[Asr]

This thread has to be proof that there are multiple variations of the K501 in existence. I just can't agree with a few certain comments here.

Hey Fitz, maybe you can tell me what kind of K501 I have? I finally took the earpads off the other day and took a pic of the driver. Seems you're the one with all the knowledge when it comes to the K501.

 

[adanac061]

You have the same variety as me , the old skool bass light one. (i think).

The other version looks more like my k601. I just had an interesting thought though ...does anyone else think that maybe the k501 was supposed to come with a foam doughnut like the k601/k701, but they changed their minds at the last minute? .. because mine fits the k501.. perhaps too well

 

[Fitz]

You have the same one as I do now, which doesn't have the same level of bass as my old pair. I don't know for sure if the one I had before (with many more openings in the baffle) was an earlier or later version, because there seem to be so few of them it's hard to nail down. An AKG rep has said they switched from black to white damping pads (but wouldn't admit to the baffle changes), and the one with black damping pads has the same baffle as the K401, so it's very possible that that version is the oldest one.

 

[Asr]

Whoooo! Hallelujah! I knew I wasn't crazy all this time and really was hearing a lack of bass!

 

[Mrvile]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superpredator /img/forum/go_quote.gif This was my biggest complaint. Other than the unnatural distance (and consequently poor placement/unrealistic soundstage, IMO), I felt the 501 had a lot to offer.

Ditto. While I like a larger headstage to help imaging, I felt that the K501's was artificially large and some parts of the music were just too distant and got lost in headspace. While I felt that the K501 offered some great sound, its way-too-wide soundstage ruined it and eventually led to my decision to sell it.

 

[jdimitri]

Oh wow.. I thought i was the only one

I almost bought a K701 to reconfirm as well..

OT for a tad: Headfive and K501 combo- does anyone feel it sounds amazing with some cds but really lets down others?

 

[Mrvile]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warpdriver /img/forum/go_quote.gif AKG seemed to design the K601/701 to be true reference design meaning it can do justice to almost all types of music.

Agreed. The K701 IMO is one of the truest, most detailed reference phones around, while the K501 is more of a musical can that doesn't pay too much attention to detail or accuracy. Like the difference between Ety and Shure, the K701 sometimes offers too much an analytical sound while the K501 keeps everything together.

Although I did like the K501, I still felt that it had its own shortcomings, and in the end I decided that the HD580 were the cans for me and sold the K501's that I no longer used. But as you can see from my headphone tastes, I don't care too much for detail and find warmer, fuller cans more enjoyable.

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Whoooo! Hallelujah! I knew I wasn't crazy all this time and really was hearing a lack of bass!

I was screwing around last night and had my K501s open, and I noticed that while the black damping material is glued down around the edges, it's not glued down between the openings in the baffle. So almost the entire surface of it was passing sound, rather than just where the openings are. When I pressed it down firmly all around so it slightly bent into the openings (by creasing on the edges of the openings), it created a very noticable increase in SPL for the bass and lower midrange. I originally only did it on one side while looking at the disc, and when I put them back together it sounded like there was a significant channel imbalance towards that side. I did the other side and the channel balance was restored, and the sound that much closer to how my old pair sounded. I wonder if there's a lot of variation between pairs with how well that damping pad is sealed, and if the difference is not actually in the number of openings.

Food for thought.

 

[adanac061]

You could be onto something, the white baffle on my k601 is clearly glued with a blue colored glue so that sound only passes through the holes.

But my bass lite k501's have no glue and the black baffle is loose ,....
..time to get the glue out me thinks.

 

[Fitz]

Yeah, I'll try adding some more glue sometime. I don't listen to these K501s much right now (K240 ftw!

) so it wont be a big deal if I accidentally ruin them.

 

[wafflesomd]

So how far can you take apart the 501's? Can you take them apart past getting the pads off?

 

[Fitz]

Yeah, you can take them apart to their component pieces, but with the wires soldered in place it can be really hard to work with.

 

[adanac061]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wafflesomd /img/forum/go_quote.gif So how far can you take apart the 501's? Can you take them apart past getting the pads off?

Be carefull i couldn't get them back together properly .

See the extreme tweak thread for the results http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=223325

 

[wafflesomd]

I'm not going to take them apart, not after seeing that butcher job.

 

[wualta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adanac061 ...does anyone else think that maybe the k501 was supposed to come with a foam doughnut like the k601/k701, but they changed their minds at the last minute? .. because mine fits the k501.. perhaps too well

I saw your photos of the foam donut in the other thread, which would cover some of the vents on what we're calling the later baffles but not on the earlier ones (as in Asr's photo, above), where the vents are all covered by the earpads. Is that foam open-cell or closed-cell? In other words, can sound get through it or not?