AKG K501
Feb 5, 2006 at 6:30 AM Post #32 of 45
Quote:

Originally Posted by spike33
Hours 0-24 were great. Burned in more overnight. Right now at 36 hours, where did the bass go?
confused.gif
Why is it so bright and harsh? Ouch, it is really hard to listen to right now. I think I'll let it burn in more...


How loud are you playing music through them? Hope you didn't cook off the drivers or something (which is possible with the K501s, they distort rather easily). If they're undamaged, I'm sure they'll hit a point in burn-in where they sound better again.

P.S. instead of overnight burn-in, I recommend short/intensive jolts with these cans. If you have a soundcard, I could whip you up a .flac file with some low bass tones... drop me a PM if interested.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spike33
Ok, for the old k501s, if you're not looking for the bass, you won't even notice it.


This is a quality I'd personally look for with any headphone. If the bass is obvious, it's bloated. The K501 is admittedly light on bass, but probably the most coherent headphone I've ever had the pleasure of putting on my head. Bass/Mids/Treble blend so well together that they just make beautiful music. That's why I rarely find myself wanting more bass, even though they're obviously light in that department.
 
Feb 5, 2006 at 9:27 PM Post #33 of 45
Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch
How loud are you playing music through them? Hope you didn't cook off the drivers or something (which is possible with the K501s, they distort rather easily). If they're undamaged, I'm sure they'll hit a point in burn-in where they sound better again.


Actually I did some experimenting and found that in most cases it's not the K501's - but an overload on the the output stage of most amps that are clipping causing distortion of the amp and not the phones.
We all agree that he K501's are hard to drive and will take a fair amount of clean current.
 
Feb 6, 2006 at 1:15 AM Post #34 of 45
Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure
Have you tried the using them with a more forward opamp like the AD8610?


Never tried AD8610. I've only tried AD8065, AD843 and OPA627. With all my phones including HD650, i prefer OPA627. Acoustic instruments seem most natural with the 627's.
 
Feb 6, 2006 at 5:41 AM Post #35 of 45
Quote:

Originally Posted by wang228
Never tried AD8610. I've only tried AD8065, AD843 and OPA627. With all my phones including HD650, i prefer OPA627. Acoustic instruments seem most natural with the 627's.


My only complaint with the OPA627 is the mids sound a bit too 'wet' at times... I prefer a drier midrange. Doesn't happen as much in the Pimeta as with other amps and is really random that I hear that artificial "wet" quality. Very strange thing. Love the 627s in my Pimeta though, very musical combo.

P.S. have you noticed that the 627 seems to have a blacker background than most other opamps?
 
Feb 6, 2006 at 5:52 AM Post #36 of 45
The harshness is completely gone, bass improved slightly, but not as much impact as day 1. The 627 is clearly the most natural of all opamps I've tried. You have not experienced 'wetness' til you've tried AD843, most lush mids I've ever heard... might be good complement for DT880 actually...
 
Feb 6, 2006 at 6:23 AM Post #37 of 45
Lush does not equate to wet sounding. Anyway, I like the dry DT880 mids... sounds more realistic to my ears than a euphonic "lushness" that has little to do with what live acoustic instruments actually sound like.
 
Feb 6, 2006 at 7:01 AM Post #38 of 45
Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch
My only complaint with the OPA627 is the mids sound a bit too 'wet' at times... I prefer a drier midrange. Doesn't happen as much in the Pimeta as with other amps and is really random that I hear that artificial "wet" quality. Very strange thing. Love the 627s in my Pimeta though, very musical combo.

P.S. have you noticed that the 627 seems to have a blacker background than most other opamps?


yup. my impressions seem to parallel yours with regard to pimeta. OPA627 in pimeta is certainly drier sounding that in M3. The difference is noticable in lower midrage (cello, male vocals... thinner in pimeta) and treble (pimeta has more high note's energy). My ears must have been accomstomed to the thicker sound these days.. almost everytime i use my pimeta, it feels like the mid is scooped out a little.

I'm not sure if i can say the 627 gives a blacker quieter background. I found this aspect a little harder to notice given my now not so quiet listenning environment : (
 
Feb 6, 2006 at 7:45 AM Post #40 of 45
Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander
How do you think I will find the AKG501, given what my current phones are?


Extremely light on bass.
 
Feb 6, 2006 at 8:10 AM Post #42 of 45
Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander
Comparable to people coming from, say, a Sony finding the HD-650 to be devoid of treble? (I didn't, coming from a SR-80 & HD-580)


IMO the K501 is lighter on bass than HD6x0 is light on treble, although this is a very subjective thing.
 
Feb 6, 2006 at 9:07 AM Post #44 of 45
Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander
I'm tempted though. How do you think the 501 fares with instrumental stuff (new age/piano/orchestra/soundtracks) and standard pop?


I like it with new age and piano, not so much with orchestral/soundtrack type stuff. Standard pop would vary, but mostly it's a go (female vocalists particularly).
 
Mar 13, 2006 at 12:52 AM Post #45 of 45
After seeing this:
graphCompare.php


I no longer have any interest in the K501's. Still this is only because I already own the K601. For the price the K501 is still a steal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top