[pbalcer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by patricklang The 501's definitely excel in impact and speed. They convey a midrange detail that is wonderful, and for acoustic guitar, is pure bliss. [...] I like these phones so much that I listened to them approx 6-8 hours a day before I got an office mate. Now I'm using the k271 the majority of the time to keep from disturbing him.

A week ago I bought AKG K271S because I needed good closed hedphones and those received good reviews. To be honest I was a bit apprehensive because of them supposedly being "bass-shy". After I listened to them (they are still not fully broken in) I must say they can go really low (with slight equalization/lower bass boost) - lower than HD600 (but not as low as RS1). They _do_ have bass! Although K271's are not as precise as HD600 or RS1, I still like their presentation and musicality.

I've been wondering about K501. Since you have both headphones, could you please compare K501 to K271? Do K501 have more bass? Are they more detailed/balanced/neutral/musical?

 

[White Fox]

First off, I enjoyed the K501s as my main can for about 2 years. For mellow music with little dynamic range (especially well recorded acoustic guitar and traditional jazz vocal) they are amazing. They are well balanced, the sound is very clean and precise (but lacking some smoothness & 'musicality'), and the detail in the midrange is incredible. I also don't feel that the slight lack of bass (IMO) is as big an issue as the forums make it out to be. The bass extends deep, it's just a little lower in volume than ideal.

My main problem with the the K501s is, to put it crudely, they lack ballz. The micro-dynamics through out the midrange are as good as I've heard - the K501s sound 'fast' due to this. However, dynamic peaks seem flattened in a peculiar way, as if the drivers are over damped (I don't know). Perhaps in the quest for a supremely precise sound, some of the life was sucked out of the sound. My freebie MX-300 earbuds have better dynamic range to my ears.

 

[Tbln]

IMHO, K271s are really good for closed cans and in my setup, give better bass than the K501s. K501 has a wider stage and a slightly leaner and brighter (more detailed) presentation. If you factor comfort into the equation, the 501s are better for extended listening sessions as the pleather on the K271 traps heat and regular airing is recommended.

 

[Natsuiro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rab10 I am also curious about the K501's. How do they compare to the Audio Technica ATH-A900's? I have read that they are both good with the highs, and wide soundstage. The only thing that I have heard about the K501's is their questionable bass performance, but most of this thread has spoken much about the bass impact of the 501s. Thanks! What about the Mids? Is there a A900 vrs. K501 thread? I am looking for an upgrade. Thanks!

I think the K501's have very nice mids. I think it's one of it's best qualities, if not the best. If bass quantity isn't too much of an issue for you, I think the K501s are much better than the A900s. But of course, you'll need alot of amp power for the K501s while the A900s are pretty good unamped.

 

[patricklang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbalcer A week ago I bought AKG K271S because I needed good closed hedphones and those received good reviews. To be honest I was a bit apprehensive because of them supposedly being "bass-shy". After I listened to them (they are still not fully broken in) I must say they can go really low (with slight equalization/lower bass boost) - lower than HD600 (but not as low as RS1). They _do_ have bass! Although K271's are not as precise as HD600 or RS1, I still like their presentation and musicality. I've been wondering about K501. Since you have both headphones, could you please compare K501 to K271? Do K501 have more bass? Are they more detailed/balanced/neutral/musical?

I would say that the k271 has both deeper bass and better bass performance (impact & growl). They don't have the loudness of bass typically associated with closed phones, it sounds very balanced to me.

The 501 are more detailed, wider soundstage, better imaging, better treble, and more analytical overall. The 271's sound sluggish compared to the 501 and are a bit warmer. I'd say I like the 501's better on 75% of my music, but the 271's don't seem to sound bad on anything. I'm happy listening to the 271's all day right now. As I said earlier, I can't stand hard rock on the 501's, and I enjoy it on the 271, its smoother. The phones are very good complements for each other. I think the closest comparison for the 271's in terms of musicality would be the 580, except the 271's midrange is more detailed and the treble is a bit more up-front.

 

[bubbagump]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elrod-tom I'm of the opinion that most of what we call music lives in the midrange. If you get the midrange right, it's all good from there. Maybe it's also because I spent years listening to vintage Polk speakers (without a lot of bass...but OHHH, what mids!!) that the sort of thundering bass that I associated with my old roommate's Cerwin Vega speakers is not all that important to me.

thats what I kept telling myself as well (i've long been a k501 fan as well). Although I just received the sr125 which has bass for days, which has been interesting. A bass heavy senn/grado would probably make a good compliment to any k501 fans second pair.

 

[pbalcer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by patricklang I would say that the k271 has both deeper bass and better bass performance (impact & growl). They don't have the loudness of bass typically associated with closed phones, it sounds very balanced to me. The 501 are more detailed, wider soundstage, better imaging, better treble, and more analytical overall. The 271's sound sluggish compared to the 501 and are a bit warmer. I'd say I like the 501's better on 75% of my music, but the 271's don't seem to sound bad on anything. I'm happy listening to the 271's all day right now. As I said earlier, I can't stand hard rock on the 501's, and I enjoy it on the 271, its smoother. The phones are very good complements for each other. I think the closest comparison for the 271's in terms of musicality would be the 580, except the 271's midrange is more detailed and the treble is a bit more up-front.

Thanks!

As you probably guessed from my previous post, I enjoy K271 quite a bit! Yesterday I noticed they started changing the sound - the effects of burning in... They sound more tight, detailed and smoother than in the beginning. And I like the isolation, too.

Few weeks ago I was listening to "Carmen" on HD600 and a guy from two cubicals away was asking me what was that "noise". Can you imagine: he called my music a "noise"! That's why I got K271 and I'm really happy with them.

 

[dezafinado]

Just curious... anyone here using the K501 with a digital piano or electronic keyboard? I'm thinking of getting a pair for my classical music CDs as well as for practicing on my Yamaha digi piano.

 

[bubbagump]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dezafinado Just curious... anyone here using the K501 with a digital piano or electronic keyboard? I'm thinking of getting a pair for my classical music CDs as well as for practicing on my Yamaha digi piano.

i've used them out of a korgs keyboard out, but it doesnt have enough juice to power it.

 

[gratefulshrink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by atx I have both the 580 and 501s. The 501s are brighter, less bass, much wider soundstage, but shallower. If you're used to the 580s, you may find the bass lacking... but once you get used to the 501s, they're not "shy" to the point where it negatively impacts your music. If I had never listened to the 580s, I would say the 501s have just the right amount of bass.

A few folks have seemed to say that the HD 580s and the K 501s make a nice complement to each other.

What about a direct comparison in tems of size, portability (including need for amp), and comfort?

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gratefulshrink What about a direct comparison in tems of size, portability (including need for amp), and comfort?

The akg501 is more comfortable because of their lightness and the hd580s are smaller and need slightly less power, so they are more portable. However both need quality amps to power them correctly.

 

[atx]

Quote:

A few folks have seemed to say that the HD 580s and the K 501s make a nice complement to each other. What about a direct comparison in tems of size, portability (including need for amp), and comfort?

Neither are portable unless you're carrying a backpack. The 501s are bigger and for this reason it's also more comfortable-- they are as light as the 580s but the ear cups are significantly wider (round instead of oval) so it covers all of your ears.

Both benefit significantly from an amp, but whether or not you need one depends on where you're coming from. Even without an amp, they step on most of the other headphones that don't require an amp (e.g. Sony MDR, Koss, etc)