it was poor AMP, but I've seen to many post of people saying the new Motherboards now a days are plenty so I wanted to double check before I ordered something.

 

While a motherboard is far from ideal for a headphone like this, it shouldn't make the bass non-existant. That's why I wanted you to try your headset to see if it has the same problem.

 

Some motherboards with cap-coupled output can suffer from bass roll-off, but that is more of a concern with LOW impedance headphones, which the HD 700 is not.

[Avitus]

I tried plugging into another computer with another high end motherboard. Both Straight into it and with the Astro Mixamp. Same Results. I just remembered I have a pair of the Sennheiser HD25 II I plugged those in and those sound better than the HD700. That seems a bit off lol

[rattacko123]

8 minutes ago, SSL said:

 

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Please desist.

Pretty sure that motherboard audio isn't as good (or is very close, but not quite there) as a dac (at least with my experience on my old X99 deluxe)
Yeah I don't know shit about amplification  

I assumed that higher resistance meant better amplification was needed.

[SSL]

1 minute ago, rattacko123 said:

Pretty sure that motherboard audio isn't as good (or is very close, but not quite there) as a dac (at least with my experience on my old X99 deluxe)
Yeah I don't know shit about amplification  

I assumed that higher resistance meant better amplification was needed.

 

While it's true that high impedance headphone like an amp with some voltage swing, there really shouldn't be a major change in the frequency response, like a lack of bass.

 

My concern is that the OP simply doesn't like the headphone and would just be wasting time and money getting an amp for it.

[rattacko123]

6 minutes ago, Avitus said:

I have a pair of the Sennheiser HD25 II I plugged those in and those sound better than the HD700. That seems a bit off lol

Maybe you just really like bass 
Although apple earpods bass on your HD700 does seem a bit off...

[SSL]

5 minutes ago, Avitus said:

I tried plugging into another computer with another high end motherboard. Both Straight into it and with the Astro Mixamp. Same Results. I just remembered I have a pair of the Sennheiser HD25 II I plugged those in and those sound better than the HD700. That seems a bit off lol

 

My guess is that you just like a sound with more bass. From what you've said I haven't seen any indication that the HD 700 is producing less bass than it normally would from a "good" amp. I would return it and look for a closed headphone with good bass response.

[Daniel Z.]

41 minutes ago, Avitus said:

First, some info:

 

New: Seinnheiser HD700

Old: Hyper X Cloud II

Motherboard: Asus x99 Deluxe

Using motherboard I/O for audio

I have not added any effects to audio setups

 

Plugin Method:    Hyper X: 3.5mm > Hyper X USB Dongle > Motherboard

                            HD700: 1/4 > 3.5mm > Motherboard

 

I've recently found myself with a pair of HD700's on my desk to replace my current Hyper X Cloud II Headphones. Judging from online reviews and comparisons, there should be a very noticeable jaw dropping difference between these two and there should be with the $500 price difference.

 

Comparing the two I have been getting really disappointing results that seem wrong. For the test, I've been listening to Movies & Music. Movies have anywhere from 5.1-7.1 and music on Spotify streaming at 320kbps.

 

The HD700 seems really accurate in range but really lacks the umph. Feels like Apple Earpods

The difference was like going to the movie theater and they play that demo that shows a 30 inch TV with built in speaker quality to going full screen with all speakers enabled that says why settle for less.

The HyperX was just richer in all ways

 

I've done some research and know the basics with some general audio terms like Impedance, etc. During that research I found that if the volume seems really low then I'll need an AMP. But in this case I have the volume on both maxed out to 100 and they sound about the same as far as loudness which is more than enough for me. I find myself keeping both headsets at half for day to day use.

 

My brother a desk over has the Astro headset with the mixamp as well as the Turtle Beach Elite Pro. I gave his Turtle Beach headset a test which sounds way better than both of my headsets. So then I got curious and plugged my HD700 into his Astro Mixamp. Results were also disappointing and almost worse. 

(My brother also tested all these setups and ranked them Poor to Great (HD700=HyperX>Astro>Turtle))

 

Where in this am I going wrong? Am I just tripping, or do I need to invest into a AMP or DAC/AMP and if so what would be a good route with a $250 Budget (Can be more if really necessary) . I can't seem to find details on my motherboards sound quality besides people saying "It's good" so I'm not sure if it is enough.

I think that you just like a more bassy sound. I like a slight V shaped because I mostly listen to EDM. I also listen to a lot of alternative rock so it still has to be fairly flat. The HyperX Clouds suit me well because they are fairly flat, with a slight V shape.

[Guest Kloaked]

Just now, Daniel Z. said:

I think that you just like a more bassy sound. I like a slight V shaped because I mostly listen to EDM. I also listen to a lot of alternative rock so it still has to be fairly flat. The HyperX Clouds suit me well because they are fairly flat, with a slight V shape.

Dude could you not quote the OP. It clogs up the thread unnecessarily - I've seen you do this before and it makes scrolling on these threads annoying.

 

Also, you do know the HD700 is a $500-ish headphone, right? And you're going to recommend some cheapo headphone in comparison?

[Daniel Z.]

1 minute ago, Kloaked said:

Dude could you not quote the OP. It clogs up the thread unnecessarily - I've seen you do this before and it makes scrolling on these threads annoying.

 

Also, you do know the HD700 is a $500-ish headphone, right? And you're going to recommend some cheapo headphone in comparison?

Fine, sorry bout that, but it can't be that hard to move one finger lol. I didn't recommend the HyperX for him/her, I just gave an example.

[SSL]

Just now, Daniel Z. said:

Fine, sorry bout that, but it can't be that hard to move one finger lol. I didn't recommend the HyperX for him/her, I just gave an example.

 

It breaks the visual flow and makes the thread hard to follow. Also, the OP already has the HyperX. If you're going to quote the whole OP you could at least read it as well

[Daniel Z.]

2 minutes ago, SSL said:

 

It breaks the visual flow and makes the thread hard to follow. Also, the OP already has the HyperX. If you're going to quote the whole OP you could at least read it as well

I never recommended the clouds, just mentioned them. Also, it really can't be that hard to see a screen. I am typing this on a phone with a 4.5 inch screen. I already knew that he had the clouds

[Avitus]

I like bass but I there's definitely a limit of too much. After trying it to 4 different headphones, it compares to apple earpods. I'm on my way to Frys right now to grab an amp and/or a DAC. Will keep posted in the next couple hours. If it doesn't make a difference then I can always return it. And keep searching for a solution. 

[Guest Kloaked]

1 minute ago, Avitus said:

I like bass but I there's definitely a limit of too much. After trying it to 4 different headphones, it compares to apple earpods. I'm on my way to Frys right now to grab an amp and/or a DAC. Will keep posted in the next couple hours. If it doesn't make a difference then I can always return it. And keep searching for a solution. 

What other headphone have you tried other than the HD700 and overHyperX Cloud?

[Avitus]

Astro A40, Turtle Beach Elite Pro, Seinheiser HD25 II, Bose noise cancelling EarPods, Bose Q35

 

EDIT: The Bose had more bass. So there's something definitely wrong lol