For listening at home I use a Bravo V3. For a portable amp, I use an 18v dual opamp CMOY made by Fred_Fred_2004. He sells amps on an ebay store and seems to be a fairly active poster in the DIY board. The particular amp cost me under $100 and it drives anything I can throw at it with a nice, detailed sound.
Do any of you prefer the k501 over the k601? Have you compared them? I wonder if the k501 is worth finding if I already have the k601.
I love my k601 for vocals, even gaming..
So far I've heard the soundstage is better on the k501, but the k601 has the better imaging. I need to check into some old threads.
Do any of you prefer the k501 over the k601? Have you compared them? I wonder if the k501 is worth finding if I already have the k601.
I love my k601 for vocals, even gaming..
So far I've heard the soundstage is better on the k501, but the k601 has the better imaging. I need to check into some old threads.
Yes, I prefer the K501 to the K601, and I have compared them side to side, as my twin brother owns K601's. My 501's are the most recent "bass heavy" variant (you can do a search on this site to find the thread that describes the three variants and how to tell). That said, I use K601 pads on my 501's, preferring them to the stock pads by a pretty large margin. As far as soundstage, they are similar, but the K501 sounds more integrated, while the K601 soundstage has a tendency to isolate individual instruments a bit too much, almost making them sound like they were each recorded in their own little studios. It can be a nice effect depending on what type of music you listen to, but to me it sounds unnatural. Again, this effect is slight, but when I go back and forth between 501's and 601's, the soundstage and presentation of the K501's is more natural to me.
Edit: You should note that a pretty good amp is needed to really bring out the best in these. Also, check out the 20 headphones reviewed thread for what I would call a pretty good relative ranking of these phones, although I would personally place them in front of the Senn HD600 / 650.
Just got my pair of k501, to add to my round-up of k601 and k701. First thoughts are "wow these are super light!." Also, these are super hard to drive. I would harder than my sextetts. But the highs are so smooth. So easy, so effortless. Definitely digging these, will report back with more.
Got a minty K501 with brown rings from elwappo^ (Thank you) recently and I think I am in love.. Not sure if I would prefer the K701 over these, but they havn't come off my head all weekend. The Matrix M-Stage (18dB gain setting) seems to drive them very well. Now I am already wondering if I should take the time/money to recable these.
Got a minty K501 with brown rings from elwappo^ (Thank you) recently and I think I am in love.. Not sure if I would prefer the K701 over these, but they havn't come off my head all weekend. The Matrix M-Stage (18dB gain setting) seems to drive them very well. Now I am already wondering if I should take the time/money to recable these.
Got a minty K501 with brown rings from elwappo^ (Thank you) recently and I think I am in love.. Not sure if I would prefer the K701 over these, but they havn't come off my head all weekend. The Matrix M-Stage (18dB gain setting) seems to drive them very well. Now I am already wondering if I should take the time/money to recable these.
Waiting for a K501 from Germany. Presently listening to jazz and classical music on the K400 - astounding sound stage, scale and dynamics (tube amp). Gonna be real' interesting to compare the two.
I have only listened to two CDs yet. Planning to do comparison with the stock pair this weekend.
I love the stock K501 - the recabled pair was a pair I got as spare which has minor cable issue. It sure is like others reviewed and beyond for me. It improves overall without changing things I love about K501. Very similar with changing the stock tube to ones made in the good old days.
Now I have to decide what to do with my other pair. I am tempted to recable this also...., but my wallet says otherwise....
I went back to my K501s after a good two or three weeks testing and listening to IEMs, exclusively. Popped on the LOTR soundtrack and Two Steps from Hell... wow. I know I liked the K501 but coming from IEMs, the great soundstage of the K501 is just mindblowing. The tonal character of the K501 for strings and woodwinds is just incredible. The only thing I know I don't like about the K501 is its cymbal character (a little bit too shimmery and just a tad slow on the decay) but I stayed away from rock, so they sounded excellent. Alas the K501 requires a ton of power from my amp with quieter music, which I'm not used to doing (had it at 3 o'clock on my SSMH; I rarely run the SSMH above 9-10oclock). Volume = detail = enjoyment, I guess...
As much as I love the K501, the prospect of owning a headphone with zero bass leaves me feeling zero enthusiasm - no surprise that the K500 (!) hasnt been mentioned prior to your post.
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