[Welly Wu]

Hey, I got them tonight. They feel really comfortable and I have no issues with the fit or feel of these new 'phones. In general, they feel lighter than the previous Sennheiser HD 650, but the ear cups are a bit looser and more spacious feeling. Right now, they sound quite a bit "gray" and I have no issues with the sound quality. I would describe it as being very polite and kind of withdrawn inward. I think these will work well with classical and opera music; time will tell. It looks good visually, but I would not want to be caught dead with them on my head by anyone even at home. Ha ha ha.

I read that these things "need" at least 450+ hours of "burn in." I am not interested in doing any type of "cable upgrades." That's as far as I want to go without trashing this thread.

I'd be interested in reading what other owners think about these cans and why they have sold it off for another "junkie hit," I mean, pair of headphones.

Later crazy audiophiles.

 

[Artguy]

Burn baby burn.... when I got my 701's I listened to them and then sent them on a burn cycle every night and listened to them during the day. They really went through a change during the 300 hours of burn-in. Now, running them off the Heed Can-amp, I have found that the laid back sound has matured into a very engaging, full spectrum, clean sound presentation that doesn't favor one sound frequency over the other. I have been listening to the cans at lower volume as they mature, and I could'nt be more pleased with the results. I am listening to wide range of jazz, vocals, New Age, Pop and occasionally some rock (U2 etc.) Check out the thread on pink noise as burn-in sound.... really did the trick for me, mixed with some nice bass heavy U2 to get the lower frequencies loosened up...

Granted, the 701's have a sound all their own, but that sound happens to be exactly what I want in headphones.... Sure they look funky, but they also grow on you... and they are very comfortable for my head shape and size.

happy listening... and enjoy the 701's.

 

[oak3x]

Previously I owned a pair of Grado SR325's. During one damp, rainy night here in New Jersey I strapped on the ole 325's for some critical listening to Aerosmith's "Hoodoo, Voodoo Medicine Man"...a song I am quite familiar. Within the first minute of the song I knew something was terribly wrong. The great Steven Tyler's voice was buried with the upfront presentation of the 325's. This was not cool.

With nothing else to do that evening, I embarked on some web surfing. Not long after, I stumbled upon Head-Fi. My life would never be the same.

Reading post after post, I starting gaining new perspective as to the different types of cans available, and the sounds they presented. Upon reading the reviews for the AKG 701's, it was obvious..."these were the ones"

So, I promptly ordered from Headroom. Dealt with Jorge, who "the man". Receiving the 701's a few days later, the burn-in process was to begin. Let's plug the suckers into the boom-box and em run (sort of like a marathon).

Now 320 hours later, they are getting there.

A return to critical listening found that Steven (Tylers) voice is back where it should be...front and center. Aerosmith is America's Rock and Roll Band.

Also...just as impressive is the discovery that "Jerry is still Alive". Yes, that's right...the AKG 701's have brought Jerry Garcia back to us and the Grateful Dead sound as great as ever. Gotta love "Box of Rain"

Long live the AKG 701's!

 

[spinali]

The 701s have survived after nearly a dozen other phones have been sold. Somehow, their clear, accurate sound and sweet harmonics make the widest range of music enjoyable. My tunes go from classical to punk, and the 701 finds a way to address the genres (though good recordings don't hurt).

We need a K701 smiley to complement the grinning K1000 smiley. Anyone up for the task?

 

[cotdt]

play loud music overnight for a week, and you'll notice quite a difference. same sound signature but the tonal balance becomes shifted, and it will drink more amp power. most headphones don't benefit much from break-in, but this one does. it's special like that. i've been using mine with a soild state amp, but more experience owners say that tube amps work much better for this headphone.

 

[vcoheda]

I got mine last year. Still burning them in. Have yet to listen.

 

[RasmusseN]

I can't help to have an intrest in these headphones. I want to tryout these someday a long with some SR-60's

 

[TheMuffinMan_01]

I got my K701's on Wednesday January 17th at 2 PM, and they have been running since

I am loving them... But they are ridiculously underpowered being fed by the HP out on my CD player

I'm saving up for a SP Extreme though... I'm excited :O

 

[lord_tris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spinali /img/forum/go_quote.gif We need a K701 smiley to complement the grinning K1000 smiley. Anyone up for the task?

what do you think

 

[cotdt]

another interesting thing about these headphones is that they sound a lot like speakers. if you're into DIY Speakers, then you would know about the Peerless Exclusive midrange units, and these sound exactly like them in the midrange! Very nice touch. Except for less authoritative bass, it's very much like a speaker! The bass isn't shabby either; with a little EQ, it rivals the HD650 both in extension and bass slam. I beleive max bass output is about the same as the HD650, but it needs EQ to acheive the same bass tonality.

 

[yrh0413]

I received my K701 at 24th Jan 2007. It sounded pretty bad out of the box, with muffled and blurry vocals, thin bass; the only thing that draws a line is the soundstage. Its huge compared with my SR80.

Have been feeding it with music for more than 60 hours, and i would say the bass really opens up! No more blurry vocals but the bass response is still rather thin. Gonna burn it for another 500 hours

Btw lord_tris that's a cool smiley!

- Han

 

[Mikesul]

I bought my firs AKG 240 headphones when they were new on the market in 1975 or 1976. I have had and loved them ever since. However ,after thirty years of use they were physically in pretty bad shape (still sound great - open, clean and accurate). I decided to replace them with new 240's but I was disapppointed to learn that the new AKG-240s were technically very different. The 701s sounded like they might be the real heirs of the great tradition. I got mine two weeks ago and I am very satisfied with them. they now have about 330 hours and, while not as open as the old 240s, they are beginning to provide that "direct presence in the room with the musician" feeling I always had with the 240's. It is fun A/B them from the two ports of my bit head. the only problem is that the old 240's require much more power than the 701's.

Hope my trip down memory lane didn't bore anyone. I hope others who have been using the 240s for years might offer their observations as well.

 

[yrh0413]

i wonder is there other K701 owners who are kindda disappointed with the 701's stereo plug? The 701 is such a fine piece of art, but the cheap-looking plug just makes it look like a fresh rose on a cow dung

 

[Quint]

After listening to them a bunch of times, I think the '701s are one of the most balanced and complete headphones I've ever heard, regardless of price. Yes, they're a bear to burn in, but once there, I find them pretty amazing, with an uncanny ability to do any kind of music well. I'm getting mine balanced and having a few other mods done to them, which should elevate the performance further.

 

[Mikesul]

I have heard of but I am unfamiliar with the concept of balance. What do you expect will improve on the cans with balanced cables?