[glamrox]

Recently found a pair of AKG K501s on eBay (the only one that's popped up this year it seems) and I really love them, esp for classical+jazz. I'm looking for good dedicated amp for them, and there doesn't seem to be too much discussion these days on these old 'phones. Any 501 enthusiasts out there found a good amp for these? Thanks!

 

[ZARIM]

The AKG K501 pair well with HiFiman AMPs........

 

[glamrox]

Quote:

The AKG K501 pair well with HiFiman AMPs........

Haven't tried those yet - will have to check them out now! Thanks

 

[tdockweiler]

Best amp i've heard for the AKGs and specifically for the K501 is the Headroom Micro Amp. It's not super cheap, but worth every penny. Costs about $330
It won't do anything to color the sound of the K501 thankfully. It also has an output impedance of 0.5 ohms. Drives the K400, K501, K601 and Q701 with ease.
 
You can also look into the Matrix M-Stage, but I haven't heard it.

 

[glamrox]

Thanks. Yeah I don't need to color the sound, I love the 501 sound, but I was surprised that they are even harder to drive than the K 702!

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Thanks. Yeah I don't need to color the sound, I love the 501 sound, but I was surprised that they are even harder to drive than the K 702!

 
Yep and even worse than the K601. K601 I was perhaps wrong on. On paper it's actually easier to drive than the K702, which makes no sense to me!
For years I was sure that the K601 was much harder to drive than the K702.
 
K501 and K400 require the same amounts of power when I calculated it. Maybe they use the same driver? Not sure..
 
I do miss the K501, but got rid of it when I got the Q701. I'd take the K501 or K601 over the K702 any day though!
 
The K501's soundstage is actually too big for me.
 
BTW if you're interested, there is a frequency graph of the K501 on the goldenears website.

 

[glamrox]

I've never checked out goldenears, I'll have to do that. What don't you like about the K702? I thought the Q701 (which you said you have?) and the K702 were the same sonically, just different cosmetics.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

I've never checked out goldenears, I'll have to do that. What don't you like about the K702? I thought the Q701 (which you said you have?) and the K702 were the same sonically, just different cosmetics.

 
Well for me the K702 had this annoying treble peak somewhere. Drove my ears bonkers. Then the mids often sounding a bit lean or almost recessed in some areas. It's quite bizarre.
Then the soundstage on my pairs seems to be not very accurate.
 
When I got the Q701 it was much warmer and fuller sounding. Closer to say the K601 or an HD-580. Now some say some pairs could be identical and were all trying to figure this one out.
 
My idea is that maybe AKG tried to design the Q701 to be sort of like closer to a semi-open headphone. The button and foam probably couldn't be responsible for the sound changes, but it's possible.
 
In the Q701 appreciation thread there's some more differences i've heard between the Q701 and K702. The Q701 luckily has finally passed the one year mark for me.
 
Strangely the K501's soundstage is massive, but nothing ever seems too distant. Not even vocals. Loved the K501 when I had it.

 

[glamrox]

Very interesting. For me I loved the sound of the K702s well enough, it was actually the discomfort of the headband bumps that killed it for me. Doesn't matter how good it sounds when there are bumps digging in to the top of my head. But I hear others didn't suffer the headband like I did.

 

[kiwirugby]

For me the ALO Continental and a Xin Supermacro IV have been great for my 501s.  One of the best classical and jazz headphones out there, in my opinion.

 

[glamrox]

Cool. Two amps I've never even heard of. Thanks!