Burn-Burn-Burn!!!!! [VERBOSE ALERT!]
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Originally Posted by atx
I finally got my AKG K501. My initial impressions...
The K501 sounds better with the Portaphile2 than with the SR71. With the sr71, the sound is thinner and colder. To my surprise, the awesome guttural bass that the sr71 brings to my HD580 (the one that the portaphile is lacking) isn't there. The portaphile2 is pretty evenly matched in the bass department, and beats the sr71 everywhere else except for imaging.
I'm also surprised that the 3D sound is *completely* missing with the K501.  After listening for a few minutes and switching back to my HD580, "Ahh!" there it is. It seems that there's a special magic between the portaphile2 and the Sennheiser HD580/600. I can't say about the 650 since they have different drivers.
Well, time to break these 501s in and see how it evolves. I also got my DT880s today but never got a chance to compare. |
I guess all my long repeated burn-in notes get to be a boring invisible blur after a while -- but here they are again.
But first -- you're right about PV2 and Senns. I put more than 300 hours on a new pair of 650s and listened thru several small amps via an Overture DAC (this marvelous little DAC makes every amp sounds its best) -- SR-71, PV2, VHP-1, A.N.T. Amber, Ascent, DAC1 -- and PV2 seems to have the best synergy (in most cases) with the 650s ... the cleanest and most dynamic. The soundstage width is a little wider with SR-71, Amber and DAC1, but PV2 gives the most dimensional, "live" overall fill and presence. [oops... I contradict this below! These impressions seem vary with different recordings...]
My 501s have great spatial depth and dimension and bass punch with PV2 -- but 650 definitely has a bigger more theatrical soundspace (tho' less accurate). On some great orchestral recordings, the SR-71 has more bass extension -- but it's not so apparent with all recordings. (See more caveats below!)
The 501s are actually more demanding than the 650s and need about 1-1/2 points more volume (if volume is set at 11:00 for 650, 501 needs 12:00-12:30).
PV2 with 501s often has smoother, sweeter highs than SR-71, which is more extended and with some recordings can be somewhat "tizzying" at the top through 501s -- and 501s highs are cleaner and clearer than 650s. On some recordings, tho', the SR-71 has a more beautiful silken character and always has more air and space around performers and beautiful timbral presentation -- with both phones. I feel, tho', that the warm, bloomy bottom of 650 masks a lot of texture, detail and sparkle of the upper ranges.
(BTW - All this is in the context of ownership of PV2 with 501s and Senns. Had I the funds I would have bought an SR-71 long ago, feeling it is to my ears the simply best portable available -- and bests some small home amps.)
PV2 brings out more dimension from the 501s than the SR-71, as well as more bass punch and dynamics. While I'm writing this I'm listening to Leonard Bernstein's "Candide" (with June Anderson) which has a spectacular theatrical soundspace -- great depth, dimension and space around instruments and voices.
A SURPRISING DISCOVERY: Listening to "Candide" -- "Glitter and Be Gay" which is a breathtaking virtuoso soprano piece (with June Anderson).
With this spacious recording the SR-71 creates a more real, dimensional space with the 650 than with the 501, which sounds thinner and flatter. With this recording, the PV2 creates a bigger, airier, more realistic "see-into" space and pinpoint positioning with the 501s but a muddy, upper-bass-overwhelmed space with the 650s![ With both amps the 501s are more extended with more sparkle and texture than the 650s. With PV2 and 501, June Anderson's stratospheric finale is breathtaking and crystal-clear. With either amp and 650, her notes have a ringing character and slight fringed artifacts and she's overwhelmed by the string basses and horns. The 501s balance orchestra and voices nicely. Each amp has strengths and weakness with the different recordings (as do the phones).
HERE'S THE BORING, REPETITIVE BUT IMPORTANT REMINDER:
The 501s need HUGE amounts of burn in with lots of very bassy music or, as I did, several 24/7 days of bass/superwoofer/20Hz-20kHz test files -- to loosen up their very tight drivers and develop the big beautiful sound they're capable of. They will start to sound better in a few days, but don't let up. Even 200 hours is sort of the bare minimum, and they'll continue to mature after that. Mine followed a typically wacky burn-in pattern with some setbacks, but they've now got very balanced if not subterranean bass. I don't usually miss the extreme depths unless I listen side-by-side with 650s or SA5000s, which obviously have a lot more bass. I like SA5000's bass because it's deep but tight and energetic, whereas I often find the 650's bass too plush or "bloomy" and I often feel that the bass/upper bass of the 650s overwhelms the entire spectrum from the mids up.
Until the 501s are completely matured, they may have a very wide but shallow soundstage.
The 650s seem to have a bigger, lusher theatrical (or movie-theater) type sound ... concert hall doesn't seem quite like the right description, but more like a slightly overdone version of the amplified and lush Broadway theater sound. With the 501s and PV2 I hear excellent separation and accurate placement of performers in space, but the space isn't as gradiose as the 650s -- which is sometimes delicious but sometimes muddy and disturbing. Sometimes I enjoy the lush, seductive warmth of the 650s, but for long term listening I still find the 501s more "natural" and balanced, and ultimately the most comfortable to my ears. I don't know of one can for all purposes.
While the PV2 provides the most dynamic, energetic and often most "live" sound, the SR-71 does create the most air and finest nuances that I keep referring to as the "Ahhh" factor. Everytime I switch to the SR-71 I get the feeling of "Ahhhh" with the wonderfully open air it provides, as well as a tiny bit more bass depth, top end extension and lucidity, and timbral "rightness". Yet some music needs the PV2 for energy, punch and involvement - and PV2 sometimes creates more of a clear 3D illusion. The DAC1's amp has an even "blacker", wider, deeper signature than SR-71, but sometimes has a near-void in the middle of the soundstage, and I've experienced some recordings sounding synthetic via the DAC1's amp where the PV2 sounded real and live and full throughout the entire soundspace (these experiences were repeated with the all the phones I used).
The last word (for now): Having attended many Broadway musicals, concerts at Avery Fisher Hall and Carnegie Hall, many jazz club dates ... and lots of rock concerts but not recently, I feel that the PV2 and K501 combo creates a more accurate, "live" soundspace illusion though missing some of the warm lush bass energy and sweep that's present in live venues, while the PV2 and 650 creates a big soundspace with very lush bass which is bigger and more overwhelming than live venues, as well as less focused in space and which tends to overwhelm and spoil much of the mid-to-upper octaves on some recordings (...and on some recordings it's rich and satisfying!). I want a set of phones that combines both -- in balance. Bozebuttons (owning lots of uber-gear) notes that he heard PS-1 thru Melos and was blown away by its beauty. PS-1 can also be bass-overblown, so if it's been tamed, I have to hear what he heard.
ATX - if you want a brilliant recording with great 3D illusion, huge soundspace, deep and sweeping orchestral passages, remarkable voices, great performances all around -- well directed by Bernstein and beautifully engineered -- get "Candide" -- Deutsche Grammophon 429 734-2 (2 Redbook CDs).
[Sorry I haven't yet learned to be more concise! It started short, but since I wanted to listen first to be accurate, more impressions keep popping in.]
I look forward to reading your posts on your 501s' development.
{we definitely need a bunch of new phone smilies!}
I thought the sr71 would easily take the cake here.
Lets see how the break-in evolves.
Maybe the low freq test tones helped the amp too.
