What can/should I get to improve the ad700x
That’s incredibly vague. What are you looking to “improve”?
Just wondering if it can be improved in any way
I am thinking new pads is what you mean??
I mean… this is incredibly vague man you gotta be a little more descriptive here cause we have no idea what your looking for outside of just “improve it” as improving a headphone would be subjective. You could get a new amp and dac, different cabling, different headphone alltogether, change the pads, mod it, etc. If you don’t state what your looking for as far as an improvement we really can’t help you because you haven’t really even stated if you disliked anything about the ad700x whether its sound, or comfort, or cable length, or whatever that case may be.
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I absolutely love these super soft lambskin pads
I’d like to improve the positional audio as I always can’t locate people say behind me or above me
No form of change is going to completely fix that issue with an ad700x you would need a different headphone with a more accurate larger sound stage.with a better 360 degree of sound. The only way to improve this would be through the use of a different pad but this would be very minor in change, Utilizes of a program such as Hesuvi and Dolby Atmos if on pc, or again… change of a headphone. AD700x doesn’t have a very large sound stage it’s decent for what it is but suffers from smaller sound stage and a lack of seperation in sounds.
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I would very much disagree with this, but very much agree with this:
hmm, if you like… feel free to compare that sound stage to say a k702 or a dt990 especially ingaming in terms of sound stage, accurate imaging, proper seperation, and 360 degree field of sound that is accurate
I think they are quite large, and natural sounding. The nearest sounds on K702 sound like they are still 10 feet away, and the most distant sounds are very far away, thus very un-natural sounding. DT990 I don’t remember(I prefer 880 in that family), but returned them after trying. Probably too sharp treble, and less natural sounding, though otherwise decent.
hmm, I find k702 and k712 to be very analytical and natural meanwhile the ad700x and other models have a lot of coloration to their sound. They sound wide and open but they aren’t all too accurate when it comes to a full range 360 degree stage. They lack above, behind, and diagonal. DT series is definitely a brighter headphone. However, in terms of ad700x I would take the ad1000x over those any day of the week but the 58x jubilee for gaming over the ad700x because its just better imo.
Well, of course…? They are overall better sounding. But people choose AD500x/700x/1kx/2kx for their very specific sound presentation, that suits competitive gaming and 3D environments very well. Not as good as Sundara, but 1/5th the price. Also very old compared to Sundara or HD660. Going steps above AD700x, for gaming, I would choose: Vokyl Erupt(best I’ve heard), HD660, LCD-1. Or really, just save a ton of money, and buy IEMs that sound absolutely amazing, like Urbanfun YBF($59) or Moondrop Starfield($109). Headphones can’t compete with IEMs anymore, for SQ.
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hmm, going to say agree to disagree in this case as I don’t feel like arguing but I completely disagree especially on the IEMs being better for competitive gaming. also Sundara is $250 while ad700x is $130 so not sure where you got 1/5
It’s been $499(still is on HiFiMan.com), and today is $349. AD700x today $109.
There’s no way I’d take a budget headphone over a budget IEM these days. It has to be at Vokyl Erupt or Sundara level or above. (And even then, the isolation that IEMs provide is a huge factor)
Your mindset is that of a casual gamer or casual listener. If you were to play competitive you would never want an IEM as it doesn’t provide a proper field of sound despite it sounding subjectively better. Vokyl Erupt is said to sound like crap when it comes to music despite being good for gaming. Sundara blows away most of its competition and can be found on Headphones.com for $250 in an open box form or from other people in mint conditioning. In the terms of competitive gaming you want full range of sound, balanced sound or v signature for the low and high frequency increase, large wide sound signature, seperation of sound, and analytical imaging with a comfort to allow you to wear it for multiple hours. You do not get this from an isolated IEM as much as you would an open back headphone especially with the IEM you listed Moondrop Starfields as I own those and my DT990s put them to shame so hard I would never even remotely consider them as a competitive fps option. If you want to get really technical you can get a DT 1990 for the $300 region and is currently considered one of the best gaming headphones in the market right now. IEM cannot come close to that headphone
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Because I’ve been talking about competitive gaming equipment, in a thread about competitive gaming headphones? ._ .
I will disagree. And let’s look at the absolute trash gear that pros(people who rely on sound to make money) do use:
Many Quake pros use IEMs, if not also PUBG pros like TGLTN & Kaymind. Pretty much all twitch “pro” streamers just use random trash headsets. PUBG pro, AndyPyro, used to use DT770, but switched to IEMs - a rare case of a pro player actually having used decent headphones. (I think the newer HyperX Cloud probably sound better than DT770, admittedly)
I’ve heard the Vokyl, and (I thought) it sounded way better than my Stax L300 for music.
Well, lucky for those few people who can score this rare deal of a used headphone(that’s currently sold out there), I guess!
I have never, ever, ever heard that as the signature desired by gamers who lust after being able to remove the bass and hear footsteps better. That sounds exactly like what you’d want in music headphones/IEMs.
Can’t comment on Starfield vs DT990 sound, but I’d bet money the Starfield has that more balanced, realistic sound you like for gaming, and better comfort & isolation. And like I said, getting to Sundara/Erupt/DT1990 level is where a $500 headphone finally outdoes a $60-100 IEM or earbud.
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Yeah… no.
The way this works during a tournament (lots of noise arround the players), they get a headphone that somewhat seals with white noise and have IEMs underneath that actually play game sound. (How that looks in practice in that case they use Bose NC cans)
The tinniest shittest IEM will do as there is next to nothing below 200Hz.
What?
That is almost the opposite of what you want.
For competetive team gaming, you need clear voice (think air traffic contoller), no bass/rumble, very present midrange.
Comfort is a non-issue. Dead-focused on the game for ~1 hour, then break and restore energy. (Maybe in training you want comfort, but speakers exist, so…)
Narrow helps.
Ask yourself why Razer and the like “tune” their plastic toy-feeling cans the way they do.
Sorry for going way off topic. 
Edit:
To make this very clear, some pictures of (aviation-) headsets and IEMs in use.
True statement, you dont need the greatest of sounds or highest price headphone or IEM for tournaments or competitive. Most “pros” will use a specific brand that they were sponsored by much like clothes and other offers they get so they make more funds. Though nowadays they wear a set of earbuds an aviation and the sponsor deal around their neck. IEMs do work and are more preferred in most cases. In my opinion I just find headphones better outside of the isolation factor that an IEM can provide. Unless your in an extremely loud environment like a tournament or loud house I don’t really find the isolation a requirement and find open sound better in competitive. Again, this is opinionated as I will assume most of us are not “professionals” getting paid to play.
Present midrange is fine as long as it isnt too recessed this is alright and Vokyl is highly regarded despite multiple people claiming this had a V signature to it. I don’t know this headphone myself but I will also agree that a heavy bass or rumble can throw off things like subtle footsteps depending on the surface. I personally find comfort an issue… why would one want to sit with an uncomfortable pair for hours on end? You can be glued as much as you want but that uncomfortable feeling could throw you off
But needless… lets not derail this topic further? this is a discussion to make the ad700x better.