[GirgleMirt]

I'm a bit confused... I was about to pull the trigger on some Quincy Jones AKG Q701, but then I was a bit worried they didn't sound the same as the regular AKG K701s (not actually as neutral) and canceled when I found this;

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I so far have a pair of Grados SR80s, Sony V6s and Beyers 990 Premiums 600 ohms. I thought the AKGs being very neutral would round up things nicely, but I was a bit bummed when I noticed that they seemed to have more pronounced bass than the regular 701s... I don't want another bass heavy headphone, even if it's less pronounced than the 990s, I think the FR curve actually looks closer to the 990s than the regular 701s...

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So I was a bit confused by this comment;

The difference between Q701 and K701 is very slight, and more bass would actually be more neutral, not less neutral, because K701 is slightly bass shy. South of neutral is as much of a colouration as north of neutral

So... What is it actually? Are the 701s actually slightly bass shy? The headphone.com measurements probably don't lie, and they don't really seem to be... Thoughts? Should I pick on up? Look for regular 701s? Or other headphones or should I not pick up any other headphone?

 

[viralcow]

There are extensive comparisons between the different AKG 700 series to be found all over head-fi. I know for sure Chicolom did one: http://www.head-fi.org/t/594927/akg-q701-vs-akg-k702-comparison-review
 
I also know tdockweiler has done a lot of comparisons in the Q701 thread.
 
General consensus is that they're similar sounding, but certainly not the same. I've never tried the Q701, so I can't say for sure, but don't sweat it when they say the K701 is lacking bass- the SRH1840 is known to be a very neutral sounding headphone, including its bass, and in comparison the K701 was ever so slightly lighter on the bass. In other words, it's pretty much neutral IMHO.

 

[GirgleMirt]

Yeah I've been reading a bit, it seems most feel like the Q701 was an upgrade to the K701 or K702...
http://www.head-fi.org/t/537241/akg-k701-k702-vs-akg-q701/90
http://www.head-fi.org/t/582276/q701-appreciation-thread/75

Thanks for the link!

I can definitely see how K702 owners would wish for a little fuller sound/more impact in bass and overall sound, and in that respect Q701s truly seem like an upgrade/fix. If you just don't like the K702 signature in general, Q701s won't fix that. It's essentially the same signature, just tuned to be fuller and slightly warmer sounding. If you wished for more low end, midrange body, and overall fuller/punchier sound....then yes I think the Q's fix some of that.

If your someone who has tried the K701 or K702 and found them to sound slightly thin and cold and wished they were a little fuller and warmer sounding with better bass, I recommend you give the Q701s a try. If I had K702s and actually knew how the Q's sounded in comparison, I would absolutely go through the trouble of selling the K's and picking up the Q's instead. They sound like improved/re-tuned K702s to me.

So now I'm quite unsure whether I should pick up a pair or not...

Good addition to 990s, V6s and SR80?

 

[balancebox]

well if you're in the market for Akg Q701 look at akg k702 65 anniversary and the new k712 pro (NO MORE BUMPY HEADBAND)
 
only thing I didn't really like about my Q701 was the headband. Q701/k702 should sound similar
 
they're still trying to figure out what's different between k712 and K702 annie http://www.head-fi.org/t/659251/the-akg-k712-pro-support-and-appreciation-thread if you can find a good deal then buy it
 
I picked up a beyerdynamic dt990 few days ago, very fun headphones just don't like the harsh highs atm
 
btw white is the best Q701 XD
 
my Q701 

 

[viralcow]

Quote:

well if you're in the market for Akg Q701 look at akg k702 65 anniversary and the new k712 pro (NO MORE BUMPY HEADBAND)
 
only thing I didn't really like about my Q701 was the headband. Q701/k702 should sound similar
 
they're still trying to figure out what's different between k712 and K702 annie http://www.head-fi.org/t/659251/the-akg-k712-pro-support-and-appreciation-thread if you can find a good deal then buy it
 
I picked up a beyerdynamic dt990 few days ago, very fun headphones just don't like the harsh highs atm
 
btw white is the best Q701 XD
 
my Q701 

 
Just so you know, the Annies may have more bass but you lose out on soundstage. I prefer the normal K701.

 

[GirgleMirt]

Hehe yeah maybe using the SR80s Grados has made me immune to high end harshness I've still not really made up my mind about the 990s but I wouldn't say that I'm bothered by their high end; they're definitely colored, they're often fun and great for some bands/records, but they're definitely colored, and sometimes I'm not certain their sound signature works best... Anyhow, maybe 20h on them yet.

The Q701 at 240$ seem like a good deal, in Canada they're more like 330, I've not seen the 702s or 701s anniversary at that price. It's weird, so far I like the 3 headphones I have; 990, v6 and SR80 all for different reasons. The Hifiman HE400/500 also look interesting but it's 400$... I've read good things about the 701s and they did/do sound like a good buy/compromise... Just hard to tell without listening, from the graphs, 990 and Q701 looked a bit similar which is a bit troubling; wouldn't really want another similar sounding 990 headphone... (I'd rather have a more neutral headphone than similar sounding)

Nice pic! I was going for the black Q701s though.

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[balancebox]

hehe fellow canadian I brought my beyer's from ncix because it was on sale for $280
 
I brought the Q701 two years ago... for like 380 with tax. It's easier to get headphones theses days in canada but we still pay a premium price compared to our US neighbours
 
@viralcow cool more bass, Q701 bass isn't as good as beyer 990 but they're are great reference headphones Love mine <3 is the k712 pro ( love the new look) really a improve 701/702 ?_?

 

[FriedRice25]

The sound difference between Q701 and K701/702 is not that big. They are both neutral and bass light. Q701 has a tad more bass than K701/702 but the bass on the Beyer 990 is way stronger. Beyer 990 and Q701 sound distinctly different.
If you don't want stronger bass than Q701 I would not go for the K702 Annies or K712 Pro as they were designed (different pads) to have an stronger bass (according to AKG +3db).

 

[GearMe]

Quote:

The sound difference between Q701 and K701/702 is not that different. They are both neutral and bass light. Q701 has a tad more bass than K701/702 but the bass on the Beyer 990 is way stronger. Beyer 990 and Q701 sound distinctly different.
If you don't want stronger bass than Q701 I would not go for the K702 Annies or K712 Pro as they were designed (different pads) to have an stronger bass (according to AKG +3db).

 
Assuming they're accurate, the graphs from Headroom seem to sum it up pretty well.  The K712 has the most bass followed by the Q701, then the K702, and lastly the K701.  Gave some thought to the K712s but decided to get the DT990s and a Q/K701 (next purchase) instead and am still going back and forth on whether it will be the Q or the K 701...leaning toward the Q.
 
=2621&graphID[]=2931&graphID[]=703&graphID[]=4163]http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=2621&graphID[]=2931&graphID[]=703&graphID[]=4163&

 

[GirgleMirt]

Ok thanks all! Ordered! I couldn't really find any post about preferring the K701s to the Q701 so I took that as a good sign.

hehe fellow canadian I brought my beyer's from ncix because it was on sale for $280

Greetings from Canuckistan! You purchased your headphones from an online computer store eh? How weird! I bought mine at ncix too but strangely paid less than you, I paid 279.99$ for them.. For cdn pricing definitely, we get the shaft on a lot of things, comparing amazon.ca to .com is often frustrating, also they often won't ship items to Canada... I was actually surprised amazon allowed to ship the Q701s. I ordered a pair of Ety HF5s too, 95$, in canada they're 150$... ncix also has some Sennheisers but their pricing/sales doesn't seem as good as the Beyers so far, not sure it's a good idea but I'm also keeping an eye on them lol

 

[Pamajestc]

I have two HD800s that sound markedly different, so I'm still not sure that they are actually different designs, but who knows.... I was never saying that I knew definitively

that they were the same. What I was expressing is that AKG stated they were.

 

[autoteleology]

Quote:

I have two HD800s that sound markedly different, so I'm still not sure that they are actually different designs, but who knows.... I was never saying that I knew definitively

that they were the same. What I was expressing is that AKG stated they were.

 
That sounds like poor driver matching to me.
 
As for the Q701, I've heard every single *70* out there and I would personally go with the Annies.

 

[blueangel2323]

Quote:

I have two HD800s that sound markedly different, so I'm still not sure that they are actually different designs, but who knows.... I was never saying that I knew definitively

that they were the same. What I was expressing is that AKG stated they were.

Is one much older than the other?

 

[balancebox]

Quote:

Ok thanks all! Ordered! I couldn't really find any post about preferring the K701s to the Q701 so I took that as a good sign.
Greetings from Canuckistan! You purchased your headphones from an online computer store eh? How weird! I bought mine at ncix too but strangely paid less than you, I paid 279.99$ for them..

For cdn pricing definitely, we get the shaft on a lot of things, comparing amazon.ca to .com is often frustrating, also they often won't ship items to Canada... I was actually surprised amazon allowed to ship the Q701s. I ordered a pair of Ety HF5s too, 95$, in canada they're 150$... ncix also has some Sennheisers but their pricing/sales doesn't seem as good as the Beyers so far, not sure it's a good idea but I'm also keeping an eye on them lol

ya I don't mine the store aslong the price is good I used to use NCIX for lots of computer parts but not so much now... their sale sucks....
 
Also try dt880 its pretty good headphones as well brighter than q701 not as bass heavy as dt990 and high isnt harsh on dt880.... t90 is also on sale at ncix 479.99 =/
 
about grados always wanted to try them but looks uncomfortable LOL and not a heavy rock/metal guy :/

 

[sionghchan]

Hey hey, fellow Canadian, there are a couple of places that gives good prices for headphones.
 
If you are local to Vancouver, then headphonebar offers pretty good deals, e.g. Q701s for CAD$299 (http://www.headphonebar.com/products/AKG-Q701.html), which works out to be about $280 if you were calculate it with the current exchange rate plus the the typical 3% credit card charge.  That only brings it to about $40 difference which isn't too bad.
 
Also, another secret, if you were to be looking at Pro models, Long and Mcquade offers really good deals, many times, cheaper than the US (Amazon.com)!  E.g.
 
DT770Pro is only CAD$165 (http://www.long-mcquade.com/products/1583/Pro_Audio_Recording/Headphones/Beyer_Dynamic/DT770PRO250_Closed_Headphones.htm)
 
DT990Pro is only CAD$165 (http://www.long-mcquade.com/products/1584/Pro_Audio_Recording/Headphones/Beyer_Dynamic/DT990PRO_-_Open_Studio_Headphones_250_Ohms.htm)
 
Those are great prices for the Pro models...
 
In anycase, hope this helps out some fellow Canadians keep CAD in Canada and shop local!
 
 
 
 
Quote:

Hehe yeah maybe using the SR80s Grados has made me immune to high end harshness

I've still not really made up my mind about the 990s but I wouldn't say that I'm bothered by their high end; they're definitely colored, they're often fun and great for some bands/records, but they're definitely colored, and sometimes I'm not certain their sound signature works best... Anyhow, maybe 20h on them yet.

The Q701 at 240$ seem like a good deal, in Canada they're more like 330, I've not seen the 702s or 701s anniversary at that price. It's weird, so far I like the 3 headphones I have; 990, v6 and SR80 all for different reasons. The Hifiman HE400/500 also look interesting but it's 400$... I've read good things about the 701s and they did/do sound like a good buy/compromise... Just hard to tell without listening, from the graphs, 990 and Q701 looked a bit similar which is a bit troubling; wouldn't really want another similar sounding 990 headphone... (I'd rather have a more neutral headphone than similar sounding)

Nice pic! I was going for the black Q701s though.

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