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My new K702 and how it differs from my burnt-in K701.

post #1 of 153
2/15/10 at 3:22pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,
I had always wanted to re-cable my K701; so when I saw the K702 go for a huge discount, I grabbed a new one from Headroom.

Initial listening tells me that the K702 is indeed voiced a little differently from my K701.

The old K701 sounds more open and has more treble sparkle (a clear effect of burn-in)… but it seems to have more of the slight disconnect between the mid-range, upper mid-range and treble. The slight de-emphasis and over-emphasis of certain frequencies in the upper mid-range and lower treble seems more pronounced on the K701.

In contrast, the K702 sounds warmer and more relaxed and does not have much of a spike in the lower treble. It sounds more even tonally than the K701 to my ears.

Surprising? I am still doing A-B-A comparisons…

I am enjoying my K702 a bit more and I am certain that the SXC CRYO cable (bought yesterday, on the way) will improve it even more!

Did AKG quietly change something in the recent production batches of the K702?

I also heard a plethora of high-end stand-mount speakers over the weekend… and the K702 rules them all!
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

AKG K701 Studio Headphones
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AKG K 702 Headphones
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post #2 of 153
2/15/10 at 3:33pm
I recently acquired a K702, and expected to hear excessive "treble energy" that is often attributed to the K701/702 series. To my surprise, I'm not finding any excessive treble or harshness at all, even straight out of the box. These are very good phones, and at $262 a real bargain.
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post #3 of 153
2/15/10 at 3:34pm
Nice to hear comparisons. How many hours are on the K702 so far?
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post #4 of 153
2/15/10 at 3:37pm
As I liked the K701 as it was, I'm happy to hear the newest K702s are proving just a little better. I always thought they were the same headphone, just a different color. It's nice to be wrong.
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post #5 of 153
2/15/10 at 3:43pm
congratulations!
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post #6 of 153
2/15/10 at 3:49pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jaycalgary View Post
Nice to hear comparisons. How many hours are on the K702 so far?
~ 25...

Not keeping track though... just burning them on my head...
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post #7 of 153
2/15/10 at 3:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by peanuthead View Post
I recently acquired a K702, and expected to hear excessive "treble energy" that is often attributed to the K701/702 series. To my surprise, I'm not finding any excessive treble or harshness at all, even straight out of the box. These are very good phones, and at $262 a real bargain.
Right! There is ZERO treble harshness on this new pair... can't say the same about my old K701.

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post #8 of 153
2/15/10 at 4:12pm
Well it would be nice to think that there was a revision made that there is an improvement in sound on an already great headphone. It will be nice to hear a comparison in the future when they are both mechanically broken in. I have had my new pair of K702 for about a week now and run pink noise through them every night. My 1st pair of K702 were sent in for repair. The mechanical break in of these headphones should be considered a fact. The older pair were more open with more bass. The new pair were harsh in the treble. It is just wishful thinking that the drivers from the K701 are different from the K702 so far.
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post #9 of 153
2/15/10 at 4:13pm
While I cannot prove it, I suspect that there was a change done to the K701s sometime over it's life.

I have auditioned two early production pairs (s/n 1xxxx) and it didn't sound like mine which is (s/n 29xxx). Mine sounds more like your description of your K702s and that is the way it sounded right out of the box.
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post #10 of 153
2/15/10 at 4:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bhanja_trinanjan View Post
Right! There is ZERO treble harshness on this new pair... can't say the same about my old K701.
Very interesting. I genuinely thought they were pretty much the same cans. What you prefer about the K702's is what I'd prefer about any can so it seems that I made the correct decision to get the K702's.

I'll be looking out for your impressions with the cable upgrade. I find the cable upgrade change to be more discernible when you switch back to the stocks after using the upgrades for a while, rather than when you switch from the stocks to the new ones.
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post #11 of 153
2/15/10 at 4:30pm
Good to hear. Keep us posted.
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post #12 of 153
2/15/10 at 5:48pm
Quote:
The old K701 sounds more open and has more treble sparkle (a clear effect of burn-in)… but it seems to have more of the slight disconnect between the mid-range, upper mid-range and treble.
I´ve received a new pair of K701 last friday. Please tell me that the totally squashed mid range will raise after several hours of burn in... Right out of the box - mine which is (s/n 44xxx ) - sound like they´re evil V eq!

Please, keep us posted with your A-B comparisons
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post #13 of 153
2/15/10 at 5:53pm
Congratulations! I hope the solo violin will sounds better now. It's known that AKG's change parts over the production time of many of their hps. These little changes can effect the sound. Here are some nice pictures that show differences: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/akg...ession-464147/ Also Headroom changed the graph between the K701 and the K702 and now the 702 graph is represent the K701 as well, but still this info is not so clear. It will be very interesting to follow this thread. Still no 702 icon.
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post #14 of 153
2/15/10 at 5:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by moonshake View Post
sound like they´re evil V eq!
Since when were the K702/K701 bassy?
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post #15 of 153
2/15/10 at 6:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stang View Post
Since when were the K702/K701 bassy?
lol, 702 since day one, and even get better over burn in time.
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

AKG K701 Studio Headphones
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AKG K 702 Headphones
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