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Okay..well this is my first review..if you may call it so..hence any,,amatuerish mistakes be forgiven..here we go..
So i saved some money(i'm always short of it) for the Vsonic gr02 be..after...
Gotta say I'm really enjoying my new K701's. Probably reaching the hundred hour mark on these now and the treble has smoothed out nicely. I was, for a short while using an equalizer to calm it down at 10khz but now no need. They have such a well balanced sound from top to bottom, with a nice bit of warmth. My LCD2's aren't getting much head time at all I love the LCD2's for Jazz but the K701's seem to be able to do all music well. My old K702's used to be really picky with recordings I remember. Older classical used to be very harsh. The added warmth and body to the K701's makes even bad recordings sound, well not too bad anymore. Happy days:)
Gotta say I'm really enjoying my new K701's. Probably reaching the hundred hour mark on these now and the treble has smoothed out nicely. I was, for a short while using an equalizer to calm it down at 10khz but now no need. They have such a well balanced sound from top to bottom, with a nice bit of warmth. My LCD2's aren't getting much head time at all I love the LCD2's for Jazz but the K701's seem to be able to do all music well. My old K702's used to be really picky with recordings I remember. Older classical used to be very harsh. The added warmth and body to the K701's makes even bad recordings sound, well not too bad anymore. Happy days:)
Lug, your comments on K701 exactly relate to my impressions of the DT880, even to originally using an equaliser (tone controls in my case) to calm the treble down--but not now--and once having a K702 which I found harsh. I even had an LCD-2. Wow, we must be long-lost twins.
I find the DT880 well balanced too. But what impresses me about it most is its basic honesty and lack of colouration. You make me curious about the K701, but memories of the 702 leave me confused. Has AKG made major revisions to this phone? If you had the Annniversary edition or Q701 I could understand it but...what gives?
Gotta say I'm really enjoying my new K701's. Probably reaching the hundred hour mark on these now and the treble has smoothed out nicely. I was, for a short while using an equalizer to calm it down at 10khz but now no need. They have such a well balanced sound from top to bottom, with a nice bit of warmth. My LCD2's aren't getting much head time at all I love the LCD2's for Jazz but the K701's seem to be able to do all music well. My old K702's used to be really picky with recordings I remember. Older classical used to be very harsh. The added warmth and body to the K701's makes even bad recordings sound, well not too bad anymore. Happy days:)
Nice impressions! That is exactly how I felt about the K 701.
Out of the box treble: :'(
200+ hours pink noise break-in treble (I didn't put them on my head during this time, so the fit of the earpads wouldn't be a factor): (:
My video review of the K 701. I kind of left some stuff out/forgot to mention some things.......this is why I like written reviews, I can edit things in any time I want. I'll probably write the K 701 Head-Fi review soon when I get the chance.
The shiny part of the plastic isn't exactly the most grippy things on the headphone, and my hands are small (they barely wrap around the K 701's drivers). >_<
So, the 701 guys say the 702s sound harsh now, what in the wide world is going on?
Out of the box, the K 701's treble was hard to listen to for me; lots of sibilance, really bright, cymbals and snare drum hits sounded quite harsh, and just sounded plain bad to be frank. I was on the verge of returning them because I couldn't stand them and was really hoping I could like them. I gave them 200+ hours of pink noise without having them on my head and the treble really calmed down, being much more listenable now.
The Q 701, similar to the newer K 701's has more warmth in the midrange compared to the K 702 and the older K 701, and has a little more treble energy from what I can remember.
Nice impressions! That is exactly how I felt about the K 701.
Out of the box treble: :'(
200+ hours pink noise break-in treble (I didn't put them on my head during this time, so the fit of the earpads wouldn't be a factor): (:
My video review of the K 701. I kind of left some stuff out/forgot to mention some things.......this is why I like written reviews, I can edit things in any time I want. I'll probably write the K 701 Head-Fi review soon when I get the chance.
Nice video man, but boy oh boy are you wrong by saying that its a misconception that K701's need a lot of power. They do. What you show in your video is not loud. I'll make a video of what is loud with K701 when I go home and get my camera. I can hear them in the next room with both doors closed when powered by a proper amp.
People don't realize how loud these headphones can go without distortion.
But just getting high enough volume with them is not the point. Literally, they sound like crap when plugged into an Iphone compared to how they sound even plugged into the Asus Xonar ST. The dynamics, clarity, punch, soundstage, detail...all goes up in quality drastically, they're not even the same headphones, its a night and day difference literally, without even a little bit of exaggeration. You're really missing out if you're not powering them properly, and Iphone or O2 definitely can't do it in my opinion and experience.
Nice video man, but boy oh boy are you wrong by saying that its a misconception that K701's need a lot of power. They do. What you show in your video is not loud. I'll make a video of what is loud with K701 when I go home and get my camera. I can hear them in the next room with both doors closed when powered by a proper amp.
People don't realize how loud these headphones can go without distortion.
But just getting high enough volume with them is not the point. Literally, they sound like crap when plugged into an Iphone compared to how they sound even plugged into the Asus Xonar ST. The dynamics, clarity, punch, soundstage, detail...all goes up in quality drastically, they're not even the same headphones, its a night and day difference literally, without even a little bit of exaggeration. You're really missing out if you're not powering them properly, and Iphone or O2 definitely can't do it in my opinion and experience.
I own the 702s and yes, they definitely need amping to run properly and sound decent in my opinion.
Nice impressions! That is exactly how I felt about the K 701.
Out of the box treble: :'(
200+ hours pink noise break-in treble (I didn't put them on my head during this time, so the fit of the earpads wouldn't be a factor): (:
My video review of the K 701. I kind of left some stuff out/forgot to mention some things.......this is why I like written reviews, I can edit things in any time I want. I'll probably write the K 701 Head-Fi review soon when I get the chance.
Nice video man, but boy oh boy are you wrong by saying that its a misconception that K701's need a lot of power. They do. What you show in your video is not loud. I'll make a video of what is loud with K701 when I go home and get my camera. I can hear them in the next room with both doors closed when powered by a proper amp.
People don't realize how loud these headphones can go without distortion.
But just getting high enough volume with them is not the point. Literally, they sound like crap when plugged into an Iphone compared to how they sound even plugged into the Asus Xonar ST. The dynamics, clarity, punch, soundstage, detail...all goes up in quality drastically, they're not even the same headphones, its a night and day difference literally, without even a little bit of exaggeration. You're really missing out if you're not powering them properly, and Iphone or O2 definitely can't do it in my opinion and experience.
They sound OK out of an iPhone, of course it's not optimal though as it's an amplifier built for a portable device and was probably never really meant to "sound good" with most headphones. The DAC is decent though.
I've tried the K 701's on a public bus before, just as a random test, and they do get loud enough for me to listen to my music comfortably from the iPhone.
They certainly sound much better with an O2. Might I ask what amp you suggest for the K 701's then? I've tried a Lyr/Bifrost combo and thought the K 701's sounded much better out of an O2. If I'm not mistaken, the designer of the O2 specifically addressed the needs for the K 701 and other headphones that are typically "hard to drive" in the design of the O2.
Lug, your comments on K701 exactly relate to my impressions of the DT880, even to originally using an equaliser (tone controls in my case) to calm the treble down--but not now--and once having a K702 which I found harsh. I even had an LCD-2. Wow, we must be long-lost twins.
I find the DT880 well balanced too. But what impresses me about it most is its basic honesty and lack of colouration. You make me curious about the K701, but memories of the 702 leave me confused. Has AKG made major revisions to this phone? If you had the Annniversary edition or Q701 I could understand it but...what gives?
Must be long lost twins my friend
I'd definatley say that my "newer" K701's are very different to my old K702's, obviously not day and night but from all of the descriptions I've read of the Q701's they seem to be the same. I don't like too much treble but I do like a good soundstage for classical. The soundstage is slightly narrower than the 702's as well as being more balanced (rather than a bit wonky on certain recordings). A/bing my LCD2's with some Anne Sophie Von Otter hitting the high notes, and there is not a lot of difference in regards to the brightness level. Sure the Audeze are smoother, but what I mean is that the K701's aren't anymore fatiguing. And this is a surprise :O This after the 100 hr mark. As I've said I did need to equalize them to begin with.
I really like the DT880's with classical, but where I prefer the K701's is in the larger soundstage and attack. The Beyers can sound a little too soft with strings sometimes. But its all personal preference ofcourse.
Quote:
Originally Posted by miceblue
Nice impressions! That is exactly how I felt about the K 701.
Out of the box treble: :'(
200+ hours pink noise break-in treble (I didn't put them on my head during this time, so the fit of the earpads wouldn't be a factor): (:
My video review of the K 701. I kind of left some stuff out/forgot to mention some things.......this is why I like written reviews, I can edit things in any time I want. I'll probably write the K 701 Head-Fi review soon when I get the chance.
Good stuff :)
I think we are due a more up to date written review on head-fi. I think peeps are still under the impression that the K701's are instruments of torture :/
