AKG K550 VS. AKG Q701

Have not had enough experience with the Q701 for a comparism, but this review will help http://www.headfonia.com/akgs-new-reference-the-k550/

i dont know, headfonia has some terrible reviews

...and reviewers

I went with the AKG K550. First Audiophile headphones. Sounds great! I wanted the sealed/closed style so I wouldn't bother anyone around me.

 

I will be hooking up the E11 AMp and Ti-Hd sound card when they come in this week. However even on the onboard card on my Rampage Iv extreme I noticed a difference in sound quality and things in songs I didn't notice before. I do not however have a trained ear like the veterans on here.

 

Listening to standard MP3's

 

Also I would like to note after 6 hours of use it barely felt like they where there and suprisingly my ear wasn't on fire like a lot of close cans will do after hours.

Edited by freitz - 1/10/13 at 7:01am

They're very similar. The q701 has a larger and higher soundstage, and more hollow center image. They sound a little less forward up top but they're a more brittle frequency response over all.

The k550 has more sub bass, but still not much compared to competitors. The have a large soundstage for closed phones. They sound pretty darn neutral too.

I tried the k550's two days ago and decided to play around with the q701's today a bit. By memory, these headphones are more similar than different.

Gonna have to disagree with you on that one. I own the DT990, A900X, UE6000 as well as the K550. After a lot of comparison, the K550 has the best bass out of all of them IMO, and it comes in a close second in terms of quantity to the DT990. As a side note, I compare the UE6000 in passive mode otherwise it sounds bad.

 

As for the initial question, I've never had a chance to hear the Q701. Wish I did though.

Never tried Q701 but I really like how K550 sound! It's extremely clear with minimum grains! I even prefer K550 over HD800(Please don't hurt me xD ) as I can still hear grains with HD800 paired with Beyerdynamic A1 ampfier. As for bass on the K550, it depends if you have good seal or not. I find it has good amount of bass for me. 

Hmm, well, the DT990 has more sub bass for sure. I wouldn't be surprised if the k550 has the best bass detail of the phones you mentioned, but in terms of pure impact; it's not like a denon or dt770/990 in the price range. There are many more headphones that have more bass quantity in the price range, I'd say the k550 is below average in this regard; but it's way more balanced than most.

 

But AKG in general are very linear sounding headphones; unless we're looking at their current line of noise cancelling/blutooth headphones.

Acquired Q701 recently in addition to K550

Both used with E17.

 

For general music listening:

Q701 - Treble +2

            Bass +2

K550 - Treble 0

            Bass +2

 

Movies:

Q701 - Treble +2

            Bass +4

K550 - Treble 0

            Bass +4~+6

 

Q701 in general is more up front and wide.

K550 is less wide but has more sense of depth.

 

Love both! Also use ATH-WS55 during workout. Serves as a reminder on how good these AKGs are.

Without some inferior cans to fall back on to, one might be too easily spoiled and forget you are already listening to pristine sound belongs to the upper echelon. : )