[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nik /img/forum/go_quote.gif First of all: I don't have any intention to convince you about the K1000 or HD650 or any others cans... I'd like to convince you that the K1000 needs ABSOLUTELY a perfetc driver to give the right sound. As I said, I had ten K1000 just to find the best one, and I have tried a lot of amps and cable and only after many and many tests I cans declare (NOW) what I have stated abou this incredible cans. Nice to know that you too love classical guitar. I'm a classical guitar teacher, I have studied for ten years in the conservatory of music, and I have a lot of classical guitar CD. So we have something similar... I had many concert guitars like Ramirez or Konho, or Paulinho Bernabe and other hand made just for my hands... this just to tell you that I'm too very exigent in hearing classical and especially guitars. I had the HD650 (with Cary 300B integrated) for many mounts and I loved the setup A LOT. I also had (for two times) the fabolous R10 or Omega II or L3000 or Qualia, and nothing can touch the sound I have now, BUT this sound is built around the K1000 with any attention to the synergy for this cans. Power cords and tubes are very, very important. IMHO, the K1000 become FANTASTC with many SE 300B amps, especially WE 300B, this is what I have discovered, before this, even for me the K1000 was a good cans but nothing special... If you are searching for other rew about K1000 try also 6moon... To be honest, I think that not all the guys who owned the K1000 had listened them to their best. This is the most difficult cans to be properly driven (IME). Best regards Nik

Nik,
the 300B tube, especially a good one, might be the best tube around. Although some argue about this. Probably one of the reasons the 300B works so well with the k1000 is the fact that the 300B is a power tube, capable of several watts of output. Most tubes don't have the power of a 300B. Since the k1000 needs loads of power, it starts to make sense.

It's like paring a difficult load( not that sensative speakers, e.g. not over 90dbm3) to a beefy amplifier. It has more control and it sounds better.

Buy the way, good to see you again.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruckus /img/forum/go_quote.gif LOL I listend to the pod cas last night too. Its obvious that he was saying he believed that AKG did a good job of creating K701 as a successor. This was based on his entire excitement over the fact K701 is in constant back order. AKG can't produce enough K701 to fulfill the demands after 18 months still. No new headphone was announced by this guy. All he implied was that AKG Engineers always had new projects to work on. Nothing was specified. He also never said or implied that the K1000 was a better headphone than the K701. All he admitted was that the best way to sell a headphone is to discontinue it. There was no admittance or suggestion at all that AKG believes K1000 is a better headphone. Whether it is or not, is not the issue, AKG never said it was better.

Ofcourse they won't.. They are trying to Market the 701's as their flagship headphones. The fact is, the K1000 is usually regarded as one of the top 5 dynamic headphones ever created. The 701's are not in that league by a long shot.. The 701's are excellent mid fi cans, but if AKG wants us to believe that the 701 is the successor, cough better cough, then the K1000, they are purely trying to blow smoke up are arse..

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif The K701 is the successor to the iBud. I seriously hope that they have another top end headphone in the works, though I'm happy with the AKG I currently use.

Well, the 701's have yet to surpass the 340's..

K1000
340
701

Not too flattering when their current flag ship headphone is bested by 10-30 yr old phones..

 

[Ruckus]

From reading the research behind the K701. Seems to me its like their initial test run with these new technologies.

Next gen with the above R & D may be the one to surpass these 10-30 year old phones.

But then how much has dynamic headphones have changed other than the materials used? So I guess the best headphone from 10 years ago until something revolutionary happens with dynamic headphones, will always be one of the best.

 

[MusicFirst]

There is nothing wrong with the 701 as AKG's flagship when compared to Senn's HD650, Beyer's 880, Sony's SA-5000, etc.

They are all comparable.

 

[Davesrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nik /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...... Nice to know that you too love classical guitar. I'm a classical guitar teacher, I have studied for ten years in the conservatory of music, and I have a lot of classical guitar CD. So we have something similar... I had many concert guitars like Ramirez or Konho, or Paulinho Bernabe and other hand made just for my hands... this just to tell you that I'm too very exigent in hearing classical and especially guitars. ..... If you are searching for other rew about K1000 try also 6moon... To be honest, I think that not all the guys who owned the K1000 had listened them to their best. This is the most difficult cans to be properly driven (IME). Best regards Nik

Well if ever I'm in Italy, I should hear your setup and we should play some guitar! Since we've got the same tastes, I would love to hear how you've tailored the k1000: maybe on the best system, it won't have the tonal qualities I didn't like.

I've got a really nice double ceder top modeled after a Rodriguez. I've taken a few lessons from a Segovia student....but am still quite an enthusiastic amateur. You know since getting into the audiophile hobbie, I've rediscovered some of the older recordings of artists from vinyl.

I'm glad you and others have found a pair of headphones and gear that gives you the reference that you seek. Maybe with the right setup I too would think the k1000 magic. But you know, I find my current setup gives me 99% of what I'd look for in something soothing, engaging, yet true to what the instruments I like. Since we have a common preference in music, it would be great to see how similar/ different our systems are.

Still, I do think that some of headphone perception has to do with our physioacoustic differences. Seems like members of this forum always agree on what an overall range a headphone presents, but there's always subtle differences in how much bass, detail, sound stage, etc a headphone exactly has...and I think some of it is the placement of a close driver right over the unique shape of the helix of the ear.

Well if you're ever in ATL, please feel free to contact me so you can hear my setup and guitar and let me know how it sounds to you!!

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MusicFirst /img/forum/go_quote.gif There is nothing wrong with the 701 as AKG's flagship when compared to Senn's HD650, Beyer's 880, Sony's SA-5000, etc. They are all comparable.

Yes, there is nothing wrong with the 701 compared to those vendors current top mode.
But like AKG those vendors have discontinued headphones that are higher ranked than their current top model.
* Sennheiser HE90 and HE60
* Beyerdynamic ET-1000 (a bit unsure about these...)
* Sony MDR-R10 and Qualia 010

If AKG made a successor of their highest ranked headphone, maybe some of the other vendors see the demand and come up with something remarkable themselves. Who knows?

 

[Nik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davesrose /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well if ever I'm in Italy, I should hear your setup and we should play some guitar! Since we've got the same tastes, I would love to hear how you've tailored the k1000: maybe on the best system, it won't have the tonal qualities I didn't like. I've got a really nice double ceder top modeled after a Rodriguez. I've taken a few lessons from a Segovia student....but am still quite an enthusiastic amateur. You know since getting into the audiophile hobbie, I've rediscovered some of the older recordings of artists from vinyl. I'm glad you and others have found a pair of headphones and gear that gives you the reference that you seek. Maybe with the right setup I too would think the k1000 magic. But you know, I find my current setup gives me 99% of what I'd look for in something soothing, engaging, yet true to what the instruments I like. Since we have a common preference in music, it would be great to see how similar/ different our systems are. Still, I do think that some of headphone perception has to do with our physioacoustic differences. Seems like members of this forum always agree on what an overall range a headphone presents, but there's always subtle differences in how much bass, detail, sound stage, etc a headphone exactly has...and I think some of it is the placement of a close driver right over the unique shape of the helix of the ear. Well if you're ever in ATL, please feel free to contact me so you can hear my setup and guitar and let me know how it sounds to you!!

Nice to hear this from you... I had some guitar lessons by Alirio Diaz one of my perferred guitarist. I also love so much Ralph Towner with his fantastic guitar, this is one of the particular sound I'm looking for in my headphones setup. I also have a brother that is classical like me, but he is also in the jazz world, he is now playng with Al Di Meola during his european toors, he play even with the fantastic voice of Norma Windson, I have a marvelous umplagged recording (voice and guitar), I love so much classical guitar used for jazz... too.

Going back to our headphones passion, this is sure: K1000 need all the components to the highest level: IC, and power cords. Not the same I'd tell for the HD650 or K701, they are less dependent from components.

At the end... yes, I loved so much the HD650 for mounts and mounts, especially with the Cary 300B with other tubes (not the WE), the AVVT was my preferred with the Sennheiser, but I know that the HD650 in balanced way is the top.

 

[Nik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tourmaline /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nik, the 300B tube, especially a good one, might be the best tube around. Although some argue about this. Probably one of the reasons the 300B works so well with the k1000 is the fact that the 300B is a power tube, capable of several watts of output. Most tubes don't have the power of a 300B. Since the k1000 needs loads of power, it starts to make sense. It's like paring a difficult load( not that sensative speakers, e.g. not over 90dbm3) to a beefy amplifier. It has more control and it sounds better. Buy the way, good to see you again.

Hi tourmaline, nice to meet you again here...

About 300B I'd think that first thing is the timbral aspect of this tube, more than his power. Especilaly the WE 300b is well known for the seductive med range and a full body sound, this is what K1000 eat more than any other thing (IMO). That kind of med bass you can find in the 300B is what the K1000 loves. Another brand that K1000 prefers is Mullard.

The Air Tight ATM-300 is a mix of all these tubes: WE, Mullard, RCA and Tung Sol, all differents tubes for differents aspects: med and musicality (WE), voice: (Mullard), power (RCA), live and airy (Tung Sol)...

 

[Nik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robm321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif X2 - I still have the Pass labs but will eventually go with 300B tubes. It's the best headphone ever IMHO

X3 - with my test CD I can hear the 31 hz without any problem !!!

(go, go for a good SE 300B...

 

[SR-71Panorama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruckus /img/forum/go_quote.gif It is their end can. If you listen to the Pod Cast he also stated, AKG's focus is in the professional audio industry. Not the audiophile. Both AKG and Audio Technica do not need to have the best Audiophile eqipment, considering they make most of their money from Professional Audio. Couple thousand dollar Professional Audio equipment in very high demand > Some fancy audiophile headphone that only a few will buy. Financially it makes sense for AKG and Audio Technica to continue to focus on Professional Audio.

I just want to add a counterpoint to the notion that AKG will not make a K1000 successor because they are focused on the pro audio world: While that is certainly insightful, it doesn't take into account the concept of trickle down performance. One reason companies make statement pieces is to propel the research of the craft; this in turn often allows them to implement strategies into economic price points that previously were reserved for higher priced units. One example that comes to mind is Sennheiser; look at how many mid range headphones they have. These are for common folk, not audiophiles, similar to AKGs market, yet with every iteration released, for the most part, there are improvements made in sound and aesthetic. Many of these units have come out recently, while the flagship HD650 has been out for a good while: to me this suggests Sennheiser's implementation of HD650 technology into new headphones, and also possibly technology learned by working on the HD650 successor (hey, we all know they are at least researching new ideas, even the Sennheiser spokesperson on the 4th Headfi Podcast admitted to that much).

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi tourmaline, nice to meet you again here... About 300B I'd think that first thing is the timbral aspect of this tube, more than his power. Especilaly the WE 300b is well known for the seductive med range and a full body sound, this is what K1000 eat more than any other thing (IMO). That kind of med bass you can find in the 300B is what the K1000 loves. Another brand that K1000 prefers is Mullard. The Air Tight ATM-300 is a mix of all these tubes: WE, Mullard, RCA and Tung Sol, all differents tubes for differents aspects: med and musicality (WE), voice: (Mullard), power (RCA), live and airy (Tung Sol)...

If your rca and tung sol tubes are of the 6sn7 type, i know what you are talking about. The rca w type of tubes is recognized as being one of the best drivers for 300B tubes! As is the special type of the tung sol.

But as you know, you can use tubes to tweak the sound the way you like it. Every brand will sound different.

Apart from the timbral qualities of a 300B tube, it can deliver power like no other tube can. Since the k1000 act more like speakers, i can imagine why these kans love the 300B tube, powerrrrr!


Sennheiser might best the k1000 next year, there suppose to be a new hd750/800 and a new electrostat!

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif The K1000 drivers have no issues creating bass. But the completely undamped 'float' style enclosure guarantees that the back wave will cancel out much of the front wave, and bass will roll off.

Yeah... I think if you placed the K1000 drivers in a regular headphone enclosure the bass would probably cause your brains to leak out of your nose.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif The AKG rep made it sound like they're toying around with a K1000 successor all right. K2000 anyone?

K2000 has already been done.

 

[J-Pak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah... I think if you placed the K1000 drivers in a regular headphone enclosure the bass would probably cause your brains to leak out of your nose.

You're probably right. I believe most reports of the Headphile K3000 was that it was very bassy and dark.

The AKG K2000 looked like a strange silver clip on...except without the clips

 

[mingde10467]

I'd be grateful if someone would list some relatively affordable (i.e., $3000 USD and below) amplifiers using this tube.

I've had my K-1000s for maybe seven years. They've been sleeping in a drawer and I've only recently set them up again with my Sugden A-21a amp.

Problem for me is the brightness, bass isn't a major issue. Even with the brightness, I can listen much longer w/o fatigue as compared to the Stax Omega 2s. This might sound funny to some, but the K-1000's out-of-head imagining does it for me.