pataburd
Headphoneus Supremus
05/27/08
AKG K340 v. AKG K501
(Tubes: 1x RCA 6SN7GT smoke glass & 2x Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB tall bottle)
Cat Stevens, Tea for the Tillerman (A&M)
(Track 8: “Into White”)
(Vocals have more reach, depth and projection with the K501, providing a real sense of connectivity with the vocalist. The K340’s ease (how many more times must I repeat that descriptor?) renders the delicacy of the acoustic string work better, as well as provide an overall warmer vocal presentation with more bass presence.
(Track 9: “On the Road to Find Out”)
Because they generate more HF energy than the K340, the K501 can sound comparatively edgy when the recording is less than very good (like this one). In this instance, the K340 were more forgiving than the K501 (but, as I mentioned before, not at the expense of detail). That said, the K340 lag the K501 in transient attack: crash cymbals can sound like the last, leveling “fizz” at the end of a plop of Alka-Seltzer, and “mono-dynamic” (i.e. without a clearly discernable dynamic scaling or traceable crescendo in the rise and decay) with the K340. With the K501, cymbals sound more dynamic, tonally variegated and lustrous, more realistically conveying the recording space.
SUMMARY:
The K340 offer lots of detail and refinement, but the K501 give a better-developed sense of space and more faithful musical synergy on these classic folk-rock pieces.
Joe Williams, Ultimate Joe Williams (Verve)
(Track 2: “Every Day I Have the Blues/All Blues”)
Williams’ voice is rendered smooth and warm with the K340. Very nice, deep and detailed bass solo by Bob Batchley, and great bass foundation on this track. Excellent sorting out/resolution of the various performers throughout the track; it is easy to nail down precisely what and where everything/everyone is. The K501 provide a more penetrating, but at the same time better-integrated vocal. Bass, while not as warm as the K340, is just as tight, yet pluckier, better shaped and more dynamically developed with the K501. Better “bloom” and interstitial cohabitation of the recording space among the different instruments/performers. Everything sounds more vivacious with the K501.
(Track 6: “Love Without Money”)
The K340 capture the intimacy, leisure and playfulness of this duet with Shirley Horn. With the K340, these vocals are buttery smooth and alluring. With the K501, these same vocals are more sprite/energetic and clear. It’s the listener’s preference here; both cans do justice to this track, but in distinctly different ways.
(Track 7: “Thou Swell”)
Lots of great Count Basie brass arrangement on this track. With insistent, massed trumpets and trombones eliciting mellow responses from the saxophones. What a superlative big band arrangement! The K501 better captures the excitement on this cut, although without the levels of detail and ease of the K340.
(Track 10: “Embraceable You”)
The saxophone section—given the centerpiece instrumental on this track—has great “squawk,” pulse and glow, with the distinct tonal qualities of the altos, tenors and baritones played out well with the K501. The K501 have a well-measured, “crystalline” frankness/directness about themselves that I especially enjoyed here. Williams’ voice is just a bit reticent—not as “forward”—over the K340, but that could merely be due to their larger stores of bass. I can hear the bassist’s finger/fret work more clearly on the K340 as well. The critical saxophone break is very smooth and detailed (I can hear nuances in the reed work with the K340 that I didn’t notice with the K501), but perhaps a tad too isobaric and polite, though, in absolute terms.
SUMMARY:
The K501 sound more well rounded than the K340. The K501’s depth and sense of clarity have won me over here. The K501 simply sound more “real” (essentially, a dynamic realism) and believable to my ears. With the K340, I am captured locally by each of the many, many parts; with the K501, I am captured universally by a synergy greater than the mathematical sum of the parts.
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Classics Volume 1 (A&M)
(Track 1: “The Lonely Bull”)
One can hear the “starkness” of the recording with the K501. The K340 give a flatter, rather squatty rendition.
(Track 2: “Acapulco 1922”)
A deliciously delicate taste with the K340, with the rough treble edges smoothed. The wood block sounds a bit more dull than chime-y; trumpets sound mellower—more “in the bell.” A quicker, livelier ride with the K501. The wood block hits also sound more chime-y than dull, more compact; trumpets have more spittle and bite nicely balanced with the bell tones. Tambourine smacks sound more complete with the K501 as well.
(Track 11: “This Guy’s in Love With You”)
Tones on the opening electric piano solo are very “vibrationally charged” and believable with the K501. Alpert’s solo vocal is as near perfect as I’m likely to hear. Back up female vocals were a bit unresolved, though. Things are sprawled out with more detail over the K340; the piano lines and female back-up vocals are easier to follow, with less glare. Alpert’s voice is warmer, but lacks perceived “down-in-the-throat” development in its textures. An easy going and easy-to-like rendition by the K340, although a bit “chubby-cheeked” in its likeability.
SUMMARY:
The K501 display more dynamic, tonal and textural “contour” and credibility to my ears. With the K501, I am listening to the very music; with the K340 I am listening to an arresting pair of very musical headphones.
Neeme Jarvi and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsy: 1812, Marche Slave Deutsch Grammophon)
(Track 1: “Overture solennelle ‘1812,’ opus 49”)
Everything on a nice, wide scale with complexes of massed instruments cleanly discriminated with the K340. Strings were silky, but concede dynamism, sweep and swell to the K501. Cannon blasts were deep, but a bit dull, with loss of “muzzle” effect compared to the K501.
(Track 5: “Russian Easter Festival Overture, opus 36,” Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov)
The scope and drive of this piece was wanting with the K340. Rich, mellow, sonorous, refined, delicate, micro-textured? Yes. But the guts/musical bowels were somehow missing in the final analysis. Too much micro- and not enough macro-/the “can’t see the forest for the trees” adage holds here. The big cymbal crashes toward the end of this great composition have more believable “splash and carry” with the K501. The violin timbres sound more realistic, too.
SUMMARY:
The K501 proved more deliberate, harmonious and engaging with these pieces. IMHO, they are better integrated and more synergistic/holistic in their delivery, while remaining adequately detailed.
John Mayall, Room to Move, 1969-1974 (Polygram)
(Disc 1/Track 4: “Don’t Waste My Time”)
This track features some of the best acoustic, finger-style guitar I’ve ever heard. The K340 lay down and keep a better/more determinate bass foundation and line throughout, and lay out these fine guitar licks with timeliness, grace and delicacy. Next to the K501, however, the guitar work from the K340 sounds blunt. The K501 dispatch these cords pristinely, with better attack and tone “along the string” (as opposed to the K340, where the guitar sound seems more confined to the body). The K501 seem to portray Mayall’s trademark nasally voice more realistically—if not a bit more piercingly, too.
(Disc 1/Track 8: “Nature’s Disappearing”)
“We are the generation/that may live our natural time/but as for all our children/born to suffocate in human slime/nature’s disappearing/and we are guilty of this massive crime.”
This is Mayall’s own, ecologically responsible blues piece featuring supremely dexterous slide work and a special bow-across-the-string effect on Mayall’s guitar. The K340 sound just a bit bass-fat on this cut, although the slide guitar work is full of finesse and nuance: really “called out on the carpet,” but in a good way. (BTW, I’ve always preferred John Mayall to Eric Clapton as the penultimate British blues man.) A nice ease and intimacy with the K340 that I liked a bit better than the K501 on this cut.
(Disc 1/Track 14: “Television Eye”)
“It’s hard to turn you off/even though you never turn me on/Tryin’ to slow my thinkin’/I feel my mind is nearly gone/Television eye/You’ve had me in your power too long.”
The K501 give more of a sense of the reed on the tenor saxophone solo. Everything sounds tighter and tidier with the K501, with more air inside a better-honed space. Mayall’s wah-wah peddle work really grabs and holds with the K501.
Steve Miller Band, Greatest Hits (Capitol)
(Track 1: “Swingtown”)
Nice rip and tear on the opening lead guitar swipes with the K501, and nicely rhythmic and jumping. But the K340 just caught me up in all that fine detail AND pumping, plumping bass. Wow, this is a cliffhanger. “Gotta” give the nod to the K340 for this rock cut—and the remainder of the disc! : )
FINAL THOUGHTS (for today):
The dynamic homogeneity of the K340 is, I believe, their secret means of being “resolving” headphones. Without operating in the “3rd dimension,” e.g. not generating dynamic contour/contrast, the K340 can devote their energies to populating a very expansive (high and wide), but essentially flat soundstage. And that they do in a unique and admittedly enjoyable way. However, as a result, they tend to lack shape, a certain vitality and breath due to their predominantly planar aspect. Consider the comparative ease of locating/visualizing an x-y coordinate (defining an ordered pair along the ordinate and abscissa) on the Cartesian grid. Now consider adding the z-axis, and the corresponding difficulty in achieving/visualizing precise placement in 3-space. The K501, IMHO, while conceding a bit—but not all that much—in absolute level of detail to the K340, nevertheless gain the spatial upper hand, and therefore the musical advantage, in the end.
In short, the K501 have “reach”/a sense of development and the K340 do not. This could be due to the wonderful integrity of the K501’s truly magical midrange, which although prominent, is also all-so well acquainted and seemingly seamlessly coordinated with the highs and lows. Everything is knit together into one, vibrant, uninterrupted fabric that completely clothes the listener in an altogether musical experience. When I donned the K501, then the K340, I was consistently at a perceived “loss”; when donning the K340, then the K501, I was consistently at a perceived “gain.” My preference for the K501 thereby emerged in the course of the day’s listening.
Not surprisingly, based on today’s audition, I’m leaning strongly toward funding an APS V3 re-cable of the K501 with the sale of these K340. But who knows what tomorrow—and a change in tubes—may bring? : )
05/28/08
AKG K340 v. RAL Paradise Cryo-Silver re-cabled AKG K701
(Tubes: 1x Mullard ECC33 & 2x Russian Analogue 6H8C black base/tall bottle)
FOREWARD: Well . . . I’ll be! I continue to be amazed at the K340’s “order of magnitude” responsiveness to tube changes. With yesterday’s combination they sounded somewhat anemic, but with today’s tubes they sound rich, colorful, solid, immediate and more spacious. They’re chameleon-like in this respect, evidently more so than either the K501 or the K701. (I feel some more “K340 love” in the offing—or rather in the “onning”—of these intriguing headphones.)
Ana Caram, Bossa Nova (Chesky Records)
(Track 8: “O Pato”)
Everything sounds just right, so balanced with the K340 in every respect: frequency, dynamics (although the K340 will never convey “explosive” dynamics), harmony, timbre, with near-perfect speed and compactness and no perceived undue emphasis anywhere. The synergy (i.e. harmonious composition of music, space within the available recording) that these headphones apparently lacked yesterday is here, in proverbial spades, today. Caram’s vocal is remarkably smooth, detailed, intimate and expressively human. On this cut the K340’s thwart any technical criticism and just open the listener up to simple, untrammeled enjoyment.
The K701 are no slouches on this beautifully recorded collection, either, conveying superior openness, clarity and airiness, and an expert use of space. Cymbal hits have more tingle, overhang and metallic character. Yes, I have to admit (while scratching my head a little), that the K701 are more dynamically adept than the K340. There is more reed bite and texture to the saxophone solos; a more sculpted and chiseled realism to Caram’s vocals, although a bit more forward and at the loss of liquidity compared to the K340.
This is beginning very much like what it had already progressed to yesterday: putting the K701 on after the K340 generates a sense of sonic “gain” in the (newer) listening experience.
Bill Evans Trio, Sunday at the Village Vanguard (Riverside/JVC xrcd)
(Track 7: “Gloria’s Step,” take 3)
Evans’ piano, especially with cords on the upper registers could sound bright, overstated with the K701, although the 2x Russian 6H8C—NOT the 1578’s—can just as easily be the cause, if not (at least) a contributing cause. This is a moody piece that is smartly cadenced and well allocated in space by the K701.
The K340 move this piece along more gracefully, I think, and with an abundance of detail, as usual (the levels of detail in the bass solo were entrancing). Aside from their constrained (macro) dynamics, the K340 do the better job of getting the listener into, and keeping them in, the pensive almost broody quality of this song.
No sense of loss at all. The immersive detail and uncanny ease of the K340 claim the vigorous nod here.
The Byrds, The Notorious Byrd Brothers (Columbia Legacy/SBM)
(Track 2: “Goin’ Back”)
A lovely, although commensurately sad and hauntingly nostalgic, ballad of lost youth played and sung in classic Byrds fashion. The K340 brought me right into the core of this composition with silky, almost ethereal, vocal harmonies, lamenting pedal steel guitar and that trademark Byrds’ “ride along” guitar assemblage. An easy rising tide of unexpurgated musical pleasure.
The K701 bring air, delineation and more complex treble variation/contrast to this piece, making the vocals even more expressive, although not quite as well resolved (as the K340). The increased sense of air and space enhance the song’s effect with more pronounced feelings of the irrecoverable temporal distance between one’s youth and his advancing age.
This song, so viable and true-to-the-human-condition, tends to transcend the transport medium itself. Both headphones did very well, each in its own way, with the narrow edge belonging perhaps to the K340.
(Track 4: “Draft Morning”)
The brooding bass lines are tighter and more rounded with the K701—it’s the 3-D advantage again, but deeper—more extended, weightier and more pervasive (without sounding boomy or bloated) with the K340. The song climaxes with a tortured soundtrack in which quasi-dissonant guitar strains and minor-keyed bugle blows are overlaid, wrung and warped with the eminently disconcerting sounds of war. The K340 preserved this extended segment well intact, with lots of detail, high resolution and listenability, while the K701 ultimately became uncomfortable to listen to, even at arguably acceptable volume levels.
(Track 7: “Change is Now”)
The whining, wailing guitar creases on this track were a bit ear-wrenching over the K701, perhaps hitting the “sore spot” or hard/edgy region of their upper midrange/lower treble (where, I suspect, the “varimotion” driver design either is not, or probably cannot be, optimized). Golly, how many times have I longed for more volume from the K701 but was prevented by this problematic upper mid/lower treble crimp? The RAL re-cable mitigated this tendency to an appreciable degree, but did not completely eliminate it. Aside from that (however, once fixated with this perception, it's difficult for a listener like me to completely dismiss this sonic shortcoming from his psyche), you get a nice, open listening experience with commendable instrument/performer placement/separation in 3-space.
The K340 really smoothed out what had been rough-shod edges with the K701, giving a fairly warm, plush, enveloping listen. Turning up the volume only gave me more of the same, too, without hardness or glare spoiling the guitar breaks. Spatially and dynamically, though (yes, this has already begun to sound like a broken record), the K340 must concede to the RAL/K701.
(Track 9: “Tribal Gathering”)
The more laid back quality of the K340 makes it easier to follow the (no doubt chemically induced) lyrics on this nevertheless endearing cut. Things are spread out and easy to keep an ear on. The K340 take you “underwater” with detail; as a listener, you simply fall into all that’s going on there that you didn’t seem to notice before.
(Track 10: “Dolphin’s Smile”)
The plodding, dark chocolate bass, in combination with marching rhythm guitar, moves/carries the measure along more directly with the K701, but more thickly and weightily with the K340.
SUMMARY: The K340 come out on top with these (Byrds) selections. Because the K340 are less unforgiving than the K701 on these fairly bright recordings and/or because the Russian 6H8C are certainly NOT an optimal tube choice for the K701? That’s part, but not the whole, of it. The detail, ease and solid yet articulate bass foundation of the K340 brought what I felt was the best from these unique, late-sixties compositions. The vocal harmonies were served especially well by the K340.
Ensemble Project Ars Nova, The Island of St. Hylerion: Music of Cypress, 1413-1422 (New Albion Records)
(Track 1: “Contre dolour”)
This stark, but stunning, solo tenor with harp accompaniment sounds just a touch “cloudy” (for lack of a better term) with the K340. It’s the lack of depth and space—air—which seems to confine and almost suffocate this beautiful performance, not faithfully portraying the critical, ample acoustic of the recording space. The development of the tenor vocal sounds stunted and muffled.
Ah! The K701 have brought the vitally needed breath of fresh air to this solo! Crisp, cool air, as a matter of fact: precisely what was needed to get this song “right.” Breathe deeply . . . again . . . and capture the essence of this early 15th century ballad with the K701.
(Track 2: “Tousjours”)
The K340 did not stay on very long. The K701 prove overwhelmingly superior on this fine instrumental featuring lute, harp, vielles and corno muto. Oh, that 3-D space!
(Track 3: “Aspre Fortuna”)
Over the K701, a truly fine duet for tenor and counter tenor, with vielle. Where have all the rich and artfully arranged harmonies gone? The 21st Century seems painfully bereft of, or nearly incapable of, composing such simple yet incredibly profound harmonic beauty.
The remainder of this disc was heard exclusively through the RAL/K701. Another much-better-than-average recording being done complete justice by these headphones.
London Symphony Orchestra, Stanley Black: Kachaturian: Spartacus, Gayaneh and Masquerade Suites (London)
Too sizzly and extra crispy with the K701. I fear that the inherent shortcomings of this recording, coupled with the incompatibility of the Russian tubes, have probably wrecked what may otherwise have been a jolly good listen.
Served up much better and recording-tolerantly with the ever kinder, ever gentler K340. Detailed, lively, colorful and, above all, not ear-splitting. The large and complex scale of these pieces is managed and displayed very well. The rosin-on-the-bow detail was simply amazing on the second movement of the Spartacus Suite: “Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia.” You gotta love Kachaturian! : )
That’s it for now. Will report these findings today and try to wrap things up, God willing, by week’s end. : ) Tomorrow, the Russian 6H8Cs are out, and the vastly superior Russian 1578's or the RCA 6SN7GTBs are in. The K701 will then have a good fighting chance. And we might even coax the K501 back out of their box to enter the fray! : )
AKG K340 v. AKG K501
(Tubes: 1x RCA 6SN7GT smoke glass & 2x Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB tall bottle)
Cat Stevens, Tea for the Tillerman (A&M)
(Track 8: “Into White”)
(Vocals have more reach, depth and projection with the K501, providing a real sense of connectivity with the vocalist. The K340’s ease (how many more times must I repeat that descriptor?) renders the delicacy of the acoustic string work better, as well as provide an overall warmer vocal presentation with more bass presence.
(Track 9: “On the Road to Find Out”)
Because they generate more HF energy than the K340, the K501 can sound comparatively edgy when the recording is less than very good (like this one). In this instance, the K340 were more forgiving than the K501 (but, as I mentioned before, not at the expense of detail). That said, the K340 lag the K501 in transient attack: crash cymbals can sound like the last, leveling “fizz” at the end of a plop of Alka-Seltzer, and “mono-dynamic” (i.e. without a clearly discernable dynamic scaling or traceable crescendo in the rise and decay) with the K340. With the K501, cymbals sound more dynamic, tonally variegated and lustrous, more realistically conveying the recording space.
SUMMARY:
The K340 offer lots of detail and refinement, but the K501 give a better-developed sense of space and more faithful musical synergy on these classic folk-rock pieces.
Joe Williams, Ultimate Joe Williams (Verve)
(Track 2: “Every Day I Have the Blues/All Blues”)
Williams’ voice is rendered smooth and warm with the K340. Very nice, deep and detailed bass solo by Bob Batchley, and great bass foundation on this track. Excellent sorting out/resolution of the various performers throughout the track; it is easy to nail down precisely what and where everything/everyone is. The K501 provide a more penetrating, but at the same time better-integrated vocal. Bass, while not as warm as the K340, is just as tight, yet pluckier, better shaped and more dynamically developed with the K501. Better “bloom” and interstitial cohabitation of the recording space among the different instruments/performers. Everything sounds more vivacious with the K501.
(Track 6: “Love Without Money”)
The K340 capture the intimacy, leisure and playfulness of this duet with Shirley Horn. With the K340, these vocals are buttery smooth and alluring. With the K501, these same vocals are more sprite/energetic and clear. It’s the listener’s preference here; both cans do justice to this track, but in distinctly different ways.
(Track 7: “Thou Swell”)
Lots of great Count Basie brass arrangement on this track. With insistent, massed trumpets and trombones eliciting mellow responses from the saxophones. What a superlative big band arrangement! The K501 better captures the excitement on this cut, although without the levels of detail and ease of the K340.
(Track 10: “Embraceable You”)
The saxophone section—given the centerpiece instrumental on this track—has great “squawk,” pulse and glow, with the distinct tonal qualities of the altos, tenors and baritones played out well with the K501. The K501 have a well-measured, “crystalline” frankness/directness about themselves that I especially enjoyed here. Williams’ voice is just a bit reticent—not as “forward”—over the K340, but that could merely be due to their larger stores of bass. I can hear the bassist’s finger/fret work more clearly on the K340 as well. The critical saxophone break is very smooth and detailed (I can hear nuances in the reed work with the K340 that I didn’t notice with the K501), but perhaps a tad too isobaric and polite, though, in absolute terms.
SUMMARY:
The K501 sound more well rounded than the K340. The K501’s depth and sense of clarity have won me over here. The K501 simply sound more “real” (essentially, a dynamic realism) and believable to my ears. With the K340, I am captured locally by each of the many, many parts; with the K501, I am captured universally by a synergy greater than the mathematical sum of the parts.
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Classics Volume 1 (A&M)
(Track 1: “The Lonely Bull”)
One can hear the “starkness” of the recording with the K501. The K340 give a flatter, rather squatty rendition.
(Track 2: “Acapulco 1922”)
A deliciously delicate taste with the K340, with the rough treble edges smoothed. The wood block sounds a bit more dull than chime-y; trumpets sound mellower—more “in the bell.” A quicker, livelier ride with the K501. The wood block hits also sound more chime-y than dull, more compact; trumpets have more spittle and bite nicely balanced with the bell tones. Tambourine smacks sound more complete with the K501 as well.
(Track 11: “This Guy’s in Love With You”)
Tones on the opening electric piano solo are very “vibrationally charged” and believable with the K501. Alpert’s solo vocal is as near perfect as I’m likely to hear. Back up female vocals were a bit unresolved, though. Things are sprawled out with more detail over the K340; the piano lines and female back-up vocals are easier to follow, with less glare. Alpert’s voice is warmer, but lacks perceived “down-in-the-throat” development in its textures. An easy going and easy-to-like rendition by the K340, although a bit “chubby-cheeked” in its likeability.
SUMMARY:
The K501 display more dynamic, tonal and textural “contour” and credibility to my ears. With the K501, I am listening to the very music; with the K340 I am listening to an arresting pair of very musical headphones.
Neeme Jarvi and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsy: 1812, Marche Slave Deutsch Grammophon)
(Track 1: “Overture solennelle ‘1812,’ opus 49”)
Everything on a nice, wide scale with complexes of massed instruments cleanly discriminated with the K340. Strings were silky, but concede dynamism, sweep and swell to the K501. Cannon blasts were deep, but a bit dull, with loss of “muzzle” effect compared to the K501.
(Track 5: “Russian Easter Festival Overture, opus 36,” Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov)
The scope and drive of this piece was wanting with the K340. Rich, mellow, sonorous, refined, delicate, micro-textured? Yes. But the guts/musical bowels were somehow missing in the final analysis. Too much micro- and not enough macro-/the “can’t see the forest for the trees” adage holds here. The big cymbal crashes toward the end of this great composition have more believable “splash and carry” with the K501. The violin timbres sound more realistic, too.
SUMMARY:
The K501 proved more deliberate, harmonious and engaging with these pieces. IMHO, they are better integrated and more synergistic/holistic in their delivery, while remaining adequately detailed.
John Mayall, Room to Move, 1969-1974 (Polygram)
(Disc 1/Track 4: “Don’t Waste My Time”)
This track features some of the best acoustic, finger-style guitar I’ve ever heard. The K340 lay down and keep a better/more determinate bass foundation and line throughout, and lay out these fine guitar licks with timeliness, grace and delicacy. Next to the K501, however, the guitar work from the K340 sounds blunt. The K501 dispatch these cords pristinely, with better attack and tone “along the string” (as opposed to the K340, where the guitar sound seems more confined to the body). The K501 seem to portray Mayall’s trademark nasally voice more realistically—if not a bit more piercingly, too.
(Disc 1/Track 8: “Nature’s Disappearing”)
“We are the generation/that may live our natural time/but as for all our children/born to suffocate in human slime/nature’s disappearing/and we are guilty of this massive crime.”
This is Mayall’s own, ecologically responsible blues piece featuring supremely dexterous slide work and a special bow-across-the-string effect on Mayall’s guitar. The K340 sound just a bit bass-fat on this cut, although the slide guitar work is full of finesse and nuance: really “called out on the carpet,” but in a good way. (BTW, I’ve always preferred John Mayall to Eric Clapton as the penultimate British blues man.) A nice ease and intimacy with the K340 that I liked a bit better than the K501 on this cut.
(Disc 1/Track 14: “Television Eye”)
“It’s hard to turn you off/even though you never turn me on/Tryin’ to slow my thinkin’/I feel my mind is nearly gone/Television eye/You’ve had me in your power too long.”
The K501 give more of a sense of the reed on the tenor saxophone solo. Everything sounds tighter and tidier with the K501, with more air inside a better-honed space. Mayall’s wah-wah peddle work really grabs and holds with the K501.
Steve Miller Band, Greatest Hits (Capitol)
(Track 1: “Swingtown”)
Nice rip and tear on the opening lead guitar swipes with the K501, and nicely rhythmic and jumping. But the K340 just caught me up in all that fine detail AND pumping, plumping bass. Wow, this is a cliffhanger. “Gotta” give the nod to the K340 for this rock cut—and the remainder of the disc! : )
FINAL THOUGHTS (for today):
The dynamic homogeneity of the K340 is, I believe, their secret means of being “resolving” headphones. Without operating in the “3rd dimension,” e.g. not generating dynamic contour/contrast, the K340 can devote their energies to populating a very expansive (high and wide), but essentially flat soundstage. And that they do in a unique and admittedly enjoyable way. However, as a result, they tend to lack shape, a certain vitality and breath due to their predominantly planar aspect. Consider the comparative ease of locating/visualizing an x-y coordinate (defining an ordered pair along the ordinate and abscissa) on the Cartesian grid. Now consider adding the z-axis, and the corresponding difficulty in achieving/visualizing precise placement in 3-space. The K501, IMHO, while conceding a bit—but not all that much—in absolute level of detail to the K340, nevertheless gain the spatial upper hand, and therefore the musical advantage, in the end.
In short, the K501 have “reach”/a sense of development and the K340 do not. This could be due to the wonderful integrity of the K501’s truly magical midrange, which although prominent, is also all-so well acquainted and seemingly seamlessly coordinated with the highs and lows. Everything is knit together into one, vibrant, uninterrupted fabric that completely clothes the listener in an altogether musical experience. When I donned the K501, then the K340, I was consistently at a perceived “loss”; when donning the K340, then the K501, I was consistently at a perceived “gain.” My preference for the K501 thereby emerged in the course of the day’s listening.
Not surprisingly, based on today’s audition, I’m leaning strongly toward funding an APS V3 re-cable of the K501 with the sale of these K340. But who knows what tomorrow—and a change in tubes—may bring? : )
05/28/08
AKG K340 v. RAL Paradise Cryo-Silver re-cabled AKG K701
(Tubes: 1x Mullard ECC33 & 2x Russian Analogue 6H8C black base/tall bottle)
FOREWARD: Well . . . I’ll be! I continue to be amazed at the K340’s “order of magnitude” responsiveness to tube changes. With yesterday’s combination they sounded somewhat anemic, but with today’s tubes they sound rich, colorful, solid, immediate and more spacious. They’re chameleon-like in this respect, evidently more so than either the K501 or the K701. (I feel some more “K340 love” in the offing—or rather in the “onning”—of these intriguing headphones.)
Ana Caram, Bossa Nova (Chesky Records)
(Track 8: “O Pato”)
Everything sounds just right, so balanced with the K340 in every respect: frequency, dynamics (although the K340 will never convey “explosive” dynamics), harmony, timbre, with near-perfect speed and compactness and no perceived undue emphasis anywhere. The synergy (i.e. harmonious composition of music, space within the available recording) that these headphones apparently lacked yesterday is here, in proverbial spades, today. Caram’s vocal is remarkably smooth, detailed, intimate and expressively human. On this cut the K340’s thwart any technical criticism and just open the listener up to simple, untrammeled enjoyment.
The K701 are no slouches on this beautifully recorded collection, either, conveying superior openness, clarity and airiness, and an expert use of space. Cymbal hits have more tingle, overhang and metallic character. Yes, I have to admit (while scratching my head a little), that the K701 are more dynamically adept than the K340. There is more reed bite and texture to the saxophone solos; a more sculpted and chiseled realism to Caram’s vocals, although a bit more forward and at the loss of liquidity compared to the K340.
This is beginning very much like what it had already progressed to yesterday: putting the K701 on after the K340 generates a sense of sonic “gain” in the (newer) listening experience.
Bill Evans Trio, Sunday at the Village Vanguard (Riverside/JVC xrcd)
(Track 7: “Gloria’s Step,” take 3)
Evans’ piano, especially with cords on the upper registers could sound bright, overstated with the K701, although the 2x Russian 6H8C—NOT the 1578’s—can just as easily be the cause, if not (at least) a contributing cause. This is a moody piece that is smartly cadenced and well allocated in space by the K701.
The K340 move this piece along more gracefully, I think, and with an abundance of detail, as usual (the levels of detail in the bass solo were entrancing). Aside from their constrained (macro) dynamics, the K340 do the better job of getting the listener into, and keeping them in, the pensive almost broody quality of this song.
No sense of loss at all. The immersive detail and uncanny ease of the K340 claim the vigorous nod here.
The Byrds, The Notorious Byrd Brothers (Columbia Legacy/SBM)
(Track 2: “Goin’ Back”)
A lovely, although commensurately sad and hauntingly nostalgic, ballad of lost youth played and sung in classic Byrds fashion. The K340 brought me right into the core of this composition with silky, almost ethereal, vocal harmonies, lamenting pedal steel guitar and that trademark Byrds’ “ride along” guitar assemblage. An easy rising tide of unexpurgated musical pleasure.
The K701 bring air, delineation and more complex treble variation/contrast to this piece, making the vocals even more expressive, although not quite as well resolved (as the K340). The increased sense of air and space enhance the song’s effect with more pronounced feelings of the irrecoverable temporal distance between one’s youth and his advancing age.
This song, so viable and true-to-the-human-condition, tends to transcend the transport medium itself. Both headphones did very well, each in its own way, with the narrow edge belonging perhaps to the K340.
(Track 4: “Draft Morning”)
The brooding bass lines are tighter and more rounded with the K701—it’s the 3-D advantage again, but deeper—more extended, weightier and more pervasive (without sounding boomy or bloated) with the K340. The song climaxes with a tortured soundtrack in which quasi-dissonant guitar strains and minor-keyed bugle blows are overlaid, wrung and warped with the eminently disconcerting sounds of war. The K340 preserved this extended segment well intact, with lots of detail, high resolution and listenability, while the K701 ultimately became uncomfortable to listen to, even at arguably acceptable volume levels.
(Track 7: “Change is Now”)
The whining, wailing guitar creases on this track were a bit ear-wrenching over the K701, perhaps hitting the “sore spot” or hard/edgy region of their upper midrange/lower treble (where, I suspect, the “varimotion” driver design either is not, or probably cannot be, optimized). Golly, how many times have I longed for more volume from the K701 but was prevented by this problematic upper mid/lower treble crimp? The RAL re-cable mitigated this tendency to an appreciable degree, but did not completely eliminate it. Aside from that (however, once fixated with this perception, it's difficult for a listener like me to completely dismiss this sonic shortcoming from his psyche), you get a nice, open listening experience with commendable instrument/performer placement/separation in 3-space.
The K340 really smoothed out what had been rough-shod edges with the K701, giving a fairly warm, plush, enveloping listen. Turning up the volume only gave me more of the same, too, without hardness or glare spoiling the guitar breaks. Spatially and dynamically, though (yes, this has already begun to sound like a broken record), the K340 must concede to the RAL/K701.
(Track 9: “Tribal Gathering”)
The more laid back quality of the K340 makes it easier to follow the (no doubt chemically induced) lyrics on this nevertheless endearing cut. Things are spread out and easy to keep an ear on. The K340 take you “underwater” with detail; as a listener, you simply fall into all that’s going on there that you didn’t seem to notice before.
(Track 10: “Dolphin’s Smile”)
The plodding, dark chocolate bass, in combination with marching rhythm guitar, moves/carries the measure along more directly with the K701, but more thickly and weightily with the K340.
SUMMARY: The K340 come out on top with these (Byrds) selections. Because the K340 are less unforgiving than the K701 on these fairly bright recordings and/or because the Russian 6H8C are certainly NOT an optimal tube choice for the K701? That’s part, but not the whole, of it. The detail, ease and solid yet articulate bass foundation of the K340 brought what I felt was the best from these unique, late-sixties compositions. The vocal harmonies were served especially well by the K340.
Ensemble Project Ars Nova, The Island of St. Hylerion: Music of Cypress, 1413-1422 (New Albion Records)
(Track 1: “Contre dolour”)
This stark, but stunning, solo tenor with harp accompaniment sounds just a touch “cloudy” (for lack of a better term) with the K340. It’s the lack of depth and space—air—which seems to confine and almost suffocate this beautiful performance, not faithfully portraying the critical, ample acoustic of the recording space. The development of the tenor vocal sounds stunted and muffled.
Ah! The K701 have brought the vitally needed breath of fresh air to this solo! Crisp, cool air, as a matter of fact: precisely what was needed to get this song “right.” Breathe deeply . . . again . . . and capture the essence of this early 15th century ballad with the K701.
(Track 2: “Tousjours”)
The K340 did not stay on very long. The K701 prove overwhelmingly superior on this fine instrumental featuring lute, harp, vielles and corno muto. Oh, that 3-D space!
(Track 3: “Aspre Fortuna”)
Over the K701, a truly fine duet for tenor and counter tenor, with vielle. Where have all the rich and artfully arranged harmonies gone? The 21st Century seems painfully bereft of, or nearly incapable of, composing such simple yet incredibly profound harmonic beauty.
The remainder of this disc was heard exclusively through the RAL/K701. Another much-better-than-average recording being done complete justice by these headphones.
London Symphony Orchestra, Stanley Black: Kachaturian: Spartacus, Gayaneh and Masquerade Suites (London)
Too sizzly and extra crispy with the K701. I fear that the inherent shortcomings of this recording, coupled with the incompatibility of the Russian tubes, have probably wrecked what may otherwise have been a jolly good listen.
Served up much better and recording-tolerantly with the ever kinder, ever gentler K340. Detailed, lively, colorful and, above all, not ear-splitting. The large and complex scale of these pieces is managed and displayed very well. The rosin-on-the-bow detail was simply amazing on the second movement of the Spartacus Suite: “Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia.” You gotta love Kachaturian! : )
That’s it for now. Will report these findings today and try to wrap things up, God willing, by week’s end. : ) Tomorrow, the Russian 6H8Cs are out, and the vastly superior Russian 1578's or the RCA 6SN7GTBs are in. The K701 will then have a good fighting chance. And we might even coax the K501 back out of their box to enter the fray! : )
