Akg K1000 petition
Apr 3, 2011 at 9:52 PM Post #4 of 15
I'll buy a re-release or a predecessor. I don't think AKG reads this forum. They are all about FaceBook. I don't have FB so I can't send them a message. I hate FB!

You may have better results with an email petition. Write it out and we'll copy and paste it to an email to their HQ.
 
Apr 3, 2011 at 9:53 PM Post #5 of 15
NEW K1000, I would hit that like the fist of an angry god. 
 
 
Apr 3, 2011 at 10:41 PM Post #6 of 15
The problem with this is, I don't think they see a need. For larger companies, flagship designs are frequently meant to be break-even projects done to win respect for the company among the cognoscenti and no small amount of PR attention from the general public. AKG gave up competing in the high-end market -- or maybe it's better to think of the contemporary AKG as content to be ignored by people interested in nth-degree-of-refinement products and instead cater to the considerably larger market interested in headphones as fashion.
 
Headphone amplification has come a long way since the K1000 was issued, and it is considerably easier now to get an amp capable of driving inefficient, demanding phones like the K1000. So it might be even more popular now; I'd bet back in the late 80s people were buying them, plugging 'em into their home receivers, and giving up on them on the spot.
 
I suspect, though, this could backfire on them. The K1000 is over twenty years old, and reissuing it is an implicit admission that they've been dawdling. Ideally, they'd be able to come up with something even better.
 
The K1000 is probably the most well-known of AKG's flagships, but AKG have a history of idiosyncratic designs which were not always successful, but always interesting and accessible. It's also worth remembering that the open-air K1000 was preceded by Stax, Jeorg Jecklin's open-air designs for Peerless MB/MB Quart, et al; AKG weren't breaking new ground as much as refining the ear speaker concept in a particular way.
 
If I had my druthers, I'd rather see an updated version of their more practical (yet somewhat odd) products, like the K340 hybrids. They wouldn't be flagships, but I'm more likely to use them regularly.
 
Apr 4, 2011 at 12:29 AM Post #7 of 15
It won't work. The K-1000 didn't sell well towards the end and - believe it or not - was not an especially loved headphone here while it was in production.

People complained loudly about it and a lot of people seemed unaware that it needs a speaker amp to drive it. Odd, because its manual calls for 8W or better, which you won't get from an ordinary headphone amp.

The K-1000's reputation only took off after it was discontinued.

AKG's present management doesn't seem terribly interested in the high-end market, anyway. I would not be surprised to get more celebriphones from them. After all, something like the Beats will sell better than an audiophile model. At least there's a good supply of older AKGs for us to enjoy.
 
Apr 4, 2011 at 4:50 AM Post #8 of 15
 
 
Yet another Thread on K1000 revival.
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Apr 6, 2011 at 12:14 AM Post #10 of 15
yea well that's how they make money if they wanted to release a new high-end product their track record clearly states they have the know how.
 
 
Apr 6, 2011 at 1:31 AM Post #11 of 15
Why buy a K1000 when you could go to the drive-in, whip out a pair of bolt cutters and snap yourself some cups for free?
 
Apr 6, 2011 at 2:19 AM Post #12 of 15
Wait...wut?
 
 
May 20, 2011 at 1:24 AM Post #15 of 15
I have owned (and loved) K1000s for many years.  When they were first discontinued, I corresponded with AKG headquarters VP of Marketing.  I asked him to please consider re-introducing the K1000s or a successor.  He was very polite, thanked me for my inputs, and hasn't taken any actions in that direction.
 
I think the reason why is very simple:  the AKG-K1000s were difficult and expensive to manufacture, requiring specialized equipment - bottom line was that they didn't make money for the company.
 
If we in the audiophile community had recognized the fantastic performance capabilities of the K1000s earlier it might have been a different story.  It took me years to figure out that the stock cable was unacceptable (who knew?) and that highly selective amplification was required.
 
I love them so much that I have just sent them in for the installation of new drivers by Richard Land.
 
Still haven't heard anything better than my K1000s with Stephan AudioArts Equinox cabling driven by Nelson Pass' First Watt F1 amplifier.  I am now playing a lot of 24/192 master digital recordings through them, and the K1000s really shine!
 
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