The K701s are here ;)
Feb 7, 2008 at 11:48 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 43
TylerEaves

TylerEaves

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Just got 'em...first impressions...

Ok, first, my setup:

PC -> Chaintech AV-710 SPFID -> Kenwood receiver (yea yea, I know, got a Zero on order).

Other Headphones: Grado SR-80 and SR-225

First bit of serious listening... I queued up one of my 'benchmark' albums, the Doors' 1967 debut. Not only one of my favorite albums, but sonically far and above just about any contemporary recording. Compared to my Grados, which I like a lot.

First thing I noticed, comfort was far and above the Grados. Detail is noticeably better... hihat for instance is more clear. In general seperation is better. Little details , like the reverberation of the snare head struck me. Oh, and unlike the Grados the kick drum is actually audible.

Don't get me wrong, I like the 225s a lot. They do electric guitar and bass very, very, well. Can't wait to hear what these are like after they've broken in, and especially once I get the Zero.
 
Feb 8, 2008 at 12:38 AM Post #3 of 43
Congrats!

How is the bass performance compared to the Grados? Also have you any experience with Senns?
 
Feb 8, 2008 at 12:45 AM Post #4 of 43
No real expirience with Senns (THat'll probably be the next purchase). Bass is...different. I have about 2 hours on these, so I don't want to be too final on this judgement...but, seems like the bass on these is superior. More punch, and seems to extend deeper. At the same time, a bit less lower mids, which are actually a lot of the definition of a Fender-type bass. So, compared to the grados the bass (instrument) is a bit less present, but not tons, but the kick drum is more forward and snappy.
 
Feb 8, 2008 at 1:13 AM Post #5 of 43
Yes. Kick drums sound very solid and present with the K701; cowbells and woodblocks sound great, too. Bass is deep, tight and very well defined w/the K701 as well, w/no midbass hump. The HD650/600 sound tubby and too prominent in the midbass, IMHO, compared to the K701 (mine are RAL re-cabled).
 
Feb 8, 2008 at 1:16 AM Post #6 of 43
Currently putting it through my torture test, Rush's 2112. Passing with flying colors so far. I read some reviews of these that critiqued them for being overly distant and uninvolving. I'm not seeing that at all. That said, I've never expirienced a super high-end rig, such as RS-1/GS-1000, HF650 through a bit-perfect source with a quality amp,
 
Feb 8, 2008 at 1:54 AM Post #7 of 43
The 701s are distant with a weaker amp. The RS-1s are up front and involving out of even an ipod. Get a good amp though, and the 701s are suprisingly detailed and involving. Give them the break in time and you will hear the soundstage become fixed and the bass extend and, dare I say, have a bit of slam. Not as much as the RS-1s but plenty enough to believe.
 
Feb 8, 2008 at 2:28 AM Post #8 of 43
My K701s are amazing with Heed CanAmp, Cambridge 840C as source. At first, it sounded distant, before being broken in. Once it started opening up, the sound really bloomed. Just makes me play CD after CD. I'm going to sell my Heed CanAmp b/c I have no need for it anymore (Leben CS600 will best most of the headphone amps out there)... I'm curious about the Grados, though. Incredibly enough, I've never heard a Grado.
 
Feb 8, 2008 at 8:22 PM Post #9 of 43
Congrats on the purchase.

If your impressions were favorable right out of the box, then you're in for a treat. The K701 only goes up from there for the next several hundred hours. I couldn't listen to mine in the first 50 hours, they actually caused physical pain in my ears. It was like listening to a cat being tortured whenever a signifcant amount of treble energy was called for in music. They began to settle down for me at about the 100 hour mark and now that I'm closing in on 200 hours they're fatigue free and far more relaxed sounding. This without giving up any of their revealing sound or excellent detail retrieval.
 
Feb 8, 2008 at 8:51 PM Post #10 of 43
I think K701s need almost 700 hours to be fully burned in...I'm at around 800 hours and it's a huge change of soundstage + impact + smoothness + detail compared to 200 hours or so... Some said they need more like 1200 hrs for it to be fully burned in - I can see why, it just keeps improving and improving. I just need to improve my source from iAudio X5L 30G FLAC (shudder)
 
Feb 8, 2008 at 9:05 PM Post #11 of 43
I didn't find them painful at all. Listened for about 6 hours more or less straight, with no breaks longer than 5-10 minutes or so, without discomfort. I will say I wasn't listening to anything super-trebley, like brassy classical or electronica. Mostly classic rock, with some solo piano and funk thrown in.
 
Feb 8, 2008 at 9:05 PM Post #12 of 43
I just received my K701s last week, and I was liking what I was hearing even without any burn-in. Connected to my CanAmp the sounded very tight and the soundstage was very nice. The highs were a bit over-bearing on some recordings, but nothing too serioius (is this one of the things the burn-in has affect on?).

The cans are now burning in at my moms place on a basic "hi-fi" set (cos I don't have a radio or any other not-so-power-hungry source - remember, the environment people
smily_headphones1.gif
). We'll see what the differences are after some 100 hours of burn-in... Can't wait
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Feb 8, 2008 at 9:10 PM Post #13 of 43
I'm doing the accelerated burn-in thing to. Listening when I'm home, and at night/during the day I've got a streaming techno station playing, so I should be past the 100 hour mark in the next few days. After that I'll probably just let them settle in naturally.
 
Feb 8, 2008 at 9:46 PM Post #14 of 43
Mine sounded good on day-one, but I was listening to mostly vinyl through a Woo WA6. As I passed 100-hours the main improvement was in bass slam, not particularly extension. The mids and highs seem about the same to me.

Dave
 
Feb 8, 2008 at 10:04 PM Post #15 of 43
Quote:

Originally Posted by dcstep /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Mine sounded good on day-one, but I was listening to mostly vinyl through a Woo WA6. As I passed 100-hours the main improvement was in bass slam, not particularly extension. The mids and highs seem about the same to me.

Dave


This is true... the K701 bass takes a bit of time to "mature", but they still sound great from hour 1. Congrats on the purchase!
 
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