AKG 601 vs 501 (with 601 pads) vs 24 + uk stockists

[Scant]

Ive read many reviews of the AKG 501, 601 and 240mkII models. From my understanding the 601s solve several of the shortcomings of the 501s (which have been discontinued) and to some extent the 240s, particularly in terms of bass response. The 240s I understand to be perhaps more aggressive than the 601s, but not as transparent (and frankly also overpriced here in the UK).

This unfortunately is where the problem lies - this is all from reviews. Having spent a full day in central London trawling around electronics and hifi shops, not a single one has any demo headsets to try (even of the lower end AKGs) and none were prepared to open any boxes, so unless anyone has a bright suggestion of a shop I could call and check with to see if they'll let me test, I'm apparently not going to get any real idea of comfort, let alone the sound. It seems the closest I can come is one or two online retailers which do at least allow a 'cooldown period' (another thing the shops all refused).

On this basis, I was hoping I could beg for the help of some of your experience in this matter for a more direct comparison. My current intention is to go for the AKG 601s. Price difference between the three is ~£110 for either 240 or 501 (+£20 if I replaced the ear pads on the 501s as is so strongly recommended), or ~£135 for the 601s.

FYI they will receive heavy use (though good care) and not leave my desk. I have extremely broad tastes in music, so require decent all-round performance (within reason for the price

), but sound-wise I favor a tight bass (some rock, warmth wanted rather than a dark sound), with good overall detail. The description of the 601s including soundstage is v. attractive.

These will be my third pair of reasonable headphones, so I will be purchasing an amp at this point also, but I intend to make a decision on amp after deciding on headphones, and then taking them into account. I also failed to find anyone that would let me try either the senn HD595s or the AT AD700s, however (from description) I was leaning towards the AKG 601s soundwise anyway.

So could anyone perhaps give a better description of these headphones? Particularly interested in 601 vs 501 with replaced ear pads, but do please share your thoughts on any of the above.

Thanks in advance - anything welcome since I'm bloody frustrated after my fruitless efforts! (And sorry for the long post)

 

[Starky]

AKG K601s can be had for £100 in Shasonic on TCR, just so you know (provided they are still in stock)

Can't offer any comparative opinions, but K601s are excellent with a wide range of music in my experience.

 

[Scant]

Went into every electronics shop in the tottenham court road, but I must admit I didnt go into the sony centre on the basis that surely it stocked only sony (certainly appeared that way). The Shasonic website only links to sony centres, which only seem to display sony equipment. Am I being blind?
Offtopic, but I previously owned some sony MDR SA1000s. Worst. Buy. Ever. Talk about shabby build quality.

 

[Starky]

Shasonic is on the other side of the road to the Sony centre proper. It may well be owned by Sony, I don't know, but sells much more than Sony products.

I bought mine from there a couple of weeks ago and they had 3 in stock then, so they may well have sold out. They were pretty well hidden, tucked away in the back left hand corner of the shop.

However, if there are any left then one had already been opened. They were happy to let me have a closer look, so if you ask nicely they might let you have a quick listen.

Off topic again, but the shop next door to Shasonic (forgotten the name) does good deals on Grados if you are willing to haggle.

 

[Scant]

Ahh yeah I went into the shops opposite, and none had the 601s, so I guess sold out and not replaced the stock

. The best they had were the 242s, which were unopened. Thanks for the recommendation though.
I thought of grados, but I dont find the on-the-ear style comfortable unfortunately.

 

[Evshrug]

See, now I wish I had someone point a similar store out to me in the US. Yeah I probably should start my own thread, but I'm scared of what will happen if I actually go looking.

FWIW to you, internet prices (in the US) give a much better deal on the AD700s. $85 USD shipped direct from amazon ($100 less USD than the k601s), so the UK equivalent should be quite a bit cheaper. If you import from america (yay VATs), don't buy from Electronics Expo. They've sent the wrong (though more expensive) headphones twice now.