AKG K601 Owners... UNITE!! - Page 20

#13462

I'd like to know is if there have been any significant revisions of this phone made in the last 3 years.

If there haven't been any formal revisions, has the sound of more recent units "evolved" in any way over time ?

VS, my own pair are only 6 months old but I've seen nothing specific to the K601 on Head-Fi that describes a different pair of headphones to the pair I own. My K501, on the other hand, is in no way the 'bass anemic' headphone you will often see in descriptions of those cans. There is a thread here that has photos of the different revisions of the K501, but I've never seen anything like that for the K601.

No. The 601's market life is far from over, there hasn't been a need to change anything.

The foam rings under the ear pads may have been changed. My two and a half year old K601 came with rather dense foam rings, whereas some foam rings I purchased in conjunction with some K701 pads within six months (they are sold as separate parts, but the foam rings are dirt cheap) are not very dense at all. Swapping these change the sound very slightly. Whether these foam rings are a revision that appears in newer K601/K701 models I cannot tell; it's up to people to check themselves.

[edit]Oh, and I seem to recall people talking about versions without the AKG emblem on the headband mechanism. Otherwise I don't think anything major has changed with the K601.

estreeter, in response to your earlier remark about similar frequency responses on the K701 and 601, it's notable that the 601 actually has the more even and balanced frequency response. I'm one of those who tends to "hear" the frequency response--that is, my subjective impressions correlate almost exactly with the measured response, which doesn't seem to be the case with everyone. For instance I found the Beyer DT880 Pro excruciatingly bright, so wasn't surprised when I checked Headroom to see it had a huge peak around 8kh. Now I'm about to take delivery of a used K701, but I see it has a similar response to the Beyer, a peak around the same area, and I'm thinking it's going to be way too bright for me (I currently use an HD650). I haven't checked all of this thread, but I wonder if you or anyone could comment on how much brighter the 701 is than the 601.

K701 is brighter than K601 but it is not excessive at all. On the other hand, DT880/250 2005 is the brightest headphone I've owned, any Grado headphones sound warm next to DT880.

I'm always amazed when I read this. To me the DT880 and the K601 are very close. In fact, for a year or so, the DT880 was my go to headphone for bass. I put it down to my 50 year old ears not being able to hear the high end.

I wanted to like DT880 since it's really comfortable, but the brightness and sibilance are killing my ears. Maybe I'll hear 600ohm version one day.

I'm interested in the 601-701 comparison too...and 501 as well, though I think there was a long thread here comparing the 5,6,and 70X's. You might do a forum search for that. I have had the same experience re: the frequency response graphs. I saw one recently for the mdr-7506, and I was like...wow, that *exactly* what i'm hearing...same with the k240S. People tell me the graphs don't mean much, but they correlate very closely to the way people describe the sound signature of various hps.

I think this is the 3 way comparison thread
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/thr...s-k701-213146/

This is my comparison minus the K701 which I've never owned.
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/k40...-601-a-255524/

The 601 has a higher bass volume and a narrower, less precise staging than the 701. It's also not as bright, though the highs still sound sharp. Going from the 701 to the HD800, I've noticed that the 701 sounds almost congested with regards to lower frequencies, though they offer roughly the same level of detail. Not to crap on the 701s, they have their use when you want to get lost in complex musical arrangements. I've never heard the 501, however from what I've read it seems closer the 601 than the 701.

How does the K601 fare when it comes to speed/PRaT and instrument separation in comparsion to other cans such as HD600/DT880?

I suggest you read my thread about K601 impressions where I talk about the differences between the K601 and the HD600.

After reading through alot of this thread, I noticed there are alot of questions reguarding the amping of the k601s. Maybe it would help if in the OP we had a list of Owners - Serial - Amp. Maybe add a source column in there too.

I, was also wondering if anyone has experience with recabling these and its effect on sound? It's an idea I've been toying with but I can't find much info about in on the forums.