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AKG K-701's. The best all rounder.

post #1 of 61
2/15/08 at 12:49am
Thread Starter 
'Lo All.

It's been a while since I've been opinionated on Head-Fi.

Just received my new K-701's.

I dunno. Nothing really stands out about it. It's not as smooth or soothing as the HD-650, PS-1's are simply better for rock music period and the K-1000's certainly has more fidelity though lacking bass.

But... If you're like me and simply cannnnnnot be assed switching back and forth - try out the K-701's.

There are certainly no disappointments here.
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post #2 of 61
2/15/08 at 1:25am
That's been my reaction as well, after having mine about a week. They don't jump out at you as going any one thing really astoundingly well. They just do everything RIGHT.
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post #3 of 61
2/15/08 at 1:54am
Mine really took burn-in period to another level. I have around 800 hrs on mine and sound fantastic afterwards.
Mine sounds amazing on Classical music, as well as Jazz and blues
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post #4 of 61
2/15/08 at 1:58am
I love mine too, but I'm discovering quickly how picky these things are when it comes to amps (I'm already on my third!).
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post #5 of 61
2/15/08 at 2:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigjppop View Post
I love mine too, but I'm discovering quickly how picky these things are when it comes to amps (I'm already on my third!).
I agree, I tried Arietta, and didn't like it.
I tried uAMP (don't laugh) and didn't like it
I tried MOVE and didn't like it,
I finally tried BADA PH-12 and my K701 likes it a LOT

I would like to try Canamp and Darkvoice sometime
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post #6 of 61
2/15/08 at 2:14am
I've tried the X-can v3; its nice but not tubey enough for me.

I've tried the WA3+ and its got a glorious tube sound, but it just doesn't have to umph to grab hold of the base on the 701's.

Now I have a WA6 in the mail to see if this little baby might just have my number.

Gotta love head-fi!
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post #7 of 61
2/15/08 at 2:17am
of the headphones i own or have owned, i think the K701 is certainly up there for best all arounder.
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post #8 of 61
2/15/08 at 2:18am
If only it's ear pads were softer and there was more bass impact.... I'd have them back in my corral
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post #9 of 61
2/15/08 at 2:24am
if nothing sticks out as bad then that's a good thing...

but there are those who like colourful sounding things
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post #10 of 61
2/15/08 at 3:45am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by M3NTAL View Post
If only it's ear pads were softer and there was more bass impact.... I'd have them back in my corral
Yea - been listening for about 5 hous now. Not very comfortable for long periods.

Any fix to this?

Side note: Straight out of DAC1 is very good for them. Crystal clear music.
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post #11 of 61
2/15/08 at 3:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by KrooLism View Post
Yea - been listening for about 5 hous now. Not very comfortable for long periods.

Any fix to this?

Side note: Straight out of DAC1 is very good for them. Crystal clear music.
Just keep listening ear pads soften up.
Also I tend to wear them little bit lower (so that my ear canal is located little above the center of the headphone) and tiny bit to the front.
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post #12 of 61
2/15/08 at 10:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rednamalas1 View Post
I agree, I tried Arietta, and didn't like it.
I tried uAMP (don't laugh) and didn't like it
I tried MOVE and didn't like it,
I finally tried BADA PH-12 and my K701 likes it a LOT

I would like to try Canamp and Darkvoice sometime
Tried Gilmore [too etched and sterile], MPX3 (non-SLAMM) [not enough juice], Darkvoice 336i and Bada PH-12. Preferred and kept the Bada PH-12, although the 336i paired well w/the K701, too. (The DV seemed to impart a little more life and impact, but fell behind the Bada in terms of detail, extension, bass definition, spaciousness and overall likability.)

With the RAL re-cable ("Paradise Cryo-Silver Reference"/5 nines, solid core, cryogenically treated silver), the K701 were brought to another, almost transcendent level in every respect. They are my bona fide, "go-to" reference cans. Invariably, after listening to another set of headphones, I don the K701 and realize just how MUCH was missing before. : )

Thank you, AKG; and thank you, Brad Vojtec at RAL! : )
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post #13 of 61
2/15/08 at 1:21pm
Not sure how many folks on this thread have had their "stock" K701s recabled. I was always skeptical about doing this but since I was planning to go balanced anyway, I decided to order K701s with a (Cardas) Fat Pipe balanced cable from HeadRoom. The improvement is not insignificant... and even more amazingly is apparent even after only 10 hours break in. I happen to have a stock K701 to compare, so I'm convinced the improvement is real.

My feeling is that you probably have not heard what the K701s are really capable of until they are re-cabled. Now, there are those who might argue that the K701s were designed and intended to be used only with the stock cable but frankly I find that hard to fathom, unless you argue that the AKG engineers had a specific "sound" in mind -- which of course would change to some degree after recabling. I don't know if anyone has done a sound spectrum analysis comparing "stock" with recable K701s, but I suspect you might see some differences. But other improvements that I hear such as better soundstaging and retrieval of low-level detail still may not show up.
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post #14 of 61
2/15/08 at 2:34pm
I really liked mine. They only went because the K-1000 did it for me better, but I really did like the accurate "clean" sound that they gave me.
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post #15 of 61
2/15/08 at 4:30pm
Right now, I'm a/b-ing the RAL/K701 and the (stock) K501. In all fairness, the K501 should have the equivalent re-cable, but I don't have the expendable income at the moment. Wish I had a stock set of K701 for a "stock-to-stock" a/b. : )
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