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.
- Great audio reproduction.
- Sturdy and comfortable design.
- Sensitive to ambient noise, by design.
- 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.
Changelog
- 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.
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Popular Headphones Comparisons
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.
Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.
You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
Test Results
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