amartignano
1000+ Head-Fier
Hi everyone,
I want to share with the forum my last headphones experiences. I bought an AKG K501 at a very great price (159 eur) on ebay. Recently I had a little "revolution" in my headphone listening, aroused from the little AKG K141S. I discovered that I prefer to listen to the K141S instead that to the Sennheiser HD650, also if I know that the HD650 were way better in audiophile terms. I asked myself... why? At firts I thought about the warm sound of the K141, that I like a lot, but then I realized that was something else. With the K141S i was feeling to be very close to the Music and its emotions dued to a particular easy flow of the sound, specially in voices and medium frequencies. An easy flow that the HD650 simply don't have. I sold my HD650 and bought the K501, confident in buying an headphone with the same fluidity of the sound but with an overall better audiophile presentation respect of the K141S.
Ta-dah... (image not mine)...
Well, how do they sound?
A tad strange and very fascinating and revealing. They are headphones that requires time to be appreciated, their sound signature is particular and at first can not be appreciated from everyone. You feel a lack of bass, but with the time you realize that there's more than what it seems. It's a burn-in process, where 30% is driver moving and 70% re-equalize the brain. Then arrive the "revelation"...
At first, sound balance: there's a particular attention to the mids and mid-highs and so on, with a less highlighting of the bass frequencies, but the bass behaviour it's not so simple to express. They want "warm" source and amplification, better if they not "edge" the sounds too much. So I preferred (surprisingly!) my integrated amp to the Rudistor Rp3 (but ONLY in this case). The particular "easy flow" of the medium frequencies is here also with the K501, it's an AKG signature. The mids are warm, liquid, harmonic and "materic" (?!?), where the HD650 presents a sort of discontinuity. The highs are extende and present, sometimes a little too much, but they are not edgy, never. The bass is a little strange. It's warm and rounded enough, it's present enough but it lacks a bit of extension in the first octave and sometime it does not "slam" enough with some particular tracks. Sometimes rock it's a bit too "polite", still enjoyable. But this bass and mid-bass is tight, fast, and does not disturb, never, the mids. This is very good. It's a strange bass from an headphones: it seems to come from far, in the room, instead of your head. Sometimes this is frightening (in a good way...
).
But there's a strong point that make this headphones different from the others.
It's the sensation of the flow of the sound in the moving air, which I don't heard in the HD650 or Rs-1 (but I heard this in the OMEGAII ). The sound is localized like other headphones, in the head, or around, ok, not far away, but the sound reaches the ears in a so particular and pleasant way, that it's similar to the sound of a speaker or a real instrument. For this time the slogan ("Concert hall headphones", "Totally Open") it's true, not only for commercial purpose. The behaviour with classical music is astonishing (better if there is not too much instruments, sometimes the Mahler Symphonies sound a little too light...).
With acoustic instruments and voices they are simply terrific. I was surprised from the sound in the Galway duo "Music for my friends", piano and flute. The flute was terrific, realistic (I play and listen to it, so I can say this), so the piano, and the two instruments have a very proportioned dimensions, coming from the room of the recording. VEEERY good!!! Pure emotion.
Spectacular also with the Madredeus, a little bit less with the U2, for example, well... if I want to listen to Chemical Brothers probably... I will wait for the K240S because I want in this particular case a bit more weight in the bass region.
But however it's a fantastic headphone, neutral (except for a somewhat "shy" bass), but very fascinating and emotional. I personally preferred them to the HD650, also if the top Sennheisers beat the K501 in some audiophile terms (not musicality, for sure!).
They are also very well constructed, with a real leather headband, which auto-regulates. Very light and easy to wear for hours. There's not listening fatigue, never.
ATTENTION TO THIS:
My K501 came with the new pads, for control this at first I lifted a little the pad and the pads... fall on my hands. Very loosy I thought... well the pads have to be settled very firmly in their housing, you have to turn and they have to do TWO "clacks" and then they are firmly in the earcup. So they press in the right way in the earcups and the bass come alive. So... control this when you have the K501! Not only the pads does not fall off anymore, but the headphones sound better!
Bye
Andrea
I want to share with the forum my last headphones experiences. I bought an AKG K501 at a very great price (159 eur) on ebay. Recently I had a little "revolution" in my headphone listening, aroused from the little AKG K141S. I discovered that I prefer to listen to the K141S instead that to the Sennheiser HD650, also if I know that the HD650 were way better in audiophile terms. I asked myself... why? At firts I thought about the warm sound of the K141, that I like a lot, but then I realized that was something else. With the K141S i was feeling to be very close to the Music and its emotions dued to a particular easy flow of the sound, specially in voices and medium frequencies. An easy flow that the HD650 simply don't have. I sold my HD650 and bought the K501, confident in buying an headphone with the same fluidity of the sound but with an overall better audiophile presentation respect of the K141S.
Ta-dah... (image not mine)...
Well, how do they sound?
A tad strange and very fascinating and revealing. They are headphones that requires time to be appreciated, their sound signature is particular and at first can not be appreciated from everyone. You feel a lack of bass, but with the time you realize that there's more than what it seems. It's a burn-in process, where 30% is driver moving and 70% re-equalize the brain. Then arrive the "revelation"...
At first, sound balance: there's a particular attention to the mids and mid-highs and so on, with a less highlighting of the bass frequencies, but the bass behaviour it's not so simple to express. They want "warm" source and amplification, better if they not "edge" the sounds too much. So I preferred (surprisingly!) my integrated amp to the Rudistor Rp3 (but ONLY in this case). The particular "easy flow" of the medium frequencies is here also with the K501, it's an AKG signature. The mids are warm, liquid, harmonic and "materic" (?!?), where the HD650 presents a sort of discontinuity. The highs are extende and present, sometimes a little too much, but they are not edgy, never. The bass is a little strange. It's warm and rounded enough, it's present enough but it lacks a bit of extension in the first octave and sometime it does not "slam" enough with some particular tracks. Sometimes rock it's a bit too "polite", still enjoyable. But this bass and mid-bass is tight, fast, and does not disturb, never, the mids. This is very good. It's a strange bass from an headphones: it seems to come from far, in the room, instead of your head. Sometimes this is frightening (in a good way...
But there's a strong point that make this headphones different from the others.
It's the sensation of the flow of the sound in the moving air, which I don't heard in the HD650 or Rs-1 (but I heard this in the OMEGAII ). The sound is localized like other headphones, in the head, or around, ok, not far away, but the sound reaches the ears in a so particular and pleasant way, that it's similar to the sound of a speaker or a real instrument. For this time the slogan ("Concert hall headphones", "Totally Open") it's true, not only for commercial purpose. The behaviour with classical music is astonishing (better if there is not too much instruments, sometimes the Mahler Symphonies sound a little too light...).
With acoustic instruments and voices they are simply terrific. I was surprised from the sound in the Galway duo "Music for my friends", piano and flute. The flute was terrific, realistic (I play and listen to it, so I can say this), so the piano, and the two instruments have a very proportioned dimensions, coming from the room of the recording. VEEERY good!!! Pure emotion.
Spectacular also with the Madredeus, a little bit less with the U2, for example, well... if I want to listen to Chemical Brothers probably... I will wait for the K240S because I want in this particular case a bit more weight in the bass region.
But however it's a fantastic headphone, neutral (except for a somewhat "shy" bass), but very fascinating and emotional. I personally preferred them to the HD650, also if the top Sennheisers beat the K501 in some audiophile terms (not musicality, for sure!).
They are also very well constructed, with a real leather headband, which auto-regulates. Very light and easy to wear for hours. There's not listening fatigue, never.
ATTENTION TO THIS:
My K501 came with the new pads, for control this at first I lifted a little the pad and the pads... fall on my hands. Very loosy I thought... well the pads have to be settled very firmly in their housing, you have to turn and they have to do TWO "clacks" and then they are firmly in the earcup. So they press in the right way in the earcups and the bass come alive. So... control this when you have the K501! Not only the pads does not fall off anymore, but the headphones sound better!
Bye
Andrea
