HD800 vs K701 - a bass issue

There's really not much to compare. The bass from the HD800 is far superior in both quantity and quality. It goes much lower than the K701.

With a source like your 306, and the B22 you're looking to buy, the HD800 will absolutely decimate the K701 in all departments, especially bass.

Strong words...

From my listening they are similar with regards to the mid-bass neutrality. But the bass is better on the HD800s (although I would not use the word decimate). They are very neutral and clear sounding with even better sound stage than the K701/2s.

If you like things on the warmer side of neutral, I would check out the beyer T1s. They are both great cans, but based on your comments, the beyer's might be a better fit.

That's some very strong dislike for the K701s on modern music.... perhaps you need to go in a very different direction and find cans that specialize in bass... perhaps Denon AH-D7000? Since I'd imagine that your Stax have just about all other areas covered, then closed Cans with a bit of 'thump' might be a good complement to your setup...

The HD800s have much fatter (by this I mean warmer and more impactful, not less detailed) bass than the K701 - I posted some of my thoughts about the two headphones here if you're interested.

That said, if by "modern music" you mean the over-produced and poorly recorded crap that we see put out by most mainstream labels these days, the HD800 isn't going to sound much better than the K701. Not because of a lack of bass, but because they are very sensitive and obviously detailed enough that they pick up on the distortion and graininess of poor source material. If this is your concern, you're better off picking up something that is known for being slightly forgiving, like the HD650, or maybe one of the popular ortho or 'stat options. How do the K701s fare against your O2 in this regard?

The k701 have a bass emphasis on a frequency response map. The bass actually sounds muddy to me, but I think that this is partly because of the recessed mids on the k701. I find the hd600 to be a much more natural-sounding headphone, probably because it doesn't have a treble-emphasis, however it would probably also be too bass-light for you. The hd650 is probably a good suggestion, if you want a slightly bassier but still relatively accurate sound.

muddy???no way,this is the last thing i can describe the k701 bass,actually it shouldnt be combined with the k701 in one sentence.bass light i can understand(although i disagree) but muddy...

Me too!

I concur, muddy is the LAST word I would use to describe the K701/2.

Muddy bass + recessed mids =.... not a K701. Figure out what headphone you were actually listening to or quit drugs?

"muddy"... "decimate in all departments"... all these strong words to differentiate what one hears from the K702's to the HD800's. Haven't heard the HD800's and likely will by Christmas, but I really don't expect a decimation. I've long gotten over nice improvements as being a form of decimation. We aught to be more responsible when using such words which convey extreme differences to others. There's a long ongoing thread about recommending high end cans without or with poor amp'ing as being great solutions. We seem to need one concerning frequent hyperbole, claiming huge differences between cans when this isn't really true. Of course, one can hide behind the 'subjectivity' defense in which case it becomes unarguable discourse, like religious discussions/arguments. But lets be practical here.

The AKG's unlistenable with modern music?.... gosh! I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I have to stick my head out on a limb when I read this. For those who haven't heard the K701/2's... be wary of these opinions that declare such extreme sentiments. They are very personal ones indeed and don't for a minute use them to make sweeping judgements or decisions. If I did this, I'd not be enjoying my K702's, actually finding that they have good bass, and seeing them as real keepers for me. This is coming from owning D5000's and the Ed8's and enjoying them both. I love my bass!! The K702's may need good amping which I'm fortunate to have, but you may just have good amping in your possession and are thinking that the K701/2's are not for you based on the testimony here. This is what I was thinking for a long time and decided to find out for myself.

I have my asbestos suit on, but I had to let it out.

brat, have you tried your K701 with other amplification than Corda? When I was looking for an amp for my K701 I didn't find that Corda was on the recommended list. I haven't heard it myself, but was thinking if you had thought of other amplification as a solution since you state that "I love my AKGs"...

The HD-800 have more mid bass / upper bass compare to my K-702. The 800 remind me of the 650 with better resolution, but the same symptoms on the mid bass area, the K701/2 are more balanced with a bigger sound stage.

Muddy bass on a k701 is usually a sign of inadequate amping.

Hmmm, the HD800 does not remind me of the HD650 in any way...
K701 more balanced? I don't know about that.
I do like the K701, but it really does not compete with the HD800 in my opinion.