Originally Posted by tdogzthmn /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Could you elaborate on why you prefer the K500 over the K501?
cheers
That's a question that begs for a simple answer, and I cannot supply one. After my tape mod they are similar, but I feel the K500 is more "together" and alive. The "space" factor is a bit more realistic. I simply prefer it.
I listen a lot to 1950s and 1960s recordings, like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett (Songs for the Jet Set right now), Burt Bacharach etc, often recorded live in a studio, and the sense of presence is marginally better with the K500. It shines with classical music as well.
By reputation I expected the K501 to be the superior headphone, but that was not the case. One has of course to consider the three different baffles of the K501, discussed here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/227052/official-akg-k501-version-count/45
My taped K500 has a baffle quite similar to the version 1 of the K501, which is the one I own:
There are a lot of factors involved concerning the difference in sound, the driver being the most obvious one, which must be taken into account.
I won't let the other three go - I might change my mind about them, which has happened before. All are interesting and good sounding.