Originally Posted by Darkestred /img/forum/go_quote.gif do the k701s have any bass though? im not talking about 4 12 inch subs bumping bass... enough bass to compliment the music?
I used to make very high end subwoofers for a living. I know bass. I know 16 Hz. The 701s have excellent bass.
Originally Posted by Darkestred /img/forum/go_quote.gif do the k701s have any bass though? im not talking about 4 12 inch subs bumping bass... enough bass to compliment the music?
All I can tell you with certainty is that there is WAY WAY less bass with the K701s than my Senn HD650/600's or my Grado RS-2's by a significant margin.
The sunshine pumpers will say its just their "super neutrality" while people like myself were expecting much more in the low end department. I know through good speakers there is plenty of bass with the music I like and I also know its there with my RS-2s and HD650's as well so......in my opinion, its lacking on the K701's. I continue to give them a listen nightly though in the hopes that they warm on me and I'm able to A/B them against all three headphones at a drop of a hat and I'm not basing my judgements on "memories of headphones I used to have". I'm actually able to A/B/C them at any moment to base my decisions on.
I'm getting close to selling them though and giving the Audio-Technica AD2000's a shot though or the new Denon's skylab has been touting.
I think I'm going to give them about a month more to warm on me first before giving up though. I want to be able to say to myself without any doubts that I gave them a fair shot.
I think I can say with certainty that the K701s are a headphone that requires everything to be just about perfect for them to sound their best.
With that I mean: synergistic amp, top quality source, 300+ hours of breakin, full moon outside, you get the idea....
Originally Posted by newguru /img/forum/go_quote.gif All I can tell you with certainty is that there is WAY WAY less bass with the K701s than my Senn HD650/600's or my Grado RS-2's by a significant margin.
The sunshine pumpers will say its just their "super neutrality" while people like myself were expecting much more in the low end department. I know through good speakers there is plenty of bass with the music I like and I also know its there with my RS-2s and HD650's as well so......in my opinion, its lacking on the K701's. I continue to give them a listen nightly though in the hopes that they warm on me and I'm able to A/B them against all three headphones at a drop of a hat and I'm not basing my judgements on "memories of headphones I used to have". I'm actually able to A/B/C them at any moment to base my decisions on.
I'm getting close to selling them though and giving the Audio-Technica AD2000's a shot though or the new Denon's skylab has been touting.
I think I'm going to give them about a month more to warm on me first before giving up though. I want to be able to say to myself without any doubts that I gave them a fair shot.
I think I can say with certainty that the K701s are a headphone that requires everything to be just about perfect for them to sound their best.
With that I mean: synergistic amp, top quality source, 300+ hours of breakin, full moon outside, you get the idea....
Anything less and they don't sound good.
Wrong. More hocus pocus headfi BS. They're great, revealing headphones. I've plugged them into just about everything except my mother-in-laws *ss and they sound great. There is so much group think bs floating around here... never mind.
Originally Posted by audiomagnate /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wrong. More hocus pocus headfi BS. They're great, revealing headphones. I've plugged them into just about everything except my mother-in-laws *ss and they sound great. There is so much group think bs floating around here... never mind.
Awesome! I'm glad you really like them.....honestly.
There wasn't a single word I wrote that was "group think BS" however. Everything I wrote was my opinion of what I felt about the cans.
They might be great for you....they aren't great to me however.
This is an owners thread (of which I'm an owner) and I can state my opinion just as you can.
These threads aren't going to always be where we are each patting each other on the backs saying "atta boy" and making each other feel good about their purchases by justifying why we like what we bought.
I'm afforded the opportunity to compare at a moments notice how they sound against the other headphones I own as well to make my opinion.
The fact of the matter is I dropped the coin on them just like you and frankly DO NOT feel they are the best headphone out there. Maybe if I listened primarilly to opera or classical music I would feel differently? Maybe not?
At this point, I don't have the perfect can in my inventory. All of them have some defieciencies:
Grados problem is comfort
Sennheisers HD650's aren't as detailed at the upper end as I would like
AKG K701's I find lacking on bass
Again, I'm glad you think they are great and have found your headphone nirvana......however I haven't yet....enjoy your headphones.
As far as the bass response of the K701, I find that while it may be less then the Senns it is a more natural bass, giving better definition to bass as an instrument as opposed to bass as a sensation or overall low-end presence. That may be why some of us dissagree on this issue.
Originally Posted by audiomagnate /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wrong. More hocus pocus headfi BS. They're great, revealing headphones. I've plugged them into just about everything except my mother-in-laws *ss and they sound great. There is so much group think bs floating around here... never mind.
Originally Posted by newguru /img/forum/go_quote.gif At this point, I don't have the perfect can in my inventory. All of them have some defieciencies:
Grados problem is comfort
Sennheisers HD650's aren't as detailed at the upper end as I would like
AKG K701's I find lacking on bass
When I had the Rega Apollo as my source, I thought that the 701 bass was not as deep as my other headphones such as the HD650/Zu and the CD3000. After upgrading the Apollo to the Saturn, the 701's bass improved greatly and is now my favorite. I think the Apollo is a great source for the money, but the Saturn is much better in every way (not just bass). Since you are not totally happy with any of your current headphones, you will either have to make changes to your system or sell off your headphones and search for a headphone that perfectly matches your system (Good luck doing that). System matching is the key to achieving great sound out of any top flight headphone. Like it or not, it takes time, research, money, and some luck (trial and error)to get the best sound out of any system. Its a lot of work to get there but its worth it.
Nice collection of gear there Steve! I'm extremely jealous!
As far as the Rega Apollo goes, you may very well be right. Maybe it isn't good enough to make the K701 shine. I'm about at the limits of what my budget will allow though as far as CD players go though. Perhaps the K701 just needs more than my budget allows to sound its best?
Thinking about selling my Stax Signature II and buying K701, bad idea ?
Will the K701 drive ok from a Bryston B-100 SST you think ?
Problem is, with the Stax and its SRM 006t amp I can have the phones on my head and the volume a bit up while the Bryston is still powering the speakers at low volume, nice combo sometimes. (to suit other people in the house)
Originally Posted by newguru /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice collection of gear there Steve! I'm extremely jealous!
As far as the Rega Apollo goes, you may very well be right. Maybe it isn't good enough to make the K701 shine. I'm about at the limits of what my budget will allow though as far as CD players go though. Perhaps the K701 just needs more than my budget allows to sound its best?
Are you serious? The bass is thin with the K701\Apollo combo?
Got my K701 from TTVJ today. Gave them a listen right out of the box. Man, they sound like crap! Thin, congested, almost no bass, sibilance. On the bright side, they don't sound worse than the Apple Ibuds which is what I was expecting after reading all the negative posts on this can.
Burning them in with pink noise as we speak. Damn this is going to be a long process. I need to buy some other cans in the meantime...my CX300 ain't gonna cut it for the next month!!!
Originally Posted by ecclesand /img/forum/go_quote.gif Got my K701 from TTVJ today. Gave them a listen right out of the box. Man, they sound like crap! Thin, congested, almost no bass, sibilance. On the bright side, they don't sound worse than the Apple Ibuds which is what I was expecting after reading all the negative posts on this can.
Burning them in with pink noise as we speak. Damn this is going to be a long process. I need to buy some other cans in the meantime...my CX300 ain't gonna cut it for the next month!!!
Hey! Man the %@$ UP! I did it! I used CX300s (with NO AMP) for a WHILE till those K701s were cooked!
C'mon you can do it! Just think about it this way! Once they're ready, they will KNOCK YA SOX OFF!!
I'm listening to the K701s now (well my sole headphone for the moment) and good lawd! The kick drum is sounding AWESOME!!
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