AKG K1000 Discontinuation

The production has already ceased. They still have some inventory, but depending on demand they will run out sometime in the first half of 2006.

Or at least this is what I was told by my friend at AKG USA. He is in a high enough position to know of what he speaks.

I would leave posting about Day Trading of headphones as investments out of this forum.

Unless you want to become a member of the trade and support this forum like many do.

If you don't have the K1000's and are interested in them, by all means, go get a pair, they are worth it.

And they sound best, when they are out of the package and on your head.



-Ed

He didn’t say, but it was my impression that there is no planned Earspeaker replacement. My impression could be wrong. At some point with any product you can no longer sell enough of them at a high enough price to justify continued production.

Since they are expensive and have been around since the early 90’s I would assume that they have just run their course. AKG is marketing the K701’s as their top model. IMHO the K701 is a better ALL AROUND headphone. Please remember that statement is coming from a committed K1000 fan.

As far as my vibration control goes I use Symposium. See here http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...ight=symposium

The fact that the K1000’s lasted as long as they did is a testament to the design and their performance. If you factor in their appearance and their amplifier requirements it’s amazing that they ever even made it into production.

I seriously doubt that AKG is planning a true replacement. They feel that the K701’s are the pinnacle of current headphone technology. Based upon AKG’s history the 701’s are likely to be the top model for years to come.

How can the 701s approach the k1000 on their merits given the radical difference in design?

I have not heard 701s but I am highly skeptical of comparisons.

Well, if you are curious about the overall prices of the AKG K1000, I believe they started out pretty high, like around $1000 USD.

Then they dropped to around $700-800.

There was a really special price where they dropped to $325, but that was due to a pricing/territory mistake.

Then the price settled around $550.

And then they shot up to around $700 up until they were "discontinued".

I, for one hope it's because AKG has plans for a successor, and not simply discontinuing it due to marketing reasons, or lack of demand.

-Ed

I said If you put great emphasis on the characteristics in which the K1000 excel they might then be impossible to beat. If all that you care about in a headphone is dynamics and actually having a soundstage (not as good a soundstage as a so-so speaker system, but much better than any other headphones) then the K1000’s are King.

The K701’s are very good to great everywhere. They have no real weaknesses. They are not better than the K1000’s where dynamics and imaging/sounstage are concerned (nothing is), but they are better Everywhere Else. As I have said many times before; I Love the K1000’s. They remain one of my favorite headphones, but I only use them about 5-10% of the time. On recordings that play into their strong suits they are fantastic. On other recordings I choose to use a better all around headphone.

I was listening to both over the weekend, and for me it's far too soon to make that judgement. I'm a big fan of both. The K-701 is a contender in the mid-priced headphone market. Points of comparison are the obvious ones: HD-650, RS-1, DT-880, SA5000.

However, IMO the K-1000 is simply a higher-level headphone. Points of comparison are the R10, Qualia 010, balanced RS-1, PS-1, even electrostatics such as Omega II (I'd take K-1000 in a heartbeat), Lambda Pro (choice is less clear), HE60, and HE90 (IMO the only electrostatic headphone that is clearly superior to K-1000).

The K-701 has none of the comfort issues of K-1000, and is easier to amp than K1K, but harder to amp than most other conventional headphones, as it's a power hog (stevieo reports that it appears to become more efficient as it burns in).

Yike's writes about the AKG k-701...

"They are not better than the K1000’s where dynamics and imaging/sounstage are concerned (nothing is), but they are better Everywhere Else."

So does that mean the are just exactly as good as the K1000s at representing realistic dynamics and soundstage, or are they not as good at these two vital (to my ears) aspects of sound presentation?

Again, look at the design of the K-1000, and the research and care taken to accomodate human ear anatomy and related aural cues. There is no hint at compromise for marketing, comfort or the "you-look-like-a-fool-wearing-those," factor, let alone the fact that you need to drive them with a real, balanced amp. There was no reliance on conventional high end audio wisdom that you had to market it with chrome and wood and varnish and tubes, and all the male jewelry that usually appeals to those of our ilk. Nope. AKG did something radical, and crazy and it was all for sound.

Put another way, akg K-1000 represents to me about as radical and pure a quest for hi fidelity sound as any audio product I've seen or heard in my fifty plus years of being into this "sport." I have no doubts about the K-701 being a great conventional headphone (I think the K-501 is a great headphone too!) and I have no reason to doubt that in some areas the 701 may actually be superior (I think the K-501 has a "sweeter" midrange than the K-1000) but as far as getting me closer to the actually performance, I don't think there is any transducer on this earth that rivals the K-1000 for being a balls-to-the-wall radical assault by engineers, who knew what they were doing, on the conventions and compromises in other so called high end transducers. For me their quest was succesful, and it is a real shame if they are going out of production, but of course your ears and mileage may differ.