AKG K701 vs. Audio Technica ATH-W5000 vs. Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 Pro vs. Vienna Acoustic Beethoven Baby Grands

[tk3]

I haven't heard the DT880, but I have the DT990, and I think the W5000 has much better bass than that headphone.
The DT990 definitely has more slam/impact, no doubt about that, but at the same time something is lacking, it feels like it has no substance or something.
It's hard to explain, since you might think those two are very similar.

The W5000 has much more well defined bass, you can actually "hear" the bass notes hit, while comparatively with the DT990, it's like an uncontrolled mass.
And the way the vocals are represented on these two headphones is very, very different.
While the DT990 focuses more on the bass and the vocals take a back-seat, the vocals seems to be the centerpiece of the W5000, which has my preference many times over.
Sibilance is also much more of a problem with the DT990, while the W5000 are very easy in this area.

In comfort the DT990's beat out the W5000 for me though, the Beyer's pads are much more comfortable and the rim of the pads don't cut into your ears like the W5000's does.
Sometimes my ears ache on the W5000 also, because the ears touch the hard material of the driver encasement.

Just some thoughts about these 2 phones.

[number1sixerfan]

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT

Granted they are not bass monsters, but if someone gets from them less bass then from K701, then there is definitely something wrong. They have more bass than DT880, which are bassier than K701.

X2

The W5000 definitely had more bass and more bass impact than the k701. I compared the k701 to the SA5000 as well and the Sonys had more bass and bass impact than the k701, and the W5000 are a slight step up from the Sony's in that regard. Keep in mind that these differences are not that great either, as these are all rather light in the bass region compared to most other cans.

[dgbiker1]

This review would have been PERFECT if the speakers were Zu Druids. They're at the top of my list and I'd love to know how they sound in reference to some equipment I know well (K701, Triple.fi).

Good review though, AT was once on my list of HPs to buy, but with every review I read they seem less and less like what I'm looking for. More money for the Druids

[dcstep]

It's interesting to note the disagreement about the 701 bass vs. the W5000. With both of these you need to make sure you're listening to well broken in cans. The main thing that my 701s gained after 100-hours was bass while the main thing the W5000 gained was smoother highs and less glare, not really improving in the bass.

My W5000s were used, so I assumed that they were broken in, but that proved untrue. So, you have to be careful listening to both of these. Their characters really change over time.

OTOH, the UE Triple.fis were winners right out the box. They still have under 20-hours on them. If they improve they'll be incredible. They were a real joy to listen to last night while waiting for someone at the airport. Even when driven by the iPhone their accuracy rivals really fine speakers.

Dave

[vcoheda]

Originally Posted by dcstep

It's interesting to note the disagreement about the 701 bass vs. the W5000.

in the end it doesn't matter, as neither are great in that area anyway - that is, bass should not be one's primary concern if considering either the K701 or W5000.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by vcoheda

in the end it doesn't matter, as neither are great in that area anyway - that is, bass should not be one's primary concern if considering either the K701 or W5000.

Accurate bass is very important to me. I think that all the cans delivered very good and accurate bass, with lots of harmonic detail. Anything more out of the AKGs and UEs would have been bloated and overblown.

I love string bass and female duets and I've several stellar recordings that really show ALL the character of the bass. I also like pipe organ, particularly pipe organ with band or orchestra. The Reference Recordings of the Dallas Wind Symphony and the organ at Dallas' Meyerson Hall, which I've heard live with the DWS and DSO, is incredibly accurate. All three of these cans do a great job with this material, giving a great representation of instruments and spaces I've actually heard live.

Some "bass heads" wouldn't know accurate bass it hit them in the @ss. None of these distort the bass by artificially pumping it up; however, if it's in the recording they all produce it.

As I said in the review, bass and midrange accuracy are two of my primary priorities.

Dave

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by vcoheda

the bass on the W5000 is sub par, no matter how they are fitted.

I thought that the bass quality was very good, but the level and impact was down from all the other rigs compared.

Dave

[dcstep]

I was surprised that the 701s didn't reveal overtones as clearly as any of the other drivers compared here. The sound is really good and until I started making direct comparisons I hadn't noticed this fault. My speakers didn't really reveal as much harmonic detail until I went to a great speaker cable. Does recabling the 701s open them up to reveal more harmonic detail?

What improvements, if any, does recabling the 701s reveal?

Dave

[vcoheda]

Originally Posted by dcstep

What improvements, if any, does recabling the 701s reveal?

touchy subject.

i recable everything and think that better cables result in subtle yet worthwhile benefits across the sonic spectrum; but cables are not cheap and now tend to think that recabling for single ended purposes alone may not be the best investment.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by vcoheda

touchy subject.

i recable everything and think that better cables result in subtle yet worthwhile benefits across the sonic spectrum; but cables are not cheap and now tend to think that recabling for single ended purposes alone may not be the best investment.

I don't have noise problems with my single-ended system, so I have no desire to convert to balanced. Why would balanced vs. single-ended have any impact on cable effectiveness???

I can hear the differences in ICs and speaker cables in my system, so I'm thinking that the K701s could be much more revealing with the right cable. Hopefully I can hear some recabled 701s at a meet.

Dave

[vcoheda]

Originally Posted by dcstep

I don't have noise problems with my single-ended system, so I have no desire to convert to balanced. Why would balanced vs. single-ended have any impact on cable effectiveness???

not what i meant. stock cables are SE. a recabling job for a good number of headphones will be as much or more than the headphone itself (assuming you can't diy). a big expenditure to go from SE to SE where improvements like cables are not going to be huge. but if you use a balanced system, you need a balanced cable as well, thus giving you a legitimate and necessary reason other than sonic improvements for the recabling. however, i would add that if you are using a top end system involving a SE amp, then recabling to add that last bit to the equation makes sense, but this generally is not the norm.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by vcoheda

... however, i would add that if you are using a top end system involving a SE amp, then recabling to add that last bit to the equation makes sense, but this generally is not the norm.

This is what I'm doing. I haven't tried it with cans yet, but I've found that quality ICs and cables make a big difference in my SE system.

Dave

[vcoheda]

then i would do it. just have to figure out which cable.

[Audio-Omega]

I suspected triple.fi was good but didn't know it could be rated above K701 and W5000. Did the amp make much difference to the sound of the triple.fi ?

[sxr71]

Originally Posted by dgbiker1

This review would have been PERFECT if the speakers were Zu Druids. They're at the top of my list and I'd love to know how they sound in reference to some equipment I know well (K701, Triple.fi).

Good review though, AT was once on my list of HPs to buy, but with every review I read they seem less and less like what I'm looking for. More money for the Druids

Honestly, it wouldn't have made a difference. A good speaker rig, in fact even a mediocre speaker rig sounds more realistic than any headphone could. When you go to a musical performance it is in real space and no headphone can touch that. However, headphones have their place in the audio world, they can be extremely enjoyable and you often will hear detail that even the best speaker systems cannot reproduce in the average room.

He could have had any speaker and it would have won. A speaker - headphone comparison is like comparing two different kinds of fruit.