Has anyone heard the AKG K301?

In my quest to find comfortable headphones without too much bass, I ran across a review (What HiFi?) of the AKG K301 that said they're generally detailed and accurate in the mids and highs, but somewhat lacking in deep bass in the opinion of the reviewer. Headroom's website description sez they're good "entry-level" serious phones. Its frequency response curve (on Headroom's web page) looks identical in bottom end to K240M, yet it's pretty smooth across the spectrum except for a dip at around 3.5 kHz. Impedance is 100 ohms, a bit better than the K401's and K501's (120 ohms). Considerably less expensive right now than K401 or K501, so perhaps they may make for a good second pair (??).

Any opinions?

Thanks.
Michael

Ooops. The review of the AKG K301 was in "HiFi Choice", not "What HiFi?".

Any experiences with the K301's that you could share with me would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Oops again!

The K301s are NOT 100 ohms, but like the K401/K501 are 120 ohms. Perhaps they used to be? Two retailers quoted 100 ohms, but AKG's site sez the current product is 120 ohms.

They're $70 street right now. . . .any thoughts on whether or not that's a good buy? Are they in fact an "entry level" version of the K501 or K401?



Thanks.
Michael Y.::

my experience is with k300 and k500 - but from all i've read and heard the difference to the newer models isn't that great.

i love the k500 - with corda ha1 i hear no noticeable deficency in the bass department - on the contrary, bass is tight and lean and articulate, not too loud, not distracting, but nicely "there" - this seems to be what you're looking for bass-wise, if i read you correctly.

the k300 on the other hand (again, i don't really know how much difference there is to the newer 301) were an extreme disappointment for me. weak bass, weak midrange, worse treble.

they actually were my point of EXIT, not entry, to the world of headphones. i simply gave up on them, thinking that i must have grown out of headphones - until years later i got the k500, and the beyer 880...

the k300 are "good" at one thing only - leakage. it's enormous. the sound is mediocre at best, lifeless, poor resolution, weak.

to compare them to k500/k501 is practically impossible - too many leages in between...

you could try the k401 because of the price issue, but if the k301 are anything like the k300 then my advice is: don't bother.

sorry if this comes doubled, had a browser error...


my experience is with k300 and k500 - but from all i've read and heard the difference to the newer models isn't that great.

i love the k500 - with corda ha1 i hear no noticeable deficency in the bass department - on the contrary, bass is tight and lean and articulate, not too loud, not distracting, but nicely "there" - this seems to be what you're looking for bass-wise, if i read you correctly.

the k300 on the other hand (again, i don't really know how much difference there is to the newer 301) were an extreme disappointment for me. weak bass, weak midrange, worse treble.

they actually were my point of EXIT, not entry, to the world of headphones. i simply gave up on them, thinking that i must have grown out of headphones - until years later i got the k500, and the beyer 880...

the k300 are "good" at one thing only - leakage. it's enormous. the sound is mediocre at best, lifeless, poor resolution, weak.

to compare them to k500/k501 is practically impossible - too many leages in between...

you could try the k401 because of the price issue, but if the k301 are anything like the k300 then my advice is: don't bother.

Riordan, Thanks for the helpful comments. Your thoughts on this are more consistent with the HiFi Choice review than the Headphone.com comments.

I'm not too surprised at what you say. Otherwise, why would the K301 be available for $70 (US) right now?

Since the price difference between the 401 and 501 is very little, and AKG seems to imply that the 401 is bassier and designed more for rock music (I take that to mean a more forward sound) then I think I'll save up for the 501, assuming I can use it o.k. with the headphone output on a receiver/CD recorder/tape deck/etc. I suspect I will be able to because their sensitivity rating of 94db/mW seems adequate. . . .

An engineer told me that a doubling of the impedance translates to -3db in sound. That would make the K501 equivelent to a 60 ohm headphone with 91db sensitivity, if I understand it correctly, which is pretty close to the K240S which so many rave about (and which I just ordered for studio use).

If you've had a chance to try playing your K500 through the headphone jack of a hifi component like a receiver or CD player, please let me know how it works.

Thanks.
Michael

Quote:



AKG is doing its marketing job in there. The K401 is NOT all that. It's just a K501 in a less refined packaging with a less refined sound. It often comes in the for sale forum for about 60$. Good way to know if you like the AKG sound or as a cheap second pair reserved for light classical. If you like, you'll need to upgrade to the K501 which does everything not differently but better.

Thanks 00940.

You've got me to thinking. This is a purely philosophical question, but when you talk about the more refined sound of the 501's (which a lot of people claim are in the league of the Sennnheiser HD580/HD600), might that mean that they would reveal the deficiencies of a headphone amp or the signal path to the headphone output of a receiver or CD player or tape recorder?

Perhaps another way to express this question is, would one have to spend even more money on an even better headphone amp to properly enjoy something in the league of the K501? Might the K401, a little less refined than the 501, be better for listening through the headphone output of a CD player or receiver?

By the way, I hear that the weather has been extraordinarily hot in Western Europe. Hope all's well there in Belgium!

Cheers,
Michael

Uhm, yes, the K301 sounds definitely much worse than the K401 and K501. But I wouldn't agree on calling the K401 just a less refined K501 - the difference in the highs (louder and more piercing on the K401 - it was the other way round with the K400 and K500, btw) seems fairly obvious to my ears.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

Well, I never had the k401 and the k501 side to side but one after the other. When Lini says the highs of the k401 are harsh compared to the k501's one, it's about what i wanted to say about the more refined k501. It's not all about showing deficiencies but what you do with what the source gives to the can. From a quite bad source (d25s), the K501 sounded better than the k401. It's not about hiding faults but making the best with the source.

About louder highs, well trust Lini, he experienced heavily those cans.

Thanks for worrying about weather, finally Belgium made it quite well through 2 weeks of mediterranean climate (really unusual for us). It's about over now. France, Spain and Portugal for example have far more problems.

Quote:



No, it means that to get the most out of them, you are going to need a really top notch amp.

let me put it this way - after you have listened to a lot of other headphones, and your ears are ringing and hurting - you are going to like switching to the K401/K501s.

it is NOT in the HD580/HD600 class. it is just a smooth sounding headphone which is very comfortable. it is very forgiving and not likely to expose deciencies in your sound stream. (although the better the sound stream, the better it is likely to sound).

i conside the K401 anout 95% of the K501. I own both, and like both. AKG would have you believe that the K401 is a "rock" headphone - when it is not. but you'll probably be able to listen to rock a lot longer than with pure "rock" headphones (Grados, HD590s, et. al.)

Why bother buying a new K301 when you can get a used K401 for almost the same amount of money?

the k501 is a nice smooth headphone. match it up with the right amp and it sings. match it up with the wrong amp and it lacks bass, sounds slightly recessed, lacks highs, transparency, transients, etc. of course, what you end up with is comparing an $80 headphone to a $250 - $400 headphone. so... for the money... it's not bad.

it has it's failings. but i don't want to sell it. it's a keeper in my book. all you have to do is listen to a lot of sibilant / harsh / bassy / forward headphones until your ears get tired, then you'll appreciate the K401/K501. for under $100, they are nice. but they need a lot of power, just like the DT880. If you do not have a lot of clean / pure power - chances are that they will disappoint. (Same with the DT880s).

I'll sell my K401s, but I will NOT sell off my K501s. throw on some sexy Sade and it's acceptable. it's not demanding (only demands a lot of power), it's not fast, it's not bassey, it's not bright - it's just a nice, boring (to some because it is nice and flat sounding), good sounding headphone.

if you are a basshead, or are looking for a forward sound (like the Grados & ATHs), look elsewhere. If however you want to enjoy music, rather than analysize it, it's a nice headphone for the money.

btw, i modified both with Mogami cables - so they will tend to sound a little better than stock. (better bass & better treble).

buy a K401 or K501, change the cable - and you have got a really nice bargain. buy a HD580 and HD600 and you're tempted to buy a $150 cable. $150 cables need not apply when using the K401 or K501; $20 will do just fine.

Wallijohn,

Thank you for one of the best user reviews ever of the K401 and K501! You've sold me on the idea. I prefer a natural, laid-back, non-hyperactive un-Grado-like sound. I mean, I want things revealed, but not to the point of fatigue.

Do you (or anyone else reading this) have any thoughts by chance on how the K501 might work with the Rega Ear amp? I love Rega equipment. . .something about the laid-back "English" sound of their preamps, power amps and turntables just really appeals to me. The Rega Ear is fairly affordable as far as amps go. I wonder if it would mate well with the K501's in terms of musicality and sufficient gain?

Perhaps I should pose this question on the amplifiers forum? A couple of brief comments I saw over there said the Rega is quite mellow for a solid state headphone amp, yet detailed (a description I would use for the Rega Mira 3 integrated amp with which I drive JMlab Cobalt 806 speakers.)

Thanks again for your help.

Cheers,
Michael

Michael,

I really couldn't tell you, as I have never heard the Rega Ear, although I have always wanted one. That's class-A, right?

I hope you have a nicely matched cdp and ICs to go with it. from what I have read, the Rega Ear may be on the dark side of neutral, so it may not be the best match for the K401 (unless it can produce nice bass notes and does not reproduce sibilant high notes). An amp on the bright side of neutral would match very well with the K401 or K501 (becuase people perceive it to be treble shy (or at least I do, but I also consider the DT880 to be treble shy - and I will admit that I am the only one to do so) - again, since it is perceived to be bass shy, the overall tonal balance is just that - balanced). it's a very nice smooth headphone, and you may notice little things, for instance, I prefer the transient response of the K401/K501 over the Dt880, as I percieve the DT880 transients to be somewhat "rounded". (Which is why I replaced the stock DT880 cable).

Now, this is on my eqyuipment, which is substandard at best, but which I have had to live with. I can readily see chip rolling with the Meta42 to get the best out of the K401/K501. It, like the DT880 likes prodigious amounts of clean power. To me, one of the most overlooked features of the K401/K501 is the comfort factor. They are just fantastic. Even with my DT880 I get "top of the head" burn because of the headband. Not so with the K401 and K501.

Compared to the HD580/HD600, the K401/K501 does not have the bass response, nor bass attack. But it, like the former, have a nice smooth response. And unlike the DT880, the SPL levels are more in line with the music, so it is not quite as clear and clean as the DT880, but it is still non-fatiguing. With the DT880 the driver cover tends to mute a lot of the music, which forces many people to turn up the volume. What you end up with is a massive amount of SPLs, albeit at very clean levels. Since there is no thick cloth cover over the driver, the music seems, to me, to sound less "rounded", less veiled, but since it is older technology, doesn't sound as clear as the DT880. So, I'd say that the K401/K501 is about 90% of a DT880, and about 85% of a HD580/HD600. Which is not too bad when you consider the money aspect.

And heaven knows what lengths we'll go to get that last 1% of music. LOL.

So, the best I can say, is try it, and see if you can live with it. If it is stock, it is super easy to try different cables on it. One day, I'll even try my magnetic oxide coated cable on the K501.

Wallijonn,

Thanks for the extensive and helpful comments and descriptions of the K401/K501, and the DT880. I tend to like lean bass, which is one reason why the K501 jumped out at me as I began reading tons of reviews. Most people familiar with it discuss it as musical and natural, and a few describe it as lean in the bass. So, given my "thing" about avoiding bass-heaviness, and given what I've read so far, the AKGs sound like the best route for me to take right now (not to mention the price). I also like the 100% unanimous description of its high comfort level.

I certainly have been anxious to try some of the Beyer Dynamics and will do so when I finally travel to a city that has some for me to try out. It's difficult to make a decision about something as subjective as headphones when one has to get info from the internet and shop by mail. Putting together all I've read, I *sense* that the Beyerdynamics would be a bit bassier, and that makes me a bit afraid for now to try them sight unseen. I would rather err on the side of lighter bass, given my tastes.

As for the Rega Ear, I'm encountering more and more positive reviews of it. . . .it's often described as nothing flashy, but very neutral, natural, clean, and musical. Seems like a good place to start, especially considering its price.

For about $340 (US), I can get both the cans (K501) and the amp. This is a comfortable price point for me, given that I have to buy without having heard it first, and given that 90% or more of my music listening is done through speakers (except, of course, the studio work I do, which is a whole nother story. I just ordered a pair of AKG K240S for that.)

So, thanks for the part you've played in helping with my purchase decision, which for now leans in the direction of K501 (or K401 on sale??) and Rega Ear.

Cheers,
Michael