I don't like the AKG 701s much.  I got them a few years ago and haven't listened to them very much.  I liked my 650s and 880s much better, so the poor 701s never got much use.  I probably have never came close to amassing the requisite amount of burn in hours in all the time I've had them.... if you believe in such things as "burn in hours".
 
I didn't like the 701s..... that is until I now.  I've been reconfiguring a laptop and didn't have enough space around it for my usual components, so I dug out my Pico dac and Portaphile Maxxed amp (running off 12V DC).  The big surprise came when I was too lazy to go get my '03 880s, (which are my all time favorite headphones).  I had the 701s in a Ziploc bag practically within arm's reach, so out they came and in they were plugged.
 
What a surprise!  They actually sound passable through this portable rig.  The treble is not annoying like it used to be, they don't sound so "plasticy", and there is plenty of bass.  Not as much as the 650s but certainly as much as the 880s, (although maybe not going quite as low).
 
Hearing this surprise I fired up my main rig and plugged them in to see if they still sounded as good, but alas, they sounded like the 701 always used to sound... lousy... so back to the portable rig and again they are quite passable....
 
Go figure that the 701s should sound good from a little portable amp that was never meant to drive them. 
 
In it's favor, the Portaphile Maxxed V2 is the best sounding portable amp I've ever heard.  It has a circuit with 3-8610 opamps that goes through batteries like Meier's new portable, the Stepdance, so I always use it with an AC converter.  My understanding is that I could ring out even more performance with a 15V converter, but since I already had a12V converter when I bought the Portaphile, I stuck with it.  (It should be mentioned that 15V is the absolute maximum that should be used with the Portaphile Maxxed V2.)
 
Now you'll have to excuse me while I go get my '03 880s, they're much more comfortable..... and they sound better.
 
USG

So the moral of the story is that some amps/dacs have bad "synergy" with the k701?
what's your main rig?
 
 

Quote:

dcpoor said:

So the moral of the story is that some amps/dacs have bad "synergy" with the k701?
what's your main rig?
 
 

Click to expand...

Or that the 701 basically sucks.
 

The 701s  sure take a lot of abuse.  Like the geeky kid who gets picked on every day and graduates class valedictorian.
701s certainly do not suck.  At their pricepoint ($200s if you shop carefully), they reproduce a wide and open soundstage with excellent instrument placement and imaging.  This headphone benefits from lots of high quality amp power and will certainly give you goosebumps with the right choice of music and quality sources/dac.  Dac amps that were designed for mastering will work well with the 701-   ie:  Benchmark, and Grace m902. 
 
701s shine with solo piano, certain types of female vocals, instrumental jazz, acoustic guitar, acoustic percussion, classical strings, chamber music, choral music, and acoustic ensembles.  These are not great cans for Zepellin, Hendrix, Orbital or Roach's The Magnificent Void.  For many, all this is a matter taste, opinion and spending limits.
 
Crunching through a bag of fritos and a bottle of Opus One is not going to highlight your wine purchase. 
 
mix it up and match it to your music tastes.
I'm getting my 701s out of the trunk now...
Cheers

snip>
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Ceja-Blu /img/forum/go_quote.gif

  <snip>
 
These are not great cans.............
 
<snip>

Click to expand...

I have to agree with you.   The 701s are my least used cans.
 
USG
 

I don't like the K701's either.  Too much treble emphasis for me.  Not enough bass.  Not a very balanced headphone by any stretch of my imagination.  I prefer the K240 Mk II to them by a fair margin.
 
 

Quote:

upstateguy said:

Or that the 701 basically sucks.

 

Click to expand...

Right, it's not like they're in the top 5 full-size headphones in this forum, or direct competition to the HD800 which costs about 600$ more, or one of the most spacious cans availabe. Maybe you have your reasons for disliking it (treble emphasis?), but to me it just seems like you're picking on something popular because it's popular.
 

Two things I don't understand:
 

1. Why do people whose HRTF is incompatible w/ certain phones knock on said phones?

 

1. Why do people knock on big-rig phones when their big-rig doesn't synergize with it?*

 
*Unless you have one of those über amps that transcends synergy issues.
 
For the record, I think the 701s have a mid-range flaw that I've only heard corrected by good transformer-coupled tube gear.

He is just another k701 hater who enjoy spending his time creating a new thread saying how bad k701 are.
Alright alright k701 are the worst headphone on earth. Are you happy now?

regardless of what people say about the k701's, they remain special to me. I've heard various setups now costing well over a few grand, yet I have never heard anything that makes me feel like part of the crowd in live recordings.
 
Sure the k701 is not an all around headphone, I'll give you that. And I know it's far from the best out there especially as a flagship. But I want you to show me a headphone that gives me the same euphoric feeling listening to acoustic guitar.
 
I'm fine with people who hate the k701 for a legitimate reason, but I'm getting a little bit sick of people ripping on these headphones with no reasoning behind them. Bottom line is that the k701 is in a sense a one-trick pony, and needs to be appreciated for what it does well in. What it does well in it exceeds past much more expensive headphones in grandiose fashion. If your picking up these headphones and expecting them to be engaging with rock or even electronic music then yes your going to be disapointed. But that does not mean you should be coming on here ranting about how much the k701 sucks. It means that you made an uneducated purchase in correlation with your own music taste, and it's not the headphone in this instance it's you.

Quote:

colmustard said:

regardless of what people say about the k701's, they remain special to me. I've heard various setups now costing well over a few grand, yet I have never heard anything that makes me feel like part of the crowd in live recordings.
 
Sure the k701 is not an all around headphone, I'll give you that. And I know it's far from the best out there especially as a flagship. But I want you to show me a headphone that gives me the same euphoric feeling listening to acoustic guitar.
 
I'm fine with people who hate the k701 for a legitimate reason, but I'm getting a little bit sick of people ripping on these headphones with no reasoning behind them. Bottom line is that the k701 is in a sense a one-trick pony, and needs to be appreciated for what it does well in. What it does well in it exceeds past much more expensive headphones in grandiose fashion. If your picking up these headphones and expecting them to be engaging with rock or even electronic music then yes your going to be disapointed. But that does not mean you should be coming on here ranting about how much the k701 sucks. It means that you made an uneducated purchase in correlation with your own music taste, and it's not the headphone in this instance it's you.

Click to expand...

 
Very well said. One of my favorite 'phones, the first ones to drop my jaw, and imo the best bang-for-your-buck in this hobby (amp-permitting of course)!
 
-Daniel
 
 

Quote:

bourneperfect said:

..... the best bang-for-your-buck in this hobby (amp-permitting of course)!  

Click to expand...

I agree. I love my K701!
 
 

Let's have a show of hands here.

How many of the K-701 apologists have actually listened to or owned older AKG headphones, like the K-1000, K-501, K-500, K-401, K-340, K-240, and all the other assorted models?

The K-701 seems to be the first "big" purchase for new members.

I argue that if the HD-600 or DT880 were priced below the K-701, the K-701 would not be anywhere as popular. It would be marginalized like the MDR-SA5000.

AKG probably knows this. That's why they let the price fall below its rivals. Otherwise, the K-701 wouldn't sell.

I have listened to the k601, and k242 and while I believe that at least the k242 is a better all around headphone I prefer the k701 for what it excels in.
Yes the k701 was my first "big" purchase, but let me note that I had a budget of $500 when I choose to buy it. I choose the k701 over the hd650, dt880 and pro 900 because I wanted something that truly sparkled with acoustic and live music. The k701 did not disapoint here but let me note that because of it's poor performance with rock and heavier genre's I gave in and ended up purchasing the pro 900 with the k701.
 
I have no complaints.
 
Quote:

uncle erik said:

Let's have a show of hands here.

How many of the K-701 apologists have actually listened to or owned older AKG headphones, like the K-1000, K-501, K-500, K-401, K-340, K-240, and all the other assorted models?

The K-701 seems to be the first "big" purchase for new members.

I argue that if the HD-600 or DT880 were priced below the K-701, the K-701 would not be anywhere as popular. It would be marginalized like the MDR-SA5000.

AKG probably knows this. That's why they let the price fall below its rivals. Otherwise, the K-701 wouldn't sell.

Click to expand...

 

 
Quote:

uncle erik said:

Let's have a show of hands here.

How many of the K-701 apologists have actually listened to or owned older AKG headphones, like the K-1000, K-501, K-500, K-401, K-340, K-240, and all the other assorted models?

The K-701 seems to be the first "big" purchase for new members.

I argue that if the HD-600 or DT880 were priced below the K-701, the K-701 would not be anywhere as popular. It would be marginalized like the MDR-SA5000.

AKG probably knows this. That's why they let the price fall below its rivals. Otherwise, the K-701 wouldn't sell.

Click to expand...

 
Nothing gonna help you here, members love their  K-701/2/ and the Q series.