K1000 - Are they REALLY worth 2-3 times the price of K701? - Page 6

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i would try to find a lower serial k1000. if you went though a search there is a few owners that thought the lower serial K1000 sounded better with more bass response while the newer drivers sounded bright. lower serial K1000 usually sell for cheaper too the thread created by superman's ears kinna confirms that.

One thing we MUST consider for the best K1000's companion is this question:
do you whant to listen for many hours you K1000 or just for sone minutes ???

Yes, I think that this special headphones could be not so relaxed, but this depend A LOT by the amp you adopt with them.

My experience with the incredible Air Tight ATM-300 (SE 300B!), helped me to understand this concept. This is an amazing amp, but my ears was not so happy to listen that sound for more than 10-15 minutes (!?). When I came back to the sweetness and relaxed sound of the Cary... I have found a very musical and full sound of my K1000...

I can listen now for many hours without any problems...

I had the same reaction with the K1000s and the First Watt F1 - they were so accurate and so detailed with such a large soundstage that they required my full attention - "sit up and take notice". This is wonderful for an hour or two, but becomes tiring after that.

For that reason, I also have a Red Wine Audio Signature 30 amplifier to pair with the K1000s, for hour after hour of effortless listening - warmer and not as detailed as the F1.

A great combination!

So, you keep both the amps?

Just curious how much does the ATM-300 sell for?

Around 8000 U$ with WE 300B in stock. (A lot of money!) This is the price in Italy... (I don't keep the amp, because not a great match with the K1000...).

I find it interesting how the K1000s were always kind of "those other headphones that need a big amp" while they were in production and could be purchased new for around $400 even...

there were very few people that preached the K1k love... give them the power they need and they will sound like no other...

but these sentiments were ignored for the most part...

AKG discontinued the headphones probably partially at least due to lack of sales...

now all of a sudden their used value has gone from <$400 to over their MSRP of $1000 in less than a year? amazing! for once I made a good investment!

I don't think I did too bad...

The K1000s were the first time i listened to a pair of headphones that really made me go "wow"... its like i opened my eyes for the first time and saw an ocean of colors... everything so detailed, so beautiful, so perfect... I knew I had to have them... thankfully santa (wayne) had two at the time

I spent the last two years of my life building my K1000 amp (my dynamight)... and I am enjoying the combo very much...

and my K1ks still arn't going anywhere dont worry

I use the "mogami gold" interconnects they sell at guitar center... just mogami neglex 2534 and neutrik XLR connectors... its very nice cable... they are like $30~$40 IIRC

I agree somewhat... I drove my K1ks for a while from a T-Amp and it sounded very good! unfortunately my T-amp melted (literally, melted)... still dont know why

not to be nit-picky but its "not equals" so it would be !=

anyhow, I agree, the K1000s under-driven are not so great... which i think is why a lot of people dismissed them on their inital trials... I run my k1000s from a sold state amp and honestly have never heard them sound better...

I agree about using a vintage 1970's Marantz solid state integrated amp or receiver with the K1000's. You can pick one up on eBay for about $100. You'd have to spend at least 5X that to get a significantly better amp new. As a bonus, most Marantz amps from that era have dual speaker outputs, so you could easily hook up speakers and the K1000's to the same amp, switching between them at the push of a button.

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Wondering

There's so much we're learning about this headphone that I've been forced to rethink a few things.

When superman's ears offered his evaluation of six K1ks some time back, his admittedly unscientific evaluation showed a perceived decline in audo quality over the course of its manufacture, inversely correlated to rising serial numbers.

Two other Head-Fi'ers confided that their newer units didn't sound as good as more seasoned ones, and posited that break-in would improve the sound.

Then, a notion I'd privately entertained over the past few days was too tantalizing not to mention. What if (and I know this is like pouring kerosene on burning embers for a few vocal Head-Fi'ers) break-in was responsible for the observations? Varying drivers might at work, as might less than perfect original observations. But might break-in over time prove to be another credible option for discussing the K1000 sound?

Superman -- so glad you've had the time to listen to "all other amps" with the K-1000. I have to admit that I've only heard about 3,769 amps with my K-1000s since purchasing them four or five years ago. I will rest easy now that you've identified the rest of the real bastards out there.

I acknowledge that the old Marantz amps aren't up there with the Pass Aleph/First Watt or Red Wine amps. But I have an old Marantz 2225 receiver that it quite passable with the K1000s. It's not my primary amp for these phones, but it's hardly dull. In fact, I was surprised how good it is. For a hundred bucks, less than one tenth the price of those top notch amps, it's a bargain.

I'm sure the OP will choose the right amp so as not to "bastardize' the potential of his new/used K-1000 !

Yes, I am going to keep both of the amps.