[MalVeauX]

Quote:

 
Again, common complaint that I don't understand.  Are we listening to the same headphone? 

 
I'll admit that the AD900 runs great unamped, but it's much weaker on bass than the Q701s.  Even unamped the Q701 has more bass.

 
A) Amps cost money. Especially amps that are capable of sufficiently driving an inefficient driver.
 
B) Much weaker? The 701's have weak bass. Your opinion is that the AD900 has basically no bass by comparison. This is just fanboyism at this point. Not to be a jerk, but come on, "much" weaker? Seriously man. We're talking miniscule bits here. Miniscule. By this logic and your opinion, I imagine you perceive the 701 as having even more bass than you previous DT880. Right?
 
Very best,
 
 

 

[VALIENTE]

Quote:

I think they sound very natural.  For instance, if I record a piano then play back the recording, out of all the headphones I've tried (see sig) on the Q701 it sounds the most "natural" -> like I'm back  in the room listening to the real piano play.
 
I would pick the Q701 in a heartbeat.  

 
P.S. -  You DO need to get a good source and amp.  Especially the source.

If you wanna start your business with headfi, better try the Q701. I think its a headphone that will you give you bad to good to best experiences. A brand new Q701/K701 will give you a bad experience, a mature or old K701 will give you the best experience especially when paired with a good source and amp.
 
If I were you I will go for Q701. It is simply an amazing headphone like my K701.

The bonus is they really sound natural-this is the trait I like with this headphone.

 

 

[kingoftown1]

Interesting thread.  As a former AD900 owner with an ever-so-fleeting interest in the x701, I'd like to see more opinions from people who've heard both extensively.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

 
A) Amps cost money. Especially amps that are capable of sufficiently driving an inefficient driver.
 
B) Much weaker? The 701's have weak bass. Your opinion is that the AD900 has basically no bass by comparison. This is just fanboyism at this point. Not to be a jerk, but come on, "much" weaker? Seriously man. We're talking miniscule bits here. Miniscule. By this logic and your opinion, I imagine you perceive the 701 as having even more bass than you previous DT880. Right?
 
Very best,
 
 

 
A)  I didn't see that his budget is capped at $250

  That of course limits his options.  If he was going to get on headphone under 250, and never get any more dacs or amps, I would recommend neither headphone.   
 
The traits he listed as things he was looking for (soundstage, separation, tight controlled bass with extension) still fit the Q701 better than the AD900s.  .  All of that is better on the Q701.  If he was going to get a DAC/amp in the future the Q701 would scale up better.  Even the E10 makes a big improvement.  My E10+E9 may not be driving them to their full potential, but the sound is still better than anything I've ever heard, so I will blissfully enjoy my ignorance.
 
B)  I'm not trying to troll it up as an AKG fanboy, but it is more than a miniscule difference.  AD900s are light on bass, even by my freakish standards.  They don't have "no bass", but the are a step away  from the AD700s which really do have "no bass" (impact at least).  The AD900s are closer to my PC360s (HD595s with a mic).  I would have to do pretty steep bass boost to the PC360s to get the same bass as the Q701s on a flat EQ.  I guess that is a "miniscule" difference.
 
I didn't really think the DT880s were bass light either, but some people do.  I guess it depends on your definition of bass light.  I thought they had good bass (I didn't have them for long as they smushed my ears).  I guess if you consider the DT880s bass light, then yes; the Q701s could be bass light as well.  From my memory the Q701 and DT880 are pretty close on bass.  It wouldn't be fair for me to call it without directly comparing them, but imagine it could go either way. 
 
Now, my CAL!s  still have more bass then the Q701s, but the Q701s beat everything else I've tried (with DT880 being the only potential exception).  And for an being an open headphone with a soundstage this  large they have me floored.
 
Headrooms graph, not saying its proof or anything:
 

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

 
A) Amps cost money. Especially amps that are capable of sufficiently driving an inefficient driver.
 
B) Much weaker? The 701's have weak bass. Your opinion is that the AD900 has basically no bass by comparison. This is just fanboyism at this point. Not to be a jerk, but come on, "much" weaker? Seriously man. We're talking miniscule bits here. Miniscule. By this logic and your opinion, I imagine you perceive the 701 as having even more bass than you previous DT880. Right?
 
Very best,
 
 

 
I wouldn't be surprised if the AD900 really had "much weaker" bass than the K701/K702. I rarely go around calling headphones bass light, but the one headphone that didn't have enough bass for me was the AD700 and the first RE0 IEM. Based on graphs it appears like the AD900 just has much more sub-bass than the AD700.
 
He's also referring to the Q701. I do really believe the Q701 has a tiny bit more bass than the K702 (IMO), but not enough to make it worth upgrading from the K702. To my ears the Headroom graph of the Q701 looks fairly accurate for once. Have you heard the Q701? I think you'd like it. I have about 3 major issues with the K702 and they're gone with the Q701.
 
With my setup the Q701 doesn't have weak bass. Bassheads should still avoid it of course. Not a lot of bass impact.
 
Charts don't mean much, but this one is interesting:
 

 
Now some say the Q701 graph is just a weird variation and still has the bass of the K702, but I don't think so. Seems though the biggest difference is just a little more mid-bass.
 
BTW the AD700 graph most definitely looks accurate! I do think the DT-880 has more bass than the K702. At least when I listen to it and ignore graphs. I'd say the Q701's bass is probably comparable in quantity to the HD-598.
 

 
 

 

[Chime Bells]

Quote:

 
Again, common complaint that I don't understand.  Are we listening to the same headphone? 

 
I'll admit that the AD900 runs great unamped, but it's much weaker on bass than the Q701s.  Even unamped the Q701 has more bass.

 
I have to admit that I have never tried AD900 myself.
As for the 701s, they are the pair of cans with the weakest bass I have ever heard, much weaker than the 880, ESW9, 580, 325 and many other cans.
 
Or maybe I'm tuned to my HF2 now.

 

[Amarphael]

It's kinda strange (or not) but when i had the K701 (about a year and a half ago) with some serious equipment (Stello DA100>WA6>Black Dragon Cable) i remeber them quite bass light with little presense down low. But the ATH-AD900 which i owned until very recently never left me unsatisfied with the amount bass present, and that's "driven" straight from from my y1 DAC and DAP. They had very nice articulation of the notes and ample punch when called for. Extention wise they leave the lowest octaves somewhat in the dark but IMO not very serious lack. even though the graphs tell a differnet story. Thier most significat trait i think is they make just about any music genre sound very pleasnt and east to listen to, whereas i found the K701 only really excell with string-based acoustic and vocals.

 

[chicolom]

It is weird that the Q701s are delivering on the bass for me.  I certainly wasn't expecting them too after reading head-fi's impressions.  The headroom graph does seem pretty accurate though.
 
Its possible that my E10 is contributing to the bass...  Mike at headfonia hinted that the E10 is on the warm side, and he kept touting it's "thick, full, punchy bass". 
 
I would be curious to try them with a different dac to see if they thin out. 
 

 

[Alondite]

I don't intend to buy another amp right away. By time I get either pair my primary source will be a Cowon J3 (and I may or may not use my E11, depending on what kind of a difference it makes, if any).

If the Q701s are that much better, then how do they compare un-amped to the AD900s?

On the subject of bass, I am anything but a basshead. I used to have a pair of Klipche Image S4 which had way too much bass for me. They even had too much bass when I used the "Bass Reducer" EQ on my iPod.

Is there anyone who has heard VSonic's GR07? That would be the ideal comparison.

*EDIT*

And if someone else has any suggestion for something else that maybe does what I'm looking for better than either I'm open to that as well. Or suggestions in general really.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

I don't intend to buy another amp right away. By time I get either pair my primary source will be a Cowon J3 (and I may or may not use my E11, depending on what kind of a difference it makes, if any).

 

 
Cowon J3?  So, are you using these portable?

 

[Amarphael]

The AT's will simply trounce the AKG's unamped, end of story. I think the AD900 has one ofthe best VFM grades in all of headphonedom, Ditto for the x70x, When amped adequatley.  

 

[chicolom]

Ya, the 70x is really best for use with a home desktop setup.  If your going to pair these with your Cowon the majority of the time, a more effecient headphone would be better.
 
You might want to look at the HD598 as well.  They have a similiar signature to the AD900.

 

[Heeyond]

I am now using a pair of GR07 with iPod Classic as the source. It sounds smooth and "everything-okay". And am searching review of AD900/DT860 and other $200-300 headphones now. Basically I want to know how good an unamped AD900 is...

 

[thrillhaus]

Quote:

 
Now some say the Q701 graph is just a weird variation and still has the bass of the K702, but I don't think so.
 

Maybe that "Q" logo placed over what would otherwise be open mesh is responsible for the minute difference in bass. Quick, someone rip the Q off their Q701s and check!

 

[Alondite]

Quote:

I am now using a pair of GR07 with iPod Classic as the source. It sounds smooth and "everything-okay". And am searching review of AD900/DT860 and other $200-300 headphones now. Basically I want to know how good an unamped AD900 is...

I know how the GR07s sound, I own a pair haha. I was wondering how the AD900/Q701 sounded in comparison.