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K1000 - Are they REALLY worth 2-3 times the price of K701? - Page 4

post #46 of 148
12/7/06 at 2:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lmilhan View Post
The K1000s are by far the best set of Dynamic headphones I have ever heard or owned (check my profile for other phones I have owned).
With that said, I would suggest to not even bother with the K1000s unless you are prepared to spend the money on a proper power amplifier as well. I would strongly suggest an amp from Pass Labs, First watt, or Red Wine Audio. So you are basically looking at the cost for the K1000s + about $1,000 to $1,500 for a proper amplifier.
these amps seem to be the "in" amps for the k1ks these days. why no tube amp mentions? given that they are often described as bordering on harsh you'd think tube mellowing would be great pairing with these phones, no?
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post #47 of 148
12/7/06 at 2:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by humanflyz View Post
And you know this how?
Lessloss.
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post #48 of 148
12/7/06 at 2:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yikes View Post
How many K1000 owners don’t own at least one or two other great headphones?
Is the HD650 considered great?

Because on most days I prefer my Grado SR-60 to it

Quote:
Originally Posted by lmilhan View Post
With that said, I would suggest to not even bother with the K1000s unless you are prepared to spend the money on a proper power amplifier as well. I would strongly suggest an amp from Pass Labs, First watt, or Red Wine Audio. So you are basically looking at the cost for the K1000s + about $1,000 to $1,500 for a proper amplifier. If that scares you, then go with the K701s and a nice amp for them. If money isn't an issue, then I would strongly suggest going for a K1000 rig.


Good luck.
Other than the F1 and Sig 30 the Aleph 3 and 30 (sometimes 0) can easily be found for under $1000 if you're in the US and frequent Audiogon.

Quote:
Originally Posted by daveDerek View Post
these amps seem to be the "in" amps for the k1ks these days. why no tube amp mentions? given that they are often described as bordering on harsh you'd think tube mellowing would be great pairing with these phones, no?
Thats being stereotypical for both tube amps and solid state amps (SS is harsh; tubes aren't). The Pass Aleph 3 and 30 both have a really nice midrange and straight out of my Lavry I don't hear any harshness or sibilance. The EAR V20 is touted as being an incredible tube integrated, but at $6000 only a few people have it. The PrimaLuna integrated amps (the EL34 and KT88 variant) are both supposed to be really good and I was close to getting one.
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post #49 of 148
12/7/06 at 2:34pm
Those who think that the K1000 sounds thin or not so good for all the CD collection, are using them without the right partner.

Try the K1000 with the Cary or with some very good class A SET (300B !!!) amp... and ... you will discover all your old CD collection.
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post #50 of 148
12/7/06 at 2:52pm
The K1000s are capable of doing some amazing things, but they are extremely amp sensitive. Without the right amp, they are pretty uninspiring (to me anyway).

So to really answer the "worth" question (which, is, of course, subjective), you need to consider the cost of the entire system. By the time you amp the K1000s properly, you're into a headphone/amp combo of several thousand dollars.

The K701s are kind of amp picky as well, but not nearly to the same degree as the K1000s. You can get great sound out of the K701s with a headphone/amp combo for well under $1,000.

Whether the cost difference is "worth it" depends on your budget and what you're looking for in terms of sonics. Some people (Yikes, for example) will actually prefer the K701s, so it's not as though all of these opinions can be averaged in some way that will make sense to your ears and your budget.

The people who go the K1000 route as their main headphone system tend to be crazy about the sound, and they then find a way to justify the cost. It is a sound that is entrirely unto itself.
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post #51 of 148
12/7/06 at 3:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by J-Pak View Post
Lessloss.
You are awesome beyond words.

Quote:
Originally Posted by robm321 View Post
Originally it was priced at $1,2**.00, so which is a bit more than you can find them used - at least not too long ago.

They still have plenty of replacement speakers since they supply them to Disney.

I seriously doubt anyone will resurrect the earspeaker. And if they do, they will have a tough time designing it to sound "just right" like the K-1000 does. This is a very small market to be doing lots of R&D on.

Since the K-1000 can compete with the multi thousand dollar R10, HE-90, and 02, I'd say it's a bargain. The K701 competes with the Senn 600, 650 IMO, it about the same price as those, no bargain there.
A few months after I joined, they sold for around $350-$500 new from TTVJ..
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post #52 of 148
12/7/06 at 3:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by akwok View Post
A few months after I joined, they sold for around $350-$500 new from TTVJ..
I always figure things out too late.

I was reffering to the list price - I guess the price variation goes for the K701s as they go new for what, $250 or something still

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wmcmanus
The K701s are kind of amp picky as well, but not nearly to the same degree as the K1000s. You can get great sound out of the K701s with a headphone/amp combo for well under $1,000.
I heard them recabled out of a balanced Singlepower Supra mega expensive amp at the last meet and they still didn't sound great to me, so I guess that's the point, the K-1000 can sound amazing to these ears, but the K701 never reaches great - that is my preference though and the OP may find greatness out of the K701 and a budget amp. So, I guess he would have to hear them both properly amplified and decide for himself... but then that's always the case right
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post #53 of 148
12/7/06 at 3:45pm
I would also like to know, which interconnects the people who have a proper amplifier for their K-1000 choose. For the OPs enlightenment, as well as to get a handle on the system into which these headphones are justifiably plugged.
Also, which DAC is optimal for this application in their experience, and so chosen.

Surely, it is the "System' into which a given transducer is interjected which makes for its potential optimal preformance, or can highlight less desiarable charecteristics of a given specific headphone as we all learn.

TIA for the further discourse folks, as it is instructive on many levels for us all!
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post #54 of 148
12/7/06 at 4:50pm
I use $30 Bluejean Cables XLR ICs in my K1000s setup, and everything sounds fine.

As for the cost of building a K1000 setup, it's not that exorbitant in the grand scheme of things, considering some HD650s users have $10k amps like the SDS-XLR and mega-buck sources. You can easily spend more on a HD650 setup than you can on a K1000 setup.

SS =! harsh by default. K1000s sound harsh when they are under-driven, not because of SS amps. If you want tubes, just put in a tube pre-amp/head-amp unit, and you have the best of both worlds. I think in a recent mini-meet, someone used the SDS-XLR as a balanced pre-amp to drive the First Watt F1 driving the K1000s. Now THAT would be an awesome setup.
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post #55 of 148
12/7/06 at 5:13pm
The so-called "need" for an uber-expensive amp for the K1000 is a myth.

A SAC amp (3-4-500 EUR) drives them in an excellent manner (well, it was built for them so this is not a surprise ).

Also, Marantz vintage amps or receivers (from the seventies), and certainly other good (and not necessary expensive, but rather cheap, since one of these vintage amps can be bought now for 1-200 EUR) drive the K1000 very, very well. And this is no surprise either, because the K1000 were originally intended to be connected to one of these speaker amps.

Food for thought...
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post #56 of 148
12/7/06 at 6:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenhorn View Post
A SAC amp (3-4-500 EUR) drives them in an excellent manner (well, it was built for them so this is not a surprise ).
Can you provide a link where it's for sale? I can't find it with google.
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post #57 of 148
12/7/06 at 6:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dead Ghost View Post
Hmm, has anyone used the Heed CanAmp (that Hi-Finthen recommended me for the k701) with K1000, with good results?
I have the Heed and K1000s, and although it drives them, it doesn't do the K1000s justice. I like my Heed, but wouldn't recommend it here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by daveDerek View Post
these amps seem to be the "in" amps for the k1ks these days. why no tube amp mentions? given that they are often described as bordering on harsh you'd think tube mellowing would be great pairing with these phones, no?
I just picked up the new SinglePower Extreme (a tube amp) after listening to it at the recent FL meet. Another K1000 owner just bought it as well. It was a beautiful combo, but now I'm worried about my source...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wmcmanus View Post
The K1000s are capable of doing some amazing things, but they are extremely amp sensitive. Without the right amp, they are pretty uninspiring (to me anyway).

So to really answer the "worth" question (which, is, of course, subjective), you need to consider the cost of the entire system. By the time you amp the K1000s properly, you're into a headphone/amp combo of several thousand dollars.
Yep. K1000s with Heed = just okay, but uninspiring.

Re cost: My investment is junior league, but so far, with the K1000s, amp and upgrades, I'm in $2700. That doesn't include the cost of my source, which I know will also need an upgrade, and then there's more tubes to consider and recabling the K1000s and.....

Is it worth it? I think so.
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post #58 of 148
12/7/06 at 6:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dead Ghost View Post
Can you provide a link where it's for sale? I can't find it with google.
I don't think you can find them new anymore, but here's a link to an older FS thread, with pics and some info on that amp: http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...&highlight=sac
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post #59 of 148
12/7/06 at 6:33pm
"K1000 - Are they REALLY worth 2-3 times the price of K701?"

Yes!


- augustwest
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post #60 of 148
12/7/06 at 6:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yikes View Post
How many K1000 owners don’t own at least one or two other great headphones?
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Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › K1000 - Are they REALLY worth 2-3 times the price of K701?