[Romanee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Okkler I think if youre listening to your headphones around people or showing people your rig, you should go with the 580s. The K501s are the second nerdiest looking headphones ever topped only by the K1000s But seriously, I dont know if listening to some classical music yields getting cans specifically engineered for classical music as the K501s are. I own a pair and they are certainly not for rockin' of any sort and to any extent. I dont know if the 580s are a good alternative, but I know the K501s wouldnt be a good choice unless most of the music you listen to is classical or jazz unless you already have headphones that rock.

I beg to differ. Jecklin Floats are the general fave for Nerdiest/Geekiest look. 501s aren't nerdy ... they're professional-looking ... elegantly designed ... intelligent. Cool & comfy for in-flight listening.

"...not for rockin' of any sort and to any extent." ... 'taint my experience -- My 501s have plenty of punch, kick and bottom impact to rock. Just heard Little Village, No Doubt, SRV, Steve Vai, King's X, P-Funk, Sting "Thousand Years" deep bass line, Mickey Hart "Planet Drum" -- deep slammin percussion run wild, Sonny Landreth, Junior Wells "Shaky Ground" -- ssssssmokin.

My new, unburned PortaCordaMkII is not up to the rockin' task, but the Portaphile (AD8620) pumps big sound thru my 501s.

The 580s look kinda like dish sponges (or maybe potato pancakes) ... sound like 'em too. Very trendy for that Sponge Bob look. They have that relaxed non-commital sound 'cause they just soak up all that juicy ambience, dynamics, dimension, depth, nuance -- not much leaks thru to the ears ... (ROFLMAO!!!).

{nerdus supremus}

 

[Nak Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romanee -- deep slammin percussion run wild, Sonny Landreth, Junior Wells "Shaky Ground" -- ssssssmokin.

See, I told you those 501 are full of sibilants !

 

[Risa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romanee My 501s have plenty of punch, kick and bottom impact to rock. Just heard Little Village, No Doubt, SRV, Steve Vai, King's X, P-Funk, Sting "Thousand Years" deep bass line, Mickey Hart "Planet Drum" -- deep

Yes, Sting's "Thousand Years" bass effect was so surprising on AKG501 I thought for a while I had some hardware problem

. I have not experienced anything similar since then though.

 

[EJS]

I have no interest in the 501 at all. I was going to pull the trigger on the 580 in a day or two. I asked in another thread if the 580 will be ok for now run through the headphone out of my audio receiver. I was told it was fine till I got a dedicated amp.

Is this true? If so, I'm fine. If not, another headphone here I come!

EJ

 

[Romanee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nak Man See, I told you those 501 are full of sibilants !

Harharharharhar!

 

[GlowWorm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EJS I have no interest in the 501 at all. I was going to pull the trigger on the 580 in a day or two. I asked in another thread if the 580 will be ok for now run through the headphone out of my audio receiver. I was told it was fine till I got a dedicated amp. Is this true? If so, I'm fine. If not, another headphone here I come! EJ

I think your on the right track with the 580's, the 501's are much more difficult to amplify properly (IMO).

 

[strogg]

but then, with the k501, most devices WILL amplify the sound to a reasonable level, although they will sound a bit flat.

as for the k501's and rock, i find them very enjoyable, although my requirements for enjoying "rock" are different than most other people's requirements. that and i changed out the cable to 22awg homegrown and tweaked my amp (the k-12m) around my akg's.
for those interested, the 501's are a bit open with the music. it doesn't have the in-your-face feeling, but it does make you feel front and center of a large concert (like when the guitarist is all the way on the right while the bass guitarist is all the way on the left, etc).

 

[Ferbose]

For low power headphone jacks though, K501 sounds better than HD580, although K501 is slightly less sensitive than HD580. HD580 sounds very congested at lower volume. K501 sounds more or less OK at lower volumes. When I used to own a Kenwood PCDP, HD580 is simply unusable on it, and K501 sounds quite OK. For a year, I listened to K501 on the PCDP, and that got me through my military service.