[zyxwvutsr]

Regarding the number of conflicting opinions-
My guess is that the differences between these phones/drivers are small enough such that the equipment used, how the phones are positioned on the head and/or the differences in how each of us perceive sound may each have a significant bearing in the perceived sound signature of these headphones.

 

[billinkansas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zyxwvutsr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Regarding the number of conflicting opinions- My guess is that the differences between these phones/drivers are small enough such that the equipment used, how the phones are positioned on the head and/or the differences in how each of us perceive sound may each have a significant bearing in the perceived sound signature of these headphones.

... as well as the wide range of music pumped through them.

 

[AudioDwebe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by troymadison /img/forum/go_quote.gif The K500s and the K501s weren't too different. The K500 just being a tad bit darker.

My guess is that's with the older, "bass-lite" version of the 501's. The 501's that I have sound like they have a huge midbass hump compared to the 500's.
Of course, as in all things audio, YMMV.

 

[Tiemen]

This is what I wrote in another thread when someone asked for a comparison between the K400 (relative similar to the K501, but more bass), and the K601:

f you listen to the K400 from a hifi perspective, I don't think you hear anything that stands out. It's more the organic feel they give, it's a pleasure listening to music with these cans. They are very balanced throughout the audio spectrum. Musical is the word that comes up.
Balance, mids, highs, they're all integrated in the sound.
The K400 is detailed, but not too much. Mids are slightly forward, yet warm at the same time.
The sound of the K400 is quick, and a little bit lightweight. Toe tapping is guaranteed.
They excell with female voices. For example listening to Emmylou Harris is a real treat.
Bass is not deep, but very tight.
Sibilance is very tolerable
They can handle al lot of styles: pop, country, folk, some rock.

Not all kinds of rock. For example, the band Rush sounds awfull with the K400.
Than it's time to grab the K601. The 601 has more body, slam, oomph, or how you will call it. They are even better with all kinds of music. But they are not as airy as the K400, soundstage is smaller.
I think the treble of the K601 is more rolled off. But still the K601 is very detailed and revealing.
The K601 sounds slightly warmer/darker. The bass is a little thicker, fuller and slower.
The K400 wins on PRaT. The K601 gets my feet also tapping, but less than the K400.
The K601 wins on impact, authority and presence with heavier rock. It's more a all-arounder.
They're both very comfortable.

It's hard to say which is better.
They just sound different, and useful with different kind of music.

 

[Tom Drinkwater]

I got some 701s, lots of nice detail and soundstage. Completely unrealistic frequency response, way much highs. Treble and bass extreme frequency extension is good, nothing really wrong except that the whole sound is massively biased to the top end. My K271s have less soundstage, much less treble, a slightly congested midbass, and marginally less detail, but are overall a much better extended listen than the 701s. The 701s shine on some acoustic based music where the extra top and detail is flattering, but i'd rather they just told it like it is.

I want to like these so i'll give them a bit longer, but so far my reaction is that they are amazingly good quality, but just wrong in their basic approach to presenting music.

Ok I'm coming from a studio gear background, I don't really believe gear should interpret the music, just present it as close as possible to whats on the recording.

 

[wilblee]

I own the K271, which I also use in the studio and the K701 which is my main phone. I'm one of those who prefers the K701, for dedicated home listening, to all comers at or below its price range. The K701 sounds more open, bigger, more detailed and fuller than the K271. If you are at all like me - and since you like the K271 for studio use, we at least have that in common - then you'll be more than pleased, maybe delighted, with the sound of the K701. The BIG caveat is that you'll like 'em after they've got 200+ hours of playback time at the high end of listenable volume. And, of course, run 'em with a decent amp.

 

[Tom Drinkwater]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilblee /img/forum/go_quote.gif The K701 sounds more open, bigger, more detailed and fuller than the K271.

I'd agree with all of that except fuller, and that's a subjective term... they are fuller in terms of soundstage for sure

but don't you find that the frequency balance of the K271 is approximately correct and the K701 are way too much in the highs?

the pair I have were bought used, and I'm sure they are broken in.

I don't have a really good dedicated headphone amp, but I've tried them on the headphone out of my RME fireface 800 which is very very clean, and also on my cowon D2 (drives them just fine) and my ibasso P1, changing the amp really doesn't change the basic character of the phones much. The ibasso had a bit more bass punch and treble softness, but at the expense of the very smooth clean clear sound directly from the fireface.

as I say, i'll try them some more....

BTW I much prefer the closed isolated thing, I don't listen to headphones in order to interact with the outside world, so why the heck would I want to hear environmental noise? it just degrades the S/N ratio, for me open phones are a necessary evil to get the best soundstage, but not a desirable thing per se.

 

[Tom Drinkwater]

hmm, can anyone compare K240's with the others mentioned here?

since they are designed for studio monitoring, would that be more what I'm used to? I had assumed they were inferior to the K271 is this not correct?

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Drinkwater /img/forum/go_quote.gif hmm, can anyone compare K240's with the others mentioned here? since they are designed for studio monitoring, would that be more what I'm used to? I had assumed they were inferior to the K271 is this not correct?

I have the K-240DF, along with the K-501, K-701, K-340, and K-1000. I've spent about 20 minutes with a K-271 and won't offer an opinion; have not heard the K-601. I've been considering picking them up.

Anyhow, the 240DF has a very neutral presentation and sounds a little distant to me. It is an accurate and detailed reference that I enjoy with acoustic material. I prefer the K-501 to the K-701 and the K-240DF. The natural mids and cohesiveness are almost magical.

I'll agree with the OP about the old AKGs being better. I don't think it's the fashion or unobtanium; a listen to a K-1000 will have you scratching your head over what the suits were thinking.

 

[ciphercomplete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Navyblue /img/forum/go_quote.gif Midrange: To me the midrange of K701 sounds weird and make voices and instrument sounds different, I can't put a finger to it, but IMHO, not accurate. K501 is more accurate and realistic. I could be wrong on this but I get the impression that K701 sounds flatter (sort of less dynamic).

Yeah I think the K701 has a sort of weird hitch in the lower treble, upper midrange. Some sort of special effect that sort of fools you into thinking it is more detailed than it is. It causes all kinds of trickery. It has fooled me on many occassions as everytime I would think that I was hearing something with the K701 that I had never heard before I would do a quick A/B with the K501 only to find that the K501 had been just as detailed all along. The K501 just does it smoother without that "look at me" attitude.

Sometimes I do prefer the K701's attitude though.

I am completely convinced that the K501 trumps the K701 by a decent margin. My K701 are powered more adequately in my current set-up than my K501 but K501 beats it in every category except very low end bass extension. I imagine that after I complete my next round of upgrades (i.e a amp that delivers a tad bit more current) the K501 will be the undisputed champ.

 

[Tom Drinkwater]

what's the difference between the K240 sextett, DF etc etc?

and is the K240 Mk 2 a different beast entirely? much lower impedance, different drivers?

 

[Tom Drinkwater]

So, did the K501, 601,701 comparison ever happen?

what were the results?

I'd also really like to know about the differences between the different K240 K242, sextett, K240Mk2, K240DF etc, its all very confusing.

has anyone compared K240 of any stripe with K271?

 

[vforrest]

Since the AKGs are very transparent, a lot of what you hear will be the amplifier that drives them. Through my K701s, I have heard amps that sound rolled in the highs and amps that sound peaky. The K701s will reproduce whatever you power them with.

 

[Tom Drinkwater]

certainly you'll hear the amp yes, but it doesn't change the basic character of the phones, I've listened to the K701s on 4 different amps (D2, ibasso, cmoy, RME) and the differences are less than 10% as big as the difference between the K701 and the K271

 

[scompton]

Here's my comparison of the K400, K500, K501, and K601 http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/k40...-601-a-255524/

My conclusion was to buy which ever you could get cheaper. Changing pads had more impact on the sound than the difference between the headphones. Whichever headphone had the softest pads sounded best to my ears.