The HD 700 are well-made critical listening headphones with a comfortable fit and a durable design. They have an excellent audio reproduction and create a spacious soundstage, which makes them one the better options for critical listening. However, they may sound sharp and piercing on certain tracks and are not really practical for any other use case. They're not designed for outdoor use, and they leak quite a bit which may be distracting to the people around you.
Our Verdict
The HD 700 are critical listening headphones, not suitable for other use cases except maybe home theater. They deliver an excellent sound but have poor isolation and a slightly bulky and leaky design that's best used at home and in isolation.
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Great audio reproduction.
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Sturdy and comfortable design.
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Sensitive to ambient noise, by design.
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Leaks a lot of sound, by design.
The HD 700 are made for neutral listening. Their sound quality is excellent and they have a comfortable design you can wear for hours. They have an almost neutral frequency response and create a spacious soundstage, although the slight bum in the mid-range does make them slightly muddy on some tracks.
Not designed for commuting. The open-back ear cups do not block any ambient noise. They're also not very portable which will be an issue when commuting.
Not meant for sports. They're bulky, unstable and require an amp, so they're not suitable for sports or to use outdoors.
These headphones are not meant for office use. Unless you work in an isolated environment.
- 5.2 Mixed Usage
- 7.9 Neutral Sound
- 4.0 Commute/Travel
- 5.3 Sports/Fitness
- 4.8 Office
- 4.7 Wireless Gaming
- 6.7 Wired Gaming
- 1.7 Phone Calls
- Updated Feb 20, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Sep 26, 2017: Review published.
- Updated Sep 24, 2017: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Sep 24, 2017: Early access published.
- Updated Sep 22, 2017: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Aug 02, 2017: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Compared To Other Headphones
See our recommendations for the best audiophile headphones, the best wired headphones, and the best over-ear headphones.
The Sennheiser HD 700 are slightly better critical listening headphones than the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO. They are noticeably more comfortable, especially since they don’t clamp as hard as the Beyerdynamic. While both are open-back headphones, the Sennheiser are more open-sounding. However, they do lack a bit of sub-bass, which is normal for open-backs. However, the Beyerdynamic have a more accurate bass, even if they are also open-back. The Beyerdynamic also feel sturdier than the Sennheiser, and they also come with a coiled cable, which is nice.
Test Results
The HD 700 look somewhat similar to the HD 800 S, but with a more compact and convenient form factor. The ear cups share the same open design, but they're much smaller and fit a little better around most listeners' ears. They also feel just as premium thanks to the microfiber padding on the ear cups and the attention to detail given to the headband. They won't be the most fashion-forward headphones, and with their open-back design they aren't supposed to be used outdoors but their simple, premium feel, will satisfy most casual and critical listeners.
The Sennheiser HD 700 are very comfortable headphones. They have a large and spacious ear cups coated in a soft microfiber padding that feels nice on the skin. They're fairly lightweight for their size and don't exert a lot of pressure around your ears. Moreover, unlike the HD 800 S, the ear cups are not as bulky and do not extend all the way down to your jawline so you can wear them for hours and not feel any fatigue.
The HD 700 are not portable headphones. They do not fold into a more compact format, and the ear cups do not lay flat either. They're on the bulky-side of most over-ear headphones and will be a hassle to carry on you without a bag. They do come with their original box that you can use as a case, but it adds so much bulk that it's not practical to carry them in the box in most cases.
The HD 700 are not as well-built as the HD 800s but they still feel like sturdy, durable and well-made, high-end headphones. The headband is large and reinforced with a metal frame that gives it a bit more durability and flexibility. The ear cups are also decently dense and made of quality materials that won't easily break if you drop them once or twice. However, the hinges are somewhat similar to the HD 600 and HD 650 which is a bit thin and could be the main weak point of the HD 700's build quality.
The HD 700 are not stable enough for any kind of physical activities. They're able to maintain a stable fit under normal and casual conditions. However, if you use them while running or doing anything strenuous they will easily slip off your ears. They're not designed for sports and should not be used for that use case.
Excellent consistency. The Bass Range of our Over-Ear and On-Ear headphones are measured on 5 different human subjects, 5 times each. The HD 700 shows a consistent response in the mid-range but a bit of variation with their bass. However, since they're open-back, the design allows them to rely less on an air-tight seal to create their low-end. The Treble Range also shows good consistency, but depending on the positioning, there could be up to 3dB of variance at 3KHz.
Very good Bass Range performance. Low-bass, is a bit lacking and the high-bass is slightly overemphasized by an average of 4dB. This makes the sound of these headphones noticeably boomy and lacking a little low-end thump and rumble.
Very good Mid Range performance. Mid and high-mid are reproduced nearly perfectly but the bump in low-mid, which is the continuation of the high-bass overemphasis, will make the Mid Range slightly muddy.
Great Treble Range performance. Low-treble is reproduced consistently and is within 1dB of our target. However, the sharp peak around 6.5KHz could make treble sound piercing and sharp on certain track.
Weak Noise Isolation. These are open-back headphones and not meant to isolate, so they barely achieve any reduction up to 2KHz. Above that, they only achieve about 10dB of isolation, which is also poor.
Poor Leakage performance. The HD 700 have a very open design so they have a high amount of leakage. Most of it begins at 400Hz all the way to 20KHz which is a broad range. The overall level of the leakage is also very loud which will be distracting to those around you.
No compatible apps.
Negligible latency, wired connection
