[REB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmdevils /img/forum/go_quote.gif I like the K701 pads on the K500, but fyi, not on the K400- it becomes too dry. The 701 pads do take away from the liquid mids of the K500 as well, but I can't stand the highs on them stock, so it's necessary. I would bet that K601 pads would be a great compromise, as many have stated here.

I tend to agree with you. But I still haven't found those K601 pads in Europe! BTW, we'll also include a K401 in the mini-meet.

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iQEM /img/forum/go_quote.gif just wanna share what i've found on Ebay, a new K500 !maybe someone found it a good bargain... Vintage AKG K-500 Stereo Headphones - eBay (item 320279285575 end time Aug-02-08 07:42:07 PDT) note: look at what the seller had add with K500 as an extra...

Just be advised that those spare drivers are not K500 drivers, but the ridiculously awful K300/K301 drivers.

 

[iQEM]

oh my, he almost got my interest...

how about the earcushion pads ? is it good (K500 made for) ?

 

[Fitz]

Don't know about those extra-thick ones, which I think are the ones for some VR helmet with AKG drivers... ericj would know more about them. The regular pleather pads there are as worthless as the drivers though. Typical paper-thin cheap pleather, not like the kind used on K240s.

 

[Leto Atreides II]

hmm...

I am actually the winner of this item. Assuming I can't get out of it, I'd like to see if I can repair the k500s myself.

How hard to find are authentic K500 drivers? Will other high end AKG drivers work?

 

[jellojoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leto Atreides II /img/forum/go_quote.gif hmm... I am actually the "winner" of this item. Assuming I can't get out of it, I'd like to see if I can repair the k500s myself. How hard to find are authentic K500 drivers? Will other high end AKG drivers work?

I still don't see where the auction says they're broken. The low frequency distortion might just be that the seller's cranking it without suitable amplification.

 

[ludoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REB /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're right, they're not interchangeable. My K500 has the metal gold-plated plug, while the K501 has a partly plastic plug. My K400 came to me recabled, so I don't know its original plug.

It was the metal one.

 

[ludoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmdevils /img/forum/go_quote.gif The only one I haven't heard is the K401, which I imagine is just where the number puts it in the scale of things.

I had both the K400 (now REB's) and the K401 together. I only listened to the K401 recabled, as I got them with a bad soldering job and decided to recable them instead of fixing the stock cable, so part of the difference might lie in the cable. But I did like them more than the K400: I'm going from memory, but they seemed livelier, with more bass, at the expense of some soundstage and details.

REB will give you a much more thourough impression, as I'm sending them for the meet up North (relatively speaking of course). BTW REB, when do you need them?

 

[Leto Atreides II]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jellojoe /img/forum/go_quote.gif I still don't see where the auction says they're broken. The low frequency distortion might just be that the seller's cranking it without suitable amplification.

Regardless of that, he was kind enough to bail me out with a full refund, which he really didn't have to do. So, I wouldn't hesitate to bid on other items from him in the future at all.

With my K-701, I'm probably not missing anything anyway.

 

[Agnostic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jellojoe /img/forum/go_quote.gif I still don't see where the auction says they're broken. The low frequency distortion might just be that the seller's cranking it without suitable amplification.

Could be clipping or a hair stuck in a driver.

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jellojoe /img/forum/go_quote.gif I still don't see where the auction says they're broken. The low frequency distortion might just be that the seller's cranking it without suitable amplification.

Considering this is the K500, which has a known defect on some pairs that the metal plating started flaking off the inside of the drivers and obstructing the movement of the voice coil, I would suspect there's a good chance they are broken. Not to worry about this on presently working pairs though, if this was going to happen it would've already happened by now.

 

[Seba]

Just got my K500's with K701 pads...

First impressions are not so good. Although they are low impedance phones, I have to set my Little Dot's gain to max to amp them properly. They are almost as tough to drive as K340's.

The sound is pretty weird. Singer sounds close but all the other instruments and small details are way back and I have to listen really hard to spot them. It sounds like the life and emotion of the music is sucked out. I don't feel the drums hitting and guitars sound so flat and dull.

K500's do sound better to me than K340's but still they aren't even close to my RS-2's. I think I have found my manufacturer and next I'll probably start exploring other Grado's.

 

[REB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludoo /img/forum/go_quote.gif It was the metal one.

Thanks!

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seba /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just got my K500's with K701 pads... First impressions are not so good. Although they are low impedance phones, I have to set my Little Dot's gain to max to amp them properly. They are almost as tough to drive as K340's. The sound is pretty weird. Singer sounds close but all the other instruments and small details are way back and I have to listen really hard to spot them. It sounds like the life and emotion of the music is sucked out. I don't feel the drums hitting and guitars sound so flat and dull. K500's do sound better to me than K340's but still they aren't even close to my RS-2's. I think I have found my manufacturer and next I'll probably start exploring other Grado's.

Have you tried them with stock K500 or K501 pads? Because if you like the sound of the RS2 with bowls, that would be the way to go. Or the mystical k601 pad combo that few have tried...

 

[edhamgtr]

If you like the impactful way grado's deliver midrange - nothing to me ears comes close.

I have tried stock, 601 and 701 pads on my 500's. Preference is for the 701's but no pad is going to change the basic character of the 500's into anything like grado's. i m h o .